It had been three weeks since Renko arrived in a land filled with ponies, he had spent three weeks learning everything he could about them, he had been here three weeks and still couldn't figure out why he was here. His sweat was beading in a small pool below his face as he did handstand-push-ups next to his bed, he may be a civilian now but military habits were hard for him to break, he had been speaking with a unicorn that went by the name of Shining Armor for a chance to be a part of the royal guard when his final evaluation came. So far Captain Armor had been intrigued, even hopeful, about how Renko could use his powers to assist in the defense of Equestria. Renko had been completely cooperative to a point, he had no problem informing Twilight Sparkle of his powers and he had even demonstrated a few for her, but no matter how much they tried to get him to let them examine the TMD he refused.

"This device is incredibly powerful, and dangerous... It has the ability to manipulate the flow of time to a very drastic extent. This kind of power is not something that should be available to anyone... I just happened to have obtained it because of an event that completely reshaped my world." It was the answer that he gave them every time, and after a while they got the point and had stopped asking, but today Twilight had made a point of showing up and asking Renko why... why he refused to share the knowledge of his power. After letting the mare stand in silence until he had finished his exercise he finally replied.

"...Imagine being able to go back in time to any point in history... such as when Princess Luna became nightmare moon..." he began, and continued when Twilight indicated she understood, "...Then imagine what would happen if you had convinced her not to become Nightmare moon, how much different would your life be if you hadn't had to overcome the obstacles that she had placed before you... would you have your friends? would you even be Celestia's protegee?" The stunned, thoughtful look was all Renko needed to know that she began to understand, "...A radiation spike let me travel back in time fifty years before I had gotten stranded on the Island of Katorga-12, I saved a man who was supposed to have died in a burning building and he lived on to take over the world with weapons more powerful than anyone thought was possible, I had to use this device to not only traverse the island, but time itself to fix what I had screwed up...and no matter what I did, time remained as messed up all because I saved a man who was supposed to die... I spent what felt like a lifetime on that island, I had no idea how many times I made a journey through hordes of flesh-eating mutants... I had lost count of the soldiers I had killed... I just wanted to get off that god-forsaken rock..." Renko's gaze dropped to his feet and he sighed, in that moment... he looked like he had taken on years to his appearance, and Twilight felt guilty about bringing up the subject.

Twilight had a look of pity on her face as she saw the man, who only a mere five minutes ago looked like a healthy soldier, seem to age into a veteran of a war that never seemed to end. She bit her lip as she tried to think of something that could possibly make Renko feel better, but only one thought came to mind, and she decided to go with it.

She closed her eyes as she quickly gave Renko a tight hug, he had jumped in surprise at the sudden contact, but he made no attempt to break the hug... instead he held his hands around her, saying a silent prayer to whatever fates were watching him, thanking fate for giving him a chance to feel human again.

After a few minutes the two of them ended the hug and Renko tried to say 'thank you' but the words seemed to get choked up in his throat, Twilight placed a hoof on his knee and explained to him.

"It's ok, you're my friend now... And I knew that you needed somepony to help you feel better again... that's what friends are for." She said with a smile, "I'll see you in Celestia's court this afternoon... Today is the day you get a chance to become a true member of our society." She gave a small squeal of joy at the end of her statement, but Renko placed his hand on her hoof before she could leave. He had a slightly sad, but hopeful, look in his eyes.

"No, I'll never be able to be a true member of your society... I'm a human, and there are no humans left on this world, but I'll be happy to be an honorary member... that could at least help my chances on getting a spot in the military, since I'm only good at being a soldier." He chuckled as he finished his sentence, coaxing a chuckle from Twilight as well before she left. Renko now sat alone in his house, with nothing but the memories of a world made of nightmares and the memories of the past three weeks, despite everything he had been through he only wanted to keep being a soldier.

"...At least I'll be a soldier with friends..." He muttered to himself, remembering his old captain, "...you know what they say about military intelligence..." he muttered as he remembered what his friend had said before an EMP burst had thrown them to the island that started their nightmare.

His attention was taken by a sharp knocking at the door, he quickly got off his bed and went downstairs to answer it. Sure enough, when he opened the door, there were two royal guards waiting to escort him to the court where the final verdict on whether or not he should be a permanent member of their society would take place. He quickly locked his door and let the guards know he was ready to leave, he followed them to a carriage that took them all directly to the front gate of the castle. After he got out of the castle the guards paid the carriage driver and continued to take him to the court, Renko spotted several of the guards that he had begun to make friends with since he had been considered an ambassador, they walked at a brisk pace but Renko managed to cast wayward glances at the architecture and artwork of the building.

The large double-doors of the courtroom swung open from the inside to allow them entrance, Renko took the initiative and stepped into the room, once inside the doors he saw the two alicorns Luna and Celestia... along with several other ponies he had guessed to be nobles. Many of the nobles looked absolutely disgusted at the fact that they had to grace him with their presence, a certain white unicorn with a blonde mane seemed to be outright horrified that he was in attendance, while many others were quite intrigued by the being now standing before them. Most of the nobles began to murmer among themselves as to what they would guess would happen to Renko, whether he would be banished from the land, put to death because he was too dangerous to keep around, some even thought that he may get off the hook and be allowed to live among them.

Celestia cleared her throat and immediately the murmurs silenced, she looked around the room at each member in attendance before looking to Renko.

"You are in this court today to learn whether or not you are allowed to remain within our borders, this decision has been given time to fully assess how much of a risk you are to equestrian society, and whether you have the rational thought that can keep that risk down... do you understand the reason for the court?" She questioned, she never really liked being surrounded by all these stuck-up nobles... but she did have to make the decision publicly known, she wanted to get moving quickly with the trial so that she could return to the breakfast that was being made for her and her guests: The Elements of Harmony.

"Yes I do Your Highness..." Renko replied with a bow, of all the things he had learned while he was waiting for his guards to assess him, he had made sure to learn how to address the princess in public.

"Good, now... upon initial investigations you were found armed with a weapon of a lethal variety, correct?" She really wanted to finish this in time for breakfast.

"Maybe Miss Applejack even helped the cooks prepare something nice..." she thought before Renko's answer interrupted her train of thought.

"Yes, that is correct..." He replied without showing any emotion.

"What kind of weapon was it?" She had to stop her mind from drifting off to breakfast if she wanted to get this done.

"A Centurion model E99 revolver Your Majesty..." Once again in the same emotionless tone.

"Was this weapon used in any attempt on a pony's life before you were apprehended?" She knew the answer, and had even had her guards triple-check every pony between Ponyville and Canterlot to make sure.

"No it wasn't... such a weapon was designed only for personal defense." Renko's answers came as if he had expected such a line of questioning, he stood with his hands clasped behind his back in a stance that kept him from feeling too much fatigue from standing. Fortunately the rest of the danger questions went by quick, each one being proved by the royal guards that he had not made any attempt to murder anypony.

"Describe your encounter in Ponyville..." She ordered in a gentle tone. Renko obliged and explained in detail how he had been simply looking for a place to rest when he had heard the three young ponies call for help, two other ponies had already made it to the scene before he had and he had decided to watch for an opening in the creature's defenses. When he got to the part where he used the TMD to bring the creature down by aging it rapidly several of the nobles had worried looks, and the white unicorn with the blonde mane stared at him with a hateful look in his eyes, but they were reassured when Rainbow Dash and Applejack testified to the fact that he had not made any attempt to hurt them.

Content with the information, Celestia called the squad of guards that had been in charge of Renko to know where they stood on the matter, after hearing her guards' opinions she dismissed them and readied herself to give the final verdict.

"Sergeant Nathaniel Renko..." When Celestia addressed him he stood a bit straighter and resisted the urge to salute, "...From the information presented to me, with this court as witness, I grant you full citizenship under the condition that you follow all laws that we have in place." Renko actually had to release the oxygen that he had been holding hostage as he heard her speak and he decided to thank her in return.

"It is an honor to be a part of your society... I humbly accept this offer that you have bestowed upon me." He took a deep bow as he spoke, doing his best to keep the guards around him from getting tense, he wasn't doing it out of code though... he was doing it out of true respect. Celestia dismissed the court and invited Renko and the Elements of Harmony to sit in at breakfast with her and her sister.

Renko sat at the table, only staring at the plate of food that was in front of him, his brow had been furrowed into a state of confusion as he tried to puzzle something out. Luna was the first to notice.

"Sergeant Renko... is there something wrong with the food?" she asked with concern. Renko shook his head as if snapping out of a daze.

"Wha- Oh! No, there's nothing wrong... I've just had troubled thoughts as of late..." He explained. Since he had started living here he had to pretty much become a vegetarian, which meant he had to stop eating cooked meat, but he'd had no problems with the conversion since the nightmare he had witnessed had left him without a desire for meat ever again. His thoughts focused on the dark presence he had felt a while ago, one that had begun to tug at the back of his thoughts in recent days.

"I believe I know how you feel..." Luna replied with a sigh.

"Don't suppose you happen to have an idea on what could help then?" He questioned with a half-hearted smile. Luna tossed a glance at Twilight, who was one of the ponies now paying attention to their conversation, before she began speaking.

"I found out from a special friend of mine that all it takes is friends to help get you through troubled times." She smiled as she spoke and somehow Renko felt a bit better, somehow... he believed what she was saying.

"It's been a long time since I put my trust into anyone... and maybe now I finally have a reason to... She seems to know a similar experience, I wouldn't doubt it since Twilight told me about her time as Nightmare Moon, such traumatic events can start to eat at anyone's mind." He thought with a dash of happiness. Before he could continue his thoughts Twilight voiced an thought that had been bothering her for the past several minutes.

"Pinkie? Are you ok? You haven't spoken a word since you sat down and you haven't even touched your food?" Everyone now looked at the pink mare who continued to sit with a silent smile, until she deflated like a baloon, making everyone start looking around in surprise for the energetic mare. After a few seconds passed and everyone was beginning to get ready to plan a search party a blur of pink came down from the celing shouting...

"SSSSSSUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIISSSSEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

The resounding crash from her impact had startled the man she landed in front of and he was sent backwards on a collision course with the floor. The second Renko felt the back of his head slam against the floor his vision blurred and he could only see splotches of color as his vision faded to black, he heard several voices... but they were too muffled for him to make out clearly... As his vision faded he felt the dark presence once again, this time it spoke to him with a demonic-sounding hiss.

"...I have everything I need... Except the true TMD... But since it will only work while you use it... I will find reasons to make you serve me until your usefulness has run out... Fortunately for you and your 'friends' I don't need you yet and you can spend some time recovering from your injuries." Renko tried to ask the feeling a question, through thought or voice, but nothing came to him since he couldn't think straight or hear the sound of his own voice.

His dulled ability to feel gave him hope as he lost consciousness, he prayed that the thing he now laid on was a hospital bed...