"UUUUUUUUHHHHHHGGGG!" I grip the rim of the toilet a bit tighter as I hurl the contents of my stomach. The past few mornings I've been getting sick and throwing up. I assume it's something in the food here.... Regina on the other hoof-

"*high pitched squeal* AHHH! Luna is preggers! I get to be a God-mommy! THINK GIRLY THOUGHTS! Fillies are better." Regina says as she lays back in the bathtub, watching my misery.

"For the last time, I am not pregnant." I tell her as I do a courtesy flush. "It's just the food here. That's all." I tell her firmly. I was going to add some more to my statement, when I felt my stomach lurch up into my throat. I feel my hind legs kick out a bit as I spew the final contents of my aching stomach into the bowl. I spit the remaining contents from my mouth and flush the toilet, groaning as I feel my stomach try to reassemble itself.

"Better?"

"No."

"Great! Because we had a meeting ten minutes ago, we need to get going!" Regina says as she climbs out of the bathtub. I nod to her and move to the sink, where I rinse and brush my teeth. "C'mon slow poke! We've gotta go!" Regina says as she starts to pull me out of the restroom. "We don't want to be late to greet your sister-"

"Wait, what?" I ask as Regina opens the door and bumps into Celestia. We pause for a moment as we stare at one another. She looks... unemotional. Like... she's trying to process everything she's probably just heard. Her eyes keep darting between the two of us as she calculates something in her mind.

"Uh.... hi... Tia." I say weakly as she stands there, unmoving. "Regina, why don't you-"

"Could you let Ulfric know that we have to get going for a family emergency." Celestia says quickly. "Now." Regina glances back to me before bowing to Celestia and running out of the guest room.

"So... I don't think-"

"We're heading back to Canterlot... now." She says firmly before walking off. She leaves the room before I could even get a word in.

"... okay then. I'll just... gather my things then." I call out after her. She doesn't respond. All I hear are her hurried hooves rushing down the corridor. Confused, I begin gathering my things and prepare to leave. She couldn't be mad about my being with Miles, he already told her about us. What could she possibly be that mad about? Maybe... my being late to the meeting with Ulfric? No, there's no reason why she would get that upset... or is it?

As I pick up my bags and head down the hall, I can't help but think of everything that could have gone wrong. What if Ulfric has been insulted by my tardiness? I mean, I've only been late three times, but he was so understanding each time. He even made a pregnancy joke! I denied it, but... he still made it!

I make it to the airport and find Celestia's covered carriage waiting for me, with six Solar pegasis guards waiting to tow us home. It's fairly similar to her other one, with the exception of being closed and larger. I go to the door and wince when it abruptly opens. Celestia is sitting inside, staring forward. I climb in and take a seat beside her, the door slamming shut.

".... so-"

"Let's go!" Celestia orders quickly. The guards grunt in response before pulling us into the air. I begin to sweat as we travel from the tension in the room. Celestia is... beyond mad. I've never seen her like this before, ever. Several hours go by in total silence. Celestia never break eye contact with the wall in front of her. I try not to talk at first... but then I started doing math.

It's been exactly one month since my last heat cycle.

One month since Miles failed to do that simple little task.

One month...

"I'm pregnant."

"Please... just... I need a bit more... just... shush!" Celestia snaps as she pivots away from me.

"Are you okay Celestia? What-"

"Luna, please!" I scoot away from her as we continue to fly through the air. I look out the window of the carriage and try to think of something else, anything else... but I can't help but keep coming back to Celestia. There is no logical reason for her to be this mad.

"Celestia, enough. Just tell me what's wrong already so-"

"RAH!" She screams out as she flares her magic out. I lift a wing to block out the light coming from her horn. She lets out another yell before everything violently shakes and drops. When everything finally calms down I open my eyes and find us in the throne room back in Canterlot.

Before I could ask Celestia bucks the door off its hinges and storms out, grumbling to herself as she paces around. Okay, this is beyond mad. This is... unheard of anger. I step out cautiously and watch her pace about. She's mumbling something under her breath, I can barely hear it....'In order to keep... your little sister... all you need... is the right amount... of anger.'

When she finishes the last part she stands up straight and looks off in the distance. An uneasy feeling comes over me as she stands there, staring off to nowhere. I begin to back up nervously when she slowly starts to face me. Her eyes have become pure green and have dark energy fuming from the corners.

"In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." She mutters a bit louder as she step towards me, squinting her eyes a bit.

"Celestia, what are you doing?"

"In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." She mutters again, taking larger steps towards me.

"Celestia... this isn't funny... you're starting to scare me... please!" I beg her as I back up against the distant wall. I look to the guard for help, but they're just staring at me with eyes similar to Celestia's.

"In order to keep your little sister, all you need is the right amount of anger." Celestia says as she comes to a stop. A wicked grin comes over her face as she lowers her head a bit and begins to charge her horn.

RUN

I teleport to her side just in time to avoid her blasting my last position. I run down the nearest corridor as her guards begin to chase after me. I hear Celestia laugh in the distance as I rush down the narrow hall, usually meant for staff. I charge my horn and teleport to the main part of the castle, in hopes of finding some kind of help. I see a Solar Guard and run to him.

"PLEASE! Guard! You have to help me! Some has happened to my-"

"NIGHTMARE!" He yells as me as he uses his magic to blast me back. I hit the ground and slide a bit before rolling over and jump forward, avoiding another blast. I look back and see him glaring at me with those evil green eyes, pawing at the ground.

"What has happened?! What's going on!?" I yell as he starts to charge at me. Before I could act, a spear comes flying from behind me and pierces the Solar guard in the chest, killing him instantly.

"QUEEN LUNA!" I sigh in relief when a squad of my Night Guard approach me, surrounding me. "You aren't safe here my Queen! We have to get you to safety!"

"What is going on?! What has happened to my sister!?" I demand from him, slightly hysterical.

"It's Celestia! She's-"

ZA-BOOM

I duck as a bolt of electricity races by my head and slams into the guard before me, sending him sliding back. I look back and see six Solar guards running at us, eyes gleaming darkness.

"RUN!" One of my guards yell before they all charge the others. I hesitate for a moment as i watch the unicorns blast at one another and Pegasus leap into the air and tackle one another. I shake my head and begin to run away from them when a flash appears before me.

"Celestia!" I gasp as she smiles down at me, charging her horn.

"Don't fight it, little sister.This is better for- LET ME GO!" She yells at the guard on the floor as he grabs her hoof.

"RUN!" The guard on the floor yells before he draws a dagger out and stabs Celestia in the hoof. Celestia lets out a painful scream as she levitates him up and begins to crush him.

"CELESTIA STOP!" I yell at her as he curls into a ball and groans in pain. "CELESTIA-"

"SHUT YOUR WHORE MOUTH!" Celestia yells at me as she slams the guard against the floor. I reel back from her as the rest of her guard surround me, sending magical tethers to hold me in place. I try to fight back, but more and more guards appear and aid them in restraining me. I let out a cry of pain as ropes and magical tethers pull on all of my limbs, stretching me put.

"C-Celestia..." I groan as she chuckles at me.

"Now, to fix the problem. FLIP HER!" She yells at her guards as she summons her energy claymore. I fight with all of my might as my world turns upside down. Celestia chuckles as she moves below me and points the weapon at my stomach, then a bit lower.

"Celestia! Please, you don't have to do this." I beg her as double my efforts to break free. She laughs as she raises her blade, readying her strike.

"Don't worry, I won't let you disgrace our parents with this little bastard. Now, this is going to hurt just a tad bit-"

KER-FLASH

Dozens of teleporting flashes ring out as Night guards appear all over the room. Celestia tries to get her strike in, but two guards leap in the way and take the blow for me. Everything freezes when I see the blade bury into the two ponies above me. The let out a silent cry of pain as blood pours from under their armor and cascades down their bodies. It feels like an eternity as I watch the blade slowly pull out from their bodies, fresh blood dripping from the tip of the blade as their bodies go limp on top of me.

"RUN DAMMIT!" A guard yells as the room explodes into chaos. Fighting fills the room as my guards attempt to get the tainted guards away from me. Celestia ignores the small battle around us and brushes the dead ponies aside with her sword.

"Celestia... please." I beg her as she points her sword at me again.

"I will not lose you... not again." She vows as she begins to push her blade forward. I teleport back and summon my own blade to defend myself. Celestia growls and lunges at me again, swinging with murderous intent. I parry her attacks and back away, trying to think of somewhere to go. Somewhere safe to run. I... where can I go where she can't attack me!?

CRASH

ZAP

A window behind me shatters as a bolt of lightning comes flying in and hits Celestia, knocking her back. I look back as Rainbow Dash and Soarin glide in and stand at my side. Rainbow is in her Spartan uniform while Soarin is in his heavy duty Wonderbolts uniform. It looks similar to the performance suit, only with armor padding in several spots.

"LUNA! C'MON! WE'VE GOT TO GO!" Rainbow yells as she stabs at a Solar guard with her spear, shocking him lightly.

"What's happening?! What's going on!?" I yell as I back away from the two fighting ponies, towards the open window.

"IT'S-"

BOOM

A wave of energy hits Rainbow and forces her to slam into the marble pillar. Cracks creep up it as she slumps to the ground, unconscious.

"RAINBOW! GET GOING ALREADY LUNA!" Soarin yells as he drops his sword and runs to her side. "GO HOME LUNA! GO HOME!" Celestia lunges out of the fray and charges right for me. I open my wings and send myself out the window with a single powerful flap of my wings. I get enough force to get out of the building before falling down the side of the castle. I quickly level myself with the wall and begin to build speed as I drop.

BOOM

I glance back and see black smoke coming from the wall, along with rubble and glass. A second later Celestia flies out of the new hole and dives right at me, horn glaring with raw magical power. I open my wings slightly and dart to the right, keeping close to the circular wall. She's heavier, so she'll drop faster. But I'm more agile, so I need to make this a turning fight in order to keep her at bay.

I fly over a bridge and turn around, charging my horn. When she comes around I send a beam of energy at her, forcing her to break away from me. A powerful gust of wind blows over me as she flies past me. I leap off the walkway and take off the other direction, flapping my wings with all of my might to gain as much speed as possible. I hear her charge up again and fly towards a building. As I pause behind it, a beam of gold slashes at me, hitting all around me. Luckily the building held against the attack, protecting me completely. I take off again and fly close to another building.

I break away from the wall and level out with the ground. I hear her power fluctuate a bit, and dart left as another bolt of energy flies towards me. I dip down to gain speed and begin to weave around the walkways and tall, circular buildings. Every time I straighten out, another wave of magic comes at me, narrowly missing me. I can't run from her forever. I need to get away from her as quickly as possible, but where!?

I come to a stop when a falling column blocks my path. I turn around and watch as Celestia begins to fly straight up. I feel my heart pound in my ears as she blocks out the sun for a moment as she holds her hooves up in the air. As her horn begins to glow brighter and brighter -eyes becoming pure with from all the energy- I realize what she's doing.... The Suns Tear.

I quickly bolt to hide behind a building as a massive ray of golden energy comes crashing down. As I run, the large beam of pure sun chases after me, burning everything in its path. I need to getaway, but to where!?

"GO HOME!" I glance up as Soarin comes racing past me, dodging the beam of energy easily. He flies towards Celestia with great speed, closing the distance with tremendous speed. Celestia ends her powerful attack and swings at him, swatting him away like a fly. He barrels through the air before leveling out and charging at her again. "YOU WON'T GET RID OF ME THAT EASILY!"

"THEN DIE!" Celestia yells as she chases after him, horn blaring with magical energy. I back away into the shadows and run down a random dark alley, wincing from the sounds of their fight reaching the main city.

I run... and run... and don't think. All I can do is run. I can't think, I can't stop, I can barely breath. All I can do is run aimlessly through the city as I try to... I don't even know! I'm too scared to even think! I just... I just keep running!

"Queen Luna!"

"GAH!" I nearly take off when a guard leaps in front of me.

"This way!" She yells before taking off down another alley. I don't even question it, I just run after her. We weave through the city, slowly making our way up the mountain. The sounds of Celestia and Soarin soon die off, worrying me even more. We eventually come to a small, desolate shack of a home on the edge of the town. The guard glances around before opening the door for me. I hesitate for a moment before stepping inside.

It's a small room with a straw bed in the back and a table to my left with a pair of goggles on it. The guard shuts the door behind us and runs over to the bed. She tosses it aside, revealing a large hole in the ground.

"Take this all the way down, it should let out in the cave up the mountain. Take the teleporter there and run away." She says as I walk towards the entrance. "There are no turns, so you can't get lost. I know it's dark, but try not to use any magic. Once you get away... hide. Don't do anything, not yet at least. Go somewhere where Celestia can't find you and stay there. You got it?"

"... who are you?" I ask.

"Just a guard doing her job. Now get going, I have to join my fellow Night guards in the fight to hide your tracks.... GO!" I jump a little and go down the dark tunnel. The light goes out when she covers the entrance with the bed. I take a deep breath as I try to feel my way down the dark, cool tunnel.

I heard the door slam shut and echo down the tunnel. I have to fight my instincts to use magic to light my path, and begin the tedious task of feeling my way down the tunnel. I take a few steps before I suddenly feel something small and furry brush against my hoof. I let out a yelp as I teleport over to mico platform. I run over to it and appear in Miles's closet. I charge my horn and blast at the markings on the floor, destroying the teleporter.

My breath trembles as I stand there, shaking slightly. I look around the barren room and push the door shut. I curl into a ball and lay in a corner, tucking into myself as closely as possible. I don't understand... why did this all happen? What is going on...

I pause when a something whispers a message into my ear. I tremble slightly from the voice, but nod to it.

"If something threatens the ones you love... fight! I'll kill Celestia if she shows herself. I swear it." I close my eyes and nestle into myself, a single tear falling down my cheek.

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

As I sit at a bench on Braeburn's farm, I can't help but think back to Ponyville. There's no doubt Discord has made his move by now, and here I am. Safe at some farm all the way down here in Appaloosa. This isn't right! We should be back home, trying to get my friends back to normal. I still can't believe how easily everypony fell to Discord. Twilight... Storm... Rarity... Pinkie... even Spike. At least the Apples are fine... but that still doesn't put me at ease. We should-

"Eenope." Big Mac says from the seat beside me.

"Big Mac! We can't just sit here and let him do this!" I tell him for the hundredth time.

"Shy, Ah'm not riskin mah kin, no matter what." He says as he puts his hoof to my stomach. I roll my eyes and get off the bench.

"This isn't right Big Mac. You, a Spartan, shouldn't be hiding like this." I tell him before I walk off. I make my way through the rest of the Apple family reunion. Most of the ponies are trying to make the best of what's here, but it's obvious that the change in scenery is on everyponies mind.

"Ya alright there sugar cube?" Applejack asks me as she comes to my side, along with Hammer.

"No." I huff as I look away from her. "AJ... should we really be here?"

".... Shy-"

"I was asking the same thing." Hammer says, sounding slightly irked about something. "So when are you going to tell me why you moved your entire family reunion, for real this time." He asks with a bit of a tone in his voice. Applejack and I share a look before AJ removes her hat and faces him.

"Okay, ah promised ah'd tell ya when we got here, an ah'm gonna keep that promise. The reason ah moved the family reunion here is cause... well, there's no easy way a sayin this, so here it is. Discord told me that he'd kill ya if we were in town at this time. Mah guess is that he's makin his move fer power now." Applejack tells him, hiding behind her hat slightly as she waits for him to respond.

"....... wut?"

"Discord... has returned-"

"And instead of banding together with your friends -and stopping him- you ran away and hide from him?" He asks flatly, making Applejack hide from him.

"Well... we can't." I add quietly, hiding behind my mane when he looks to me. "I mean... well..."

"This is really important Fluttershy, please tell me." He says quietly. I take a deep breath and try to face him, but find it easier to speak from behind my mane.

"W-we're not c-connected anymore." I stutter, getting a nod from Applejack.

"Twilight and Rarity both are under his control. Rainbow disappeared on us an we don't know where Miles went! What else could we have done!?" Applejack asks loudly, getting a few odd looks from some ponies.

"You could have stood by your friends and face Discord anyway. If too much chaos ensues, there isn't much that can stop him from taking over completely-"

"But... he'd kill ya!" Applejack retorts.

"Eenope." Big Mac announces as he walks up to us.

"You with me?" Hammer asks him.

"Eeyup." Big Mac nods. I walk over to him and give him a big hug, well... as big a hug I could manage on the large pony.

"Ah fer pony sake, y'all can't be serious big brother." Applejack asks him, getting a quick look from him.

"You with us?" Hammer asks her as he nudges her hip with his. They share a look before she sighs in defeat.

"Ah was jus tryin ta protect ya, I swear." She tells him.

"I know, and thanks. But there's too much at stake not to get involved. So, what's the plan?" He asks the rest of us.

"Easy, bring Fluttershy ta Discord." Big Mac states.

"WHAT!?" I yell as I let go of him and fall down.

"Really? So, lover boy is still swooning over you then. Cool, let's get going then. We don't have much time if we're going to rob a train." Hammer says before walking off towards town.

"Wait... what?" Applejack asks as she follows after him. Big Mac looks down at me before shrugging and tossing me onto his back. Why me?! Why do I have to face him!? Can't I just go home and face Angel to give him a bath!? They're equally important!

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

I roll over and pull the sheets around me closer. I don't know how I got in this bed, but it's too comfy to care about. I think back to when I was home, talking with Damian. I should really get a helmet of some kind, maybe then weird shit wouldn't happen to me. I still have the one from my power armor, but I don't think it would fit anymore. Why is this bed so comfy!? I guess it's because I know I have to get up, but don't want to.

*sigh*, I guess it's time to get up and see where I'm at. I toss the sheets off of myself and sit up, inspecting the room around me. It's a barren stone room with a simple bed and a large wooden door. I get out of bed and do a quick stretch before taking the bed sheets and tying them around myself. Once my modesty is restored, I open the door and step out.

The hallway out here is similar to the room. Grey stone making the walls as the hall goes in both directions. I look to the door and see a symbol on it: two lines beside each other. One bending down while the other bends up, crossing each other. Must be a symbol for Statera, or a marking for this room at least.

With no one around, I just head down the left hall. There seems to be doors every few meters with the same symbol on every door, which makes me believe that it's their symbol. After a while, I start to pick up the pace, trying to make it to the end. After a short jog, I stop and look around. I can see the ends of the halls, but I can't seem to get to them... what the fuck is going on here?

"First time in Statera?" I jump a little when I hear a voice from my side. I look over and see a man, roughly a meter and a half tall, standing there. He's a scrawny thing with all black skin. He's wearing a black robe and has two small horns on his forehead.

"..."

"Heh, don't worry. Everyone gets lost their first time. You have to look for the-"

"Are you a demon?" I ask.

"Uh... yeah. Anyway, when you want to-"

"You're a demon... you?" I ask to clarify, getting an odd look from him.

"You've clearly never seen-"

TACKLE

I jump forward and tackle him him to the ground. Luckily for me, he's physically here, so I actually hit him. He starts yelling for help as I begin to wail on his torso. I can feel my hits being stronger than before, but his body feels tougher than it should be.

After a few hits he begins to try to break free. We fight and roll around a bit as I try to keep him in place, but he eventually gets away from me and begins to run away. So, I chase after him. For a lanky guy, he can move pretty fast, but I'm keeping pace with him pretty well.

"LEAVE ME ALONE YOU PSYCHOPATH!" He yells as he makes a sudden turn. It looked like he ran into the wall, but when I chased after him I made it through the passageway easily.

"GET BACK HERE BITCH!" I yell as I begin to close in on him.

"MILES!" Something grabs my back leg and trips me, forcing me to roll forward and crash with the assailant. When I finally come to a stop, Damian is sitting on top of me, trying to hold me down.

"DAMIAN! There's a demon here!" I yell as I try to get back up.

"I KNOW DUMBASS! HE'S SUPPOSE TO BE HERE!" He yells as he shakes me a bit. I stop and stare at him, completely confused by his statement.

"... wut?" He sighs and gets off me, allowing me to stand.

"Okay, here's the basic gist of things. For every positive action, there needs to be a negative. If there's an imbalance between the two, the other one comes back in greater force to equalize everything. We need to let out the weaker demons, so that the bigger, scarier ones don't. I know it's hard to wrap your mind around, but it's how we try to keep the balance. Does that make sense?"

"... so... that guy... worked for you?" I ask, slightly confused.

"Well, not me. He has a contract with some guy here as his servant."

"... so you guys contract demons to work for you?"

"... kind of. It's a bit different than that, but... look, do me a favor and don't attack anything. Nothing here will attack you, got it?"

"... sure-"

"GREAT! Then welcome to Statera! Follow me, don't touch anything, and try not to sell your soul!" He says before trotting down the hallway.

"... wait, what!?" I ask as I run after him. He chuckles a bit as he turns and walks through a wall. I hesitate for a moment before following him through. When I do walk through the threshold, I find myself in a completely new area.

The grey walls go out further, making a huge open square room. The room is filled with hundreds of spirits, demons and basically every other living species on the planet. All manner of living being seem to be here. Treeants, orcs, ponies, griffins, goblins, even a few I've never seen before are represented. All of the living species are wearing goggles, or some other variant of eye wear. The spirits seem to all be in a hurry to get to where ever it is they need to go.

As if on queue, the entire mass of people before us pause and look over to us. Every spirit, demon, and living being stares at us as we stand here, staring right back at them.Damian, unfazed by all of the eyes on us, walks towards the crowd with his normal demeanor. I follow after him, sticking close to his side... for obvious reasons.

"So! This is one of the intersections that connects all of the different buildings together. Up ahead we're going to the records building so I can introduce you to Dusty Scrolls. He's... well, you'll see-"

"Um... why are they all staring at us?" I ask as we pass through the crowd. They move out of our way, but never stop staring at us.

"... must be you... being all shiny, and stuff." He says distantly. I was about to question him when I bump into something. I step back and look up to see an orc standing in front of me, giving me the stink eye. I glare back at him, unwilling to back down.

"Externus." He growls at me.

"Miles! Rule number two! Don't get in any fights!" Damian yells as he pulls on my leg, yanking me away from the orc. " And you! Don't start shit you can't finish!" Damian yells at the orc. He pushes us out of the large square and down another hall.

The hall we enter has construction cones up, blocking access to the right side. A large section of the building has been destroyed and is currently being rebuilt. A silver plaque is on the most intact part of the wall, and read:

Periit memoria eorum qui in vita sua.

"What happened here?" I ask as I look inside, seeing the level of the destruction. A large section of the building has been leveled, giving me a view of the evening sky above. It goes back for several kilometers before meeting with the end of the building.

"Well... you remember that group of Statera members that attacked you? Back on that train ride?"

"Yeah... they did this?"

"Yeah, or so I'm told. Apparently this all happened when I was off on a mission, and that's as far as I know." He admits as he rubs the back of his neck.

"That's it. You don't know who's responsible, who's planning it, or where they went. Damian, you brought me here to prove to me that you guys would watch over my family, and so far you aren't doing a very good job-"

"What do you expect!? We're an organization that specializes in being a secret! Of course they're going to get away from us and disappear, it's what we're trained to do! Plus, I've already been keeping your shiny ass safe! I stopped that demon from eating you while you were unconscious."

"... is that why I woke up covered in ash?" I ask, getting a nod from him. "It didn't occur to you to, maybe, dust me off a bit?"

"Meh." He says as he shrugs his shoulders.

"Asshole."

"I love you too. Now come on. I need to convince you that we have everything under control." He says as he walks off again. I roll my eyes as I follow after him. So far he has demons working for this group, a civil war with covert operatives, and Luna and I stand out like sore thumbs to them. It's going to take something pretty impressive to persuade me not to pull Damian on constant call.

The rest of the compound -as Damian puts it- is built like a labyrinth. Some halls seem to go on forever while others seem to go to nowhere. Not to mention we've been making turn after turn. I started to question whether or not he knew where he was going, until we finally found the room he was looking for. The library.

The room is massive, to say the least. The walls are covered with several stories of books, computers, scrolls, and all kinds of storage containers. I step in and lose myself when I look around the entire room. It's pretty daunting to be surrounded by all of this... knowledge.

"Figured that you'd like this. Statera has tasked itself with preserving... well, everything. Name a book, author, memo, doodle, anything and we either have the original or a copy of it. All of it. Want every song ever been written or composed, bam! We have it. How do you want it? Mp3? Data disk? Eight track? Record? We have them all. Want to see ancient human cave paintings? We have them all. Want to hear the Captains logs to the Star Ship Domina Gratiam? We have them in duplicate. You name it, we have it." He says with a confident smile.

"Really? So... let's say I wanted to see my research notes on the Elements, you got those?" I ask as I look around some more. Damian grows a smile as he begins to walk into the library.

"Glad you ask, follow me." I nod absent mindedly as I follow after him, eyeing everything in sight. There are a few workers here and there, either putting books back or pulling some out. Several spirits are here as well, though they pay us no mind. I don't see where they go, but it's way in the back of the room. We walk up several flights of stairs and take a few turns before we enter a section titled: Topaz Falls - 1100 - 1200

"I don't believe it." I mutter as I see some copies of my old text books on shelves. "How do you have these?"

"Statera isn't new, man. We've been around since before the Purge. Heck, back at the dawn of man really." He says as we take another turn.

"I'll admit, this is... beyond impressive, but I don't see how-"

"DUSTY!" Damian yells, scaring some pony who was sitting at a table half to death.

"GEEZ! Damian! You know, this is a library after all! You still need to keep your voice down!" The pony snaps back at him. He's a scrawny light tan earth stallion, with light brown hair -goatee included- that's tied back and has a mark of a scroll. "What can I help you with?"

"I have a present for you. Dust Scrolls, meet Miles Eremita. Miles, meet Dusty Scrolls." The pony looks up to me and stares for a moment before switching back to his papers. They fly everywhere before he finds the right one and looks between it and me.

"SWEET MERRIAM JOSEPH! IT IS YOU!" He yells as he jumps out of his seat and shakes my hoof vigorously. "Oh, it is an honor sir! Truly! Your theories on arcane enchanting are phenomenal! Absolutely phenomenal! Duel enchanting with inner purpose and reflected energy- brilliant!" He gushes as he continues to shake my hoof.

"Um... thank you? How do you know that?" I ask as I pull my hoof away. He grows an even large smile before turning to the table and tosses the papers aside. After a few moments of searching, he finds what he's looking for. A tablet.

"You see, this little baby here was recovered by the Topaz Falls Statera members and I've spent nearly two decades researching it, it's what I do here... always. BY THE WAY!" He yells as he turns it on and flips through some of the files. "I have no clue what this is, can you please tell me?"

"... it's just a doodle- I'm sorry, how did you get my personal tablet... and read it? I tried to write-"

"Backwards starting with the center of the sentence and switching every other verb, I know. As I said, I've spent nearly two decades studying this on my own." He says with a bit of pride in his voice... then loses his smile. "Wait, that's just a doodle? No.... no! I've written entire essays about how that's some kind of metaphor for the futility of life! It can't just be a doodle!"

"Yeah, see, it's just a half drawn soldier. And you've spent how long studying my work?" I ask, feeling slightly.... odd.

"Oh! Not just your work. I've learned... basically everything about you." He says sadly as he sets the tablet down.

"You what now?"

"Dusty, why don't you show off some of what you've learned about him." Damian says as he takes a seat, chuckling to himself.

"Well, only if Miles would agree to hear about it." Dusty says coyly as he paws at the ground a bit.

"You what now?"

"OKAY! You were born on February twenty ninth at ten fifteen at night, eight pounds nine ounces. You spent the first eight years of your life at the Topaz Emergency Orphanage. It was made for all of the refugees turned into orphans. You attended Stella Ficor College after making your choice with Susurrans Bellum, your father -though he'd never tell. I think it was because he was scared of how much you had grown without him. It was recorded that Apricis had a conversation with him where he tried to convince him to tell you, but he said 'he's too far gone to need a father. I'll guide him, for as long as he needs me.' I honestly think he should have just said it, but then you wouldn't have been as determined as you are now... or so I speculate.

You stayed celibate throughout college, completely by your choice. There were four fan groups in your honor. One for being a Spartan, one for women hoping to marry you -or just have sex with you- another for the scientist wishing to work with you, and lastly a group of men who wished to be with you. My O.T.P. is with you and Dolum, you guys were just... right...

ANYWAY! You didn't really socialize that much. When it came to Spartan Pride, you jumped at the chance to prove yourself, but other than that, your friends would have to force you to do anything else. You hate parties because you were molested as a child by the dean of your orphanage. And seriously, I think a single punch wasn't enough, but I guess Susurrans got the last laugh. You love food disk because you had them with Susurrans -it was really touching by the way- and I speculate that you would transfer this to pancakes today.

As a human, you stood at six foot five, two hundred five pounds, size twelve shoes, nine and a half inches under the belt. I speculated that -had you turned into an alicorn- you would be one hundred seventy five pounds, six foot one from the top of you head of course, and twenty four and three quarters of an inch long between the legs."

...

...

...

...

...

...

"Damian.... can I talk to you... over here please?" I ask as I walk away from him. Damian hops out of his seat and follows me over.

"What's up, monster cock?" He asks cheerfully.

"Um... why does he know all of that?" I ask as I bit my hoof.

"If it could be useful, we need to know it." He states matter of factly.

"My penis length is useful?"

"Well, a little. For Luna at least. You have to admit, you were an influential person in history. We had to know stuff about, and you never know what you would have to know. So, we learn everything we need to know."

"... like my penis length."

"Hey, he even calculated for if you were any other race too. Want to-"

"No! No, that won't be necessary."

"Are you sure?"

"Damian, enough about... me. How is this suppose to convince me that you guys are going to be able to keep my family safe?"

"Well, look at what we're able to do. We have information that even you don't know about. It's still here, safe. That rebellion that happened, I wasn't here for that. Now that I am, we can bring them down much more quickly than before. Not to mention that they've already tried to attack you once, remember how that turned out? They don't have the numbers to risk another team like before. You will be safe from them, and so will your family. I promise."

I sigh as I step back and try to think clearly. If what he's said is true, then I don't have to worry about any attacks right now. Damian is a good fighter, and I do trust him... to a degree. The operation here is pretty impressive, but there are still obvious cracks where people can slip through... though, I don't expect perfection. I guess there will always be that threat on the horizon, and if I give them the help they need, maybe it'll stay there.

"Dusty." I call out as I walk towards him.

"Yes Miles? Teehee, you're talking to-"

"I need my tablet back." He stops gushing over me and gawks back at me before laughing.

"Ha! That's funny Miles, I knew you had a sense of humor! Funny!"

"No, this isn't a joke. I need that back. There are some project notes that I need from there." I tell him, making him gawk at me again.

"But... but...."

"Don't you have a spare that you can copy the files over to?" I ask, making him sweat.

"Uh.... yeah, I guess... but-"

"Cool, so I'll be taking mine home while you keep the copy." I say, making him sweat even more.

"But... your tablet-"

"Yes, my tablet." I punctuate, making him sigh in defeat. He grabs the device and walks off towards a storage closet, closing it behind him. "What was that all about?" I ask Damian.

"Imagine you had a celebrities personal item, then had to give it back to them. Even with an exact copy of it, it's not theirs." Damian explains. I mull it over as Dusty returns with the new tablet.

"Well... here you go." He says as he offers me the tablet.

...

...

...

...

*sigh* I hate being the nice guy sometimes. I reach over and grab the copy, getting surprised look from him.

"Take care Dusty." I say as I turn to leave.

"Wait!" Dusty calls out, making me pause. "One last question before you go, please?"

"... well... sure, I'll try to answer it at least." I say as I turn towards him.

"Well... it's a bit of a difficult question, but... you made the Elements of Friendship with your friends in mind, it's why they connected to their ancestors now, who were the Elements of Chaos designed after? I have no records of anyone who would exemplify those traits."

"That's because they aren't designed after people. Altum forced me to expand the field of research to not only enhance a group of soldiers, but to each individual one. The original intent was to mass produce them to enhance our troopers magical output, but it wasn't enough for Altum. He wanted something that could put each soldier on level with the greatest of mages. To become the next super soldiers. So, I started researching, and thus I made the Elements of Solitude."

"Okay, but then what were they designed after?" He presses on.

"Solitude." I say, getting a bemused look from him. "It's true. Friendship works off taking a group of thoughts or people and channeling it all into a single cause. Solitude was formed from the thoughts... well, from the thoughts of my early childhood." I turn and leave it at that. Damian nods to me before leading me out of the library.

"You realize he's going to spend the next few months re-studying your childhood, right?" Damian asks as he trots alongside me.

"Well... it's his job right?" I say, still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of having some guy know way too much about me. "Anyway, what else is there to see?"

"Um... really? I was kind of hoping that that would be convincing enough for you... shit."

"Don't worry, it was. But we're here, so... what now?" I ask as we step out of the library. "Wait, I know-"

"We are not spending the entire time here reading."

"AW COME ON!" I yell as I stop and turn back towards the library. "Just for a while-"

"No."

"Half an hour-"

"No."

"Two books."

"No."

"... Damian is great."

"No- you bastard." We share a small chuckle as a mare steps out of the library.

"Oh! I didn't expect to see Miles here." She says as she looks up to me. "Congratulations by the way."

"... for what?" I ask her, getting a chuckle from Damian.

"Your wife is expecting, right? I'm new to Alicorn ordeals so-"

"Wait, wait, wait a second.... did you say... that my wife... Luna, the blue one... is-"

"Yeah, she's pregnant-"

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" I yell as I throw my hooves up and jump. Once I hit the ground I take off running for the hallway I woke up in. I fucking knew I got her ass pregnant, now I need to get home and gloat about it. "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY, I'M GOING TO BE A DAD!"

I throw my chin at Patches as he joins me in the guest hall, taking a cautious seat beside me.

"Sup?"

"Not much, what are you doing here?" He asks me.

"Watching the show." I tell him smugly. He tilts his head slightly before the sound of heavy panting and wheezing echoes down the hall. We both look over to see Juu-szeh, an orc new recruit, dragging Miles by one of his back legs. He drops him in front of us before taking his leave. Miles just lays there, chest heaving as he fights to regain his breath.

"So, what did we learn?" I ask him cutely.

"There's.... *huff* There's just.... no... end..." He says between breaths.

"Yeah, about that. This is where we bring all outsiders. It's a looping hall that has no exits... well, beside to the main lobby." He collapses a bit more, laying his head down as he closes his eyes in defeat.

"Can I do it?" Patches asks eagerly.

"Mmmmm..... sure, why not. I need to go... check in on CC anyway." I say as I stand up, another smug smile coming on my face.

"... gross."

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

I mumble a bit as I begin to regain consciousness. Instead of a helmet, maybe I should just not go to places where they do that crap every five minutes... fucking assholes. I groan as I sit up and look around. I'm in some bedroom in some random house. There are a few things in here; furniture, bedding, a picture of some blue flowers. All in all, ordinary and bland. Nothing special at all about this place. As I start to get out of the bed, the door opens up and reveals a dark brown earth stallion.

"Oh, good, you're up. Okay, I'm suppose to remind you that everything you saw and heard is suppose to be a secret. Don't go telling anypony about it. This is the local safe house for our members, so if anything spiritual occurs, you can come here and tell us. Any questions?"

"Um... where am I?"

"Ponyville-"

"Good to know, bye!" I run out of the house before he could say anything else.

I charge down the empty street at full speed, feeling my tablet bounce around in my make shift toga. I practically fly through the barren town as I make my way home, feeling the extent of what my body can actually do. I just need to get there, drop off the tablet, and get to Canterlot. From there I'll talk to Celestia and make my way to Luna. OOH! Celestia! I get to tell her the good news! YES! Can't wait to see the look on her face.

I burst through the door, sending Lupus and Hati running for their lives as I B-line my way to my room. I kick in the door, scaring Luna, and drop the tablet on the bed before-

"LUNA!" I yell as I rush her and lift her up in a massive hug.

"MILES! CRUSHING! STOP!" She yelps as I start to spin with-

"OH SWEET BARBRA!" I yell as I drop her... probably not the best course of actions. "Are you okay? Sorry about that." I say as I help her up. When she nods I throw my arms around her again as I laugh a bit. "I told you, didn't I? We're going to be parents-"

"Miles-"

"I knew it! How far along are you? How's the morning sickness?"

"Miles-"

"Have you started getting cravings yet? Do ponies get cravings? What do-"

"MILES!" She yells, getting my attention. "There's... been... some problems." She tells me worriedly. I feel my entire demeanor drop as I look down to her. Problems? Like... miscarriage problems? Tummy aches? .... gas? She sees my confusion and takes me han-hoof into her hooves.

"Not like that... entirely." She says as she places my hoof on her stomach. It doesn't feel any different... well, maybe a bit more pudgy.... WOO! PREGNANT PUDGE! "It's... it's Celestia."

"Celestia?" I ask.

"She-"

"LUNA! COME OUT AND FACE ME!" A loud and booming voice erupts from outside. Luna's breath quivers in fear as a bright light emanates from outside.

Alrighty people, here we go. I've been planning this little tid bit for quiet some time. Chapter 200 is coming up! Can you believe it! MAN... I should condense these down or something.... naaaaaaaaaaaaahh! It'll work just like last time, you can ask me or any character any question you want and we'll answer them to the best of our abilities. A word of advice though, I'd suggest holding off your questions for a few chapters... things are going to get.... chaotic

Chapter 200 Q/A