A/N: hello everypony, this weekend is the only weekend this month that i will be free, so i will focus all my energy on writing the next chapter and watching anime. i need sleep though, so i will finish what i can tonight, and probably post on sunday at the latest.

The moon was shining on all of Canterlot as families rested their heads, or workers got to the late job. The night court is set up the same as Celestia’s day court; the representative that has waited the longest goes first. Luna had about three nights worth ponies that she needed to see. Most she would just dismiss because they came from her sister and she had already dismissed them. They’re sneaky that way.

And their was no hiding it. When they pass over Luna the sheet with their plan, it already has the seal from Celestia that denied them their petition. Luna quickly reads the petition as the pony talks, and then most of the time will dismiss them, just as her sister has done. Only the ones with plans that could potentially help Equestria will Luna pass, like the plan this one stallion had. It involved a type of militia for far off towns that are to far out to receive aid from Canterlot. The militia would be all volunteers, and would be trained in the same manner as the royal guard, but answer to the town mayor, not Shining Armor or Celestia or Luna.

The court went on its way at the same pace as always; slow and boring. Luna had to put on a half-interested look, so as not to look bored. Her mind would drift though, as it always does. The only difference though was that all her thoughts went toward the love of her life, which had to stay in a hospital room for at least another three hours. The night court wasn’t due to break for lunch for another four hours. No amount of day dreaming was going to shorten that time.

Hospital room 215

The human was busy away at the project he had laid on himself. Papers, compasses, rulers, pencils, chalk, and for some reason a cupcake where all piled around him in an organized mess. He had already eaten breakfast and had finished the first of four blueprints to assist Shepard in her campaign against the Reapers. It was quick work using the knowledge in the Spartan’s mind, but Anthony had to be careful. If the solder in him came out, he would immediately destroy all the blueprints, in defense for the UNSC. Most of it though had already been mentally transferred to Anthony’s mind anyway. This was a process he had begun right out the gate.

He knew that information was power, so take as much information as possible when the Spartan was fighting the Reapers. Now all that was left was high security information, but that was open to Anthony freely. With the second blueprint under way, nothing would distract him from the work, except maybe an army of concerned friends.

“Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh, youraliveyouraliveyouralive, we were all like is he fine and I was like duh of course he’s fine and we should go say hi but Twilight was all like he might need his rest but then we learned that you were following Princess Luna’s schedule so we thought it would be awesome if we came to visit you while you were awake and here we are!” Pinkie Pie said, jumping in the hospital room, causing more of a mess. The rest of the ponies entered the room, half shaking their heads.

“We are sorry darling for allowing Pinkie Pie in here first, but there wasn’t much we could do,” Rarity said.

“That’s fine; just a little warning next time would be great. I might need to protect a project from flying around the room,” Anthony joked, lightening the mood greatly.

“Here allow me to help,” Twilight said, using here magic to pick up all the papers and organize them back on the table the human was using to do his work. “What are you working on? Maybe I can help.”

“I don’t think you’ll be much help. I’m making blueprints for Shepard when she returns back home. These are weapons that will assist in the protection of her world. These are actually very easy to make, but only I know how to make them. Sorry, but I’m free now if you wish to do something,” Anthony said. Pinkie’s face lit up immediately, but Twilight was skeptical.

“Aren’t you still healing?” Twilight asked, not knowing what has happened since he has been in the hospital.

“According to the doctor, I still need to remain for observation, but in reality I’m as healthy as a horse,” the human said, gaining confused looks from his friends. He released a sigh before correcting the issue. “It’s a saying on Earth. It means I’m perfectly fine. Horses are actually very popular animals for people to have, and are taken well care of. There will probably fraises I’ll use at different times when certain thing happen.”

Nods of understanding shook through the whole room. Rainbow Dash flew near the human, observing his muscles actually for the first time.

“Hay, do all you humans have as big muscles as you do?” Rainbow Dash inquired.

“Ha ha, no not all humans. These aren’t normal muscles anyway. This body I chose was designed specifically for combat. The muscle has been genetically enhanced to be more dense then that of a brick wall. The muscle is so toned out, that I can eat nothing but sweets and junk food, and I won’t lose an ounce of muscle. Or gain any fat because of how high my metabolism is. This body is made for war, but I won’t use that part as long as I don’t have to. Any more questions?” the human asked the contingency of friends.

“Um, well, I um have a question…if that’s ok with you,” Fluttershy said in a low voice. “Why do you fight? I mean, on that day when the monsters came, you could have run like us and not have put yourself in that danger.”

“I could have ran and hid, but that would have rested heavily on my conscious. Besides, I am the only one who actually knew how to fight the Reapers so I couldn’t just stand by and watch everything unfold in front of me.”

“Yes, but you act like it wasn’t even a hard chose to make. You make it said like you were looking for a reason to fight,” Twilight said, picking up with Fluttershy.

“That’s because I didn’t think, I just acted when I used the transformation spell. I felt that I had to protect you all, so I did. Even though you might not need my help, I will still help. It’s in my nature to help those who need that little extra push to help them. If fighting an army Reapers helps good, if cooking part of a meal helps, I’ll do that too,” he said, smiling the whole time. He was glad to have friends that cared. And so did them when they swarmed him with a group hug. The doctor walked in and found the scene. He shook his head and waited for the group to break.

“Mr. Anthony, I have some good news for you. In light of your resent achievement, and the fact that we know you’ll do it anyway, you are free to go. Have a good rest of the night, and please don’t get injured again, or else we might have to give you a permanent room here,” the doctor joked. The whole group cheered loudly. The doctor just nodded and left the room, probably going to go find a room to rest in.

“Well, I guess I can leave now. I wonder who is going to get this stuff though. Or where I’ll be sleeping?” Anthony said, looking around the room. “You know what; I’ll just bring it in a bag and ask Luna later. So what do you want to do?”

“How about we all go to the Canterlot Spa? I hear it is the best in all of Equestria,” Rarity suggested.

“What about something you want to do, Anthony. We just want to hang out with you, so anywhere is fine with us,” Twilight said, saving Anthony from having to spend the night in a spa. He contemplated it for a few seconds before suggesting they inform Princess Luna first, see if she might be able to join them. And tell which room Anthony will be staying in.

They all agreed and after packing up all of the blueprints and other tools in a bag, they left for the castle. The hospital was empty except for a few nurses walking from each room to insure patent health. The group quietly made their way to the street so as to begin their night of fun and friendship.

The streets were lit just right so normal ponies could see enough not to crash. Anthony was able to see as though it was the middle of the day, thanks to the Spartan augments. The group made their way through the mostly empty streets. The night was beautiful, and all the stars shone extra bright. All the shops were closed and it gave an uneasy feeling to the Spartan. He didn’t like how empty it was, but Anthony shook it off as it was only night time.

The walk was fine toward the castle, and would have taken no time, except for the conglomerate of friends past what appeared to be a club. A line of ponies were standing outside waiting to enter, having to pass through a tough door stallion. Heavy bass could be heard a little on the street. The group stopped as the human was holding his position in front of the club. The name of the establishment was “Drop That” in neon lights. Not very creative, but got the message out.

“Now darling, you don’t want to go in there. That place is so uncouth, not even Rainbow Dash would want to enter. I don’t think any of us would enjoy it,” Rarity said, looking at the place in disgust. The human just shook his head and smiled.

“I think I know where I want to go,” Anthony said, smiling even bigger.

“Uh, lookie here, Sugarcube, I be a thinken that this place here might not the best for all us,” Applejack said.

“Have any of you even been to a club before?” Anthony asked.

“Well, no. but we heard some things about it that aren’t too good,” Twilight said. “Like the type of music they play, and the drinks they serve are not for the weak.”

“Ya, not even I want to try my luck in one of those,” RD said, looking at the place like it was a curse.

“And the stallion at the door looks mean,” Fluttershy said, hiding behind Applejack.

“Oh come on. Now all of you are acting like this is another Everfree Forest. I say, after we talk with Luna we all come back and face this together. And I promise I will be the only who will walk out sober tonight. If you all don’t have a good time, then we know not to let me pick again, agreed?” Anthony said, getting them hook-line and sinker. The girls pondered the proposed idea for a few second before agreeing and continuing their march to the castle.

Canterlot Castle: throne room

Princess Luna had finished with another pony that had already failed at Celestia’s day court, and was about to go for a new round when a certain group of friends walked into the over crowded throne room. The group was escorted to the front of the line so as to speak with Luna immediately. The other ponies would have made an argument, but the human stopped them all because of just his presence. Everypony in the group bowed to Luna, but Anthony saluted her, knowing that he had to keep some formality in public.

“Rise, and at ease. You don’t have to bow to me or salute me, we are friends and friends don’t need to use that level of formality,” Princess Luna said.

“If you will excuse me, but I believe some level of formality, at least with me, is appropriate, considering that we are not public knowledge,” Anthony said in a very logical manner.

“Fine, but only until then. Now what is it that you wish to discuss? I see that Anthony is up and moving, so I can guess they released him and he needs a place to sleep, am I correct?” Luna said, having a neutral look on her face, but her eyes told another story of fire and passion in her for the human.

“Correct, so where will I be staying?”

“Where you stayed the night before the attack would suffice I think,” Luna said, for no pony knew where Anthony slept that night.

“Understood. I’ll have one of the guards bring my stuff to the room. The rest of us are going to the club when you are finished up here. Did you know they have never been to a club before?” Anthony said in a hushed voice.

“Neither have I. Celestia doesn’t think I should spend my time out partying. So I’ll be by later, probably for the hour lunch. See you all in about two and a half hours,” Luna said, gaining a devilish smile.

“All right, I promise not to get these girls too drunk before you arrive,” he said, chuckling a little. The elements just tilted their heads, not knowing what he was talking about. He started to laugh harder, so he led the ponies out of the throne room. They all started to question him after they left the sights of “important” ponies.

“What do you mean by not too drunk? Is that what ponies do at these club places?” Twilight asked for the group.

“That’s just one of the things they do there. There are also music, dancing, and on occasion ‘other activities,’” Anthony said, using air quotes to make a point.

“Like what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Other activities. It all depends on what is going through your mind at the time. People can discover a lot about themselves when drinking is involved. I suggest you all watch your liquor intake tonight. You all seem like light weights,”

“Oh, really. And what is that supposed to mean?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“That means that if we were to drink the same amount of alcohol, you would suffer from alcohol poisoning and more than likely die. I can drink till the whole bar is empty, and still be healthy. Drunk and not in a right frame of mind, but healthy. It’s the high metabolism, burns up the alcohol in my system to nothing in just a few moments, so it take more to get me the same level of drunk as you. Physical size matters too, bigger people can handle more alcohol then smaller ones. Now let’s go, we’re burning moon light,” Anthony said, leading the now slightly worried group to the club.

The lights on the club were still on, and the line had grown to a length that wrapped around the building. The girls all looked at it and sighed out of relief, they thought that they would never have to go in.

“Oh, well. Looks like they aren’t letting anypony else in. I guess we can’t go,” Twilight said, hoping that the human didn’t have any plans like the one he was about to use.

“So? We can still get in. Just stay behind me and we’ll be in there in no time,” Anthony said, walking right up to the door stallion. “Hey, what do you think it will take for my friends and I to get in there?”

“More then you have buddy, now back of the line,” the stallion said. He staid standing there and didn’t move.

“Not even to allow in the one who saved this city from Reaper forces the other day or the Elements of Harmony?” he asked, bulging his muscles a little to stretch the emphasis.

“That depends on you wish to prove that you are who you say?” the stallion said. Anthony reached behind himself and grasped a handle thing in his hand. He pulled it out and pressed a button on top, igniting the sword hidden away.

“That proof enough?” The stallion just stood there in shock. He nodded his head a little and allowed the seven in. The girls huffed a little as they didn’t really want to be here. “Don’t worry, I promise that tonight will be a night you might remember,” Anthony said, gaining an evil grin on his face.

The party inside had already begun, and it paid no mind to the group that walked in through the door. Anthony led the group to a corner table so they could sit, away from the heavy bass that was coming from the DJ. He then asked them all for some bits to buy drinks and food, which they all complied with.

Anthony walked to the bar and ordered some sodas for the girls and a bottle of their best tasting Vodka. Along with an order of hay fries, the money was gone quickly. He returned to the table with two trays holding the drinks and food. He laid it on the table and allowed the girls to take the drinks and place the fries in the middle of the table for all to enjoy. Anthony took a glass with some ice and poured himself a drink. He sipped from it as the girls started to eat the fries.

“What is that you’re drinking?” Rainbow Dash asked Anthony.

“Vodka, pretty good flavor to, considering the fact that I could only get this type for a cheap price. Want a taste?” he asked, holding the glass out for her to take.

“Sure, but just a taste, I don’t want to become one of those ponies that drink all the time,” RD said, taking the glass and tasting the Vodka. When it started to go down her throat, which was when she got that look on her face. “Wow, that’s strong. How can drink that?”

“Like this,” he said, and took a gulp from his glass, emptying it. He poured himself another glass and sat back in the corner seat. The music stopped for a second as the DJ got on her microphone.

“Attention all you partiers out there. We are going to have an open mic tonight, so just come on up here with a song, and you do the singin’, now let’s see who the first brave soul will be,” Vinyl Scratch said, looking out into the crowd. Anthony looked right up there and a smile covered his whole face. He set down the drink and walked right up there. The crowd though prevented him from being first, but he could wait.

“All right, next up on queue,” a bored stallion said, waving up Anthony. “What song are you going to do?”

“I have a device that will play the music through the speaker; I just need to plug it in. And do you have a guitar for a gryphon?” Anthony asked the queue line stallion.

“Ya, just take one up as you go,” the stallion said. They stood there for a few minutes as the colt who had gone up first sang. The crowd cheered when he finished the song and he walked off stage to find his group of friends. “you’re, next!”

The human walked up to the spin board and plugged in his Ipod and set it on a personal favorite of his; “One” by Metallica. The low sound of the helicopter passing by was ling enough for Anthony to get in front of the microphone and begin playing the opening guitar. The whole crowd was quiet as the human started to lead into the second guitar. He left rhythm guitar and took lead. The dual guitars played with nothing new for a few seconds, with the drums adding in their say. Bass guitar hidden in the background.

The whole instrumental opening lasted about a minutes as Anthony stood more up to the microphone and began to sing,

I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops with me

Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
That there's not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh, please God, wake me

The short wait between chorus and next verse was enough for Anthony to get a breath in,

Back in the womb it’s much to real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can’t look forward to reveal
Look to the time that I’ll live

Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines the make me be
Cut this life off from me

Hold me breath as I wish for death
Oh, please God, wake me

A quick solo came forth and Anthony delivered it quite well. The crowd started to stomp and cheer, but found that he was no where near done,

Now the world is gone
I’m just one
Oh, God, help me

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh, please God, help me

The next part of instrumental part sent the song into a more heavy part, which led to the guitars temporarily stopping and the drums to play quick and in their own rhythm. Both guitars reentered the fray with the same speed and match the rhythm made by the drums. Anthony kept to the beat like a pro, just as the final verse took over,

Darkness, imprisoning me,
All that I see absolute horror
I cannot live, I cannot die
Trapped in myself, body my holding cell

Landmine has taken my sight,
Taken my speech, taken my hearing
Taken my arms, taken my legs

Taken my soul
Left me with in hell

The lyric ended there, the instruments all played the same tone for ten second, before the second guitar solo took charge. Anthony’s hand flew up and down the guitar with a speed that amazed all. The third solo was following and Anthony was in the zone. Nothing was in his mind, except the next note, the next strum. The solos ended and the song ran its course to the end. As the last note died, the club as a whole cheered and stomped their hooves in approval in the performance.

Anthony waved to the crowd with a hand and took his Ipod back. He replace the guitar back and left the stage. The next pony went up, but Anthony paid them no mind. He went back to his friends, who were all smiling and happy.

“Wow, we didn’t know you could sing,” Twilight said, amazment covered her face.

“Ya, that was really cool, and how you played that guitar was awesome,” Rainbow Dash commented.

“Where’d you get that song a’ yours from?” Applejack asked, the question on everyponies mind.

“It’s one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s from my world, and it was made Metallica. The group made the song in 1988, and I had left in 2012, so it’s an older song. I just really love it, and enjoyed getting up there and singing. I didn’t think you all would approve?” Anthony said, smile growing on his face.

“Well, darling. Of course we would of approve, you’re our friend aren’t you? We would never disapprove of something you want to do, unless of course it’s something extremely dangerous, then we might. But what is that song about anyway?” Rarity said, adding her comment to the mix.

“It’s about a man, who after fighting in a war survives, it tells of the hell he is unfortunately been through. It tells how he is forced to live life with out sight, speech, or hearing. He doesn’t have any limbs and is pretty much a body. That is actually what happens too, any solders will return in a condition that leaves them wishing for death. Most of the time, they are forced to live life like a helpless baby,” Anthony said, tears starting to form in everyone’s eyes, even his.

“Why did you pick the song then?” Twilight asked, the only one able to properly vocalize.

“Because I feel very passionate about veterans in my world, and I never forget those who died so I could have the freedoms I had when I was in my world. I don’t want their legacy to die,” he said, finally allowing tears to flow from his eyes, causing the rest to follow suit. They all cried for the past few minutes in their corner until they were no longer emotional. “Now, who wants to toast this night to them?” They all nodded their heads.

Anthony grabbed a few more glasses and poured everyone a glass of the Vodka he bought. The all raised their glasses and drank together. The only two not to cough were Anthony and Rainbow Dash.

“You know, its not half-bad after the first sip. Now I can actually drink it,” Rainbow said, taking a third sip of her drink.

“Don’t drink too much Rainbow, or you might get drunk before the night has even began. You might actually want to remember tonight,” Anthony said jokingly, making the others look at their drinks with a distasteful look on their faces. “A few sips won’t fuck you up, just give you a little buzz that will tell you to watch yourself. I’ll be fine with drinking three bottles and might start to get that buzz,” he said, taking a swig straight from the bottle now with his empty glass. He didn’t want them to have a bad first experience with alcohol, and they didn’t mind that he took all the Vodka either.

The DJ retook her post after a few more ponies had gone through and started to play heavy bass dance music. Pinkie Pie didn’t feel like staying at the table all night and grabbed Applejack to dance on the dance floor. Rainbow Dash and Anthony were going at the flight skills they each had, trying to see who was the better, faster, and stronger flyer; so far neither had the upper hand. Twilight started to take notes on how different ponies acted while intoxicated, while Rarity kept saying how uncouth this all was. Fluttershy was hiding in the bathroom.

Time flew by for the group of friends. Anthony and Dash called a tie, and Twilight wanted to asked Anthony about things in his world that were different. Mostly about things in his world that they didn’t have.

“Other than war, I’ve noticed your world doesn’t have religion. Religion in my world is very powerful, too powerful if you ask me. There are hundreds of different types of religion, but the three major ones are Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. They all have the same belief that there is one all powerful God that control everything and everyone. They all believe in the same God too, which baffles the hell out of me. The three groups hate each other too, and have led to wars in the past just over beliefs. The only real difference between the groups is how they worship their God.

“I don’t follow these crazy people. I believe that everything is connected in some way, shape, or form. That we are connected by some all powerful force that we can’t explain. Not necessarily a deity, but maybe an energy in all living being that binds us together. How we are connected all depends on the course you take. We have free will, and that free will determines what course in life we should take and how we live our lives. A book that was written thousands of years ago, and has been edited hundreds of times should not determine our lives for us,” Anthony took a break here to get some drink down his throat, while Twilight finished writing down a note.

“Now, this may sound a bit odd, but I am a Jedi. this is a religion that focuses on the will of you and others around you. You choose your destiny, no one, or no thing, chooses it for you. The idea has been around for a long time, but didn’t have a name until a movie came out. People actually think its fake, but it’s not and we don’t care. Just hope no pony comes around and trys to create a religion, thing won’t end well for most of you,” Anthony said, finishing his story. This gave Twilight a new look on the world, but she wasn’t ready to start anything. She believed the human on what would happen if religion was introduced to Equestria.

“Thank you, I think that I have enough information now,” Twilight said, a glazed look was over her eyes, as though so much information was clogging her mind.

“Ya, I think I just broke Twilight. I hope she doesn’t stay this way, Celestia will kill me. And we just got on each others good side to,” Anthony said to himself, for Twilight was out of it. He didn’t want to leave Twilight alone for fear that some drunk stallion thinks he might get lucky. He checked his Ipod and found that Luna should be arriving soon.

He called the rest of the girls over, except Fluttershy who was still in the bathroom, and informed them of who would be coming soon. And the situation with Twilight.

“The poor girl. How could you do such a thing to her?” Rarity said, checking to see if Twilight was fine.

“What? I didn’t do anything but answer her question, she was the one who absorbed too much information. She should be fine, I just don’t think that she should be left alone,” Anthony said, not wanting to explain why. Luckily, Applejack volunteered to watch her because she had enough of the loud dance floor and wanted to relax a little.

The club started to get quiet as Princess Luna walked in. everypony stared at her for a few seconds before returning to their partying. Anthony waved her over, knowing one of the first questions she was going to ask.

“They didn’t expect to see a princess in a club ever. That’s why it got quiet for a second, before they stopped caring. don’t worry, they don’t care anymore,” Anthony told Luna, slightly shocked, but brushed it off as the human being himself.

“Well then, what are we going to do now?” Luna asked, never been to a club before.

“I say, we begin with drinks,” Anthony said, calling over one of the servers and asked for a bottle of tequila and eight shot glasses. The mare went and fetched the bottle and glasses, and Luna pulled out some bits and paid for it. Anthony then expertly poured drinks for everyone and passed them out.

“To friends,” he said, raising his glass and clinked their glasses together. Applejack retrieved Fluttershy from the bathroom, and Twilight had recovered from the information overload. As the friends took the drinks, they found some things are not always as they seem.