In times of despair, people look out for one another, they care for each other, and they do what's needed to be done. This is one of those times, for me, and for the benefit of my team, Echo Team.

We were originally from the United States 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, but we were pulled into Equestria by Celestia about six months earlier. Now, since we've gotten over the fact that we can't go back, we stay here, with what little sanity we have left. I also find myself dating one of the locals, a Pegasus Pony to be more precise, which happens to be somewhat of an insult to injury.

There are times when you feel that you can't go on, and that you're too weak to continue. That's why your friends are there to help you, to lend you a helping hand-er hoof in this case.

I recently just found out that I'm a descendant to the lover of Princess Celestia, and to be honest I'm still pretty shocked about finding out. It turns out she didn't really bring us into Equestria because she wanted to save us, but because of my ancestry. But what she doesn't know, is that my line of ancestors have been known to bring pain, suffering, and even death wherever we go. My parents told me that I was related to multiple war heroes, dating back into the Revolutionary War, hell, it probably dates back to pre-history. I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but in the end it depends on the person. Night Shade was also one of those heroes, locking up the Darkness before it killed him, saving Equestria for another millenium. Until I was brought into Equestria, where The Darkness felt my presence and mistakened it for Night Shades'.

I knew it from the day I joined The Unit, that I would be only a mere pawn, someone that's expendable. Even now I still think that, I'm just being used. My friends know that too, we're not important at all. The prophecies? All wrong.

"Andrew, that's not true, you know that isn't right."

"Go away Night Shade, it's the truth, and you knew it from the day you found me." I said, walking alone in the castle courtyard. The wind streaming through my hair, and I could hear the distant sounds of bird songs in the early morning.

"You have Rainbow, don't you? What about her?" Night Shade asked, I couldn't answer that.

"... I don't know anymore, Night Shade. With the apparent battle coming up, I'm not sure if I'm ready. I'm just not thinking straight." I said, unsure of my true fate.

"All will be revealed in due time, Drew. Everything will be fine." He said to me, but that didn't calm me down one bit, it just pretty much made it worse for me.

I had a few questions in mind for Night Shade, but by the time I opened my mouth, he was gone, in which I couldn't go digging through my mind to fish him out, in fear of also bringing back my Dementia. At this point, I don't know if I'm still afflicted by Dementia, or if Night Shade was real or not. I'm pretty much being forced into trusting my gut on this one, at this point I don't know what's good from evil.

"Good morning Drew! What brings you out here on such a gloomy day?" I looked up from my bench, and from the fog came Princess Luna. If it was Celestia I would've simply just walked away, we're not in such a good relationship right now.

"I'm doing well, your highness."

"I'm surprised, your taking this better than I thought you would. Also, I apologise for my sister, I don't know why she would be so selfish like that." Her expression saddened, I gestured her to sit down next to me, I took a rag from my pocket to wipe off the excess dew that was left on there.

"It's okay, Princess. I knew from the get go that my team and I would be expendable, just to be replaced by someone else when we move on." I explained, she looked up to me.

"But you're not expendable! Not to me! Not to anypony else here! You and your team have made a mark, here in Equestria, Andrew, one that will most likely not go away for a long time. I certainly won't forget you, considering that I'm immortal." I stroked my hand along the back of her neck, comforting her as she started to cry.

"Once you and your friends pass on, I'm going to, and I will, miss you." She laid her head on my lap, and this was just plain awkward for me, but Luna was like a little child to me. For some reason, she felt like the daughter I never, and will not have.

"If it wasn't for Celestia, I wouldn't be here right now. I would probably be dead, rotting in a mud pit, or being fed to rabbid dogs. Remind me that I need to try and talk to her later." I said, but Luna nodded affirmingly.

"If it won't work out, come talk to me. I will try to set you up to see her." She then got up from where she sat, and she walked off.

"I will see you later, Drew. Perhaps at dinner?"

"Dinner would be great, Princess." I said back to her, with a weak smile. She then walked back into the morning fog, leaving me all alone, in the gray mist of the castle courtyard.

The RIG on my back then showed a holographic projection, telling me where to go. The thing is... I never set a waypoint. What was going on with my RIG? I then showed the waypoint on the ground, and it went into the tower. I wonder what is in there?

"My RIG is fucked up, I need to remind myself to fix it when I get home." I said, trying to hack into it by my datapad, but the waypoint wouldn't reset.

"Just follow it Drew! I want to show you something!" Of course, it wasn't my RIG fucking up, it was Night Shade.

I shrugged and went with it, not knowing where the hell I'm going, all I know is that at least it's a good thing I've been granted full access to the castle. I sighed as I saw the spiral staircase, seeing how it seemed to go on forever.

The climb went on forever, and once I got to the top, I sure hope it was worth it. I was seriously hoping that it was worth it, or else I was going to choke a bitch. Once I got onto the balcony, I saw Night Shade, who was as tall as Princess Celestia, if not taller than her. He was just standing there, looking over the land, as if it was like a childhood memory to him. It sure as hell felt familiar to me, but that's because Night Shade's memories are mixed in with mine, and I can't tell what's what.

"Sure is a nice view." He started, and once I looked down, I was in awe.

"Yeah..."

"Close your mouth, bugs can fly this high." He shut my lower jaw closed, I blinked at him before speaking.

"How can I see you? I mean, aren't you dead?" I asked, all he did was laugh.

"The same way you could see Carmine, or your folks. Except I'm not being forced to be here, unlike The Darkness, who used your folks to get to you. Besides, I thought you liked me here." He said to me, making me scratch my head.

"Sometimes I think I'm still being haunted by them..." I mumbled to myself, but I was immediately corrected.

"You know that's not true." He responded.

"Look, why did you bring me up here?" I asked, getting straight to the point. I was cutting the bullshit, sick and tired of these motherfucking ponies being so motherfucking vague with me.

"I know you're upset with Celly, but I want you to try and apologise, for my sake." Was he seriously this ignorant? I was already planning on trying to work this out. Hell, I'm trying to be the nice guy here.

"Well, I was planning on it. I'm just sure if she'll either accept my apology or if she'll throw me in the dungeon." I said, and I'm pretty sure she's not afraid to do so either.

"C'mon, I'm sure Celly won't do that! She's not that kind of pony, I know." Well, he had a point, but in the end I'm still pretty nervous.

"Well, let's look over the events of last night." I looked up into the upper left corner, and as if expected, a flashback was there, ready to be looked at.

"Be ready for what I'm about to tell you, Andrew. Because I'm going to tell you a brief story of your ancestor, Night Shade. Prince Night Shade, to be more precise." Andrew sat down criss-cross on her floor, leaning back on his arms, acting as support beams.

"Prince Night Shade was adopted, and was turned into a pony, by my mother. He was looked after as an Alicorn Prince, but he was originally human. You see, four humans, just like you four, have entered Equestria by unkown means. One of the women, gave birth to a child here, but died in the process." Andrew knew this, for Night Shade had told him already.

"The other three somehow managed to find a way back home, so they took the offer to do so. The woman, asked my mother to take care of the child before she passed, and so she did. Over the years, Night Shade hadn't known about his origins, and neither did we when Luna and I were born, around the same time period." Andrew raised his hand to speak.

"So, what happened to your mother? Did you have a father?"

"My mother died of old age, it was her time to go. She died about three-hundred years ago. My father died in a great war, he was Commander-in-Chief of the Royal Army. Since then Luna and I have been left to rule Equestria by ourselves."

"Okay, continue with your story." Celestia nodded.

"Night Shade, eventually became my lover, and we couldn't be happier. He also found out about his former self, which dealt a heavy toll on him. He continued his life knowing that he wasn't a true pony, but that didn't stop him one bit. Until The Darkness came, who sought out to destroy Equestria, for it had created Discord, and turned Luna into Nightmare Moon. Night Shade locked it away in the ruins of the Frozen North, so it may never cause harm to anyone ever again. He died defending Equestria, and I grieve for him even to this day." She paused for a minute, Luna came up to her and hugged her for comfort.

"Then, I was looking through old documents, and found out that the other three were related to the woman, and there should be descendants on Earth that carry Night Shade's blood. I looked and looked during my trips to Earth, but I could never find any. Until, I found you, Andrew. You're a direct descendant to Night Shade, and that's why I brought you here, to try and get him back." Andrew was utterly shocked at this point.

"W-Wait a minute, you didn't save us because you were being nice, but because of my ancestry?" She nodded silently, Andrew's expression saddened.

"I'm sorry, but that's correct."

"Wait, so why can't I go back to Earth? Why must you keep us here in Equestria?" Andrew asked, in an offensive tone.

"It's because the prophecies say so, Andrew. Must I spell it out for you? You're needed here in Equestria!" Celestia snapped, Andrew crossed his arms.

"Don't get snappy with me woman! You're the one who brought me into this mess in the first place! Hell, if I was left on Earth, I could've been dead! I could've finally joined my dead folks and finally rest in peace! You know how much I've longed for that? Do you understand what it's like to have your whole family killed, and only to have your dead relatives haunt you in your dreams?"

"..."

"That's what I thought, now if you'll excuse me, I must be going." Andrew marched out of the room, completely infuriated. Luna tried to go after him, but was stopped by Celestia's hoof.

"Let him go, he has a lot to think about."

"What about you sister? What will you do now that they've lost your trust?"

"I don't know, Lulu, I'll think of something."

"Well, I guess I should be going. Food's not going to eat itself." I said to myself, hearing my stomach growl louder and louder.

"Indeed. I will see you later. Night Shade disappeared, leaving a trail of smoke in the process.

I climbed down the spiral staircase, making my way to the main dining room. I stopped by a Suit Kiosk to get into my formal attire, which was a Tuxedo this time around. If you're dining with royalty you gotta make yourself presentable, right?

Once I climbed into the Suit Kiosk, the metal plating locked me into place, and the doors closed in front of me. My head was forced to look up and I could hear a minor buzzing noise. I climed out of the machine, revealing a very nice and tidy Tuxedo, the RIG on my back was changed into a civilian RIG, so it didn't have as much bulge to it.

I then made my way to the dining room, where I could see Celestia, sitting at the other end of the table. My team was sitting on the left side, and Shining Armor, Cadance, and another Unicorn Pony I didn't know on the right side. I joined my team on the left side, which was near the end of the table, by Luna, who was sitting at the other end of the table.

"Look, Celestia, I'm sorry." I finally made out, which almost made her spit up her drink she was sipping on.

"I-I'm sorry, what was that?"

"I'm saying I'm sorry."

"I am too, indeed sorry. I don't know why I said such a thing."

"... Friends?" I asked, making everything dead silent.

"Friends."

Everyone on the room "Awww'd," at us, making Celestia blush, but mine couldn't be seen, I've been able to controll that over the years.

"I'm starving, let's eat!" Nick said out loud, literally burrowing his face into his plate full of food. We all laughed as we started eating, and I have to say, the food was rather good, considering that this is upper class dining right here.