Author's Note

I'm back, y'all. Sorry for the wait on my stories, just been dealing with personal issues, and making the big decision to go active duty in the military since things at home weren't looking so hot for me.

But things are getting much better, now. When I get some more time to really buckle down, I'll go and make a blog post describing a bit about it if any of you guys want to hear. Also, with how things are projected to pan out, I can be more consistent with my updates this way I don't just have any of my ideas in my head and let them not get into a chapter or story, so enjoy.

''Get mad, then get over it.''

-Colin Powell.

The Fallout

Set Fire To The Ground. . .

Duncan felt. . .different. One minute, he could somewhat remember himself feeling the worst possible feeling of dread, second to when he was shot on that bus, all that time ago, though, had that much time passed? Duncan. . .was unable to really tell, and that was something that he was sure would come to him in time. Vivid flashes of light filled his mind, echoes of panicked, curious, and nonchalant voices.

Twilight, Pinkie, Spike. . .Rarity. Rainbow Dash.

Slowly, his senses began to input some of the pain, starting from his body up, a massive inward piercing headache going from his temple down to the middle of his neck. A slow, but constant heartbeat seemed to amplify the jerking of his body on the uneven ground. Bones; rocks, twigs. . .and a pushy weight underneath him that slowly drug him in some direction.

''U-Ugh. . .w-w-wha?'' Duncan breathed out, his lungs burning with each syllable uttered.

''S-Say not-thing.~ Keep y-your strength. . .w-we may have. . .n-need for it.'' Duncan's head dipped once again, dampness on his forehead and on his leg slowly becoming more and more clear the longer he was dragged to wherever. He had to know what was going on, even if it was to be for a moment. Not knowing would be the death of him first before anything else.

''L-Lu. . .na.~'' Duncan managed to find a surge of power long enough to open his eyes, the night and blur in his eyes making the shape of one of the few ponies he would find himself depending on if they managed to make it far enough for the hassle in Ponyville to have any merit or weight. Much couldn't be seen through the dirt and the natural color of her coat, but even Duncan could tell Luna was in a sorrier state than he was. Being a princess and at least a millennium old gave the illusion that carrying him on her back as she slowly limped forward somewhat easily. Every few seconds, he heard hissing and feel her weight dip to her left side, almost touching the ground before walking in a sloppy line. ''S-Stop. . .''

Luna ignored the command, knowing that if she were to stop now, then she might not continue on until it was to be too late. Though a princess of Equestria and her ponies, Duncan could very well be something she could write off to abandon in favor of ensuring her survival. Duncan was willing to take a chance, a ludicrous one, in the eyes of anypony who knew the lay of the land, but as she learned from Humans; they were known for their ignorance and arrogance.

Luna admired that, in a way.

But the very reason the pair was in their current predicament stemmed just not from her, but also her sister, for which she held some suspicion, and had some questions to confirm a few things. It was crazy; accusing her sister of the kind of behavior and motives that both Duncan managed to voice to her, and while some did connect some dots for her, Celestia was still her sister at the end of the day.

Her pride wouldn't allow her to up and leave any creature to their demise, no matter how intelligent, and the fact that Duncan was a Human, much less than one that came from Earth strained her mind to its breaking point intending on figuring out why things occurred the way that they did, and if she held anymore to blame for said things than she may have thought initially.

''Where did things go so wrong? We had. . .peace all those years ago, and now. . .gone.'' Luna thought, feeling a pang of guilt for those who she considered family outside of her own, and wondered what ever became of them. A lifetime for them was about as much as a blink for her and her sister, but the life, memories, good and bad behind each and every one of them could never be accounted for, which made finding out what happened to the Humans of old all the more important.

She would save this Human if nothing else.

''I-I will. . .not; r-rest. . .for now; w-we need. . .shelter. . .'' Luna said, her mind made up. ''H-He. . .is not f-far behind,'' the howling of wolves in the distance made Luna shake her head, readjusting her grip on Duncan by shooting her flank upwards to keep the majority of his body on her back as she gently pulled his arm over her neck. She dragged him by his feet, and the blood on her right shoulder long dried out, but the gash on his forehead began to leak again, the makeshift leaf covering coming off. Duncan's eyes glossed over, barely keeping track of her as his mouth lazily open and closed, faint hisses being produced with each rise and fall of his chest. ''O-Oh. . .no.'' Luna's eyes closed, her muscles contracting at the sight of what she peered at over the small hill.

Another ravine, the shape of the erosion pattern forming an almost perfect semi-circle, the top of the shape running stretching down for as far as her eye could see. The bottom, Luna was sure was littered with sharp rocks along with the running downhill stream. She had to do something, they couldn't just sit there. It would only be a matter of time before the bear returned, and in their state, neither of them was in a decent condition to fend it off.

It took a few tries, but Luna managed to fight the beast off long enough for them to gain some distance, but even she knew the sheer capability of bears, and the fact that it failed to instantly catch up to them told the lunar princess the very uncomfortable, and mildly disturbing reality that the creature's intelligence aided it in taking its time to hunt the pair. Grunting and digging deep with everything that she had, Luna carried her charge, If she was going to ensure that the both of them would live to see another day, then Luna would have to do something that would inevitably weigh on her mind, were it to go wrong. and she held the feeling it would only make things easier for the bear.

And that would not happen. Nopony, or body else would get hurt if she had anything to say about it. She made a promise.

''M-Moon. . .g-give me the strength. . .f-for I have l-little,'' Duncan's groaning snapped Luna out of her thoughts and shifted her mind in the mode for action, hoping not to add to her list of mistakes. ''I-If w-we survive, I. . .h-have a lot to explain.~ '' the growl of the bear in the distance told her all she needed to know in that one moment, and she would have to make it count. Carefully taking hold of Duncan's body the best she could, it took a monumental effort to drag the human to the closest piece of cover that she hoped would serve her plans well. The surrounding areas gave her little to work with in the ways of identification of where they were, but Luna quickly dismissed any form of help from the outside.

''Ugh. . .~'' Luna heard Duncan moan and hiss as she slowly, positioned him down as carefully as she could in the small area of a few fallen trees laid close to each other in a line, using the branches and leaves to conceal him the best she could while she slowly sat down in front, laying an eye over him to see any other injuries she couldn't glance at when first she picked him up. She took a quick glance at the sky through the brush, eyeing the one thing she knew better than anypony. A small smile graced her lips. Luna spied the gash on his forehead still bleeding a bit, so she would have to be quick.

Using her good hoof, Luna took the gash on her bad hoof and set it to the still bleeding gash on Duncan's forehead, hissing as the blood melded together and healed the two cut areas as if nothing had happened.

''Mmmph!'' Her brain throbbed and pulsed erratically, her body responding in turn with small bouts of convulsing. She was sure the tendons in her wings somehow locked themselves in position by the clamp-like tightness caving in near her midsection, so flying was out of the question. Her forehoof was most definitely broken, pieces of her slipper wedged in the hoof at a grotesque angle that looked to cause her pain, and while sure it did; the feeling meant little. She felt. . .that something else was off, as well, but the words failed to come out. There, on the tip of her tongue, and yet. . .nothing. ''M-Mmmph!~ H-Hurry.~'' Luna muttered to herself, managing to slow her breathing enough to the point where she could think a bit more clearly. All the focus in the world would help the process go all the smoother, but time was not something she had in spades.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Luna sucked in as much air as possible, gasping and choking up until she felt the limit approach. Celestia teaching her the practical exercises always did seem easier, where the constraints of time and energy were more than she would need. Luna's ears perked and curved a tad, the sound of the bear slowly beginning to become more and more clear; every crunch of leaves, rocks, and any unfortunate small animals that grazed its path at the wrong time soon became amplified the deeper her focus went.

''C-Come on, come on. . .'' Luna harshly whispered to herself, roughly going over in her head the odds. What would be the odds of if this would work? Or the odds that she would have to cancel the process and put her energy into something else, to become else. Something that there was next to no coming back from, and she was sure death would suit her better. ''W-Work.''

But Duncan was innocent in this, as far as she could tell. Until she made the connection, that is.

Closer. . .

The bear made a beeline through the trees, the glint of gold in its teeth as it smiled, sporting a few cuts and missing tufts of fur. But it meant little, the Pony and that. . .thing would die, and be food. They were good prey for the time being.

Closer. . .

''S-Sorry for this, Duncan,'' Luna said, her own body starting to shut down from the amount of effort and magic threatening to release from dangerous places. Her mind flashed by in an instant, a few of her less proud moments at the forefront, every mistake, close call, and the invisible grip around her neck only served to remind her that, in doing this, she would be essentially trapping herself. ''It is all I-I know to succeed.''

Closer. . .

''Die, Pony!''

Almost there. . .

''Surgo.''

WHOOOSH! A bright blue flash of magic flowed from Luna, engulfing the three as the bear's weight nearly came crashing down on the pair, the swipe intended to take one of their heads off never connecting as the animal went flying back and through a line of trees, crushing the wonder of the forest akin to straw, the land rumbling a tad, sending a few birds fleeing in surprise before the forest soon went quiet. Luna turned around her eyes barely managing to stay open as she looked at the fruits of her last-second choice.

ROAR! The bear rebounded, shaking off the attack, a roar of retaliation as it got up, a small limp in its gait and all of its teeth bared to show the amount of aggression it was ready to unleash. ''What?'' the pony didn't have any power like that earlier, and all of a sudden, it displayed something else.

Wait, no. . .the thing.

''. . .'' Luna watched Duncan slowly lower his fist down to his side, his body slowly beginning to heal the damage from his semi-crouched position, his broken leg snapping back into place with an audible crack before he growled as well, taking off in a dead sprint, the thousand-yard stare in his eyes and the light blue aura coming off of him telling Luna all she needed. She did what she set out to, though she only hoped it was at the right time.

And the right person.

''Agh!'' Luna's eyes could barely keep up with the fight at moment, only able to tell that her choice so far seemed to be working out, the growls and roars of the bear giving her a glimpse of hope. When the bear would go in for a swipe, Duncan would strafe, almost on instinct, and immediately deck the animal in the snout, resulting in Duncan jumping back, as he squared his stance with both arms extended at eye level while the bear appeared shocked, only to raise up on his hind legs and stomp ahead, swinging its paws wildly. ''Stop moving!''

''. . .'' Duncan remained stoic, remaining quiet and focused, the aura around him growing darker in color and skyrocketing towards the heavens as his attacks steadily became more and more collected, an inquisitive glint in his eyes. Crouching low to the ground, the bear did the same, silently accepting the challenge of rushing the other head-on. The sounds of the forest soon came to a halt, almost at the drop of a hat.

And then the two of them set off toward one another in a flash.

Canterlot Castle. . .

Celestia hummed to herself, relishing the feeling of another day done, she was always happy when things went her way. The Day Court was, for a change of pace; relatively tame, and the Canterlot Justice Committee found it easier to close their sessions earlier in the day than what they would normally foresee. One thing she could always count on was the-

''Mmmm?'' Celestia paused in the middle of her first bite of cake, her magic setting the confection done on her plate. Her magic picked up . . .something familiar. She would have missed it had she been one second too late. Faint, but she held no doubt as to what her mind connected the dots to. The slight pull at the back of her mind taunted her, invited and confused her all in the span of just under one second. Fear, anger, confusion, complete and utter survival instinct.

Her left eye nearly popped out of her head once the true realization sunk in for her. No. . .Luna couldn't have; could she?

''Sister; have you really fallen that far from our grace that you w-would. . .DEFILE yourself?'' Celestia's mood slowly began to deteriorate, her body involuntarily leaping off of her bed, smushing the cake on the clean, marble floor that the castle maids just finished cleaning, only for it to end up sullied. A flash of red warped through her mind, her sights laid on the snow globe on the top of her mantle. ''No, no. D-Don't; you're better than that Celestia, you're better. . .than Luna. Her choice to engage with that. . .f-filth!'' Celestia cleared her throat, trying her best to slow her hyperventilating down so she could double-check what she hoped was wrong.

Gradually the room gained quiet again, the cool touch of the floor as Celestia slowly sat down, igniting her horn with magic and honing in on the feeling that displayed so much in so little time, the process taking a bit longer than she would have liked, but the concept of focus in regard to this technique was absolute; all or literally nothing. ''I need to be quick, even my magic won't last long.'' Celestia dipped her head down further, the haze in her mind lifting revealing the deeper that she went into the azure blur played out the events all too well.

They were in a forest, the glow of the moon's light illuminating enough for her to see Luna huddled near a trio of fallen trees, panic rushing throughout her mind as she hurriedly finished chanting to herself about saving the Human before their whatever with killing intent that followed them closed in on them.

''M-Moon. . .g-give me the strength. . .f-for I have l-little,'' Celestia could feel it. Every cut, bump, throb, ache, tension, and everything in between as Luna began the process ultimately ousted her from any salvation.

''I-If w-we survive, I. . .h-have a lot to explain.~ ''

''Surgo.''

The images slowly faded away, Celestia figured all of Luna's concentration went into jumpstarting the process as she laid down, her eyes picking up the sight of the Human contending with a wild bear, though she couldn't very well see, she had to admit; his control over Alicorn magic was commendable. His aura. . .shone bright, and true. Humming to herself, the image slowly warped away, whispers of Luna's mind splintering away.

The final nail in the coffin. It was almost as if she stepped back in time.

''Well, sister; I wish you had actually learned something with all those years on the moon, but I guessed wrong,'' Celestia's brain attempted to make sense, but the longer and deeper in thought she went, the less she began to care. Her horn lit up, attempting to hone in on her location, only for the connection to get cut short, the realization making both of her ears fold and a crazed smile plaster itself upon her face. Her heart jumped at a million miles a minute. ''You are lucky I can't find you both right now.'' the feeling of excited rage failed to subside the longer her mind began to unravel Luna's betrayal. Celestia had to do something before long.

Starlight was busy with her assignment, which from her periodic updates told her that it was processing about as well as the pair initially expected, and the time it would take for the desired result to be achieved could take longer than it would for her to take on another mundane assignment for the betterment of Equestria. She would have to have another, one more capable and willing to go to the lengths needed to complete their mission on time and as quietly as possible.

''And I know just the individual to do it,'' Celestia began to formulate a plan in her mind as she pulled out a scroll and drafted up a letter; knowing just how to play the game since her sister wanted to commit the worse of sin, then Celestia would meet said sin in hand with virtue.