We head over to the train station and buy our tickets back to Ponyville. I keep waltzing around in my armor, trying to get accustomed to its overpowered feel. The suit may be getting to my head, but my wall-breaking punches don't care.

I might sleep in the suit...

And bathe...

If only it had a receptacle to-

"ALLLLLLLLLLLLL ABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOARD!" I snap back to reality and join the others as we fill up our cart.

"Aren't you going to take that thing off? It looks quite uncomfortable." Rarity says to me as she stretches out and relaxes into her own seat.

"Well, I'd rather not burn down the cart we're using to get home. That, and this thing is still fairly comfortable-"

"W-W-WOOOHOHO!" Pinkie shrieks as her entire body shakes on its own accord. Everyone else looks to her and begins to panic. "Oh no, a doozy is coming our way!"

"Do you know what it is?" Twilight asks in a worried tone.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know what it is, but it's going to be a big. Something.... super, duper, ultra, jaw breaking off and falling onto the ground big." Everyone else glances around the cart as an unsettling silence falls over us. I try to think of a logical reason for this... But, it's Pinkie Pie.

"Um... Can someone explain this to me?" I ask.

"I have-"

"It's Pinkie sense." Twilight says, cutting Pinkie off. "Every now and again she gets these little twitches or hints from her body that tells her when something is going to happen. The most common one is her twitchy tail, that tells her something is going to fall. There are plenty of other ones, but this one is the most... confusing."

"Confusing how?"

"Well... Pinkie," Twilight says, letting her explain it.

"I don't know. It usually means something unexpected will happen. Something that nopony would ever guess in a million ba-jillion years! Last time it was Twilight believing in Pinkie sense, but this... It feels different. Like *SHAKE* WHOA! See, it's a little more intense this time."

".... Twilight."

"Yes Miles?"

"Please tell me there is a logical explanation for this."

"Would you except it being a Pinkie thing for a logical explanation?"

".... you know what? No. I'm going to explain this-"

"Miles, ponies have gone crazy trying to do that, don't!" Rainbow warns me, glancing back to Twilight. I just shake my head and move over to bench.

"Pinkie, come here. We're going to have a long talk."

"He's doomed." Rarity comments, getting slow nods from everyone else.

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

Sixteen years of molding my mind to the most intellectual theorists Terradisia has to offer. All that time and focus, coming to this point in time right now. All of this knowledge, all of the lessons, all being tested...

By a little...

Pink...

Pony.

"... and then my tail twitches and my rump itches and then I know that there are finches flying for my food."

".... what's a finch?"

"It's a little bird... those flying creatures with feathers you see everywhere. I swear Miles, I would have thought you would have learned this basic stuff by now."

*EYE TWITCH*

"What about things that happen far from you? How close to these things do you have to be for you to get these feelings?"

"Mmmm..... I don't think I do. Usually the closer they are to me, the better the sense. But then sometimes I sense things and nothing happens.... well, nothing happens to me at least."

*EYE TWITCH*

"Well, do you feel anything right now? Other than the doozy one." I ask her. She scrunches her face as she tries to feel anything. She begins to shift around in her seat, rolling around until she ends up on the floor on her back.

"Nope!" she says as she pops back up into her seat. "Noth- oh wait.... here comes one." She wiggles her front legs, scrunches her nose, chews her tongue and twitches her tail. "Oh... Everypony should get in their crash positions."

"What are you-"

KROOOOM

The world around me spins out of control as a powerful force sends the entire train cart rolling off the tracks. The shrieks of metal and glass shattering explode around me as every loose item is thrown about with splinters of wood. I slam against the walls and bounce around like a pebble in a sifter as the cart rolls uncontrollably down a slope. I can see the others thrashing about in similar fashion, only not having the luck of being in full body armor.

I slam against a window as it hits the ground and break through it as the cart rolls away from me. I can feel a sticky warm liquid trickle down my face as I lay on the ground. I need to get to the others to help. I lift an arm up and-

THUNK

"AAAAAAAHH!" I scream in agony as a new form of pain takes over. I look at my hand to see an arrow sticking through it, buried in the ground below. A green energy seeps from my hand, billowing away into the air. The arrow fazes away, but the energy continues to billow lightly. I turn around and-

THUD

Something huge lands right on top of me and lets out a massive roar before pounding both of its fists onto my back. A wave of energy hits me and shakes me to my core. I twist to the side, knocking the person behind me over, and jump on top of them to punch them back.

The creature beneath me is an orc. He's wearing thick brass goggles and light steel armor over his entire body. Judging from my position, he's at least four meters tall and muscular. I rear up a fist and bring it down on his chest. He lets out a low grunt as the sound of metal hitting metal rings out. As I bring up my other fist to punch him, I lurch over as the new pain takes over my back. I can feel something sticking in, probably another armor negating arrow.

"Puny hairless demon ape!" The orc yells as he grabs me and tosses me off of him, a testament to his strength. I roll a bit on the ground but push myself up in time to dodge another arrow. I take a quick glance around to asses the situation. There's an earth pony on a nearby roof pointing a bow and arrow at me, both of which are made of some clear blue energy. The orc is back on his feet and holding his fist up, ready to fight. There's a little green goblin below the pony fiddling with something as he keeps glancing between me and it. A long rifle is strapped to his back as well as two pistols to his hips. They all wear the same goggles as the orc in addition to their own armor-

"RRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Something lets out a high pitched scream and slams into my back, forcing me to stumble forward. I spin around to face... nothing? "CENTER!" I look down and find the last opponent standing before me. He's barely a meter tall, covered in thick black fur, bipedal, and-

THUNK

I let out as silent scream as another one of the arrows pierces its way into my side. I stumble to my side as I grab the arrow and yank it out-

THUD

I fall back down as the orc punches me again. My vision is beginning to fade as I feel my energy fade from me. I blink a few times as I watch the furry bipedal creature quickly back away from me. I begin to stand when something hits my side. I look over to see the device the goblin was working on laying beside me. A large clock sits on top of it as the sound of air escaping through a tiny opening whizzes from it.

"CAPTAIN!" Rainbow Dash yells as she lands beside me and kicks the device away. I watch it hit another house and explode into a ball of archaic fire. "GET UP DAMMIT!" She yells as she spins her spear around, watching the others as they begin to approach. She's a bit bloodied, with a thick trail coming from her mane and down her face.

"Right.... right... watch the archer." I mumble as I stagger to my feet.

"What archer?" She asks before stabbing at the furry bipedal creature, keeping him away. "TRY IT AGAIN CHIMP!"

"BACK OFF PONY!" He yells back as he claps his hands, creating twin daggers of the same clear blue energy. I swipe my arm around Dash and push her behind me as I bring a fist down onto the... chimp? He dodges to the side and moves to retaliate, but I stop him by jumping forward, tackling him into a distant building. I use him as a cushion as we break through the wall, ending halfway into the next one. I step back and let him fall to the ground unconscious before darting out the hole.

I see the archer lining up another shot at Dash as she keeps the orc at bay with her spear. The goblin is also taking aim at Dash, using all four arms to lift his rifle up. I throw my arms up and pull down with my magic. The walls supporting the pony archer crumble and are forced down, making the pony miss his shot and burying the goblin. With them dealt with I squat down and jump at the orc, using my jets to accelerate towards him-

THUNK

... or face first into his fist. The punch itself does more damage to him than me, but there's something about his attacks that rock the core of my being. It's almost as if they mainly attack my soul.

I drop to a knee but quickly give a uppercut right into his jaw, staggering him back. Right on queue, Dash follows up by leaping into the air and bringing the spear head down through his jaw. He lets out an agonizing scream as electricity races through his body, courtesy of Dash's spear. I rear my fist up and put all of my strength into punching him in the face. We end up tearing the spear through his jawbone and crushing the front of his skull. He falls to the ground bleeding profusely, whimpering lightly. He'll be dead within the minute.

PING PING

Dash and I both take a hit, but whatever it was, it was weak. I look over to see the bloodied goblin emerge from the rubble and drop one of his pistols as he begins to reload the other one. He has to manually load the pellet and force it down the barrel. As he does this, the earth pony bursts out from the rubble and starts to make a run for it.

"You get that guy, I'll deal with the goblin." I tell Dash as I begin to walk towards the tiny creature. She takes off through the air and gives chase. The goblin gets his round in the barrel and begins to twist a knob on the side of the gun before aiming for my head.

PING

".... that's cheating."

"Superior technology will win every time." I say as I take my stance.

"Maybe, but a demon like you will meet their fate, one way or another." He growls as he drops the pistol and pulls out what looks like a steam powered clock.

"Who are-"

BOOM

I stagger back when he twisted a knob and set off the bomb. Luckily for me, it wasn't archaic and was mostly blocked by my armor. I wait for the smoke to clear before searching the surrounding area. Bits and pieces of him lay everywhere as a dark scorch mark covers a eight meter diameter.

"Well.... I think my guy offed himself as well." Dash says as she lands behind me, dropping the earth pony to the ground. "I don't buy it though, he was moving his hooves like crazy. It looked as if he was pretending to shoot a bow and arrow at me."

"Go get the others from the train while I examine the remaining people. If any of them need medical attention bring them to me. If it's really bad, then call me over."

"Roger that." She takes off for the train cart at break neck speed. I kneel beside the pony and begin to look through his saddle bags.

A note with pony text...

Some basic survival gear...

Some medical supplies...

"Oh sweet Barbra..."

A... picture of me....

And Applejack...

Our train schedule...

Pictures of all the Spartans.... Luna... Shadow... Moosden...Lupus and Hati....

Who is this guy?

"Captain." I look up to see Damian and his group standing before me. They're all covered in scars and bruises and look as if they've fought the entire way here.

"Damian... what the fuck is going on here?" I ask as I stand up.

"Well... it's a bit complicated, you see..."

"CAPTAIN!" Rainbow Dash yells from behind. "IT'S APPLEJACK! SHE NEEDS YOUR HELP!"

"... help get them to safety, then we'll talk." He nods to me and we quickly move to the train. I don't know what's going on, but I'm sure as fuck won't stand for my friends and family being targeted by anyone.

---

I shudder a bit as a throbbing feeling takes over my head. I try to move around to get comfortable, but that only seems to make it worse. I take a few deep breaths before slowly opening my eyes, finding my vision blurred at first. After blinking a few times I finally focus enough to recognize my own room.

"What in tarnation-"

"You took a nasty hit when the train rolled off the tracks. Miles saved you, though you still have a concussion." I look over and nearly jump from the sight before me. Hammer's sitting by my the window, looking out at the orchard with an even, unemotional glare. He has two long, deep scars going down his side, as well as several apple sized puncture scars. His over all muscle mass must have tripled from when I last saw him as well.

"Hammer... what happened to you?" He doesn't answer me. Instead he turns his head slightly to keep his eyes away from mine. I slowly make my way out of bed and walk over to him, trying to get him to look me in the eyes. No matter where I go, he keeps his gaze elsewhere, obviously deeply troubled by something.

I sigh when I finally stop trying to get his attention and instead focus on his wounds. I can't help but bring a hoof to them to check if they're real.

They are.

"Hammer, what did this ta ya?" I ask, only to get silence again.There are three long, deep scars running evenly across his side. I run my hoof up the entire length of the wound before ending it and the base of his neck. I trace it up from there and bring it to his jaw, where I force him to look me in the eyes. Going across his face is a even deeper scar, going from his forehead to his chin at a slight angle. That's not the worst part though...

The look in his eyes say it all. He's lost somepony. Somepony close. Without saying a word, I wrap him up in a hug and hold onto him tightly. He stiffens up and looks away from me, taking deeper breaths. I can feel him slowly lower his muzzle to lay against my neck as he begins to choke on his tears. I just rub his back and let him work it out.

"I'm so sorry.... I didn't want any of this to happen to you... Or Bonzu... I...I... I'm so sorry." He sobs as he buries his muzzle in my mane. I just hold him tighter as a tremor runs through his body.

"It's alright sugarcube. Ah know ya didn't want any a this ta happen. Yer a good stallion, ya would never wish something bad on somepony. It ain’t in yer nature."

"I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I can't tell you anything about the ponies that attacked you. I can't tell you what happened to my brother. I can't even guarantee your safety. I can't protect you, I can’t do anything-"

"Hold it right there!" I say in a firm tone as I push him back and look him right in the eyes. "Ah don't know what ya did, but know darn well that ya did the best ya could. An that's all ah can ask."

"But you-"

"By the looks of it ya went through hell in back tryin ta stop whatever happened ta me. I'm alive, yer alive, and that's that! If ya hit the high beam, ya just set it back and try again. Now... Ah can tell ya got a lot stronger since ah last saw ya, so now ya have ta use this strength ta fight harder. No disrespectin yer kin with all this self loathing. Ah know it hurts, trust me it will hurt a lot more later, but ah want ya ta promise me ya wont give up on... Whatever yer fightin for. Promise me ya will not let this ruin you." He wipes a few tears from his face as he nods to me slowly, moving his gaze back out the window.

"I promise. I won't let anything like this happen to you, or anypony, ever again. Applejack.... I... I... you..."

"Shh." I shush him as I lean forward and rest my nose against his. He closes his eyes as a new set of tears begin to roll down his face. I just wrap my forelegs around him and allow him to let it out. "Ah love ya too."

We spend a few hours just holding each other. A nice patch of my shoulder became damp from all of his tears, but it's okay. I know I had my share of tears when I lost my parents, I couldn't imagine losing somepony close again.

---

I pace back and forth as I try to think straight. Once I healed all of the girls up and brought them home, I brought the unconscious chimp to Topaz Falls and threw him in an interrogation cell. I'm in the watch room with Damian trying to think clearly. It's a small room with a wall enchanted to show the interrogation room. A table sits below the screen with all of the gear we could gather from our would be assailants.

Pictures, a clear plan of attack, materials for bombs, weapons....

The weapons. Ends up goblins utilize steam power to make guns. It's similar to old flintlocks, only with air canisters instead of gun powder. It's pretty impressive, weak, but impressive. According to Damian, they use this power in everything. Air, land and sea vehicles, living tools like stoves and elevators, everything.

"What are you going to do about this guy?" Damian asks me as he glares at the guy.

"You know anything about him?" I ask as I look over the pistol.

"Not personally. Just that he's a part of the purist-"

"Alright. I'm pissed and I want answers. I'm going to go in to teach these Purist a lesson." I say as I set the gun down and move towards the door.

"Statera members are trained against torture, I doubt you're going to get him to talk," Damian warns me.

"Talk?" I leave the examination room and enter the interrogation chamber. It's a simple square room with dark grey sound proof walls and a drain in the center. We have the chimp tied to a metal chair in the center. I step in front of him and fold my arms as I wait for him to look up to me. It takes a while, but eventually he does so.

"Do you know who I am?" I ask in a slow even tone.

He nods.

"Do you know where you are?"

He nods again.

"I've left the gates open and made sure that several of your little spirit informants came in to witness this. I am going to give you an the chance to save yourself a lot of misery. Either start talking, or I take the information from you. I want to know why you're targeting me, my family, and my friends."

He stays quiet, tightening his bottom lip as he readies his resolve.

"Didn't think so. Now the next warning. I am going to tear the information I want from your mind, either allow me to do this or fight me as hard as you can. Either way, I am going to make this as painful as possible for you. Do you know how to resist soul based mental attacks?"

He hesitates a bit before nodding again, keeping his serious facade up.

"You need to connect to your spiritual energy and focus your mind on a single thought. When you feel me trying to break through your mind, try and put up a mental barrier to stop me. This will take all of your focus and will to do successfully."

"Why are you telling me this?" He asks in a deep voice.

"I'm going to make an example of you. No matter how prepared you are for this, I will break you. I will learn everything there is to know from you. And I will torture you until you beg for death. Are you ready?" He takes a several breaths before nodding to me.

I grab the leg of the chair and yank it out from under him. With both hands I spin around and toss the chair against the wall, smacking him head first into it. He lets out a pained groan before I grab the back of the chair and toss it against the far wall. He groans a bit before spitting some blood at me. So I walk over and slam my foot into his chest and hold it there. He screams in agony as the archaic lines burn into his flesh. The patch of fur below my foot burns away as the area around it catches fire.

I push off of him and let him sit there in pain for awhile. Once I feel he's waited long enough, I rush back in and punch him across the face with enough force to knock him on his back. I move over him and begin to wrap my hands in archaic energy as I glare down at the chimp below me.

"Do your worst." He growls as he bares his teeth.

"Don't worry," I reply with a smile."We've barely started." I drop down and slam my palms against his chest. He screams at the top of his lungs as I begin to dagger my energy through his body. He tries to squirm out from underneath me, but I hold him in place as I push even more energy, adding different elements to give different sources of pain.

"Are you going to take all day or can we get whatever information there is to get already?" Damian asks as he steps into the room.

"Just a bit more and he'll be easier to crack," I tell him. Damian sighs and comes over to watch more closely, but is getting impatient quickly. "Do you want to have a whack at it?"

"I thought you'd never ask." I roll my eyes and step off the chimp, giving him a few saving graces before Damian kicks him clear across the room. He slams against the wall and bounces off, flattening several of the chairs legs from the impact.

"... what the fuck man? We need him alive to interrogate."

"That's why we have you, now heal him up before he bleeds out." I let out a sigh before moving over and healing the poor fucker up. It's going to be a long day.

---

I feel something shake me a bit, but I'm too tired to care about it, so I roll over and pull the sheets closer to myself. When I feel whoever it is shake me again, I groan in frustration as I turn to face them.

"Spike? It's... somewhat early. What's going on?" I ask groggily as I get comfortable, trying to sleep as much more as possible.

"Fluttershy is here to visit, she says that it's really important for the two of you to talk." I sigh in annoyance before nodding to him and getting out of bed. I go the the restroom and quickly make myself presentable. Once done, I quickly make my way downstairs where I find Fluttershy and Spike sitting at the kitchen table enjoying coffee and hot chocolate.

"Good morning Fluttershy, what can I help you with?" I ask as I walk around them and make my own cup.

"Oh, um... Spike?"

"*sigh* I'll be at Rarity's if you need me." He says before leaving the two of us alone, giving me some final worried glances.

"So, now that he's gone, what did you want to talk to me-"

"We're pregnant." My mouth hangs open as I try to process what she said.

"You mean you're pregnant, right?" She sighs a bit as she looks down at her coffee, avoiding my gaze.

"I've been pregnant since before Ruby Canyon. Since we have a few days here, I went to the pharmacy to buy some vitamins and... well, the cashier pony slipped that you had bought a pregnancy test. I didn't mean to pry, but when I came over yesterday and you were gone... I... may have looked in your bathroom waste bin and found the positive test." She shrinks up at the last part, forcing me to strain to hear her.

"... am I?" I ask as I look away from her.

"That's what I wanted to know... so I brought you something." I look back to her and watch closely as she digs through her saddlebag and pulls out a pregnancy test. My heart races as she sets it on the table and pushes it towards me. "Whenever you're ready."

"I.... I.... I'm going to need a lot more water."

"What does it say?" Fluttershy asks from the other side of the door.

"Please don't listen in when I'm doing this."

"Sorry.... but is it ready yet?" I groan out load as I continue to pace around my bathroom. It's only a five minute wait, but it feels as if it's been hours. I can't be pregnant, I just... can't. Not after what I did to myself. What if I was and I.... no. Storm and I were being careful... or we should have been. We agreed to wait until after Miles finished his little quest thing.

If I am, I'm blaming Storm.

"Well? What does it say... sorry. Take your time. But tell me when you know... well, when you're ready that is. Just.. you know, I'll be waiting so whenever you're ready is fine-"

"It's positive."

"YES!" I nearly fall over when she screams at the top of her lungs. "Oh, we should be pregnant buddies and go to birthing classes together! OH! What do you think, filly or colt? I hope I get a sweet little filly to tell stories to and braid our manes together and -oooohh- little dress ups and tea parties-"

I sit on the toilet and stare at the little red plus sign on the white stick. How could I have done something so stupid with something so precious. What's wrong with me? What if something happens to it? What if I have another miscarriage? I... I don't know what I'd do if anything were to happen to my baby-

"Twilight? Twilight are you alright in there?" I snap back to reality and leave the restroom. She wraps me up in a tight hug, but I don't return it. I still can't I'm pregnant, after what I've done. "Twilight, are you okay?"

"What if what I did with those potions did something to the baby?" I ask quietly as I sit there, thinking of all the possibilities that could happen to my unborn child. There is just no-

SMACK

I sit there in a daze as a sharp pain takes over my right cheek. Fluttershy shakes the pain away from her hoof before pushing me back inside the bathroom. She spins me around and forces me to look at myself in the mirror.

"Look at yourself. Tell me what you see."

"Fluttershy, I don't-"

"Tell me what you see," she repeats more firmly. I shrink away from her and take a look at myself in the mirror.

"Well... it's just me and you. Nothing more than a reflection," I tell her, not finding anything beyond that. Or not wanting to.

"Do you see a murderer?" I do a double take as I look over to her, unsure of how to answer something like that. "Twilight, I saw your face and I won't let you do anything like that.That baby deserves as much a chance as any other would. No buts, and or ifs, do you understand me?" I take a step away from her as I slowly process what she's telling me.

I run over and hug her tightly as I realize the sick thoughts I had. What is wrong with me?! How could I possibly think that after trying so hard!? I need help... I need...

"Fluttershy, will you help me through this?" I ask her, slightly tearing up.

"Of course, let's start by getting you to the pharmacy and get you some doctor appointments. We also need to get your diet in order, a physical, vitamins, and-"

"Don't forget telling Miles that we can't go with him to the cities." Fluttershy pauses and looks to me, rubbing her leg a bit as she mumbles something to herself.

"I... was still going to go to the next one."

".... WHAT!?" She shrinks back a bit as I stare at her, trying to figure out how she could possibly want to go to the next city.

"Well... nopony knows yet, and they still really need us-"

"BUT WE'RE PREGNANT! HOW- BUT YOU- AND THE- WHAT!?" Fluttershy straightens out a bit before walking downstairs. I just stand there, baffled beyond belief. After a moment or two I shake my head and run after her, bolting out the door to catch up with her.

"Twilight, you have more of a reason to go then I do," she says as I slow down to walk by her side. "You're the medic. If Miles isn't there then you have to be the one to fix our wounds. Not to mention your teleporting and shields are vital. You have to go, to protect the others."

"Well.... maybe. But what about you?" I ask as I look away from her.

"I can keep ponies from harming our friends. Given, I have less reason to go then you, but I still feel the need to go. I'm going to take every precaution I can, but not going isn't an option."

"... and why is that?"

"It's like Big Mac always says, 'if ya make a promise, ya keep it. That's that.'" She says, mimicking his deep voice. "It's his catch phrase really."

"... Big Mac talks?"

"Since I promised to help no matter what, I'm going. And I know you want to go as well, so unless you really are against this, let's just agree to keep this between us for now." We come to a stop before the pharmacy. I bite my lip as I try to think logically about this. I know going would be stupid. I can't risk my child for this... but Fluttershy has a point. This is for the others, to keep them safe. I already went through at least one city and made it through alright....

"Okay, we'll go. But we have to be careful. Nothing heroic, okay. We stick to the back and let the others take the brunt of the fighting. Pinkie promise."

"Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cup cake in my eye." I sigh in relief before facing the pharmacy. Hopefully everything checks out fine with the baby... hm, I'm going to be a mother.... unless I have another miscarriage.... I need to get that check up now. Without another word, I run through the door and charge at the front counter, scaring the pegasus there.

"I NEED A CHECK UP!"

"DAMN GURL!" She yells as she nearly falls out her seat. "A what now? Check up? Uh.... HEY? WE DO CHECK UPS HERE?" She yells to the back.

"What's that?" Somepony from the back yells.

"Dis gurl wants a check up, we do that?"

"She preggers?"

"You preggers?" She asks me.

"Yes-"

"DAMN GURL, SHE PREGGERS!-"

"OH DAMN!"

"Alright, uh.... GURL, GIT OUT HERE, I DON'T KNOW HOW TA DO THIS CRAP!"

"How did you get a job here if you don't know what to do?" I ask.

"Dats for me to know and you ta mind your own damn business." She says as she waves her hoof back and forth. I look back to Fluttershy before looking back to this pegasi, trying to figure out why she's so defensive. Today is going to be a long day.

---

With a loud grunt I toss the chimp, Si Hua, to the ground as I finally leave his mind. We've been going non stop trying to pry every bit of information from him. It's been a long process, but after this last run in, we've hit a dead end.

"Well, I don't think you'll like what I learned about this guy." I say as I step back and lean against the wall, trying to relax.

"What else could there be? Purist, went on a hit for you guys and your families-"

"Yeah, base grunt doing base crap. Useless really-"

SLAM

I snap to the side as the door slams off its hinges. Hammer walks in, not looking either of us in the eye as he does so. He has an evil look in his eye as the rest of his face keeps an even coolness to it. I moved to stop him, but Damian stopped me halfway. He shakes his head slowly and begins to pull me out of the room. When we leave the room, I pause by the door to listen in on what he has to say-

SPLAT

Not much. I let out a deep sigh as I follow Damian down the corridor. I'll let him work that out on his own.

Damian and I take a few mico platforms until we end up in the medical ward. I order him to lay by one as I begin to check it over the healing device. It's nothing too bad, just some wire re-working as well as some fragmented parts. We stay quiet for a bit, but eventually I have to ask the question that's racking my mind.

"Damian, everything alright?" He glances to me before laying back on the patients table, resting his hooves behind his head.

"Don't worry about us. I can handle it."

"Don't get cocky Damian. Terradisia was the strongest nation in the universe, but everything has a weakness. Don't let the illusion of power misguide you."

"Since when were you a philosopher?" He asks with a slight chuckle. I give him a look that he shrugs off, looking away from me. "I can handle this. Don't worry about us. I'll get things back under control.... I can handle it-"

"Like how Hammer is?" He looks back to me for a second before looking away, avoiding my eyes.

"I wasn't here for that. I didn't know-"

"And you'll know what happens next right? What about CC? Or Patches? What about your fellow Spartans? Damian, you can't take everything on yourself. Look at me, all this power at my disposal and I can't completely guarantee Luna's safety. I can't guarantee Shadow will grow up safe and happy. There are too many variables that I can't control. No matter how much power I have. No matter what I train for. No matter how much I believe I can, there is the plausibility of failure. If you ever need us, you can call us Damian. We're more then just some team. We'll come, you just need to call."

He continues to look away from me, thinking deeply about what I said. He lets out a low sigh as he shifts a bit away from me.

"Thanks, I really do appreciate it. But I can handle this. I won't let this happen again-"

BZZZT

"AH! What the fuck was that!" I just chuckle as I let the machine get to work. The three arms move around Damian and trace blue lights over his body. When they find something incorrect, a beam of healing energy comes out. It's a little painful, but nothing he should bitch too much about.

"May I have your-"

"EASY! Just the bot I wanted to see. Watch over the medala lectum until Damian's scars are fixed, then retrieve his friends and do the same for them. They are all here, right?" I ask Damian.

"Ye-OW! Yeah... well, not Patches. But he doesn't need it really. He's.... well.... he's suppose to have scars." I nod to him and begin to walk out of the hall. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going topside to give Luna a call-"

"Oh, so you're just going to up and leave. Not even see us out?" He says with a pouty face, until another healing beam strikes him.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to see you guys before you leave, this thing will take the three of you at least a day before it reduces your scars. Luckily for you, you get to keep that little dingy over your right eye. But in all seriousness, remember that we're... that the Spartans will be here to help."

"I know, and I really do appreciate it. But I can handle thiIIIIIISSSSSAAAHHH!"

"Damian, don't be such a pussy."

"Fuck you, it hurts!"

"Captain Eremita has altered the healing beam to give off an extremely high amount of energy, thus fixing your wounds quicker at the cost of slight pain," Easy informs him before another beam strikes. I just laugh at his misfortune and continue to leave the P.C.H. There is one thing I need to do before calling Luna over.

---

RING-RING RING-RING RING-RING

"HUH! I'm up, I'm up! Hold your positions and... and... hello? Miles?" I half yell, half mumble, as I scramble out of bed and yank my drawers off until I find my phone and answer it.

"Hey love, think you can come over for a bit? I... I want to see you before I leave tomorrow," he says almost shyly.

"Give me a minute, I'll be there as quickly as possible." I tell him as I force myself out of bed. I hold the phone against my head as I try to make myself presentable. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah... well, as okay as they can be given the circumstances. You?"

"I'm fine, a bit tired but fine. I have good news to tell you." I say as I finish brushing my mane and teleport to the mico platform.

"Really, what would that be?" I take the platform and hang up the as I step out of the closet, finding Miles sitting against the wall.

"I finally told Celestia, and ends up she already knew," I tell him with a large smile. He does a double take and stares at me for awhile, trying to process everything.

"So... she knew the entire time."

"That's what she said."

"The entire time."

"Yeah."

"And I still have my balls."

"Last time I checked... why-"

"Luna, either you're lying to me or she's talking about something else. Because the last time I checked Celestia hated my guts and wanted a perfect excuse to remove my genitalia."

"She doesn't hate you Miles. She just.... she.... well-"

"Disagrees with every choice I've ever made and would love to see me gone.... and without genitals." I think about what he said for a bit until I slowly come to the realization that she may not be on the same page as us.

"Shoot! I knew it was too good to be true."

"Okay, either cuss properly or tell her the truth. I'll take either one at this point."

"I'll talk to her again, as soon as possible that is. I know she's swamped with meetings today that can't be avoided. *sigh* why is this so hard?" I ask as I lay beside him and rest my head over his lap. He jumps a bit, but relaxes soon enough, running his hand down my mane and along my neck. "Jumpy?" I ask with a slight giggle.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to people being able to touch me when my magic is on." He admits as he moves his free arm to cup underneath my jaw. He pulls my close and holds me against him. I let out a content sigh as I let the sound of his thumping heart lull me back into a dazed state.

"You keep forgetting that I'm special."

"Yeah, my special girl." I ignore the sarcasm in his voice and nuzzle myself deeper into his embrace, trying to use his arms to block out the sun.

"... Luna, there's one last thing I need to ask you to do before... I go." I stiffen up a bit, but let him continue. "I've made a larger pathway to Topaz Falls now. Once the entrance is cleared, getting there will be tremendously easier. I need you to promise me that you will not allow people in there until society is ready for that kind of technology."

"... I don't understand-"

"Imagine if archaic condensers suddenly became common in Equestria. Such advanced technology would disrupt the current world order. At this time, people aren't ready for something like that. It needs to be kept a secret until it won't make a difference. I don't know how long that's going to be, it may never happen. Only if the sake of millions of lives, not just Equestrian, are at risk should you ever even consider it. Promise me you'll keep that a secret from everyone. Promise me."

"I promise... but what about the Spartans and the Terradisians? Shouldn't they-"

"I've already set plans with Easy to give them a message once I'm... The Spartans will fall under Storm's command and will aid you in keeping this a secret. As for the Terradisians, I've left a short message for Storm giving him options on how to go about that. The human race needs to fall back to unknown legend for the time being... it's just the way things have to be-"

"I don't like this Miles." I tell him as I sit up to look him in the eyes. "This is your heritage, your legacy. Why do you want it to be such a great secret?" He just smiles to me and brings his hand to rest on the back of my head. I close my eyes and lean into his touch, savoring for as long as possible.

"The world isn't ready for this kind of legacy. It wouldn't be interpreted correctly. No, in time people would understand, but not now. Everything is too... there are dark places in this world, but none that compare to the eight I've visited. We can't let those things come out until society is ready to face them. Promise me you'll help me with this." I look into his eyes and let his determination sink in. With a defeated sigh I lean over and give him a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Okay, I'll help you keep the cities a secret. And I'll tell Celestia for real this time."

"Thank you love. I'm sorry about being so serious, but this is really important."

"I know. I understand it's just... after keeping us a secret for so long I don't want to keep anymore. They're too stressful." He laughs a little as he pulls me into his embrace. I sigh as I move around to lay my back against his stomach. He wraps his arms around my midsection, so I hold onto his arms.

"Well, this is what you get for keeping secrets." He says as he leans his head against mine.

"So this is my fault?"

"I say we blame Storm."

"Why Storm?"

"Well... Storm or Damian... or both. Either way, I think people would agree without argument." I laugh a little as I lean my head against his, softly nuzzling the his side as I close my eyes and enjoy the moment.

"Alright, But I'm throwing Regina in there as well. She's the one who made me go after you again after all."

"Yeah, and Twilight didn't try hard enough to keep us separated."

"Not to mention Applejack let us have our wedding in her barn."

"Didn't Pinkie help plan that?"

"Darn right she did!" I laugh a bit when I think back to her practically exploding when I asked to help.

"We have such horrible friends." Miles comments.

"They're terrible influences really. Look at all the trouble they have caused." I comment, getting a slow nod from Miles.

"Yeah, because love had nothing to do with it."

"Nope. It was Fluttershy letting you get away that first night you came to Equestria."

"And Rarity not kicking Blueblood's ass herself."

"Ye- wait, what?" I ask him.

"Remember when Blueblood came to propose to Rarity and I ended up fighting him for Spartan pride? I could have sworn I told you about that."

"Oh.... yeah. I guess that counts too... can I put the blame on Lupus and Hati as well?" We both look over to the doorway and find them laying there, watching us closely.

"I don't see why not. Bad wolves, why didn't you stop this?" Miles says as he wraps his arms around me, getting them to lay their ears down as they lower their heads. We laugh a bit louder as we hold each other more closely.

"Terrible friends." I say with a slight chuckle.

"Awful," Miles agrees.

We spend the rest of the day in that spot, thinking of ways to blame others for our love. We worked basically everypony in there. From mother and father, to the orc leader Oni. With a final love filled kiss I leave to raise the moon and talk to Celestia.

I make it back and go through the routine just like any other day. Celestia seems troubled by something, but I ignore it until we're face to face.

"Sister Mi-"

"The griffin leader Ulfric StormMind is here to speak with you, and only you." Celestia cuts me off, silencing me.

".... uh...... what?"

"He's literally here, waiting in the throne room. He won't speak with anypony beside you, do you know why?" I think about it but can't think of any reason why he would want to speak with me. I focus a bit and take my pure form before walking past Celestia, beckoning her to follow.

"I don't know why he's doing this, but I don't have the time to worry about that. What do you think he wants?"

"I can only guess it has to do about the acidic clouds. Do you remember how to block mental attacks?"

"Last time I checked, I was better at it than you were. I remember. Has the guard been notified yet?"

"Yes, they're in position should anything go wrong. Are you read?" I pause before the throne room doors and take a deep breath to calm myself.

"I've got this. We'll talk afterwards. Wish me luck." With that said, I push the doors open with my magic and walk down the middle aisle. He's down by the throne, watching me with intense, wise eyes.

"Lady Nightbringer." He says as he slightly inclines his head. "Thanks you for seeing me."

"Ulfric StormMind, the great Sphinx of the North. To what do I owe this honor?"

---

After Luna had left I tried to do some personal maintenance, but found it to be more difficult than it should have been. For some unknown reason, I've stopped growing facial hair, though I guess that's a plus. Water evaporates when it gets too close, so washing... sucked. I tried to brush my teeth, but the damn brush melted in my hands. And to top it all off, I now have to squat!

After attempting to eat some food- finding it easier to do by magically lifting it- a knock came from the front door. I go and answer it-

"Are you Miles-"

"OH SWEET BARBRA YOU'RE UGLY!" I blurt out as I stare at the orc before me. If I had seen him at a distance, I wouldn't have reacted that way... that was a lot of ugly at once. Now, orcs aren't the prettiest things to look at, but this one breaks the mold. His face is scrunched up, likely from prior beatings, and his nose is a little long. His scales look as if he hasn't seen water in decades and.... oh sweet Barbra... I can taste how bad he smells.

"Move aside Ark, before you knock him out ya smelly beast." Says a pegasus as he pushes the orc aside. He's dark red with blue hair that has a streak of ice blue in it. He's well built, with a cutie mark of a heart with a knife through it with thorns going around it. He has an elegant looking glaive strapped to his back with the Ursas logo etching into the blade.

"I assume you're the mercs going with us to New Garnet." I say as I eye the orc. He's ugly, but I can't stop looking at him for some reason.... he's just too ugly not to.

"Yes we are. My name is Crimson Lionheart, I'll be leading this troop to your next destination. This is our explosives expert, Bada Boom."

"Yo!" He says as he steps forward. He has a bright red coat and a black mane. His tail seems to be missing, though with the burn marks on his ass, I can guess why. He has black, rough looking boots on his hooves. His cutie mark- "I can see you staring, and yeah. I burned off my cutie mark."

"Sorry, it's just-"

"What? You don't like looking at my pretty little flank?" He asks as he starts to wave his back end at me. I'd feel embarrassed about this, but I've seen enough balls to turn a homosexual straight ever since I've come to Equestria.... why are pants so-

"Anyway I am Jax, I'm your archer for this journey." A griffin says as he pushes Bada Boom aside. He looks like your run of the middle griffin, nothing really special to point out really. He carries a bow and quiver that's filled with yellow tailed feathers.

"And you are?" I ask the all black unicorn standing beside him. He's wearing a cloak that blocks my view of any of his possessions.

"Shadow Dancer. One handed expert, specializing in stealth." He says plain and quickly.

"Let me guess, you don't talk much do you?" He stiffens his bottom lips as he glares at me, keeping quiet. "Mercs... anyway, who are you." I groan as I turn to the next... one... "Well, I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting one of you." I say to the Diamond Dog hiding behind the orc.

"Right, I've... just heard about... things you've done.... to Diamond Dogs... so.... yeah." He tries to hide his face, but yelps when the orc pushes him forward.

"You're not like the other Diamond dogs I've seen." I tell him as I inspect him a bit more. He has tan fur instead of the dull grey and is much leaner in build. About the same height, but with a longer face.

"Well, truth be told, I'm a Ruby Dog. We hail... or we used to hail from the deserts of Zahayrah, but we've slowly been becoming.... extinct. Now we have to... 'mingle', with Diamond Dogs, Sapphire Hounds, and Emerald Mutts."

"You seem smarter than Diamond Dogs."

"Well, they only value treasure, gems and fine metals. Ruby Dogs value knowledge more so... though we still like gems and fine metals." he laughs a bit at the end, rubbing the back of his neck as he looks to his comrades.

"Well, I'll buy. Be sure to stick by me and you'll get through this. Now for the rest of you-"

"Don't you want to know my name?" The orc asks, batting his eyelashes at me.

"Fuck no. Anyway, I'm only going to say this once, so listen up. Most, if not all of you will die if you come with us. Only... about five mercs have ever lived going through these cities, and I doubt any of you will either. Don't come with us, go home, queue stupid statements of reassuring incompetence."

"We can handle our.... oh buck you." Crimson starts to say. I just sigh as I step out a bit and look up to Dash's house.

"RAINBOW DASH...... HEY RAINBOW...... RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW!"

"HI MILES! What's up?" Scootaloo yells back as she looks down from the cloud home.

"Is Rainbow Dash up there?"

"Yeah, she's asleep on the couch." It's almost noon.

"Can you be a sweetheart and wake her up for me?" She nods and disappears behind the clouds. I fold my arms and wait for patiently for her to return with Rainbow Dash.

"Umm.... should we-"

"Just hold tight for a few minutes, we need to gather our people and find our destination."

"You don't know where we're going? Well.... I guess you can just rely on your good looks then." The orc says with a wink. I eye him a bit before stepping further away. Of course the last group would have some same sex person, it's going to be one of the last things I remember. Why wouldn't they hit on me?

"Mornin Captain." Rainbow Dash calls as she comes to a landing before me, carrying Scootaloo in her forelegs. "What's going WHAT THE BUCK!" She drops the rest of the way down and covers Scootaloo's eyes.

"I know, I know, I'm ugly, get over it." The orc, whose name I don't care to know, says. Dash stares at him until I move between the two of them, where she continues to the cover disgruntled Scootaloo's eyes.

"Go gather the others as quickly as possible so we can get going to New Garnet, we've got lost time to make up for."

"Uh... sure, I mean, roger that..... uhm-"

"Just go already Dash. Oh! And.... give the others a little heads up about... yeah."

"...Right, bye!" She takes off as quickly as possible, using all of her will to avoid looking at the terribly ugly orc.... who is ogling my ass. I groan a bit before heading inside and go back to my room. I have a feeling this is going to be a long trip. Whatever, I need to get my armor on already.

---

Once everyone arrived and finished gawking at the ugly orc, we finally locate the final city. It's underneath a place called Hoofington. It's almost directly north of Ponyville by about six hundred kilo- *ahem* I mean, about three hundred eighty.... miles... that's just wrong on so many levels.

Anyway, the train ride is going to take us about a day to get there by train, should be interesting. We all file in our cart and take our seats. I can see the anxiety in everyones eyes, the fear of being attacked again is getting to them.

"Did I mention I figured out Pinkie Pie's Pinkie sense?" I ask aloud, making the room go absolutely quiet.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"What? It wasn't that hard."

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!" Twilight yells as she nearly jumps out of her seat. "Nopony could explain Pinkie Pie!"

"Yeah.... well, I have a pretty damn good explanation, you see she-"

WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISTLE

"... As I was saying she jus-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALL AAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAARRDDD!!"

"... Right, she has an o-"

KA-THUNK

The entire cart shakes as the train begins to trudge its way out of the station. I look around the room, looking for anything else that can interrupt me. With the coast clear, I try again.

"She has an-"

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR

"MAKE IT STOP! STOP THE SHTICK TB, STOOOOOOOOOP!" Pinkie yells from her seat as she covers her head. Everything suddenly goes quiet. The train begins to move along smoothly, and whatever made that roar has seemed to disappeared.

"..."

"..."

"... uh.... Pinkie is bipolar and has an over active subconscious. He other personality is using the information her subconscious is gathering and tells the other personality by making the different signals." Everything stays quiet for a bit longer as everyone waits for something to happen.

"... Well, I guess that makes sense." Twilight agrees as she watches the ceiling and windows. "Your subconscious gathers more information about your surrounding than you conscious mind interprets, so I can see how you came to that conclusion."

"And I can see the bipolar thing... actually, I've seen it before." Rainbow adds.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Are we going to die?" Asks Bada Boom as he scoots a little closer to Fluttershy.

"Well, you might. I don't think we will." I tell him as I take a seat and let the moment pass. Something is going to-

"W-w-w-w-whoa!" Pinkie yells as he entire body shakes again.

"WHAT! The train attack wasn't the doozy! What was more doozier than THAT!" Twilight yells.

"I dunno, TB never told me what was in New Garnet, that and the fight they had wasn't that unexpected. It was bound to happen eventually." We all stare at Pinkie as she sits there, looking over herself with renewed interest.

"This is going to suck, isn't it?" Rainbow asks, getting slow nods from... just about everyone.

---

The train comes to a slow stop inside the station, leaving us all on edge. We're still waiting for something to happen. Pinkie's shakes have been slowly increasing in ferocity. Not having any way of helping her, we unload our gear from the storage compartments and leave.

Hoofington city train station is a site to see. The entire building is made of a dull grey stone and goes up for at least three stories, maybe four. Large stained windows take up most of the walls as large ornate chandeliers hang down and provide plenty of light. The granite floors shine brightly as we make our way through the beautiful building, passing through the thick crowd of ponies.

"I did a little reading about Hoofington on the way here. Way back in the day, many griffins moved here during something called the Big Chill. The griffin colonies were covered in ice after a really bad blizzard, so they moved here to escape. Princess Celestia allowed them and granted them citizenship for the time being and ushered them to Hoofington. You can see many architectural influences in the city because of this." Twilight tells us as we push our way through the crowd.

We leave the main building and enter the city. Much like the train station, many of the buildings are made purely of stone and glass and reach high into the sky. The metropolis below is filled with thousands of ponies going about their daily lives, mulling over their trivial pursuits. Dotted here and there are different species as well. Goblins, griffins, a few Minotaurs and I think I saw a bear dot the crowded side walks. Carriages pulled by ponies fill the cobble streets, but I do see one car. It's similar in design to the Flim Flam brothers, but has steam coming out of it in various spots. The goblins riding it keep switching knobs and pull levers to keep it moving.

"Woooooooooow." Pinkie exclaims as we take in the view of the city. "Look at all that cotton candy!" And like that she runs off for some street vendor to buy some pink cotton candy.

"Let's get moving, we need to get to.... seventy ninth and central." Rarity drags Pinkie along as we begin looking for our destination.

After about twenty minutes of walking around here, I already feel home sick.... in more ways then one. This place really reminds me of Topaz Falls, in that big city kind of way. No one cares that there's a squad of armed people walking down the street, they just want us out of the way so we can't inconvenience them for two seconds. The open friendliness of Ponyville is long gone, not to say they're being assholes. They just don't care about anyone else.

The city itself really reminds me of Topaz Falls. Very little vegetation is here. There are a few trees here and there, and several windows have potted plants, but that's it. The people here even wear clothes! Not a lot mind you, mainly vests, hats, maybe a skirt here and there, and scarfs; but it's still quite the change from home.

After about an hour of walking around we finally find Centers Park. Three square kilo..... faaaaah, one and a half square miles of nothing but parks and small man made lakes. As tempting as that all seems, we make it to the center of the park and double check our coordinates.

"This is the spot, everyone gather close and we'll begin our descent." I tell our group. They do so, Bada Boom squeezing a little too close between Rarity and Applejack as.... "Orc, I need you to back off."

"But-"

"Literally, I need to be able to move in order to use my magic." He sighs in disappointment and backs off. I shake my head and channel my magic to open up the ground. We sink down into the ground at tremendous speed. I'm barely using any power, but apparently it's enough to send us down at high speed.

After about an hour or so, we finally crash into the top of the dome. We share a moment of joy before working our way down the side and to the bulkhead.

"This is it everyone, get ready. Twilight and Dash, you're up front wit me. Gay orc, Bismuth, Jax, Applejack and Rarity, hold up the sides. Fluttershy you hang back with Shadow Runner and provide cover. Pinkie, Crimson, assist where needed. Okay, let's do this." I pull out Dominus Clavis and slam it against the metal gate.

When the gate stops at the top, we all stare at the city before us. Perfectly intact. No damage. No signs of any war or suffering. Just tall stone buildings and bright lights shining down from above. The only thing that I don't think is suppose to be here are the black markings on the walls of the buildings. They look like some kind of weird mix between Miles' writing and pony writing.

"So... are we going in or not?" Crimson asks as all of the mercs step inside the city. The rest of us eye each other before hesitantly following them inside.

It's eerie walking through these streets and not having them be destroyed. The buildings follow the same design as the others, having shorter buildings by the dome that grow in height until they become surpassed by the P.C.H. None of them are damaged. None of them look vandalized, burned, or as if they've had anything violent happen.... ever. It really feels as if this is the way the city should be.... minus the black markings.

"KOR BAL TENG IITALBOR!" We all freeze up when we hear a voice scream from down an alley. Without saying anything, Miles runs towards the nearest alley as he draws his sword. We all run after him, trying our best to keep up.

"What is... it... Miles..." Rainbow Dash starts to say when we all come around the end. Down the street are four... people. Only they're not people. They are bipedal, have light grey skin, and are fairly skinny compared to Miles. A few of them have long silver hair and lack noses; instead having slits that open and close. Their eyes are a terrifying pitch black and their teeth are pointed like a reptiles.

There are five in front of us, four surrounding one that is on its knees with his hands behind his head. The four are yelling at the one while pointing guns at him. I can't understand what they are saying, but by their body language, I can tell they want to kill him.

They wear simple loose pants that end halfway down their shins; most of them being white. Their shirts look as if they took a long rectangular cloth, draped it over their shoulders, and wrapped it around their midsection. The top cloth have intricate designs with various colors, ranging in all hues.

They haven't noticed us, and none of us know what to do... except for Miles, who has started walking towards them Maybe he's going to try and talk them out of killing them-

"YOU FUCKERS!" He yells, getting their attention, before launching straight for the closest one. When the being turns around, he finds Miles coming to a slide and burying his sword in his gut. He holds it there for a second to stare down the being before he rips it up and out of him, sending black blood gushing out at his feet.

The other four stare at Miles, completely dumbstruck, until one begins tries to open fire on him. Miles was able to grab his barrel and point it to one of the others before any of the shots could hit him. He brings his sword over and down the others front, chopping both his arms clear off. He falls back screaming in pain as his stumps pour black blood down his side.

With those two dead, I finally break out of my trance and rush over to this massacre. As Miles grabs the kneeling one by his throat and lifts him up; pinning him to a wall, I bring my rifle around and point it to his head.

"Put. Him. Down." I warn as I rack my first round into my rifle.

"What the buck do ya both think yer doin?" Applejack yells as Miles tightens his grip, choking the innocent person. The mercs surround us and push the other being against the wall, beside the one being choked.

"Fluttershy, put the gun down." Twilight begs. I glance to her for a second before looking back to Miles, pressing the barrel of my rifle against his helmet. He glances slightly to me before letting go of the poor thing. He drops to the ground and coughs as he catches his breath.

"We don't ki-"

"You weren't-"

"AH!" The two of them yell out as they cover their heads with their hands.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Miles yells at them, making them yells again, holding their heads a bit tighter.

"BRAH WHE FRASK IL BAHG!" Yells the person who wasn't being choked as he glares at Miles.

"Shut-"

"AH!"

"Miles, stop talking!" Twilight yells as she steps forward.

"These unfamiliar assholes need to die!" Miles yells over their agonizing screams. "WILL YOU SHUT THE FU-"

"PREHA! PREHA, ME-IL IK WHE VISHA! PREHA!" Begs the once choked one as he completely bows before Miles. He goes to punch him, but stops when I jump in the way.

"Move."

"No."

"..."

"..."

"..."

CRASH

From all around us, doors burst open as more and more of the creatures run towards us, surrounds us within seconds. We all form a perimeter as they point their guns at us, shouting orders that we can't understand. The mercs start yelling back at them as well, telling them to 'back off' and 'just try me meatbag!'.

"ENOUGH!" Miles yells, getting all of the creatures to simultaneously yell in pain. Twilight looks to Miles, and then to the crowd, then back to the crowd.

"AAAHHH!" She yells, getting odd looks from everyone.

"Twilight, what are you-"

"Miles, scream again." Twilight orders, getting an odd look from him.

"Why?"

"AH!" They yell again.

"Take off your helmet!" Twilight demands, even though she does it with her magic anyway.

"What the fuck Twilight!? This is probably the-"

GASP

The crowd steps away from us as Twilight lowers Miles' helmet. They gawk at him as he glares back, clenching both his fist as he does so. The ones behind us look to one another before scrambling away, where one runs through the crowd and the other moves in front of Miles.

"Back the fuck off!" Miles yells at him. He reels back in surprise, blinking as he stares at Miles.

"Bah-ruul." He mutters.

"Go fuck your... DON'T FUCKING TOUCH ME!" Miles yells as he slaps his hand away. The creature ignores his discomfort and tries to touch him again, but jumps away when Miles moves to attack him.

"Bah-ruul." He says again, louder.

"Fuck you." Miles says to the creature as he grabs his helmet from Twilight.

"BAH-RUUL!" He yells as he turns to the crowd, getting a loud murmur from them. "Bah-ruul iet whe ayyeh!"

"The fuck are they talking about?" Miles asks as he steps back. I look back to the one creature who is walking around us and watch him for a bit, trying to figure out what he's trying to tell his people.

"I think.... he's... hmm.... it looks like he's proving something. Like, he looks like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders." I say, getting a scoff from Miles.

"Pfft, Unfamiliar don't feel remorse. They just kill and-"

"Like you?" I cut him off, making him shake his head.

"No, I remember those I've killed. And I remember those who have been killed. I don't need to understand them to know that they've forgotten about the humans. But I will make them remember." The once choked creature and step forward, getting him to look my way.

"I'm.... " there are a lot of eyes on me..... a LOT.

"Fluttershy! What do you think you're doing? Back away from them!" Miles barks, but I ignore him and step closer to the being. he squats down and watches me closely, tilting his head slightly. I take a deep breath and sling my weapon, getting a surprised look from the creature.

"My name is Fluttershy, who are you." I ask, sweating slightly as I feel the intense hatred on the back of my head coming from Miles.

"Ke-wha?" He asks.

"Fluttershy." I say as I hold my hooves to my chest. I then point to him and wait for a few second. When he doesn't answer I do it again. "Fluttershy..."

"Jueh Kor."

"Joo..... eh?"

"Ia, Ia. JU.... EH, Kor."

"Jueh Kor." I say, getting a nod from him. "Jueh Kor, Fluttershy." I say as I point to him and then myself.

"Flooter she-eh?"

"Fluttershy."

"Fl... Flut...er.. she... Fluuttershey?" Close enough. I nod and get a light laugh from him. He turns to the crowd and yells my name, getting them to repeat it as they begin to step closer, still holding their weapons up.

"We need to put our weapons away." I tell the others as I holster my own weapon.

"Fuck that noise. We need to retreat back and make a plan of attack." Miles says as he begins to back away.

"Uh... I don't think we're going to be able to get away from them." Crimson says as he sheaths his sword.

"Miles... I think we should try and communicate with them. Maybe-"

"THEY DESTROYED MY PEOPLE! YOU WANT ME TO TALK WITH THEM! NO! NEVER, IF YOU'RE NOT WITH ME ON THIS... then.... then." He looks away for a second as he tries to force the words out. He shakes his head a few times before leaping straight up, jetting to the top of the building. The people around us gasp in surprise as we keep quiet.

"Should we go after him?" Rainbow asks.

"We should give him a moment first, he needs to calm down," Rarity says.

"What do we do about.. them?" Applejack asks.

"Don't worry, I've got this." Bada Boom says as he steps forward, gaining the attention of the people. He takes a deep breath as he looks from face to face before..... turning around.... and waggling his rear end at them.

...

...

...

...

"YOU IDIOT!" Every merc yells as they dogpile him, trying to hide him as he laughs hysterically. The crowd murmurs some more before Jueh steps forward, a little confused.

"Il bahg wohr teh dori erroblact? Waqued." They finally drag him to the back of the group and restrain him. I move over to Twilight as she holsters her gun and pull her aside.

"What do you think?" I ask her.

"I think the frequency Miles voice was emitted was doing damage to their ears." She says as she glances back to the rooftop.

"No, I meant about them." I say as I incline my head to the Unfamiliar. "Do you think we can trust them?"

"Well.... do we really have a choice? Miles left, we're out gunned, and I think-"

"Preha, frum akil wu." Jueh Kor says as he waves us over with a hand. The crowd partially begins to disburse, some staying to watch us. At least they're all holstering their weapons. I look to Twilight and share an uneasy look before leading the group towards Jueh.

"It's amazing how they trust you enough not to attack me!" The orc, I think his name is Harnkba, says to me as he leads the Mercs behind us.

"You weren't really going to shoot Miles... were you?" Twilight asks, ignoring the orc. I look away from her as we enter one of the many buildings.

"I.... killing innocents is wrong." I leave it at that. I don't know if I could ever hurt one of my friends, but in that moment.... I'm just glad he let him go.

---

I jump from rooftop to rooftop, fuming in rage. How could she possibly side with them? Those monsters killed millions! They took Dolum from me! They... they... they all deserve to DIE!

I come to a stop when a wall comes before me. It stands several stories over the rest of the buildings and goes from the south side to the north side, cutting the city in two. Dotted throughout it are large bunkers with guns fixed in their windows. I charge the jets on my back and launch myself to the top. Several Unfamiliar patrol this area, clad in Terradisian armor. They spot me and gawk, unsure how to respond to my presence. I slide my helmet back on and charge for the closest one, pushing my magic to its limit.

Six targets light up on my HUD. I whip my arms to the right and pull the ground out from the first one before he could respond. Spinning around, I bring my arms over my head and bring a chunk of the stone wall above my head. I begin to enchant it as they open fire on me. Their archaic bolts do little to nothing against my armor. Once done, I hurl the ball of flaming earth at them.

BOOM

The explosion goes out in a flat circle, breaking a portion of the wall along with it. Chunks of flaming earth rain down all around me as more gun fire comes from behind me. I bring my hands before my chest and push forward, sending a ball of energy that obliterates the closest target. I march towards the three others, laughing as they try to run from me.

GIVE ME CONTROL

I grab the farthest one magically and pull him towards me, knocking the others off the wall in the process. I bring him to face me and I begin to force his body into a ball. His screams of pain die out when he's a meter in diameter, but I keep going. I push and push until the ball shrinks down to less than that of my fist.

"MORTILL IH!" Yells an Unfamiliar as more and more of them begin to pour out of the two bunkers. I turn to the left and push forward, sending black gunk over that group.

I CAN GIVE YOU THE POWER TO ERADICATE THEM FROM EXISTENCE, GIVE ME CONTROL

They simultaneously open fire on me. I ignore all of the readings on my screen and charge at the closest group, charging at them with my jets roaring. I swing my fist and punch the first persons head clear off. I bring my arm back and swipe another person off the wall, laughing as he falls to his death screaming. A few try to restrain my magically.. magically..... they stole human magic.... they.... will

"INTERIBUNT CARNIFICINA!" I yell at the top of my lungs, making them all cringe and lose their grip on me. I push my arms out and blast two of them away with soul fire. Still firing, I spin around and bring my palms down, causing an explosion that blinds me for a second. When I can see again I find many of them hiding behind their magical shields.

GIVE IN TO THE VOID

"Lets kill these sons of bitches." I say with a mad grin. I feel an icy coolness wash over me as the new power begins to sink in. I double over as I feel all of my power lines begin to force their way into their new shape, seemingly ripping my skin apart. I look to my hands and watch as my gauntlets fade away from the black ropes slither out from my magical portals. I feel the dame effect happen to my heels as well as my back and helmet.

"FINALLY! I HAVE CONTROL! TURN TO THE VOID AND RELISH IN YOUR DEMISE!"

I suddenly launch down towards the right and crash onto a nearby building. I hadn't meant to do that, my body did it on its on accord. Corpus has literally taken control, something that I thought was metaphorical. I don't care right now, as long as he kills Unfamiliar, I don't care what happens.

He leaps from rooftop to rooftop using all of the icy void ropes to propel us quickly through the air. We eventually make it to the floor and make our way towards the P.C.H. Several Unfamiliar run out into the street and open fire on us, but they quickly get a black rope through them.

About half way to the P.C.H, some military vehicles show up before us. On is a tank and the other two are troop transporters. Corpus lowers us to the ground and pulls the ropes back within the portals. He giggles a bit as he just stands there, letting them form their ranks and aim the large canon our way.

You can take them out anytime now.

"Where's the fun in that?"

Where's the fun in getting shot a thousand times?

"Just wait, I do not intend to let my new body be damaged."

You mean my body.

"What was your body, enjoy the ride mortal."

BOOM

The tank opens fire. Faster than my mind could process, Corpus sent out a rope, caught the projectile, and flung it back at their ranks, killing several of them. He lets out a loud laugh before running towards them, dragging several of the ropes along the way. In the corner of my view I see a small Unfamiliar child watching from inside one of the buildings. A little girl by the looks of it-

"PERISH!" I snap back to the front to find Corpus ripping the spine out of someone as the ropes from our back whip around the others. Limbs fade off as they try to shoot back at me, only to have their shots blocked by the black ropes. I look back to the side and watch as the little girl cries in her mothers arms, watching me destroy these people.

We need to back off, there are civili-

"WEAKLING! YOU DO NOT HAVE THE RESOLVE TO DO WHAT MUST BE DONE! DID YOU NOT SAY THEY ALL DESERVE TO DIE!?"

But she's just a child! She-

"They will all die."

Not if I have anything to say about it.

My body falls to the ground as I try to fight for control. All around me I hear screams and gun fire and I writhe around the floor. Corpus fights back by shooting out random beams of icy void, but the more I try to take control, the smaller the beams become. I can feel myself slowly gain control over my movements. First my legs, then my arms, and lastly my torso. Once I think I have total control, I push myself up and test moving my limbs, assuring that I have control.

YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS

"Maybe, but for now I am in control." I sigh in relief as... as.... as I suddenly feel really good. I look down to my hands and....

...

...

"FUCK YEAH!" I yell as I realize my magic has turned off. I remove my now broken armor and take a look at my torso. NO LINES! Nothing!

"MILES!" I look over and see the group running towards me.

"Guys! Check it out, no magic!" I yell as I wave a hand at them.

"WE NEED YOUR MAGIC!" Rainbow yells as a tank comes around the corner and aims at us. From around all of the corners more Unfamiliar come running, aiming their weapons at us. I raise my hands and.... nothing happens. I try shaking my magic on, but it won't happen. Well.... fuck you to Corpus.

"What happened while I was gone?" I ask as I pull out my sword from the broken armor and take my stance.

"Jueh was talking to some of his people when... these people attacked. From what I've been able to gather and guess, it looks as if they're divided in two and are on very shaky terms. Something must have provoked them to attack." Twilight informs me as she raises the shield from her rifle.

"That.... was probably me-"

"MILES!" They all yell as they glare at me.

"YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ME! I only killed.... like fifty of them! I even built up the nerve to stop!" I yell back in my own defense. Most of them just roll their eyes as an Unfamiliar in elegant robes approaches us. He takes a look at me and smiles, making my skin boil.

"Prag teh."

"When do you think they'll learn we don't understand them?" I ask Pinkie, getting a shrug in response..... and then a violent shake. "Still, the doozy still hasn't happened."

"I know, I'm scared too."

"JUEH KOR!" He yells, getting the crowd to start an uproar as four armed guards bring him forward. They kneel him by our shield and bring a knife to his throat. The robed Unfamiliar taps the shield as he presses the blade to his throat.

"Pfft, like we'd drop the shield for- why are you dropping the shield?" I turn around and gawk at Twilight as she throws down her weapon. "Alright, mercs, I need to to- why are you throwing down your weapons?" Everyone drops their weapons and raises their hooves- hands- claws.

"Bah-ruul, tehg werk." The robed Unfamiliar says as he barely breaks his skin.

"Do we have to? It's just one-"

"MILES!"

"FINE! Gosh, lets save all the Unfamiliar! This is a good plan, this won't back fire. FUUUUUUUUUUCK!" I drop my sword and cross my arms.

"Ahem." He points to my trench knife and motions to the ground.

"I really hate you all right now." I say as I pull it out and drop it.

"Trust me Miles, you're doing the right thing," Fluttershy assures me. I just roll my eyes and turn back to the other Unfamiliar, I hate today, I hate everyone in it, and I'll probably hate everything that's about to happen.... I should have stayed home.

"FOREE? BRAH ERRINA QU AF AKIL HENT?" He asks the crowd.

"DREG QOJ!" They all begin to chant.

"IAH!" Jueh.... uh, that just feels dirty; Jueh yells as he fights his captors. The others circle around us and yell orders that we don't understand completely. They keep pointing towards the P.C.H., we I guess they want us to go that way. We begin our walk there, getting a good view of the rest of the city along the way. Many of the homes are occupied. Most, if not all, of the women stay indoors and watch us from a distance. Actually, I don't see any women coming out of the buildings. Not even the children. I can see little boys, but no females anywhere.

"Anyone want to bring me up to speed?" I ask casually, getting annoyed looks from some of the girls.

"Well, Jueh was trying to tell us something, but obviously we couldn't understand him." Crimson tells me.

"From what I could guess, the city is divided. Each of them have been waiting for something to push the others over the edge... and it looks like it was you," Twilight says. "The people on the other side seemed scared, they knew this fight was coming-"

BOOM

We all stop for a moment when we hear explosions and gun fire in the distance. The sounds of a large fight fill the air as we're ushered into a part of the wall that blocks us from the P.C.H. Jueh... still feels weird to say that, protests even more, but stops when they punch him in the gut.

We go through a dark hallway before exiting through the other end. We climb the steps to the P.C.H. and enter the mico station. It's still in its pristine condition, unscathed from all the years in their care. Why are they bringing us to the Research and Development floor? If they were going to torture or kill us, the Military floor would be best.

They send several of the guards through first and then Jueh, a poor decision by their part. Once half of them are gone, I spin around and deck the closest Unfamiliar in the face, knocking his ass out.

"COME ON, WE'RE GETTING OUT OF HERE!" I yell as I grapple the next Unfamiliar and spin him around, prying his gun from his hands. I run from the door and provide cover fire. I make it out the door and turn around, waiting for the others to come running out after me.

...

Anytime now.

...

Come on, it shouldn't be that hard with a fucking giant ass orc on our side.

...

Okay, what the fuck. I walk back through the entrance and gawk at the others as they just stand there.

"What the fuck?"

"Sorry, we couldn't leave Jueh behind. And he-"

"Fuck him! We need to get going!" I yell as I the remaining guards pin me down. I roll my eyes and toss the gun down. Whatever, I still got one of them, two if you count the guy I punched. "Why couldn't you leave him?"

"Well-"

"Obief!" The robbed Unfamiliar yells. He grabs Jueh and tosses him on the platform and marches straight to me. He snarls at me as he points to the platform.

SMASH

He recoils back as he holds his face. A good headbutt should let him know not to get too close to me.

THUNK

I stumble forward as the two guards behind me butt me forward with their rifles. I walk forward and shoot my group a look, getting some to look away while others just return the look. I take the platform and....

"Oh fuck that." I say as I step around and flash back to the mico station. "No. I don't care what reason you have, we're not doing that."

"Miles-"

"No! It's suicide! I'm not risking our lives for some asshole I don't know. It's not worth it." As if on queue, one of the guards grab Twilight by her mane and point a rifle at her head. "..... *sigh* why do you guys have to make friends with the things I hate most?"

"Please Miles, just trust us. This is the right thing to do." Fluttershy says as she gives a worried looks to Twilight. I sigh again as I take the platform back. Okay, last time we did the first world war, outpost Echo, and the fall of the Americas. I need to remember those.

"Are those giant eggs?" Twilight asks as she appears on the platform.

"No, they're simulation pods. War simulators to be precise. Last I checked, they had a few kinks in them and nearly killed me and my friends. I have a feeling they're going to put us in there."

"Look! Giant eggs!" Pinkie exclaims as she appears next.

"No magic, the damage was coded incorrectly so it would transfer to the next simulations, it was also set way too high-"

"Are those giant eggs?" Rainbow asks as she appears next.

"Even better, if you die in there, you die in reality. Safeties were never installed."

"Um... are those-"

"NO! They are not giant eggs! They may look like them, but they are not!" I yell at Applejack.

"Miles, please understand that Jueh needs to live. His-"

"I don't give a fuck!" I yell at Twilight, scaring her a bit. "We're going to die in there! What could be so important that we should risk our lives for that monster!?" Fluttershy appears next, and rolls her eyes at me.

The Unfamiliar grab me and begin to drag me towards the next simulation pod. I try to break free of their grasp, but they're are too many of them to do so. They remove what's left of my armor and open the pod. The top half lifts up and separates, revealing the seat inside. Wires fill the rest of the pod as a blue light glows from within it. They force me into the seat, getting several of the wires to wrap around my arms and legs, holding me in place.

"WHEN WE GET IN THERE LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY! REMEMBER YOUR TRAINING DASH! WE HAVE TO WORK TO TOGETHER OR WE'LL DIE!" The pod shuts around me as they begin shoot the orc. He was too big to fit, so I guess they did the next best thing. Lucky bastard.

"AH!" I yell as I feel several of the wires stick needles into my arms, legs and torso. I try to keep calm and begin to forcibly control my breathing. I never liked small spaces, but adding the needles always made it worse. It feels like an eternity as I wait for the torment to begin. I can hear several of the other pods opening and shutting. Why are trying to save that asshole? I don't get it. They've seen what his people have done to my people, what could he possibly have that would persuade them like this. It doesn't make sense.

"AAAHH!" I scream out again as another needle works its way into my neck. Everyone must be in already. Okay, keep calm, remember my training. I need to keep the girls alive, I need to make sure they don't get hurt. I need to-

The world around me burns bright white as the simulation begins to load.

COMBAT PROGRAM INITIATED. PREPARE FOR BATTLE SCENARIOS DELTA, OMEGA, ALPHA-X, ZERO, AND STELLA.

SAFETIES ARE NON-FUNCTIONAL.

SOUL BASE DETECTION NOT RESPONDING.

PLEASE BE ADVISED, NEUROLOGICAL WIRING FAULTY, PLEASE CALL MAINTENANCE FOR TECHNICAL SUPPORT.

VIVAT HUMANITATEM.

I have to keep them safe.

---

The world blurs into view. We're in the middle of some earthen barrens. There are scorched craters all around us as a vast empty land fills our surroundings. To our backs is a large trench with pill boxes dotting it. A few helmets can be seen as well, some with bullet holes in them. I look down and find myself in some tattered brown suit with a rifle strapped to my back and a revolver holstered to my belt. I look over and see the girls in similar suits as well. The machine somehow tailored it to them. I look around a bit more until I hear siren go off in the distance.... wait...

"RUN! RUN FOR THE TRENCHES!" I yell as I take off at full speed for the large trench. "INCOMING ARTILLERY!"

"What are you talking about? My tail isn't-"

KRA-BOOM

I nearly fall over as a massive explosion shakes the ground beneath me. I scramble on all furs for a second before leaping into the trench. I stand back up and pull the others in as well.

"WHERE'S PINKIE!?" I yell over the din of constant artillery exploding. None of them respond, too preoccupied with covering their ears. I look back into no mans land and see a tuft of pink in a crater. Without a second thought I leap back out of the trench and run straight for her. Shrapnel flares past me as explosions dot the landscape, blocking my view from time to time.

I fall forward when I find Pinkie, covering her with my own body. I can feel her shaking beneath me, telling me she's alive at least. I hold out there for a while before scooping her up and making a run for the trench again-

BOOM

I fall into the trench as I feel a burning pain in my leg. I look down and see a light flesh wound, nothing to worry about at the moment. I ignore my own pain and look Pinkie over. She has a deep shrapnel wound on her rear right leg. It's bleeding profusely with a piece of metal sticking out of it. I take my jacket off and wrap it around the wound, tying it off tightly.

"MEDIC!" I yell over the explosions. "MEEEEDDDIIIIIIIIIIIIIC!"

"Miles." Pinkie says softly. I cover her with myself as another explosion hits nearby. "This isn't fun."

"I know, but don't worry. I'll keep you safe."

"Promise?"

"GET READY FOR A FIGHT!" I yell to the others as the artillery begins to fade out. They all look to me in confusion as I pull my rifle... or what's left of it out. I drop it and take Pinkies, it looks operational. "TROOPS ARE CHARGING FOR US! WE NEED TO HOLD THE LINE TO BEAT THIS SCENARIO! GET UP! IF YOU CAN FIT SOMETHING INTO THE TRIGGER GUARD GET READY TO SHOOT! DASH, WATCH OVER PINKIE!" I march down the line and force the others to stand and hold their weapons. They try to ask me a few questions, but I ignore them as I make sure they're all ready for this.

"Are those them?" Crimson asks. I turn around and watch as soldiers in tan uniforms come running out of the pill boxes. The programming is off though. Some repeat actions, other have black and white fuzz for faces.

"No, those are our allies. Our enemies will have dark grey and pointed helmets. Find any knives or use your rifles as clubs. If-"

"HERE THEY COME LADS!" I look over the trench and see a wall of people running for us. Machine gun fire roars from the pill boxes as the mow them down. But no matter how many they kill, more seem to come. I take aim and start taking shots, these are bolt action guns. They're too slow to be effective right now.

Bismuth, Jueh, and Jax take positions next to me and mimic my actions, watching me closely. They're shots aren't that useful, but I don't have room to complain right now. Small explosions begin to dot their lines. I look over to see Bada Boom throwing some grenades.

CLICK

"Fuck!" I drop down and begin to reload. It takes a little bit, but I figure it out.

"AH!" I look over and see Bada take a shot in the shoulder. He drops the grenade before him and falls on top of it-

BOOM

I fall back as a red mist sprays everywhere. Luckily for the rest of us, his body took the explosion. I look over and see the terrified looks on some of the girls' face. I stare at them for a bit before remembering myself and finish reloading.

I pop back up and take aim. their lines have made some progress... too much progress. I look to the pill box to my right and begin to run to it when I see the gun just sitting there, not firing. The gunner was shot in the head while the loader is constantly moving ammo from the side to the gun, stuck in a constant loop.

I jump on the gun and cock the next round in before opening fire. The gun shakes as I swivel from side to side, tearing limbs and punching holes into the enemy indiscriminately. All too soon, my gun clicks. I turn to the side and pause when I see Fluttershy handing me another drum of ammo. I can see the fear in her eyes as she shakes, rattling the ammo in her hooves.

"Make sure to tell me if they make in the trench. I should need ammo every thirty seconds, can you do that?" I ask as I begin to reload, fumbling slightly from not knowing exactly how it works. She nods and moves to the doorway. I turn back around and continue to shoot the enemy into submission. I can see the ones out of my line of fire slowly making their way towards our trench, but I keep my focus on the enemies in front of me.

"AMMO!"

"MILES! THE TRENCH!" I drop the machine gun and run out the door. Several troops have made it inside. Some are fighting the A.I.'s, but the rest are fighting the mercs. I pick up a rifle and fix the bayonet to it before charging the first one. I ram the blade into his side and pull him off of Dash. He slumps to the ground and bleeds out quickly enough. Rainbow yells her thanks before jumping one of the other soldiers, holding a bayonet in her hooves as she stabs him in the throat.

I look back in time to bring my rifle up and block another rifle. We push against each other before I muscle him against the wall. I knee his stomach a couple of times before smacking the butt of my own rifle against his head. He falls to the ground and tries to get back up, but falls flat when I ram my blade between his shoulders.

"MILES!" I turn around and freeze up when I see a barrel pointing right at my face.

...

...

...

"Oh sweet Barbra it froze." I sigh in relief as I move around the person. All of the A.I.'s have stopped moving completely. Some are mid jump while others are stuck in fighting poses. "Okay, I don't know how long this is going to last, so go through and kill as many of the enemy soldiers as possible. Where are Pinkie and Rarity?"

"Rarity took her to the other bunker to watch over her. What's going on? Why are they-"

"We don't have time for explanations. Just do as I say or we'll pay for it later!" I begin to run towards the other pill box. Halfway there someone pulls on my shoulder and forces me to look at them.

"Bah-ruul-" I silence him when I point my rifle at his face.

"This," I say as I point around us, "is on you." I point at him. He sighs and nods slowly, backing away from me. I turn back and make my way as quickly as possible to the pill box. Rarity has Pinkie laying on a cot as she tries to dress the wound. The shrapnel has been removed and she has stopped the bleeding. Her white hooves have turned dark red from all the bleeding, and she seems... distant.

"Rarity.... RARITY!"

"Huh?" She pauses to look at me before going back to work. I shake my head and pull her away, getting her to break down a bit. "Miles! She was bleeding, and she passed out, and I can't use my magic, and-"

"Rarity." I mover her face to look me straight in the eyes, silencing her. "Breath slowly. Inhale, exhale, nice and slow. You did good Rarity, now I need you to stay with Pinkie and make sure she doesn't stop breathing. Are you ready for this?"

"No... No I can't do this! This was.. too much Miles. The monsters and bots and... it was never anything real. These people-"

"Are not people. It's all written program, none of this is real."

"But they were screaming in pain! They were bleeding! Pinkie is in pain! That's real! Pinkie is real!" She yells back.

"I know, this is why I didn't want to do this. But if we stick together, we can pull through this. Just be sure to keep Pinkie safe, okay?" She shakes her head as she looks back to Pinkie. I can understand her distress, but right now we need to make sure we're fully taking advantage of this stall.

I walk out to find all of the mercs, and Dash, slitting the throats of the frozen enemies. They already have many of them dealt with, all that really remain are the ones in no mans land.

"Miles, what's next?" Rainbow asks.

"Next we-" I stop when everything suddenly goes white. I stumble back as the brightness forces me to close my eyes. I blink when I feel a spray of water hit my face. I look around to find myself in an amphibious landing craft of some sort. I grab the rail on the side to steady myself as the choppy water crashes against the sides.

I look down and find myself in a new uniform. I have a green jacket on with dark brown pants and a bucket helmet on my head. Long boots are strapped to my feet and have a light brown cover on them. I have some semi- auto gun on my back and a pistols on my side, as well as a large pack on my back.

"What's going on?" I look over and see Bismuth and Dash in the same transport as me. They'er in similar uniforms as me, but each have different guns. I peer over the edge and see the others looking for us as well. We're spread out over four craft as dozens are heading towards a cliff that has a large bunker on the top. Several metal X's dot the sandy area below the cliff.

"SIXTY SECONDS!" The driver yells from behind.

"Okay, I think we have to take the bunker. Use the metal things for covers and try to meet up with the others. Bismuth, you're with me. You and me will take the bunker. Dash, I want you you to get the others and keep them safe-"

An explosion of water derails my thought process. In the distance I can hear the thumping of artillery, followed by more watery explosions.

"Captain?"

"Right, get them as close to the cliff as possible. Move fast and be weary of of machine gun fire, the bunkers probably have several there."

"Right!"

"THIRTY SECONDS!"

"Why are the guns in this plastic?" Bismuth asks as he toys with his weapon.

"They probably can't get wet. Don't take it out until we're on dry land."

"I CAN'T FLY!" Rainbow yells as she flaps her wings.

"FIFTEEN SECONDS!"

"Then don't fly!" I yell as I move to the other side. One of the other craft explode as an artillery shell finds its mark. I can see one of the other craft land and drop its front. Bullet fire tears through the infanty as they try to run out. The only ones I see make it are the ones who jump over the side.

"'FIVE SECONDS! GET READY TO CLEAR THE RAMP!"

"JUMP OVER THE SIDE!" I yell as I grab Dash and toss her over the edge. The ramp drops down and a hail of fire rings through our vehicle. All of the other troops try to run forward, but are quicky filled with holes. Bismuth falls onto me and forces me to the ground as round after round tear into his body. Suddenly, the fire moves elsewhere, giving me a chance to get out of here. I push his limp body off of me and run for land.

A trail of bullet fire makes its way towards me, but I make it to the metal X just in time to dodge them. I look around and many of the girls doing the same... I don't see Pinkie or Rarity. Hopefully they're just hiding.

"BAH-RUUL!" I look over as Jueh falls down beside me, trying to use the cover I have.

"Of course I get stuck with you." He looks at me and rolls his eyes as he looks to the incoming fire. I go for my rifle... when I realize I don't have it anymore. "AH!" I jump a bit when I feel something touch my wound. I look over to Jueh and push him off.

"Miles!" I look over and see Shadow Dancer waving to me. "We have the others, let's get-" A bullet slams through his skull and drops him. I cringe a bit but look around for another weapon. There's a gun just out of reach to my left. I look back to the incoming fire before jumping out to grab it. I roll over and duck behind the closest barricade-

THUNK

"AAAAH!" I yell out as I hold my right arm. "I'M HIT! FUCK!" I growl a bit as I ripe off part of my jacket and begin to tie off my wound. "FUCK! YOU, JUEH!" He looks over to me and nods. "GET READY!" I point with my head as I start to unwrap my weapon. He nods slowly as he does the same.... of course he gets a sniper rifle. What do I get? Some large bulky rifle. It has the options to be auto or semi auto, so I guess that's alright.

SNAP

The machine guns fire stops as Jueh racks the next round. I jump to my feet and charge straight towards the cliff. They made a mound of sand that has barbed wire going along it. That'll be my first stop then. A few tracer rounds start making their way towards me, but I drop down to into the sand mound just in time.

"Hey!" Crimson yells as he lands beside me. "What's the plan?"

"Uh... work on getting the others here. I'm-"

BOOM

I look over to see a massive hole being blown in the sand mound.

"Well, that makes things easy. I'll head up that way and try to take out the gun turrets-"

"I'll go with you!" Jax yells as he lands beside me. "Where's Bismuth?" I shake my head and begin to crawl over to the opening. Several of the A.I's are trying to make their way in, but the gun fire is keeping them at bay. Jueh fires a couple more times, silencing the machine gun fire. He has a... fuck him.

"I get up and run for the entrance. We make it to the base of the large concrete bunker and press out backs to it. Jax moves to the side and peers around the corner-

PATPATPATPATPAT

"OH SHIT!" He falls back as the gunfire peppers around us. "Nearly took my head off there." He laughs as we trade spots. I shake my head as I peer over, hugging as closely to the wall as possible.

"They're dug in at the top of the cliff with two machine guns fixed there. Looks a little weak on the front end. Do you have any explosives on you?" I ask as I move back behind the cover.

"Nothing. Sorry." I sigh as I load my first round and psych myself up. I jump out in the opening and fire at the mound. My rate of fire is atrocious, but they feel heavy hitting at least. The rounds slam into the weak earth and collapse the mound, droping the three machine gunners. Several of the A.I. move over and take them out as we move up the stone stairs.

We make it to the top and immediately open fire on a group of enemy soldiers as they try to run into the bunker. Ends up I only get twenty shots. I reload as we make our way to the bunker, following some of the A.I.'s, one of which have a flamethrower. We run after them but drop when the tanks from the flamethrower burst into a massive ball of fire. Several other infantry men were caught as well, their screams ringing in my ears as they roll around on the ground.

"Let's get... oh shit." Jax lays on the ground with his wings lying limply by his side, charred black from the fire.

"It'll be alright... it'll be okay.... it's not real... right?" He asks me weakly. I swallow hard as I try to think of a way to answer him.

I can't.

I get up and push forward, heading straight for the bunker. I kick the door open and walk in, shooting the gunner in the back as I enter. I check my right and-

SPLAT

I spin around and watch the headless body fall to the ground. I look back out to the sandy area and see the glimmer of Juehs rifle. The water has turned deep red as bodies litter the ground. Smoke is rising from all over as burnt corpses and small fires litter the landscape. I watch as Jueh runs over to the girls to check on them, I can see all of them safe behind one of the=

"AH FUCK!" I yell as the bright white light returns. Another! How many will they force us through!?

When my vision returns we all appear in a small room. There seems to be dust everywhere as the walls are made of some kind of adobe. The temperature seems to have gone up as well. I look myself over and discover that I'm in some sand camo uniform with a Kevlar jacket along with a thick helmet. I have an M4 assault rifle, the relic to my rifle of choice along with a pistol.

I look over the others when I realize that the simulation pods are sending the dead with us. They aren't mangled or anything, they just drop to the ground as lifeless heaps. Pinkie and Jax drop down as well, but their cries of pain let me know they're at least alive.

"Where are we now?" Rainbow asks as she looks over her machine gun. I walk up to her and trade guns before moving to one of the nearby windows. The area we're in is filled with houses made of similar material. Dirt roads fill the area between them as dust fills the air. An uneasy silence fills the town as nothing happens.

"I don't know, Crimson, come with me real quick. The rest of you stay down here and keep an eye out for any movement." We head to the back of the room and find some stairs. We take them to the next floor where I go and clear all of the rooms.

"What's the plan?" He asks me as I move to the next floor, the top of the roof apparently. The house we're in sits in the middle of a three way street at the bottom of a large town. From here we have a pretty good vantage point, but I don't like how many homes there are. Way too many vantage points for my liking.

"We need to-"

SNAP

I fall back as a round slams right into my chest. The armor I have on caught most of the round, but it wasn't enough. I can feel blood starting to pour out from a small wound.

I begin to lose my vision, the three wounds taking their tolls on my body. I vaguely make out Crimson pulling my body back down the stairs to the others. All of the girls come around me and start yelling about something as the room begins to burst into chaos. Bullets shatter stone as Jueh and Jax try to fight back.

My arm is burning.

My head rolls to the side, giving me a view of Crimson as he fights to keep the door shut. He falls forward as someone with a head wrap breaks through and fills his body with holes.

My arm is burning even more now.

The man in the head wrap is tackled by Jueh. They wrestle around a bit before the man pushes Jueh off. He turns to fire at me but drops when Jueh pulls his legs out from under him. The man pulls a knife and tries to stab him, but he catches it mid swing. The blade buries itself in his palm, his black blood pouring out from the long cut. He pulls it aside and yells at him, giving me a view of his flat teeth.

A light is coming from my arm. It still burns.

Jueh brings his knee up and slams it into the person, giving him the edge. He rolls him over and pries the knife from his hand. He tries to slam it down on into the mans chest, but he catches his arm. They fight for a bit before Jueh begins to slowly bury the blade in his chest....

I feel...

Distant.

As if I'm watching from... elsewhere.

A bright light comes from my body as I roll out of the simulation pod. A massive Rainbow shoots out and crashes down onto the Unfamiliar surrounding us, turning them to stone.

A mob of Unfamiliar crowd around us and cheer as we leave the P.C.H.

Jueh runs to a pregnant woman and falls before her, pressing his face against her large stomach.

A group of Unfamiliar guide us to the exit and help us leave. Many things were said, none of which were understood. Worried looks were mainly in my view at this time.

I'm on a train... when did this happen? Where are we going? Did they figure out where to go? How?

Celestia looks sad, not as sad as Luna though.

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I'm in some kind of cavern full of gems...

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The bright lights are back, though they aren't making the rainbow again.

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I'm tired.

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I should go to sleep...

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Luna doesn't cry in my sleep, sleep sounds good.

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"Shhhhh, it's all over now. It's time to rest. Don't worry soldier, the fight is over. Chaos will rain now. Sleep."

"Altum?"

"Soon, rest now. You story is over now."

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Next Chapter: Chapter 170 Outpost Zero Estimated time remaining: 38 Hours, 51 Minutes