It took atleast twenty minutes for Twilight to come back.

She was wearing a big, happy smile on her face as she approached me and Starlight. Both Starlight and I were sort of backing off against the rest of the tribe. They were very hands on, and were poking at places they shouldn't be poking at. Though eventually, they had all backed off. I gave Twilight a questioning look.

Starlight tilted her head. "So?"

"Good news. Rex won't be dying anytime soon."

Honestly, I wasn't as happy as I felt like I should've been. I just gave a smile. "How much is there? You guys were gone for quite a bit."

"She was showing me all the things in their storage. Plus, they didn't put all the pills together, so we had to search for them. Let's say there's atleast forty or so pills that we've found, and definitely more hiding. That's well over a year of supply!"

I nodded. "And what's the price? You said you were going to heal all those folk inside there. How? I mean, I know that you have your magic back, but if you can heal them, how come you couldn't heal me?" I asked, a little curious. If there was a possible way to get the Luciferium out of my body, that'd be excellent. I wouldn't have to worry about going to sleep and never waking up again.

"Well, from the scan I did on you when you were asleep, it's fused with your body. The only way I could get that out is if I had the right training, and I'm not a medical expert in the slightest. A scientist, sure, but I couldn't trust myself with handling something as important as that. If I were to try anything, it'd either kill you, or hurt you badly."

I sighed. "Well, it was worth asking."

Starlight looked to the tent with the injured folks inside. "How long will it take you to heal them up? Me and Rex here have been... well, pushing back the people. They're interested in us, and apparently don't know what the word no means."

Twilight shrugged. "I don't know. I can't do anything medical that's crazy, but I can do something. If anything, I'll put them in a sleep-state and let it heal on its own. I could've done the same thing for Rex, but... we need him awake."

"Why?" I asked.

"You're our guide in this world. You might know the surrounding lands, but you've been here longer than me or Starlight. Plus, I know you wouldn't like to be asleep for weeks on end and have something bad happen to you." Twilight said, to which I nodded. She was right. I could never agree to something like that. I'd rather be awake and able to defend myself than to be asleep and just... die.

Though, I guess that's what the luciferium does, huh?

"Have we provided enough of an offering, Disciples?" The three of us turned to the voice, only to see the lady from before. She was clasping her hands together, as if it was helping turn the tide into her favor. "I-I can see if we have anything more to offer, perhaps food or-"

"What you've promised to provide is enough," Twilight spoke. "I will see what I can do for your people. I can't promise they'll get better, but I can promise that I'll try. That's all I can do."

"Thank you- thank you!" The woman said, now getting onto her knee's before placing her hands on the floor, palm down. She was worshiping us like gods. Though, I suppose that's what we posed as, huh? You know, I don't think I'd ever like being a king.

I couldn't handle being fawned over.

Tarbo's POV

We've stopped about three hours away from our enemies. We've used this small break to gather Intel and form a good plan before going in. Sure, Rex isn't much of a threat as he's a simple human. But Twilight and her friend will be quite difficult to deal with. The battle will be a struggle, that's for sure.

The problem is how to convince Celestia in the heat of battle. Twilight and Starlight will be fighting back along with Rex, which will no doubt cause confusion in her mind. However, planting seeds of Complacency, and Stockholm Syndrome will be enough to tide her over hopefully.

Celestia was with her own guards, discussing with them, while I was with mine.

"Sir? What do we do?"

I looked at the highest ranking guards of the convoy, giving them all a smile. "When we get there, we need to make sure a two things happen. One, we need to injure Rex. Disregard previous orders to kill him. He is to stay alive, for Celestia's sake. She will decide what to do with him. Two, we need to only injure Twilight and Starlight. Go for the legs specifically, nothing vital, so that means below the cap."

JO-11 tapped me on my shoulder before pointing to a black case. I nodded to him before he disappeared into the convoy truck. I placed my hands on top of the case, rubbing them gently over the top. This was what was going to guarantee that I win. Under all circumstances, this is the thing that will tide it over.

I un-clipped the locks on the case, letting it open. Inside, was a small pistol with a sort of dark-purple glowing barrel. It looked ordinary, except for the purple glow, and looked quite minimal. Yet, this small little weapon is the strongest weapon I've personally made. Combining the power of Psychic Amplifiers into a weapon, I now have this.

Capable of shooting hundreds of energy projectiles, and able to shoot a beam that could manipulate objects, it is essentially a jack of all trades. Unstoppable power is in this case, and I plan to wield it. I pull the pistol out, before clamping the locks shut on the case. I looked at the design of the pistol up close, before turning to Celestia.

"Celestia."

She turned, giving me a warm smile. She was oblivious.

"We are ready."

It had been about two hours since Twilight went into the tent.

We've been told not to go inside, as to not interfere with whatever she was doing. Though, slowly, the coughs and groans became silent, one by one. It was a sign that it was working. Well, hopefully working. Me and Starlight simply sat at the campfire near the center of the camp, which many of the people sat around with us. Either that, or they were working on other stuff. Work doesn't stop, even for self-proclaimed gods.

Eventually, Twilight exited the tent. She looked a little tired. She slowly walked over next to me, and plopped down, resting her head on my leg. I looked down at her. "How was it? I'm hoping it went well." Without saying anything, she nodded. She was definitely tired.

"I'm sure you all are thirsty- I've brought sacred tea and prepped it up for you three. Please- it'd be an insult to not try it." The woman before said, presenting us with three small cups filled with tea. We each took it, though before I tasted mine I sniffed it. It smelled familiar... A light earthy smell, with something else..

"Wait-" I tried to say before Twilight began to down the cup, but it was too late.

She looked at me. "What?"

"This... is psychite tea." I said, slowly watching Twilight's eye's widen. Not in shock or surprise, but because she was now high on psychite. Psychite is a technical energy drug, and used in tea as a way to wake you up. It's not really addictive, but really, any drug isn't good for you.

Except smokeleaf. Smokeleaf is amazing.

"I-I-I'm not... hmm.." Twilight said, staring into the center of the campfire now. "E-E-Energy drink, kind of?" She asked, whipping her head to turn to me. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, sure, an energy drink. It's not particularly harmful, but..." I turned my gaze to the woman. "-it'd be nice to know before hand. You know, being drugged isn't a nice way to reward guests that just helped your people." The woman's face went pale before she dropped onto her knee's and bowed multiple times.

"I'm sorry- i'm sorry!"

"Up!" I demanded. "-and go check on your people. Make sure they are okay."

The woman obeyed without question. You know, having this power to just tell people what to do is quite... addicting? I mean, to tell someone to do something without being questioned about it is strange in itself, but I don't like the feeling entirely. Having power over someone only matters when it's life or death. Other than that, I'd hate running anything.

Yeah, Tar was right. I'm not a king.

Starlight set her cup on the floor. "Yeah- as much as I am thirsty, I'm not a fan of being drugged. Sorry Twi... guess you'll be experiencing this one alone."

"M-M-Mhm? Like the o-o-one time a-at the castle when y-y-you-"

"Okay- okay! It wasn't an insult, Twi. Please, let's not talk about that."

Twilight showed a bright smile, her eye's still wide. I shook my head with a smile of my own. "Please, Twilight, just lay your head back down. You did a lot today. Psychite makes you think that you're less tired, but your body is still tired. Rest. Or else you'll be hating yourself in the future."

"M-Maybe that's for future me to f-find out!" She said with a smile, to which I responded with a stern look. She pouted, shaking her head. "Fine-fine-fine-" She repeated as she laid her head down on my lap once again. She was a little jittery, at times flicking a leg randomly, but she seemed more calm than most who get high.

Jeez.. I'm a bad influence.

Tarbo's POV

"Recon has scouted a camp ten minutes away."

I smiled. "Mhm. That's them."

"Not just them. Tribals as well."

Well, that was certainly a surprise. That would make things a bit harder, but not entirely. They weren't collateral by any means. Disposable, and fertilizer at best. Though, picking targets will be much more difficult now. We'll have to go in and pick them out ourselves.

That means a battle head-on, with unneeded focus on the undesirables.

I turned my head to Celestia, who looked quite serious staring at the floor of the truck. "Dear Celestia, are you ready?" She didn't move her gaze from the floor for a couple of seconds, before bringing them up to me. What stared at me, was a cold, dead gaze. She only said one word.

"Yes."

"Sir! We have a problem!"

I whipped my head to the driver. "What?"

He pointed out the windshield. "Target above- Target above!"

Ah, I wondered when something would go awry. When things go too smoothly, you know that something is bound to ruin your plans. This happened to be such an event, and all I could do was smile at the adversity. After all, I'm a little glad we got a reunion...

With Dear Princess Luna.

Author's Note

When life calls you to battle, what will you do?

Run, hoping that you are fast enough to outrun fate?

Fight, hoping you are strong enough to deny god?

Or smile, knowing that every part of your life has led up to this moment?

A short chapter now, for a long chapter next time.