I wake up with a gasp. Looking around I find myself in a new area. It looks like a medical wing, made of light green walls and rows of beds. I try to get up, but feel a tug on my arms. I look over to see that I've been attached to some kind of machine. It has several arms that end with scissors, needles and little blow torches.

"How do you feel?"

"GAH!" I yell as I try to jump, but stop from the snag in my arm.

"Do you feel any persisting pain?" Asks some light blue bot from my right. He has a white strip going down the right of his chest that ends with a syringe with wings. His left arm looks to be similar to one of the arms beside my bed.

"Uh... who are you?" I ask as I sit up.

"My name is D11K5389. Are you experiencing any further pain or discomfort?"

"No. I actually feel pretty good... uh..."

"D11K5389."

"That's too hard to say. I'm going to just call you Doc." I say as I pull the needles out from my arm and get out of bed. "Do you know where my friends are?"

"I do not. You were brought here by a bot under the designation of Easy..."

"EASY! Where did he go?"

"I do not know." Damn it! This guy is about as useful as a sober bear. "Hey, can you take me to Easy?"

"I can. Do you feel able to move?" I give my legs and wings a couple of test bends before nodding to Doc. "Very well, follow me then." He says as he walks off. I quickly grab all of my gear and start putting it on as I follow after him. After I get all of my armor on I look through all of my stuff and realize something horrible.

"Hey Doc, where's my bonnie?"

"I'm sorry, I do not know what that is. Would you please explain?"

"My hat! The hat my mother made for me, that hat. Where is it?" I ask as I run up beside him and glare.

"My apologies. When you were brought here you didn't have a hat. It must have burned off in the fire."

"But... my mom made that for me." I say as I start to tear up.

"I'm sure she would be more than willing to make you another one."

"Yeah... but... yeah." I say as I follow him to a metal platform. I watch him step onto it and flash away. That was pretty cool. I step onto the platform and wait for a second before I flash into the main hall of the P.C.H. This doesn't look good. The once pristine marble floors are now scorched. The walls have been burnt and are covered in different holes and dents. "What happened here?"

"When Easy and all of the other infected bots brought your body here they were promptly attacked." Doc says as he walks through the door. I take one last look before following him out.

"Whoa..." I mutter as I stare out at the city. Much of it has been destroyed. Entire blocks of buildings have been reduced to rubble as several fires roar throughout the city. In the distance I can hear gunfire and explosions, they must be on the other side of the city...

"Um..." I look over to see Theirmara hiding behind the entrance to the building.

"Theimara! You're alive!" I yell as I run over to her. "And you changed forms... you kind of look like Miles." I say as she steps out and looks me over. She no longer looks like a skeletal bear, but rather a skeletal human. Well, at least I think that's a human skeleton... The head looks right for it.

"What are you?" She asks as she leans over and looks me over more closely.

"What are you talking about? Are you feeling okay Theimara? Maybe that explosion shook something loose."

"Wait. You said I look like Miles. You wouldn’t happen to mean Miles Eremita, would you?" She asks as she stands up and holds onto herself.

"Uh... yeah. Hey Doc, look Theimara over real quick. I think she ma-"

"AAAAAAAAAHH" Theimara shrieks like a little school filly. I cover my ears and wait for her to finish.

"What was..."

"I don't believe it! He finally made it back! Oh I can't wait to meet him, I hope he's as dreamy as they said he was. WAIT! No, I can't go anywhere near him like this! He'd think I'm some kind of freak! Ooooh…”

"Why do you care? He's already seen..."

CRASH

KRA-BOOM

We all look up to see something crash through the P.C.H. and explode on its way back out, sending debris out the side.

THUD

"MILES!" I yell as he stands straight up and looks back.

"HIDE ME!" Theimara yells as she tries to hide behind Doc.

"Dust Devil, Theimara, you guys need..." He starts but stops as he pulls out his trench knife and a pistol.

"FEED US!" Yells a blue person as it attempts to crash into Miles. He just ducks down and punches the person with his trench knife, sending a massive, blue explosion into the air. I look away until the light fades away...

BANG

KRA-BOOM

I look back to see Miles put his weapons away as another fiery explosion erupts behind him in the air.

"Whoa... that was cool." I mutter before shaking my head and approaching Miles. "Where is everypony? Are we..."

"All that I know is that we've broken into three groups, with only one of those groups being stationary. We're down to five, no wait... three people left..."

"What's going on? Why are they doing this? How did this even happen? How long have I been out?"

"You have been unconscious for nearly twenty hours." Doc informs me.

"WHAT!?"

"Uh... what's going on?"

"Theimara, unless you want me to kick your ass, change back to your original..."

"Why does everyone keep calling me Theimara? My name is Private First Class Semper Benevolens of the Terradisian armed forces. Now will someone tell me what's going on?! "

"Say what?" Miles asks as he takes a step towards her. "This better not be a fucking joke."

"It's not! I was.... I.... I AM EARTH! She yells before she falls to the ground and begins to twist and shake.

"Well... that can't be good." I say as she starts to become a skeletal bear again.

"Yeah, no shit."

I check to make sure the coast is clear before stepping out to the roof. We've been held up here for nearly a day now, and we're running low on supplies. We were able to get a bit more off of Hamm Strung, but that wasn't easy to do.

"Fluttershy? How are you holding up?" I ask as I approach her from behind. Shes been up here almost all day, keeping watch over us as we rest up.

"I saw another plume of fire a few minutes ago. Big Mac is still alive." She says as she stares out to the west. I walk over to her and take a seat beside her, looking out along with her.

"Here, eat something. I'm sure Big Mac would be worried sick if he heard you weren't eating." I say as I drop a bag of apples in front of her.

"Okay." She says as she opens the bag and pulls out an apple. "How's your leg?" She asks before taking a bite.

"Much better now that Miles has fixed it. We should be able to move once you get some rest."

"Oh... right... I, uh... well..." She mumbles before taking another bite.

"Don't tell me you want to stay put..."

"Oh, if you don't want to then we can go. I was just thinking that... well..."

"No, go ahead. Say what’s on your mind." I say as I give her an encouraging nudge.

"Its just that, well, Miles knows where we are. He’s probably seen the others as well. I've been following Big Mac’s plumes of fire and I can tell he's getting closer to us. If we move now, we may end up missing them. Not to mention Miles would have to find us in addition to finding everypony else. But, that's just what I think. If you want to move, that's fine I guess." I stare at her for a few seconds before picking up my jaw and looking back out to the city.

"Well, I guess we don't have a choice then. We have to stay put. Why don't you go down stairs and get some rest? You’ve earned it." I say as I pull up my Medi-gun.

"Oh no, I can keep going, honest. You go ahead and rest up I...*yawn* I'm not tired."

"Fluttershy, please." I ask as I look over to her and plead with my eyes.

"Oh... OK then. But only for a few minutes." I wait for her to finally leave before letting out a sigh. I didn't expect Fluttershy to be so... suited, for this line of work.

The next hour comes and goes without much happening. Most of the people must either be dead or in hiding now, I don't know which is better. True to Fluttershy's words, Big Mac has been sending out plumes of fire as he gets closer to our position. He should get here within the next hour at this rate.

"How's everything?" Camo Flash asks as he walks up beside me.

"Quiet." I say as I look down another alley. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks. You really saved us back there."

"Aww, it was nothing." He says as he rubs the back of his neck.

"If there's anything you need, feel free to ask. I'll try my best to help if I can. I owe you that much." I say as I offer him a smile.

"Well... actually, there is something I need help with." He says as he puts his hoof down and takes a more serious demeanor. "Would you happen to know how somepony becomes a Spartan?"

"Spartan? Why do you want to be a Spartan?" I ask as I face him. I can tell he's serious, but I hope I can at least warn him about what he's going to face.

"I've seen the way Miles and your husband fight, and it's beyond impressive. I want to be like that..."

"Camo, don't take this lightly. Becoming a Spartan isn't easy. Storm had nightmares for weeks after becoming a Spartan. This is not easy..."

"I know that. But I think I can do it. Will you help me?"

"Well... as a citizen I can ask Miles about it, but it's really up to him whether or not you get the training."

"I'd really appreciate it." He says with a sly smile. I try to offer him one back, but something blue behind him catches my attention. I move around Camo and take aim at it until I realize that it's a pony...

"RAINBOW!" I yell as I put my rifle down. She seems to be injured, flying by sheer will. Camo takes off into the air and catches her as she begins to fall. "Bring her over here!" I yell as I ready the Medi-gun. He brings her over and lays her down as gently possible.

"Is she going to be alright?" He ask as I check her over. She has a few burns going across her arms and stomach as well as some bleeding from her forehead. A few of her burns are deep and are bleeding profusely, coating her fur in a deep red.

"I need you to get some water and my bag from downstairs." I say as I take aim at her. I seriously hope this works.

PEWPEWPEWPEW

I look back down a watch as blue energy washes over her arms and stomach, healing them with astounding speed.

"Whoa... that's cool." Camo mutters as she slowly wakes back up.

"Uhng... Twi? Uh... what's going on?" She asks as she sits up

"You were hurt, but don't worry, I've started fixing you already. Does it hurt anywhere else?" I ask as she shakily gets to her hooves.

"No... I don't think so at least. That thing is a miracle worker." She chuckles. "Where is everypony?"

"Well... Pinkie and Shy are downstairs. Miles was here earlier, and Big Mac is sending out plumes of fire every now and again. Hamm Strung.... isn't with us anymore. Other then that, I don't know."

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go get them!" She says as she tries to take off into the air. I quickly grab her tail with my magic and hold her back.

"You are in no condition to go anywhere! Go down stairs and get some rest. Once you're able to travel we'll head towards Big Mac's location..."

"But.."

"Camo, can you please escort her down?"

"Come on, lets get you something to eat." He says as he opens the door.

"*sigh* fine. But after I'm ready to go we'll head out. Promise me that." She asks as she steps towards the door.

"I Pinkie promise that once everypony is rested up, we'll head out." She gives me an uneasy look before heading down the stairs. I sigh in relief and look back out to the city. I just hope the others are fine...

FOOSH

"Why do you keep doing that?" True Will asks in annoyance. I just glance over to him as we all keep walking down the empty street.

"He already told ya. He's messagin’ the others our position. Eventually one a them has ta find us." AJ says as she looks down an alley. True Will lets out an annoyed sigh as he quickens his pace.

"Do you think the others are OK?" Rarity asks out loud.

"Ah'm sure they are, but Ah'm also tryin’ not ta think about it." AJ replies as we pause in the middle of the street. The road forks, going left and right. We look down each road before True Will just walks down the right side. We all look to each other before following after him.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Rarity asks True Will as she runs up beside him.

"I saw Dust Devil go this way, so I'm going this way." He states simply.

"So... is Dust Devil..."

"Dust Devil is a new recruit. I saw her, and nopony else, so I'm heading towards her." He quickly defends as he quickens his pace. Rarity just shakes her head as she slows down to trot with us.

"Can I ask you two something?" She whispers to us.

"Sure, what?" AJ responds. Rarity looks back to True Will before leaning closer to us.

"I don't trust him." She whispers while motioning to True Will. "He's hiding something, I can feel it. Why are we following him around anyway? Did you see what that sword of his did? What else is he capable of?"

"Ah know what you mean. Ah don't like it anymore then you do, but Princess Luna hired him. Ah'm sure she wouldn't hire somepony who's dangerous..."

"But do you see the way he looks at everything? He seems to be angry at everything...."

"That's not anger." I interrupt. They both look back to me as I pause to watch him walk off. "That's remorse."

Dust Devil and I back up as Theimara writhes around on the ground, yelling and growling to herself.

"Is this normal?" I ask Dust Devil.

"No. Did she say she was a human?"

"Yeah..."

"HELP ME!" She screams as she rears up. Her body is in a battle with itself as it tries to change, going from bear to human. We look to each other before taking a step back.

"Sorry Theimara, I don't know much about helping earth elementals." Dust Devil says as she continues to back away.

"Medical bot, give me an analysis on her. Tell me what you can." I order the bot, getting it to scan her over.

"It would seem there is influx between two souls fighting over control of the stone form. Both are fairly equal in power, making an unclear victor for control. Anything further is out of my knowledge."

"Hey Doc, is there a way to get them both to share the body?" Dust Devil asks. When did this bot get a name?

"Possibly. If the two souls were to both stop fighting and let one take control, they might be able to maintain their form. Though it is still unclear." The bot, Doc apparently, informs us. I nod a bit before walking over to the trembling form and kneel before it.

"I need to speak with Semper. Theimara, let me talk to her."

"No... no it's... let me.... never... please... no...I've been gone... this is... please.... promise me.... I promise." She mumbles before finally taking human form.

"Is this Semper?" I ask as I put a hand on her shoulder.

"Y-yeah. Uh... hi, Miles." She says quietly.

"Do you know what's going on? Can you speak with Theimara?" I ask as she tries to look away.

"Yeah. She's like a voice in my head. As for what's going on... I don't know anything."

"That's alright, lets just work through this." I say as I sit before her. "What's the last thing you remember before waking up?"

"Well... it was in the middle of dark hours when they attacked. They were... unrelenting. Using our armor, weapons... the fight was chaos. We lost half of our Spartans trying to kill their leader, and I don't think they actually stopped him..."

"Do you know what their leader was like? Powers, looks... Anything?"

"No, he was in the northern district and I was stationed in the west. I never saw him." Fuck, well... I guess it doesn't matter.

"That's OK. What happened that night?"

"Well... I was running supplies to the western front when we were ambushed. Most of my squad died before I got away. I was being chased down by a few of the Unfamiliar before I tried to hide in this... glass... tube thing. I'm sorry. She says as she looks away from me. "I was such a coward. But, they just kept coming. You'd kill one, and ten would take their place. Not to mention they were... they were... they...."

"I know." I say, getting her to look back to me. "When Topaz was attacked... it was like a sleep terror. No one was safe."

"What happened to you? Where did you go? Where are we now?" She asks, sounding completely scared.

"It's three thousand years in the future." I say bluntly, making her back away from me. "We... well, Topaz Falls and Diamond Halls have fallen, as well as Amethyst."

"What? No..."

"I survived because a professor used some new kind of tech to send me to the future. I woke up on the surface and now I'm trying to find any kind of remnants of our people."

"That explains her." She says as she glances over to Dust Devil. "What is she?"

"I'll explain later. Right now I have a very important question for you." I say as I close my eyes and focus on the gems on my left arm. I throw out my arm, creating the Laminis Lux, and bring it in front of her. "Do you want me to end it?"

"Wh-what?" She asks as she backs away from me a bit.

"Nothing you know exists. Everyone you ever knew is long gone. You're going to have to learn to share a body with someone else. Can you live with that?"

"I... I..."

A/N: Shout out to After touch for picking the class of person that took over Theimara. Love the new cover art. Brony on!