I can't help but pace around in the air docks of Canterlot as I wait for Celestia. When she was visiting a few days ago she mentioned that there was going to be a Summit meeting between all of the world leaders. All of them. A world meeting and she tells me about it in passing. So after some... persuasion, here I am. Clad in armor and waiting with for Celestia to get down here so we can get going already.

"Keep your pants on Miles, we're here." Cadence says as she and Celestia enter from the stairwell, along with four guards. Two of the guards are Crystal Empire ponies while the other two are the Captains of the Night and Solar guards. I have to suppress a chuckle when I look to Celestia and Cadence though. They're each wearing dresses, something I've never seen either of them do before and quite honestly didn’t know they were capable of. Cadence is wearing a pink and purple dress that holds to her form tightly. It's studded with gems and shines brightly in the light. Celestia is wearing a long, flowing, white dress that fits her loosely. It's simple, but suits her well.

"Ladies, looking lovely." I say, getting Celestia to roll her eyes while Cadence blushes.

"Aren't you bringing anypony?" Cadence asks.

"Yeah, but why are you here?" I ask as I walk over to her, giving her a quick hug. "Shouldn't you be home with Joy?"

"Radiant Joy is in good hooves." She reassures me. "Shinning is perfectly capable of taking care of her… probably. Not to mention the entire country is watching her every move. So if anything does go wrong, there will be plenty of ponies around to take care of her. Now, is everything ready for the trip?" She asks Celestia.

"We're set and primed to go." I tell her, getting a snicker from Celestia and a confused look from Cadence. "What? The meeting is later today, did you really think we'd get there by chariot?"

"Well... I figured magic had a play in it." She says coyly.

"You're kind of right." I say as an I.T.A. flies over head and begins to vertically land beside us.

"Miles, stop showing off." Celestia says as she walks towards the aircraft. "Now, let's get going. We don't want to be late, now do we?" I smirk to Cadence as I join Celestia. The side door slide open revealing Storm Cloud and Damian. Storm is clad in armor and holding a hoof out to assist us in while Damian is wearing a heavy cloak and remains seated in the back.

"Good to see you again Storm." I say while he helps Cadence inside. "Hows life in a grand castle with nothing but posh ponies. politics and that little girl of yours?"

"I wouldn't know about the politics, that's Twilights job. I just take care of Speaks Softly, who is doing great. How are Big Mac and Fluttershy?" He asks nervously.

"Big Mac tells me that everything is alright with them, but they still would like to keep people from seeing the baby. Fluttershy has it in her mind that he'll get sick if we come and visit." I tell him as I assist helping everyone in.

"He? So it's a colt." Storm says happily.

"I had to really finagle around with Big Mac to get that information." I tell him, getting a chuckle in response. "What do you know about him Damian?"

"I know that Big Mac made me keep a shit ton of promises so I can't say anything beyond what I just said." Damian informs us, making me roll my eyes. Of course he did. We all know something is up, but it's not like I'm going to just kick the door down to see him. When they're comfortable with me seeing him is when I'll get to see him.

"And Luna?" Storm asks as I climb in and shut the door.

"Any minute now. Easy! Take us west!" I yell to him as Storm and I help everyone strap into their seats.

"Of course." I hear him reply as the jets begin to roar to life and we take off into the air. I laugh when I look back and see all of the uneasy faces as the ship begins to pick up speed. It must completely foreign to them to be moving this fast in a machine. I drop into a seat and hold on as we continue to pick up speed. After a few more moments we level out and maintain our speed, allowing us to speak to one another.

"Okay, now that I can hear myself think, let's discuss the Summit meeting." Celestia says loudly, getting all of our attention. "A Summit meeting hasn't been held in millenniums. The last one to be held were delegated by my parents, along with a few other key ponies, but the state of the world has forced us all to meet to try and talk things over. Be careful of what you say. Some of the ponies here are a bit on edge, and only need a few sour words to start a fight."

"Where is this Summit meeting being held?" I ask.

"Across the Pond is a sliver of land held by a group of mountain goats. The land is called The Isles, and we will be meeting at a ruin called Edoeburg. There's a bit of a history with the goats there. Many have tried to take it from them, but none have succeeded. Anyway, this meeting will be heated. I can guarantee it."

"What's been going on to get things this crazy?" Cadence asks.

"Well, where to start... The Goblin Empire is under a lot of scrutiny. They've been assaulting elementals to fuel their engineering and have been supplying the Griffin Colonies with weapons and war craft-"

"Are you sure about that?" I ask, cutting her off.

"Yes. I sent a group of Wonderbolts into the Soviet Bear Union to spy on a shipment being made and that's when they discovered the cargo of weapons. Pistols, rifles, blades, war machines, they are arming themselves for something huge."

"Wait, pistols? Rifles? How advance is their stuff?" Storm asks.

"No where near as advance as this stuff,” she says while motioning to the craft around us. “But far ahead of everypony else. They utilize the power of steam in their tech to achieve these things. We've been trying to catch up, but it's difficult to do so when you don't have the physical means." I nod to that logic. Fingers are useful for those kind of things.

"So the griffins are gearing up for a fight. Against whom? Us?" Cadence asks.

"No, against the bears. They claim that they are mobilizing troops along their border. The bears deny this but won't allow anypony within their borders to confirm it. My spies couldn't find anything before getting caught, which also put them at odds with us." Celestia tells her, getting a thoughtful nod in return.

"Who are the big players we need to know about?" I ask.

"The griffin leader is Ulfric Stormmind. He's a sphinx with telepathic abilities. Don't not let him in your mind. He will try, and if you allow him to you will not get it back. Next is Joesph Boarus, the bear leader. He's a bit eccentric and completely stubborn. Persuading him will be difficult, to say the least. Next is the Goblin Emperor Starke Herzen, the old. He's been around for thousands of years and nopony knows how. He can be a bit hot headed but is probably the smartest person I know of. Next is the Ape Emperor Liánhuā. Meeting him personally will be... difficult. They have a strange system of honor and respect. Don't look him in the eyes, don't touch him, don't stand too close to him, and finally don't insult him. Unless you want war."

"I don't think I'll try talking to him directly." Cadence says with a hesitant chuckle.

"Don't let their customs take control of you." Celestia warns her. "If you let them push you around, your country will suffer for it. I promise you that."

"Just go in and treat them the way you would want to be treated." I mention, getting a nod of agreement from Celestia. "Is that all of them?"

"No. The Elementals will be making an appearance as well. Though they don't have a unified government, they will come together from time to time to voice their concerns. The zebra head shaman Dunia Mapenzi will be there as well. She's an older pony, but may surpass Starke in wisdom. Listen to her words. The Minotaur leader will be there-"

"Wait, leader? What is he? King? Emperor?" Storm asks, getting a shrug from Celestia.

"What ever he wants to be. A year ago he was the president for life, last month he was the emperor, his majesty Long Horns likes to change it up. Lastly is Oni, the leader of the Orcs. He will be there, and do yourself a favor, keep your distance. He tends to think with his club and eat your remains."

"Well, sounds like fun. Are there any other conflict that we should know of?" I ask.

"Well, the zebras and minotaurs have never been on good terms. Socially, they just don't see eye to eye in almost anything. The bears and apes have a long history with killing orcs. This has driven the orcs to a pure hatred of the others. Though a war has never technically taken place between the three of them, they have had more conflict than the rest of the world combined."

"Hmm, where does Equestria stand in all of this?" I ask.

"For the most part, aside. We've been keeping an isolationist mentality because... well, to put it simply, a war would devastate us completely." She admits, getting shocked looks from all of her guards. "We don't have the raw resources to begin mobilizing any forces, nor do we have the technology to compete. For the longest time, we've been delegating the peace between the nations but not intervening in their affairs. The only reason we're still around is because Luna and I are revered as holy ponies… well, we were at least. Not to mention we had the Elements of Harmony." She says the last part quickly while shooting a quick glance at my left arm.

"Hmm... that sounds like a real problem." I say as I sit back and stare at her.

"It is. I fear that the day where diplomacy fails and Equestria goes to war-"

"That would be shame. It's not like you have a newly formed ally that probably has the worlds biggest supply of metals, not to mention the most advanced technology, and it's not like their leader is your brother. I mean, that would just be way too convenient, wouldn't it Storm?" I say as I nudge him, getting a chuckle from Damian.

"I'd say it would be an unfair advantage. But, then again, I am a little biased since my wife is a leader of Equestria. So I guess it's perfectly fair." I nod to him and look back to Celestia, waiting for her to respond.

"... you would really aid us like this? Give us weapons and armor while giving us Spartan soldiers-"

"Fuck no." I cut her off. "First off, we can open trade agreements for raw materials. As for the training of troops, they would be standard soldiers. Not Spartans. And lastly, Equestria is our host nation, and as such, we have the right to ensure its future."

"So what's the catch? I doubt you want to just give us all of this for free." She asks skeptically.

"Well, we need two things. First off, we need gems. We can't use all of this machinery on dried up gems now can we?" I say, getting Cadence to beam a bit.

"We have plenty of gems. If you can supply us with timber and metal we'll send some gems in return."

"Sounds good. And lastly, we need a hometown. Somewhere we can base all of our operations that lies on the surface." Celestia thinks about for a moment before widening her eyes a bit.

"You want Ponyville." She says slowly.

"Correct. How about it Celestia? A town for a nation. I'd say it's a good deal, wouldn't you?" I tell her, getting an even gaze from her.

"Spartan politics don't allow for much wiggle room, does it?" She asks, making me chuckle.

"Never."

"Destination in thirty seconds. Please designate a landing zone." Easy tells us just before we begin to descend. Celestia tells him where to drop us off and that he has to stay on the ground, or else they'll just kill us all. I confirm the order and after a few moments we finally touch down.

I slide the door open and step out, taking my first look at the Isle. We've landed on a shore line that sits before a large mountain range. The jagged slope is covered in large mounds of grass and dotted with many different flowers. The peaks go high into the sky and ends with the crumbled remains of a stone building. A dirt path leads from the beach up towards the ruins. Once everyone's off the ship we begin the trek up the path.

The path is steep and the sand likes to gives way underneath our feet, but we keep climbing. I asked Celestia if we could just teleport, but I guess it's tradition to walk. When we make it half way up something jumps out from the cover and fakes ramming me. I jump back and draw my pistol, taking aim right between it's large curled horns. It seems to be be the same relative size of a pony, but is obviously different. His coat is made of coarse white hair and his face is more angular. Two spiraled horns come out from his head while long grey hair comes from his chin. To make everything even weirder, he's wearing a plaid red and green skirt.

"Miles, put the weapon away. That's one of the keepers of the Isle." Celestia informs me. I stare him down for a moment before holstering my pistol. He snorts at me before motion with his head towards the top of the mountain.

As we continue on, more and more of the locals -mountain goats apparently- appear around us. Each of them stand strong and threaten to knock us off the mountain side, though never actually come to doing it. It takes us a great deal of time, but we never stop until we eventually make it to the stone structure at the top of the mountain.

The air is cold and quick up here, chilling me to the bone rapidly. The building itself looks as if it was built ages ago and has seen better times. Large, heavy stones pile on each other to form the walls of the three story tall structure. The uneven walls tell me that the building used to be taller, but has been destroyed partially. Small, thin slits form windows of the square structure as a massive wooden door takes up the center.

"WHO G-G-G-G-GO THERE!" A voice yells from within. He stutters on the G, but oddly enough it sounds like a normal part of his speech.

"The representatives of Equestria, The Crystal Empire, and Terradisia are here." Celestia yells back as she steps forward. "We stand ready to represent our nations-"

"I-I-I-I don't care a'boot yer nations!" He yells, cutting her off. "What're yer names!"

"Celestia!" She tells them, somewhat put off.

"Mi Amore Cadenza!"

"Miles Eremita!" We each step forward and wait for him to respond. Instead, the door begins to slide open. After a moment of nothing happening, we all move forward to enter the building.

The hallway before us is long and dark, only having a few sparse torches set on the walls. Long decorative tapestries cover most of the walls as sparse tables hold various flowers in small vases. Before us stands three more locals. Two of them are dressed like the others, but the one in the center has more to him. A sash with the same design goes across his chest as he sports a black mashed hat.

"Welcome to the Isle's!" He bellows loudly with his thick accent as the doors begin to shut behind us. "M-m-m-me name's O'Buckly, an I-I-I will be deliberatin' this meeting. If you wish ta speak here, turn in yer weapons an follow me." The two goats pick up a chest and bring it over to us, dropping it at our feet and flipping the top open.

"So... only those who are going to speak have to hand over their weapons?" I ask to clarify.

"Well didn't ya hear what I-I-I said kiddy!?" He yells back. rolling his eyes slightly. "I-I-I aint that far frum ya! Hearing hard fer humans or what!?" The rest of us freeze up and stare at him for a moment... except for Damian, who's chuckling.

"How did you know I'm a human?" I ask carefully, getting a surprised look from O'buckly.

"I-I-It's like ya don't even know yer own history! Three thousand years hard fer humans ta remember?! A human named Eremita spoke at the first Summit meeting! I-I-I'd think ya know yer own lineage kiddo! Now, i-i-if yer done lolly gagging, we'll be takin' yer, rifle, yer pistol, and yer blades. We have a world ta save kiddo!" He bellows again before turning around and walking off. We all stand there, stunned, as we try to process what he just told us.

"Alright, so... are you going to just stand there or what?" Damian asks as he steps forward.

"Did you know about this!?" I demand.

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me!" I yell in bewilderment.

"You never asked." He states simply, making me practically explode in frustration. Of course he wouldn't just tell me something like this! That fucking little prick!

"Why don't we leave this discussion for another time, Miles." Celestia says as she nudges my arm. I sigh in defeat before stripping my weapons off and dropping them into the box. Damian and I are going to have a real, long, talk after this.

Once we; or I, seeing as I was the only one with weapons to hand over, finish un-arming, we head down the hall after O'Buckly. The hall is built strangely, being at least two stories high and only have a few other doorways. When we make it to the end we come to a stop when three... griffin like creatures stop before us. Two of them are wearing heavy armor that's painted blue and white with a crest of a creature's head while the center one is wearing an elegant blue tunic.

"So, we finally meet. Eremitason." The middle one says as he steps forward. His back half resembles that of a griffin, but his front is completely different. Long grey hair covers most of his head while his almost human face is covered in a dark tan fur. He stands a bit taller than Celestia -not including the horn- and seems a bit too at ease being here.

"Ulfric." Celestia greets as she steps forward.

"Ah Celestia. How is your sister? I understand it'll be any minute now, am I right?" He asks as he turns to her, inclining his head slightly. "You remember my eldest sons? Korir and Dengeir." He says as the two of them step forward, removing their helmets before bowing to Celestia. They look similar to Ulfric, but are obviously younger by far.

"And you remember my niece, Mi Amore Cadenza." Celestia says, getting Cadence to step forward. The two sons step forward and take turns greeting her, kissing her hoof when they shake.

"Is it true?" I ask, breaking the formalities. "Was my mother really at the first Summit meeting?" Ulfric frowns a bit as he looks me over, mulling over his answer in his head.

"If you truly are the legend you claim to be, then yes. Eremita was here, back when the 'gods' fought for supremacy. But, you'll have to forgive me. It has been many centuries since those days, and I don't recall much of her. All I do recall was the role she played, and her mean left hook-"

"Hey!" O'Buckly yells from down the corridor behind me. "Whatcha waitn for!? We need ta get started!"

"Well then, another time then." Ulfric says while he walks past me, closely followed by his two sons.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Celestia says, getting the three of them to pause. "Where is Skald, your youngest?" Ulfric glance back to Celestia before continuing on. She chuckles a bit before turning to Cadence. "Very good first impression."

"Thank you-"

"But be careful. His sons will probably try to mate with you. Why do you think Skald isn't here?" She says before walking after the sphinxes.

"... wait, what!?" Cadence asks as she chases after Celestia. I look back to Storm and Damian before shrugging and walking on.

This hall ends with a large doorway the reveals an open stadium. A flat stone surface fills the center with twelve circles going around the edge. Around the arena are stone seats that form the rest of the stadium, going several stories up and ending with red and green clothes that provide shade for the seats. The circles themselves remind me of the mico platforms from back home, only with a vastly different enchantment within them. I have a feeling I know how these got here. Most of the seats are filled with goats, all of whom are wearing the skirts, but I can see guards from many different people dotting the area.

"Alrighty then. Lackeys take a seat i-i-in the stadium, the rest of you take a spot somewhere an i-i-introduce yerselves." O'Buckly informs us. I glance back to the others before walking forward and taking my place in one of the circles. The archaic text begins to glow and I feel my feet lock in place.

"Um..." I mutter as I try to move my feet. My voice becomes amplified and echoes throughout the stadium. "Grand Captain of the Spartan Regiment, Miles Eremita, representing Terradisia." I hear Damian cheer like an idiot from the side, but try to keep a serious face on.

"Princess of the Sun, Celestia, representing Equestria." I hear from my right.

"Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, Representing The Crystal Empire." I look over and see several more people begin to file in and take their place, each one being so vastly different than the previous.

"Master of Thought, Ulfric Stormmind, representing The Griffin Colonies."

"Ascended technician, Starke Herzen, representing The Goblin Empire." The next person is an old goblin. He wears gold and purple clothes that fit loosely around him as he supports himself with a metal cane, using all four arms to do so. His wrinkled green skin sags as his long white hair pokes at his shoulders. He seems to be barely a meter tall and seems so frail.

"Keeper of Traditions, Longhorn, representing the Minotaur Tribes." The next person in line is an old minotaur. He's dark grey all over and sports two long black horns on his head. He seems to be pregnant, with his large belly sticking out, and doesn't have much to him in the sense of muscle. He wears an extravagant rode that look to be woven of actual gold.

"Bringer of the Voice, Oni the Blood Bringer! Representing the tribes of the Orcs!" The next person unsettles me completely. He's easily four meters tall, stands on two legs, scruffy black hair, has bright red skin, a face that even a mother couldn't love, and only wears a black fur... diaper. His yellow eyes look down at me as he lets out a growl, either of disapproval or for intimidation. His muscular physique adds to his over all impressiveness as he bares his jagged teeth.

"The honorable and just, Liánhuā, representing the Ape Empire." This guy is about as tall as the goblin, maybe a bit more so, and stands on two legs. He wears long, elegant looking clothes that stretch down to the ground. His pants are blue while his shirt is white, bringing his face out even more so. I can't really gauge how old he is, but I assume he's middle aged.

"Open and Free, Dunia Mapenzi. Representing the Zebra Tribes, in these troubled times." The zebra in the next circle is sitting with her bottom legs crossed, something I didn't know they could do. She's wearing a ragged shirt that covers her entire torso and is covered in who knows what. She's old, and doesn't seem to have her eyes open. He hair has been tied back, forming a long braid that's filled with miscellaneous bits of plants and dirt.

"Joeseph Boarus, The Strong! Representing the Soviet Bear Union!" The brown bear yells with a thick accent. He's wearing a red vest and an odd black hat that has a sickle and hammer crossing before a red star. He's pretty big, at least a head taller than me, and has a stocky build to himself.

"REPRESENTING THE ELEMENTALS, Fire, stone, Air, Water." A flame, a pile of rocks, a little twister, and a drop of water all stand in a circle together. They started out speaking together, but each spoke their own element.

The ground shakes as a massive black and gold dragon climbs on top of the walls and peers down. His face barely fits within a section of the arena as he touches down at a circle, getting it to light up for him.

"Bolas, Master of Power, representing the free will of the Dragons Hierarchy." His voice is deep and forces my bones to tremble. A wave of heat washes over all of us when he opens his mouth.

Undeterred by all of the different people in the area, O'Buckly walks to the center of the area and taps at the floor. Another circle appears around him, but our circles dissipate suddenly.

"Now then, I-I-I want ta thank you all fer comin' out today. I takes true bravery to set aside yer differences and ta talk things through. Each of you have stepped inta sumtin' called a soul trap. I-I-If I so choose ta, I can tear out ye souls at any given moment! So let's try and keep things civil. I-I-I will mediate all of the discussions from here on out, so git to it! Who will start?"

"I will" Longhorn says as he raises a hand. "I wish to bring into question Mi Amore Cadenze and Miles Eremita." He says in a posh manner. Cadence and I look to each other before looking to him.

"What do you wish to know?" Cadence asks slowly.

"Why are you here? The Crystal Empire and... Terradisia, have no say in world affairs!" He announces proudly, getting a few cheers from some minotaurs in the stands. As well as a few others. "I believe one pony will suffice, and... well, I've never heard of Terradisia before, so that leaves-"

"Terradisia stands with the largest, most advanced military in the world." I cut him off, obviously offending him. "We were the masters of earth before any of your species could even speak, and we control more raw resources than any of you. I think we get a say in the world, unless you find the first Summit meeting to be a joke." The air grows thick as all of the goats stare down Longhorn, just waiting for him to fuck up.

"Yes, so you say. But that still leaves Celestia's puppet! What business do you have here!" He demands from Cadence. I see her fold a bit as she tries to formulate her answer, sweating a bit as she comes under a lot of pressure. She puts a hoof to her chest and breaths out before glaring back to Long Horn.

"The Crystal Empire has as much of a right to be here as does a group of nomadic traders. We make our own decisions in the world and will not be intimidated with false accusations." She dictates, standing proudly.

"YOU TELL HIM GURL!" Damian yells from the stands, making me facepalm. Why did I have to bring him?WHY?

"Alrighty you three, break i-i-it up!" O'Buckly demands as he stomps his hooves on the ground. "Y'all were invited fer a reason, an ta say otherwise would be foalish! Now get on with the real problems! Joeseph Boarus, have you been mobalizin yer troops ta invade The Griffin Colonies?"

"NO!" He yells as he crosses his arms.

"Then let us send investigators so I can tell my birds that they can rest easy at night!" Ulfric demands. "My birds will not take your word, and neither will I! Either allow us to investigate what you've been up to, or we will take the correct actions to protect ourselves."

"Do not make me laugh!" Joeseph mocks as he glares at Ulfric. "You do not wish to 'protect' your wittle birds. Your land has been destroyed and now you wish to take from us as you would the Equestrians!"

"That is a lie!" Ulfric bellows.

"Then prove it!" Joeseph bellows, putting on a smug look on. "Return the weapons you tried smuggling in and we will allow you little, 'inspection'. Until then, no griffin will set claw in the Soviet Union without being plucked clean." Ulfric frowns as he closes his eyes and steps back. He shakes his head a little before looking back to Joeseph.

"No."

"SEE! He will not send back the weapons because he only wishes for war! I say BRING IT ON! Your puny little birds will be crushed by the-"

"ENOUGH." O'Buckly yells, silencing the both of them. "Ulfric Stormmind, why do you refuse to return the weapons?" Ulfric stares at him for a moment before lifting a paw and points to me.

"Because of him."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. You and your people have forced my paw to this. As you said yourself, you have the largest, most advanced military in the world. If we wish to keep our way of life safe, then we must take the measures to protect ourselves from an oppressive force-"

"Oppressive? Do you even know anything about my people? Do you even know what we stand for?" I demand as I glare at him.

"I know what you are capable of. Miles Eremita, destroyer of Chaos. Miles Eremita, the changeling crusher. Miles Eremita, the hydra slayer. I've heard enough about you to know that-"

"I've been trying to help you!" I yell as I step forward. "The Spartans were there to fight Famine! We brought the food processors to feed your people. We aren't the bad guys here! We're here to help!"

"So, what? We're suppose to just idly sit by and let you fight our battle? Let the Spartans take care of everything? How is that hunt for the Four Horsemen going anyway?"

"You should ask Celestia is you really want to know." Starke scoffs, getting a bewildered look from Celestia.

"Excuse me? Could you repeat that please?" Celestia asks.

"We all know where the clouds came from. And we all know that these 'Horse'men are relatives to ponies-"

"And just what are you suggesting?! That I've aligned with them?" Celestia demands.

"Seems that way-"

"Oh please," Liánhuā drones. "You're just trying to protect your income Starke. If the griffins back out of the deal, your country loses out on its largest buyer-"

"Leave it to the ape to bring 'business' into this." Longhorn mocks.

"The fact that you are resorting to racial bigotry means that you have no actual claim and only wish to insult-"

"Do not pretend to be so high and mighty Liánhuā. If the griffins continue to buy the goblin wears it'll only push their science and engineering further-"

"And?" Starke interrupts. "You only wish to hinder our own progress. We're the leading manufacturing country in the world, and that bothers you to no end! Our trade is open to anyone who wishes to buy, so why not-"

"Putting these weapons into the hooves of everypony is driving us apart." Celestia counters. "We need to stop producing weapons and start working towards a solution to the real problems-"

"I agree." Ulfric says, silencing everyone.

"... thank you." Celestia mutters, eyeing him carefully.

"We need to solve the real problem. Equestria has lost control of its borders-"

"WHAT!?" Cadence and Celestia bot yells.

"How many times have you been taken over!? Look how far behind you are technologically. Equestria is falling behind, and you're not doing a single thing to solve it! Even worse, we're the ones to suffer from it! Our food production has come to a halt because terrorist have worked deep into your country! I move that Equestria be dissolved for new rule." The room falls quiet when he says this. I glance over to Celestia as she stares down Ulfric. I suddenly feel something begin to tickle at the back of my head. It feels as if something...

"ULFRIC!" I yell, getting everyone's attention. "If you try to break into my mind, I guarantee you will not leave this place. SPARTANS!" Storm and Damian jump up and draw their weapons, getting the other two sphinxes to do the same.

"ENOUGH ALREADY!" O'Buckly yells as he stomps a hoof down. "Ulfric, keep yer mind to yerself. Miles, tell yer ponies ta stand down. Anypony who takes aggressive actions will be bucked off the mountain side, now stand down!" When I feel the tingling go away I nod to Damian and Storm, getting them to sheath their weapons. "Now then, there are eleven of you, so i-i-if six of you can agree, then Equestria will be dissolved. Reach down an cast yer vote."

"Can't we discuss this? Why are we going straight to a vote?" Cadence asks.

"The ballet is out, time ta vote." O'Buckly tells her as several others start voting.

I look down and see a small light form before me. I kneel down and tentatively put my hand on it, feeling the energy form around my hand. I'm not sure what I'm suppose to do, so I keep my thoughts on voting no and mumble it as well. The light shines a bit brighter for a moment before racing over to O'Buckly. Once lights from all of the others O' Buckly sets a hoof on his own light and reads the answers. I glance over to Celestia again to see her standing upright and poised. Though I can tell by the way she has her eyes shut that she's dreading the results. I know we have at least three votes for ans one against, but I know practically nothing else about the others.

"The votes are i-i-in." He announces as he steps back from the light. "The final tally i-i-is six to five. Equestria will remain its own sovereign nation." A collective sigh comes from many of the participants as well as Cadence and myself. Celestia, for her part, remains unfazed. Though I see her physically relax a bit. "Now, on the matter a the bears an' griffins-"

"I suggest that a neutral third party investigates this issue. I will volunteer the Spartan Regiment for this-"

"Why should we allow you Terradisians to dictate us when we've done nothing wrong!" Joeseph yells.

"The Terradisians will have no part in this." I counter, getting a bemused look from him. "The Spartans are a neutral bystander from Terradisia. They are allowed to make their own decisions in any and all matters. They choose to follow Terradisia. Also, they have no influence in the world and no former prejudice to hinder our opinions." I say, getting many of the other leaders to think to themselves for a moment.

"I move that we have these, Spartans, go into the world to research all of the problems that plague our lands." Oni announces. I look to him and nod, getting him to squint his eyes back to me. "Assuming he can keep to his word for justice and neutrality."

"Let us vote on it then!" O'Buckly cheers as the lights appear before all of us again. I reach down and repeat the process again, only voting in the affirmative this time. Once all the votes are in, we wait for O'Buckly to count them. "Well then... the vote is eight to three. The Spartans will go into each of the nations to research any and all claims made here today. I-I-I am These will be peaceful investigations though. Only bring whatcha need ta protect yerselves. I-I-I also expect the host nations to allow them to move freely. No hinderin'!"

"What's our window of operation?" I ask.

"Yer window? Get the job done kiddo, that's yer window. Now, the rest of us will continue to form a list of concerns, I-I-I'll ask ya ta leave to keep ya uninfluenced. Yer dismissed." He taps his hoof one more time and the circle around me flashed once. I glance around the room before motioning for Damian and Storm to follow.

"Are we really going to do this?" Storm asks as we leave the stadium, heading back to where we came from.

"Did I not agree to this?" I ask smugly.

"Well... at least we can take as long as we want." Damian shrugs as he trots ahead. "By the way, nice job almost getting us into a fight with three sphinxes. I know I took out like a thousand griffins that one time, but a sphinx would have been a little trickier. I might have been seriously hurt you know!"

"First off, it was only five... never mind that. We could have taken them." Storm tries to counter, getting a chuckle from Damian. I stop and let them keep walking when I notice something... off. The hairs on my neck are standing up and I have this odd feeling coming from behind myself. A nonexistent pressure is building up on me, egging me to turn around. "Captain? What is it?"

"Damian, keep right. Storm, go high and go fast." I tell them before turning around and running for the closest doorway. A shadow moves away, so I chase after it into the next room. When I make it through the doorway I flair my hand and throw it up, sending a column of earth up to block the exit. A hooded, pony figure comes to a stop and flairs its horn in an attempt to clear the way, but falls over as a powerful gust of wind knocks it over.

Damian and Storm zip past me and engage the figure, Storm flying over while Damian runs with unnatural speed. They make it across the large room quickly and take turns attacking the figure. Damian runs up and begins to spin his staff around, trying to score a hit on the figure. Most of his attacks are deflected while the rest are simply dodged. Storm dives in and tries to flank the figure, but is dodged.

Once the two of them resolve to fight in close quarters, the figure counter attacks. It starts by somehow disarming Damian and beating back Storm with his staff. His moves are quick and seem... preordained. They aren't reactions, but a mesmerized act. I finally make it into the fray and thrust a hand forward, but am intercepted with a well timed parry. My blast hits a wall in the back, but leaves the figure open to Storm. He brings his blade up to the figures throat and holds it there, forcing him to freeze. Before any further actions could be made, I bring my palm to the hood and hold it there. Cornering the tall pony.

CLICK

"Just how many of you are there?" I ask when the barrel of a pistol is pressed against the back of my head. The hooded figure before wears a cloak similar to what my mother and the other woman wore, but suited for a pony almost the size of Celestia. "I assume the person behind me is wearing a similar robe." I say as Damian moves to cover the person behind me.

"Yeah. Male, hooded. Human." Damian reports to me.

"Who are you two then?" I ask as I hold my hand up.

"Put your hands above your head." A robotic voice says.

"He has a voice modulator." Damian informs me. "Orders sir?"

"Hold your ground and let me handle this." I order. "Who are you?"

"Put your hands above your head." He repeats.

"I hold three to two odds, who are you?" I ask again. After a tense moment of silence I begin to move forward to pull down the persons hood, but stop when the pistol is pressed against my head again.

"We are. Put your hands above your head."

"Not good enough. I need names. Storm, since no one is covering you, be a dear and remove this guys hood for me."

"Yes sir." He replies as he hovers up, keeping his blade on the persons throat.

"Wait." The person behind me says when Storm grabs the fabric. "We are..."

"Yes?" I ask, waiting for an answer.

"We are... sorry."

CRACK

I groan as I feel something poking at my face. It takes me a moment, but eventually I open my eyes and look around. Damian and Storm are sitting beside me, Damian poking at my face with his hoof.

"Told you it'd wake him." He says, getting Storm to roll his eyes.

"Are you okay?" Storm asks. I groan in response and sit up, looking around for the two hooded humans.

"Where'd they go?"

"They got away." Storm says quietly, getting Damian to look away.

"... they got away? How?"

"Mico platform. They're long gone." Storm continues. I look between the two of them before standing up.

"What happened?" I ask, getting Storm to avoid my gaze. "I am ordering you to tell me what happened."

"We're under orders not to tell you what happened." Damian says, avoiding my gaze. I tilt my head a bit in confusion.

"You're under orders not to... so... no... dammit! All of this time traveling bullshit is getting on my nerves! What the fuck!" I yell as I begin to pace about, trying to wrap my mind around this moment. The two of them continue to avoid my gaze as I fume about this. There are only two plausible options for this. Either it was me, or it was the next captain... or a previous captain. FUCK! "Wait... was that... you have to tell me who that was-"

"We can't Miles!" Damian yells. "We can't tell you because we don't know who it was! They just dropped a Spartan necklace and gave their rank!"

"Damian!" Storm yells.

"We can't tell you who it was because we don't know who it was. I'm sorry." Damian sighs as he begins to walk away. Storm rubs the bridge between his eyes and sighs as well.

"Is that true?" I ask him.

"Yeah... yeah it's true." He tells me. "He cracked you on the head and backed up, dropping the necklace as he went. Sorry, but we have no clue who that was." I groan in frustration and sit down, trying to process all of this. Suddenly dozens of goats charge in and surround the three of us, barricading us with their horns.

"An what was all that racket a'boot!?" One of them demands.

"Um... we saw a spider?" Damian tries. Several of the guards peer up to look us in the eyes, unsure of what we said. "No, seriously. It was huge! And it had fangs! And these long... creepy.... things!" He continues, getting Storm and me to glare at him.

"... well then, good job with the Hill Burrower. Sorry a'boot the ruckus." One of the guards say before the rest of them back off.

"Oh sweet Barbra you have to be kidding me." I say as I fall back.

Don't forget to check out my blog, 1000 favorites and vote on the one shot to come.

Also, the Spartan Oc blog will be closing NEXT chapter. When that chapter is posted, I will close the blog. Any post left will go through the final slating and those who made it will be announced as soon as possible.

Lastly, the Q/A blog will be closing soon as well! Have your questions in before chapter 199 airs if you want them to be asked. The chapter will come out before chapter 200, so that leave five more chapters to go!

On a side note, my 'current chapter' editor (RecklessRush) has had some personal things happen and needs time to sort through them. If any of you are able and willing, send me a PM to help edit chapters.

Brony on!