My alarm goes off before sunrise, though I was still awake when it did. I couldn't sleep; I ended up burning a pillow and nearly choked on it. I turn the alarm off and get back to the work I was doing in the room. One last gift for my love before I leave. I shutter at the thought. I can't imagine what this will do to Luna. She'll be broken again, this much I'm sure of. With a final scratch against the wall I step back and admire my work. It might have been stupid to use magic for it, but it was worth it.

My return home was made silently. No one talked to me, and I didn't talk to anyone. Judging by the looks on the guards faces, I figure they put one and one together. they just stood in their stations and watched the dead man walk. I make it to the top of the mountain where I pause to look back. The sun is starting to break over the horizon, sending large golden rays over the land.

FLASH

I step out into my closet and go straight for my armor, putting it on quickly. I grab my rifle and jump a little when the base enchantment activates. I guess with my hands constantly flaring... I grab the rest of my weapons and make my way downstairs. Lupus and Hati stand before me, eyeing me nervously as I head into the kitchen. I grab whatever's left in the fridge and eat quietly, Lupus and Hati begging as usual.

"Come on," I say to them as I stand and head to the back door and open it. "Time for you two to go."

They look up to me and tilt their heads, as if asking why?

"I can't... it's just time. You need to go."

They lower their heads and lay their ears flat, unsure of what to do.

"FINE! Just stand there! I don't fucking care!" I yell as I leave the door and slump into a chair. They both run to me and start licking at my face, trying to cheer me up.

"My, my, my. Such anger you have there. I wonder what it is you bear," says a low rhythmic voice from my side. I look over to see a black and white pony standing there. Her hair, colored like her body, stands up in a full mow hawk. Her mark seems to be a glyph of some kind, I can't really make it out.

"Who are you?" I ask as I try to use my arms to push the wolves away, with little success.

"I am Zecora of the Everfree, and may I ask who might you be?" she asks, rhyming again.

"Miles Eremita..." I say slowly as she walks in and takes a seat beside me. "Why are.."

"My home has met some strange devastation, now I wait for the forest to start its propagation," she says as she motions out back.

"You lived in the Everfree... sorry about that. I didn't mean for that level of destruction to happen..."

"I am quite sure you are. I was lucky to have been so far. I was away with family, thus I escaped this tragedy, But, now I must ask and forgive me for being brash, what will you do now that you are doomed to turn to ash?"

"How did..." I start but look at my hands. "Right."

"Everything alright in..... here?" says some guy as he walks in and looks to me. He's a unicorn, but is striped like Zecora, only difference is that he's green. His hair is a light silver, with a streak of royal blue, and reach down just past his knees. He stares at me with those white, grey hued eyes until he moves over to Zecora's side.

"Everything is alright Fayte, though I'm afraid our trip from Hayte was...."

"Are you the guy responsible for our home being destroyed?" he asks, cutting off Zecora by sticking a hoof in her mouth.

"Yes, and I take full responsibility for what happened. Please use my home for sanctuary until we figure something out," I say as I finally get Lupus and Hati to finally end their licking assault.

"Shukrani nyingi kwa wewe mtu mzuri, and please take care of my nephew on your journey." Zecora says.... in some other language as she pulls his hoof out of her mouth. {swahili}

"Wait..."

"I'm the new leader of the Merc group the Ursa’s have sent. The rest of my group is out front waiting to move out," Fayte tells me as Zecora looks away, obviously troubled by this.

"Oh... we can move out once the rest of my group shows up," I tell him as a question suddenly leaps from my mouth. "Why does she rhyme?" Zecora opens her mouth to answer, only to get Fayte to stick his hoof in her mouth again.

"She's a shaman. It's a tradition of ours that she was raised with. You get used to it," he tells me as Zecora folds her arms and waits for the hoof to be removed from her mouth.

"Okay... well, we've got some time. Let’s go meet the others," I say as I stand. We walk out to the front where we find the rest of the group standing around a large canvassed wagon. It has a name written on the side, but I don't know what it says. When Fayte steps out they all line up and salute, waiting for orders. "Snow Bound, Purple Edge, you're still here," I say as I walk up to them.

"Yup! We figure since we made it once, what can– *SMACK*."

"Don't finish that Snow Bound," Purple Edge says as he returns to a normal stance. "We've got a job to finish, and we plan to."

"You know the dangers, so I won't stop you," I tell them as I move to the next person. He's a griffin with white feathers that end in blue. He seems to have no talons and a massive scar going up his left forearm. His left eye is pitch black, devoid of any color, while his left eye is constellation of different colors, predominantly being different blues. But that's not what concerns me. What concerns me is the peace spirit floating above him.

"I'm Aurane, the group’s medic..."

"What the fuck," I mutter as the spirit floats down to look me over.

"Uh... it's nice to meet you too?" he asks as he looks to the others.

"Tum etiam Latinis dicis?" I ask the spirit.

"Nimirum." It responds before phasing into Aurane...... Okay, I thought this kind of shit happened with Damian, the fuck?

"Um... were you... talking to my guardian angel?" he asks in astonishment, looking to Fayte in excitement. "Dude, he talked to my..."

"Unless angel is another word for spirit, no. I've seen that kind of.... thing, before...."

"Are you a part of that group of those goggle wearing ponies? They tried talking to it as well, but..."

"Goggles? Huh, I'm surprised they didn't try to erase your memory..." I mutter as I move to the next person.

"My name is Beomere Lonefeather!" yells the griffin as he thumps his silver naginata against the ground. He seems to look like your average griffin, with the exception of a scar going up his back right leg. "I'm ready to..."

"Uh huh. Next," I say as I walk past him. I can hear him growl to me, but I ignore it as I size up the next person.

"I'm... Black Foxx," the dark grey pegasus says as he glances to the others. He's covered in scars. His wings, chest, legs, all having some kind of wound. Whatever his cutie mark used to be, it’s gone, hidden beneath a large scorch mark. He runs a hoof down the length of his hair, following the green streak, and tries to avoid my gaze. "So... I'm the explosives expert..."

"And who is this?" I ask as I approach the last person, a ash grey pegasus with spiky, dark blue hair. He looks up to through narrowed eyes, barely showing the golden hue, before huffing a bit.

"AfterTouch, recon," he states simply. "Pun intended."

".... what pun?" I ask, only getting a smug smile from him. "Right, anyways. Time for my warning. Look, you come on you own free will, this is going to be dangerous. Some of you will die. Some quick and painless, others... not so lucky. Turn back..."

"WE NEVER TURN BACK FROM A FIGHT!" Beomere yells, getting a cheer from his comrades.

"It was nice knowing...."

"Miles!" My necklace suddenly erupts with noise as it shakes violently. The sound of fire and pained screams blasts through it as I take it and try to listen to whoever is trying to contact me.

"GO FOR MILES! IDENTIFY!" I yell into the pendant.

"Miles! We... fingers! Th.... wiggle!" I try to listen to it, but he keeps breaking up.

"Damian! Hold it down!"

"Miles!" Damian yells, loud and clear now. "They wiggle! It's hot! And it... HAMMER! Quit taking pictures!"

"Damian, you aren't making any sense. Are you in trouble? Where are you?" I ask, looking to all of the confused faces.

"Wait, Miles! Why do they shrink!?"

SM-SM-SMACK

Everyone flinches from hearing the sound of multiple smacks. Damian goes quiet for a second, the sound of people screaming in pain and fires roaring dying as he lets go of the necklace.... only to have it all come back a few seconds later.

"Miles." CC starts, "sorry about that. Don't worry about us, Damian was just being an idiot, as usual. Glad to see you're up now..."

"CC, where are you? Do you need..."

"No! No, we're fine. Everything is... relatively... we can handle this. Maybe," she reassures me as I hear Damian, Patches, and Hammer yell in agony.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! There's a guy here who has a peace spirit in him...."

"Aurane? Yeah, we know about him. Don't worry, that peace spirit just likes him for some reason. That, and he thinks it's an angel so... yeah, over and out! Don't come looking for us!" And with that, my necklace falls silent. Everyone stays quiet, trying to piece together what just happened.

"Wh..."

"It was Damian, so I'll just leave it at that." I say as I drop the necklace back under my shirt and go back to addressing the Mercs. "Like I was saying, you've probably heard from Snow Bound and Purple Edge, this isn't going to be easy. Don't get cocky." I look past the mercs to see my group approaching, so I excuse myself and go to greet them.

"Miles," Storm says as we all come to a stop together. We share a quiet moment before I nod to them.

"Are we ready?" I ask.

"We have the train tickets to Appleoosa, we leave in twenty minutes," Twilight informs me as she levitates me a paper slip I go to take it, but stop myself when I notice I would burn it.

"Uh.... a little help," I say as I wave my hand. Twilight nods and holds onto it for me. "Let’s go..."

"Actually, can we have a moment Miles?" Storm asks as he steps aside.

"Sure, the locker is open, so go ahead and grab whatever gear you need," I tell the girls as I follow after Storm. We step off the path and wait for everyone to be out of earshot. "What was it that you needed to talk to me about?"

"Well.... I...uh... I'm..." He fights with his words as he tries to force the sentence out, but I already know what he's going to say.

"Storm," I say, getting him to stop and look to me. "It's going to be alright. You will be an excellent Captain..."

"But there's so much I still don't know!" he yells as he steps towards me, panicking. "I know the rulings, but... I'm afraid I'll a bad decision that could cost lives. How do you do it? How do you know what decisions to make and how can you tell if they're the right ones! I–"

"Storm," I say simply, getting him to stop again. "Just do what is right, and you will be a good leader. You know everything you need to know and you're a good person. Just put your trust in your instincts and your training, and you will do great things. I know it." He takes a deep breath as he nods, looking at the ground as he tries to come to terms with this.

"I'll do my best," he tells me as he looks up to me.

"That's all I could ever ask. Now lets go find the others already. I'm not gone yet." He nods slowly, wincing slightly from what I said, as we head over over to my backyard.

We arrive in time to see Rarity unveil her gift to everyone, armored clothes. The remind me of ponified dusters and are camouflaged, each one color coated to the person they belong to. As the five of them put on their clothing, I feel Pinkie’s. It's tough; not strong enough to stop a bullet, but probably enough to stop knives. It's better than nothing I guess.

We begin to head head out. I had to tell Big Mac that he was staying behind. We probably won't be coming back, and he needs to watch his farm.He was pissed, but he complied. We make it to the train station just in time. The conductor was a little apprehensive, but didn't stop the massive group of armed people. We take up an entire cart and wait as the train begins to roll out. Night Fury is sitting in front of me.... which brings up a question I've had for awhile.

"Hey Night Fury," I call, getting his attention. "Remember when you were a guard, and you blackmailed me to get you training?"

"Uh.... yeah, why?"

"Well, the deal was for fifty people to take the training, and you were the only one to show up. Why?" He chuckle a bit as he looks back out the window, smiling to himself.

"They were too scared. I warned them about what could happen and asked who was brave enough... then you showed up that night and stared Celestia down, making demands and what not. Well, it got to them. Not to mention that they've seen what Spartans could do. I guess they put one and one together."

"Guards," I mutter as I look out the window, getting a laugh from him.

The train gets moving and we all wait. Some idle chatter goes around, mercs speaking with my friends. Ends up Pinkie knows Aurane. I wasn't surprised, Pinkie seems to know an endless amount of people. I kept to myself, feeling tired. With a final glance around the room, I lean against the wall and allow myself to drift off to sleep. I'm sure I'll be needing it.

I'm running down a dark grey hall. At the end is a bright light with dark figures standing in the light. I look behind me to see a darkness rapidly approaching me. I'm running as fast as I can, but with every step I take, the light gets farther away as the darkness rapidly approaches.

"Miles..."

I look back to the darkness to see black arms shoot out and take hold of me, grabbing my legs and arms and wrapping all around my waist and chest. I twist and pull as I try to escape but I can't break free. I fall to the ground and begin to be dragged into the darkness. I scream and scratch at the ground as I try to grab hold of anything to stop being pulled in but I soon find myself in the dark abyss...

"Miles!" I look up to see Luna fly down and flare her horn, causing a blinding light to take over. I blink a few times before realizing that whatever had taken me is gone now. I sit up and look around, finding myself in the dark corridor with Luna. "Geez Miles, what was that?" she asks as she walks over and hugs me.

"Luna?" I ask in confusion. I've never had a dream terror quiet like this before. "What's going on?"

"You were having a nightmare. I came in to try and help. What has you so troubled?" she asks as she lets go of me, giving me a peck on the cheek as she does so.

"I... well.... I always have dreams like these when I feel... when I feel as if I can't help people. How are you in my dream?"

"As the ruler of the night I take charge over night time dealings. I can search out the dreamscape and aid my ponies when they are troubled. Most of the time it’s just foals scared of the monsters under their beds, but every now and agEEP!" she yells as I suddenly tackle her in another hug. This is literally as close I'm going to get."M-Miles! I knew you were troubled, but..."

"Luna." I say as I hold her tightly. "I... well... something happened. Something big." I tell her, getting her to push me away. She takes a long look at me before going wide eyed.

"It's starting.... isn't it?" she asks quietly.

"I'm so sorry. I thought I had more time..."

"It's going to be alright," she says as she pulls me into her soft embrace. "It's going to be Okay." She begins to stroke my back and hum a tune as she rocks side to side.

"Luna... I'm scared." I admit as I hold her. "I don't know what's going to happen. I don't want to leave when there is so much to do. I don't want to leave you alone again. What..."

"Shhh." She says in a nurturing tone. "Miles, we've been readying to face this for awhile now. We need to be strong for everypony now. Do you know how long you have? Any guesses?"

"No... I have no clue. We've already started to move to Emerald City. Everyone wants to blitz the cities, but..."

"That's good. Go to them Miles. We can take care of everything else, you just focus on following your friends...."

"But... what if I slip into the void before the end? What happens then? I want to see you again, for real."

"Then we'll meet up as soon as possible. All we can do is be faithful that you will see this to the end. Fortis sit, amica mea." She says in a soothing tone, holding me lovingly.

"Vobiscum, semper," I tell her as I return the affection. We spend the entire remainder of my dream together, holding each other. The entire time she was strong for me, letting me be weak. As I feel her begin to fade away we share a kiss. What could be our last kiss.

I hum a happy tune as I head to Luna’s bed chambers. I need somepony to be my wingmate for...

"MIIIIIIILLLLEEES NOOOOO!" I jump a bit when I hear her scream. I run to her door and crash through it, looking for whatever the trouble is. Luna's laying on the ground crying. She completely going hysterical as she keeps yelling his name.

"Luna! What's the matter? What happened?" I ask as I approach her. She doesn't respond. Instead she grab me and pulls me in for a tight hug, practically choking me. I just return the hug and wait for her to calm down. Whatever it is, it can't be good.

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

I jolt awake when the train begins to screech to a halt. Looking over Twilight, I glance out the window to see dark clouds raining down on Appleoosa. I let go of Twilight and nudge her a bit to wake her as everypony else begins to wake as well.

"We're here," I whisper to her. She looks out the window and nods slowly, climbing off the bench and stretching a bit. I get up and crack a few bones before we all file out into the cold rain. Miles smiles a bit from the water, but keeps control. Our hooves sink into the muddy road of Appleoosa as we make our way down Main street. Everything is quiet, most ponies looking through windows as our entourage makes its way to the end of Main street.

Twilight and Miles look over a map, trying to pinpoint exactly where to go. I look over to see the town's sheriff stepping out of his office and watch us closely. Nopony here seems to want to interact with us, but that's for the best. We don't need the distractions.

With our marker set, we head out of town. Our destination is about a mile out of town to the west. Far to the north we can see a flash flood tearing through the landscape. Luckily it isn't heading for the town, but it's still a bit concerning. Mile’s is steaming right now, leaving a trail of light smoke behind as he leads us through the wet desert.

"OK. Gather around so we can head down." Miles says as he stops.

"Pun intended," AfterTouch says, giggling to himself.

"Why do you keep saying that?!" Miles snaps at him.

"Pun in–"

"GAH! Nevermind." Miles says as he waves his arms and starts sending us through the earth. We would have protested, but then we wouldn't be able to get to the city.

"Think you can learn to move earth like him?" I ask Twilight as we travel deeper and deeper into the earth.

"Well.... not quickly enough," she tells me, lowering her head a bit. I nudge her shoulder and give her a reassuring smile, one she returns. She leans against me and rests her head against mine as we wait to reach the city. I pull a wing up and drape it around her, hugging her lightly. I do feel a lot better knowing that Twilight has armor now, even if it's only light. That, along with her Medi-gun, should help keep her safe.... and the others too I guess.

"Tired?" I ask her quietly.

"A bit, I guess. More restless than anything else. I don't like not knowing what's down there," she tells me as she lets more of her weight onto me.

"Hey," Rainbow mutters to us as she steps a little closer. "Isn't there a way to help Miles with this? Like, could you do it? Or at least help feeding the spell to take some of the pressure..."

"Twilight's magic works differently than mine." Miles says, gaining everypony’s attention. "Mines stronger and more suited for tasks like this. Twilights is better suited for focused individual spells, at least from what I've observed." We stay quiet as we continue to travel through the earth. There wasn't much to say after that.

THUNK

After about an hour or two we finally make it to the city. We we're a little off, hitting part of the dome, but at least we found it. Miles carves a path towards the closest door and we all prepare ourselves for what's inside. All of the mercs draw their blades as we raise our guns, waiting for some monstrosity to charge through the bulkhead. Miles walks up to the door with the golden staff thing and glances back to us, judging whether or not we're ready.

"RAH!" he yells as he slams the staff into the door, causing the magic to course through the metal and force it open. Miles sheaths the staff and waits for the doors to open, seeming almost too aloof to the situation. I let out a long breath as the doors reach the top, and we stare into the darkness of the city. The light from Miles hands lets us see the road before us, but there is absolutely nothing else besides utter darkness.

"HEEELLO!" Beomere yells, getting a long, drawn out echo in response. Everyone snaps at him to shut up, but he ignores them as he marches into the city. "The fight is this way." We all look to one another before following after him.

Call it luck or a cruel reminder of fate, but whenever Miles would near one of the light posts, they would come to life. I guess he's bleeding so much energy it just... feeds them. I'm going to call it luck. It's less depressing. With the lights coming to life as we walk in, we get a glimpse of what happened to the city. To put it simply, war. Bullet holes, scorch marks, areas of magical use.... war time posters, all dotting the buildings We keep quiet, but we know what happened here.

What confuses me though are the posters.

Some say “Vive la revolution!” and show a depiction of a fist holding a paintbrush and dagger in red, blue, and white.

While others say 'Obedire!' and show a drawing of a man sitting on a throne, detailed in red black and white.

After seeing the hundredth one I decide to grab one to check it out, but it ends up that they're enchanted into the wall.

"What's up with the posters?" I finally ask Miles. He stop and walks over to me, looking over the poster with a bitter expression.

"King Ferrum Pugni must of been pissed when these were made, huh," he says with disinterest before continuing down the road. Everypony glances to one another before walking after him. Rainbow walks up beside me and motions for me to press the matter, but I shake my head. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then I won't ask about it. Too bad Rainbow doesn't think the same way.

"Captain," She says as she trots forward to walk alongside with him, "what do you know about this city?"

"This is Emerald City, the capital of Terradisia. Home the brightest minds and strongest backs. The gem of scientific advancement and last beacon of humanity," Miles says as if he's said it a thousand times before, completely rehearsed. Dash tilts her head in confusion before pressing the matter some more.

"Uh... OK. So, do you know what happened here? Why are there all of these posters? What do they mean and..."

"Spartans!" he yells as he turns suddenly and stands beside a destroyed wall. "Let's test your knowledge. What can you tell me about this wall?" We all look to each other in confusion before stepping forward to inspect it. The wall goes to a two story building, but has much of the top right blown off. What's left of the wall has a row of small holes in it, about four feet up and going the entire length of the wall.

"The wall was destroyed with magic," I say aloud as I look it over. "You can tell because of the lack of burns from it. It's also a little perfect in its destruction. Somepony wanted it that way."

"Good, good, what else." Miles muses as he stands before the wall.

"The... the grouping of the bullet holes suggests that... there was an execution here," Dust Devil adds quietly.

"Right, anything else?" Miles asks. Everypony stay quiet, either because they know what happened, or they don't want to.

"Those are five, five, six rounds." True Will adds stoically.

"Right, and what rounds did the Unfamiliar use?" Miles asks.

"Seven, six-two."

"And Terradisia?"

"Five, five, six."

"So Rainbow Dash, we have a wall destroyed with human magic, an execution with human weapons, and two rivaling human political parties. What happened here?" Miles asks as he stands before Rainbow Dash. She looks away from him as she tries to understand something, muttering quietly to herself.

"How?"

"how wh...."

"How could your people be fighting each other!? You were under attack from the Unfamiliar, how could they have attacked one another like this? It doesn't make any sense! How could they have been so...."

"Loyal?" Miles finishes, cutting her off.

"L-Loyal? I'm sorry sir, but I don't understand that," she tells him, stepping forward. "Loyal to who?"

"That, is the million credit question." He says before he begins to walk off. Angered, Rainbow flies after him and lands right in his path, where she waits for an answer. "*sigh* what killed this city, was a mixture of two loyalties. One to the king, and one to the Mundusque a mente, the revolutionist group. The Pure of Mind.

To understand this, you have to understand Terradisian culture. Our culture, was the culture of not having a culture. Art was deemed too great a cause and was destroyed during the Purge. What was left was outlawed by penalty of death. People thought that art would corrupt our minds and kill us with new, weaker ways of thinking. So, if anyone was caught playing music, making sculptures, drawing, or anything “art” related, they were arrest and put in jail for life. Seditious work would be gathered and destroyed. Anyone caught teaching any of these works would be executed, and... well, you can see what happened when you try to revolt."

"I don't get it," Twilight says as she steps forward, "you can draw. You've taken an art class before. You can sculpt and your phone is full of music. How..."

"Topaz Falls was a very left minded city. Especially with all of the refugees from Diamond Halls, people started to question the morals of the old ways. For the longest time we were at peace. So, with no danger, people started to question the old morals. In the end, you were either an Animus Liber or a Custos antiquis. Left or right."

"Which side were you?" Rainbow Dash asks. He lets out a long sigh as he looks back to the wall. "Captain?"

"I... was undecided."

"What? How could you not have decided? It's pretty obvious which side was...."

"Let me remind you, Rainbow Dash, that it was left minded thinking that got Luna’s and Celestia’s father killed. I was a soldier of Terradisia, and as such, I would have to answer her call..."

"So you would have killed your own people! Captain that's–"

"I don't know what I would have done!" He snaps back at her. "If a man robs a store owner to feed his family, where is the moral in cutting off his hand? I was trained to follow orders, yet taught to question them. This is the call of a Spartan. To stand aside, unbiased, and make the tough decisions! This is what you have been trained for! This is what we fight for! Do I condemn these blind morals? No! But will I fight for what I believe is right, yes! If you say left, and someone else says right, then who is to determine what is moral and immoral?"

"There's a difference when it involves life!" Rainbow yells back, flaring her wings in anger. "Your right to swing your hoof ends at the other ponies nose!"

"What gives you the right to swing your hoof? For every positive there must be a negative, no matter how small or large. If we have no right to harm others then how can we protect them? Sometimes, you have to give freedom in order to earn it. There is no perfect answer for these questions Rainbow Dash. There will always be someone to argue the other side, and some even more willing to fight for it. It's the nature of life."

"Then how can the Spartans be just? Is there even justice in a system meant for war? Are there no loyalties for us?"

"... No, there aren't. Loyalty to a single ideal is a freedom we gave up in order to protect them. Sometimes, the right choice is hard to make. In the heat of things left and right can become disorientated But that doesn't mean we are immoral people. There is a reason we wait to act. We will never allow something like this to happen to our people again."

"It's history," Twilight finishes, gaining our attention. "Celestia once told me that the greatest teacher, is history. That if you don't learn from it, understand why things happened, you're doomed to repeat it."

"Those are some very wise words." I tell Twilight, getting a smile from her. "We have the luxury of seeing the aftermath of this fight. Let's not waste the lesson learned here." Rainbow nods in agreement, still obviously troubled by what happened here.

"Uh... if you guys are done, I think we found a survivor." Fayte says as he steps out from one of the buildings. We all perk up from this and rush into the building. A survivor? Here? I... I don't know how to process this... another human. Here. Alive.. We follow Fayte inside where he shows us to a utility closet. We all sigh in disappointment when he shows us the black bot standing there.

"That's not a person, that's a machine." Miles says as he walks away, just as disappointed as the rest of us.

"But it looks like him... kind of." Black Foxx says as he follows after Miles.

"I...In....Int....." We all look over as the bot begins to slowly step out of the closet. All of the mercs gawk at it as it takes slow jerky steps, but the rest of us just watch unamused. We've seen plenty of these attack us.... wait a minute...

"LOOK OUT!" I yell as I tackle the bot.

"INTRUDER DETECTED!" It yells as I feel the chest plates slide open. Thinking quickly, I push it to the window and toss it out...

BOOM

I barely had enough time to duck as the thing explodes just outside the window. A few bits of shrapnel make their way inside, but nothing lethal. I pick myself up and look over to everypony, checking to see if they're OK. I can't see anything. The only light is coming from the window, thanks to Miles.

"Anypony..." I start but stop when I hear a loud cracking noise. I look out the window to see large cracks forming on the road, separating Miles and Black Foxx from us. We look to each other for a second before the road suddenly crumbles beneath him. The light fades away as Miles and Black Foxx fall to the next level.

"MILES!" I yell through the darkness.

"Can somepony make a light for us already?" Aurane asks. Fayte, Twilight and Rarity all charge their horns at the same time, making the room shine brightly. Twilight runs to the window and looks down in an attempt to find him.

"I can go down there to look for him." Rainbow offers.

"I'll assist to help heal him and Black Foxx." Aurane adds.

"The rest of us should..."

"GET OUT!" Twilight yells as she flares her horn. I look out the window and nearly trip over myself at the sight of a tall building falling towards me. Twilight lit a shield around our building, but I'm not sure if it'll hold against that.

Everypony turns and runs out the back of the building, some leaping through windows. Everypony with wings takes to the air, grabbing those who don't along with them. I wrap my arms around Twilight’s waist and lift her into the air just in time. The ground below us crumbles away as the building slams into Twilights shield. She flinches from the hard hit and drops the spell.

"Are you OK?" I ask her, getting a slow nod and she continues to wince from it. The road below us crumbles completely as building after building crumbles. Nearly three blocks worth of structures fall to the ground, burying Miles and Black Foxx.

"Everypony OK?" Fayte calls out as Aurane holds him up. Everypony sounds off, the worst case being Pinkie Pie biting her tongue. "Alright, we need to split up then. Group one will head down to the ruble and look for Miles and Black Foxx while the other half heads to the objective..."

"I'll lead the group that's going to the P.C.H. I know what it is we're looking for." I tell him, getting a slow nod.

"Alright every..."

"Hello?" Miles asks through every Spartans necklace asks. "This is Miles, is everyone alright?"

"Miles!" I yell back to him and I grab my necklace. "Everypony here is alright..."

"Tell that to my tongue!"

"... where are you? Are you alright?" I ask, ignoring Pinkie.

"Yeah, I'm good. Black Foxx is dead though." This hits all of the mercs pretty hard. For the rest of us.... it doesn't seem to affect us. Though that notion makes me cringe.

"A-alright. We'll come get you..."

"Negative. I can get myself out of here. Go meet me at the P.C.H. I'll be there as quickly as possible."

"If you need us, call," I tell him.

"Got it, over and out." I look back to the others before quietly flying towards the general direction of the P.C.H. II know a death should be troubling, at least to the girls, but they seem fine. Some, other then Pinkie, are even smiling! That isn't right.

"Are you OK?" Twilight asks me quietly.

"*sigh* I don't know. Everypony seems perfectly fine that somepony died. I know for the Spartans and I it should be fine, but... you don't seem even fazed by it." I tell her as I hold her closer.

"Well, I'll be honest, it doesn't. But... well..."

"What?"

"OK, this is just a theory of mine that I shared with the girls and we all agree with it. But... well... he was the explosives expert." She says coyly.

"... so?"

"I know it's only been a few cities, but in every one the explosives expert dies. I don't know..."

"Hey, others died too you know!" Snow Bound defends.

"Yeah, I know. But... I mean, look at the track record now...."

"Hey, Black Foxx was a good pony and deserves better than this!" Purple Edge adds, silencing Twilight. The rest of the trip to the P.C.H. was made in complete, awkward silence. We could have walked, but flight was faster. When we make it the the steps to the building we all land and walk inside. It's a Mico station, just like the other ones. Only, in the center of this room is a military computer sitting under another light. It's still powered, so we all huddle near it and begin to relax a bit.

As we all eat breakfast the mercs sit with themselves, giving Twilight the stink eye from time to time. Every time Twilight would make eye contact with them, she would mince and lower her head. I hold her close with a wing as I try to shield her from the resentment. Even if it's sadly true, it was a bit too soon. As we started packing up the sound of crumbling catches our attention. We all look back to see a hole form in the ground. A few second later, Miles walks out.

"Miles!" we all yell as we run up to greet him. I stop and look him over. He's.... happy. Beyond happy. I haven't seen him this happy since his wedding.... what happened?

"We're so glad you're OK!" Fluttershy tells him with a tight, by Fluttershy standards, hug around the chest that all of the girls join in.

"Sheesh, come on guys. You're acting as if I'm an explosives expert..."

"COME ON!" all of the mercs yell, except for Purple Edge, who giggles about something to himself.

"Anyway, lets get this message dealt with and move on," he says as he walks over to the computer, having that spring in his step again.

"Miles... what happened to you?" I ask him as he sits before the computer and starts to mess with it and his phone.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," he says with a mischievous grin before playing the message.

A pregnant human sits before the screen, looking down to her growing belly and rubbing it lovingly. She has really short brown hair and light brown skin. When she looks up to us we get a look at her tired face, accented with her blue eyes. I can tell she was muscled, but with the pregnancy she's lost a lot of definition. She's wearing what looks like a sleeveless black dress and a necklace with a heart made of gold.

"Hey.... Miles. It's me.... Fidus." She says weakly. I don't think she talks very much. "I hope you remember me, for your sake at least." She chuckles a bit, Miles does so as well. "Well, it's my turn for one of these, lets get it over with.

Ever since... that night, I.. well, you know. I've been in the back ground of all of the fighting, hiding with all of the refugees. It's driving me crazy. I want to help in the fight just as much as the next person... but, I can't. I did manage to get an ultrasound though, the baby is perfectly healthy. That's good. It's the only thing I get to care about now though, a bit bittersweet.

Inficiunt has officially been using. We found him strung out in the back of a truck a few days ago. We held an intervention for him and... well, I finally told everyone you're not the father. It was... a fucking bomb shell to Tenera. It was for the best though. She was getting blood thirsty. It would have killed her in the end. Inficiunt nearly died from guilt. He went straight to rehab– or would have if the city hadn't been attacked.

Eximius has been watching over me. He's being sweet about it, but... I mean, Eximius is a nice guy and all... but he's a nerd. I'm a jock. We're two different species. Don't worry, I'll let the softy down gently. You'd probably have something insightful to say to that, you always did. Its what I miss about you. I can't talk to anyone the way I talked to you.

Susurrans has been... better, I guess. He's stopped drinking at least. Well, not by his choice. Supplies are running low. We thought Emerald City would be the last to fall, but.... when we got here.... it was a civil war. The people were tearing themselves apart. They tried to drag us into it, but Susurrans denied an answer. We left the city and waited two days before reentering. We were only able to find a handful of survivors. We aren't staying here. There's too much... death here. Next up is Ruby Canyon, far to the north. Hopefully they'll have the answers we need.

I can't leave you my Spartan gun, they took it when I was decommissioned. But I did manage to take the gem off of it. I'm throwing it on a Mark 4, it's better than nothing, I guess. Miles... find us already. I'm getting tired of waiting to talk to you. Hurry."

Miles smiles some more as the locker pops open. He leans over and pulls out the gun, looking it over slightly. It looks like his gun, only with a gem embedded in the stock and an extra barrel instead of a grip.

"Give it a try Dash." He says as he tosses it to her.

"Me? Why me?" She asks as she catches it.

"Call it instinct." She nods to him and points the rifle away.

PEWPATPEWPEWPATPEW

When she fires red bolts come out of the bottom barrel as it fires bullets at a high rate. It sounds as if it fires faster than Mile’s gun. She grins to herself as she passes it to Fluttershy. Fluttershy fires it, but only the bullets come out.

"Alright, Dash has a new gun. Lets get moving." Miles says as he unplugs his phone from the machine.

"Miles, what happened to you?" I ask as we all follow him out of the building.

"Trust me, it's unbelievable." He says with a smile. I don't think he'll ever tell me, but if it makes him happy I guess I'm fine with that. I hope the rest of the cities are as simple as this one, but something tells me they won't. We'll be ready though. Ruby Canyon, here we come.

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

CRASH

I throw my arms out and create a barrier as all of the ruble from the street comes crashing down. My vision fades from landing on my back, but I try my best to ignore it as I hold the barrier up. I take a few deep breathes as everything slowly becomes clear. I feel fine. Black Foxx was with me, where is he now?

"A little help?" I look above myself and find him standing just outside my barrier with his wing caught under a large chunk of cement.

"You alright?" I ask as I undue my spell and stand.

"Well, there's a slight tingling in my wing, but other then that I'm fine." He says sarcastically.

"Well then, at least it's not anything you'll need." I joke as I push the chunk up, letting him escape. "Think you can fly on that?" I ask him. He gives a test flap and winces in pain.

"That's a big N, O. Lets..." We both freeze as we here the sound of crumbling cement . I look to the side and gawk as the building begins to lean over us. "WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT? RUN!"

I snap out of my daze and take off down the street, running as fast as my legs can move. Glancing between the road and the falling building I determine that I won't make it in time at this speed. I flare my heels and launch forward, propelling myself past Black Foxx.

"Hey! Don't leave me behind!" He yells in desperation. I do some quick math before launching back for him. I scoop him up in an arm and take off again for....

SNAP

A giant crack takes up the center of the road. I have to leap to the side and continue running at my unnatural speed as I try to dodge the webbing cracks.

"YOUR MAGIC IS BREAKING THE ROAD!" Black Foxx yells right in my ear.

"WE CAN'T NOT USE IT! WE'LL GET CRUSHED!" I yell back. He tries to pry himself from my grip, but make the mistake of grabbing my hand. The instant he touches my skin he yells in pain as he flails about. I try to keep a hold on him, but lose my balance doing so. I fall forward and roll a bit. I turn back towards him and leap...

SMACK

I fall to the ground as a solid wall appears before me. The second I hit the ground I roll over and put a shield up.... what the? How did I end up in a room? Before I could look around a loud, mind slitting, crashing sound fills my ears as the buildings come crashing down on me. Even with the enchantments on my ears, I wince from the sound. It was sudden, the echos only lasting seconds. I take a few deep breathes as I try to piece together what just happened.

I should inform the others. I grab my necklace and hold onto it, letting it vibrate for a second before speaking.

"Hello?" I ask, hoping for an answer. "This is Miles, is everyone alright?"

"Miles!" Storm yells back. "Everypony here is alright..."

"Tell that to my tongue!" I hear Pinkie yell.

"... where are you? Are you alright?" Storm continues.

"Yeah, I'm good. Black Foxx is dead though." I inform him. It goes quiet for a bit, clearly troubling all of them.

"A-alright. We'll come get you..."

"Negative. I can get myself out of here. Go meet me at the P.C.H. I'll be there as quickly as possible."

"If you need us, call," He tells me.

"Got it, over and out." I say before releasing the charm. I sprawl out on the floor and let out a long sigh. Hopefully the rest of them can deal with whatever caused that explosion without me. If I can find a way...

"Ahem." I freeze when a female coughs for attention. I lift my head up.... and see the hooded woman from before standing before me. We stare at each other for a second before she starts to walk over to me. Where did she come from? How did she get here? She offers me a hand to help me up, but I shake my head.

"I'll burn you." I say as I show her my hand. She tilts her head a bit as she tries to grab my hand, only to have me move it. "I'll burn you." I repeat. She lets out a small sigh as she grabs my wrist and helps me up. I can't believe she's here. I... I don't know how to process this. She saved my life.... she also left me pinned to a wall with my pants off.

My heart speeds up as she begins to move her hand up and down my arm, inspecting it closely. She unlatches the armor and lets it fall to the ground as she runs her cool fingers along my skin. When she begins to reach my hand I try to pull back, but she holds me in place..... and runs her hand along mine.

No wincing.

No screams in pain.

Just a smaller hand moving between my fingers, inspecting every centimeter of my hand.

"Who are you?" I ask as I stare at her in disbelief.

"I'm... your mother." She replies as she holds my hand with both of her hands.

"My.... my.... mother.... but... no...."

"I know. It's hard to believe. But it's true. I am your..."

"YOU LEFT ME WITH MY PANTS DOWN!" I yell as I yank my hand back and step away from her.

"WHAT?" She yells as she does the same.

"The last time I saw you, you pinned my to a wall and pulled my pants down to my ankles! FOR HOURS!" I yell at her, making her spin around in anger.

"CARE TO EXPLAIN!" She yells at.... the wall.

"Who are you yelling at?" I ask as she walks forward a bit, stopping just before the wall.

"Well?" She asks as she folds her arms.

"..."

"I'm waiting." She says as she starts to tap a foot.

"..."

"OK. I'm saying it..."

"OK, OK, OK!" Someone else yells. Another clocked woman suddenly appears before her. The new one is a bit taller then.... my mother, but that's about all I can tell. "Well.... um..... can we talk about this later?"

"No. Why did you leave my son like that?" She demands. I shake my head and march straight towards her. I won't let her escape without seeing her face. I reach out and grab the back of her hood, making it burn away. Before I could do anything else the taller woman shoots an arm out and sends me flying to the other side of the room.

THUD

I hit the wall and drop to my knees as my head starts to spin. I blink a few times before regaining my vision. The woman.... my mother, has long flowing black hair that goes to her shoulder blades.She seems a little hesitant in doing so, but slowly turns to face me.

Light brown eyes. She has my.... I have her light brown eyes. She glances back to the other woman before walking over... running over to me. She slides to her knees and wraps me in a tight hug, nearly breaking into tears. I wrap my arms around her as well, being sure not to burn her clothes off. She moves her hands to my cheeks and inspects my face, smiling warmly.

"My boy... my handsome boy. Look at you, you're all grown up." She says before planting a loving kiss on my forehead.

"How are you here? What happened when I was little? Who is my father? How..." She plants a finger over my lips to silence me, smiling warmly to me.

"I've been told by our time traveling friend here what I can and can't answer. I wish I could tell you everything, I really do. But... I'm sorry. I'm not allowed to..."

"Come with me." I say to her, getting a worried look. "There's so much I want to..." Again she has to silence me.

"My son, my brave, brave son. I'm so sorry for what happened. But... this is a journey you must take on your own. You've gotten this far without me, and you will continue without me. My place is back in Diamond Halls. With you father." She tells me as she begins to stoke my hair.

"Who is my father?" I ask, only to get her to shake her head. "Is it Susurrans?" Again, she shakes her head. "Well... what's you name? Who are you?"

"I am Captain Eremita of the Spartan regiment, Diamond Halls outfit. That is all I can tell you." She says sadly. I let out a huff in annoyance as I try to think of what to ask her. All my life I imagine meeting her, and now I don't know what to say. "Please tell me your name. I know it already, but I want to hear it from you." She asks with a loving smile.

"I'm Miles Eremita, Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment." I tell her. She swells up in pride as she mumbles to herself a bit. "How did you find me here?" I ask her, breaking her out of her little trance.

"Our friend back there brought me here.... well, she was trying to come here on her own. But I jumped her before she finished her spell. I ended up in Equestria.... where I met your wife." She says as she looks me in the eyes. I tense up a bit as I wait for her answer. I know our marriage isn't.... normal, but her approval right now... "She's lovely."

"Oh Sweet Barbra thank you!" I say as I release the breath I was holding. She lets out a loud laugh as she covers her mouth.

"Yup! You're his alright. Though, you're a bit off with the last part." She says joyfully as she pats my back. I don't entirely get what she's talking about, but I laugh along with her.

"Uh... anyway, you met Luna?" I ask, getting her to stop her laughing, for the most part at least.

"Yes, it was in the future though. She lovely Miles. I was glad to call her daughter." She tells me, making me swell up in pride.

"... Mother, I'm... I'm dying." I say quietly as I look down to my hand. As I stare at them, she takes them in her hands. I close my fingers around hers as she pulls my hand to her cheek, rubbing it slowly.

"I know. It's our blessing, and our curse. Don't worry though. When your time comes, everything will be OK. You just need to finish this journey." She tells me quietly as she continues to rub my hand against her cheek.

"I.... I don't want to die." I admit to her, getting a soft chuckle.

"Of course not. Do you think I wanted to leave you alone? No. If I could, I would have given everything up to have been with you. But we don't get to make those choices son. But I have faith that you will face this like a true Eremita. You will, and already have, make me so proud. Miles, please take care..."

"No! Don't go, not yet!" I yell as I wrap my arms around her, embracing her for what could be the last time. She lets out a slow sigh as she stands to her feet, still entangled within my arms. She rests a hand on my shoulder as the other one guides my face to look up to her.

"My brave boy. I have to go. If I don't get home I wont be able to begin the greatest chapter of my life."

"... what chapter is that?" I ask.

"Pregnancy." She says as she rubs my cheek. I nob and rise to my feet, collecting myself quickly as I ready myself to say goodbye. "I love you Miles. Nunc. Cras. Saecula."

"Numquam ero obliviscar tui, Mother. Take care." I say before planting a kiss on her forehead. She begins to leave, but stops when I reach out and grab her hand. "Two more questions. Who is she, and please, please, what is your name?" She looks back to me and contemplates her answer, thinking deeply about this.

"Eremita," the other woman says, "you can tell him one of those answers." She nods and comes closer to me, mere centimeters from my ear.

She tells me her full name.

"You have a beautiful name." I tell her with a warm smile. She leans up and gives me a kiss on the cheek before giving me one last hug, one which I return.

"Goodbye, my son." She tells me.

"Goodbye, my mother." I tell her. After a long embrace we finally separate. She steps over to the other woman as she flares her hands and plants them on the ground, making an archaic circle appear.

"Remember, you are a..."

KER-FLASH

Before she could finish they suddenly flash out of existence. Stare at the scorch mark for awhile before smiling to myself. My mother... this is.... unbelievable. I... death can come easier, now that I know her name.

Next Chapter: Chapter 164 Ruby Canyon: Cruel Kindness Estimated time remaining: 43 Hours, 48 Minutes