When I wake up I find myself in my bed. What happened? Last thing I remember was being at the party... eating those treats that Pinkie gave me. I didn't have anything to drink... unless that treat was... Oh sweet Barbra...

"*sigh*" I look over to see Luna sleeping by my side. I roll to my side and watch her sleep for a bit, the rising and falling of her chest, the way her mouth hangs open slightly, all of it putting me at ease. Last night was fun.. but... it put some thoughts in my head that I need to bring up to Luna. "Miles?" She mumbles as she wakes up, weakly opening her eyes.

"Hey, how'd you sleep?" I ask as I brush her hair a bit, helping her wake up.

"I was worried when you passed out... more so when you didn't wake up for two days. Why didn't you tell us you're allergic to strawberries?"

"If I had known I would have told you. Sorry for worrying you."

"I'm just glad you're ok." She says as she stretches a bit and starts to get out of bed, but stops when I grab her leg.

"Hey..."

"Hey."

"I... I want to talk to you about something really important." She raises an eyebrow as she gets back in bed.

"Whats on your mind?" She asks cautiously. I reach over and take a hold of her hoof, holding tightly onto it for a second before I start.

"Its... about... well... I don't have much time here... as you already know."

"Miles..."

"And, I realize that, even with such low odds, if we were to have a child.... I wouldn't be here for it." The room falls silent as I let her think about what I just said.

"Miles... I..."

"Is this something you still want to do? Can you raise our child, with it never knowing its father. On your own." She scoots closer to me and holds onto to me tightly. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the top of her head.

"Miles, I still want to try." I take a deep breath as I begin to stroke her mane.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Becuase, when you do finally go... it would be the only thing of you I'd have left. I want this." She looks up to me and plants a small kiss on my lips... then another... after the third one I roll her onto her back as I get on top. I reach down to take my pants off... only I'm not wearing pants. Ignoring that I lay on top of her and begin kissing her as I try to position myself, only to get a hoof on the way.

"Something wrong?" I ask as I back off a bit.

"Yeah, I want to wait until we get into Topaz before we do that..."

"Really?" I ask, getting her to give me a peck on the cheek before she pushes me off and gets out of bed. With a deep sigh I roll onto my back and just lay there, staring at the ceiling.

"Hehehe, wow. You were really ready to go huh?" Luna says as she steps into the restroom. I look down to see the perfectly pitched tent of mine...

"You could fix that you know!"

"You could to!" I sigh again as I lay there a bit longer. Well... if we're going to Topaz, may as well get ready. I get out of bed and quickly get dressed... a little awkward, but getting easier with time. Once done, I go to my closet and find all of my weapons and armor waiting neatly on their racks. I begin reattaching my armor as Luna finishes up in the restroom and joins me in the closet door way. "Is all of that necessary?"

"I don't know. Topaz could be safe, it could be just as dangerous. If we're going down there, we're going down armed."

"If you say so." She mumbles as I finish putting on the armor. I begin grabbing all of my weapons as Luna levitates out an E.A.R., looking it over curiously.

"Whats on your mind?" I ask as I finish grabbing all of my weapons and head to the kitchen, having Luna follow close behind.

"Well... your little talk is making me think."

"Yeah? About what?"

"It's not changing my mind, but... how do you explain something like this to somepony whose never met you? Human innovations are... well, I think you get it." I pause in the kitchen and lean against the counter as I try to think of a way to answer.

"That all depends on how it would come out."

"Huh?"

"If it came out as a human, then the explanations would be... easier. But it it came out a pony... maybe keeping that a secret would be best."

"Are you suggesting that I lie to our child about your being a human?" Luna asks, sounding slightly offended.

"Not always. When it would be old enough to understand then tell it, but not right away. Let it grow up without the worries or concerns of being different." I say as I finish grabbing some food and bring it to the counter. I head to the hall closet and find a saddle bag with a note on it, so I grab it and bring it to Luna.

"I don't know Miles..."

"This isn't pony text?" I ask as I twist the note around, trying to figure it out.

"No, it is. I meant about the whole secrecy thing. I don't know if I could lie to it."

"Well... that's really on you. I don't get to make the choice." I say, silencing the room. Fucking dammit... I need to stop depressing her. This was suppose to be a good day. "Sorry..."

"Its alright." She says as she takes a deep breath. "Its the reality of things... and I'm going to have to come to terms with it eventually..."

"I'm not gone yet." I say as I kneel in front of her lift her chin up with a hand. "I'm here now, that's all that matters at the moment. Look, lets forget all that other stuff and head down to Topaz, alright?" She gives me a quick kiss before nodding.

"OK. What else do we need?" That's my girl.

"Lets see...."

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

We finally made it to the bulk head and are waiting for it to open up for us. Ends up that saddle was modified for me to have on my back. So here we are, Topaz Falls. Each of us carrying bags filled with random supplies, armed, and ready for whatever's behind the bulkhead. Though we didn't really need to bring that much, seeing how I was passed out for two days. As soon as there's enough room to pass I run in, rifle raised and looking for....

"Greetings Miles. Infection complete. All repairs complete. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks as he stands alone in the gateway.

"Uh... what?" I lower my rifle as I take a look inside. In the distance I can see several different bots working together to clean up the city. All of the ruble and skeletons in this area have been cleaned up while walls are being patched up.

"Greetings Luna. Infection complete. All repairs complete. May I have your autograph?" Easy asks Luna, getting confused looks from her.

"Um... no."

"Easy, detail completion of directives." I ask as I walk into the city.

"Of course. All active bots have been infected with the Inobaudio virus and have received all necessary repairs. Next set directive is the repair of Topaz Falls. Do you wish to make an alteration?"

"Be sure to take all human bones to the crematory to be taken care of properly, but other then that no."

"May I have your autograph?" I shake my head as I sling my rifle and continue walking into the city, Luna by my side.

Its actually pretty impressive how much of the city they've cleaned up. If I had to guess, I would say that they did anywhere from fifty to ninety percent. Luna convinced me to leave most of the weapons and armor by the bulkhead, seeing how the city should be safe now. I decided to keep my trench knife, just to be safe. I didn't really know where to go or what to do, so I asked Luna. She said she wanted to find a shopping center or social area to get a feel of the city, so I decided to bring her to Twentieth Avenue shopping center. It's just a stretch of shops and restaurants in the west district, should be interesting.

"So this is Twentieth Avenue... quaint."

"Yeah... it looked better back in the day." Though most of the debris has been cleared, many of the buildings are still destroyed. There are are few left standing, so we decide to go check them out. The first one is a restaurant to our right, Cibum.

"Did you ever eat here?" Luna asks as we peer in through the windows. Many of the tables and chairs are still standing, but its hard to tell anything else due to the thick layer of dust on the window.

"Once."

"And?"

"Well... the food was good and all." I say as I walk away from the window.

"OK, what happened here when you ate here?" She asks as she follows after me.

"Well... I'd rather not say."

"Really? We'll see about that." She says as she quickens her pace to the next....

"Oh sweet Barbra..."

"Who?"

"Its still here."

"And what is this building?"

"Eam Voluptatem."

".... her.... pleasure.... is this a..."

"Yes. Its a sex shop." An awkward silence falls between us as we both stare at the building. It would look like any other two story Topaz building, only with black tinted windows.

"Lets check it out!" Luna says as she runs straight to the door, finding it locked. "A little help Miles." I think about it for a second before I walk up to the door and kick it open.

"After you wife." I say, getting a smile from her as she walks in.

The inside is... pretty much what I expected. Four aisles fill the front of the store, each one going up to my chest, and are still filled with various items. The walls as filled with manikins that are each dressed in provocative clothing. The back has the fitting room... or what I assume is the fitting room, and the main stairway to the right. Luna's already going through the first aisle, inspecting every little object she comes by, so I decide to just follow her around.

"Whats this?" She asks as she levitates something up to me, still looking through the shelf.

"That would be a cock ring."

"Whats that for?"

"Well, to my understanding, a guy puts that on and its suppose to make you last longer... I think." She looks up to me with a large smile, so I shake my head. "Sorry, its too small for me." She pouts a bit before she continues down the aisle, tossing the brass ring aside.

"Huh... whats this thing?" She says as she picks up a stick.

"Uh... lets see... its a sounding stick... I have no clue what that is or what it does. But something tells me that you shouldn't touch it." She looks at the stick and drops it as we go around to the WHAT THE FUCK!

THUD

Before I could see anything Luna had levitated me back a bit and is now pinning me to the ground.

"Uhh... Luna. What are you doing?"

"I have an idea but you need to let me tie you down. OK?" She says desperately. All I could do was nod my head as she brings a random chair over and sits me down, facing away from the aisle. I hear her grab a bunch of different things as she runs around the store. I tried to look back, but her magic is held me in place, so I'll just have to blindfold....

"Is the blindfold really necessary?" I ask as I feel her start tying my hands behind the chair. "And is that really..."

"Yes! I... well... I'm going to embarrass the heck out of myself... but... just trust me OK."

"Alright." I hear her walk around the store some more until she finally walks back over to me... and then keeps going. "Where are you..."

"Just one second." She chimes as she walks away.

"OK... I'll be right here." I say as I hear a door shut and something being opened... what is she planning? After a few minutes I start to get bored, just sitting here... alone... tied up... fuck. I perk up a bit as I hear the door open again and her slow hoof steps coming towards me.

"OK... I'm going to remove the blindfold, please don't laugh." I feel the blindfold lift up to reveal...

"OH SWEET BARBRA YOU'RE SEXY." I yell as I gape at her. She's wearing a white nurses outfit with white stockings on all four, the hat, and I can't tell but I think she has a white thong on as well. The dress goes to about her thighs and seems a little awkward for her to be wearing, having to have cut the side to allow her wings through

"So... you like it?" She asks as she shifts her weight from side to side, blushing deeply.

"Iwhidjamuha." Smooth.

"Well... I... uh... Oh right, ahem* lets see what the doctor ordered." She says as seductively as possible as she walks up to me and prances around me.... she is wearing a thong... and it has a red plus over her.... oh sweet Barbra... "Hmm, it seems that you've got a... growing problem." She says as she runs a hoof over my crotch. She leans up to my ear and whispers "I have exactly what the doctor ordered for that."

"I bet you do." I say, getting giggle from her as she starts to undo my pants.

{what was really said}

"Iwedimehunuwa." She pulls down my pants and blows lightly onto my erect member, getting me to twitch from joy.

"You ready?" She asks as she hovers her lips above me, her breath sending chills throughout my body. Not being able to form words, I nod as I anticipate my first blow job. "OK, here we and no." She says as she levitates a coat over and covers herself up.

"What? Wait..."

"We can continue when you tell me what happened at that restaurant. Until then, have fun being blue."

"You can't be serious."

"Try me."

"... that's just evil..."

"Sorry, but I don't like secrets between the two of us. We share everything."

"*sigh* fine. It... well... I kind of had... *mumbles*..."

"What was that?"

"It was where I had my first date kind of not really but everyone else said it was but I didn't even know it was a date until we almost kissed but I seriously didn't know and I made Tenera cry so Fidus kicked my ass and..."

"Wait wait wait wait. You... had a date... with Tenera?"

"Maybe." I say with a smile, getting even, un-amused glares from Luna. "Ok, before you say anything, I didn't know. Everyone said we were meeting up for dinner, but when I got there it was just me and Tenera. She didn't even know... I think. When I walked her home she tried to kiss me but I stopped her. I told her that I didn't feel that way about her and... well she cried... and Fidus and Inficiunt jumped me..."

"*sigh* its alright." Luna says as she tosses the coat aside.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to know what happened. I'm not the jealous type." She says as she starts to give me light hand/hoof job.

"Uh..."

"But I think you deserve a reward for telling me, don't you?" She asks as she blows onto me again.

"Yes please."

{Whats actually said}

"Hamanatanemini."

"*giggle* OK then." She says as she kisses the tip, making me sigh deeply from her soft lips being pressed against me. She gives a few kisses and licks along the shaft before she comes to the end and begins to slide it inside her mouth, having me push my way through her lips. Its taking every fiber of my being to not thrust into her right now this feels SO GOOD! She takes the WHOLE thing into her mouth, having her chin rest against my balls as she holds it there. I can feel her tongue tentatively press against me, slowly making its way all around me as she begins to pull back. I close my eyes for a second as she pulls me out of her, missing the warmth of her mouth.

"What the?" I ask aloud as I feel the blindfold go back on. "Aw... I don't get to watch."

"Oh, don't worry. You'll get to watch. Its just time for a costume change." She says as she gives me a kiss on the cheek. She walks away and shuts the door again, leaving me naked and tied up. FUCK. With nothing better to do I kick my pants off and wait for her to return.

"Alright. I'm back... and it seems that you've been a bad boy."

"Uh... blindfold."

"Oh, right *giggle*." When I can see again my jaw drops... again. She has a police woman's uniform on. Black stockings, black mini skirt, the blue shirt that's tied up in the front, shades, and the policemen's hat. She walks over to me, levitating some handcuffs, and sits in my lap face forward. She grinds into me a couple of times before she starts taking off my shirt.

"Oh sweet Barbra..."

"Hm, now.. are you going to be a good boy and cooperate... or a bad boy?" ..... FUCK I WANT BOTH! Hmm...

"That depends, what's my crime?" I ask as I start undoing my straps, sorry Luna. I'll have to teach you some better knots later.

"Well, public indecency is at the top of my list." She says before she gives me a forceful kiss. "But I think you can make up for that one." OK, free now.

"You forgot the assault on an officer." She tilts her head in confusion, so I throw my arms around her and twist off the chair. We land with me on top. She was about to protest but I silenced her with a forceful kiss. I start lowering my kisses. Chest, lower ribs, belly, breast, oh sweet Barbra, light blue thong with a policemen's badge in the center.

She lets out a soft sigh as I kiss the badge. I start moving all of my kissed around the badge, getting the best sounds from the top. I run a tongue under the cloth and bite onto it, pulling it back to reveal the prize underneath. I toss the thong at Luna's dumbstruck face before getting back to work, planting kisses on her thighs and blowing softly onto her. She starts to twist from all of the teasing, so I hold onto her thighs and hold her hip in place as I continue to tease her.

"Miles..." Luna says in a mixture of pleading and moaning. Starting from the bottom, I do a forceful, long lick, going all along her until I come to the top. She thrusts her hip a bit, but I held her in place fairly well. At the top I find the secret button Gladous had told me so much about. Following her advice, I begin to suck and nip on it, getting soft moans from Luna. As I continue working her she begins to try to shut her legs, so I pull them apart and hold them open as I move lower. I get to her entrance and start prodding it with my tongue, getting a gasp from her as I run my tongue in and out as deeply as I can go.

"Don't stop." Luna begs as I pull back to catch my breath.

"Need... air... first." I pant as I begin rubbing her with a hand, getting her to close her eyes from the touch. Fuck it. I scoot forward and push myself inside, getting a loud gasp from her as I begin to pull back out. I can fell my heart race as I lean forward, planting my hands on both sides of her face. She takes a hold onto my left arm, making my heart flutter for a second as I pick up the pace. I take my right hand and begin to rub her side as I continue, loving the feeling of her soft body underneath my fingers.

"Miles...I... I want top.... please... let me..." Luna mutters between quick breaths. I stop thrusting and lay on top of her, giving her a passionate kiss as we roll over. She immediately sits up and begins bouncing up and down, grinding her hips in motion. I run my hands under her skirt and grab her flank, squeezing her mark as I feel the pressure begin to build.

"Luna.... I'm getting close..."

"Me to..." She says as she runs her hooves down my chest, quickening her pace. When the pressure built too high I grabbed onto her and began pumping as hard as I could, hitting the highest climax I've ever had in my life. Simultaneously, Luna had let out a loud yells as she hit hers, wetting me as she arched back. When she finishes her orgasm she collapses on top of me, both of us panting from our bliss...

... so tired... sleep now...

I guess we had both fallen asleep from that cause I woke up wrapped up in his arms, my favorite way of waking up. That... was... AMAZING. I had been watching him sleep for awhile, but curiosity got the better of me, so I decided to keep looking around the store. I untangle myself from him and get up, amazingly I didn't wake him.... though he tends to be a heavy sleeper. When I stand something gets in my face. I levitate it off to find that it was the thong I was wearing. I don't know why, but I liked wearing these. Maybe becuase of how little it actually covers or... I don't know. I was about to set it aside when an idea hit me. I go back to Miles and put them on his head. He mumbles something but stays asleep. With a giggle I go back to checking out the store.

Most of the items in here seem fairly straight forward. Things that I'd either place in me or wear. I come to a stop at the last aisle and stare at something that... doesn't seem right. It's a grey metal bar with two black parts. In each of the black parts are etchings that I can't read. I levitate it up and...

IT'S NOT YET YOUR TIME

I drop the bar and look around. It spoke to me! Not yet?! What do you mean?

...

When will I know the proper time?

...

What does this do?

...

Are you ever going to talk to me?

When the time is right

.... not cool. I levitate it back up and bring it over to Miles. I remove the costume and lay back beside him, looking over the bar intensely. This is important... but why?

Aw... what.... what is that smell... it smells... good. I open my eyes and grab what ever is on my face... when did Luna's thong get on my face?

"Miles?" Luna says as she nuzzles me a bit.

"Hey Lulu... you do this?" I ask as I flick it at her.

"Lulu?"

"What? No pet names, Lulu." I say as I wrap my arms around her and hold her close.

"Miles... my Soul Fire spoke to me." She says as she gets eye level with me.

"It did... what did it say." I ask as I begin to brush her mane.

"Well... I was looking around the store, and I found this and..."

"Whoa... where did you get a Virgum de Marcas?" I ask as I take the bar in my hands and look it over.

"What does it do?"

"You grab onto the parts with the etchings and it marks you. The marks made this way become the portals to your soul. This is how humans use magic." She takes another look at the bar, looking it over with a new perspective.

"This is how you learned to use magic?"

"No... kind of." I flare my hand and show her the archaic circles in my palm. "See those? Those were put there when I used one of these. It gives me a link to my soul. From there I can use my soul to perform magic."

"Did... did it hurt?"

"For most people no. It was as simple as getting a shot. For me... the pain was excruciating. I was eight, and well... I maxed out. Sussarands had to leave the room, he couldn't watch. Altum watched the entire thing like the sadistic bastard he was. I somehow drained all of the energy for ten floors."

"Miles... lets eat." She says as she gets up. I was about to argue but my stomach yelled at me before I could say anything. Luna sat in my lap as we pull out some apples and carrots and ate in silence. I can tell she's thinking deeply about something, but I let it go for now to finish eating.

"Whats on your mind?" I ask as I bury my face in her mane and wrap my arms around her.

"Its... just... *sigh* I don't know. When I had picked up the Virgum de Marcas, my Soul Fire had told me that it was not yet my time. What does that mean?"

"Well... if I had to guess, I would say that it meant that it wasn't your time to meet your Soul Fire. The Staff of the Marks is somehing we use to connect with our souls, and maybe your soul feels that you aren't ready for something like that yet."

"Then... how will I know when it's my time? Can you talk to yours?"

"I don't know when it will be your time. And... kind of. I remember when Starry Notes was injured I was trying to heal her and my Soul Fire was questioning it. I think they only speak to us during moments of extreme danger or emotion. Times when we're really intune with our souls."

"Can... can I talk to yours?" She asks as she turns around and looks me in the eyes.

"How would you do that?"

"Well.. whenever I go into you subconscious, I find him there."

"How would you get there?"

"Well... if you flare your hand... and grab my horn..."

"Luna, that sounds extremely dangerous. I could really hurt you if it doesn't work..."

"I know, but I think its worth the risk. Please Miles. I need to get this figured out." I think about it for a bit before I answer. If this goes wrong, I could burn her horn off.... or worse. I flare my hand and look at her. She looks between me and my hand and slowly nods, closing her eyes and waiting for me to do it. Well... here goes everything. I grab onto her horn and wait for what evers going to happen.

"Well... at least I didn't burn your horn off." I say as I hold onto her, getting confused looks from her.

"Every other time you did this it worked. I wonder what happened differently..."

"Welll, every other time I was unconscience, so there's that." I say as she looks at me with a sparkle in her eye. "Luna don't..."

THWACK

THUD

YES! IT WORKED! I'm back in the hall of memories with an angry Miles standing right next to me. Shoot! No Soul Fire. I offer my best smile to him as he shakes his head at me.

"So... Miley wiley..."

"First off, ow. Next, no. Miley sounds like a girls name. And lastly, don't do that again. Seriously. I'm going to have brain damage eventually."

"Sorry babe." I say as I look around. "So... is there a way we can get Soul Fire out or..."

"I don't know.... don't hit me."

"I wasn't going to." I say as I set my hoof back down. "Well... we're here anyway, lets go check a memory or two."

"I don't know Luna, some of my memories seem to be fucked up."

"Why is this one all black?" I ask as I look at the panel before me that's all black.

"Well... if these are all my memories, and we can't see this one, it must be something I forgot..."

"Or something repressed." I say as I eye it some more. "Lets check it out." I say as I start to walk towards it, only to stop when Miles grabs my shoulder. He looks a little troubled as he stares at the panel.

"Luna... this may be something that I want to forget..."

"But... what could there be that you would want to forget?" He doesn't answer. Instead he backs up a bit, never looking away from the black panel.

"I'll leave it up to you. If you want to see it, then I'll let you." I look back to the panel and try to think logically about this...but curiosity got the better of me. With a heavy heart I stepped into the panel. The world turned dark and stayed that way for awhile.

"I think I broke it."

"You broke my mind?"

"Well... maybe. Every other memory popped up quicker then this."

"Yeah, but this was a blackened memory."

"True.... well.... shoot."

"Do you ever cuss?"

Before I could answer a bright light blinded me. When I was able to see again I find myself in some alley in Topaz Falls. Miles is directly next to me while a ragged, dirty, matted child version of Miles stood in front of us. He... it... it's the kid from the picture! I knew it was Miles! He looks back to us and I immediately notice how his eyes shine through the dirt and grime plastered on his face. He sneaks to the end of the alley and looks out. Wow... I've never thought I'd see so many humans milling about. They all seem... peaceful. Unaware of what's eventually going to happen. The child Miles reaches forward to grab some green flakes from a stand when a large woman grabs his hand.

"NO!" She yells as she pulls him forward and begins to try to slap his bottom. "No more! You and your little friends have stolen from me for the last..."

"FUCK YOU!" Child Miles yells as he kick her in the shin, getting her to let go and hop on one leg. Before she could do anything Miles had ran down the alley, meeting up with a group of kids before they all run through the alley together. Miles and I run together as we keep up with the group of hollering children.

"Where are we going!?" I yell as we run dodge the metal carriages and enter the yard before the orphanage. "Nevermind."

"Way to go fuck up!" One of the children yell as they push Miles down.

"HEY! STAY AWAY FROM HIM!" I yell as I try to keep the child away from Miles, but only faze through him.

"Memory. This already happened." Miles says as the clearly older child begins to beat up Miles, punching him in the face as he sits on his chest. Seeing him get hurt like this is making me feel uneasy. I want to help. I want to hold the child Miles and tell him everything will be OK... but I can't.

"MILES EREMITA!" Yells somepony from the side. I look over and sigh in relief as an adult walks up to the fighting kids. He seems to be older, clearly older then Miles, with a shaved head and a long black robe. "My office. NOW." The other kids giggle as Miles gets up and wipes his bloody lip. With a sniffle, he walks towards the dean.

"Wh-what did I do?" He asks weakly. I WANT TO HUG YOU YOU'RE TOO CUTE.

"Go to my office and I'll let you know. I'll be there in a minute, I have to deal with these delinquents first." Miles nods and walks towards the building, crying to himself as he goes. Watching him walk away was too much for me, I need to hug something. Without saying a word I grab onto Miles and hold him tightly.

"Luna... why are you hugging me?" Miles asks as the memory drags us along with Miles... child Miles.

"Becuase you adorable and they beat you up and you're crying and I WANT TO HUG SOMETHING!" I say as we enter the deans office. The office is... fairly close to what I remember. It's cleaner, needless to say. Everything looks new....

"Hello Miles." I look to the desk to see somepony sitting in the seat. It's wearing a black robe with the hood up, obscuring her face.

"*sniff* h-hi." Miles says as he continues to wipe the blood from his face. The woman gets up and walks over to Miles, flaring her hands on the way.

"Here, let me take care of that." She says as she slides her hands under his shirt and heals his wounds. When she finishes she brings her hands back and just stares at him.

"Um... thank you. W-who are you?" Miles asks as he tries to see her face. I try to look as well, but there's nothing but darkness.

"Well... Miles, that's not important right now. I'm just here to tell you something very important."

"Whats that?"

"I love you." The child Miles takes a step back, blushing deeply. D'aw.... HEY!

"Um... I don't think I like girls... but thank you? Why can't I see your face?"

"Becuase I'm trying to hide it from everypony else." She says as she pulls him in for a hug. "The dean is coming... I have to go.."

"But... who are you? Can I come with you?"

"I'm so sorry. I love you Miles. Just... get away as fast as possible and hide. OK?"

"Can I at least see your face?" He asks as the woman lets go of him and steps back. She places her hands on the floor and makes a Mico platform in the center of the room. She looks to Miles for a second before she pushes him into the corner and pulls back the hood a bit. I tried to take a look, but she quickly put it back on. "Wow... you're pretty."

"Thank you, handsome." She says before she goes to the platform and flashes away. Miles tried to take the platform as well, but in a bright flash it disappeared from the room.

"Miles?" The dean says as he steps into the room. "Ah, right where I wanted you." He says as he shuts the door and locks it.

"Why am I here?" Miles asks as he steps away from the dean.

"Didn't I tell you? We're going to have a... private party." He says as he walks over to his desk and pulls out a bottle.

"I don't know if I like parties... whats that?" Miles asks as he steps closer to the dean. I don't like where this is heading.

"Its super fun juice. Do you like to have fun?" He asks as he pours two glasses. Don't drink it Miles...

"I guess... why am I here alone then?"

"Well you only turn eight once." The dean says as he walks over to him and kneels before him, offering the glass. "It's our private happy birthday Miles, lets have a party." Miles eyes him a bit as he takes the glass.

"Why didn't we do this before? Plus my birthday isn't for another week." He asks as he sniffs the glass, making an adorable sour face.

"Well... lets just say its something special I do for the kids only when they turn eight." He says before he downs the drink. After setting the glass down he walks over to Miles and takes his drink, setting it on the ground. He looks to Miles with a smile and just stares at him for a second, holding his hands in front of himself.

"What are you doing!" Miles yells as the dean reaches forward and rubs his...

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" I yell as I try to buck this creep to oblivion.

"Come on Miles, its just a party." He says as he yanks his shirt and pulls him in close. Miles start to fight to get away, but the dean just wraps an arm around him as he continues to fondle him.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I ask Miles, who's just standing in the corner of the room, dumbstruck.

"STOP IT! NO! I DON'T WANT THIS! I SAID NO!" The child Miles yells as he continues to try to get away. At this point the dean had pined Miles on his stomach and was working opening his pants.

"I THOUGHT YOU LIKED PARTIES!" The dean yells as he finally gets his thing out. He lifted his hand to try to take Miles shorts off, but instead he rolled over and kicked the dean in the nuts, dropping him to the ground. With him currently incapacitated, Miles tries the door, but he can't seem to unlock it. He runs over to the window and slides to open. As he climbs onto the ledge the dean starts to slowly get up and stumble after him.

"Come on, just a little more!" I cheer as he slowly steps away. The dean lunges out at him and grabs the sleeve of his shirt, getting Miles to try to yank free.

"LET GO OF ME! LET GO!" He yells as he tries to get free.

"Stop! You'll fall you idiot!" He yells as he tries to pull him in.

RRIIIIIIIIIIIPPPPE

The shirt had torn in half as Miles gave one hard yank, but lost his balance and fell off the ledge. The dean held on tightly as he tried to pull him up, but the shirt had completely torn off... and he fell.

THUD

He fell two stories until he hit a large green carriage. He just laid there, eyes wide open as it rolled away, dragging us along as it went away. I looked over to Miles and hugged him lightly.

"I'm sorry..."

"I... was..."

"I know... I'm sorry. We shouldn't have come into this memory. You were right."

"I... who was that lady? Why is the memory still going? I am fucking lucky that garbage truck was there." I look back to the garbage truck and see Miles starting to get up. He looks around a bit before something makes the truck bounce, making him fall off. He hits the ground, hard, and rolls a bit before he comes to a stop. He's crying. He's shaking, bleeding, crying and I can't do a single thing to comfort him. I start to tear up as he tries to get up, but falls back down and grabs his leg. It must be broken.

"MILES? MILES WHERE ARE YOU?" The dean calls out from down the alley. Miles's eyes shrink as he crawls to a pile of black bags and tries to hide underneath them. The dean comes running by, silencing Miles as he shakes in fear. He looks around a bit before walking back down the alley, cursing his luck. With the dean gone, Miles begins to sob as he holds onto the bags, breaking my heart.

"I'm so sorry Miles." I say as I bury my face in his chest. "I didn't know that it was this bad...I... I'm sorry."

"I...its... its alright." He says as he just sits there, dumbstruck.

"Watch where you're going!" Yells sompepony down the alley. I look down to see somepony and the hooded woman from before backing away from each other. The guy has a dark tan jacket on with some black pants. He has all black hair, with spots of grey, and seems fairly young, a little older then current Miles, maybe. He's pale white and is well toned, about the same build as Miles actually. The hooded woman leans over and glances at Miles before backing away. This makes the other pony turn around and.....

"Oh my god, Miles... he looks just like you." Looking between the two its... they... I...

"Hey... kid. You alright?" He asks as he approaches Miles, who cowers behind the bags.

"*sniff* leave me alone." He whimpers.

"Come on kid, look I'm a Spartan. I can help." He says as he squats near him.

"I... I don't want your help." He says as he grabs the bag a little tighter.

"Really? What a trooper then. Broken leg, bleeding, and wants to go it alone. Impressive. How about this then, I heal your wounds, then leave. No funny business, just a quick heal and then I'm gone. Unless you think you can hobble all the way to the hospital." Miles stays quiet for a bit before he shifts a bit under the bag.

"You promise?"

"I promise. Now lets get you out from under these bags." He says as he scoots a little closer.

"O-OK." He says as he moves the bag out of the way, making the other man fall on his back side as he tries to back away from Miles.

"No..... nonononono this can't be... you.... she.... you look so much like her..." He says as he stares at Miles.

"I-I think it's more then my leg." He says as he tries to rub his back, wincing from trying to reach back there. "A-are you going t-to help?" He doesn't say anything. He just continues to stare at him as tears start to fall from his eyes. "Please... it hurts..."

"Right. Right right right. Uh... just come over here and try to keep still." He says as he gets back up and helps Miles out from the garbage. I can't think of anything to say. He looks just like him... and the way he looks at him.... I have to see how this plays out. He goes to place his hands on his chest, but Miles pushes him away and tries to back away.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He yells, getting the other guy to back off.

"But I need to heal you..."

"I don't care! Don't touch me!" Miles yells as he takes deep breathes.

"Miles... what happened to you?"

"Miles! There you are!" The dean yells as he runs down to him, only to stop when he see's the other guy. "Thank you so much for finding him... uh..."

"Susurrans Bellum." He says flatly as he gets between the two of them. "Captain of the Spartan regiment. Care to explain what happened to my...my...to this child?"

"He fell out of a window and landed on the garbage truck, right Miles?" He asks, getting Miles to look away. Susurrans looks to Miles before he swings his fist, punching the dean across the face and making him flat on his back. Thank you.

"If I ever hear anything about you and Miles, I will hunt you down and turn you to ash. Understand me?" The dean nods and quickly runs back down the alley, holding his jaw as he goes. Susurrans turns back to Miles and kneels beside him. "Miles... I need to heal you. But that's going to require that I put my hands on your chest. May I?"

"No.... maybe... just make the pain go away." He says as he tears up some more. He leans over and places his hands on his chest, being as careful as possible. After what feels like an eternity he finally finishes up healing him and quickly pulls his hands back. Miles takes a few deep breaths before he sits up and looks himself over.

"Miles... do you know who I am?" He asks as he holds onto his legs tightly.

"No." Miles says as he looks him over. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"What about your mother.... where is she?"

"I'm told she died during the exodus of Diamond Halls... giving birth to me... why are you asking me these things?"

"Becuase I'm... becuase you're.... we're..." He tries to force the words out of his mouth... but he can't. "Whats your full name." He asks as he looks down.

"I'm Miles Eremita...."

"Eremita." He repeats as he begins to break down a bit, tears flowing down his face as he shakes his head. "They gave you her maiden name...."

"Why are you crying? Did I do something wrong?"

"No... I... I...."

GGUURRGGLLEE

Everypony looks to child Miles as he blushes a bit.

"Hehe, hungry?" He asks as he wipes his tears away.

"Y--yeah. Sorry..."

"Don't be. I know a place that make really good disks, want to come with me?" He asks as he stands up.

"Ar-are you sure? Most places don't let kids like me in..."

"Don't worry about that. I'll make sure they let you in. What do you say?" Child Miles stands up and looks around before nodding. "Alright... so... hold my hand or..."

"Why would I hold your hand?"

"No reason. Your, what, eight. I just thought..."

"I can take care of myself!" Miles defends as he starts to walk off. Susurrans looks a bit taken back but walks off anyway. We walk along with them for awhile, the entire time current Miles just looks lost in thought. We finally come to our destination, a long building filled with a singe row of red benches and people eating. Behind the row of benches is a long counter with bar stools placed periodically. Miles was a little hesitant to enter, but Susurrans just held the door open for him and waited. He ushers him to a booth and take the seat across from him as he takes his jacket off. On the sleeve of his tight black shirt is the Spartan logo. I can see the bottom of a Spartan logo tattooed just under his short sleeve... with Eremita written under it. I imagine it has a woman's name on the top. Everypony in the room is staring at Miles, making him shy away from the unwanted attention.

"Uh... hun I'm going to have to ask you.." Starts a lady in a red and white striped dress, but stops when Susurrans starts talking.

"I'll take the Calvatia with an immunity boost and... water. What about you Miles?"

"Uh..."

"He'll have the same." Susurrans says to the lady.

"Sir, this is a restaurant. Not a charity house."

"Then do your minimum wage job and get our food." He snaps back, getting her to walk off. He looks back to Miles and winks to him, getting a weak smile in response. "So... Miles. Uh... in case you didn't hear me before, I'm Susurrans Bellum."

"You're with the military, right?" Before he could answer a ringing goes off. Susurrans pulls out his phone and looks at it, before he looks back to Miles.

"I'm sorry, I have to take this. I'll be back... I... sorry.... Apricis now isn't a good time." He says into the phone as he walks out of the building. Miles just sits there, trying to avoid everypony's stares. The lady returns with two glasses of water and look around.

"Hey, where did the jerk go?"

"He went outside to talk on the phone.... c-can I still have the water?" He asks as he licks his lips. She looks at him for a bit before she sighs and sets the glasses down. Miles smiles as he goes to take a drink, but the lady quickly switches the glasses around.

"Sorry, you don't want to drink from that one." She says before she walks back to the kitchen.Miles take the water and starts to down it quickly... he must of been really thirsty.

"OK I'm back." Susurrans says as he takes a seat. He looks to Miles as he downs the water before he goes to take a drink...

"Your with the Military?" Miles asks, stopping Susurrans from taking a drink.

"Yes. Uh... I'm the Captain of the Spartan regiment..."

"Who are they?"

"We're... well, I'm sure you'll find out soon enough. But enough about me. I want to know more about you."

"Really? Why?"

"Well... I'm... uh.. I'm genuinely interested. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why is your hair so matted?" Before Miles could say anything the waitress came back with what looked like two green pancakes. She mumbles something before she walks away. "Well... I'm sure we can talk later. Lets eat." He says as he takes a fork and cuts a chunk for himself to eat. Miles tried to use the fork, only to adorably fail at it. He couldn't seem to grab it correctly. "Here, let me show you how to.."

"I've got it." He says as he tries to cut a chunk, but can't seem to get it right. Giving up, he drops the fork and just picks it up with his hand to eat it. As he does, one of the elders at the counter coughs, getting Miles to look over to see them all glaring at him. As he cowers away from them Susurrans looks between them before he drops his fork and picks up the pancake and eats it with his hands.

"What?" He asks with a mouthful. "Never see someone use their hands before?" They all shake their heads as they turns around, keeping quiet. Susurrans turns back to Miles to find him hanging his head as he tries to avoid everypony's gaze. "Hey, you alright?"

"NO!" Miles yells. "Why did you bring me here!? I don't belong here! I'm an orphan scum, not some... I don't belong here."

"I just.. I... I wanted to get some food in you..." Susurrans says as he sets down the food. "Look... this Is really confusing... but.. I... I just want to do right by you." He says as he sets his elbows on the table and holds his chin up, looking away. "*sigh* I guess this isn't the proper time then. Look, finish up and I'll take you back." Miles was about to take another bite... but he kept looking back to Susurrans. Just as he was about to take a drink he spoke up.

"My hair is matted becuase the orphanage won't cut it."

"Huh?"

"The dean says that there isn't enough money in the program to cut it. I like the red pellets from that one store down the street. I don't like the night light they have in the boys room, its too bright, and um... I... uh... I once saw this guy doing art on the corner and he showed me some stuff, but then he got arrested." Susurrans stares at him for a second before he starts to laugh a bit. "Hey, it's not funny!"

"No, absolutely not. *giggles* not funny at all." He says as he tries to hide his giggles, getting Miles to giggle as well.

"Ok, maybe its a bit funny." He admits before they both start laughing. They spend the next hour just talking, laughing, eating, teaching Miles to use a fork. Amazingly, Susurrans hasn't touched the glass of water. Once the food was gone and the laughing stopped, or at least was stifled enough, it became quiet again.

"Miles... I think its time I took you back."

"I don't want to go back. I hate it back there." Miles says as he toys with his fork.

"Don't worry. I won't let you stay there for long. But I have to take care of a few things first. Trust me, I'll be back to get you." Miles looks up at him and smiles at him. "Come on, lets go." He says as he picks up the bill THEY CHARGED TEN BITS FOR WATER!

"What! How could they charge ten bits for water!" I yell as Susurrans pays.

"Ten bits? That's pretty cheap." Miles says from behind. I gawk between the two as they leave the restaurant. Ten bits. Ten bits is cheap. That doesn't make any sense. I shake my head and walk after the two of them, dismissing it as a human thing.

"When do you make the choice." Susurrans asks Miles as they walk back to the orphanage.

"I dunno, I turn eight on the twenty ninth. But they usually take the kids away at the end of the next month."

"Twenty ninth, you're a leap year baby... I don't believe it. Well... I'll see what I can do to get you out as soon as possible..."

"Does... this mean you want to be my dad?" Susurrans stops in his tracks and looks over to Miles. He walks up to him and takes a knee as he puts his hands on his shoulders.

"I.... it means that I already lost you once. And I'm not going to lose you again. Miles.... I'm so sorry... I should of been there for you.... I will do better. I promise. I won't allow anything to harm you again."

"Why are you sorry I got beat up? It's not like you told him to do it?" Miles says innocently as Susurrans tries to hold back his tears.

"No... I... I'm... I have to get going. I'll be back though. I promise. I... I have to get going." He says as he stands up and walks away. Miles watches him go for a bit before he sighs and enters the yard for the orphanage.

"HEADS UP!" Some kid yells as a rock flies towards Miles.

THWACK

CRASH

The moment the rock hit his head we were thrown out of the memory and out of his subconscious. I woke with him laying over me, and Easy standing over me.

"GAH!" I yell as I jump back, making Miles fall over. "Don't scare me like that!"

"Easy, what are you doing in here?" Miles asks as he gets up and starts to gather his clothes.

"May I have your autograph?" He asks, making Miles sigh as he starts to get dressed.

"Miles, are you going to be OK."

"..."

"Did he ever tell you?"

"No. The sixteen years I knew him he never said a word about the first time we met..."

"Or about being your father?"

"... I don't believe that."

"Miles, you're the spitting image of Susurrans. I can't believe I didn't see it before, though he was wearing a helmet in your picture..."

"Luna... I, just don't..."

"I mean, you have his eyes, body build...."

"JUST STOP!" He yells, making me step back. He rubs his face a bit as he squats down. I walk up to him and nuzzle his hand a bit, getting him to look me in the eyes. I can see the hurt written on his face. I pull him in for a hug, getting him to hug me back. "Sorry, its just that... if I were to say he was my father, then I'd have to except that he just didn't want me as a son..."

"No Miles, he loved you, so much. He put your life over my parents lives. He was always there to get you out of trouble. It must of been the most painful thing in his life to have seen you hurt in that alley. To know that you had lived and that he missed out on raising you. He wanted to say it... but he was to scared to." Miles holds me a bit tighter as tears fall onto my back. I just rub his back as hold him, its all I really can do right now... but it's just what he needs.

After I had cried all of my tears out I just held onto Luna for a bit longer. Susurrans was my father. I still find it hard to grasp. I wish I could go back and just talk to him. Even for a minute. But... that's just not possible.

"Miles... we need to get back to Ponyville..."

"I know." I say as I continue to hold her.

"Can you at least loosen up, its starting to..."

"Sorry." I say as I let go of her. She just smiles and gives me a kiss on the lips.

"I'm going to get our stuff together, why don't you just get some fresh air." I nod to her and walk out of the store.

This is too much. Susurrans being my father. Some mysterious woman talking to me and leading Susurrans to me. Being molested.... *shivers*. I want answers... but my answers died three thousand years ago. The message! Auxy left me a message, who's to say the others didn't? I need to get to Quartz Crest, I need to see if they left a message explaining this. Did they even know? There's only one way to find out, and I am going to find out.

"Whoa, did you just have an epiphany or something?" Luna asks as she walks out, carrying both of our bags.

"Kind of. I determined that my friends might have left more answers in messages from the past. Which means that I need to get to Quartz Crest as soon as possible." I say with renewed vigor. I take my bag from Luna and strap it to my back. She smiles and teleports us to our other equipment.

"Then lets get back to Ponyville already." I smile to her as I grab all of my stuff and make my way to the bulkhead... which never shut. Once out we take the platform back to the entrance of the cave and teleport back to my house. I walk in and drop all of my stuff on the dinning room table, getting the attention of Lupus and Hati, who both make a be line for Luna and start loving on her. She pets them a bit but then pushes them aside to walk up to me. "Miles, I have to get back to Canterlot..." Before she could finish I ran up to her and wrapped her in a tight hug, kissing her as passionately as possible. She just melts in my arms as I hold her there, kissing her.

"I love you." I say as I end our kiss. I put my hand in its spot and begin to rub her cheek as I stare into her eyes.

"Ego amare magis." She says as she nuzzles the end of her nose against mine.

"I love you most." I say as I kiss her again, this time more lightly. I break the kiss and begin to lead her upstairs. Nothing was said. Nothing was needed. I go to my bedroom door and open it...

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!" Storm yells as he slams into a screaming Twilight and then passes out, collapsing on top of her.

...

...

...

...

"Really? Did... did you just... in my bed?"

"Miles.... I... it was Storms's idea." Twilight pants as she rolls over.

"I think I'll just head home now... love you Miles." Luna says as she walk to my closet and heads inside.

"Storm... STORM!" I yell, but he stays asleep.

"He... will be out for... awhile." Twilight says as she starts to fall asleep. I just shut the door and go back down stairs. Fucking cock blocking asshole... weren't they suppose to be in Las Pegasis? Whatever. I'm getting some pancakes.

Next Chapter: Chapter 104 Las Pegasis Estimated time remaining: 62 Hours, 43 Minutes