"Andrew, you need to wake up." I could hear a soft whisper, telling me to awaken from my slumber.

I had no idea who or what it was, and why it was telling me to wake up. I couldn't wake up, because all those tests yesterday that I had gone through worn me out, and it also wore the suit out as well. I couldn't get up, no matter how hard a tried, my body wasn't responding to my demands. I am just not in one of those moods to be getting up, hell, I don't even know what time it is.

I slowly start to flutter my eyes open, but I did not see the same image as when I went to sleep the night before, the room was all white, as if I was stuck in a solitary confinement room. I heard the distant sound of a maniacal laugh, I could not make out whatever it could've been, though it was just on the tip of my tongue.

I got up slowly and look around the room, not expecting to find anything but egg shell white. As a matter of fact, I didn't find anything, just the eerie feeling in my gut that something was wrong.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" I asked, no answer though.

"Helena? Nick? Jhon? Anybody?!" I called out, raising my voice with every name I stated.

"Welcome back, Andrew. We've been waiting for your arrival." I heard a feminine like voice behind me, causing me to whip around to find the source. What I saw wasn't pretty at all, not even one bit. The room started to darken, and the smell of blood filled the air, and the scent only got stronger. Then it hit me like a brick wall. It was Carmine, of all things.

"Carmine? What are you doing here? I thought I ended you!" The last time I fought with the Darkness was up in the mountains, where I fought it in an old temple. Just the thought of it made my brain hurt that much more.

"No, Andrew, you were oh so mistaken. You never ended it, you only delayed the inevitable, far from killing it." Carmine responded to me, I couldn't belive a word she was saying, because I knew she was just a mental hallucination.

I couldn't believe this was happening at all. I thought I got rid of my mental disorder? I'm pretty sure I was cured a very long time ago, if I wasn't mistaken. How is the Darkness able to talk to me and me only? Why in the form of Carmine? I had so many questions to ask, but I only got a light chuckle in return.

"I must be going, Drew. I have a lot of evil to get back to, and there's nothing you can do to stop it!" Carmine kissed my cheek, and then dissipated back into the whiteness of my mind.

I then woke up again, but this time in real-time, hopefully I won't be seeing hallucinations in real-time too. My eyes wandered around the room from the fixed position of my head, seeing that I was still in Canterlot Castle. At least I know that I'm in a safe environment, for now.

I make my way to a little footlocker at the end of my bed, seeing that my clothes were all there, prepared and ready for use. I put them on without hesitation, hoping to get a better feel of my body before I put it under more stress. My fingerless gloves slipped on with ease, and the helmet strap clicked into place. My assault rifle leaned against the footlocker, contents unknown to me at the time. My Desert Eagle in its holster rested on top of the footlocker. I picked it up and fastened it around my right leg, making sure it was tight enough so it wouldn't fall off. I then threw the bullet resistant vest over me, and then I opened the footlocker.

The footlocker was full of my old supplied when I first came to Equestria: an old picture of me and my family, my old laser sidearm, which had been replaced by an old 21st Century Desert Eagle, a few empty magazines, a pulse grenade, and laser ammo for my old sidearm. Though the 22nd Century had its perks, it also had its downs-because the lasers don't have as much stopping power as traditional bullets ever did, and that they can overheat much faster.

I got on one knee as I get all of my stuff together, slinging the rifle over my back, putting loaded magazines into my ammo pouches on either side of me, putting my supplies into my butt pouch, and putting my boonie on for a finishing touch. It was just a normal routine, just as always, but in many ways this was different.

I then got up and walked out the door, slowly closing the door behind me. Once I looked through the multiple windows, I could tell that it wasn't even daytime yet, probably about 0300 if I'm right. Maybe a little past that mark, but that's not the point.

The moment I turn around, in front of me stood multiple night guards patrolling the castle, shining flashlights around that came from their unicorn horns. A little odd if you asked me, but unicorns are able to pull off amazing feats from what I can tell. When they noticed me come down the hallway, all they did was greet me with a salute as I passed by. Nothing special really happened as I made my way to the throne room, just encounters with the night guard.

The long twisting hallway at night was way more complicated to navigate than it was during the day, I really wish I had my night vision right now, but they were being stored in the equipment room on the other side of the castle. Not to mention many other things, such as my hard copies of multiple schematics and blueprints for making and designing new weapons.

As I slowly walked into the throne room, I saw Princess Luna sitting on the throne. The moment she saw me she looked a bit worried for me, I'm still trying to catch up, because we're probably not on the same page right now.

"Ah Andrew, it is good to see you. I hope you are doing well?" She asks cheerfully, I respond with a smile and nod, followed by my own speech.

"I'm doing fine Princess, how about yourself?" I said formally.

"It gets so boring sometimes in the night court, nothing realy happens usually, you being up so early is a first on my behalf."

"Indeed it is Princess, I was just thinking that I go out on a run. I haven't done that in a while, and I'm surely not going to be with this war on my hands."

"Oh yes, the war, how is it that you lost Dodge City to those PMC's or whatever?" She asked, which made my heart sink a little bit. Our loss was not expected, I was foolish to underestimate them too.

"I underestimated their numbers your highness, it won't happen again I can assure you."

"Very well then, enjoy your run." She said, eyeballing me as I headed out the door.

I could almost tell that she was hiding something, I too was hiding something, but she had an advantage because I heard she could read minds. I really hope that mental conditioning will come in handy, I don't want to know that I went through it just for nothing. Well, I guess it did come in handy every now and then, like that one time I was interrogated by the enemy when I was in Zebrica. I was taught that pain is only an illusion, and that it's also temporary. It also helps me understand how I'm still sane after all these years, with Carmine taunting me and everything.

As I start to move my legs along the beaten path, I couldn't help but to listen to the sounds of the early morning; birds chirping, wind blowing, and the smell of fresh grass filled my lungs. I then synced into motion, locking myself at this pace for the next hour or so, jogging around the track that I never knew existed.

"No matter how much you try and escape me, Andrew, you will not succeed," Carmine hissed inside of my head, "you're only delaying the inevitable."

"I'm not running away this time, Carmine," I retorted back, "despite the fact that I'm running right now doesn't mean anything."

Oh the irony, though I'm not running away from my fears no longer, I am technically running physically. Well, this was certainly awkward.

"We will met again on the battlefield, Andrew. When that time comes, I will be waiting." She whispered.

"Come at me, bro." I say out loud, not intentional for the ears around me. The other guards who were running as well as the weight training ponies all look at me in a funny way.

Author's Notes:

Welp, we're fucked.