Nopony says a word as Celestia and I scan Williams with curiosity. I don't understand, why is an apparition of John's friend present in his mind? The mind only forms imagery of a familiar location to act as a basis to allow navigation, it's not supposed to fill the environment with entities. I've only heard of rare cases back when this magic was commonplace during the Unicorn tribe prior to Equestria's founding. The mind would only portray entities following a traumatic experience and situations of heavy stress.

Breaking the silence I step up to Williams, "Why are you here?"

Celestia seems surprised by my question as she joins alongside me, "It isn't normal for the mind to create representations of individuals?"

"No... it's not. A location allows those who access the mind to navigate through it, the subject will often have a familiar location memorised which acts as the basis for the layout. But to fill it with entities is another matter entirely, I personally have never come across it. It's common enough in the dreamscape but not in someponies-"

"-Somebodies," Williams interrupts as he raises his hand.

"...Somebodies mind," I correct myself as I watch Williams. "You didn't answer my question. Why are you here?"

Stepping to the side he brushes his hand across the bull statue before turning back and leaning against its torso. "I'm here because I'm part of John's head... or at least seem to be, I don't know. The point is he hasn't exactly been truthful with many of you."

"What do you mean?" Celestia asks.

"Well if I had to guess, John is suffering from PTSD. He developed it shortly after arriving in Equestria with all you technicoloured ponies."

"How did John develop it here in Equestria?" Celestia enquiries as she steps closer to him. "Was it from the civil war?"

Williams cocks a brow as he looks to me, "Shall I tell her or would you like the honours?"

Confused I rest a hoof on my chest, "How are you certain that I'd know?"

"I know you've been in his head a couple of times. You've seen some of the things he has experienced. I'm sure you can figure it out from there."

As Celestia looks to me I close my eyes, "John has... been through a lot, both here in Equestria and back in his own world. He has seen the pain and suffering of many in his world before arriving" -Turning my head I glance to Williams- "Including the death of his best friend."

Pushing himself away from the statue Williams turns around to look towards the glass entrance of the building. Getting a look at his back I finally notice what he has strapped over his shoulder, the same weapon John had when he arrived in Equestria. "There is a saying, 'war is hell.' Going through something like that will leave its mark on a man, either physically or psychologically. You've already seen the physical scars he carries from war yet you both don't seem to be aware of his mental state."

As he begins to walk towards the main building I walk after him, "Where are you going?"

Stopping at the main doors he pulls it open showing a dark vortex in its position, small lights canvas the vortex as it seems to swirl in its position. "In order to understand what he has had to endure it would be best if you saw it for yourselves." Before either of us responds, he steps into the vortex disappearing out of sight.

As I step closer, Celestia moves in front of me as she stops me, "Is this wise, Luna?"

Stepping around her I approach the vortex, "It's just a passageway through the mind. If it takes us to the wrong place we can simply turn back, hopefully it will give us an idea where to locate John in order to wake him up." Despite her hesitation, Celestia joins alongside me at the vortex. Signalling for her to enter I watch as she cautiously steps through, as soon as she's out of sight I follow her into John's memory.

As soon as I step through the vortex I pause as the memory begins to function, the three of us are suspended in the void of John's mind as a large area before us begins to display the memory. Looking at it closely it seems to be in John's perspective, giving us a first person view of his experience. We watch as John's eyes open as he lifts his head to look at the mare resting in his arms, Applejack. What? Why is he in bed with Applejack!? My face uncontrollably scrunches in anger as I watch John lift his head as he withdraws his arms from around her chest. Luckily, Celestia seems oblivious to my frustration as she seems focused on the memory.

John's eyes shift as they lock onto the grip of his pistol which pokes out from underneath the pillow Applejack is resting against. Reaching forward he retrieves the pistol and cautiously climbs out of bed, it's only as his head repositions that I notice that he's fully clothed. I can't help but feel relieved to find that he didn't do... that with Applejack. As he stumbles across the floor he sits on the edge of the bay window and stares at his pistol as he fidgets with it in his hand.

"What is he doing?" Celestia asks as she eyes the memory curiously.

I shake my head slightly as John removes the magazine from his weapon and eyes it, "I don't know."

Williams steps forwards as he folds his arms, "He's thinking about killing himself."

The way Williams answers causes us both to look at him with horror, "What? Kill himself?" To support Williams' statement we watch as John suddenly reinserts the magazine and lifts his pistol before tilting it to aim towards the bottom of his jaw. Oh... John, I had no idea. Why would you want to do such a thing?

What do you think you're doing? Both of us turn to look at Williams as we hear his voice, to our surprise he hasn't even moved as he watches the memory intently. Looking back at the memory my eyes widen as I see Williams sitting on the bed alongside Applejack. John was hallucinating? That's why Williams is present here, a part of John's brain has created some sort of apparition of his best friend, but why?

John's focus shift back towards the vision of Williams, "What does it look like?"

Looks like you're being a pussy. That's not the John I know.

"What the fuck do you mean?" John asks in an irritated tone.

You never backed down from a fight. You would always push yourself until there was nothing left to give. Let me tell you something, you've got a lot more to give.

John watches his friend as he joins him on the window, "You told me 'just give up, you shouldn't be here... give up.' That's what I'm doing... giving up."

Turning my head away from the memory I step to the side. I can't believe it... was he really that close to killing himself? Are the ponies correct to fear him? If they ever found out that he was hallucinating then many would lose faith in him, he wouldn't even be trusted to hold his position as Captain. It doesn't matter... they can complain as much as they want, in the end, it's my decision whether I dismiss him or not.

Turning my head back to Celestia and Williams I start to pace towards the only route which is available, "Come on. We need to find John, the sooner we're out of here the better." As I walk I scan the dark empty void ahead of us, the only thing which acts as a guide is a succession of identical wooden doors which acts as a corridor to funnel down a makeshift tunnel. As I pass the doors I notice that they all have different dates carved into the wooden frames, these doors likely lead to significant memories which occurred on these days.

As Celestia follows behind me she opens the occasional door to glance in. As she does this Williams steps alongside me and whispers into my ear, "You're not worried by the fact she could potentially learn about you and John?"

My head snaps to the side to looks at him, "How do you-"

"-I'm a figment of John's imagination. I know everything he does and have seen everything he has."

Blushing mildly I look away, "Oh. Right."

Chuckling he steps past me, "I'm not exactly real so who gives a crap what I've seen. I know that being with John wouldn't exactly be accepted in your society, I reckon it would be the same on Earth if one of you ponies appeared and hooked up with a human. Nobody likes change, but at the end of the day who gives a fuck what they think, all that matters is what you and John want."

Focusing back on Williams I can't help but find myself intrigued by what he's said, "And... what does John want?"

Williams chuckles as he steps away, "If he hasn't told you what he wants then I'm not going to say. It's his place to tell you what he's thinking and feeling, not mine.

After a brief pause, Celestia joins us and looks to Williams, "I'd like to ask you something. You've known John longer than any of us, do you have faith in his abilities?"

Williams expression seems to show the irritation that I'm feeling as he locks eyes with Celestia, "I know you haven't exactly got the greatest faith in John's abilities. I've been stuck in his head and trust me when I tell you that he knows you prefer your own Captain to him. If you asked anyone on his team they'd tell you that they trust him with their lives, he has pulled everyone's asses out of the fire on more than one occasion. He doesn't care if he throws himself into harm's way, he cares about nothing more than protecting his friends and family."

Celestia's posture remains unshifted as she looks to Williams, "I didn't mean it like that. I'm simply asking if you believe that John will be able to carry out his duties following the most recent... events."

Williams cocks a brow as he looks between us, "Getting knocked out won't deter him." Celestia and I look to one another as Williams watches us in confusion, "What?"

"That is all he remembers?"

"Yup, he was in the castle with you two and tried to defend you. He got flung around like a ragdoll before getting knocked out. Why? What happened?"

Releasing a sigh I run my hoof over my muzzle, "John was... influenced by Tirek's magic. Since you're unaware I think it's safe to say that John will have no recollection of being under Tirek's control. Whilst being influenced he threw the three of us into Tartarus, attempted to locate Twilight for Tirek resulting in three of his team being injured. John... John killed Spectre while under Tirek's control."

Williams rests his hands on his hips as he lowers his head, "Fuck..."

Nodding, I step up to him. "Yes. Fuck." Celestia raises a brow as I use another human profanity. "How is John likely going to act once he learns of this?"

Groaning Williams rubs his face, "It's gonna fuck him up. The death of Taylor alone was hard enough for him. When he learns that he was the one who killed Spectre then he'll likely have a massive guilt trip, blame himself for everything and find something or someone to take his anger out on."

"We'll have to tell him," Celestia states. "If we don't inform him straight away then he may believe that we're trying to hide information from him. He didn't react well when he learnt of Tirek, we should be truthful."

"It's gonna do a lot of harm... but you're right. If you keep it from him and he finds out later then it'll only be worse, may as well get it over and done with." After a brief pause, he steps closer to us, "Did he do anything else? Anything at all which he may regret?"

"He shot Sunny, seriously injured Shadow and assaulted Chaser. He also assaulted us when confining us to Tartarus and he attacked Luna when he regained consciousness at the hospital."

William's eyes flick to me, "Well that's going to make him feel like shit." Celestia watches our reactions with curiosity as Williams tries to cover up his reply, "He's supposed to be protecting you and he's assaulted you, not to mention more of his friends. Trust me, when he begins to blame himself you're going to have a hard time convincing him otherwise. He still blames himself for Taylor's death because he didn't identify the IED which killed him."

Stepping around Williams and Celestia I turn back to them, "We're going to have to tell him, it's inevitable. For now, we need to find him and remove Tirek's influence."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three of us wandered through John's memories for what felt like hours, while we're inside John's mind it's practically impossible to tell how much time has passed. Many of the memories we passed were mundane but allowed us to catch a glimpse of John's life prior to coming to Equestria.

We saw him inside a metal carriage which moved on its own accord, Williams said it was something called a 'car' which humans used to traverse large distances over land. We also saw John in his previous job where he worked on these 'cars,' his job was similar to that of a locomotive engineer as he serviced the vehicles engine and various systems in order for it to operate.

From his memories, we were also able to learn about the architecture and everyday society of his home country. We witnessed various humans going about their work and visiting friends and family. I was fairly surprised that the country operates without the Guard in order to maintain order. Williams explained that the Royal Guard only guard the palaces and properties of their Queen leaving the safety of the general population to the Police, though we do have a few Police services in large population centres it's still a fairly new concept which has received various approval and criticisms.

Finally we seem to be reaching our target, at the end of the corridor is a large steel door which stands out from all the others. Although we can physically see the door, it's still at least a few hundred meters past the various memories. What strikes me as odd is the fact that the memories seem scattered, they aren't positioned based on any style organisation such as chronological order.

Clapping his hands, Williams rubs them together, "Finally. I thought we'd be wandering around John's head forever."

With a smirk I tilt my head towards him, "You'd be doing this even if we weren't here."

"True, but there's a difference between sightseeing and having to physically reach a destination." With a quick glance, Williams looks over his shoulder as his eyes widen, "Oh, fucking hell."

"Wha-" A sharp moan can be heard behind me causing my ears to drop, I'm able to recognise the voice as my own. Oh... please no! Turning my head, my coat rapidly turns crimson as I find Celestia standing in front of a door in a mixture of both shock and horror. Galloping towards the door I slide in front of Celestia as my eyes lock on the date carved on the door, 14th February 2014.

As I'm about to slam the door shut my eyes widen as I can see from John's perspective as he has me laid on my back. As his eyes look up to me I can see that I'm trying to muffle my moans by biting on my hoof as I seem to be thrusting my hips against his face. Snapping out of my trance I force the door closed and turn to Celestia who seems to be the same shade of red I am.

We continue to stare at one another as our coats remain a constant rosy hue. After what feels like an eternity Celestia finally speaks, "Luna... care to explain?"

Smiling sheepishly I step to the side, "It was... just a dream?"

"You're involved with John? I thought something was going on but nothing like this."

"Hey," Williams calls out from the side. "She's allowed to do what she-"

Celestia raises her hoof as she turns to Williams, "-This doesn't concern you." As Williams folds his arms Celestia turns back to me, "Do you have any idea what repercussions this could have? For yourself and for our rule?"

Groaning I step to the side, "I don't see a problem with it. Am I not allowed to be with who I choose?"

"Yes, but somepony within reason. We are the rulers of Equestria, if we are to be with somepony then it needs to be with somepony of high standing and with the support of the nobles. We may rule, but we still rely heavily on the nobles of Equestria to support and enforce our laws."

"How isn't John somepony of high standing?" Turning back to Celestia I glare towards her, "He is a Captain in the Guard, last time I checked you approved of Princess Cadence and Shining Armor. Isn't Shining also a Captain? So is it one rule for her and another for me?"

"He is a Captain, but he's your Captain." Cocking a brow in confusion I watch as Celestia runs a hoof over her muzzle. "You have control of him and have already acted on his advice to deploy forces to Griffonia during the civil war. Don't you see what the nobles will believe? They'll think that he has influenced you. An officer in a foreign army has made his way into our Guard and has been able to influence the leader of our nation to better his country's own agenda. I don't believe that, but there is already talk amongst the nobles based on his position."

"Exactly. We know it's not true, so what difference does it make?"

"I had to rely heavily on the nobles during my rule without you, Luna. I've had to adjust laws, create policies in order to keep them content in order to have their continued support. Since your return I haven't allowed you to create many policies because of that reason, we still need their support. If they're to learn that you are engaged romantically or... sexually with John, then who knows how they'll react."

Lowering my head I look away, "You think I don't know this? Why do you think we were keeping our relationship quiet? Nopony except Cadence knows."

"And Discord," Williams interrupts.

Celestia and I quickly shift our gaze to Williams, "W-what? How does he know?"

"He's been in John's head, just before Christmas. He's seen images of our world and has experienced John's memories, including his relationship with you. However it was still early days at that point, you had only been to the Gala together and on your date."

Celestia looks to me in anger as she steps around, "You've been on a date with him? Do you realise how easily somepony could recognise that something is going on between you two if you're seen out in public too often?"

"Do you think I am some foal?" Stepping to the side I glance back at the sealed door, "I've changed my appearance when I've been with John in public. The only time anypony else has seen us together romantically is when I'm in that form."

Giving a soft sigh Celestia closes her eyes, "Well... at least you thought about that." Reopening her eyes she steps up to me, "But... why him? Plenty of nobles and ponies with high status have attempted to gain our affections over the years, so why John?"

I roll my eyes as I scoff, "They don't care about us, all they see us as is a stepping stone to gain more power. They'd use our position to improve their own standing, they may act as though they love us but in reality, they couldn't care. John is different. He hasn't treated me as royalty, he's acted the same around me as he does everypony else. He doesn't care for my position as a Princess. In a way he's like me, his views on the world are different than Equestria's, as are mine. He's been displaced from his home and forced to adapt to his surrounds, the same as I did after my thousand years in exile."

Celestia remains silent as a patient expression remains of her face, "Luna, do you... love him?"

"I-I..." Forcing my eyes shut I tilt my head away. He cares for me more than anypony else does. He risked his life and would have potentially died in Canterlot when he attempted to defend us from Tirek. He's never demanded anything from me, possessions, wealth or power. Our time together is unlike anything else, I don't feel like I have to worry about a thing when I'm with him. He's supported my decisions and has done nothing to make me question his motives. Releasing a sigh I look back to Celestia as she waits expectantly, "Y-yes. I think I love him."

"You think?" Celestia asks with a cocked brow.

"He cares for me in way nopony else does, Celestia. I feel... different when I'm with him. So... yeah, I think I love him."

Celestia watches me momentarily before giving a single nod. Stepping to the side she begins to follow the corridor towards the steel door, "Let's wake John up. We can discuss things then." Watching her walk ahead I let out an irritated sigh as I follow behind.

Williams joins alongside me and whispers into my ear, "That went better than I expected."

Tilting my head I look to him, "What do you mean? That went poorly."

"Did it? I was expecting her to outright say 'no' to the idea of you and John. Since she hasn't said that, I'm gonna say that there's still hope."

Attempting to argue his point I find myself unable to do so, as daft as it sounds he is right. She hasn't forbidden the relationship, she may not be happy about it but that can always change. "You... may have a point."

With a soft chuckle, he increases his pace, "I have my uses. Why do you think John put up with me?" Holding up his left hand he wiggles his fingers in front of me showing a golden ring resting on one of his fingers, "I was married. I do know how these things work."

"Is that the purpose of the ring? To show that you're married?"

Williams nods, "Humans will wear a ring on their 'ring finger' on their left hand to show that they're married. Women will usually have two rings, one being an engagement ring from when the male proposed. Why? How does it work for ponies?"

Catching up to him I keep my voice quiet so Celestia won't overhear our conversation, "We don't give our partner anything when it comes to being engaged. You can purchase them a gift if you choose, such as a bracelet. As for getting married, you'll exchange rings which will either sit on your horn or on a necklace. We usually don't wear them after the wedding as they're often passed down through families as an heirloom."

Grinning, Williams shakes his head, "I prefer the ring. If you want to know if someone is married or not, all you have to do is look at their finger. Simple."

Once we reach the steel door the three of us halt as we all exchange glances. Moving to push the door open, Celestia pauses as she turns to me, "What can we expect in here?"

Running a hoof over my muzzle I step past her, "I'd image that we'll find John in here. He'll still be under Tirek's influence so he'll likely be hostile towards us, in order to break the influence we have to destroy any corruption which has taken hold of John's mind. It will stand out a mile away, we should be able to clear it quickly."

Reaching for his rifle, Williams removes it from his sling and pulls the bolt to the rear, "I'll keep John off you."

"Wait. You can't kill him in here, this isn't the same as a dream."

Williams lowers his rifle, "What do you mean? I though in a dream if you died you just woke up."

"In a dream, yes. This isn't a dream, we're within his subconscious mind. Killing him here could potentially have severe effects on him, destroying part of his mind in the process. Injuries won't cause any permanent harm, but we can't risk causing too much injury."

Groaning Williams rests his rifle on the invisible wall around the door, "And here I was hoping I'd get to use Winston again."

Rolling my eyes I rest my hoof on the door handle, "You named your rifle, just like John did?" Williams only shrugs as he waits for me to open the door. Pushing it open we're met with a room which seems to be constructed from bricks and mortar, a blacked out window is fixed to the centre of the wall letting a minimal amount of light into the room. As the three of us step inside the door locks behind us. From inside we can see the level of corruption, the brown of the walls is barely visible as black shadows and matter spread out across the room.

As we step closer, Celestia turns to Williams, "Any idea where this is?"

Williams nods as we all move to the centre of the room, "This is from his training. We're taught to resist interrogation, as an officer, he was subjected to... harsher conditions than I got. I guess he's visualised this room as his last line of defence, he resisted being broken in interrogation so I guess he thinks he can do it again here."

The steel door once again forces itself open as a bright light fills the room. Looking to the floor I can see a shadow outline of a human figure, turning to the door we all look to John who stands before us. As he steps closer he slowly draws his sword as his white eyes stare at us, "This is as far as you go!"

Williams steps between us as he locks eyes with John, "You two do what you've got to do. I'll handle John."

Without warning, John charges towards Williams with his sword raised. As John reaches him, Williams is able to grasp onto John's forearm stopping his strike before headbutting John. As he stumbles back from the impact, Williams dives forward wrapping his arms around John's waist causing the two of them to crash to the floor.

Turning away from the fight I point to the source of corruption, "There, we need to use our magic to clear it. I'll channel my energy into you, it'll be quicker." Once Celestia nods we both begin to channel our magic, closing my eyes I focus on her as I try to find a connection between us. Once I've found it I release my magic causing a blue arcane energy to traverse from my horn to hers, as I provide her with additional magic Celestia soon starts using her magic to destroy the corruption present in John's mind.

Reopening my eyes I turn back to the fight to see John's fist making contact with Williams' nose, a resounding crack breaks through the room as Williams releases a pained scream. Stumbling backwards blood drips from Williams' nose as he tries to punch John, somehow John is able to grab onto Williams' fist. With a grip of Williams' hand, John twists his arm out of position before delivering a punch to Williams' head causing him to fall to the floor.

As John tries to climb on top of his downed friend, Williams quickly raises his boot which comes into contact with Johns gut knocking the wind out of him. As John turns around to regain his breath, Williams jumps up and wraps his arm around John's throat cutting off his air. John frantically tries flinging his arm and leg backwards to hit Williams in order to try and get him off, each strike is unsuccessful as Williams is able to position himself away from the strikes.

When John lifts his eyes I notice that only one is now white, his left eye has regained its natural colour changing it back to a light shade of blue. Tilting my head to look back to Celestia I find that most of the corruption has been cleared, it won't be long before Tirek's influence on him breaks. "Williams, It's working!"

Tilting his head to the side Williams looks to John to see the change in his eyes. The change also seems to be having a physical effect on John as the veins on his muscles start to protrude as he begins to groan in pain. Pulling back, Williams pulls John to the floor as he keeps a hold around his neck, "John! Listen to me!"

John seems to freeze momentarily as he lifts his head, "W-Williams?"

It's working... he's coming back. Williams grins as he looks down at John, "You're not to blame for any of this. Everything that has happened in the last twenty-four hours is not your fault."

John groans again as he suddenly lifts his fist to punch the underside of William's jaw, "You know nothing!" John grabs onto Williams' elbow and pushes it over his head causing William's grasp to falter. Turning the tables John is able to pull Williams to the floor and sit on top of him, his boot digging into the rear of Williams skull, "I-I didn't do anything!"

Williams tilts his head to the side, "You're going to hear a lot of shit when you wake up. It wasn't your fault."

Groaning in agony John collapses alongside Williams as he holds onto his own head, "W-what's happening to me!?"

Tilting my head back to Celestia I can see that only a small amount of the corruption remains. Williams climbs to his feet as he looks down at John, "Nothing that has happened is your fault, John. Remember that. You can't blame yourself for what's happened, you did it for me and Taylor and look where that got you."

Lifting his head, John lets out another agonising scream, "Your deaths was my fault! I was your commanding officer! Everyone under my command is my responsibility, if they die then it's my fault! You all followed me, my actions got you killed!"

"You're not to blame. It's war, people die. You saved countless lives by doing one of the most dangerous jobs out there, we may have died but other soldiers and civilians got to live. We knew the risk when we enlisted, you can't blame yourself for our deaths."

Groaning John's body starts to twitch as his eyes force shut, from his body a dark energy starts to peel away from his flesh. The experience is nothing but agonising for him as his body starts to convulse uncontrollably, his flesh turning red as his veins protrude across his muscles. Celestia joins alongside me and watches as the magical energy if forced from John's body, glancing back to the source of the corruption I can see that it has all been destroyed leaving this energy as the last source of Tirek's influence on John.

As John stops moving the shadow of energy begins to materialise into a form resembling Tirek as it stands before us. Before either of us can react the sound of the steel door opening and closing causing us to look back to the door. Standing in the doorway is Williams as he retrieved his rifle, resting the butt against his hip he steps closer and points it towards the magical energy.

PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT

The rounds all pierce the magical entity causing it to break apart as a blood-curdling scream fills the room. As the bullet casings clatter to the floor the magical energy fades from existence, the natural light in the room intensifying allowing us to view our surroundings better. As Williams releases his rifle he looks to us as the room lights up uncontrollably.

As soon as my eyes start to open I begin to rapidly splutter, with each cough and breath I take it feels as though a blistering flame is trying to push its way through my flesh. Attempting to lift my hands they're halted only inches above the edge of the bed by shackles. What the fuck?
Why am I handcuffed to the bed? What's going on?"

Turning my head I find myself in a private room of the hospital, upon closer inspection, I realise that it's the exact same room I usually find myself in when I'm brought to the hospital. But... I was attacked in Canterlot, why am I in the Ponyville hospital? Scanning the room I find two temporary beds had been set up on either side of mine, one with Luna resting on top and the other with Celestia.

"W-what the fuck?" Trying to sit up I groan as a shooting pain races through my chest. Glancing down at my body I find my torso and chest to be covered in some sort of white powder followed by a set of bandaged. A cannula is connected to my left arm allowing two different concoctions to enter my body, the one I recognise as the potion to speed up the regeneration of blood cells whereas I have no idea about the purpose of the other one.

The sound of a machine alongside me every time I breathe grabs my attention, looking at it I can see a small tube connected from it is being dragged over my chest and up to my nose as it continuously pumps. From the constant intake of fresh air, I can only guess that it's supplying me with regular oxygen. Lifting the blanket I also find another tube leading underneath my boxers, as I move my body an uncomfortable sensation shoots through my groin leading me to believe that its a catheter.

Finally the sound of both Luna and Celestia waking up causes my head to snap towards them. As Luna's eyes slowly creak open they lock onto mine, "J-John?"

Groaning I try to sit up once again only for the shackles to prevent it, "Who else would I be? What's happening, Luna? Why are we here?"

Sitting up on her bed she quickly climbs out and stands alongside my bed, her hoof resting gently on my hand. "John, thank heavens you're alright."

Smiling softly I lean closer, "You know me... I'm a bastard to kill. Why are we here? What has happened about Discord and Tirek?"

"They've been defeated," Celestia answers with a yawn as she joins on the other side of the bed. As she approaches I quickly pull my hand away from Luna as I look to Celestia, "Can you remember anything, John?"

Turning my head away I close my eyes as I try to think back to Canterlot, "I-It's all just a blur. I remember being at the castle with you when you gave your powers to Twilight. I stayed behind to defend you then... Tirek came in. The last thing I remember is being thrown around the room then... everything cut to black. Why? What happened?"

"Tirek was able to gain access to your mind John. He manipulated you as he did Discord in order for you to carry out his work. He sent you to Ponyville to locate Twilight."

Lifting my head I look back between her and Luna, "Is everyone alright? Where's Twilight."

"Twilight is safe, John," Luna says as her hoof rests on the side of my bed. "Unfortunately you... in your corrupted state you attacked your team in order to get to her."

My eyes widen upon hearing this, "Who? Are they okay?"

"Chaser, Shadow and Sunny were injured, they were stable when we entered your mind to break Tirek's hold of you. But I'm afraid... John, there is no easy way for me to tell you this. Spectre is dead... I'm sorry."

My heart drops as I look towards Luna, I don't say anything as I let out a frustrated growl. Trying to rub my face I slam my hands back down on the bed as the chains keep them in place, "Can someone please get these bastard chains off me!?" Immediately Luna lowers her head and uses her magic to open the chains, with my hands freed from the shackles I rub my sore wrists as I fully sit up.

I... I killed her. She's supposed to be under my command... my friend... and I killed her. I don't remember a fucking thing. How did this happen? Why wasn't I stopped? Taking a deep breath I slowly turn my head back to Luna, "What about Shadow? How is she taking... this?"

"She... is naturally distraught, John. Shadow has announced her resignation for the Lunar Guard, she... doesn't trust herself around you."

"I can't remember anything.... why can't I remember this!?"

"Tirek's hold on you was too strong for you to fight back. You have no natural resistance to magic, John, even the most basic of offensive spells will be effective against you." Lowering her head Luna moves her hoof to rest once against on my hand.

As I look into her eyes my mind suddenly snaps at me reminding me that Celestia is here with us. Turning my gaze to her I notice that her eyes are locked onto Luna's hoof on my hand. Sighing Celestia lifts her head, "I know about you two, John. A memory, which I wish I didn't see, revealed your relationship to me."

Turning back to Luna I can see a light blush on her face, "She means... Hearts and Hooves Day." My eyes widen as I look back to Celestia with a blush of my own. She saw that? Fuck... fuck! I'm dead, I'm being sent to the sun and roasted alive. I know if I saw someone doing that with my sister I'd want to rip their head off.

"I know that you two have been together since before Hearths Warming. Though this could cause no end of issues for our rule... I'm not going to stop the two of you. Luna, you're free to make your own decisions, but please... keep this relationship hidden from the public, at least for now."

A smile quickly spreads across Luna's muzzle which she rapidly tries to hide, "I will. Thank you, sister."

Nodding her head she steps towards the door, "Try and get some rest, John. After you're ordeal we're not expecting you to work for some time. Spend some time with your friends. And one last thing, if you do anything to hurt or upset my sister you'll have me to answer to."

As she leaves the room Luna turns back to me and presses her lips against mine, I'm more than happy to return the gesture as I brush my hand across her cheek. Pulling back from the kiss her hoof finally pulls away from my hand as she moves away to join her sister. Closing the door behind her I'm left staring at the ceiling as I try to wrap my head around what happened.

I killed Spectre... I can't have killed her. I should remember, but... I can't