I make it to the edge of Moosden and take True Will to the nearest house. It's empty with the exception of some sparse furniture. I find a rickety bed and lay him down before checking his pulse... it's steady, I think he'll be fine. I leave the room and head through the town towards Bantler's and Na-Da's house. Hopefully they can help him, or E'Claire or Butterscotch I guess. Anyone who is able to use their hooves really.

"DAD!" I stop when Shadow leaps out from behind a building and hugs the bottom of my leg.

"Shadow! You sneaky little thing, how long have you been waiting there?" I ask as I pick her up and hug her.

"It's only been a few minutes, Dad." She says, slightly confused. "Is there any of that food left over from the party?"

"Par... that party was two days ago Shadow." I tell her as I set her back down. We share a moment of staring at each other before E'Claire catches our attention. She comes running down the street screaming for Shadow, tears streaking down her face. When she finally sees her she runs full speed at her. Plowing a path in the snow as she gets here as quickly as humanly possible.

"SHADOW!" She yells as she tackles her in a hug. "Where have you been! We've been looking for you for A WEEK! Don't you dare disappear on us like that again!" She yells as she squeezes her in a hug.

"S-STAP- TOO.... *EERRRR* TOO TIGHT!" Shadow yelps as she tries to wiggle her way out of her hooves.

"Wait a minute, a week? I saw you guys two days ago." I say, getting E'Claires attention.

"No... it was a week ago at the party. Butterscotch and I came home after everything. Shadow said she wanted to stay to hang out with her friends, but when she didn't return we started to get worried. We went back through the teleporter to go check on her, but that was six days ago."

"What? I've only been gone for a little while, an hour at most." Shadow says as she dangles from E'Claires hooves.

"I think I can shed some light on that." Dust Devil says as she trots up to us. "You had a time mole infestation. When they are alone, it typically doesn't do much to the surrounding area. But when they're in larger numbers, the area around them slows down. What has been a few minutes here could be days back in the rest of the world."

"... well that sucks." I say, getting a punch from E'Claire as she covers Shadows ears. "But yes... that is bad."

"How long has it been?" Shadow asks.

"There no way of telling without finding somepony who wasn't here." Dust says with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well then, I'll head back to Ponyville and see what's going on there. Dust, you stay here and check up on things. The town, it's people, and True. Be sure to fill me in as soon as possible if anything dire happens. Got it?"

"Yes sir!" I nod to her and begin to walk off. After a few meters I realize Shadow is walking alongside me.

"And where do you think you're going?" I ask playfully as she tries to keep pace with me, having difficulty with all of the snow.

"I wanna go with you."

"Did E'Claire say it was okay?"

"Yeah, as long as time doesn't slow down again."

"Well... knowing me, that may not be something we can promise." I say jokingly as I pause. "C'mon, lets get you out of the snow." I say as I kneel down. She jumps onto my back and holds onto my neck. Her small, cold hooves send a shiver down my spine, but I ignore it as I continue on my way.

I step before the house with my parents and pause to take a deep breath. I haven't seen them in... almost six years. Never visiting, never writing any letters, I didn't even say goodbye. What do I say now? 'Hey Mom, Dad, sorry about running out on you two after what happened, friends?' Maybe I shouldn't go in, maybe I should just leave them be. They probably don't want to see me. They have a new foal to watch over, they don't need me-

"Dust Devil-"

"GAH!"

CRASH

I fall back to the ground in a daze after smacking my head against the roof. Everything stays blurry for a moment before I shake my head clear. I gulp when I see my mother standing over me, staring down at me.

"H-hey M-mom.... uh... what's up?" Smooth Dust, smooth.

"Well, my eldest daughter who I haven't seen in over five years just showed up out of nowhere and is apparently a soldier for an ancient human society. Not before joining one of the worlds largest mercenary groups and throwing herself at countless dangers. No letters, no goodbye, what in the wide, wide world of Equestria has gotten into you!?!" I try to make myself as small as possible as she yells at me, all of the guilt I've been pushing away coming up now.

"What if you had died!? What if... I don't even know! If something had happened to you we would never had know Dust! Did that never even occur to you!? Did you ever even think about us!?"

"... they would have sent you a letter-"

"OH! OH! OH.... OH! THEY would have sent us a letter! THEY.... just... DUST!" She backs off and begins to pace about, fuming with rage. I sit up and lower my head as I wait for her to continue, not having much else to say. She finally calms down enough to face me again, though I can still tell she's pretty pissed off. "Dust Devil," she starts in a caring tone, "you are more important to us then whatever some nopony could write in a letter. Why did you leave?" I swallow hard as I try to fight back the tears welling up. I knew this was coming, but... I guess it's been long enough.

I fight to look up to my mother and weakly say, "Rocky."

"Honey," my Mom says as she pulls me into her embrace. "that wasn't your fault."

"How could you say that!" I say as I push her away. "I was the one taking care of him! I was the one who let him go outside when Dad said to stay inside. I should have been smart enough to say no! But I didn't! That's why he's dead! I killed him-"

SMACK

I close my eyes and cry as I let the slight pain settle in my cheek.

SMACK

I deserve this. I should have been the one to die that day. Why couldn't I have just said no!? Why did I let my little brother die that day!?

SMACK

"Dust Devil, look at me." Mom says firmly. I sniffle a bit as I try to look at her, seeing the disappointment in her face. "You did not kill Rocky Trails."

"But-"

"DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" She yells, making me cower a bit. "Rocky was... smart. He always tricked you into doing things he wanted you to do. His death was... *inhale/exhale* his death wasn't anyponies fault. H-he.... he was just in the wrong place, at the wrong time-"

"Mom-"

"I've come to this conclusion already, don't you dare try to change my mind!" She yells as her own tears begin to roll down her cheeks. "I already lost one child, don't make me lose another! Don't you dare do that to me Dust Devil! Don't you dare disappear on me again! I couldn't take it again. Please, don't leave us again."

We fall into each others embrace and hold each other as we break down. I constantly beg her to forgive me as I cry into her mane. She holds me a bit tighter and strokes my back as I finally let it all out. I apologies for leaving. I apologies for Rocky Trails. I apologies for never contacting them after the funeral. At some point Dad comes in and joins in our sorrow, holding the two of us together in his massive forelegs.

The snow falls on us and melts into coats as we continue to hold on another. None of us care about it though. All we care about is one another at this moment. Let the snow fall.

"Whhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." Okay, baby first I guess. Mom breaks contact from us and heads inside, wiping her final tears away as she does so.

"So, *sniff* you guys had another foal." I say as I stand up with my father. He chuckles a bit as he rubs the back of his neck.

"Heh, yeah. Wasn't exactly planned though. C'mon, you have to meet your little sister, Lucky Trails."

"Where's Trick Play?" I ask before he could go inside. He pauses at the door and sighs before facing me.

"Out in the world, looking for you. Don't worry though, she's been writing constantly. I think the last letter we got she was in the Goblin Empire, searching out by Broachton- DON'T GO LOOKING FOR HER THOUGH! Not that we don't want you looking for her, we'll just send a letter to her telling her to come here. It'll be easier that way-"

"No, I think I can get her home faster. Let Mom know that I'm heading out, but I'll be home as soon as I get Trick Play."

"You don't-"

"Dad, I have to do this. Please." He sighs before pulling me in for another hug.

"Fine. Be safe, and be sure to come back here as soon as possible. We'll be waiting." I nod as I lean into his neck a bit. I've missed him so much, only now I have to leave so soon. "Alright, get going before I change my mind and tie you to a chair." He says as he pushes me back. I laugh a bit as I reach into my saddle and pull out a piece of gum.

"Don't worry Dad, I'll be back before you know it." I tell him before I pop the piece into my mouth.

"I'll back you up-"

"GAH! *cough*" I start choking on the gum when True Will suddenly appears beside me.

"Who are you?" My Dad asks as I continue to choke.

"True Will, fellow Spartan. You must be Devils Play." He says as he shakes his hoof. No, don't worry about me, I'm just slowly losing air over here. Don't help me.

"Right." Dad says slowly as he sizes him up... oh Celestia please don't- "Do me a favor, okay. Keep your pecker away from my daughter." OH CELESTIA KILL ME NOW! That's it, I'm not fighting it anymore. Gum, kill me now-

SMACK

"Ow! True!" I grumble as I rub the back of my head.

"Don't worry sir, this is strictly business." He says as he ignores me. My dad just stares him down a bit more, squinting his eyes a bit as he does so.

"You owe me gum by the way." I grumble as the two of them continue to stare each other down. "ANYWAY! Let's get-"

"SPARTANS!"

"GAH!" I yell as I jump a bit more. "WHY IS EVERYPONY BEEN SCARING THE CRAP OUT OF ME TODAY!?" Miles just eyes me a bit before turning his attention to the two of us.

"I've spoken with Damian, and it ends up we've been gone for a month now." Well... that makes things... difficult. "I need you two to-"

"Sir! Sorry for cutting you off but I want to ask for permission to seek out my sister and bring her here to Moosden." I ask as I step forward. He stares me down as I stand there, trying my best to stand as straight as possible.

"And why should I let you go?" He asks as he begins to walk around me. "Give me a good reason I should let you go, and I might let you go." I gulp as I try to think of my answer. I need to show him this is better for the Spartans... for the Terradisians...

"Sir! She is family, that makes her Terradisian. She doesn't know this but... our... enemies will? I mean, they will! For Terradisia to be represented properly and to grow, it is really important for me to get her... SIR!" He chuckles a bit as he faces me again, smirking down at me.

"Really important?"

"Okay, sir, this is family. I know we've been slacking in your eyes, but... I don't think I could focus on anything with her out there looking for me. Please sir, let me do this-"

"Us." True Will adds as he steps forward. "Let us do this sir. Article seven, paragraph two of the Spartan codex: With the growth of-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, don't quote articles at me." Miles cuts him off. "Hmm... I will grant you two permission-"

"YES!"

"On the grounds that you also find someone worth Spartan training as well." My ears drop a bit when he says this.

"So... while looking for my sister, we have to find somepony who we think can pass training?" I ask to clarify.

"Yes. If you only bring back your sister, then she will be your candidate for training. Do we have an understanding?"

"Well-"

"Yes." True Will says.

"WHAT!?" My dad and I yell as the same time.

"If you force my daughter into training I swear I will-"

"Don't worry, I have an ape in mind who might pass. And since we're going to the Goblin Empire, we'll be nearby. So, is it a deal sir?" Miles thinks about it for a second before sticking his hoof out and shakes with True.

"Deal.... what's an ape though?" True just shakes his head and begins to walk off. "Do you really want to walk all the way there?" Miles asks, a smile growing on his face.

"Sir?" I ask, slightly confused.

"Go to Topaz Falls and find Easy. Tell him 'Executive order fourteen'. He should take care of the rest from there. Now, I have to get going with Damian. we have... things to take care of." He says distantly.

"SIR!" We shout with a salute. He nods a salutes back before walking off. Once he's out of ear shot I turn and punch True on the foreleg.

"What was that for!?" He asks as he rubs it.

"That's for giving my consent for me, you jerk! Now let's get going already. The sooner we find Trick Play, the better." I say as I start to walk off. I turn back to my father and wave to him as I flap my wings to get air born. He nods to me to and turns to go inside. I have a feeling that this is going to be... quite the journey. But I have to do it. I broke my family up, I'm going to be the one to fix it.

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

I take the mico platform back to my place and go back inside. Damian is laying back on the couch, hooves behind his head as he lays back casually. I take a deep breath as I resume my nervous pacing.

"Dude, you need to calm down-"

"Easy for you to say, you aren't a fucking beacon to every damn demon out there." I snap at him, making him roll his eyes.

"I knew I shouldn't have told you that." He mumbles under his breath as he sits up. "As I told you before, we've got-"

"A civil war on your hands." I cut him off. "So if my soul is shiny as fuck, and Luna's soul is shiny as fuck, and you just lost half your group, I think I have reason to worry."

"Well.... I wouldn't say half. I'd say it's more like... anyway, we can still watch over the demons and spirits. I mean, I got that demon that tried to posses you in your sleep, and not to mention you didn't even think about them until I mentioned it. Everything thing is fine, trust me."

"... is that why I woke up covered in ash?" I ask as I stop pacing about.

"I was going to clean you up, I swear! But Hammer told me he needed my help with something.... then CC needed... things... and... I forgot." He says with a coy smile. I shake my head and continue pacing around.

"You word isn't enough. I need to see it." I say as I shake my head slightly. If it involves Lunas protection, I can't just take his word for it. I need to see it myself. "What are we waiting for anyway? Let's just go-"

"It's not that easy Miles. We need to get special permission to take you to the compound. And if we get that, there's still a lot of prep work to take care of before so we could have a safe trip there. We may have a protective barrier around it, but that doesn't mean we can just go straight to the compound whenever we want-"

"Damian?" CC calls as she and Patches walk through the front door. "Everything's been set up. We're ready to go."

"Great!" Damian says as he hops off the couch. He walks over to me and sizes me up for a second before nodding. "Captain, can you lean forward a bit?"

"Uh... okay." I say as I lean forward.

"A little bit more."

"Like this?" I ask as I become eye level with him.

"Yeah, that's perfect." He says with an evil smile.

WHACK

THUD

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