I woke up well before Luna did, but decided to just lay here with her. I keep stroking her stomach, hoping with all of the hope there is for something amazing to happen. I know the odds are slim, but there has to be a chance... there has to be… I don't have much time...

"Mmm... Miles? What time is it?" she asks as she slowly wakes up.

"Hey, it's twe—it's ten," I say as I move my hand up to the back of her head and give her a soft kiss, making her smile.

"We should get up now..."

"Nah, we can stay right here a bit longer," I say as I pull her in close and wrap my arms around her, getting her to nuzzle her face into my chest. "So... what do you think our chances are?" I ask as I start to gently rub her back.

"Miles... I don't want you getting your hopes up. The chances are slim to none, and as much as I want it to happen... the probability of it happening are..."

"I know, I know... but, still. I can hope... can't I?" She looks me in the eyes with a worried look before she gives me a light kiss. I sigh a little as I continue to rub her back. We lay there for a while in silence, just holding onto each other. The entire time I try to think of a way to make this happen...

"Miles?"

"Yeah babe?"

"Can we get something to eat?" I laugh a little as I give her a kiss on the forehead and begin to get out of bed. Some food sounds good right now. As Luna heads downstairs I quickly get dressed and follow after her, finding her looking through the cupboards. I go to the fridge and squat down as I look for something to eat.

THUD

"Hey there, see anything good?" I ask as Luna lays on top of me and looks inside the fridge.

"Well... some hay sounds good," she says as she wraps her forelegs around my neck.

"Ha, funny. Seriously though, no hay."

"I know. I'm just teasing," she says before she kisses my cheek. "I think..."

"Spaghetti?"

"Mmm, no... something... else." Damn. "How about..."

"OH! Idea! Lets just make a bunch of snacks..."

"Miles..."

"No no no, trust me. Get some stuff ready, I have to head back upstairs real quick," I say as I crawl out from underneath her.

"Oh... OK... lets see..." I run up to my room and grab my phone. I slide through to my hidden movie file and pull up the list. I only have a few, but they'll just have to do. I should of done that download with Eximius, but whatever, the fear of going to jail strikes again. I grab a sheet and jog back down. I walk into the living room where I find Luna with a tray of various fruits, vegetables... and some hay things... *shivers*.

"Alright, let me just move some furniture around and we'll get started," I say as I walk over to the couch and begin to pull it closer to the kitchen.

"OK... what exactly are we doing?" Luna asks as she slowly follows me.

"Movie date."

"Movie date? And how exactly are we going to do that here? I don't see a projector anywhere."

"You'll see," I say as I finish pulling the couch over, and make a small pedestal with my magic a meter in front of it. "Now, it's only 1080p, so bear with me," I say as I set my phone down and begin the movie. The metal part of my phone projects a light onto the wall across from us, as some data script begin to show before the actual movie starts.

"WHAT!? IT'S IN COLOR!" Luna yells as the intro names roll in.

"Uh... yeah... what? Aren't yours?" I ask as we take our seats, putting the food to my left and Luna sitting to my right, leaning gently onto my side.

"NO! Our movies are only in in black and white! Not to mention they look nowhere near as good as this!"

"Black and white? Under 1080p? How do you stay awake during these movies?" I ask as I take a carrot and chow down on it.

"Well... an interesting story helps... what’s this about?" she asks as she takes a strawberry and begins to eat.

"A mid-purge aeronautical jet pilot that survives the destruction of the first armada."

"Huh?"

"Umm... you'll see," I say as I sit back and watch the movie. She gives me an odd look before she lays back against me and watches the movie.

The movie starts out with a little backstory of the final armada. One day, the S.S. Mortem Stella and its escort were scouting the outer galaxies when they came across an unidentified ship. Excited, they tried to hail the other ship in an attempt to make first contact, but that's when the Unfamiliar opened fire, and started the war. The story follows Lucam Caelum-Ambulare, a young pilot that enrolled to explore the final frontier due to the tragic death of his parents. When they made first contact and began the fight, the enemy forces were obliterated. We only suffered minor losses due to their surprise attack. The fight scene was truly epic. Explosions, laser beam discharges, jet fights, big ass canons firing fuck-your-day shells, fuck yeah basically.

"Those ships seem familiar... are those Aquila's they're riding?" Luna asks as she takes a flower and begins to eat it. The sight was painful, but I ignored it and went on to answering the question.

"Aquila's are pilotless versions of those ships. Back then they didn't have bots like how we did. People had to do most of the work that was needed," I say as I drape an arm around her, trying my best to be nonchalant about it. She leans back against me as we continue to watch the movie.

After the victory at sector sixty-three, the armada went on to scavenge materials and information from the downed enemy ship, but they don't notice the shadows in the back sneaking onboard... better yet, I don't think Luna did either. When the scrapyard vessels finally make it, the S.S. Mortem Stella moves towards Novum Spes for repairs and reinforcements.

"New Hope?"

"One of the colonies humans made during the purge. We found eight other planets that could support life and colonised them."

"That's amazing! Do you think people still live there?"

"No. Before the Unfamiliar attacked Terra, they wiped out every colony we had. With the loss of the last colony and the armada we tried to hide our civilization by going three kilometers underground... and that didn't even work..."

"Well, at least some good came out of it," Luna says as she turns her attention to me.

"What would that be?"

"I got the best husband in the world," she says with a smile. I feel my heart skip a beat as I return the smile. I try to lean in for a kiss, but she lays her head against my chest and continues to watch the movie.

As they near the spaceport, Lucam runs into an Unfamiliar in a hall as it kills a crew member. He tries to kill the Unfamiliar, but it gets away before he could do any real damage to it. I could feel Luna's heart race a little as he chased it through the lower decks of the ship, she's totally into it right now. When Lucam finally gets to his superiors and tells them about the infiltrators, the ship goes on lockdown... but not from them. All of the bulkheads and doors slam shut and lock themselves as the artificial gravity cuts off, making them float in the air.

"Why are they floating?" Luna whispers to me as she throws a few cherry tomatoes into her mouth.

"There's no gravity in space."

"Oh...OK."

They find the saboteurs and kill them with ease... but they haven't noticed the enemy vessels approaching them from all sides. When they finally get everything operational, a hail of fire erupts around the ship. Scenes shoot around from people being sucked out into space, massive plumes of fire and lasers being fired all about. All of the pilots begin flying out, some being shot down before they even get out to space. When the ships turn to face the enemy vessels, they see thousands of enemy fighters coming for them. Each side fires missiles at each other, making a massive grey cloud appear as they fly past one another. Lucam takes evasive action and begins to weave through the fighting ships while trying to get the two missiles from hitting him. He avoids getting hit by spinning really fast, making the missiles crash into each other.

"Wow, that was an impressive barrel roll," Luna says as she begins to eat an apple. I look over to her and start getting ideas... fuck it, I'm going for it. I take my right arm and pretend to get some food, when I'm sure she isn't paying attention I slowly make my way down between her legs.

"Miles!" she says as she goes wide-eyed from me caressing her breast. I only smile as I continue to squeeze one in my hand. She shakes her head as she drapes a leg across my shoulders, giving me even better access.

FWOOSH

Luna and I go wide-eyed as we look over to see Fluttershy standing in my living room, wings erect with the biggest blush I've ever seen. We stare at one another for a bit, no one moving a muscle, before I finally let go of Luna and stand up.

"Uh... Fluttershy... is there something I can help you with?"

"Uh... no... it doesn't matter... I'll just leave now... sorry for intruding..." Fluttershy says as she begins to back out of the room, trying to hide her face with her hair.

"No no, go ahead and steal Miles for... whatever it was you needed. I needed to use the restroom anyway... plus I think I left the kitchen on fire," Luna says as she gets off of the couch and begins to walk towards the stairs. I pause the movie and turn back to Fluttershy, both of us standing there awkwardly in silence.

"So... Fluttershy... what did you need?"

"I... needed you to come with me to my place... but you're busy, so I'll ask another time... if there's ever another time that is..." she says as she continues to back out of the living room. I can tell she really wants me to come with her...*sigh*

"Hold on. Let me check with Luna to see if it's OK for me to step out for a second," I say as I head upstairs. I go to the restroom and knock on the door.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, Fluttershy needs me to head over to her place real quick..."

"Alright. I'll make some better snacks or something. Be sure to get back as soon as possible."

"OK then, be back ASAP," I say before heading back down stairs. "Alright, lets get going," I say as I hold the door open for Fluttershy. She hesitates for a second before she begins to walk out. We walk along the Everfree in silence for awhile, making it halfway before Fluttershy finally says something.

"Just some advice from a mare with a coltfriend, you shouldn't leave your mare for something your friends want... though I really do appreciate you coming along."

"Yeah, probably not the smartest move ever. But I'll make it up to her."

"So... when are you leaving?"

"Leaving? I'm not going anywhere. Why would I?"

"You’re not? I just thought you would be going to Canterlot to be with Luna."

"Oh, no. Mainly because we're supposed to be a secret. But when we do finally go public... I don't know what happens then."

"Well... I hope you visit if you do leave. We'd all miss you."

"Yeah... don't worry though. I'd actually try to get Luna to move in with me instead. Canterlot was nice, but I know those kind of areas. Lets just say that upper class and me don't really mix well." We make it to her place where she opens the door and escorts me inside. When I get in I hear a hiss from the side. I look over to see a red-bellied snake rise up and stare me down. Without a second thought I lunge at the snake, tackling it to the ground and I flare my hands. It raises its head to strike at me as I bring my hand back to...

"WWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIT!" Fluttershy yells from the side, getting both our attention. "Um... Miles, this is Ekans, Ekans, this is Miles. I think you both need to stop fighting and talk to one another about what happened."

"You can't be serious."

"You can't be ssseriousss." We both say it at the same time.

"I am..."

"There isss no way I could ever forgive thisss creature for what it hasss done to me," it says in a hushed voice.

"I have nothing to apologize for," I say, getting a glare from Ekans.

"Ekans?"

"Yesss Flutterssshy?" he says as he looks over to her. She walks up to him and gives him a look, making him shirk away from her. I was about to say something but then she looked at me-

FFFFFFFFFFEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAARRRRR!

I blink a few times before I remember what I was doing. Ekans and I are facing each other, preparing to apologize to one another.

"Whenever you're ready," Fluttershy says from the side.

"*sigh* Ekans. I'm sorry for killing your family. It was in self-defense and I didn't mean anything by it other than protecting the ones I care about."

"Apology accepted Milesss. Pleassse forgive me for hunting you and your younglingsss. It's an innate part of my being. Nothing perssssonal."

"Apology accepted." I go to shake hands, but remember he doesn't have hands, so we just do a little bow before glancing back to Fluttershy.

"Very good. Now why don't you both head home now and leave this behind you?"

"Yes, Fluttershy."

"Yesss, Flutterssshy." We both say it as she escorts us out of her home.

"That wasss... terrifying," he says with a shudder.

"I know. You going to be alright?" I ask Ekans before he heads into the forest.

"I will. The closssure wasss... good. Take care, Milesss."

"Take care, Ekans," I say as he slithers into the forest. I make my way back home, trying my best to get the image of Fluttershy's stare out of my head. I open the door to my place and find Luna laying on the couch, looking through my phone. I walk up to her and lay behind her, wrapping my arm across her chest as I kiss her neck. She's looking at all of the photos I have of me and my friends, pausing at the one of just me and Tenera. "Still jealous?"

"I do not get jealous, I get..."

"Envious?" I say jokingly, getting her to shake her head and scroll to the next one. "When did you learn to use a phone?"

"It wasn't hard, I just watched you do it a couple of times and tried it myself. Where was this taken?" I look at the photo to see that it's one of Captain Bellum standing over Altum, who's lying on the ground. The area is mainly a large concrete building with several simulation pods in the back.

"That was taken at the training facility. This was when Altum forced us to do the unfinished training simulation, almost killing us."

"Why are there giant eggs?"

"Those are the training pods. They open up and you sit inside as you play through the simulation. Problem was that if you got hurt in the simulation, you actually got hurt. Tenera and Inficiunt both took really bad hits." She scrolls through a few more pictures before she shakes her head and turns around to face me.

"You have to go back Miles. You have to pick up the trail and try to find out what happened."

"Luna..."

"They loved you so much Miles, I can tell from all of the pictures. You have to go back. I can't stand seeing you ignore their cries from the past."

"I… if I go, the girls won't allow me to go on my own. I don't want to endanger their lives..."

"Then don't! Train them! Even if it isn't Spartan training, any training will be useful. Please Miles! For me." I stare into her pleading eyes for a bit before I sigh and give her a soft kiss.

"Fine. I'll go."

"Thank you Miles. I know this will only lead to good things... its getting late... I should get going..."

"When will I see you again?"

"As soon as possible, I promise. I love you Miles."

"I love you Luna." We share one final passionate kiss before she gives me a hug and teleports out of the room. I lay on my back and think about the things to come. I need to train all of them, there's the wedding, Storm and Twilight will probably take some leave afterwards. Where will this trail lead? What does that scepter Auxy had do? Will I find the remaining humans along the way? Are the other cities even there anymore? My mind is buzzing from all of the possibilities, but one thing stands out clear. To answer them, I have to return to the cities.

Shout out to NotATree for picking who came by during the date. Brony on!