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// Chapter 17, The jabber session 
// Story: Walking the plains of Equestria... As a Spartan? 
// by Brother Uriel 
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So, with a new friend in tow, I walk down the hallway and towards another door, had this room repurposed for meeting stuff.

Inside are many black and comfy chairs, and a long table, with a few cups cause I get thirsty a lot.

I walk up to the biggest of the chairs and sit down with a sigh, as 351 floats next to me… I am now an evil villain with his pet, amazing.

But the door then opens as Luna walks in and looks about the room, then at me, which I give an, okay sign to her.

“Glad you didn’t get lost Uh… Luna”

“Oh but we did… several times… alas we needith to know thine plan.” she replied, a stern gaze with a hint of hope in her teal eyes fixed on me and 351.

“My plan! Yes, my plan… the plans of plans… I, don’t have one” I rub the back of my neck a bit sheepishly, “Just… rolling right now”

Luna worked her jaw as if I had given it a good punch, “Rolling with it… that is your plan… thou are bad at plans.” she smiled as she waved a hoof at me, “Let us start with the parasites, how should we go about exterminating them?”

I sigh, tapping my foot a bit as I think, “Extermination of the flood involves more than a few spells… or guns, if the flood are deeply rooted… a glassing of the area is the best chance we have, if you know what glassing the area means.”

“If we assume correctly it means to heat the very soil to turn it and everything upon it either ash or glass.” she replies, tapping her chin.

“Yes and No, the Covenant, a mix of alien races, used large beam weapons to glass entire planets and the population on them, one of said races joined humanity to fight the other races, and had to glass an entire continent to be rid of the flood, but even that didn’t fully work” I sigh as I rest my head on my hand.  

351 looks at me in silence, Serenity and Acid are silent as well, obviously, it’s not a all round nice subject.

“Well then… what about a phoenix, could it infect living fire?” Luna asks, all the while tapping her hoof to her chin.

I huff and sit back in my chair, “That’s just the problem, I know the flood, but this flood could easily be worse than we know… so maybe it could? I have no idea”

“What is your recommendation that would not result in mass genocide?” Luna asks while rubbing her temples, “Bear in mind I am not opposed to a skirmish or just burning them out.”

“The best option? Evacuation, than glass the entire area… mass genocide is almost guaranteed if the flood is allowed to stay, and… well… do you WANT to see hundreds of your people slaughtered and used as more food for those grotesque abominations?”

"Well then, we will need to assess how much of the region is infected before evacuating, our Lunar Guard should suffice to keep our sister from realizing what is going on." Luna replied, tapping a hoof to her chin.

I sigh heavily and sit back and stretch my legs out, “I doubt that will work, the glassing of an area isn’t exactly easy to keep on the quiet side of things… it’s gonna be difficult even finding the mass area” I look at her and shrug.

"Well then, our Lunar Guard should be able to distract her long enough, at least until the glassing begins." Luna replies with a frown, "We dread to think what she will do when she finds out…"

“Throw a hissy fit, no doubt about it, but that’s just my personal opinion” I sit back more as the chair leans back pretty far, “Even then, a glassing isn’t exactly the safest for anything to be there so, we definitely really need to find the location of the flood.”

"And how pray tell shall we go about that?" Luna replies, her brow creasing in thought.

I raise a finger, but I then let it droop as I sigh, “Not sure honestly…”

351 then pipes in, “I bet I can help! We just need to scan the planet!”

I turn my head to look at her, then back at Luna, putting a finger to my chin as I nod a bit, “That could work actually…”  

"Short of when we were banished to thine moon, nopony has ever left the planet before… We would assume ye have a plan?" Luna asks, a small smile playing upon her lips.

351 flies up to her and looks her over before flying back to me, I gain a confused look before she speaks again, “You left the planet? I’m not sure you could, but I can, it would take me.” 

She freezes up for a moment before she goes back to floating normally again, “I believe a few hours.”

I look at her with a smile, “That does solve a massive issue”

"We were hoping to get another look at the stars themselves again… alas perhaps we shall continue that endeavour after the threat has passed." Luna frowned, "Shall we continue?" She waved her hoof towards 351.

I look at her and shrug, “That’s all we can do now at this point, just let 351 do the scan and wait, then we glass the area that the flood inhabit.” I stand and stretch a bit, “Besides, I’m getting kinda hungry and I forget the last time I ate”

Luna nods, a look of grim steel flashing through her eyes as she heads towards the door.

I watch her leave silently, not sure what else to do before I look at 351, who simply floats there, looking back at me before I look away and head for the door.

~~Three hours later~~

I sit in the cafeteria of the facility, it’s… empty, it’s big and empty.

I look all around, empty seats everywhere, and a single tray being in front of me, devoid of food, since I ate it all, I feel better but… It’s odd seeing this place just, deserted.

I stand and pick up the tray and head over to where the others are set, setting my own try on top before I hear a quiet voice speak in my head.

“So… We destroy land to kill it?”

I sigh and look at the empty cafeteria, “It’s all we can do Acid, not much we CAN do, but it’s the best option we have… Not one I like but it’s necessary.”

I hear her sigh, moving a bit as I start to make my way out of the cafeteria.

“But couldn’t I do something?”

I stop before I shake my head, “No, not really, your gonna get bigger and tougher I bet but… The flood is overwhelming, I don’t even think we have a chance.”

“But you said-”

“I lied to her, Alright? I hate lying but Luna doesn’t get it, this planet? It’s not like I can save it, not like anyone can, it's been infected for god knows how long, this thing might be directly inside the core of this planet for all we know.” I clench my fists before I sigh heavily.

“Besides… This can give some ease to others minds knowing we may have a solution… I will figure something out but the flood will fight once it’s provoked, and if this things as bad as I think it is… We may as well give up.”

Acid remains silent before speaking again, “How did they stop it?”

I shut my eyes and sigh again, “Even with more or less two armies fighting it, the flood can easily fend them off… They had to destroy an entire ark, a massively sized station for making weapons that could wipe the galaxy clean of the flood, and all life as we know it, that seemed to kill the flood… or maybe it just delayed them.”

I shrug and continue walking, “But let’s see what we can do, never said I was giving up, it’s a challenge, and challenges can be fun to overcome.”

She sighs after a moment, “I hope we can beat it.”

I smile, “Oh I have a plan if it feels like it won, gonna go out with a final bang.”

I begin down the hallway as the door to the cafeteria shuts behind me.