"He's got a heartbeat! Unconscious, but alive!" I yell as I look up to Celestia.

"Great... I think now would be a good time to teleport out of here then." She says as she looks out to the city. From the alleys and buildings emerge dozens of metallic humans, some having strange arms while most seem to be missing appendages. Some run towards us while others crawl. In the distance, I see two large headless metallic humans stand up and start to walk towards us, destroying building as they go.

"Right... teleport, got it." I say as I charge my horn and teleport us out of the city. I blink a couple times as I face a metal wall. I look behind me to see the metallic men still running towards us, getting closer and closer.

"I thought you were going to teleport us out!" Celestia yells as she raises a shield around us, stopping the metal men from reaching us.

"I did!" I yell back as I try to teleport myself out, only to find myself in the same spot as before. "Somethings not right here, I can't teleport out of the city!" I yell as I turn around and face the crowd of metal men as they crash against the shield and start pounding at it, some raising their arms and shooting little pellets at us. I look over to Celestia to see her start to sweat as she holds the shield up. "Well... If we can't leave... then let’s head further in." I say as I scan around for somewhere safer. I see a tall building down some ways and focus on it for a second before I teleport us over to it. I set us a little and fall to the roof, only to have it break under us and fall to the next floor. I shake my head and look around for the others. Miles is underneath me... probably why the fall didn't hurt that much, and Celestia fell onto a table. "Are you alright?" I ask as I stand up.

"Next time... let me teleport us." She says as she rolls of the table and stands up. I look around the room and try to get my bearings. It seems to have been an office of some kind, or a private study? There are four book shelves, two to my left and two to my right behind Celestia. The desk Celestia landed on has a metal thing with a black glass wall on it. In front of me is a large window while the wall behind me has a bunch of pictures of children.

"Where are we?" I ask as I walk around and look at the photos. Some of them have captions, most being something like 'Group 1012' or 'Best wishes'. But there's one that catches my attention. 'The prodigy'. It’s a photo of a little boy walking towards a strange carriage. He has long black matted hair and seems malnourished.

"What does it say?" Celestia asks as she walks up beside me and look at the photo with me.

"It says the prodigy... I think this was an orphanage."

"That would explain all of the pictures of children-"

KRA-BOOM

Celestia and I drop to the ground as a deafening explosion erupts on part of the building. I look out the window to see the two giant metallic men pointing their arms at us, one smoking lightly.

"Time to go!" I yell to Celestia as she starts to charge her horn. We suddenly teleport out of the room and appear on the roof of a small building. We teleport again, getting further away from the metal men.

"This should be good... for now." Celestia says as she looks around, when we hear a crumbling sound. We look to each other for a second before the ground gives out beneath us. We both flap our wings and avoid falling to the ground...

"Did you grab Miles?" I ask her, getting her to shake her head. "Shoot." I drop down inside the building and look around the room a bit and try to find him. I'm standing in a room that only has a couch facing a window that looks out to the city. There's two doors to my right and what I think is a kitchen to my left... It looks like a kitchen, but the utilities look different. On the other side of the room there's a door that I assume leaves the room. A small pile of rubble sits behind the couch, with half of Miles sticking out of it. I levitate him out of the ruble and place him on the couch, I think this place was somepony's home...

"Greeting, guest of Miles Eremita..."

"AH!" I yell as I jump away from the metal bot from my side. It's a light silver with bright yellow lights for eye's. It lacks any other major features, such as a nose or mouth and has thick plates of metal on its chest and arms. It has a small crest on the top right of its chest of a golden X.

"I am terribly sorry for the sudden intrusion. Please let me introduce myself. I am E861Z9, designation Easy, at your service." It says in a scratchy, fuzzy, non-emotional voice. It reminds me of one of the butlers from the castle, just more... unpony like.

"Uh... I am... Luna-"

"Greeting Luna, guest of Mr. Eremita. And who is your friend?" Easy says as it looks up to Celestia.

"That's my sister Celestia, hey Tia, come down here and meet Easy." I yell out to her, getting her to jump down and walk up to us.

"Greetings Celestia, guest of Miles Eremita, sister of Luna, designation Tia."

"Uh... hello there... you aren't going to attack us, are you?"

"Of course not. I’m strictly an assisted living utility bot, assigned to miss Sordida Dives, designation Didi."

"Assisted living... so you're a medical... bot?" Celestia asks.

"Of course. I can perform any and all medical procedures that don't require opening the body. I can also diagnose any and all ailments."

"You can... could you check on Miles then?" I ask as I look back to him. I know he's lost a lot of blood, but I just want to make sure there's nothing else wrong with him.

"But of course." It says as it walks over to him. Its eyes brighten as he looks down at him and looks from head to toe a couple of times before he looks back to us. "I'm afraid there's nothing medically wrong with him other than a few minor lacerations. It seems that there's a magical build up keeping him unconscious." A magical build up... oh my.

"I think I know how to wake him up, could you leave the room for a second Tia." I ask with a slight blush.

"What? Why?"

"Well... last time he was like this... I had to... well..."

"What did you do last time to wake him up?" I mumble my answer and look away from her, too embarrassed to look at her. "Uh... what?"

"I kissed him..."

"WHAT! No. Just let him stay unconscious then..."

"We need him awake! We don't know what we're doing here!"

"NO, you just want a kiss from him!"

"I want to get out of here! And that's the-"

"Luna! I said you could be friends... but this is.... no. No way am I allowing you to do that-"

"Do you have a better idea for waking him up?" Her face contorts from different emotions as she tries to think of a better answer, but fails to make one. "Alright... but make it quick!" I walk over to him and look down to him, then back to Celestia.

"Do you have to watch?"

"YES, I'm going to make this as uncomfortable as possible! Now hurry up and let’s get this over with." I sigh and look back to him. Well... just swallow my embarrassment and do it quickly. I lean over and give him a quick light peck on the lips, getting him to sigh and shuffle a bit.

"I'm sorry Miss Luna, but my scanners suggest to wake him you must hold that for at least twenty-six point eight seconds for him to wake up-"

"WHAT! Forget it, we can just use Easy to help us get through the city." Celestia yells as she heads to the hole in the roof.

"I am sorry, but I am the property of Miss Didi and cannot leave the premises." Celestia stops and lowers her head as she mumbles something to herself.

"Do we really need to leave?" She asks as she looks back to me.

"Sorry Tia-"

"Twenty-six point eight seconds and not a second longer." She says as she walks up to me. Oh, great, she's not only going to watch, but she's going to stand right next to me as I do it. Well... better get it over with. I lean back over and hover over his face for a second as I take a deep breath. I close my eyes and reach forward, kissing him on the lips. I hold it for a second before I lose myself by his touch and kiss with a little more passion, getting a kiss back after a few seconds of bliss pass. I slowly pull my head back and look down at him as he slowly opens his eyes.

"Luna?" He says weakly.

"Hey Miles, how're you feeling?" I ask quietly.

"Well... pretty good given.... WHAT THE FUCK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE!" He yells as he sits up and looks around, only to fall back and grab his head. "Ah.... my head."

"You need to say down Miles, you lost a lot of blood. We need to get you some water, Easy, where can we get some water?"

"Thirty-two point seven."

"I'm sorry?"

"You took thirty-two point seven seconds instead of the recommended twenty-six point eight." Why is it telling me this? I look over to Celestia and see her glaring daggers at me. I smile back and walk around towards what I assume is the kitchen, getting Celestia to chase after me.

"Eight extra seconds-"

"Yes, eight seconds, sorry I lost track of eight seconds." I snap back as I approach the sink. It looks like any other sink... only there are no knobs. I look all around and underneath but don't see a single way to turn the water on. "How do you work this?"

"Maybe you use your magic." Celestia suggest as she uses her horn to influence the sink, but nothing happens. I reach out with my hoof until I reach underneath the sink and hear the sound of rusted metal grinding against metal.

"I'm sorry miss Luna, but there is no water in this building. It seems that the utility bots in charge of it were nonoperational for some time and the water has run dry."

"So there's no water?"

"Not a single drop in all of Topaz Falls." Celestia and I look to one another before we both run over to Miles.

"Miles, how do we get out of Topaz!" I ask as I run up beside him.

"Uh... you just go to the door panel...and..." he says as he tries to sit up, but keeps falling back.

"You need to stay down, you lost a lot of blood..."

"Forget that, you two don't know how to.... access... the... panel..." he says as he starts to fade out. I reach out to him and shake him a bit, waking him up. "Huh... we might be fucked here. Easy, directive."

"Assisted living with miss Sordida Dives."

"Leadership over ride. Military access code Stella Kor twenty-three."

"One moment please." Celestia and I look to each other as Easy stands there.

"Uh, Miles, what are you doing?" I ask him as I take a seat on the floor next to him, getting odd looks from Celestia as she sits across from us.

"I'm changing his programming so it'll listen to me and do what I say, hopefully this Sordida Dives didn't put any-"

"Access denied, moving to high priority listings. May I have your autograph Mr. Eremita?" I look over to Miles and raise an eyebrow at him.

"Yup, she was one of them-"

"One of who?" I ask.

"Well, a few years ago I went through my day as normally as possible, but I didn't know this paparazzi guy was following me around, taking pictures and videos."

"And?" Celestia asks.

"And... it went viral... fast." We look to each other than back to him and wait for him to explain further. "Well, imagine if everyone was able to see a picture at the same time, instantly."

"I still don't see the problem." Celestia says as she looks away.

"Yeah... mind you, humans are usually clothed-"

"And?"

"And... they followed me... for almost twenty-four hours... wake up... training... showering." Celestia and I look to one another again and wait for the shocking revelation to appear. "Oh come on, they all saw me naked!"

"And?" Celestia asks.

"And humans don't walk around naked! We like our private parts to be a secret!" He snaps before he lays back down, panting lightly.

"May I have your autograph?" Easy asks again, making Miles groan. Through all of this the only thing that registers in my mind is Miles and Naked... why is that so appealing? Ponies don't wear clothes; why do I want to see Miles naked?

"LUNA!" Celestia yells.

"What?" She motions with her head for me to look behind me, so I look back to see my wings starting to become erect. I let out a small scream and run through a nearby door-

FWOOSH

The room is filled with pictures of Miles. Him showering, working out, wrestling, and other various activities that help show off his muscles... and other things. I try to back out of the room but I keep looking from picture to picture. There even a large cut out of him! I suddenly go blind as I feel Celestia levitate me away from the room. When I'm able to see again I'm on the roof with Celestia... looking angrier than ever.

"Uh..." Is all I can manage as she taps a hoof and glares at me. "I-I think I'll wait up here... until I get control of myself..."

"That would be best." She says before she teleports back down. As I wait for my wings to fall back down I hear them start arguing with one another, with Easy occasionally asking Miles for an autograph. I stand up and start to pace around, trying to keep my mind clear of Miles's soaking wet.... SHOOT!

After what felt like an eternity I finally have control of my wings again, but I'm way to embarrassed to go back down right now, so I stay up here and look out at the city. Most of the buildings in the city have been destroyed one way or another. Some are nothing but rubble where others have holes blown into them. I can see the scorch marks from fires burned onto the walls and streets. But that's not what's getting to me. What's getting me are all of the bones just lying around. They're either in piles of what must have been some kind of slaughter or depictions of their last moments of life. An adult sitting against a scorched wall, an adult laying before a small child, how could anypony do such a thing...

"Luna." I look over to see Celestia looking at me with a worried expression. She reaches out with her wing and wipes a tear away from my cheek, making me look away.

"How could somepony do this?" I ask as she sits next to me and wraps her wing around me. I lean against her and continue to look out at the city. An adult trying to crawl out of a burnt sideways carriage, a child holding onto an adult that has its skull missing, a pile of what looks like adolescents, none were sparred.

"Come. Let’s head inside." Celestia says as she stands up. I nod and wipe away the last of my tears before following her back down into the room. Miles has fallen asleep; I don't know if that's a good thing but there's nothing we can do about that right now. We should rest. I found a bed you can use over in the back, I'll keep watch."

"No. You rest, I'll keep watch. There is much I wish to think about right now." She gives me a look before nodding and heading towards the back and enters a back room. I walk over to a window and look back out at the city. There's a massive structure in the center that's been destroyed. I can see into some of the rooms, most of the higher ones look like offices, but below them look like bedrooms.

"The Parliament Congressional Hall." Miles rasps from behind me.

"What was it?" I ask as I continue to stare at it.

"It was a lot of things. Government center, the University is Stella Ficor, military headquarters."

"University? Like a school?"

"Yeah. I went there, I even lived there."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah, ever since I was eight. Some of the best years of my life. I'm actually amazed that it’s still transmitting its spell with half the building missing."

"What do you mean?" I ask as I turn back to him.

"The PCH used to be twice as tall as that, and it was a conductor of several spells. Some holding up the walls, others keeping the city unscryable, all still fully functional.... I've been meaning to ask, when did you get bigger?" I chuckle a bit as I walk over to him.

"This is my pure form. All alicorns have two forms, the other form you saw was my innocent form... do you like my pure form?"

"Of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Well, most ponies fear my pure form-"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a pony. You're just as beautiful as ever." I glance over at the room where Celestia went and try to sense where she's at.... she’s asleep. I lay before Miles and look into his eyes.

"Miles... I don't want us to end.... I still want to be with you-"

"Luna, you know we can't. I don't-"

"I know you only have a year. Celestia let that slip by earlier. But I don't care. If I only get a year, I'll take it."

"Luna... I can't. Look what happened-"

"Do you love me?"

"Luna-"

"If you can say no while looking at me, I'll stop. I'll let you be and never ask to be with you again. But if you can't... if you can't say no I won’t stop fighting to be with you. Not until the day you die. So, what is it, do you love me?" He looks away for a bit before he looks back to me. I can see him seriously thinking about his answer... I don't think I've ever been so nervous before.

"I... you realize I could call out to Celestia and avoid this all together, right?"

"If you can, then do it. Do. You. Love. Me?" He looks at me intensely before he finally lets out a deep sigh. He starts to get up but falters a bit. He finally gets up and pulls himself off of the couch so he's laying before me. He puts his hand up to my face and puts it so it's behind and underneath my ear, gently rubbing as he stares into my eyes.

"I'll always love you." He says before he leans forward and kisses me. I push back and return the kiss, oh god I missed this. His soft lips pressing hard against mine; the feel of his breath against mine; the way he moves his head from side to side, trying to get the best position possible.... I missed him. I feel him break the kiss and look down to see him lying completely on the ground before me.

"What happened?"

"I... fell." We share a small laugh but quickly stop, afraid of waking Celestia. I stand up and Levitate him back onto the couch. "*sigh* I feel like an old man... you wouldn't happen to have some water with you, would you?"

"Sorry, we kind of just ran here, and Easy says all the water here dried up."

"Makes sense, water was always a finite resource in Terradisia... where is Easy?" As if on cue, Easy walks in from the room with the photos and presents one to Miles.

"May I have your autograph?" I laugh at him as he facehoo-er-palms.

"For the last time no!" I walk behind the couch to look at the photo-

FWOOSH

Oh, my... I didn't see this one earlier. It's a moving picture of Miles's in the shower, rubbing himself down as he unknowingly faces the camera.

"Luna-"

"Eyeawajihuh."

"Hey, you dropped something." He says as he pushes my mouth shut and takes the moving picture away from Easy, trying to hide it. "So, I take it you like-"

"Ahwilikejuma..."

"...right. Anyway, I think I'll destroy-"

"NO!" I yell as I reach over and try to take it away from him, only to get him to try to keep it away.

"NO, it’s my body, I'll decide when you see it naked!"

"That's not fair! I'm always naked! Why don't I get to see!"

"Oh sweet Barbra!" He says as he drops the picture, letting me get it. I hold it above my head in triumph.... only to have Easy take it away from me.

"This is the property of miss Didi." Easy says as he takes it back to the room. I drop to my haunches and watch as Easy locks the door and walks over to a hole in the wall, getting weird black things to plug into its back.

"Yeah yeah yeah, go back to your charging station." Miles says as he gets comfy on the couch.

"Aw... I wanted that-"

"Why? You have the real thing right here."

"Yeah... but we'll still have to be a secret... a better one then last time. I wanted it as a keep sake."

"Right... I'll find a better replacement when we get out of here."

"Promise?"

"Promise." I reach over and nuzzle his nose a bit. He gets a confused look on his face but smiles anyway... until his eyes grow black. "Miles, what's wrong with your eyes?"

"Turn to the void." He says in a different voice as he throws his arm up and grabs my horn, making the world turn white.

Next Chapter: Chapter 71 Losing Control Estimated time remaining: 71 Hours, 44 Minutes