Chapter 1: Promotion {REWRITE}

Chapter 1: Promotion

Time: 8:34pm Yr. 2853, October 28th
Location: Drop ship, deep space

"Hey Lieutenant, what do you think we were sent out there for?" Spoke a voice filled with curiosity to his superior.

The man in question, was Jake Carson. Who was 20 years old and a second class Lieutenant leading a squad back from a recent mission. He stood about 5 feet 9 inches tall, with short brown hair and the normal build of the average soldier. Jake was currently wearing a uniform composed of a dark blue shirt with patches on it's arms and some badges on the upper chest, along with a pair of completely black pants. He left his uniform hat back on the ship at command, hating the idea of wearing it.

Jake turned around to look at the squad member who had spoken up. He was sitting in a seat that was merged into the wall, next to a few more forming a row. The rest of the squad were either sitting in their seats, talking, or sleeping. They were all inside the belly of a small drop ship that was on it's way back to their central control.

"What do you mean?" Jake answered back.

The questioned man looked straight into his superior's blue eyes. "Well sir, we were assigned to your squad, but never told why we were going to the planet. It was a little uncalled for."

Nodding back, Jake lets out a small sigh and spoke back. "I understand, but that information is classified."

"Yes sir." Said the marine, sitting back and loosening his armor a bit knowing he won't get the answer he wanted.

Jake continue to stand in the center of the ship, watching his squad as they eagerly awaited for the trip to end. He had orders to go to a planet named Sirus with a squad and make sure everything was running smoothly with the people living there. However, he was also ordered to make sure that nothing was in the way of what the planet was really being used for, as it was no ordinary colony planet.

"Sir." Spoke a pilot behind him.

Jake slowly turned around and nodded to the saluting pilot, "At ease, what is it?" He asked the co-pilot with a eyebrow raised.

The pilot quickly dropped his hand to his side and began explaining, "Sir we are approaching the Starstreaker, and awaiting your orders."

Nodding thankfully, Jake followed the pilot to the cockpit, and the co-pilot hastily sat down and strapped himself in. Jake gazed past the co-pilot and out the window, letting his eyes rest on an object in the distance.The object in question was, in fact, a large spaceship called the Starstreaker, or SS for short. It was a large Starcruiser that was equipped with automatic turrets which where littered about the surfaces of the ship, along with many other amazing weapons. The ship itself had around three hundred thousand occupants.

"Alright, turn on the comms." Jake commanded the pilots.

He watched them as one of the pilots flipped a small switch, causing a holographic screen to appear just in front of him. A second or two passed with the screen showing nothing more than static, when the image suddenly shifted and focused, showing a clear transmission of a man in the screen. Jake immediately raised his hand in a smart salute towards the man.

"Sir!" He declared at the screen.

"At ease." Muttered the man in the screen, "So tell me, did all go as planned Lieutenant?" He inquired.

Jake, lowering his salute, quickly answered, "Yes sir, everything is running very smoothly on the planet and there doesn't seem to be any kind of problems." He finished.

"Good good, and what about your other orders?" The man asked with interest.

Jake hesitated, checking to ensure the door behind himself was indeed closed, before answering, "Sir, the weapon is coming along nicely. It should be fully operational in a weeks time."

The figure nodded in satisfaction, "That's good news to hear Lieutenant." The man spoke as he reached forward, about to end the transmission.

Jake began to turn around when he was suddenly stopped by the mans voice.

"Lieutenant?" Expressed the man on the screen, causing Jake to quickly turn around and look back towards the figure.

"Yes sir?" Voiced Jake with uncertainty.

"Congratulations. You have been promoted to the rank of a First Lieutenant." The man finished as he dismissed the transmission. Jake blinked a few times, tuning in to what just happened.

Whilst he was registering his thoughts, one of the pilots turned around on their seat. "Congratulations on the promotion sir." The pilot chipped in smiling.

"T-thanks." He replied with false joy.

Jake began making his way back to the cabin, shaking his head on the way in an attempt to dismiss his worry. The cabin doors split left and right as he approached them, allowing him access to his squad again. Looking around, Jake let out a small sigh.

Clearing his throat, be began shooting out orders. "Alright boys! Prepare for docking procedures!" He ordered his squad team.

******************************

Time: 9:02pm Yr. 2853, October 28th
Location: Inside the Starstreaker

Jake made his way through a set of automatic doors, gaining access to a room he hadn't seen for ages. The inside of the room was lit a decent amount less than the rest of the ship. There was no windows, but the room was quite large, about half the size of a gym. There were three chairs near the back of the room, across from the entrance. Sitting in the chairs sat the captains of the ship. Jake took in a small breath and began walking towards the seated figures, stopping about ten feet in-front of them. The man in the center stood up, revealing a badge in his right hand.

"For your outstanding performance, we hereby grant you, Jake Carson, the rank of First Lieutenant along with both it's benefits and duties. Congratulations." Exclaimed the man presenting the badge to Jake.

"Thank you, it's my pleasure." He responds with a smile.

Nodding back, the man continued. "Your very welcome. We can expect to see you bright and early tomorrow for the medical procedures?." The man questioned.

"Sir? What do you mean?" Jake asked back with worry evident in his voice.

The man who had presented the badge, along with the others that were sitting, gave him a strange look. "You mean you didn't know? Strange no one told you..." The figure said pausing for a moment, "Anyway, we have changed the rules of the Genetic modification requirements. We now allow people of the rank First Lieutenant or higher to be modified." The man concluded looking back into Jake's eyes.

Jake couldn't do anything but stare back at him. A few moments passed before he finally spoke up. "Sir, why did you move the ranking requirements lower?"

Shaking his head slightly, the man slowly opened his mouth. "That's classified. I'm sorry but you have no choice. We need stronger fighters, and we are still losing to that damn Verix scum." He finished putting a bit of Malice into the last words.

Shaking his head, he answered solemnly. "Yes sir."

*********************************

Time: 9:02pm Yr. 2853
Location: Planet Sirus, Underground Laboratory

"So how's it look?" Asked the officer stationed in the lab.

A man in a lab coat below turned to look back to the officer. "So far it looks like everything is running normally." The scientist responds smiling.

"Good to hear, lets fire it up for test procedures." The officer ordered.

The scientist nodded and began typing on the console in front of him. "Yes sir, I'm getting good readings here. 10% better efficiency than our last test."

Taking in a large breath and holding it, the scientist slowly pressed the red 'INITIATE' button on the screen with his finger. Almost immediately the sound of buzzing electricity and whirring gears could be heard in the room.

"ATTENTION! PREPARING TO FIRE." The AI system warns on a number of speakers.

The scientist took a moment to look at what they had created. In-front of them stood a large machine composed of hundreds of thousands of tiny lights, buttons and wires. At the end was a large collection of massive Tesla coils, which had began to spark all around the rims, causing a bolt of purple electricity to shoot across from one side of the rim to the other. The process repeated itself until the previously empty space in the center of the coils now housed a constant purple like energy, that constantly fluctuated with power.

The scientist looked into the portal like anomaly and turned to the officer. "The anomaly is currently powered and stable."

"Aim into sector 15. Don't want to take any chances firing even close to charted space." The Officer ordered without taking his eyes off the portal.

The scientist put in the correct calculations and the whole base started to shift, aiming the weapon towards the target sector of space. A large red fire button appeared on screen, and after a moment of hesitation the man pushed down on the screen, causing the console to light up red.

"FIRING IN 3.... 2.... 1...." A large explosion screamed out of the machine as it let loose a very powerful shot of pure power. Everyone watched as the purple line disappeared from sight.

Chapter 2: Procedures {REWRITE}

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Chapter 2: Procedures

Time: 4:59AM Yr. 2853, October 29th
Location: Orbit around Earth, Starstreaker, Private sleeping quarters

*Beeeeeeeeep*
*Beeeeeeeeep*
*Beeeee-*

Jake quickly swat his hand to the left, silencing the infernal beeping noise. He sat up with a slight grumble as he began rubbing his face in an attempt to wake himself up.

"My favorite part of the day..." He growls with sarcasm, "Morning...." He slowly shook his head and gave out another yawn before slowly standing up, "Well... time to get to work." He said with annoyance as he made his way to the bathroom.

The room Jake resided in on the SS was pretty basic, considering his rank. On a normal occasion anyone of his rank would be offered much more luxury, however due to the large population already dwelling inside the ship they had to make a few cuts. However Jake didn't care too much as he wasn't in to all the flashy expensive stuff, he liked simple things. The room in question was a decently sized looking bedroom with a twin sized bed and a single bathroom. A few drawers for articles of clothing and whatnot were on the opposite side of the bathroom door.

__--20 minutes later--__

Jake exited the showers as he began drying himself off with the nearest towel. After a minute or so he wrapped the towel around himself and exited the bathroom, making his way towards the dresser where he pulled the top compartment open. Before he had left, Jake was ordered to dress 'Normally' for the occasion. In reality they didn't want to replace a uniform if something happened to it during medical procedures. Reaching into the compartment he pulled out a pair of older jeans along with a black shirt to go with it.

"Eh... what the hell, haven't wore some jeans in a while, and they could use a bit of love." He pondered aloud as he dropped his towel and slipped on a comfortable pair of boxers, followed by the jeans and shirt. "Still good for a bit longer." He said to himself while he gave a small stretch as something caught his eye. Above the drawer hung a mirror with a reflection of the slightly closed bathroom door behind him. Turning around he noticed the object hanging on the bathroom door. "One day, but not today." He whispered to himself as he looked at his fathers leather jacket, unworn by anyone for years. "Besides, not sure if it even fits me." He continued to whisper to himself as he made his way to the jacket and picked it up off the door. He began to remove it from it's hanger when his eye noticed the clock on the table near his bed.

5:24am, six minutes until he was due to start his enhancements.

"Aw... SHIT!" He yelled out as he threw the jacket onto his bed and ran for the door. Jake quickly made his way through the bowels of the large ship in hopes he wasn't late. He powered his way past people walking around the halls idly talking with each other. As he approached the set of double automatic doors, he quickly regained his composure and let out a breath he didn't notice he was holding. He began walking towards the doors when they suddenly opened.

"I don't know whe-" A person in a white lab coat began but stopped himself as he walked through the doors, locking his eyes on Jake. His face turned from annoyance to delight as he quickly walked toward Jake.. "Ah! Lieutenant, nice of you to make it!" He exclaimed with what Jake picked up as fake enthusiasm.

The man offered a hand which Jake quickly accepted and shook firmly. "Glad to be here, sorry for being late... I had some... things to attend to." Jake said with a smile.

"It's quite alright, you're only a few minutes late, now follow me, I'll show you where you will be sitting." He insisted as he motioned Jake to follow.

Jake followed the man closely behind and into the large room. The whole room was a sterile white and completely empty except for the single white chair in the center of the room. The chair looked like it was recyclable and had straps that would hold down a patients arms and legs.

'Comforting' Jake thought as he looked away from the chair.

The top of the room, which was around 30 feet high, was a glass window with what looked to be a bunch of people who were going to be watching the operation.

"Do you just want me to go sit down now...? Or...." Jake questioned the man walking in front of him, causing the man to stop and turn around.

"Yes, please go and sit down, I will be with you shortly." He answered back as he turned and walked away from Jake and towards a door on the opposite side of the room.

Jake made his way over to the chair and gave it a quick look over, noticing all the different restraints on the object.

'It looks as if it would be able to hold down a superhuman.... wait...' Jake chuckled a bit and hit is head with his palm.

Suddenly the sound of loud footsteps n the polished floor caught his attention. He turned and saw a few doctors walking towards him.

"Now, lets get you set up shall we?" One of them said with a slight smile.

Chapter 3: Fight for Survival {REWRITE}

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Sorry for the LONG as hell wait. I have been really... well... lazy lately. But I decided I should really get down and write this. I have had the idea's for a while it's just because of my sheer laziness that I haven't done anything.

Chapter 3: Fight for Survival

Time: Unknown, Yr. 2853, October 30Th (Halloween Eve)
Location: Starstreaker, Unknown area

*BANG*

Jake shot open his eyes at the sudden noise, holding his breath while he waited. After what felt like forever to him, he quietly released his pent up breath and slowly turned his head to the right, noticing where he was.

'Why am I in my room? I thought-' A loud sound that seemed a little out of place cut off his train of thought, immediately causing him to raise his guard. He began to slowly lean forward, despite the slight pain he felt in his gut, and surveyed the room.

"Everything seems fine... probably some newbies messing around the halls." He whispered to himself as he slowly got up and gave a stretch. "Oh jeez... I feel so... broken..." He stated as he felt a sudden feeling of nausea wash over him.

Making his way to his dresser he quickly got changed. Suddenly, he noticed the hall outside his room has remained quiet for fall too long, especially considering its usually impossible to get to sleep with the clangs of boots on metal. Turning around he noticed the leather jacket hanging on the door to his bathroom, causing him to let out a small smile as he approached it and brushed his fingers against it, causing a small piece of folded paper to fall out of it.

Jake quickly took a step back and looked at the note. A sudden feeling of anger washed over him once he realized someone had touched his jacket while he had slept. He slowly bent over and picked up the note, unfolding it as he straightened back up. He could feel his blood run cold as he noticed a dried red smear on the corner of the paper. He began fumbling with the note in an attempt to open it faster. After he finally opened it, he quickly began reading the scribbled words on the page.

Jake,

You need to get out of here, I packed you a few things in the bag but we can't afford to try and carry you out. They haven't noticed us in this room yet, but i'm not sure how long that will last. I'll break the lock on the outside when we leave and hope that's enough.

I'm sorry.

Upon finishing the note his gaze fell upon the door to his room, where sitting next to it was the very backpack mentioned. Without hesitation he ran across the room making a lot of noise on the way and pried it open, looking inside. It contained a total of three grenades, two of them plasma, a half a week's supply of dried food, and a plasma pistol along with three full energy cartridges, some of the more powerful weaponry the humans have developed over the years.

'What the hell is going on... why do I have this... what was with the note?!' He screamed in his mind as he attempted to calm his breathing. 'It's all okay... they're just messing with me... I'm still weak from the enhancements yesterday and they thought it'd be funny to play a joke on me' He thought to himself as he took a hold of the backpack. Suddenly the door next to him slowly creaked open.

Jake let out a small chuckle as he spoke up. "Okay, okay you got me-" He stopped himself as he chocked back on sudden fear as he stared straight into a pair of crimson eyes through the slightly opened door. It gave out a deafening screech and kicked the door open, causing Jake to be knocked back, still grasping the backpack.

Landing with a loud THUD he quickly looked up and saw what had knocked him back. In the doorway stood the deformed body of their hated enemy, a Verix scout. It's body looked like a human's skeleton which was hunched over, making its back spinal cord extend upwards a bit further with a couple spikes, while the whole thing was also smoothed out to give it a more glossy look. However most of it was covered in a strange blue armor. Jake could see right through it's chest and noticed the center of it's spine, which glowed a crimson red just like the eyes, and pulsed from the bottom up as often as a heartbeat would. Jake shifted his eyes to it's facial features. He noticed how It's eyes were glowing red with a shutter like mechanic that went off every few moments, as if it is recording everything.

It began to reach to it's right and grab something at it's side, causing Jake to snap out of his frozen state and pull out the pistol from the open backpack. He quickly flipped the switch on the side of the gun and listened as It came to life with a slight purr. He quickly took aim for it's head and pulled back on the trigger.

The gun made an audible noise, indicating there wasn't any ammunition left. Jake shouted out a few choice words as he jumped to his feet with the backpack in his other hand.

He ran as fast as he could to the bathroom, sparing one more look at the creature again just as he reached the door and noticed as it pointed something at him as a loud sound filled the area. Instant pain burned into his leg as he tumbled forward into the bathroom. He began biting down on nothing to keep himself from yelling out in pain as he got up on one foot and pulled the door shut, locking it.

He fell back down gasping in pain and holding his leg as he gave it a look over. He promptly noticed just above his knee housed a very bad burn that looked as though it had reached the bone. He snapped his sight away from the leg as he picked the gun back up and pushed the button on the barrel. It emitted a hissing sound from the bottom of the contraption as a heavy metal piece fell out. Jake quickly pulled out a new one from the backpack and shoved it in the bottom just as he began hearing something outside the door try the handle.

The gun let out a light beep as a little green light showed up at the back, just above where he was holding it. He looked back up at the door and waited. Moments of silence passed until he heard it take a step back as something hit the floor.

'It's reloading...' He thought to himself as he pushed off the ground and readied the gun in his right hand. He unlocked the door with haste and shoved it open with his left arm as he saw the monstrosity put a new cartridge in it's weapon. It looked up at him with a hiss as Jake quickly brought the gun up to it's head and pulled the trigger. The gun let out a decent amount of kick as the machine lurched back and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

Jake limped back into the bathroom with renewed vigor and snatched up the backpack, bringing it back into the bedroom. "This isn't good... this isn't good... what the hell happened to this place while I was out!?" He yelled aloud as as he quickly covered his mouth. He silently cursed himself as he looked back at the body. A strange bluish liquid was seeping out of it's dis-configured head. Jake limped over and took the gun from it metallic claw, throwing it in the backpack.

Jake spun around and snatched the leather jacket off the bathroom door. "Probably gonna die today... so I don't see why the hell not." He whispered to himself as he put the jacket on. He slung the backpack over his shoulder as he limped to the doorway that was closed again for some reason and grabbed the handle with his left hand. Leaning against the wall to the left of the door with the gun in his right hand, he slowly peeked out the doorway and into the hallway. His heart dropped into the pits of his stomach as began to register what he was seeing.

"I need to get off this ship..."

Chapter 4: Escape Plan {REWRITE}

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Chapter 4: Escape Plan

Time: 11:58Pm, Yr. 2853, October 30Th (Night before Halloween)
Location: Starstreaker

Jake gazed down the hallway outside his room. Littered everywhere was dozens of bodies, both of human and Verix alike, but mostly composed of humans. He steadied himself as he opened the door fully and limped out the door and down the hallway. As he walked, or hopped, he kept his left hand against the wall, supporting himself as he walked around each body, not wanting to step on anyone. He looked around as he weaved through the bodies but quickly averted his gaze.

'All of my friends... co-workers.... gone...' He thought to himself as he tried to keep himself strong.

However, everything was much harder due to the fact he was still recovering from the last day. The wound on his leg didn't help either. He shook his head, increasing his pace until he made it to the end of the hall before he heard a noise. He stuck himself to the corner, waiting. He heard it again, it sounded like, coughing. He quickly peeked around the corner looking for it's source when he noticed a slightly open door. Jake quickly, but quietly, made his way to the door and listened closely, he could hear a slight wheezing noise. As he opened the door it revealed a man sitting against the wall, blood everywhere. Before Jake had a chance to react the man brought his gun up and pointed it right at him causing Jake to cover his face with his arm. After a few moments he pulled his arm down and looked at the man, he was smiling.

"God damn... *hack cough* someone else who's still breathing?" He said in a smug tone while he dropped his gun.

Jake quickly limped to his side and knelled down, looking the man over. He noticed he had multiple wounds covering his unoccupied arm, both legs, and his lower chest.

"My god... what the hell happened here?" Jake asked the man back.

The man shook his head. "If I wasn't on the command bridge I wouldn't even know, it happened so fast." He said as he coughed some more, "....anyway, the Verix, one of their... their battleships had ambushed us, we don't know how they found us, but I'm pretty sure almost everyone who isn't off this ship is already dead. And earth? Well, I think that's a goner." He said with a sad tone.

Jake looked at him curiously. "What? Why?"

"Well..." The man began, "Just before the attack, we set our coordinates to return home, well now that they have the ship... it's kinda really bad luck for us isn't it?" He said with a bit of a smile before his face turned serious again. "But now that you're here, you still have a chance to get off this ship and warn them. Tell them what is going to happen. This ship, with the speed it is going and with the hope the Verix have NO idea how to use it, will make it there in a week give or take, you need to get there." He held his good arm up as he gave another cough. As he dropped his arm he saw the blood plastered on it. "Oh that's not good..."

"Come on, I'll walk you to the escape ships." Jake said as he reached for the man only to be pushed away.

"No, I'm already dead, go on get out of here before more show up. Go give em' hell." He said faintly.

Jake shook his head. 'I can't just leave him here...' Jake thought as he looked over his wounds, before furrowing his brow in anger.

"No way, come on, we're getting out of here together." He stated as he looked at the mans drooped head.

No answer.

"Hello?" Jake asked as he held his fingers to his neck. No pulse.

Jake felt anger burn into his features as he began to see red. He grabbed the weapon from the mans grasp and left the room, forgetting the pain in his legs. He was going to make them pay.

He ran down the hallway towards the escape ships. He made it there he pulled the two guns from his side straps as the door slid open. He looked inside the small room where there were multiple doors, each door leading to it's own escape ship Before he could get the chance at looking around more he heard a loud metallic screech. He turned his gaze to the left and saw multiple Verix fighters, each holding their own rifles. In an instant, Jake dove forward and hid behind a few stacked boxes and waited. He attempted to take a peek around the corner and immediately pulled back, the spot where he was smoldered with a blue glow. He looked to his left beside him, noticing a small metal dustpan and picked it up. Slowly, he lifted it past the box, watching as it got shot instantly. The moment the dustpan got vaporized, he leaned out from cover with the weapons.

His arms seemed to move faster than he could think as he pulled the triggers, allowing both guns to fire and ripping into the body of the first enemy who was just standing in the open. It's now lifeless body fell to the ground with a loud thud, as the other two fighters came out of cover and lined up their sights on him. Time seemed to slow down for Jake, he saw the shots coming for him, the bright blue heat of them drawing closer. He quickly holstered his weapons and dove forward, causing the shots to soar over him as he landed between the two Verix. With them on both his left and right he quickly elbowed the one to the left causing it to lurch back a bit. He turned his attention to the right, spinning a bit on his heels and punching it in the chest, making it lean forward as he kicked with his leg behind him, knocking the one behind him off it's feet. Before it even hit the ground, he uppercut the Verix in front. Making it fall back onto the ground and immediately stomped his foot, caving it's skull as blue blood and metal exploded around the ground. Jake then spun and drew his weapon from his right holster, aimed it to the other one's head and pulled the trigger. Creating a satisfying pop sound as it went straight through it's head, causing the machine to crumple to the ground.

Jake stood there, panting as he tried to catch his breath. As the adrenaline receded he made his way to the first body as he grabbed it's rifle and made his way to one of the ship's doors. The doors opened before him as he walked through them and towards a control panel, pressing a green button in the center.

"Confirming identity, Identity confirmed as First Lieutenant Jake Carson, how may I help you today?" Asked a female voice from the ship.

"Hello Lucy, I would like you to download a copy of yourself into this ship, just in case. This ship's security has been compromised and we need to leave, scramble any info you think the Verix could get and store it in here. When you're done lets go." Jake said as he turned and walked out of the ship.

"Yes sir, commencing download." Lucy said aloud.

Jake looked around, making sure that nothing would sneak up on him as he noticed a bit of movement on his right. Before he had a chance to look pain struck him in his chest. Looking to the right as he fell he noticed a badly damaged Verix fighter. He looked past it to the two bodies that lay still. The first one he shot never died. As fast he could he rolled, dodging a few weapon shots as he held his chest. On his knees he heard the thing drop it's weapon and run at him. He spun around as he tripped it and got to his feet. As he went for the final blow the monster moved it's head, dodging the hit and punching him in the head. A ringing sound went through his ears as he fell off the machine, looking up as his tunnel vision increased. Jake began to back away trying to escape as the fighter recovered and stood back up. The Verix began to run forward, only to be stopped by two doors. As Jake tried to look around he noticed he had moved back into the ship.

"Commencing blast off in five seconds... navigation computer damaged, engage manual control?" Lucy rang out over the speakers.

Jake attempted to talk, but could feel his consciousness pulling away.

"Three seconds until hyper drive.... sir?" Lucy voiced again.

"An...y...where..." Jake wheezed out.

"Commencing hyper drive to destination NOT SPECIFIED.... Increasing gravity." Lucy ordered as Jake felt himself stick to the ground.

Moments before darkness took over, he saw the Verix fighter as it was pounding on the door just as the window began to crack... and he was out.

**********************************

Time: 1:24Am, October 31St (Halloween/Nightmare Night)
Location: Equestria

It was a late night in Equestria as Twilight walked home with a sleeping dragon on her back. It had been quite the day, as she had been out all night preparing for Nightmare night which was tomorrow. She had been out with her friends helping decorate everything in town and ready it for Luna's arrival tomorrow. As Twilight made it to the library she noticed a light overhead. Looking up she saw a beautiful shooting star. She watched as it glowed bright purple and streaked across the sky. She had never seen anything like it. As it went she closed her eyes as she made a wish.

'I already have almost everything in my life I have ever wanted... including my wonderful friends, so I just wish...' She paused for a moment. 'I wish for happiness, and to stay happy' She thought to herself as she opened her eyes.

The star had disappeared, and with it, her wish. Keeping the slight smile on her face she looked back at the door, opening it with her magic and walked in, gently closing it behind her. As she walked up the steps she lifted the baby dragon off her back with her wings, and levitated him with her magic. She lightly put him down on his bed and tucked him in, giving him a kiss on the forehead.

"Sweet dreams Spike." She said as she made her way toward her room.

As she walked in she quietly closed the door and made way to her bed as she pulled down the covers with her magic. Jumping into the bed she then pulled the covers over herself with her hooves. 'Tomorrow will be wonderful' She thought to herself as she dozed off to sleep.

A few moments later, a mysterious object collided into the earth, and into the dark Everfree.

Chapter 5: Definitely not earth {REWRITE}

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Chapter 5: Definitely not Earth

Time: Unknown, October 31St (Halloween/Nightmare Night)
Location: Unknown

Jake slowly began to regain his senses. First was touch, cause the first thing he had registered was pain, immense pain. Next was his sense of taste, where he was soon overwhelmed by the taste of blood. Opening his eyes he was able to make out nothing at first. After he rubbed his eyes a few times he noticed he was on the cold metal ground of his escape pod, and there was a constant red light blinking every few seconds.

"*Cough* Lucy.... damage report." Jake said while rubbing his eyes.

"Sir, both wings have sustained heavy damage and one of the two main engines are offline." Lucy said through the still working speakers.

Jake rolled onto his stomach and got onto his knees as he tried to get up. After a few failed tries he finally stands up and supports himself on the wall of the ship.

"Are any of the exterior weapons damaged?" Jake questioned.

"Hold on a moment...." Answered Lucy.

While the ship scanned the weapons, Jake pushed off the wall. There was immense pain on his left leg, the center of his chest, and his head was pounding. He limped over to the wall and pushed a button letting the wall unfold slightly. A table pushed out of the wall and he lay down on it.

"Lucy, perform a medical scan please." He grunted to the computer.

As he said that a small piece of metal shot out a foot above him as he looked up from the place he was laying on. It stretched itself out and a wide laser scanned his body from top to bottom. After about three minutes he got up.

Lucy voiced herself on the speaker. "Sir, you have a minor concussion along with a broken leg, twisted ankle, and heavy plasma damage on your upper chest. Should I-"

"No..." Jake said sternly, interrupting Lucy, "I should check outside and make sure we are safe. Where did we land?" He said limping towards the exit door as he grabbed the Plasma Rifle that he took from the Verix.

"I don't know sir, this place is off of my map, I didn't have any coordinates so I just flew. The Verix was about to break down the door." She said aloud.

Jake stopped at the exit door as he shook his head. "Sigh.... well, begin repairs on the ship, we need to get to earth, and is the air out there breathable?" He asked waiting.

"Yes sir. Also, all outer weaponry is fully functional, with the exception of the rocket turret." Lucy said with a happy tone.

Lucy was one of the greatest AI's humanity had ever created. She can think faster than any computer and can adapt to nearly anything, but sometimes can be a little attitude driven.

"Alright, I will be back soon, I just want to scout the perimeter, ready the guns in case I need help." He ordered to Lucy as he turned around and went to the armory.

'Wouldn't hurt to be safe' He thought to himself as he limped up to a button and pressed it. As he did a shudder next to it retracted revealing the armor inside.

The whole armor suit itself was a smooth black. The boots were the first piece he took out as he slid his feet inside. It was a sleek design that curved upwards on every angle. Next he put on the upper leggings and the lower stomach parts. After that he very slowly slid on the chest piece, but still reacting to the slight pain it gave him as he tightened it. Lastly was the helmet, which was a smooth black along with the rest, with a V shaped Visor that could only be seen through one way, any other direction you looked at it just showed a reflection. The visor was a deep dark green. After everything was pieced together he pressed a button that was hidden under a flap on the glove piece. The armor, all at once, sealed itself together and formed to his body as the HUD showed up on his visor.

On the top he could see his medical condition, which was blinking red because of the plasma damage he had taken in the chest. On the bottom right was supposed to tell him what gun, and how much ammo he had. As he lifted his Plasma rifle it loaded into the corner, telling him he had about 58 rounds left in it. On the top left was his motion tracker. And the top right showed him if his shield was active and how much power it had left. From what he could see the shield was only at 56%, probably because it protected itself during the crash. The shield itself was an invisible force field that stayed just above the armor itself. Anything exceeding a certain velocity or of a certain electrical origin would be blocked by the shield. Including plasma explosions and punches. As Jake gave his neck a small crack he made his way back to the exit door way and brought his finger up to the button beside it.

"Can you hear me Lucy?" He said into his helmet.

"Loud and clear sir." Spoke the AI from his helmet. "I took the liberty of copying myself into the helmet, so as long as we are in range of the ship, I can tell you how things are going, but if we leave it's range, I wouldn't be able to report to you how repairs are faring, but I can still talk to and assist you, as I have a copy of myself in the ship and helmet itself." She finished as Jake nodded.

He found it strange how she could just duplicate herself like that. He really wanted to know what would happen, if he had been out of range and Lucy learned something new, and had to share it with herself when she got in touch with the ship. He decided to not think about it, it was confusing enough as it was trying to make that make sense.

'Now we just hope we have good signal here' He thought to himself as he pushed the button on the ships door.

With a slight hiss the door slid open and he took a step out, looking at the many trees surrounding him as he looked into the sky and spoke aloud.

"Hey Lucy, think you could tell me what time it is looking at the sky?" He questioned.

After a few seconds of silence the bottom left of his hud screen changed. Sitting there was now the correct time. 7:40 Am.

"Huh... must be hitting sunrise then." He said to himself as he began to walk forward. "Lucy I changed my mind, I want to see how far I can get until we lose signal." He said as he limped forward, still holding his rifle in his hands.

As he walked he occasionally asked Lucy about the signal, getting her to respond with, "We still have a perfect signal sir."

After another few minutes of walking Jake was about to ask about the signal when he saw something. Light. About a good 80 feet ahead he could see light break from the trees. He had reached the edge of the forest. Limping his way to it, he lifted his rifle as he got to the edge. He pushed the tree branches aside and looked ahead. Not to far from where he stood he could see a town, a bit small, but still there.

"Uh.... Lucy.... what the fuck is that?" Jake said as he pointed at the town.

"It looks like a town sir." Lucy said with a worried tone.

"I know WHAT it looks like... but I thought you said we landed 'Off the map'?" He said as he continued to stare at the town.

"One moment...." Lucy said as she went silent. "Confirmed... we are off the map. Whatever that colony is, it's not one of ours." She finished.

"Well... it's not Verix either, come to think of it, doesn't look advanced enough to be either." He said as he stepped out into the clearing. "I'm going to go look, keep an eye out for movement." He whispered into the helmet.

As Jake quickly limped his way to the entrance of the town he hid against the wall of the nearest house. He moved towards the corner and peeked around it. Noticing it was empty he made his way to the next house, then the next. Until he noticed that everything seemed so quiet.

"Lucy... anything?" He said to the AI.

"No sir... no movement or transmission.... however I am getting a constant static that seems to be.... non electrical." She finished.

'Maybe the CPU housing Lucy took some damage in the crash' He thought to himself as he walked down the center of the street between houses.

As he looked at the cobble roads he noticed they were not really fit for any kind of vehicle. As he made his way further into the town he noticed something else, far down from where he was appeared to be an.... apple orchard. He quickly made his way there to investigate when he saw something red near the trees. He froze up and hid behind a fence. Looking up he tried to get a good look at it, and noticed it seemed to be a... red horse?

'It must just be hungry... but still, red?' Not wanting to bother it he made his way back into the town.

As he walked he brought his guard down a bit and lowered his weapon. After a few more minutes of walking and hearing nothing but his own breathing, he noticed a sign.

"Town's Public library this way, Hm.... what do you think?" He asked Lucy.

"Go see about all your outstanding late book fees?" The Smug AI said back.

"Lucy I said' I'd bring them back eventually." He said with a small chuckle and shook his head.

As he approached the town's "Library" which really looked like a giant tree, he stopped a foot from the door.

"You know... this door is like... half my size. And it's.... well. A tree. Are you sure this is a good idea?" He asked the AI.

"I'm not sure sir. But I'm not the one in charge. If it was me, I would go in and find some books and learn about what this place is." She concluded.

Nodding he reached for the door when he spotted something. On his minimap, two little dots showed up. Thinking quickly he hid against the wall next to the door. Waiting, he flipped a switch on his helmet and listened closely as static began to come through the speakers of his helmet. After a few moments it cleared and voices rang though.

".....-so early and I don't know why we need to be there at a time like this!" Shouted a voice from inside.

Jake's eyes widened as he heard the voice.

"Spike stop messing around, come on, we need to get to the center of the town, there is going to be a big announcement and we need to be there." Said a female voice as he heard something fall and break. "Ugh... don't worry I'll get it..." The voice said again.

"Warning! Energy spike in radius!" Voiced the AI as Jake's hud started flashing.

Now Jake wasn't the smartest there was, but when he heard something like that from an AI, his mind immediately goes to the worst possible scenario. Which happened to be an energy weapon about to blow his head off. So without thinking he used his good leg and kicked the door in, ignoring the scream from inside as he readied his weapon, and brought it up to the head of a...

"ERROR" Yelled out Lucy as something made impact with Jake's chest, reducing his shield to 15%.

Chapter 6: Not Exactly The Best of Hello's {REWRITE}

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Chapter 6: Not Exactly The Best of Hello's

In a matter of a few moments Jake could feel the door frame as his back struck it with a loud thud. With a quick shake of his head he quickly leaned up and looked back at what he had run into. Right there in front of him was probably the strangest thing he had ever seen aside from the Verix.

"Sir! Not to sound worried or anything, but I think we should be retreating!" Voiced the AI from within his helmet.

Blinking a few times at the scene in front of him he quickly jumped to his feet, ignoring the sharp pain is his leg and ran out the door, weapon in hand. As he ran he took a sharp turn and didn't stop until he had left the town and was half way to the forest.

"Holy *pant* shit!" He wheezed out as he half ran half limped towards the forest. "What the FUCK was that!"

As he finished that sentence he quickly parted the trees and fell through the border of the forest and onto the soft dirt. Laying still for a moment he quickly spun around on the ground and looked out of the forest. He was graciously camouflaged by the foliage and trees of the forest so he just decided to lay there and watch the town whilst trying to catch his breath.

"Lucy, did you record any of that? Any at all?" Jake questioned as he calmed his breathing.

"Yes sir, I have a photo, but no video."

"Show me it." He asked as a picture flickered onto his HUD.

He examined it closely taking in all the details, while at the same time nearly rejecting them for how ridiculous it looked. The photo itself consisted of a purple, or lavender you could say, horse looking completely shocked as it stared back. This photo was clearly taken while the creature was at gunpoint, considering how only it's head is visible along with some of it's body and the shelves of books behind it. The next thing he noticed intrigued him immensely.

"Lucy, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Jake muttered in a state of awe and amazement.

"Yes sir, and no sir I have never seen anything like it."

"Lucy... I don't know where we are... but this is DEFINITELY not earth, and I know that now for a fact." He stated as he took one last glace at the creatures forehead.

As he closed the photo he pushed himself off the ground with a loud grunt. Suddenly everything went red in the HUD and Jake could feel his head starting to pound.

"Sir, you are starting to have the symptoms of a mild concussion. I suggest we go back to the ship." Lucy quickly said as the screen continued to flash.

Nodding Jake quickly started to make his way back to his ship and hopefully get to the bottom of what exactly just happened. As he limped his way back he continued to think about what happened back there. But was quickly halted to any thought on the matter every time he felt his head pound again. He hadn't realized it, but whatever hit him must have sent him flying and hitting his head off the floor in the process. After a few minutes of walking he could feel the effects of drowsiness begin to take over.

"Shit... Lucy I don't think I can... make it back..." Jake slurred out as he began swaying as he walked. "Lucy... I..."

"Sir," Interrupted Lucy, "The ship is close, only a little bit further."

"Y....your right.... how much farther..." He finished as the feeling of dropping unconscious suddenly doubled in strength.

"Only another minute at a reasonable pace."

"Shock me..." He asked seriously.

"I'm sorry?" Lucy replied with confusion.

"You... heard me... jolt me... just enough to... keep me awake. That's an.... order..." He concluded as he felt his consciousness slipping.

Suddenly a large jolt of electricity surged though his body and his eyes shot open and he broke out into a sprint, forgetting the pain in his leg.

"HOLY SHIT LUCY! I THINK THAT WAS A BIT TOO MUCH! FUUUUUUUUCK!" He yelled out in a bit of pain and energized excitement.

"Sir... it was probably terrible to do that anyway considering your head injury-" Before she could finish the running madman cut in.

"PROBABLY BUT LOOK WHERE WE ARE NOW!" He screamed out as he reached the door to the ship and leaned to the 'Open' Button.

After pushing the thing about 18 times the doors hissed open and he ran in, almost immediately having the doors shut behind him.

"I've never felt so-" Suddenly he stopped and realized he had made a grave error. "Lucy...." He began as he quickly took his helmet off and threw it on the ground. "I don't feel so-"

Before he got to finish that sentence he lurched over and spilled out the contents of his stomach all over the floor.

"-good...." He finished as he quickly lost consciousness.

******************************************************************

"r... Sir.... Sir!"

"Wha....?" Jake muttered out as he slowly opened his eyes. "What is it?" He half asked, half grumbled.

"Sir I think you should wake up." Lucy requested only to have Jake wave his hand at her.

"Ah... I'll be up in a few minutes Luc- Wait... Lucy? Why am I.... OH NO!" He yelled out as he remembered the crash and what had happened.

He quickly jumped off the small bed he was in and ran to the front deck. Looking around he noticed all of his armor pieces laying on the ground. He quickly spotted his helmet and grabbed it. He slowly slid it on and tried to power it on, but to no avail.

"Shit! It's dead. Lucy how long was I out?"

"About 29 hours Sir."

"Wow.... that's.... it?" Jake said genuinely surprised.

He had realized the enhancements would give him increased healing, but he never thought he would be able to wake up so soon from something like that. As he thought about this he realized another thing, he had no more pain in his chest or leg. Testing this he put a bit of pressure on his leg. A bit sore, but nothing too bad.

"Man... that's just amazing." He muttered in sheer awe.

"Sir... I'm sorry I have to interrupt, but we have more pressing matters to deal with." She cut in with a tang of worry.

"What is it?" Jake quickly asked back.

"Well I have been working on repairs over the night, and from what you told me we have about a week to get back to earth. That only leaves us with 6 days now. Unfortunately..." She paused for a moment, "I seem to have... insufficient materials to complete the repairs."

Jake instantly felt his stomach do a cartwheel and his heart sink. "Well... what do you suggest we do."

"From what I can see we have two options..." Lucy began as Jake started picking up his armor that was laying across the floor. "Option one, we attempt to find some way to get resources from this planet... or option two..." She gave a small pause as he plugged his armor back into the ship to recharge. "We use what we have to survive here, and hope that someone else made it off of the Starstreaker."

Jake let himself fall to the ground and leaned his back against a wall as he began to stare up at the ceiling.

"Lucy... what do you think the chances are that someone else made it out of that place alive?" Jake asked with a ounce of hope.

"Before I had downloaded myself to the ship, I had detected 5 more of the Escape pods launching, two of them were shot down while the other three were followed by Verix ships. Other than that I'm not sure if they made it."

Closing his eyes he just sat there, motionless. After a few minutes of silence he spoke up. "What do you think the chances are they got away?"

After a few moments Lucy responded. "Highly unlikely, but possible."

Jake let out a long drawn out sigh and stood up. "How long until the armor is done recharging?" He asked in a serious tone.

"I would estimate around 3 hours at around 4:23pm."

Nodding his head he went towards the pods door and stopped for a moment when he saw his gun on the floor. After looking at it he quickly disregarded it and decided he should bring a weapon, but something much smaller. He went back to the bed he had been sleeping in and picked up the bag he had brought with him. Opening it he pulled out the Plasma pistol with a spare cartridge just in case. He stashed the pistol in his waist behind his back, and concealed it with his shirt. He placed the extra ammo in his pocket and walked back to the ship door.

"Lucy... if I don't come back... well... I don't know. Do what you want. Duplicate yourself and play chess maybe..." He spoke as he reached for the button.

"Sir wait." Announced Lucy causing Jake to stop and turn around.

After a few moments of silence there was a small noise at the front of the ship. Quickly Jake made his way there and noticed something sticking out of the control panel. It looked like a microchip... just not so.... micro... like a jumbo chip, around the size of a playing card. All over it you could see different wires and whatnot integrated into it with a blue circular space in the center.

"What's this?" Jake asked with curiosity.

"It's a prototype we were working on but never really got around to finishing. It was deemed as a... 'unnecessary luxury'." Lucy said with a bit of sarcasm.

"Oooookay.... I guess that's cool." Jake said as he slid it into his left pocket. "Anyway... I'm going back to the town..."

"No... your not..." Lucy shot right back.

"Lucy... I have to go, we need supplies to fix this ship. If we are going to try and do anything we have to start somewhere. I know what happened yesterday was strange but there is probably a good reason for it. And now that I think about it I acted a bit aggressively." He finished as he recalled the moments of yesterday.

"Sir, you can't go without armor. It's suicide." Lucy insisted, trying to change his mind.

"Yeah, but only if your dumb enough to pick a fight." He said again as he made his way to the door and tried to open it before realizing it's locked. "Lucy open the door."

Nothing.

"Lucy Open the door! That's an order!"

After a few moments of nothing the door made a audible *Click!* and the door hissed open.

"Sir... don't do anything stupid." She warned as Jake began stepping outside.

"What? Do you forget who your talking to?"

"No... that's why I'm worried you will..." She finished as the door hissed shut.

Rolling his eyes as he turned around he gave a small chuckle. "Women..." He muttered under his breath.

"I can still hear you..." Spoke a voice from an outside intercom.

"I know...." He said as he smiled a bit and began walking through the forest.

After around 10 minutes give or take Jake began to feel worry creep into his thoughts.

"Okay... this may not have been my smartest plan of action..." He whispered to himself as he continued to walk through the forest.

As he was walking he listened to every little sound, every little chirp from a bird, and every little noise from what may be a possible predator. But as far as he could tell all that was in the forest was loud and obnoxious birds. He continued to walk straight when something caught his attention. On the corner of his eye he spotted some strange blue flowers. For a moment he thought about researching into them, but remembered he has no knowledge of this planet. So poking around in the local forest's brightly colored flowers was probably far from smart... so he decided to continue on.

"Jesus... I feel like I've been walking forever... I kid you not... if I got lost there is gonna be hell to pay..." He spoke to himself as he increased his pace.

As he was walking he couldn't help but feel like something was off... but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. He looked around the quiet forest as he walked, and that's when it hit him.

Silence.

All of the birds stopped chirping. There was no sounds other than the leaves crunching under his feet. Even the wind had stopped. Instantly he could feel his hair stand on end as he became much more aware of his surroundings. Stopping for a moment he heard a bush rustle directly behind him. He snapped his attention around and pulled out his pistol. Ahead of him he saw a bush that sat motionless on the ground.

'I heard you fucking move and don't think I didn't...'

Suddenly there was another rustle of leaves to his left and he quickly turned his aim. Then a twig snapped behind him.

'This isn't good... I'm losing my sense of direction...' He thought to himself as he remembered which way he needed to walk. 'I turned 180 degrees... 30 degrees left... 180 degrees again... ' He kept thinking to himself as he thought of the direction he needs to retreat to get to the town. 'So that means.... this way' He finished as he looked in the correct direction just in time to be met with a very strange sight.

Standing there was a very large, almost wolf like creature. It looked to be made of the tree bark around him, but it's eyes gave off a strange yellow glow.

'What...'

Another wolf popped up to his right.

'The...'

And another to his left and behind him.

'Fuck....'

For a moment he just sat there staring at the one in front of him. He quickly glanced to the left and right and noticed how much smaller they looked.

'Must be the alpha...' He thought as he went through his choices. 'I could shoot them all... but that would mean I have much less ammo...' Before he could be given anymore thinking time the alpha advanced on him.

"You had better fuck off man... I don't know how your kind will react to this kind of weaponry... but If it’s anything like what I expect you’re in for a lot of hurt." Jake spoke aloud, for a moment hoping it could actually understand him.

Suddenly the alpha leaped towards him and he pulled the trigger of the gun out of sheer reaction.

"BZZZZZZZT!"

There was a sudden electrical sound that echoed through the woods as the weapon discharged a purple like energy and it made impact with the wolf. Without a moment's hesitation Jake took off running in his target direction towards what he hopped was the town. As he ran he dared not chance a look behind him because he could already hear they were hot on his trail, and really really pissed off.

"WHY DID I NOT WAIT FOR MY FUCKING ARMOR!" Jake shouted to himself as he ran through the woods.

Just before it was looking hopeless he finally saw it. A break in the tree's border. Without celebrating too early he made one final push for it and jumped forwards, diving through the line of trees and rolled down a slight grassy hill. The moment he stopped rolling he lay prone and turned on his back, pointing the weapon towards the forest.

Then he waited...

And waited...

And waited....

Until he saw the sets of yellow eyes looking at him through the trees. He sat there for a moment looking back at them before they disappeared back into the thick forest. Breathing out a sigh of relief he put the gun down and stared up at the sky with a small smile.

"New rule... armor... is now... a necessity..." He panted to himself as he regained his composure. "I can already hear the 'I told you so' from Lucy"

He pushed himself up off the ground and re-holstered his weapon behind him. He paused for just a moment looking at the town ahead of him, and he could literally hear the sound of townsfolk chatting.

"Holy shit! People! Thank god maybe I can get materials after all." He said to himself as he made a light jog towards the peaceful town.

Chapter 7: Meeting The 'Townsfolk' {REWRITE}

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Chapter 7: Meeting The 'Townsfolk'

As Jake neared the town he could hear the voices of the inhabitants grow in volume, and as did his hope for survival.

'Okay... maybe what I saw yesterday was some kind of fucked up pet' Jake thought to himself as he neared the towns entrance.

As he arrived at the town he came up to a familiar building and peeked around it, causing him to nearly fall over in shock. Not 30 feet in front of him he could see what looked like a trading district filled with different stalls and whatnot. The only problem was there wasn't anyone working the stalls, just more...

'Fucking horses! What the hell is going on!' Jake screamed in his mind as he slowly leaned back completely behind the house.

Taking in a deep breath he rubbed his eyes a bit, blinked a few times, then looked again.

'I'm seriously losing my shit here... Verix I can handle... but who the hell took spray paint to a bunch of horses?' Jake wondered to himself as he noticed something even MORE strange

Squinting his eyes he could see some of their mouths moving and some gestures being made by their... hooves. He continued to watch them when he saw a stand with a tan colored horse in front of it. The stand seemed to be filled to the brim with fresh looking apples. Before his eyes he saw a horse confront the tan one, and without any regard for what he thought was real... an apple floated off the stand and the pony walked off, apple in tow beside it. In mid air. Floating...

'...' Jake hid against the wall again and began processing what he had seen. 'They think they're people... the horses are acting... like people...' He slowly slid down the side of the wall until he was sitting on the ground. 'I... am so fucked...'

After a few minutes of thinking Jake shook his head and stood up.

'I may have no idea what the fuck is happening... but I gotta step up... If I don't do what needs to be done... this could...' Suddenly the burden of the situation finally hit him like a freight train. 'If I can't warn them... Earth WILL fall... our central headquarters... and with that...' He paused in his thoughts briefly before continuing. 'Possibly our whole race...'

Shaking his head to clear his mind he quickly stood up and braced himself for what he was about to do.

"Alright... let's do this... oh man I'm gonna need a drink when I get back to Earth..." He spoke aloud as he turned the corner and began walking towards the busy trade district.

"Hail strangely colored equines!" He shouted out bracing for impact.

As he shouted that almost all of the horses turned towards him with concern lingering in their features. In a near instant everything went dead quiet as it became a 100 to 1 starring match.

'Why... are they all looking at me like that...' He thought to himself as all of them had slight looks of horror on their faces. 'I think I should leave...' He quickly decided as he began to take a slow step back.

The moment he moved an inch chaos erupted through the town. All of the horses began... screaming... and running in random directions. Many of them ran into random houses with the doors slamming shut behind them. In a matter of 30 or so seconds the town was a ghost's abode, with not a soul in sight.

"For fuck sake..." Jake muttered to himself.

Turning around Jake made a decently fast pace towards the forest and towards the ship that was inside. On the way there he began running random things through his head.

'What planet is this and why have we not found it yet. It seems so lush... and yet intelligent as far as I can see... life has been able to thrive here. But how the hell do I profit from this'

A moment before reaching the border of the forest there was a sudden gust of wind that quickly knocked Jake off his feet and onto his back. Blinking a few times to focus his vision he leaned up and looked at what had knocked him over. He nearly fainted out of pure surprise... or from utter laughter that he was holding in.

Standing in front of him... on it's hind legs was a cyan looking horse with strange as hell features. It adorned a rainbow colored mane and tail along with a strange image on it's hindquarters. However the strangest thing he noticed was the things on it's back. Sitting there on the horse were a pair of fairly sized wings that matched the color of it's body. Jake quickly got to his feet and brushed himself off before he looked back up at the... thing and attempted to get around it. As he began to move it quickly sidestepped in front of him and blocked his path. The creature was about a good 5 feet ahead of him, and the forest a good 3 feet behind it.

"I don't know what you are but nothing comes into my town terrifies all my friends!" It spoke aloud giving a small snort.

For a moment time seemed to slow down for Jake as he thought about what just happened.

'That fucking horse... just spoke... okay... I must be in some kind of fucked up dream in some kind of coma from the crash...' Jake thought to himself as he watched the creature jab it's two front hooves randomly.

"To be honest... don't know what's funnier..." Jake began as the creature put on a face of surprise. "The fact my mind would come up with something as FUCKED UP as this for my dream state... or that you think you can actually take down a fully trained first lieutenant SUPER SOLDIER of Earth's special forces military." He finished with a slight smile.

For a moment he did nothing but look at the dumbfounded creature as it looked him up and down. Then suddenly it's face changed to one of rage and anger... but also control.

"You think your so tough huh? Well come on then!" It yelled back at Jake as he put on a smile.

'I've entered a whole new realm of insanity...'

Jake decided to slowly advance on the creature. As he pulled his fist back and went forward for the blow, he was expecting to hit something. Confusion crossed his features when it wasn't there. Suddenly something struck him on the back of his knee and made him kneel. As he hit the ground he spun around and blocked a punch just to have another push his arm down and swing at his lower jaw, just barely missing.

Jake got to his feet and stumbled back as he looked at his foe with a new perspective.

"Was that fucking Karate?" He asked himself as the creature got back into a stance.

This time the creature advanced on him, but now that Jake knew it had some sort of technique, he wasn't joking around. As it flew towards him it pulled back it's front right hoof and went for a blow to the head again. Jake quickly jumped to the side before impact, causing a look of surprise from the equine as it's punch hit nothing but air. Jake quickly grabbed onto it's right hind leg as it passed him and pulled it out of the air.

"H-HEY!" It shouted as he spun around and threw it into the ground behind him.

It landed with a thud, and a small oof as it groaned and shook it's head, laying sprawled out on the ground.

Shaking his head he quickly decided against seriously hurting it. 'I may be able to take it... but the forest is behind me... and that little devil is fast...'

Turning on his heels he began to run through the forest without looking back. After a few minutes of running he seemed to reach his ship much faster than before.

"The fuck is up with this forest..."

He quickly approached the door and opened it, closing and locking it behind him as he entered.

"Lucy, what's the armor at?" He asked quickly as he walked towards the recharging armor.

"46% sir, why?" Asked Lucy with confusion.

"Because I've got a plan..."

********************************************

After a few hours of waiting a loud beep went off... signaling the charging of the armor is done. As quickly as he could he began putting it all on.

"Lucy, remember what I told you... they seem to be the apex species here... and highly intelligent..." He said as he scratched his chin and thought back to the near miss. "They also know Karate apparently..."

"...Karate?" Lucy asked in a deadpan voice.

"Karate..." Jake answered back. "Anyway... I'm gonna go and try to find out if they can help me... somehow..."

"And you think the armor will make you less scary looking?"

"No they will shit themselves... but I'm not walking through that forest again unarmored... nooooo way..."

As Jake walked out of the ship he looked around. He had all his gear on but his visor was not covering his face.

"Alright Lucy, power it up for me." Jake said as he began to see the visor cover his face.

In a few moments the inside of his helmet lit up, showing him his HUD and all the necessities. Sighing in relief he began his walk through the dark forest in hopes that he can get some cooperation this time instead of complete and utter panic. As he walked he continued to explain to Lucy the things he saw.

"Sir they sound like a pony." Corrected Lucy.

"...what?"

"From what your telling me they are too small to be horses... they seem more like a pony."

"Pony, horse... I don't care... all I know is they had better help... or we're fucked..."

Chapter 8: Steady-ish Introductions {REWRITE}

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Chapter 8: Steady-ish Introductions

Jake slowly made his way through the strange forest towards the border in hopes to put this misunderstanding to rest. As he walked along, he slowly dropped his right hand and allowed it to rest upon his pistol which was strapped securely to his hip. Suddenly he felt a small pinch in his stomach as he heard a low growl.

"Shit... I hadn't thought about food." He voiced as he continued his march through the woodland. "Hope we can find something on the ship later."

In a matter of ten minutes Jake reached the edge of the forest whilst once again thinking to himself just how the forest managed to constantly keep him in a state of confusion. He swore he took the same path each time. Shaking his head and dismissing the thought, he slowly spread the branches and looked towards the town. The moment he did he immediately fell to his stomach and peered forward, watching the scene ahead of him. Bringing his hand to his helmet he touched one of the temples and his vision began zooming in. Ahead in the distance he spotted a group of the ponies.

"Lucy... can we maybe hear what they're saying?" Jake whispered to his helmet.

"No sir, they're out of range."

Silently cursing to himself he continued to watch and study the creatures. Two of them appeared to have a set of wings, but with only one of them actually using them who was currently hovering a good 4 feet off the ground. It's body shone a smooth cyan color along with it's mane and tail adorning a large variety of different colors. As Jake took in it's features he remembered it was the same one he ran into during his escape. The other winged pony, now obviously distinguished as a Pegasus, was a butter yellow with a pink mane and tail that just stood un-moving, hiding most of it's face. The next two Jake noticed seemed to be like most of what he saw in the town the day before. They appeared to just be normal ponies that also adorned a very similarly strange color scheme. One was a tan looking pony wearing what seemed to be a cowboy hat, and had a braided mane. It's two front legs were crossed as it stood un-moving as well, staring at the others. The other pony mentioned of the two was the strangest by far, pulling ahead of the rainbow maned one. It adorned pink everywhere. Mane, coat, tail... everything. It also seemed to be puffy but Jake couldn't for tell for sure as it hadn't stopped bouncing the whole time. Turning his attention to the last two, things began to get even stranger... but also seemed to confirm his previous thoughts.

As he looked on he made note of the last two ponies. The first one had the purest of white coats that could only be rivaled by that of a perfect pearl. It's mane seemed to be very curly and shone a deep purple. She stood with one hoof raised making gestures to the next pony Jake had noticed.

And this pony was no doubt the one he nearly spread across the walls of that library. It's features consisted of a lavender coat and a purple mane and tail with a single pink stripe. The one feature that struck odd to Jake though, was what he noticed about this pony in particular. Not that it seemed to be the center of attention or how it seemed to be speaking (He basically accepted the whole speaking thing by now... kind of) It was the pair of wings on it's body along with the horn that is half covered by it's mane. As Jake finished picking up every detail he could he began thinking about his next moves very carefully. That is until something happened that to this day will still confuse him.

The pink one turned, smiled, and waved to him.

Instinctively he pushed himself farther back and out of sight.

'How could it have seen me! I was damn near invisible right here!'

Thinking quickly he dragged himself to the edge of the forest again and peered through only to have his heart sink.

The group was walking his way.

"Oh shit..." He whispered, "Lucy what do I do...? Run?"

"I thought we came here to talk to them?" Lucy asked back.

"Yeah I know but... one already doesn't like me and the other I almost blew in half.... I don't think they will take too kindly to me..."

Before he could think of anything else or wait for a reply, he saw how close they were.

'No going back, it's too late, get your ass up. Your a soldier, and you better damn well start acting like one'

Breathing out a quick breath he jumped up and stood waiting, half concealed by the shade of the treeline. As they drew nearer and nearer he could see them looking around the area as they approached.

"Are you sure you saw something Pinkie?" Asked the Lavender.... pony.

"Yep! I just wanted to wave to him because it must be super duper hard living in the Everfree forest! I'm not sure how Zecora does it, it's amazing ho-" The pink pony began ranting about the forest as she hopped along.

Jake watched the possible threats as they drew closer and closer to his hiding spot.

'Remember Jake... Rule number one... NEVER underestimate your enemy... it gives them the upper hand. Oh shit I broke that rule yesterday didn't I?'

The group was just about a leaping distance away from the border when the white one suddenly stopped and locked eyes with Jake's helmet. The others took notice and turned their gaze to her's. After a few moments they all saw what they were looking for.

Moments of silence passed as Jake stood there, waiting for something to happen. The ponies on the other hand didn't know what to do. What felt like hours of excruciating silence took place until finally it was interrupted.

"G-Greetings... m-my name is...." The lavender pony began, pausing briefly as she took a deep breath in and slowly exhaled. "My name is Princess Twilight Sparkle, and on behalf of me, my friends, and the town, we wish to know what you are and why we have not seen you before." She ordered with a voice that rang out leadership.

Blinking once inside his helmet he let that sink in. 'Royalty.... you have got to be shittin' me....' He thought to himself as he rolled his eyes.

He took in a breath and stepped forward into the clearing and watched as all of the ponies expressions changed, all of them but one. The pink one was filled with eagerness and was smiling slightly at the sight. The white pony seemed to be completely awestruck. Both the tan and blue ponies had faces of curiosity and determination. And lastly the yellow pegasus who was trying to make herself invisible behind her own mane and the pink pony.

'Just act natural.... act natural...' Jake thought to himself. 'Natural? How the FUCK do I act natural? I'm about to converse with a talking pony princess' Jake mentally replied to himself. 'Hey it's your choice, go in guns a blazin' and make enemies and probably doom our species, or try and make a truce with them'

Letting out a small sigh he let himself drop to one knee and looked back into the pony's eyes, which now adorned a look of surprise. As he looked back at her he pressed a few buttons on his left wrist and his helmet retracted back much like a convertible car hood would. After a few moments his head was exposed and his helmet was no where to be seen.

"Greetings Princess... My name is Jake Carson. I wish to apologize for anything I may have done wrongly and I wish to speak to you of a matter of great importance." Jake spoke in a serious tone as he waited for her reply.

As he stayed there he could see the gears turning in the eyes of the pony as it considered what to say.

"Well.... Jake... I would love to hear what you have to say... but I still need to have my questions answered." She replied keeping the subject from changing.

"Just know that I mean you and your town no harm and I would rather speak about these matters in a more... secluded area." Jake chimed in.

Nodding, Twilight spoke up. "Well perhaps you can follow us back to town then, I have a place we can discuss this."

"Twilight are you nuts? After what he caused before?" The cyan Pegasus shot into the conversation.

"Rainbow, everypony deserves a fair chance at voicing their opinion. Maybe it wasn't his fault." The lavender pony added.

'Huh... this one really does think things through... maybe I was thinking too little of them'

"Ugh... fine... but we're staying with you." The Pegasus said with a grunt.

Slowly nodding, Twilight sighed. "Fine, come on we should go. Rainbow can you get back to Ponyville and tell spike to send a letter telling the princesses we found him?"

Slightly cringing at the name, Jake stood back up and allowed his helmet to cover his face once more. He looked towards the town as a rainbow trail faded just up ahead. The group began making their way back to the town with the exception of Twilight who continued to look him over for a few more moments before gesturing towards the town. Nodding a bit Jake began making his way towards the town as the Pony followed him close behind.

'Hoooly shit... I can't believe I pulled that off...' Jake thought to himself.

"Lucy... mute the outer speakers..." Jake whispered as softly as he could before he heard a low beep, telling him he can speak freely now without being heard by anything outside his helmet. "Holy hell..." Jake said aloud as he walked. "Lucy, you've been awfully quiet... what do you think of this whole situation?"

"Sir... I thought we were doomed... I ran a number of scenarios and calculated the odds of successfully making it through that situation were approximately 3,720 to 1. "

"Lucy... never tell me the odds." Jake replied back in a joking tone.

After a few minutes of walking they reached the town and continued their way inside. Every pony that had been within the general area stopped and watched as the creature in strange clothing walked by. Jake was trying very hard to pay them no attention and just get to the destination. After a few agonizing minutes he reached a familiar location, the town public library.

As all of the ponies went through he followed suit and ducked through the doorway and into the main room. The room itself was large enough he could stand fully. The ceiling was really high and if he jumped he could probably barely touch it with the end of his fingertips.

"So..." Jake began as he turned and saw the Lavender pony walk in as the door suddenly closed behind her. "Please tell me why a 'secluded' place is the public library..."

"Oh well this is where I live, and not many ponies come here anyway so I thought this would be a good place." The pony replied tilting her head a bit. "Now for what I said before... what are you?" She asked as she inspected Jake up and down.

"Well... I'm a human... or scientifically the species named homo-sapiens." Jake answered back as he began glancing at all the books along the walls around him.

"I'm sorry but... a 'Human' Isn't a real thing... from what I know they are just a story told to little foals." She said in a slight chuckle.

"...come again?" Jake said turning his attention back to Twilight.

"They aren't real. Myth, just an old ponies tale." She said as her horn lit up and a book suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Suddenly Jake's HUD began flashing red and warned him over and over of a power spike as the book floated there. It must have been overloading because it started getting louder and louder. Jake clutched the sides of his head and dropped to his knees as it began to change into a piercing screeching noise.

"AHHHHH!' He yelled out as he detached his helmet and threw it across the room and letting himself lean forward and rest his head on the floorboards.

"What was that!?" Twilight yelled as she ran forward only to be stopped when Jake raised his hand and began to stand up.

"N... nothing... just tell me... what did you just do?" He asked as he rubbed one side of his head.

"I... I just used a bit of magic an-" Twilight began but was quickly interrupted by Jake.

"Let me stop you there... there is no such thing as magic... what you did made some sort of energy spike and my helmet picked it up. My whole system was going crazy." I said as I shook my head to get the ringing out of my ears.

Twilight looked at the ground a couple times in rapid succession then back uo to me."I didn't do anything! All I did was levitate this book and-"

"There is no such thing as magic!" Jake cut in again.

"Than explain this!" Twilight replied as she began floating random books of the shelves and letting them dance around him.

"I... I don’t know! Some kind of advanced telekineses of some kind? You cant just say magic and expect me to believe it!” Jake said pointing at her causing Twilight to make a bit of a grumpy face.

"Whatever, we can talk about it later... read this!" She ordered as a book floated towards Jake and it flipped through the pages.

"I... I can't read this..." Jake began as he squinted his eyes at the text, taking small worried looks to the aura covering said book.

"Oh sorry... I forgot it's written in old Poneish. Anyway right here," She motioned to a section on a page, "Says... 'Not much is known about the mysterious race known as Humans. All that is known is they are only ever referred to in myth which cannot be proven as there is no evidence that links back to them. No pony knows how they came to be known at all but as the legend goes, they simply up and vanished one day and never returned. Ever since that day millennia passed and no mention has ever been said about them. It may be a race we will never know, or it could be some joke started by a fool trying to scare children. Pony kind may never know for sure. So as you can see... that's not possible." She finished, closing the book and smiling at her victory.

"Well..." Jake began as he tried to search for words, "That's..." Jake let himself sit down and he crossed his legs.

'How would they know about us? But yet know so little... if we ever did come to a place like this I'm sure that no matter how long it took we would know... but she said millennia...'

"Is there anything else it says? About what they did? Or could do?" Jake asked hoping to get some information out of this.

"Well not in this one no... but a few other books I read mentioned them being very powerful magic users. Another one told about the amazing technology they could... create...." Twilight finished as she slowly had the truth dawn upon her. "W-what are you wearing...?" She asked pointing a hoof to his armor.

"This is my armor set... and as far as I know the only surviving prototype spartan armor. It was only on the ship I came from so I'm not sure if more survived." He finished as he looked down at the armor.

Despite it being powered it still feels heavy after prolonged wearing. So he decided it would be best to take it off and stretch a bit. He walked towards a wall of the library and leaned against it. As he leaned his back against it he pushed some buttons on his wrist and the suit cracked down the center of the legs, arms and chest. He stepped forward, out of the suit and, giving a small stretch, stood on the floorboards in his socks, shirt and pants. The armor closed itself as Jake went and got the helmet which attached itself to the top of the set when he placed it there. After finishing doing this he turned back to Twilight to see her in a state of shock. All of the other ponies that had come here before were also staring at him.

"So... you... really are..." Twilight began as she tried to find her voice.

"What? Human? Of course I am! Those books of your must have something saying what we look like... right? Honestly I'm suprised you know anything on us at all. I'm not even from this planet." He stated as her eyes widened even more.

"I... I really need to tell the princesses about this!" She said aloud as she ran up a set of stairs and was out of sight.

As Jake saw her disappear he knew he wasn't gonna see her any time soon. He turned to the ponies staring at him and decided to have some questions answered that have been bugging him.

"So what do those marks on your asses mean?"

Chapter 9: Too Much Attention {REWRITE}

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Chapter 9: Too Much Attention

All of the ponies blinked once in sudden shock at the language, especially the butter yellow pegasus who drew back slightly and allowed her hair to drop in front of her face.

"Was it something I said?" Jake asked with a slightly off smile as he looked from pony to pony.

The white unicorn was the first to speak as she cleared her throat and took a step off the couch. "Well deary it's just your language caught us a bit... off guard. Not many ponies swear as it's seen very uncouth." She finished in a charming accent.

With her ears perking up, the rainbow maned pegasus chipped in. "Well in that case I'm okay with it."

"Uh... okay sorry I'm used to talking like this back where I come from... but still... what are those marks for?" Jake asked again hoping to shine some light on the issue.

"Well these here are cutie marks." The tan pony began, "A pony get's em' when they find out their special talent." Finished the Cowgirl looking pony as she adjusted her hat.

"So... the're like initiation rights? Kind of like you get a tattoo of a gang you just joined or somethin'?" Jake shot back even more confused as to why a whole species would tattoo their talent on their young.

"What's a 'Ta-two'?" Asked the pink pony as she tilted her head to the left with a curious gaze.

"No a T-a-t-t-o-o... if you don't know what that is... how do you get those?" Jake asked pointing at one of their flanks.

"Well it-" Began the white pony when she was suddenly cut off by a barrage of hoof steps behind him.

'What the...' Jake thought to himself as he turned around only to be tackled to his midsection and being flown to the ground, landing hard on the wooden floor.

"GAH WHAT THE HELL?" Jake shot out as he looked at what had knocked him over.

Standing on top of him was the same mare, Twilight, staring down at him with wide eyes a glowing horn and outstretched wings.

"TELL.. ME... EVERYTHING!" She yelled, getting closer after each word until she was practically touching nose to muzzle.

"Uhhhh... I would... unfortunately some lavender pony just collapsed my lungs." He answered back with a slightly rasp voice.

"OH sorry!" Twilight screamed as she flapped her wings and shot off Jake, landing just in front of him.

Coughing once Jake quickly got up and recovered from the sudden attack that had left him winded. As he dusted himself off he looked up at the unicorn Pegasus thing to see her buzzing with anticipation, about to explode.

"What's got ya so worked up?" Jake said with a raised eyebrow. "And why did ya just tackle me like I was a bag full of candy." Jake finished as there was a sudden ruckus behind him.

"CANDY? WHERE?! YOU'RE MADE OF CANDY?!" Yelled the pink pony as she began jumping around Jake, searching all his pockets for a hint of sugary sweets. "Aw! You lied to me!" She said with a pouting look and quivering lip.

"Wha-? No... it's just a figure of speech. I'm not ACTUALLY candy." Jake shot back as he covered his face with his palm and shook his head and chuckled slightly.

"Oh... but if you ever do turn into candy make sure to let me know! Okay?" She said with a look of hope.

"Yeah sure whatever." Jake finished hoping to get back on topic instead of thinking about the possibility of turning into a gingerbread man. "Aaaanyway... what is it that got you so excited?"

Twilight practically had her jaw hit the floor after that sentence was uttered, as if the question itself was an insult.

"What's got me so excited?! YOU! You're a completely different species, your're sapient... and apparently you're also a HUMAN! This is HUGE. YOU have no idea how much we can learn from you! The things pony kind can create! The-"

Jake brought his hand up, silencing the pony. "Twilight, I know this is probably an amazing discovery for you, and I'm sorry I have to be the one to tell you this but... I can't stay here and discuss this with you. I'm on a very strict schedule that can mean the end of... a lot more than you can imagine."

Twilight's face immediately dropped like he had just ripped apart her favorite childhood toy in front of her. It was more than Jake could handle.

"Alright look..." Jake began, pinching the bridge of his nose with two fingers. "If you agree to help me, I'll tell you anything you want to know."

Perking up a bit she looked back at Jake. "Anything?"

"Anything."

That was it. The last straw, broken. The final string, Cut. She hopped up and down shouting 'YES!' over and over as she hopped in a circle. It hurt Jake's pride a bit to admit this, but it was pretty damn adorable. When she stopped hopping she turned to Jake and spoke incredibly fast.

"Alright good follow me! This way!" And she turned and started toward the stairs.

"But.. I don't even know your friends names." Jake asked hoping to postpone the incoming interrogation.

"Fluttershy..." "Rainbow Dash!" "Pinkie Pie!" "Rarity." All of the ponies spoke at once almost in unison as if they had been planning to say it at exactly the same time.

"Heheheh.... an' I'm Applejack... good luck partner'." She said after the rest of the ponies, tipping her hat and smiling ever so devilishly.

"What do you mean... good luck?" Jake asked at the most perfect time it's as if the universe had waited for him to slip up and say those words before making it's move.

Jake was suddenly airborne and was flying up the stairs and was weaved around the library's various doorways. As he went through the last open doorway his head smacked off the top of it and he landed on a soft cushion.

"Ahhh... why always with the head... and the headaches..." Jake muttered under his breath as he rubbed his forehead.

"Alright! We're alone so now we can begin." Spoke Twilight as he heard her approaching as her hooves slowly clacked on the wooden floor.

"Begin what?" Jake asked as he looked at his surroundings.

He was in a bedroom of sorts and was currently lying on a bed that seemed a bit too small for his size. Looking up and across the bed he saw the mare slowly making her way to him. Looking at his surroundings then back at her, Jake felt a part of his mind wander but immediately slapped back into position by the other half.

"So..." Jake began, sitting up and rubbing the back of his neck.

"I want to know... whats it like!?" Twilight began as she jumped onto the bed and sat across from him, notebook and quill floating nearby.

"What's what like?" Jake asked with a raised brow, still rubbing his head.

"To be human!" She spoke again with a raised voice like a kid growing impatient.

"Well... it's nice being tall... and well... that's about it. I can't really say what it's like because it's the norm for me. That's like asking what it's like to be a pony."

Nodding a bit in agreement she moved on. "So... you mentioned you're not from this planet. So you're an alien?"

I nodded back, deciding to just get to the point. "Pretty much. My kind has been expanding into the stars for a long time, never met anything like you though. I just crash-landed here yesterday." I finished as Twilight furiously scribbled in her notebook.

She let out a small squeal of excitement and went for another question. "Alright, asexual or sexual reproduction in humans?"

"Uh... sexual?"

Scribbling down on the notepad she looked up and prepared to ask again when she was stopped by Jake. "Listen, how about we take turns asking? Make it easier for the both of us."

Nodding a bit she decided to play along. "Alright, ask away."

Smiling slightly knowing he can finally get some answers in this crazy place that seemed hype on sugar 24/7.

"Okay first... what are those marks and how are they obtained." Jake questioned pointing at Twilight's flank.

"Oh these? These are cutie marks, they represent a pony's special talent. A pony get's one when they figure out what they are good at and when they do it magically appears." Twilight finished as she prepared to ask her question when Jake continued.

"But... no... there must be a reason for all of this. There is no such thing as magic. All magic is sleight of hand, tricks and fake illusions."

Twilight shook her head and stood up, walking across the bed towards Jake and turning the side of her flank right into his face.

'CHRIST TWILIGHT PERSONAL SPACE!' Jake screamed in his head as he looked at her ass mark.

"Touch it, watch what happens." She said in a poker voice.

"E-Excuse me?" Jake stuttered as he looked between... that... and her face.

"Touch it! Don't worry it's for science." She added with a small nod.

Before Jake could counter with another remark, something caught his eye. A slight shimmer. He turned to her cutie mark and looked closely as he reached his hand up and brushed some of the fur to the right. Strange enough the fur moved the direction he brushed as he expected, but the Cutie mark stayed in place, any fur he pushed out of the boundary of the cutie mark turned lavender, and any that bent into the boundary changed color, as to maintain the look of the mark.

As he did this, Twilight shivered slightly and backed up with a bit of red in her cheeks. "You see... the cutie mark is magical. It's not exactly a part of the coat, but it's a type of magic that stays just above the area of the skin, changing any color of the coat in the spot, resembling the cutie mark. That way if, by some strange reason, the hair was cut and regrew in a different size... the mark maintained it's look and didn't get distorted. Does it make sense now?"

Jake's eyes shot back and forth looking for an answer. Finally defeated he let out a sigh and waved to her. "Alright... I will accept the fact that whatever this is... I don’t fully understand it. You call it magic so that’s what we’ll go with... for now."

Nodding happily Twilight sat back down and let the questioning resume.

"So what is your world like?" She asked innocently.

'...fuck...'

Chapter 10: History Lesson

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Chapter 10: History Lesson

'.....fuck.....'

Jake looked straight at Twilight as he tried to come up with an answer for that question.

'Should I just tell her? Could she handle it? I don't know she looks way too innocent.... nah she must have seen some bloodshed. She IS a princess after all.' Jake concluded as he took in a sharp breath.

"Alright.... do you want the long version... or the short version?" Jake asked as he raised an eyebrow.

"Uh.... the long one?" She asked cocking her head to the side.

"Alright then... how familiar is your kind with war?" He asked causing Twilight to reel back in shock.

"W-What?! What does that have to do with anything!" She asked as she looked back at Jake. "We have not had a war in Equestira for over 1000 years!"

"Oh... well how old are you then?" Jake asked as Twilight huffed.

"I hardly think that matters!" She asked with her eyes narrowing, "Are you calling me old?!"

"What? NO! I mean... maybe? I don't know.... how old do ponies usually get here?" Jake replied in a hurried tone.

Letting out a small grunt Twilight answered. "Well most ponies live to be about 80 years old or so. But alicorns," She said, pausing as she pointed to her horn and wings, "Are born with the gift of immortality."

"Oh so... your're immortal then?" Jake asked as he tilted a bit to the side to get a better view of her wings.

"Me? Oh no I wasn't born an alicorn. I was born as a unicorn. I was given these wings when I was made a princess so.... I'm not immortal." She said in slight relief.

"You say that like it's a gift being mortal?" Jake asked whilst also trying to change the subject from his planet.

"Well... no. Being immortal does have it's advantages.... but I couldn't see leaving my friends..." She said with some sadness.

"Leaving your friends? How do you- oh.... oh I see....." Jake said nodding his head.

"Yeah.... anyways.... continue?" She said as she brought up a quill and parchment.

'Dammit I was hoping she would forget....'

"Alright Twilight.... I hope your ready for this.... because this is gonna get really dark...." Jake warned as he began his story.

"Mind you I only know so much about history. The military schools didn't teach us very much about history as the demand for soldiers was so high that training was their only priority." He said as Twilight gave a small nod. "Alright... about three hundred years ago, our species had realized that with the population as high as it was, we couldn't continue living on Earth, our home planet, and had begun work to branch out to new planets and systems." He explained as Twilight raised her hoof and shook it a little. "Uh... you don't have to raise your hoof...." Jake deadpanned as Twilight blushed while putting her hoof back down, letting out a small "Squee"

"Uh... I was just wondering.... when you said your population was so high.... how high is that exactly?" She asked as she got ready to write the information down.

"Hm... I think... the last time I checked we are currently around 14 billion? Give or take a few million."

There was the sound of parchment tearing as Twilight's quill went through it, causing a massive hole. She slowly raised her head to meet his eyes as she let her jaw drop.

"F-F-Fourteen BILLION? HOW CAN A SPECIES THAT BIG EVEN SURVIVE ON A PLANET?!" She shouted at the soldier.

Jake chuckled a little bit as he looked back with a small smile. "Well it wasn't easy. First we tried making huge buildings that could hold a larger amount of people. They were massive and we called them 'Skyscrapers'. But even then it was too much. So then we began to make underground super cities, which solved the problem for a little while, but eventually we had come to the conclusion that we had to leave earth or we would starve our species to death. And just out of curiosity.... how many ponies live on this planet....?"

"Equis." She stated.

"Alright, planet 'Equis'"

"Well currently there is about 600 thousand or so ponies living here. But many more if you count other species as well as just ponies."

Pausing for a few moments and looking at Twilight she spent a few more moment writing before she turned and nodded for him to continue.

"So with our new objective in mind we began to branch out into the stars! It was going smoothly for about 100 years as we reached out to the farthest we could go, before we developed light speed engines that is. That is when everything began going downhill...." He stated darkly.

Twilight paused for a second before she looked up with a confused gaze. "Downhill? But why would that be bad?"

Jake huffed a bit before he lazily cast his gaze over her. "Humans have an old saying. It goes, 'Two possibilities exist: either we are alone in the Universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying.'"

"Wow.... that's a good saying. And it makes a lot of sense. Who made it?" She asked as Jake shrugged.

"I don't honestly remember. But this brings me to the part I was talking about when I said dark..." Jake said as he let out a drawn out sigh. "So after the development of the light speed engine, everything sped up tremendously. Our population continued to grow at a healthy speed and we could actually feed our species with the new fertile planets we had discovered." Jake said, pausing for a moment with his features growing dark. "And that's when we found them...." He stated with venom in his voice.

"Them?" Twilight asked casting a confused glare. "Who is 'them'?"

"Well, 'them' is the reason for our population dipping so much." He stated, venom still evident in his voice.

"Dipping? What do you mean? The way you said it is like you have so many!"

Jake sighed as he felt his eyes water slightly. "Twilight, you know how I said we have about 14 Billion humans as of now?" He asked causing her to nod her head, "Well can you guess how many we had just before finding..... 'them'...?" He asked as his features started turning more grim.

Twilight shook her head as she could feel her gut telling her she didn't want to know.

"34.2 billion." He said slowly as Twilight's eyes widened and she dropped her parchment and quill.

"B-But HOW?" She asked but after seeing the look from Jake she began to fear the answer.

"Because of those soulless fucking MACHINES! Those heartless fucking bastards who want to see nothing but all of humanity burn! The ones we have began to call the... the Verix. We discovered them a long time ago when we came by a planet that we had been picking up lots of signals from. Like different tech and whatnot. So we decided to go and check it out. What happened? Everyone was slaughtered! The only reason we know is because one ship managed to escape! But as it turns out... they planned that too! They let him go so he could lead them straight to us!" He paused for a moment as he took in a deep breath trying to calm down.

Twilight was meanwhile trying to sort out everything in her own mind as she processed what was just said.

"What in Equestria would drive somepony to do so much evil! What could go and.... kill.... 20 BILLION humans.... JUST LIKE THAT?!"

After calming himself down, Jake continued his story. "Everything after that was a pure slaughter. They went planet to planet killing off entire colonies. And none of them were defended because we didn't have any real threats and weapon manufacturing and distribution was at an all time low. So every single colony nearby was obliterated out of space. Then never even ravaged it for supplies! They touch down, and when everything is dead, leave and move to the next." He stated as he hung his head a bit.

"These... Verix... what do they look like?" She asked with a slight amount of fear.

"Well...." He began as he wore a small smile. "They are probably the ugliest sons of bitches you will ever see..."

Chapter 11: A choice

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Chapter 11: A Choice

After nearly fifteen minutes of explaining, to the best of his ability, what the Verix looked like, Twilight was meanwhile scribbling furiously on her parchment.

"Alright.... so even though I didn't quite understand all of the terms you used, would you say it looks something like this?" She asked as she flipped the parchment around to reveal a sketch of a Verix fighter.

Jake smiled and gave a thumbs up, causing Twilight to tilt her head in confusion at the gesture.

Noticing the look Jake explained, "Oh, it's a gesture we use meaning great, or good. Or anything like that." Jake said causing Twilight to mouth an "o" before flipping the page around and looking it over.

"These.... Verix, do you think they will ever come here?" Twilight asked with a hint of worry.

Jake shrugged it off with a wave. "Don't worry you don't have any tech here that would pi-" Jake's face immediately paled.

"What? What is it?" Twilight asked worried.

"You don't have any tech here they could find..." Jake said as he got up and made his way to the door. "But I do!" He yelled as he burst out of the door.

He ran back down and into the main room where he quickly got back into his armor and made his way out the door. He began a dead sprint through the town causing nearby ponies to jump with fright as a fully armored soldier stormed past them. In a matter of a few minutes he reached the edge of the forest where he plunged in and began his way to the ship.

"Sir, is there something wrong?" Asked Lucy from the suit's inner speakers.

"Oh... Lucy I messed up, I messed up real bad." He said as he reached the ship and shot through the door.

He quickly brought himself to the front seat and began powering up the ship. In a matter of moments he had a message in bright red in front of him.

"Sir.... why would you want to do this? What about our mission?" Lucy asked as Jake continued to stare at the words in front of him.

The bright red words in question read out, 'CONFIRM SELF-DESTRUCT?'

"Lucy, you know how the Verix pick up on signals of human tech, which is probably how they found the Starstreaker?" He asked as Lucy gasped. "SO this ship is probably showing up as a beacon right now. That is.... if they are looking. So here is the question...." He said as he paused for a moment.

Lucy cut in, "Destroy the ship and doom our species, while saving this one, or risk this one dieing, and warn earth...." Lucy spoke out in a monotone voice.

Jake merely nodded as he continued to stare at the red words in front of him. His finger drifting over the two buttons in front of him. Just as he was about to press the Y on the keyboard, an image popped into his head. An image of a family, a family who will never see their husband or father ever again. And will never know of their coming demise.

With his mind made up he shoved his finger down onto the keyboard, powering down the self destruct.

"Lucy, I need you to put this ship into hibernation, try to limit it's energy usage as much as possible. Make it invisible as best you can. I have to go have a chat with the princess." Jake finished as he left the cockpit and exited the ship.

As he did he could see the lights behind him die and the hull of the ship go dark through the windows. He grasped his pistol from his waist holster and began to walk through the woods back towards Ponyville.

Chapter 12: New Revelations

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Chapter 12: New Revelations

Jake broke the tree line while he remained at a brisk pace towards the town. Upon entering he immediately made his way to the town's library, ignoring the looks he was getting from the townspeople. Upon reaching the library he quickly opened the door and stepped inside, taking in a deep breath as he shut the door behind him.

"Oh! Back so soon! What happened? Why did you run off like that?" Asked Twilight as she came out of a room to his right.

Jake's helmet retracted as he turned to Twilight. "I need to talk to your Princess. If she asks why tell her..." He gave a small pause then continued, "Tell her something big is going to happen, one way or another. And I... need her help." He finished with a slight sigh as he sat himself down.

Twilight was a bit taken back by the suddenness of the request but did as she was told. Quickly scribbling down a message she wrapped it around in a red ribbon laced with gold and set it on fire. The scroll burst into a beautiful array of colors before dispersing.

"What did you just do?" Asked Jake as he was taken out of his thoughts by the spectacle.

"Oh... well usually I need spike to send letters, but in case of emergencies I wrap it in the ribbon you saw and send it using a special spell. It arrives almost instantly to her location! I developed the spell myself." She finished proudly.

****************************************

Celestia was in her private quarters enjoying a particularly invigorating bath. She has had no time to herself as she had been caught up with all of the nobles either trying to get on her good side as usual or the town ponies on her case asking about the "Fallen star". According to a recent letter from her pupil the star was apparently some kind of transportation made by a creature who calls himself a human. She knew this couldn't be true as humans were merely legend, something found on cave walls and in old scrolls. But the idea intrigued her greatly. Never the less she felt like she would have to look into this matter when the nobles calm down, but in the meantime trusted her star pupil to handle it for now.

Before she could continue her inner rambling there was a familiar flash before a scroll appeared in the air. She swiftly caught it with her magic before it could reach the water before smiling. Her smile, however, was lost as she noticed the gold laced red ribbon around the scroll. Sighing inwardly she shook her head as she got up from her gigantic bathtub, which was really an inside swimming pool with a miniature water fall.

"It seems I have no time to relax lately..." She spoke to no-one in particular.

As she dried herself off with some towels she unraveled the scroll and began to read.

Dear Princess Celestia

Something seems to have happened with our guest, the one I told you about in my previous letter. He seems to really be worried about something and told me that he needs your help with something. Now usually I wouldn't send letters like this but I feel this is a real emergency. I haven't told you yet as I haven't had time to finish the report but... the things his race has done is amazing! He says that the thing he crashed in was called an "Escape pod" that was launched from something called the "Star Streaker". But what interests me most is that apparently... they are capable of space travel! Something completely unheard of until now!

I don't know about you but I feel like this could be a new turning point for Equestria! The things we could learn from them are outstanding! But before I ramble on I feel like you should come meet him yourself. He is here now if you think you can manage.

Forever your student (Despite the wings)

Twilight Sparkle

Celestia had no idea how to feel. Up until now she had been paying the fallen star absolutely no mind, expecting it to be some kind of hoax, or joke played by some troublemakers. But now there was obviously something else entirely going on. If there really was another intelligent race from a completely different world in Equestria RIGHT NOW how could she have been so foolish as to allow Twilight to make first contact! Of course it's not like she didn't trust Twilight... but things like this should be handled with great care! And Celestia knew how Twilight tended to act around... new things.

Concentrating, Celestia opened her mind and reached out for her sister.

"Sister, something extremely important has arisen and I need you to accompany me to Ponyville." Celestia called out to her sister.

"We are on the way dearest sister, what has happened so suddenly that would cause thou such distress?" Luna replied almost immediately.

"I will explain on the way but right now we must make haste!" Celestia finished before the connection cut off.

Before Celestia prepared to meet with her sister, she felt the familiar feeling deep within her as she had felt every day for as long as she could remember. Looking into the sky, she lit up her horn and began to lower the sun to make way for the moon. As the moon overtook the sky and darkness blanketed the land, she continued to stare into the sky. She watched the thousands and thousands of twinkling stars as she tried to imagine what else may be out there. But then one thought came to mind as she remembered what she read in the letter about a race from another world.

'Are we ready for this?'

Chapter 13: The Celestial Sisters

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From here on The story will be in first person for a more... immersive feeling. I hope that's alright. The third person before was mostly to get the beginning of the story started, and I'll be honest I just have a more fluid time writing in first person.

Chapter 13: The Celestial Sisters

The silence was so strong it was almost malleable as Twilight, Spike and I all stood outside of Ponyville, waiting for the Princesses. The letter they had returned apparently just told us to come here and wait, but I could tell by the look in Twilight's eye it said something else too.

And I'm not sure It's any good for me.

We stood there waiting, me in my full suit of armor, as I noticed a speck in the distance pulling away from a rather large fortress on the side of a mountain. I pressed a button on the right of my helmet and my visor zoomed in to reveal a carriage being pulled by what looked like two Pegasi. I couldn't see the inside as it was was a closed roof. I turned to Twilight as she turned to me and shot me a look of courage.

I couldn't say I fully felt the same way.

A few minutes passed before the carriage was just a hundred or so feet away. I could feel my breath tighten as they neared as my thoughts began to race.

'What if they're really tough rulers? What if they just want to be rid of me? What if they won't help me.... what if-'

My thoughts cut off as the carriage landed and pulled up to us. As it did the back doors began to glow as a loud noise shot through my helmet. Quickly muting my vocal speakers I spoke.

"Lucy can you please shut that off? And see if you can find a way to parse their magic with normal energy? I still want to track it but see if you can make it not... you know... fry my ears." I asked as I switched my vocals back on.

Lucy replied with a beep and the noise immediately stopped, followed by my radar showing two new blips, showing up purple instead of the normal red. I could only guess that means magical signatures. I watched as the doors on the back opened as two unicorn ponies walked out wearing two different sets of armor. One wore armor that shone a brilliant gold, and the other, a dark blue.

Behind them walked two Alicorns, as I learned from Twilight, but with very noticeable differences. The one on the left seemed to glow with power, even my radar was picking both of them up as purple so they must just emit energy. She was a pure white, and stood tall enough that I was as tall as the tip of her horn, the base probably if I didn't have the armor on. Her hair flowed in a nonexistent wind as she gracefully made her way towards me.

The one on the right was a completely different story. She had a dark blue hue and she stood about neck height, maybe shorter, to me with hair that also flowed through the air. But this time it was filled with the captivating sight of the night sky and all it's beauty. I found myself staring for a few moments, just remembering where I should be, before I heard them clear their throat.

The one on the left, which I had to guess was Celestia, explained to me also by Twilight, was watching me closely with an analyzing gaze. And why wouldn't she be? I was basically either an ally or a potential powerful threat.

"I, Celestia, wish to welcome you to Equestria, traveler of the stars." She said as she gave a small bow of her head.

Luna spoke up next, "I, Luna, also welcome you to this land... and hope you bring with you good intentions."

After a few moments they pulled their heads up and watched me expectantly.

'Whooo... okay, here it is, the big one'

I brought my hands up to my helmet and pressed a few buttons causing it to give off a hiss as it depressurized. I slid it off and looked them both in the eyes. I got down to one knee, setting the helmet beside me and looked up to them.

"My name is First Lieutenant Jake Carson, soldier of Earths special forces Galactic Military." I said as I stood up and locked my legs together and straightened my back.

The guards immediately looked to take interest in me after that, if they hadn't already been interested in the talking alien wearing a metal suit.

"Military?" Celestia asked with a slight tone of worry.

Nodding, I looked her in the eye, while also trying to sound as sincere as possible, "Yes ma'am. And I know what your thinking, so no, I would never start a fight but I will always fight back." I said pausing, "Unless ordered to."

Celestia and Luna exchanged looks for a moment before looking back to me.

"Would you be willing to come with us and answer questions?" Luna asked with a slight glint in her eyes.

"Yes, I'd be willing to exchange information, we gonna take that?" I asked pointing to the carriage.

Celestia gave a wave of her hoof as the carriage ponies nodded and took off.

'Guess not'

"Please, follow me to the library." She spoke as she walked along the path into Ponyville.

*************************************

It seems when your walking behind the two Princesses of the land, the town suddenly all collectively grow a pair. Instead of looking on to me in fear, they looked at me with what seemed to be anger. They were shouting insults at me from every direction, I had half a mind to turn off external sound.

"Go back to the Everfree monster!" Yelled a pony as a tomato came soaring over to me on a crash course for my head.

As it hit me it burned up into ash upon contact with my shields, and fell to the ground smoking.

I stopped and looked them all over, casting my gaze over them all, daring them to throw another. The town fell dead silent again, and after a few moments of waiting, I continued my path back to the library.

As I walked through the Library, closely behind the Princesses, I sat my helmet down on the table, along with my pistol, and began going through the process of taking off my suit. As I did I could see Luna had taken interest of the process.

"You like it?" I ask as she nods to my statement.

"It's one of the only of its kind, she was discontinued after they found out the price it cost to make her." I said as I exited the suit and heaved it over to the wall to lean on.

Luna walked over and examined the armor, looking at it's every curve and crevice. "It looks so... dangerous." She said as she reached forward and touched it.

"That's cause it is. The suit binds to your genetic code and can do all sorts of things to you." I said as I took a seat on the couch.

Walking over to me, but casting a glance to the armor, Luna pressed on. "What kind of things?"

Thinking for a moment, I answered. "Well... it's capable of analyzing your body real time and administering minor healing for small cuts and wounds. It gives you super human endurance, stamina and strength. It gives you more thinking time by helping your brain process information faster, and many more things I didn't read into. Seriously the book's like 400 pages long."

Luna looked taken aback by what the suit was capable of. "It certainly is a different kind of magic." She stated eliciting a laugh from me.

"Oh no Princess, that's not magic. Where I come from, magic isn't real. That baby there is Human Technology at it's finest."

Luna looked on at the suit in a new light, literally, as Celestia came walking back into the room, clearing her throat to get my attention.

"Alright, I think it's time we got down to business." Celestia stated as she walked towards me and Luna.

**********************************

Deep inside the Everfree forest, three young fillies were wandering around in the dark cast by the shadows of the many trees surrounding them.

They were horribly lost.

"I thought you knew where you were going!" Scootaloo yelled to Applebloom.

"We were goin' the right way! You just distracted me and made me lose ma' sense of direction!" Applebloom yelled back.

"Did not!" Scootaloo yelled back.

"Did too!" Applebloom replied.

"Did no-" Scootaloo began but was cut off by Sweetiebelle.

"ENOUGH! You two have been fighting for hours now! It's not gonna help us get out of the forest!" Sweetiebelle Yelled at the two.

Before the two could could yell something back, they heard a very low, very dangerous growl, coming from a cave very near to them.

A big cave.

***************************************

"So you see... I'm in a very dire situation here..." I continued as I leaned forward, placing my hands on the table and looking between the two sisters. "I am very limited on time, and have to get that ship fixed... there's too much at stake..."

Celestia looked to be in very deep thought as Luna just stared at me, almost as if she wanted to say something.

"Look... I know this is way too sudden... but I HAVE to get back there... if I don't this WILL mean the end for my entire species." I finished letting that statement sink in.

For Celestia... On one hoof, everything he says could be true, on the other, he may just want to repair his ship to leave and come back with a fighting force, ready to take over. She knew the chance was small, but as a ruler she had to think of every alternative.

Before she could think on the matter any more... an ear shattering roar echoed through the town.

"What... the fuck... was that?" I asked slowly as I turned around.

"That sounded like a...." Twilight began but was cut off as the roar sounded again, this time just outside the Library.

"ROOOOOOOAR"

"...an Ursa minor..." Twilight finished as she began to make her way to the door.

Only to be stopped by Celestia, who then cast a gaze over to me so quick she may have thought I missed it.

I didn't.

Turning on my heels I ran to the front door and got into my armor, slid on my helmet, and bolted out the door.

"Alright Lucy it's game time, re-route power to shields, I was as much protection as... I..." I slowed to a stop as my words caught in my mouth at the sight before me.

In front of me was a massive looking bear, and when I mean massive I don't mean like... HEY that sub sandwich is MASSIVE or HEY that house is MASSIVE. I mean, that fucking this is MASSIVE. It rivaled a fucking roller coaster. Just then a word clicked in my head.

"She fucking called it an Ursa MINOR!?"

My yelling caught it's attention as it turned to me and lowered it's head, growling at me. On the corner of my eyes I saw the three Alicorns leave the building... watching me.

'Well... considering it's called an Ursa Minor I probably don't want to kill it. I don't want to know what the wrath of an Ursa Major is like... so I'm gonna have to bring it down in a non lethal fashion.'

Time slowed down as the suit did it's work. I began thinking of what I could do. Breaking its neck wasn't gonna happen, too big... also it would die. I wouldn't be able to knock it out with brute strength, may be a super soldier but I'm not Hercules.

Then I got an idea.

"Lucy, I want you to analyze this thing, tell me all it's major pressure points. How long will it take?" I asked as the thing began charging at me.

"About a minute, you might want to get running." She replied as the beast was upon me.

It took a running swipe at me with it's right paw as I took a quick leap backwards, avoiding the blow. immediately afterwords I turned and began running, having it quickly on my tail. I began weaving through the town, watching as some poor defenseless stalls and shops get crushed underfoot. They never stood a chance. A few seconds later I heard a beep.

My vision pulsed as I looked back and watched the Ursa's body as many different dots appeared all over it.

"Scan complete Sir. Happy hunting."

Nodding, I put my plan into action, I turned a corner and ran into an alleyway. Immediately after doing so I turned to the wall and leaped upwards, digging my hand into the side of the wall and pulling myself onto the roof and leaned down low to stay out of sight. The Ursa turned and looked into the alley for it's prey as I began to sneak to the edge of the rooftop. Once I reached the end I waited till it's head turned the opposite direction before doing something really stupid.

I leaped off the building and landed on it's back, causing it to immediately rear up and try to shake me off. I grabbed onto it's fur and hung on as I planted my feet on it's back. I quickly made my way to the base of it's neck over a glowing spot and readied a heavy blow. Just before the hit landed the Ursa reared up and crushed me against the wall of a building.

My shields took a heavy hit as they drooped to 23% power as I silently cursed myself. I landed on the ground and took off running again.

"Can't take another hit like that or I'm fucked."

"Sir, I have a suggestion." Lucy said through the speakers.

"Well I'd love to hear it." I asked as I could hear the Ursa close behind. "Could use all the help I could get."

"My scans pick up that it's retinas are very sensitive to high levels of light. What If I Diverted all power to the shields and overloaded them to cause a bright flash, and hopefully disorient it?"

Nodding I retracted my visor so I could see when the suits power went out.

"Sometimes Lucy, I could kiss you."

I stopped and faced the Ursa as it also slid to a stop, eying me for a moment, as if trying to figure out my plan. Then it Roared and went for an attack, just as my shields brightened suddenly, causing me to shield my eyes.

I could feel the armor begin to weigh down a bit, as it's self powered help was sucked away. Opening my eyes I could see the Ursa pulling back in shock at the sudden light. Wasting no time I quickly sprinted over to it and took a giant leap, which was made harder without the aid of the suit and the added dead weight. But I jumped up to it's side and grabbed onto it's fur and quickly hefted myself onto it's back before moving myself to the same spot as before.

Lifting up my fist I delivered a powerful hit at the base of it's neck, then again, and again, before the Ursa slowed down and finally stopped struggling and fell to the ground, unconscious.

Jumping off the back of the beast, I quickly shed the armor as I fell to my knees, taking in deep breaths.

'Jeez that armor gets heavy really fucking fast without power...' I thought to myself.

Before I could continue any of my thought process... I began to hear something behind me... something that sounded a lot like....

Cheering....

Chapter 14: Making a Friend

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WOOT! ANOTHER 3k WORD CHAPTER! I'm on a roll man!

Chapter 14: Making a Friend

I stayed there for a long time, just listening to the sound. How long has it been since I had heard it? Since it was truly directed to me? And not just the group of soldiers you don't care to know the names of? It felt strange.

It felt good.

But I quickly shook the feeling off and walked to the suit of armor, looking it over.

'Heh... not a scratch... gonna be real heavy though...' I thought as I got to work.

I heaved the suit of armor and began the arduous task of hauling the heavy as hell armor back to the library to let the Princesses know the worst is over. We needed to get the thing out of the town before it woke up again. I'm not sure I could take it again without the suit. I looked forward and froze at what I saw and heard as I came out of my train of thoughts.

Ponies everywhere, probably the whole town, were stomping their hooves to me. I couldn't help but smile... even though I shouldn't. I didn't do it because I wanted praise... I did it because it was the right thing to do. The soldier thing to do.

"That armor of his must be might heavy... somepony give him a hoof will ya?!" A random pony yelled out of the crowd.

Just then the suit was encased in a light blue aura as the weight was lifted. I rolled my shoulders a bit as I combed the audience to see which pony had decided to actually help me out. I spotted her as she began trotting towards me with a small smile on her face.

"After what you did for the town... it's the least I could do." The purple colored equine said.

Nodding a bit I began to make my way to the library, her close beside me with the armor floating nearby.

"Well thanks, the armor is really heavy when it's outta power. What's your name?" I asked as the ponies around us began to disperse.

"Amethyst, Amethyst Star." She said holding her head a bit higher.

I chanced a glance at her flank to see the image of three diamonds.

'Shoulda' known that one'

"Well I'm glad I'm not a strange alien monster to the populace anymore." I said with a sigh of relief.

She shot me a strange look at that statement. "...Alien? I thought you came from the Everfree?"

'Uh oh... the Princesses never told me what to say in this situation. Do I tell them what I am or just come up with something?'

"I... uh... Yeah I'm an alien. Like... not from here alien. Like you know, originated from the Everfree?" I said trying to patch up my mistake.

Giving me a calculating look she shrugged and continued trotting. "Eh alright... but I gotta say I don't remember about seeing any of you come outta there before." She paused for a moment before looking at me with a bit of excitement. "Hey... I don't think you've ever been documented. You think you would let me document you for the sake of research?"

I shrugged. "Yeah maybe some day, but right now I'm pretty caught up with things." I stated as I pointed to the tree house and, in turn, the three alicorns waiting just outside it.

"Ah I see... where do you want me to set this?" She asked nodding to the armor.

"Eh just give it here, I'll carry it the rest of the way, thanks for your help."

"No problem... hey I didn't catch your name." She asked as I took the armor from her magic.

"The name's Jake. Jake Carson. I'll see ya around." I said with a polite nod as we both parted ways.

As I made my way to the trio, I gave a loud whistle, catching their attention.

"Hey! We're gonna need a cleanup crew to take that thing outta here!" I yelled to them as they all began flying towards me.

Celestia, on the way, ordered a bunch of Unicorn guards who arrived some time recently to go to the downed Ursa. I guess they're the cleanup.

Landing on their hooves, Luna was the first to speak. "Please... tell me you didn't harm it." She said with a pleading look.

"No don't worry. It's incapacitated for now. Just get it back to where it belongs."

They all breathed a sigh of relief as Luna spoke up again. "Good... I wouldn't want to see it's mother angry."

That caused a shiver up my spine... I'd rather not know.

"Alright.. Say Twi can you set this in the library? Its really heavy." I asked her as she nodded and teleported off, suit in tow.

"Why couldn't you just wear it?" Asked Luna as Twilight vanished.

"Ah I had the shields overload to cause a bright flash to disorient the Ursa. It did a number on it's power storage though. Right now it's just dead weight until I get it charged again." I said as we all began walking to the library's entrance.

"Ah of course! They're sensitive to high amounts of light! That's very clever of you... how did you know that if you only just came to the planet?" Celestia asked with slight worry.

"Oh that part of the plan was Lucy's idea. She's always looking out for me."

They both looked back to me at that. "Lucy? There's more of you here?" Celestia asked shocked.

"Oh.. uh no Lucy is... different... well..." I paused as I tried to think about how to explain an A.I. to the ponies. "Oh don't worry about it. I'll explain it some other time."

As we walked into the Library I thought about how hard it will be bringing the armor back to the Everfree.

"Hey... I gotta go make a stop at the Everfree to get the suit fixed up. Can one of you... accompany me? I'd just be a free meal carrying that thing in there."

Before anypony had a chance to volunteer, Luna raised her hoof. "I'll help you, I'd like to see this 'Ship' of yours."

Shrugging I nodded, "Alright, we gotta get goin' then. It's getting a bit late out." I said, pointing to the windows.

********************************

We entered the forest without saying a word, Luna walking with me on my left carrying the armor in her magic. After a few minutes of walking I decided to try and lighten the mood.

"So... how does the magic thing work anyway? Can you even feel the weight it gives off?"

Nodding she answered. "Yes, I can, but it's more in the form of pressure at the base of the horn... like something is pulling down on it. But we can lift things that are much heavier than we could with our hooves."

Shrugging I just kept walking. "So... any funny stories while you ruled?" I asked getting her to raise an eyebrow to me. "Oh come on... you look like... eh... twenty six or so? So you have to have seen some funny things during your rule."

Luna gave a small chuckle and answered. "While we appreciate your flattery... we have to say we are much older. I'm 2375 years old... but yes I've seen some funny things in my time."

'Holy shit! Twilight wasn't kidding with the immortal thing!'

"Well I gotta say you sure as hell don't look like it." I said giving her a smile, "Well all right, let's play a little game. We'll see who has seen the funniest thing... you during rule, and me during my service... and the winner gets bragging rights... come on it'd be fun!" I exclaimed with a smile.

Thinking about it for a moment she nodded and smiled up to me. "Alright, you go first."

"Okay... so one day I'm on the starstreaker... and we get called in for a case of 'There's a guy naked running through the front deck!' So we-"

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"Hahahaha! Oh my god! You've got to be shitting me... there's no way." I ask as I nudge her side.

"No it's true! I walk into my sisters room and she is on the floor... COVERED in hardened chocolate! AND SHE CAN'T MOVE! Apparently she had a big sweet tooth that day and decided a chocolate bath was a good idea. I just sat and watched as she ate her way out of her prison!" She explained as I tried to hold in another bout of laughter.

"Oh jeez... alright it doesn't matter if I lived for another thousand years... I don't think I could top that." I said, wiping a tear off my cheek.

"Ha! I win!" She said striking a triumphant pose.

"Yeah... that you did." I said smiling at her antics.

'I honestly thought the Princesses would be really uptight about everything... but man this is some of the most fun I've had in a while...'

As I finished my thoughts... up ahead my ship finally came into view. And I had to say... it looked much better than before. Lucy had said she had auto repairs working but I didn't think they'd be so quick. But of course I'd still need supplies if we were to repair it any further. Luna noticed the ship too and her jaw dropped as she took in the sight. All around the ship were tiny machines hovering around, welding random parts to the ship slowly repairing it.

"What are those things?" She asked motioning to the drones.

"Oh? Those are repair drones. Lucy activated them when she said she'd start auto repairs."

Luna looked at me with curiosity. "There's that name again, Lucy, who is she? Can I meet her?"

"Uh yeah I guess so... but she's a bit... different..." I say as I motion for her to follow.

We both walked up to the ship's doors as they slid open, allowing us entrance. the inside looked much better than it did before. The cockpit's controls all seemed to be back together and it looked like new.

"Wow Lucy... you did a damn good job. Whats left that needs to be fixed?" I asked readying for the damage report.

"Both engines need repairs along with the rightmost wing. We would have to prop the ship up a bit to get to the repairs underneath." Lucy spoke out from the ship's intercoms.

Luna looked startled by the sudden voice and nearly lost her concentration on the magic holding the suit firmly about the ground.

"Where did that come from? Where is she?" Luna asked looking around.

"I'll explain in a bit. Just follow me." I asked leading her to the armor's recharge bay.

*******************************

After getting the armor plugged in and charging, I made my way to the cockpit again, as Lucy said she had something for me.

"Alright I'm here. What is it?"

"Remember the chip looking thing I gave you that was labeled as a 'Necessity'?" She asked as I pulled out the item in question.

"Yeah?"

"Plug it into the front desk, I just finished writing the rest of the software coding for it."

Doing as she said I stuck it in there as the piece lit up. I saw numbers flashing over it as whatever Lucy had made downloaded into it. Then... as fast as it began it stopped.

"Alright, it's done now. Try it out." She said as I pulled it out and looked it over.

I pressed the center button as it flashed and jumped from my hands and onto the floor. I dove to catch it but stopped as I noticed a pair of feet greeted me. I slowly lifted my head up and looked into the eyes of a female hologram. Instinctively I recoiled back a bit at the surprise but quickly calmed down as I noticed Luna's expression.

She had a look of pure wonder.

"Lucy? Is that you?" I asked getting her to nod. "Oh man that's... weird... cool but... weird." I said as I stepped forward and reached out.

My hand flowed straight through her as if she was just air. Which she, for all intents and purposes, was.

"Yes... this is an A.I hologram disk that lets the A.I speak and interact directly with other people. However it was never finished due to money and work being shifted more towards weaponry to help combat the Verix." She continued as she walked around the ship, examining everything. "It's so... strange... being able to see anything... I can usually only see what you see through your visor... or the ships cameras and motion sensors..."

I watched her walk around some more, completely flabbergasted. I turned to Luna to see her still staring just as much as I was.

"What do you think of all this?" I ask Luna as she turns to me, mouth wide open.

"What is she?" Luna asks quietly.

"She's an A.I. Means artificial intelligence. A mind created by us and the aid of computers. So she's technically not alive... doesn't stop her from having an attitude sometimes though." I said a bit loud at the end, eliciting a small giggle from Lucy.

"That's... amazing!" Luna said as she walked over to Lucy and watched as her hoof phased through her. She giggled a bit and did it again, and again, and again.

"Almost done?" I asked getting her to look at me and blush.

"S-sorry..." She said smiling.

"Nah it's alright, everyone has a childish side. Otherwise they're just no fun." I finished as I let out a yawn.

Just then I could feel my chest twist in pain. I fell to my knees groaning as I held onto my chest.

"Jake!? Jake what's wrong!?" Luna asked as she rushed forward.

I coughed into my arm a few times, before looking at it and seeing blood.

'Oh that's not good...' I thought as my vision fell to darkness.

****************************************

Perspective change: Luna

I rushed forward and reached Jake just in time to catch him from hitting the floor, and looked like he was unconscious. I turned to Lucy with worry in my eyes.

"Whats wrong with him?" I ask as she looks at him with a calculating gaze, before her eyes lit up in horror.

"Oh no... quick, pick him up, and take the holo-tab with you." She ordered as she disappeared back into the small piece of metal.

Doing as she said I lifted the object and Jake up and waited for her to tell me what to do next.

"Now bring him to the table in the back most room! Hurry I'm not sure how much time we have to stabilize him!" Lucy yelled out as I did as she told.

I brought him up to the table and sat him down quickly but gently. Almost as soon as I did a red line shot out, almost like a lazer, and ran over his whole body.

"Just as I suspected..." Lucy said aloud as a needle popped out of the table to my right. "Take this needle and do exactly as I say." I nodded and picked the needle up in my magic. "NO! You need to use your hooves! I'm not sure how much force you will use with your magic!"

Nodding I took the needle between two of my hooves, and waited for her to tell me what to do next. A few moments later, a beeping started... it sounded a lot like the machines they use in the hospitals at Canterlot. I could hear it getting faster and faster.

"See this red dot?" Lucy stated as a red dot showed up on his chest, causing me to nod. "That's his heart, I need you to stab the needle into his chest hard, to make sure it reaches it. We only have one shot at this. Ready?" I thought about this for a moment before nodding quickly.

"NOW!"

As she yelled I plunged the needle into his chest, causing his eyes to shoot open as he took in a sharp breath. He quickly looked around for a few moments before resting his eyes on me, then passed out again.

"Is he... will he be alright now?" I ask slowly as I look him over.

"Yes, I'm keeping him stabilized. Turns out he was one of the unlucky few..." Lucy said in a sad tone.

"Unlucky few? What do you mean?" I asked curiously.

"Well... Jake is a special breed of soldier. He is genetically modified by super serums developed in the labs of the Starstreaker. However these changes are not immediate as they happen over an undetermined amount of time... and sometimes... while his body is going through the changes... the heart can give out." She paused for a moment before continuing. "I had you inject him with some adrenalin to keep his heart going so I could stabilize him."

Mulling these facts over, I shook my head. "Genetically modified? You mean like that changed him? Thats... thats.... horrible!"

"Come back to the cockpit... I'll explain to you why we do what we do." Lucy said as the front of the ship lit up. "Then you will see we should have done more."

Chapter 15: Friends and Fights

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Sorry for the long wait folks... but hey! 3807 words! WOO HOO! Anyway... the long wait was because I was nearing exam period and I wanted to crack down on my college work... but tomorrow is my last exam so I hope this treat here will just be the beginning of what becomes a new comeback to my stories!

Chapter 15: Friends and Fights

There was nothing but darkness surrounding me as I lay floating there in an endless abyss. No matter where I looked I just saw more black, stretching on for an eternity. I couldn't make any sounds, I couldn't even hear my own breathing. I closed my eyes and let the cool darkness shroud my body...

I sharply inhaled as my eyes shot open to reveal the ceiling of the escape pod. Confused I sat up and looked around for Luna and an answer to what was going on.

"Luna? Lucy? Hello?" I spoke up, listening to my voice echo through the metal beast.

I heard some hoofsteps along the grated ground towards me, coming from the cockpit area as Luna burst through the door.

"Jake?! What are you doing! Lay down and stop stressing yourself!" She said aloud as she began to try and push me down by the shoulders.

I resisted against her, sitting myself up and lightly pushing her back.

"Whoa whoa whoa... easy there... why would I need to relax?" I asked looking at where I was laying down. "On a side-note... why am I laying in the med-bay anyway?"

Luna set down the hologram disk beside me, where it lit up for a moment causing Lucy to appear beside Luna, both looking at me with concern.

Lucy was the first to speak up. "Well, we... well more like Luna, brought you here after you... collapsed." She said taking note of my confused expression. "Obviously, we managed to get you stable... but it seems your body is one of the few who react kind of negativity to the genetic serums."

My eyes widened in surprise. "R-Really? But my previous bloodline showed no known medical history like this!" I exclaimed.

"Yes you're right... for your fathers side..." Lucy said quietly.

There was a silence for a few moments after that before Luna spoke up. "What does that mean? What about the mother?"

I glanced over to Luna for a second before shrugging, "I never knew her so... we don't have any files on her medical history. I have to guess Lucy already told you about the enhancements... but what she didn't tell you was it's still experimental. So we can't just take out some DNA from me for some testing. It needs to interact with the whole human body. So the only time we know if there is a risk of... what happened to me... is if we know about the family's medical background."

After a few moments of silence I looked up in time to see Luna lean forward, pulling me into a hug.

"Oh you poor thing! You never knew a mothers love!" She exclaimed as she hugged me tighter. "Nopony should ever have to deal with such things!"

I sat there for a few shocked moments, before clearing my throat. She finally let go of me and backed up.

"It's alright, I've gotten over it a long, long time ago. You can't really miss something you never had right?" I said with a sideways smile.

"Well I su-" Luna began but cut herself off as she looked to be listening to someone whispering in her ear.

After a few moments she blinked and looked straight at me. "I'm afraid I have some bad news..." She began with worry in her voice. "Originally we had planned on beginning to send you your parts needed for construction today, although some of them I do not have a clue as to what they are, but... something has come up."

"Wait... what do you mean 'Something has come up'? This is possibly more important than whatever has come up!" I said slowly getting louder. "We are talking about an entire spe-"

"And we are talking about our own!" Luna yelled back before taking in a breath and calming herself. "Sorry... you didn't know... anyways, it seems the Griffon Empire has ignored our pleas for peace and have... invaded Fillyfjell, a small town up north of here near the mountains."

I cursed myself for being inconsiderate... but at the same time I couldn't just let this happen. This was valuable time wasting away as both Lucy and I don't know the extent of the repairs until we see how difficult it is to get the parts.

"Well why can't you and your sister go and take care of it? Don't you both have like, crazy high supplies of magic?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes we do but... it seems the Griffons have uncovered some sort of artifact that dampens magic. So this could be quite dangerous used against the two of us at once." Luna replied.

"I see... so I guess you'll be going to see your sister then?" I asked causing her to nod. "Alright, take me with you."

This sparked a look of surprise from her as she looked at me with caution. "And why is that?" She asked back.

"Because I feel like she would want to hear what I have to say."

She inspected me for a moment before rolling her eyes and walking towards me. "Alright fine, place your hand on me." She said.

I did as she said and as her horn began to charge she let out a chuckle, getting my attention.

"What's so funny?" I asked seriously.

Chuckling again she gave me a sideways look. "Today I found myself getting ordered to do things by others, which has not happened in a long, long time. Today just keeps getting stranger." She said with a small smile as there was a bright flash of light.

*********************************************************************

I blinked furiously trying to remove the spots from my vision as I shook my head. When my vision finally began to clear I noticed where I was. I was standing beside Luna inside of what appeared to be a very elegantly made hallway, looked to be chipped out of stone with some laces of gold all over the place. I turned my vision to Luna to see her looking forward towards a set of double doors.

"Are you ready?" She asked me, giving me a worried look.

"Yeah why wouldn't I be?" I asked as I heard a loud scream from behind said doors.

There was a terrifying sound of something along the lines of a plasma emitter firing and something hitting the floor as I turned to Luna.

"What the hell is going on in there!" I asked her.

"It's my sister... she's not happy with what's happening right now. I think the events of today mixed with what just happened is too much for her."

I nodded back before walking towards the door. I paused for a moment and smiled back. "Hehe... ladies first?"

Rolling her eyes she opened the doors with her magic and trotted in, with me closely behind. When I went through what I saw was amazing. There was a completely diamond and gold chandelier hanging high above the room with gold laced around the walls with all sorts of decorations fixed in them. Each window had a different tale on it. Looking closer a lot of them looked similar to the ponies I met back in Ponyville. Not just Twilight but the others as well. On the floor leading all the way up to the front of the room was a beautiful red carpet with amazing trim along the edges leading all the way up to a solid gold throne.

That was, if the room didn't have a giant streak running through the middle, where anything nearby was either burnt up or melted completely.

"Sister! You need to control your temper or we will run the castle into the ground fixing damages like these all the time!" Luna spoke up as she trotted up the carpet towards her sister who sat in the throne looking completely stressed out.

It was now that I noticed the guards standing next to me had their weapons drawn and pointed towards me, even if they were just spears I still wasn't armored.

"Guards! Lower your weapons! He is a guest!" Luna shouted back when she noticed the guards behavior.

The guards lowered their weapons and took up their normal stance next to the doors, but still looked tensed from my presence.

"Luna I'm sorry but... everything just came out of nowhere... I really need a vacation." Celestia said as she rubbed her temples with her hooves.

"Then do as I said and take a break! I can handle the kingdom by myself for a week!" Luna exclaimed as she walked next to her sister and gave her a small push.

"Thank you dear sister... I may take you up on that request... but only after we have dealt with-" She stopped as she noticed me across the room. "Oh, I didn't realize you were there, my apologizes Lieutenant." She said as she got to her hooves.

The guards immediately took interest in me after she was finished talking.

"It's alright Ma'am, just Jake is fine."

I made my way towards her as she motioned for me to follow while she left through a back door. I filed in after Luna and looked around. The room was much much smaller than the last room was, this room having no decorations and just a round table with a map on it.

"A war room..." I said as I leaned on the table, examining the whole thing. "I heard you may have a Griffon problem? Where is this town of yours... Fillyfjell was it?" I asked Celestia as she gave me a sideways look.

"You told him?" She said to Luna who nodded back while blushing. "*Sigh* Alright well since you already know... its here, right in the mountainous area, north of Ponyville." She said as she tapped her hoof on a section of the map.

Nodding I looked up to Celestia. "So, what do you plan on doing about it?" I asked back as she let out another sigh.

"Honestly? There is nothing we can do about it. The area is very easily defend-able so we can't do an aerial strike so they now dominate the skies. That means they have lookouts so ground troops are out... and they seem to have a counter to our magic so there goes unicorns." She finished shaking her head.

"Well it seems... you need some assistance." I said giving a small smile, causing Celestia and Luna to give me curious looks. "Tell you what... if you go ahead with your plan on helping me fix my ship, I'll get your town back TONIGHT." I said with a smile causing them both to open their eyes surprised.

"Tonight?" Celestia said back, unconvinced, "I feel like that is highly unlikely without the aid of numbers OR magic."

Luna then spoke up, "Actually sister, from what little I've seen of his 'ship' the amount of power they hold is astonishing without even the need for magic! He may very well be able to help us!"

Celestia looked to be deep in thought as she looked up from the map to me. "I don't know..."

"And..." I said as they leaned in a bit, wanting to hear what I had to say. "When you fix my ship... I'll end this little dispute between you and the Griffons in no less than a day tops." I said smiling.

Celestia stood there pondering what I had just said for a moment before motioning for Luna to follow her out the door. "Wait here." She asked me as she closed the door behind her.

Some whispers could be heard by the two for a few minutes before the door cracked open and the two walked back in. They were silent as they made their way to the other side of the table, opposite to me. The whole time Celestia looked straight ahead. When she stopped she faced me and closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath, before releasing it and looking straight into my eyes.

"How do we know... with such power you say you have... you will not turn on us when you have your ship repaired?" She asked in such a serious voice it almost didn't fit her motherly character.

I pondered this for a few seconds before connecting my eyes with her's as well. "Other than my own word... you don't. But I guess the only question is, what would you rather? Inevitable defeat to the Griffons, or a chance to fight back with me even with the risk that I may not be telling the truth?" I asked back as she closed her eyes and nodded.

"I had a feeling you would say that... alright. We both accept these terms and are ready to supply you with whatever you need for the ship, and for the mission." Celestia said as she gave a quick glance to Luna.

Smiling a bit I placed both my hands down on the table. "Alright then... let's get to work!"

*********************************************************************

I once again found myself blinking out the spots in my vision after teleporting with Luna. I walked up to the ship and went inside, Luna close behind me.

"Alright, Lucy we're in action, I'm taking the armor and won't be back until probably tomorrow. I don't know your signal strength but there is no way you can contact the suit from the range I'm going to be. I want you to delete yourself from the suit, so you can only contact me when I'm in range." I said as I began taking the suit out of the charging port.

"Alright sir... but why delete myself from it?" Lucy asked confused.

"Because it's a waste of space, I plan on flying this ship soon anyway. I would rather have the storage space in the suit's drive for other things. Not like they could afford better storage capacity when going for protection anyway." I said back.

"Alright that sound's reasonable enough." She said as she paused for a second, "Alright it's done."

"Okay, Luna, I need you to stay here and focus on telling ponies where to put things and what not, Lucy will help you through that. So while I'm gone, your the one in charge here." I said to Luna getting a nod in reply. "Also, tell me again why you can't just teleport me to the town?"

Luna rolled her eyes and began, "Because even though the town is really only composed of Pegasus and Earth ponies, the Griffons still have their own Unicorns and Arch Mages working for them. If we were to teleport you anywhere near them you would show up as a beacon to them."

Nodding I gave a small smile. "Alright good point. Carriage it is. Are you sure they can handle this weight?" I asked pointing to the armor that I had halfway on."

"Yes the carriages are magically enchanted to hold more weight." Luna said, apparently oblivious to what she had said previously.

"Wait I thought you said they can detect magic?" I asked as I stopped putting on armor for a moment.

Rolling her eyes for the hundredth time, she explained, "No... that magic is much more subtle that a teleport, the Unicorn's would have to be actively searching for it to notice it."

I raised my hands defensively after locking the helmet into place. "Whoa sorry! I'm no magic expert remember? Anyway, I'm ready so let's go." I said as I lifted my plasma rifle up and attached it to my back's magnetic holder, along with some spare clips against my waist. "Also Lucy, can you start work on manufacturing some more magazines for the plasma weapons, I feel we may start running kind of low after this." I said pointing to the half empty magazine in the rifle, and the two spares on my hip.

"Yes sir." Lucy spoke up from the console.

"Jake... if I could ask you to do one thing for me..." Luna spoke up as she neared me. "Could you please try not to kill any of them? I know your a soldier and all but... if you can just maybe... I don't know..."

"I'll do my best to take as many of them out non-lethally. But no promises if things get hairy." I said getting a nod from Luna. "Alright, lets do this." I said towards Luna as she teleported me back to the castle's hanger.

"State your business!" A guard shouted as he readied his weapon to his side.

I stood straight and looked down at the guardsman. "First Lieutenant Jake Carson reporting for the mission to take back Fillyfjell from the Griffon Empire."

The guard eased up and lowered his weapon a bit, "That's you? Got some proof?" He asked as I pulled out a piece of paper given to me by Celestia. "Alright, follow me to your carriage."

*********************************************************************

The ride to the town was long and uneventful. Celestia offered me a meal before I left but I declined as I didn't think of how long the trip was.

*Growl*

"Ugh... I should have accepted the meal... I didn't think this was gonna be a four hour trip." I said quietly to myself as I watched the two ponies pulling the carriage ahead of me. "Hey I know I'm not in this suit but, aren't you guys cold!?" I shouted to the two as I leaned against the front of the carriage.

"No sir! We Pegasi are weather resistant!" One of them shouted back.

'Well that explains why half the population of this town are Pegasi...'

"But I could hear what you said about being hungry, check the bag on the floor there we brought a bit of food along the way as a snack!" He shouted over the wind.

I knelled down and opened the bag and saw a bunch of apples.

'Heh... why not...'

*********************************************************************

"Alright! The town is less than half a mile that way!" One of the fliers yelled out over the snowstorm as he pointed ahead, causing a small dot to appear over my HUD in the direction he indicated. "This is where you get off!" He yelled as they began to descend.

"Alright got ya! No need to go down boys! Thanks for the snack!" I yell back as I hop off the edge and begin to plummet towards the ground.

As I impacted the ground I threw some snow into the air and steadied myself.

"Alright, let's get to work." I said as I looked down to my wrist.

I pressed a few buttons and my armor and weapon flashed for a second before changing to the color white for good camouflage, before trekking onward towards the town.

*********************************************************************

After about an hour of walking through the blizzard nearly blind, I could see a faint light ahead. I increased my pace watching not to trip on any rocks in these godforsaken cold mountains. As I reached a nice distance I could easily tell this was the town by the Griffons walking around. I had been given a quick rundown of what they looked like and what I should watch out for before I left so it wasn't too surprising when I saw them.

I stayed as low as I could to the ground as I drew my rifle from my back and quickly moved forward as a Griffon patrol went by on foot. If I wanted to do this, I needed to know how many of them there are here, and to do that I needed information. Keeping low to the ground, covered by the snowstorm I began to sneak towards the two Griffons on patrol. As I neared them I could hear the two of them chatting to each other.

"Yeah the kid wanted extra rations just because he asked!" The left Griffon said aloud.

"Pfft, I say we just let em' starve. It's not like we're usin' em for anythin!" The one on the right said back.

'I said I would try not to be lethal...' I thought to myself as I came up behind the one on the right. 'That just means don't let em' die...'

I brought my rifle up and shot into his leg, causing blood to spray out for a second before the heat of the plasma singed it closed with third degree burns. The loud shot and howl of pain went unheard to all but two people during the snowstorm. I ran up and bashed him in the head with the butt of my rifle, knocking him out cold before pointing my gun to the other griffon now cowarding under my gaze.

"Now, you're going to lead me somewhere to drag him, somewhere without any other Griffons. And when we get there..." I say as I inch closer to his face as he tried to pull back into the snow. "You're going to tell me everything I want to know..."

Chapter 16: Taking Back Fillyfjell

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Chapter 16: Taking Back Fillyfjell

The Griffon continued to stare at me for a few more seconds, frozen in terror before quickly nodding and getting up slowly. I backed up a bit and, while still pointing my rifle at him, kicked up the snow to cover up the blood. I grabbed onto the two legs of the downed Griffon in my left hand as I held my rifle in my right.

"Now, you will lead me to somewhere secluded. Somewhere where there are no other Griffons, if I see you try and make a run for it... your head is as good as gone. Comprende?"

He quickly nodded and motioned for me to follow. I quickly dragged the sleeping Griffon behind me as I followed him through the storm. He brought me close to a building and gave a quick look around it before motioning for me to continue. We made a dash though what I feel was the center of a town road before arriving at a door. He opened it and stumbled in as I dragged the Griffon in with him.

"Alright no-" I began but quickly silenced myself as I saw the interior. "I thought I said secluded!" I asked as I saw the small family staring at me.

The family consisted of what looked like a mother and father pony and their child. The mother looked to be trying to take care of the father and their son, who both lay on a couch behind a table. They all looked malnourished and on the verge of collapsing as they stared back at me wide eyed.

"You said with no other Griffons! The only places like that are in any un-commandeered houses." The Griffon replied back.

Sighing I looked at the family. "I'm sorry about this folks, just remain calm, I'm gonna get you all out of this."

Shaking my head as I dragged the Griffon to the center of the room, I pointed to him. "Do what you want to check him, but he isn't dieing. The shot sealed the wound."

Nodding he walked up to his comrade and quickly checked his wounds.

"What the hell are you?" The Griffon asked me as I watched on.

"Classified. You're here to answer my questions. Not the other way around. First question... why do these folks look like they haven't eaten in weeks? I thought this place was just captured?" I asked motioning towards the weak looking family who still haven't taken their eyes off me.

"Just ta... no we took this place over a month ago. Damn someone must have gotten out and spread the word." The Griffon spoke as he thought deeply for a moment.

"A month? Jesus... alright whats in the bag?" I asked as I pointed to the bag he was carrying on his back.

"Just some rations..." He replied.

"Give em here" I said as he quickly tossed me the bag.

I took a look inside as I put my rifle on my back and there was some bread along with a bit of cheese and a bag of something that looked along the lines of some grains and oats.

"Don't move." I said pointing at the Griffon.

I walked over to the family as calmly as I could. But as I expected they tried to back away from me. Sighing I took one more look at the Griffon before pressing a few buttons on my wrist, causing my helmet to retract. Their faces adorned looks of fascination as they looked at my now revealed face.

"I just want to tell you, I mean you no harm. Where I come from and what I am is not important right now. All that matters is I'm here to help and protect you, and I plan on doing that to the best of my ability. Now please, take this." I said as I slowly walked forward.

As I did they still kept their eyes on me but didn't draw back like they had. I knelled down in front of the table and poured out the contents of the bag all over it. The mother of the family looked at me with what could only be stated as gratitude.

"It's all yours. I just have to ask that, when I leave here, you go up to the second floor and do NOT come down no matter what you hear until sunrise. You got it?" I asked as seriously as I could.

Nodding quickly the mother of the family gathered up some of the bread and cheese and started preparing some food.

"Yes... and thank you for your kindness..." She said with a slight smile.

"Only doing my job." I said as my helmet covered my face once more as I walked back over to the Griffon. "Alright... now we gonna do this the easy way. Or the hard way?"

Shaking his head he answered back. "What are you talking about? I've been cooperating so far!"

"Yes. You have. But I haven't said my plan yet." I finished as he fell silent. "Now, you will tell me how many Griffons there are here, and you better hope you don't miscount." I said slowly as I drew my rifle again.

"O-Okay... just take it easy. There are 24 of us, including me. 10 of us are air patrols and the other 9 are ground patrols. The remaining 3 are unicorn mages. Now please lower your.... whatever the hell that thing is." He said motioning to the rifle.

Nodding I pulled the aim of my rifle off of him and tilted my head. "And your're sure about those numbers are ya?" I asked causing him to nod. "Alright have a nice night." I said as I knocked him out cold with my rifle.

I stared at the two griffons laying on the ground and back to the family who were all eating a meal hungrily.

"You don't mind if I toss them in the basement? Don't worry they're very much alive." I asked the mother just to receive a nod in return while motioning to a door to my right, which seemed to be covered in locks. "Would you happen to know where these 3 mages he spoke of are? They're probably my only problem right now."

Nodding she spoke up. "Yes I do! They are always over in the town hall so if they are bound to be anywhere it's there. Be careful though it's guarded by a lot of Griffons."

"Alright thanks for your help." I said sincerely as I began to drag the two to the door leading to the basement.

I opened it and hefted the two over my shoulder as I descended the stairs and dropped the bodies of the griffons on the cold ground. I made my way back up the steps to see the child standing at the top, looking down at me.

"Hey short stuff. What are ya doing?" I asked as he got out of my way to let me out.

He said nothing as he pulled something out of his saddle-bag which I now just noticed he was wearing. It looked like a small round pin with a picture of a jumping pony on it. I smiled from inside my helmet and took the pin before attaching it to my waist using the magnet my clips sit on.

As I locked the doors the small child tapped on my leg, getting my attention. "Are you gonna save us?" The little foal asked.

I looked him in the eyes and nodded. "Yes, I am. Now go stay with your mother. Remember... stay upstairs." I said having him smile and nod as he ran off to join his family.

***************************************************************

I had stayed for a few extra minutes asking about the town's layout. As I walked through the snowstorm towards what was apparently the town hall I came across another Griffon standing in front of what looked like a stall covered with a tarp. I snuck up behind him and wrapped my arms around his head and choked him out until he fell asleep from lack of oxygen. As quickly as I could I pushed him under the tarp and continued on my way.

As I reached the town hall I saw the number of guards was at least around 10 minimum, both consisted of ground and air patrols. I took a quick look around the exterior and decided going in through the normal means was not an option. So I made my way to one of the walls as a patrol made his way by and dug my hand into the stone. I slowly began climbing, making myself nearly invisible against the snowstorm. As I got to the roof I could see a large window pane in the center.

I quickly made my way to it and looked inside to see what confirmed my suspicions. inside there was quite a load of guards along with two unicorns on either side of a desk. Sitting in the chair was what must have been the third unicorn mage and probably the leader of this little overtaking. I positioned myself next to the window and readied myself for a fight. I thought up my speech, then without hesitation... I jumped.

The glass gave away under the force of the jump and the weight of the armor as I crashed through it with ease. I quickly fell to the ground and upon making impact I aimed my weapon straight at the head of the unicorn behind the desk.

"Do not make any sudden movements! You are hereby under arrest by the authority of an enforcer of Equestria's Military! If you resist you will be shot down without hesitation! Do you understand me?!" I yelled with all the anger I could muster.

The initial shock of my arrival quickly receded from the occupants of the building and the unicorn motioned to a few guards and one of his mages. Three guards immediately took flight towards me where I dodged out of the way and shot out the wings of two of them. Causing them to come crashing to the ground while screaming in pain while the third one continued to fly, not wanting to suffer the same fate.

Immediately afterwords I took a hit to my left side that knocked my shield down by at least half, but I stood unfazed. I quickly took aim at the unicorn on the right side of the desk and shot his horn off, watching as it melted down to the base and he screamed in agony.

"You were warned!" I spoke loudly as I made my way to the desk.

The unicorn on the left and behind the desk looked terrified after what must have been a powerful magical hit did nothing to me.

"G-Guards! Stop him!" The unicorn yelled as he looked at all his guards.

I took a quick look around as I watched all of the griffons get on there knees and remain still.

'Must be a form of surrendering here' I thought to myself as I walked closer to the desk.

I brought up my leg and kicked the desk, causing it to fly forward and knock the pony behind it onto his back. The unicorn on the left lay himself down.

"Don't bring your head back up or you'll end up like your friend over there." I said to the cowering Unicorn.

I turned my attention back to the head of the operation and picked him up by the neck. "Don't even try and use magic, I'm immune to it. Now do you surrender?" I asked him waiting for a response. "I said..." I began again as I threw him into the ground hard. "DO YOU SURRENDER!?"

Rubbing at his throat he wheezed out a few words. "Y-Yes... please don't kill me."

I turned around and spoke to the rest of the Griffons. "This place is now under MY PROTECTION! I will give you all two minutes to evacuate the town! If I see any more Griffons, they will not live to see the light of day. Today you got lucky. I was sworn to keep killing to a minimum. Go and get your little pals and friends and leave immediately. One of them are under a tarp in the center of town and two are out cold in the basement of a house near the front! GO!" I screamed to the Griffons as they hurriedly got up and exited the building.

"Now you." I said as I pointed to the unicorn below me. "Send a magical flare into the sky. Make it red and do it fast." I said forcing him to stand up.

He charged his horn and shot it through the hole in the window above. The red light shined bright overhead, so bright I had to look away.

"Good. Now you wait here with me." I said pointing at the unicorn and his two friends. "I wonder what they will do to you in prison." I whispered to myself.

***************************************************************

In a matter of five minutes the town was filled with a mixture of Celestia's and Luna's Guards who had been waiting for the signal about a mile away. They burst through the door and made their way towards me and the three unicorns laying near me.

"Take these three here and lock them up. They were the mages working here, and this guy was the one in charge." I spoke pointing to the one in the center of the three.

Nodding, a few guards wearing golden armor stepped forward and took two of them away. The third was taken away on a stretcher by ponies wearing medical hats. While watching them a few darker armored ponies came up to me.

"Sir you're needed outside." One of them spoke as I nodded.

"Alright, see if you can set up some tables with food and water in this building, a lot of ponies here look like they are on the verge of starvation." I replied as one of the guards nodded and trotted off.

I opened the door to see a few of the Pegasi from the town clearing the sky, stopping the snowstorm from raging any longer. Far in the distance I could see the sun beginning to rise. The townsfolk began making their way out of their homes and, following some guards, made their way towards the town hall. They all froze in their places when they saw me. All but one group.

"Mom! See I told you he could do it!" Yelled out the small child from earlier as he ran towards me.

One of the guards went to stop him but I motioned for him to stop. The kid ran right up to me and looked up into my visor. I quickly retracted the helmet and looked back down at the child and noticed something about him for the first time. I saw a pair of wings on his side matching the dark blue color of his coat as he looked up at me with his teal colored eyes.

"Hey short stuff did you do as I said?" I asked him smiling.

"Yeah! We stayed in the attic and didn't come down! We even heard something happening downstairs but didn't go and look! Just like you told us!" He said as he tried to hover but failed to do so with his weak looking wings.

I bent down and lifted him up onto my shoulder where he sat down and got a good view of the town.

"See that?" I asked as he looked around. "No Griffons." I said smiling.

I then remembered I was being watched by the whole town. I looked around and saw that every pony, citizen and guard, had stopped what they were doing and were watching me with smiles on their faces.

Clearing my throat I spoke to them. "A-Anyway... attention to all citizens! I have removed the Griffons from this town and I don't foresee them coming back any time soon! I know many of you may be hungry and thirsty! We are setting up some tables inside the town hall with all kinds of foods and water! Feel free to help yourselves! You could all do with some rest!" I yelled to all the watching eyes as they all began cheering while I gently set the child down. "Alright little guy run back to your parents." I said softly as he ran off into the crowd.

I turned towards some of the Lunar guards and gave them a small nod. "Alright, let's get out of here." I said as they nodded and motioned for me to follow them.

"Our mages are right this way, you'll be back in Canterlot in no time." One of the guards stated as I followed behind.

Chapter 17: A Party to Survive

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Chapter 17: A Party to Survive

*4 DAYS REMAINING UNTIL THE FALL OF EARTH*

My vision was covered with colors once again as I blinked rapidly, trying to remove the spots from my sight. After a few seconds my vision finally cleared as I noticed I was in a pitch black room, the only light coming from a bit of sun leaking in through an open balcony. Before I had a chance to even open my mouth and ask what was going on, the room became illuminated.

"SURPRISE!" Shouted many ponies who suddenly became visible.

On instinct I pulled my rifle off my back and jumped out of the balcony, putting myself up against the doorway and aiming inside at the stunned crowd.

"Holy cow! Did you see how fast he reacted!" Shouted a familiar cyan pegasus.

Rolling my eyes I holstered my weapon and slowly walked back in. "I should have mentioned I don't like surprises. At all." I said as I looked around the room.

"Why not?" Pinkie Pie asked innocently.

"Because they make me jumpy. you know, my nerves are hardwired for the battlefield and whatnot. Just... please don't do it anymore." I asked waving the pony off.

Looking around I could tell we were in a ballroom of some sort that has streamers and confetti littered everywhere. Occupying the room was all six ponies I had met when I first arrived along with Celestia and Luna. I looked up to see a rather large banner hanging from the roof, wall to wall.

"HAPPY 'WELCOME TO PONYVILLE/CANTERLOT AND THANK YOU FOR SAVING A TOWN' PARTY!"

I looked back at them confused, pointing at the banner.

Pinkie quickly answered. "Oh well because I never got to give you a welcome to Ponyville party AND you came to Canterlot before I gave you it AND you helped save a town I decided to just mush all them together for one big party!"

Slowly nodding, I turned to the Princesses and motioned for them to follow me out to the balcony. They nodded and made their way towards me.

"Thanks for the uh... party. But I have some matters to deal with." I said as Pinkie immediately lost her smile and her eyes became as big as saucers. "Ugh... alright fine I'll be back after I'm done talking with the Princesses." I said causing her to immediately perk up and bounce off.

The Princesses and I made it onto the balcony where I quickly shut the two doors leading to the ballroom.

"Alright now... while I was there I had found out this has been going on for at least a month.... and you just found out about it?" I said looking at the two.

Celestia's ears fell as she gave a small nod.

"Sadly yes... since there were no unicorns living there at the time there was no way to contact us..."

I shook my head as I walked to the edge of the balcony, leaning over it. As I did so I had my helmet retract to let the wind blow through my hair.

"So your telling me, a town completely stops making contact... and you just ignore it?" I said without turning around.

"No! Everything continued to go through the town! Like trading and things of that sort. I guess the Griffons were laying low for a while, not wanting to show what they had done until they hit more towns." Celestia countered as I turned around.

"You should, from now on, have a small team of guards going to EVERY town on a weekly schedule at the very least and report in whats going on. And if you don't hear from them then you know what that means." I said nodding to the Princesses. "Like come on... this should be the basics of running a country!"

Celestia's face darkened at that as she went to reply, before being stopped by Luna. Celestia looked at her sister for a few moments before sighing and taking to the air.

I watched her go for a few seconds before turning to Luna. "What got into her?"

"Something I would rather not bring up at this time. Anyway, come here, I'll bring you to your ship so you can check on repairs." Luna said as her horn began glowing.

"Alright bu- Oh wait!" I yelled getting her to stop and look at me. "I promised all the ponies inside I would be back remember? Either way I'm sure Lucy has it all under control. I'd probably just get in her way of repairs anyway." I finished.

Nodding she agreed. "Ah yes... I forgot about that. Well I hope you have a good day, I'll be in my quarters when you are ready." She said with a sigh as she began to take off.

I quickly placed my hand on her side, getting her to look at me curiously. "Hey uh... why don't you stay for the party? I'm sure there is enough room for ya." I said with a smile.

"Enough room? ARE YOU IMPLYING I'M FAT?!" She yelled offended as her head reeled back.

My eyes bulged open as I waved my hands in front of me. "OH NONONONO THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! YOU'RE NOT FAT YOUR ACTUALLY REALLY THIN! NOT SUPER THIN I MEANT LIKE... NICE! NO NOT NICE LOOKING I MEAN-" I tried explaining but stopped when I noticed she was on the verge of giggling. "Oh that wasn't cool."

She giggled loudly as she motioned inside. "Perhaps not. But it was funny! Now come on let's go have... FUN." She said with excitement.

'Sheesh she says the word like she barely gets to in the first place.'

Nevertheless I shrugged my shoulders and walked in with her and noticed a few things. One, it was dead silent in here, two all the ponies seemed to be staring at us. After a few moments of silence and the six of them looking between Luna and I, I spoke up.

"So... why are ya'll staring at us like that?" I asked looking them all over.

They blinked once and started going about their own business. Luna and I looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'll be over at the snack table if you need me." Luna said as she made her way over to a large table covered with sweets, cakes and a bowl of punch.

Taking my eyes elsewhere I noticed Twilight was making her way over to me and looked like she had something she wanted to say. When she got to me she gave me a smile.

"I think it's nice what you're doing." She said motioning to Luna.

I gave Luna a quick look before looking back at Twilight. "Uh... what do you mean?"

"Well... you see she doesn't have many friends. And while you may think being a Princess may come with it's privileges... you can't force ponies to like you. So she's been rather lonely since she came back." Twilight explained as I shot her a questioning gaze.

"Came back... what does that mean?" I asked getting Twilight to snap her attention to me.

"Oh uh... I think it would be best is she told you herself. But be careful... it's not a topic she likes to talk about." She said as I looked Luna over.

"I don't think she'd mind..." I asked again getting Twilight to sigh.

Nodding, Twilight huffed. "Alright... but I'll tell you later in the party." She said as she stole a glance back to Luna.

"You also said she doesn't have many friends... but aren't you all her friends?" I questioned Twilight as she looked back to Luna.

"Well yes but... we never get to come and see the Princesses very often and when we do it's usually official business... this is one of the first few times we could ever really just... talk." Twilight explained as I nodded before she looked back to me. "Anyways... enjoy the party!" She said as she trotted off, smiling.

I walked over to the table Luna was at to see what she was up to. She currently had a giant plate that was filled with different sweets and cakes.

"Hey Lu- Whoa... that's a lot of sweets." I said pointing to the plate she currently has suspended in the air.

She looked at me for a second before looking back at the plate and sighing. "Don't tell my sister alright? I'm kind of on a diet..." Luna trailed off as her ears folded down.

"Sorry what?" I asked.

"I said I'm on a diet!" She said loudly before looking around checking if anypony heard. "Look... I promised my sister I would try and cut back on sweets. I apparently eat too many of them." She said as she popped a piece of candy into her mouth.

I took a look at the plate before chuckling. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed." I said getting her to blush and push me a bit. "Nah but in all reality I don't know why, you look fine to me." I said as her blush deepened but went unnoticed by me.

I walked down the table looking at the various items before arriving at the punch bowl. I got a cup and poured myself and Luna a drink before bringing the cup to her. She happily took the cup before taking a sip. Her eyes shot open as she brought the cup down and gave me a sideways look.

"A little warning next time would be nice." She said with a small smile before taking a smaller sip of the drink.

"Huh?" I asked as I took a smell of the punch.

The punch smelled of fruits with an obvious alcohol scent mixed in.

"Oh jeez! I'm sorry I didn't even know! Plus... Isn't it a bit early to be drinking?" I asked.

"Well... you and I have been up for quite a while and it is YOUR party. I think she kept that in mind." Luna said with a smile.

Luna motioned for me to follow her over to a nearby couch that had confetti and streamers covering it. She swept off a spot before sitting down. I walked over with my cup and sat down next to her, throwing up some streamers as I went.

"So..." I began looking at the cup in my hands. "How old do you have to be in Equestria to drink anyway?"

"The law says you must be at least 19." Luna said as she looked to my direction. "Why?"

I took a quick sip of the drink before wrinkling up my face a bit at the aftertaste. "I was just curious. It seems your alcohol law follows the Canadian branch of planets. I came from an American branch that didn't allow drinking until the age of 21. I'm sure other branches allowed drinking at 19... or maybe not. That's just what I can remember from the few big 'Super power' branches."

Nodding to what I was saying, Luna took another drink which looked to have zero effect on her. "I see. I still couldn't fathom a race living on multiple planets like that. So how old are you anyways?" She asked curiously.

Taking another drink, once again scrunching my face up, I replied. "Oh I'm 20. This is actually my first drink. Well... LEGAL drink... but I didn't drink very much to begin with. just a few beers here and there..." I said as I waited for her reply.

After a few moments of silence I turned to Luna to see her jaw hanging open.

"What?" I asked in confusion.

"Your 20... 20 years old?" She asked in a bewildered state.

"Yeeeeaaaaah?" I said motioning to continue. "And this matters.... why?"

Shaking her head a bit she blinked a few times before answering. "I... I just can't imagine someone as young as you fighting in a war!"

I sighed and looked down at the cup in my hands. "Yeah well... when things got hairy the military sometimes... looked the other way when under aged fighters signed up."

"What!? What about you parents? Were they not furious!?" She asked sounding a bit angry.

"No... they... you know what I don't really want to talk about them... or this... just..." I said holding back a tear as I looked down at my nearly full cup. "I'm gonna go get a refill..." I said as I stood up and walked off.

I could feel Luna's eyes on me as I walked off, wanting to know more.

'But I don't want to go through that conversation again...'

Shaking my head I downed the drink in my hands and went to the punch bowl.

'Let's just try and survive this party...'

Chapter 18: A New Feeling

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I know the chapter isn't that long. I plan to start writing more and plus the past chapters have been quite big to me. So this is like a mini update. Expect many more, lengthy updates to come.

Chapter 18: A New Feeling

The night had went on as expected. The ponies had played some random party games, which Luna schooled me in, and Twilight had told me a bit about Luna's past.

I sat on the couch silent, Luna sitting beside me. She's barely left my side for some reason and seems worried about me, but I knew better.

'I've lasted this long... I wont crack now...'

Tapping my fingers along the side of my drink I looked at the ponies dancing and having fun, before looking back at Luna. As I looked I noticed she was, too, looking at the ponies dancing. So I just took in her image for a few moments, everything dulling down around me where I heard nothing, and saw nothing, but her. That's when I began to take in details I had not noticed before. Like how her eyes shone their deep teal color along with her mane complementing them with thousands of stars. Why couldn't I look away? Then I saw it, the unmistakable look of tiredness under her eyes.

I reached over and tapped her shoulder. "Hey..." I said getting her to blink and look at me.

"Hm...? Yes?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes with a hoof.

'How had I not noticed?'

"Luna... you look tired. Whats wrong?" I asked as I inched closer to her to listen.

She let out a light cough, covering it with her hoof. "Oh well... uh. I um..." She stammered out as I gave her a confused look.

"Luna, it's alright. What's up?"

Sighing she turned and looked me in the eyes, for a second, before looking away. "Well... when you left the castle and went off to take care of that town. I couldn't sleep. I..." She paused for a sec before looking back at me with glossy eyes. "I thought I might lose a friend, I thought you might-" I stopped her there by raising my hand and then placed it on one of her hooves as I looked into her eyes, pouring as much empathy and truth into my words as I could.

"Luna..." I began as she looked down at my hand covering her hoof, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I've been through more than I let on. I don't want YOU to suffer for what I'M going though... alright?" I ask as she nods slowly.

Then I notice the lack of laughter.

Slowly I turn my head to the rest of the room seeing all of the ponies staring at us, mouths hanging open and looking lost for words. Including Celestia, who was over at the snack table in the middle of a bite of cake.

"Uh..." I voiced out confused as I felt my cheeks heat up. "OH!" I said as I quickly took my hand off Luna's hoof and brought it up to my face. "What's that Lucy?" I said into my wrist and waited a few seconds. "Alright I'll be there in a moment!" I said, loud enough for everypony to hear.

Standing up I took a glance at Luna who also seemed to be turning red. "Sorry to cut this short but Lucy has demanded I come to the ship at once..." I said looking around the room.

Nopony has moved yet.

I slowly nodded my head as I turned to Luna. "Help me out here..." I whispered getting her to quickly nod in embarrassment and teleport me and herself out of the room.

We both appeared outside my ship in an instant and I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. I quickly felt my cheeks begin to cool as I smiled and turned around, immediately bumping into Luna and knocking her over. We both stumbled and fell over each other, with me ending up on top of her. We looked at each other for a moment before she grabbed me with her magic and tossed me off to the side quickly and got up, blushing all the way.

"Well I... uh. I have to go. And... get some sleep..." She said quickly charging her horn before disappearing into thin air.

Shaking my head I stood up, slapping myself in the forehead with an armored hand. "Why do I do these things to myself..."

I brushed myself off quickly before making my way to the ship to talk to Lucy.

"I 'Called you' Huh?" Lucy spoke through the intercom of my suit.

"Shut up Lucy..." I said sighing.

"Oh come on! You two were so adora-"

I snapped a hand up as I walked, silencing her. "Don't. Even. Say it."

Chapter 19: Soaring

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I'm not responsible for any damage your 'Feels' may take during the reading of this chapter

Chapter 19: Soaring

Lucy stayed quiet after I spoke those words, obviously getting the message. I looked around the ship and took in everything and watched the ships repair progress. I watched as guard ponies and ponies in white coats walked around the ship.

"Lucy... I expected more done by now... why does it seem like we aren't moving as fast as we could?" I ask looking at some parts of the damaged hull.

"Well... it seems getting supplies to the ship proves... hazardous to the ponies. Too much danger all over the place and for some reason, the unicorns can't seem to lift the ship." She said as I nodded.

"Hm... maybe it has something to do with it's built in shielding... can it fly in lower atmosphere at least?" I ask as I get a quick reply from Lucy.

"Oh yes it is quite capable of that. But with the damaged hull it cannot do any high altitude flying or space flight. Oh and the FTL drive is still broken." Lucy finished as I gave a small smile.

"Perfect." I said aloud as I gave a large whistle, getting everypony's attention. "I'm going to move the ship OUT of the forest! Any of you who are not capable of flying out yourselves, please follow me!" I shout aloud as I let my suit helmet cover my head again.

I looked through my overlay and scanned the ship, double checking it's hull integrity and making sure it won't collapse from flight. Once I was sure I turned to the nearest guard and pointed at him. He wore the normal night armor from the royal guard so his coat was blue, (I earlier found out this was because of an enchantment) but his cutie mark, a dark cloud with a golden lightning bolt, remained their for all to see.

"You. What is your name." I ask getting him to look around him before looking back at me.

"Uh... Golden Bolt.... sir." He said giving an awkward salute.

"Alright Bolt, I need you to go tell any others that may not have heard me and rally them up at the door. Go!" I said getting him to nod and fly off.

After a few minutes I had moved everypony into the ship and stepped in last, closing the doors behind me. I looked around to see every white coat in the ship running around, writing everything down that they could see. None of them were allowed in the ship as the repair bots did the inside work. The guards on the other hand all had the same looks on their faces, un-moving and passive. All but one Pegasus, the same one I had given orders to round up the ponies and bring them here. He was currently looking around the ship, strangely excited... even more so than the white coats.

I walked up to him and tapped on his back as my helmet retracted. "Hey, what's got you so excited?" I asked as he turned and looked up at me.

Smiling he looked back around the ship. "Well... I'm going to be one of the FIRST ponies to fly in something ALIEN. That alone is cool enough but flying is my favorite pass-time. A 'Hobby' so to speak." He finishes as he looks around.

'How can flying be a hobby to a Pegasus...?'

Ignoring it I motioned for him to follow me. "Alright then, follow me I got something to show you." I said as he nodded and quickly followed me into the ship's cockpit. "Welcome to the ships control center. This is where we fly it." I said as he looked around. "But anyway I gotta take off so... go ahead and hold onto something." I said as I reached over and pressed a button, causing my voice to echo through the ship. "Everypony hold on we're initiating take off." I said aloud as I got into the seat and began takeoff.

"Sir... I could fly it to ponyville if you wish to go into the bay with the others." Lucy said aloud as I shook my head.

"No... I need a feel for this ship anyway, not used to these models."

I flicked through all the warm-up procedures and tests before pressing a red button, firing up the engines. Slowly, I pulled back on the wheel and the ship began to rise. As it did I turned and pointed myself towards ponyvill and was about to hit the gas when-

*POOF*

Luna suddenly appeared next to me looking like she was about to say something and noticed we were in mid air. I'd like to say this happened in a nice and calm manner...

But it definitely did not.

The moment she appeared she scared the shit out of me causing me to punch the acceleration. Immediately we shot off reaching top speed in about 6 seconds flat as an explosion shook the ship, indicating we broke the sound barrier almost instantly.

(Top speed for a ship like this in atmosphere is usually around 3500 km/h or about 2175 for you mph users)

As we rocketed through the skies I turned and pulled back on the acceleration, to find it was stuck.

"SONOVABITCH!" I yelled out as I turned and saw Luna and the guard hugged against the back wall next to the cockpits door. "LUNA! GET YOUR SPARKLY ASS UP HERE!" I yelled through the intensely loud noise of the engine.

Luna struggled to move forward but with the help of her magic she managed to get beside me.

"YES?!" She asked in a state of panic. "I'M SORRY I-" She began but I immediately cut her off as I quickly dodged right and left, passing some large mountains and soaring over deserts.

"I DON'T CARE WHAT HAPPENED BUT GET THAT DAMN ACCELERATOR UNSTUCK BEFORE THIS WHOLE SHIP TEARS APART!" I yell back as she quickly begins pulling on the accelerator.

After a few moments of pulling she revved up her magic and started to pull harder, and I could hear the sound of metal starting to bend. Then I saw in the distance a very large castle that we were heading straight at and about to collide into.

"OH FUCK!" I yell out as I quickly pull up, barely scraping the top of it. "ALRIGHT MOVE OVER!" I yell as I grab her and put her into the drivers seat and I stamp my feet into the floor, rooting me in place. "JUST TURN THE WAY YOU WANNA GO AND DON'T GET US KILLED!" I yell as she quickly nods and grabs onto the wheel.

I grab the accelerator and begin to pull, trying my hardest to un-stick the god damned thing, but no matter how hard I pulled the thing was stuck.

"LUCY SEND ALL POWER TO HYDRAULICS!" I yell as I watch us zoom by another city.

I feel the suit get a bit heavier as the hydraulics in my arms begin to whir with power. I grasp on to the accelerator, take in a breath and give a big heave. The sound of metal bending filled the room before a loud *CRRRRACK* was heard and the ship stopped immediately. *BANG* was all I hear a moment later as... I presumed, everypony in the ship flew forward and slammed into the cockpit door and the guard in said room flew at the windshield and plastered himself on it.

"Ow..." He voiced out as he fell off onto the ground.

I let out a small breath as I felt power return to the rest of my suit. That's when I began to hear the panicked sound of Luna.

Luna...

"God dammit Luna what the fuck were you THINKING?!" I yelled at her as she didn't turn around from where she sat, which at the time was the captains chair. "You could have killed EVERYPONY ON THIS SHIP! DID YOU NOT THINK BEFOREHAND?!" I yelled at her as I began pacing. "PLEASE tell me what was going through your mind when you decided 'HMMM I'M GONNA GO SCARE THE SHIT OUT OF JAKE! YEAH THAT WOULD BE FUNNY!' WELL IT FUCKING WASN'T AND IT WAS REALLY GOD DAMN STUPID!" I yell at her as I try to calm myself down.

I watched as she spun around and looked at me with eyes that would have made my heart bleed. Her cheeks were completely wet and she was sobbing. She ran past me and out the cockpit door, before it closed behind her. I let out a small sigh as I walked forward and pressed the same speaker button I had before.

"I'm sorry for that everypony... we had an... unexpected arrival and things got crazy. We'll be home soon." I said as I turned and saw the angry look of Golden Bolt.

Ignoring it I spoke to Lucy. "Lucy... how far did we fly?" I ask her as I dread the answer.

"Very... very far." She said back as I sighed.

"Alright... autopilot us back as fast as you can... BUT NOT THAT FAST!" I yell before she gets any ideas as the ship turns around and picks up speed.

'We're lucky the G-force shield was still... partially functional...' I thought as I let out a shiver.

Before I had a chance to step through the cockpit door I heard somepony clear their throat. "Well?" I heard from Golden Bolt behind me.

I turned and eyed him. "'Well' what?"

"'Well' are you gonna go say sorry?" He said matter-o-factly.

"Uh... why? She has a lot to think about after what we just went through. She'll be fine." I said as I waved him off.

"Well you say that now, but you do realize how much that hurt her right?" He said as I shook my head getting him to roll his eyes. "Listen man, ever since I was moved to the night guard, ALL I'VE HEARD was her talk about you. Always you. When I'd talk to her she'd do WHATEVER she can in a conversation to bring you into it." He said as he tried to make his point.

I slowly nodded. "Wow... I didn't think she thought of me as THAT good a friend..." I said as I looked back at the cockpit doors.

Rolling his eyes again he muttered under his breath. "Well you call it friend I call it something more... but that's besides the point!" He said at my confused expression. "Right now she probably thinks you HATE her guts. You need to go fix this. NOW!" He said with a determined look.

'God dammit today is the shittiest day I've had in a while'

I quickly opened the door and made my way out, looking around me at all the ponies brushing themselves off. Other than a few bruises they all seemed mostly unharmed.

"Hey... any of you see a pony run through here? Tall, blue. Really sparkly?" I said as they motioned down a hallway. "Thanks." I said aloud as I ran that way.

I ran through the ship trying to figure out where she was when I heard a quiet noise. The sound of sobbing. I slowly made my way to it, following it through the hallway. As it began to get louder I peered around an edge and saw her, huddled up and crying into a corner. I felt sadness well up in my heart at the scene as I remembered what I said to her. I slowly made my way to her, as quietly as I could (My suits stealth cups in the feet helping quite nicely) before reaching her and placing my hand on her shoulder. Immediately she jerked away from me, continuing to sob.

"Luna please... I'm sorry for what I said I was angry... I didn't mean any of it." I said trying to comfort her.

After a few moments I stood straight and took off my suit, freeing myself from it and moving towards her again. I sat down next to her with my back to the wall and placed my hand on her again. This time she turned and pulled me into a hug, sobbing over my shoulder.

"I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't mean to! I-I wanted t-to come and s-see how the ship was coming al-long... and I..." She trailed off as she continued to sob.

I brought my hand up and gently brushed her mane as I used my other hand to pat her on the back.

"Shhhhh... shhhh it's alright. It's okay no one got hurt... let it out." I said as softly as I could as she continued to cry into my shoulder, holding me tighter. "Let it out..."

A few minutes went by before her cries slowed into random sniffles and hiccups. I slowly pushed her forward so she could look me in the eyes, as I looked back at hers. Which were a bit puffy from the crying.

"See? Everything's fine. Nothing to worry about." I said with a smile.

She sniffled and gave a small nod before looking at my half wet shirt. "S-Sorry about your shirt..." She said as I looked it over.

"Hey... it was worth it to make sure you're okay... come here." I said as I pulled her into another hug, which she accepted quickly.

"I was so scared... oh my god I haven't been scared like that since... since I..." She began but stopped as she let out another hiccup.

'Oh my god... that's why she was so scared... it reminded her of when she... turned into Nightmare...' I thought to myself as I looked down at her, remembering the story of Nightmare moon from Twilight.

"Shhh it's alright... " I said as I brushed her mane some more and looked towards my suit. "Lucy, alert me when we're nearing Ponyville, I'm gonna stay here with her."

I looked back towards Luna as she closed her eyes, still erupting in a hiccup or a sniffle now and again but remained silent, laying her head over my heart. "I'm gonna stay here for a bit..." She whispered.

"Don't worry I'm right here with you..." I cooed into her ear. "I'm right here..."

Chapter 20: Those Remaining Days...

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Chapter 20: Those Remaining Days...

"Sir, we've arrived at Ponyville." Lucy's voice spoke through my suit's speaker.

I slowly looked down at Luna as she quietly breathed on my chest, fast asleep. Shaking my head I lightly lifted her and set her down beside me. Quickly, and quietly, I got into my suit, picked her up, and made my way to the exit. As I did so I walked past all of the ponies in the main cabin and they all watched me, awestruck at what I was doing. I ignored their stares as I continued walking and set her down on a nearby sheet, to keep her from getting any more dirty than she already was. I turned to the watching eyes and motioned to the door as it opened, getting some of them to nod and leave. The few that hung back took in the picture for a few more seconds before shaking their head and moving along with the rest.

I sat down beside her and watched her sleeping form for a few minutes as I thought about what we both just experienced. "Jesus... why did I have to yell at her like that..." I said as I covered my eyes with my hands before standing back up and clearing my mind. "Lucy," I whispered, "When she wakes tell her I'm just outside the ship watching repairs." I finished as I stepped out to see the extent of the damage the trip caused.

The moment I took a step out I was surrounded by ponies with flashes going off in every direction. I blocked and rubbed my eyes as I tried to focus them and see what was going on. A few moments later I could see... and what I saw I didn't like.

'News crews...' I hissed in the back of my mind.

"The ponies of Equestria want to know. What exactly ARE you?"

"Are you alien?"

"What is this crazy contraption?"

"Is it true that this... thing struck the Saddle Arabian palace?"

There must have been at least twenty ponies here all asking questions and pointing cameras at me as I tried to ignore them and make my way around the ship. It looked like something was wrong with the underside of a part of the ship so with a chance at shutting the group up I made a move. Lucy picked up on this and diverted power to my legs and arms as I grabbed a hold of the ship and lifted the side up a good 5 feet and looked under it for damage. Turns out there wasn't anything there but it immediately shut the gabbing ponies up.

Or so I thought.

After that display they exploded into even more questions they expected me to answer, and I was getting overwhelmed.

'Holy shit how do celebrities put up with this daily...' I thought as I ran back to the door just to have it open before me.

I catch sight of Luna a moment before I run into her and fall over each other, once again with me landing on top of her in an awkward position with gasps heard behind me. I quickly grabbed onto Luna and lifted her back up with me, causing her to go on two hooves.

"We've got to stop running into each other like this..." I said with a smirk.

While still holding on to her... and smirking... with Luna blushing... the news ponies began snapping pictures.

'OH FUCK RIGHT THEY'RE STILL HERE' My mind screamed at me as I turned and hit a button, closing the door.

I put Luna down and ran to the cockpit as some ponies came around the windshield with cameras as I quickly shut that door as well.

"God damn bloodsuckers..." I said in a low voice as I turned and saw Luna standing there awkwardly.

There was a moment of awkward silence before Luna finally began.

"So... sorry you had to see me like that... It's something I'd been holding in for quite some time and... well this just like the final straw you know?" She said with a small smile and a blush.

Nodding I gave a smile back. "Don't worry about it. Sometimes we all need to just let it out. It's not healthy to bottle it all up you know." I said as my smile disappeared.

'Hypocrite'

Shaking my head I looked back towards the door leading outside. "Not gonna be fun dealing with them..." I said with a small laugh as I made my way to the door.

"Hey!" Luna said suddenly getting my attention. "What in the name of my sister was with the comment about my rear!?" She said madly blushing. "It does not sparkle!" She said as she looked her rump over.

"Heh keep tellin' yourself that." I said in a joking manner as she responded with a puff.

I opened the door and was immediately bombed by what was probably double the number of ponies as before.

"Do you currently have a special somepony?"

"What is your current relationship with Princess Luna?"

"Is the rumors about the two of you kissing true?"

I just stared on dumbstruck by the questions before shaking my head, putting my helmet on, and pointing behind them.

"You are all trespassing on human military property! I advise you all leave the area immediately!" I yelled back getting half of them to laugh.

"This is open land! No one owns it!" One pony shouted out as I looked him dead in the eyes.

"Wanna say that again?" I said as I bent down and got eye level with him, getting him to gulp and shake his head.

"You all got your pictures, now leave... if you want an interview or your questions answered, go address Celestia." I said in a calm but cold manner as they all quickly turned and trotted off, probably scared of me talking back to that stallion.

"You know you could have been much more friendly." Luna chipped in as she came up beside me and looked out the door.

"Wanted me to show mercy huh? HA you think they'll show mercy come tomorrow mornings paper?" I said getting her to blush. "Yeah I didn't think so." I said as I looked over at all the other ponies we had flown over, just watching the scene.

"HEY! Come on you ain't getting paid to do nothing let's go! We gotta make up time!" I yelled at the sitting ponies. "Lucy, double time the repairs, leave the FTL drive alone if you have to I can handle that, I took training on FTL repairs for the 'When lost in space' course." I said as I made my way out of the ship.

"Affirmative."

"Oh... and get it ready by tomorrow for stable low and high altitude flying... and some working weapons." I said back with a smile. "Tomorrow is the day I end this 'Griffon war'." I said getting Luna to run up next to me.

I looked her over and saw she was much less colorful than usual, most likely because of all the dust stuck to her fur from lying on the ground.

"Hey Jake um... is there a shower in the ship?" She asked sheepishly.

Nodding I pointed to the door, "Yeah go ahead Lucy will lead you there." I said as I saw her dirty mane. "Hey... how the hell does an ethereal mane get dirty...?"

She just shrugged back before replying. "I'm not sure... My sisters never does... but yet anything can still touch mine." She said as she absentmindedly brushed her mane, reminding me of when I did so not long ago. "Anyways I'll be back." She said with a smile as she ran inside.

About ten minutes went by as I gazed at the repairs and their progress. From what I could see, the unicorns couldn't maintain their magic when they touch the surface of the ship. So I went and shut off the shielding for now to help speed up the process. Another few minutes flew by before I heard the sound of somepony landing on their hooves behind me. Turning around I saw Celestia standing before me... looking a bit ticked off.

"Uh... what's wrong?" I asked retracting my helmet as she looked at the ship.

"Other than the fact that news is spreading like wildfire across Equestria of some 'metal beast' flying across the sky, and the Saddle Arabians asking for answers as to WHO destroyed their kingdom's tower... nothing much. I actually came here to get my sister, we have to go raise the moon and lower the sun." She finished as I heard the sound of doors opening.

I pointed behind me, "I'd have to guess that's her-" I began but stopped as I turned around and my mouth fell open.

Standing in the doorway was Luna, half soaked and in the middle of drying herself off. She levitated a towel over her back as she rubbed it back and forth, drying herself off. Her mane, even though ethereal, still dripped with water as it hung low, sticking to her body.

"I heard my name out here?" She asked looking at her sister before smiling. "Cele!" She yelled as she ran forth and hugged her sister, getting her wet against her will.

I mouthed the word 'Cele?!' as I looked at Luna standing beside me, still dripping wet as I quickly brought my helmet up to hide my blush.

'WOAH WOAH WOAH! WHAT THE FUCK BRAIN!' I thought to myself as I blushed furiously.

"OH MY GOSH THAT'S SO ADORABLE YOU SHOULD SEE YOUR FACE!" Lucy said through the inner speaker as my face showed up on the display.

I quickly retracted my helmet again, trying to suppress a deeper blush upon seeing my own embarrassment. I turned away from Luna and looked anywhere but her direction.

"What's wrong Jake? It's just a little water." She asked in a confused voice as she tried to walk around to see my face.

I spun back around so I was facing Celestia, with Luna behind me, where she got a big look at my face and covered her mouth with a hoof.

"N-Nothing! Just... a human thing.... just... dry yourself off please!" I said aloud as Celestia tried to suppress a laugh.

A few moments later and the sound of a towel working furiously, she walked in front of me. "Alright, is THIS fine?" She asked still clearly confused.

"Much." I said as I looked at her ruffled mane. "It's actually kind of adorable." I said as Celestia finally burst and started laughing.

And when I heard it, it was a genuine honest to god laugh. The kind you hear from someone who hasn't had too much fun lately but the first chance they get cuts loose. Meanwhile it was Luna's turn to blush.

"Anyway, you two sound busy I'm gonna... go check the computer's flight records or something..." I said quickly getting out of the area.

As I walked away I heard Celestia faintly talking to Luna. "Oh my gosh look at your blush it's so cute!" Which was immediately cut off by an annoyed sound and a teleport away.

'Alright I have to rethink a few moral standards here...'

Chapter 21: War isn't fair

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Chapter 21: War Isn't Fair

I spent the rest of the night laying in the ship in a cozy little grove in the wall, filled with blankets and a pillow. The ship has everything but an actual bedroom funny enough. I spent a few minutes thinking about the previous events of that day before dozing off, and entering the dream world. I can never quite remember any of my dreams... but as I woke up an image of... what I think was Luna flashed before my eyes before being forgotten to memory. What I DO know is I woke up today, feeling actually quite relaxed.

Letting out a big yawn I spoke up. "*Yawn* Hey Lucy... we all good to go?" I asked hoping for good news.

Lucy quickly, and happily, replied. "Oh yes sir! The ponies worked all through the night! We are now ready for lower, upper and space flight! The only thing we need to get working is the FTL drive and we can go home!"

Smiling I quickly woke myself up, and made my way to the door. "Excellent."

As I opened the door, what I saw I didn't believe. Every single pony that had been working on the ship, was barely awake and slugging around, finishing things like missing paint and final touches.

'Holy shit... when she said worked through the night...' I thought... lost for words.

Clearing my throat I quickly got everypony's attention.

"This... wow... I honestly can't thank you all enough for your help. Your own dedication to your job has helped countless people... not just me. In case Celestia hasn't filled you in already, this repair job means more than you could ever know." I said aloud as they all gave small smiles. "Means so much actually... I feel you all should get a few days off for your hard work!" I said with a smile, getting them all to brighten up and cheer. "Go tell Celestia that message is directly from me, and I'm sure she'd be more than happy to oblige."

As they shuffled away, I turned back to the finished piece of human, and now pony, engineering. Of course they had to have very detailed instructions next to them AND repair bots helping them along the way... but every bit helps right? Shaking my head I got into the ship and straight to the cockpit, where I sat down, getting a feel for the wheel.

'Ah... now let's see what this baby can REALLY do...' I thought with a smile on my face as I prepared to fly.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I shot through the upper atmosphere, going no where near top speed but instead enjoying the feeling of flight as I made my way to Canterlot. As I neared it I began to pull back down below the cloud layer and flew directly towards Luna's balcony.

'Kinda hard to miss it when the thing is blue with a crescent moon on top...' I thought as I came up beside it and put the ship in hover.

I come to the door and open it, stepping out onto the stone platform. I knocked on the open doors before slowly stepping inside and looking around.

"Hello...? Luna you in here?" I asked as I heard a few hoof steps a bit farther inside.

"...Jake? How did you get in-" Luna began as she opened what I suspected was a bathroom door, and looked in my direction. "Whaaa..." She said in confusion.

Laughing I pointed behind me and towards the floating ship, smiling. "Well, I got the ship up and running. And I wanted to show you something." I said as she raised an eyebrow, but walked towards me anyway.

"And what might that be?" She asked as she gazed upon the ship as it hovered. "Wow... I still cannot believe this doesn't use any magic..." She said as she reached her hoof out and touched it's hull.

"Alright, you comin'?" I said smiling as I stepped aboard, followed quickly by Luna as we walked to the cockpit.

"Where are we going?" She asked as I gave a smile.

"Luna... have you ever looked up and thought... 'I wish I could go and see what's out there...'" I said as I looked up into the sky through the windshield.

Luna was quiet for a moment as she gazed up at the clear blue sky and it's never ending expanse, before looking down at the control panel.

"I have before... why?" She asked as she looked back towards me as I sat down.

"Would you come with me? Just for one trip when I leave? Not just to let you get out there... but I'm also going to need help getting the entirety of Earth Gov to believe me..." I said with a small chuckle. "A world of talking ponies... they'd have me thrown away in the nut house."

Luna stayed silent for a while before I decided to give her a bit of a 'Nudge'. I slowly began to ascend, getting speed quickly as we broke the cloud layer. In just under a few minutes we were leaving the atmosphere as I banked left and soared over the planet.

"Ever have a view like this?" I said smiling as we circled.

Nodding a bit Luna watched, lost for words for a few moments. "I can't fly this high.. the only time I've ever been this high was when..." She gave a pause before continuing. "When I was trapped on the moon... but I never actually spent the time to ENJOY the view..." She said as she walked as close to the glass as she could.

There was a calm silence as I soared over the planet on a tilt, taking in as much of the planet as I could. I never noticed how many similarities it actually shared with Earth. It was actually kind of eerie.

Finally, Luna broke the silence. "Yes." She said with a pause. "I'll come with you on your trip. To see the stars and... your world." She said with a tear in her eye. "Because you have no idea... how much it means to me." She said as she continued taking in the endless expanse of space, and the sight of the planet below.

"That's all I needed to hear... now, point where you'd like to go! This is your own private chariot for the time being!" I said as I put the ship on auto pilot, stood up and bowed. "Weclome Miss Luna! To Planet..." I paused awkwardly not remembering the planets name.

"Equis..." Luna whispered with a smile.

"AH yes! Welcome! To planet Equis' fastest tourist chariot! It seems our map has suffered a malfunction and cannot point out any of the land masses below!" I said with a smile as I walked to the window and held my arms out. "So we must visit as many as we can! For science!" I finished with a bow before looking back at the smiling princess. "So I ask M'lady... where to first?"

Looking at where she pointed I quickly sat down, took off auto pilot and looked back at Luna. "You might wanna hold onto something." I said with a grin.

We shot off towards the planet and the destination she had pointed out. We made it there in just under a few minutes, but Luna enjoyed every second of it. Upon arriving I came up to the nearest city and looked it over, seeing as there were a bunch of brightly shining... things walking around I had to squint my eyes a bit.

"And welcome to the beautiful..." I began looking at Luna.

"Crystal Kingdom..."

"Crystal Kingdom!' I repeated. "For all your... uh... crystal needs!" I said waving in front of me.

I was flying low so as I did so, many of the ponies were dumbstruck and looking at me through the window, and awkwardly waved back. Farther back I watched as a pair of ponies, one pink and the other white, looked on curiously. That was until Luna popped out and waved as well, causing them both to have their mouths drop open in surprise. I turned around and took back off, heading for the next area of her choice.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

We spent the next hour or so doing that over and over until I decided enough was enough.

"Alright, before I put the whole planet on high alert I think we should get back to your place. Ponies are gonna start wondering where you are... plus I have work I need to get to doing and this has made things tons easier by revealing a lot of the map of this planet." I said happily as Luna agreed.

So I shot off towards Canterlot at near top speed, with no worry of what happened before due to the G-force shield working at full capacity now.

'I still remember when they were testing these and they malfunctioned...' I thought as I shuddered. 'They had trouble cleaning that mess up even with a shovel...'

I shook my head to clear my mind of those thoughts as we arrived at Canterlot castle as I quickly flew up next to Luna's Balcony again. I followed her to the door as she stepped off and looked at me.

"Thanks for that Jake... it meant a lot to me. And don't forget you owe me that trip across the stars!" She said happily as she clapped her hooves together in excitement.

I Smiled and gave a small salute. "Yes ma'am." I said with a half ass-ed stance.

I was about to turn to leave when she spoke up. "Jake... wait..." She said as she looked away for a moment while biting her bottom lip.

"Hm?" I asked waiting for her to answer.

"Just... nothing. *Sigh* Just be careful alright?" She said in a low, caring voice.

"Hey... I'm a god damn super human in a space ship against griffons with spears. I think I'll be fine." I said smiling.

Shrugging she let out another sigh as she turned off and walked away.

"You don't get it do you?" Lucy spoke up through the speaker. "You know how much she cares for you right? She told me all about it while she was in the shower-" I quickly cut her off.

"YO LUCY. Can you NOT bring that up?" I said aloud as I closed the door and walked into the cockpit. "Plus... of course I know she cares. It's in people's nature to be worried about their friends."

Making an annoyed noise Lucy spoke up again. "In all truthfulness sir, you are very thick headed." She said in a huff.

"Awww but you love me for it." I said smiling as I turned and made my way to an area labeled on the map as 'The Griffon Kingdom'.

In a matter of a few minutes I was close enough to see all the Griffons flying around in the air, probably on patrol. It didn't take them too long to spot me as I saw them stare in awe for a few minutes before attempting to attack.

'Alright... your with Equestria.. and Equestria is at war...' I thought as I saw them coming for me. 'That means I'm at war...' I reminded myself.

A moment later I pressed a button and began speaking into the microphone, causing the three griffons to stop flying and listen.

"Just wait... I'll be right out." I said getting looks of confusion from them.

I ran and threw on my armor and allowed the helmet to cover my head before walking up to the door to the ship. As it opened I grabbed onto the top part of the frame and hoisted myself on top of the ship as it hovered in place. I walked to the front of the ship and looked at the Griffons in front of me as they scanned every part of me.

"I seek audience with your... king? Prince? Whatever the hell leads you. I'm here to settle the dispute between The ponies of Equestria and yourselves." I spoke out clearly as they looked between each other. "So you will take me there, and if you do not comply let me remind you I'm authorized to use deadly force." I said aloud.

A few moments later one of their eyes opened wide. "Hey.... HEY! He's the guy that took over that town in the mountains!" He said as the other two looked back at me, suddenly a bit more worried about their opponent.

A few silent moments went by before one of them nodded. "Alright... come with me." One of them said as they looked over my ship. "However you... plan on doing that."

I nodded and Lucy put the ship into a slow flight behind them as I stood on top of it. A few moments later my radar picked up a few extra readings coming up behind me, followed by more, and more. They began to get closer as I pretended to not see them, and they stopped just behind me, all but one. It was just a moment from making impact when I spun around and grabbed a griffon right out of the air by his throat, and slammed him into the top of the ship.

The reaction was instantaneous. All the dots behind me began flying towards my location as the three in the front turned around and came right at me. I quickly got into fighting stance and waited a few more moments before the fight began.

The first griffon tried to slash at me with his talons but I quickly jumped to the side and grabbed one of his wings, snapping it in half and as he howled in pain and fell off the ship. I turned and punched another directly in the face, knocking him out cold as I saw the sheer number of them flying down at me.

'Fuck this' I said as I reached behind me and grabbed my rifle, before turning it towards the nearest griffons and opening fire.

In a spray of plasma I took down a good Fifteen or so Griffons, half of them being caught before falling by their fellow kind. They all looked on at me with a new found fear.

"Rule number one! Before fighting someone make sure you have the bigger stick!" I said as I looked around at all the Griffons. "Now as I said before... TAKE ME TO YOUR FUCKING KING!" I screamed at them, pissed they had decided to play dirty.

They quickly dispersed and hurriedly led me into their kingdom. I reached the ground and jumped onto it, having the ship follow me overhead as I walked towards the main castle. As I did I saw a Griffon wearing a crown and velvety cape come running down the stairs, spewing many many choice words as he made his way to me.

"-ou dare come to MY kingdom and threaten my men... threaten ME?!" He yelled as he war within ten feet of me.

"Ohh... I'm not threatening you." I said as I fired at his feet, singing the area in front of them and probably burning his claws as I ran up and pushed him into the ground. "THIS IS THREATENING YOU!" I said as I bared down on him.

The Griffons next to him got out of their shocked state and went to try and pull me off, slash at me, and pounce me. Anything to try and get me off of their leader. But nothing was able to move me while I was in this suit.

In a flurry of movement, I leapt back and crashed into the ground... the stone ground cracking on impact.

With the press of a button, I activated the loudspeakers of my suit... my voice bellowing out and stunning the griffons in place. "You all don't seem to understand the danger you're in." My voice, amplified and altered by the suits loudspeaker boomed through the air. "From this moment on, a war with Equestria, is a war with humanity. I could rip most of you apart with my bear hands in this suit, and right now Humanity needs Equestria. You will end this war with them... or I will personally tear apart this entire kingdom. Tile. By. Tile." I said as I lifted my hand and signaled at my ship.

It turned and shot two of it's front Ion cannons, obliterating a nearby house which had been confirmed empty. The king looked back at me in horror.

"Y-Your insane a-and cruel!"

Oh that was it.

That was the final straw.

"... I'm cruel?" I said very slowly as I signaled another attack, which my ship agreed. "I'M CRUEL?! I'M NOT THE ONE WHO LET ENTIRE TOWN STARVE ITSELF TO DEATH WHILE ASSAULTING THEM FOR 'STEPPING OUT OF LINE!' IF YOU WANNA SEE CRUEL I'LL FUCKING SHOW YOU CRUEL!" I yelled as he visually paled.

My ship turned and blared a loud, terrifying screech as it's weapons locked onto rows of homes. Some Griffons immediately tried to stop me but I pulled out my rifle and shot one of them directly in the head, watching has his head exploded in a shower of gore and plasma, before aiming at the other Griffons... causing them to stop.

I was about to signal the attack as I looked back at the king, who was shocked and mortified. "This is all your doing! You brought this on yourself!" I yelled as my ship took it's place. "Now, I'll ask you again. Surrender, or you will get war." I said as I waited for his answer.

After a moment of nothing I began the signal when the king raised his wings in the air. "No please! Stop! We Surrender just... please stop this!" He said as he looked at me pleadingly.

I looked him over and nodded to the ground.

"Kneel." I said to him, getting him to nod sadly and kneel, as did the nearby Griffons.

I walked up to him, slowly, and looked down at him. "I showed you mercy this time. I am Equestria's ally now, and by extension so is Humanity. In time you will be judged by my own people... however that is not my judgment to make for now. But I cannot overlook a war with the Equestrians..." I said getting a bit lower. "Do you understand?" I finished in an unsettling voice, eliciting but a weak nod from the king.

I waved down my ship as it flew down and opened it's side door and climbed in.

"What in Tartarus are you..." The king said quietly as I turned and looked at his bowing form.

"Just a soldier following orders..." I said in a somber voice as I looked at the chaos around me. "Good day." I said aloud as I turned, shut the door, and took off towards Canterlot.

A few moments of silence went by as I flew back towards Canterlot before Lucy spoke up.

"What you did back there was cruel." She said in a low voice.

Sighing a bit and closing my eyes for a second, I replied.

"You know you would never harm an innocent Lucy... it's in your programming..."

Another few moments of silence went by before she continued. "But it still wasn't fair to them..."

"War isn't fair..." I said with a pause. "It's never fair."

Chapter 22: Gossip

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Chapter 22: Gossip

As I pulled up to, what I expected, was a carriage runway, I gently let the ship down before getting up and out of the ship. The moment I did I noticed every guard's eyes were on me, waiting to see what I'd do.

"Take me to Celestia." I said to the nearest guard, getting him to nod and motion for me to follow.

I followed the guard through the castle and it's many, many hallways until we came to a set of two ornate doors, just like before. They opened them for me as I walked in, helmet retracted, and greeted the princess.

"Celestia..." I said giving a small bow before looking back up. "It's done." I said getting her to look back at me with confusion so I continued. "The war, Celestia. I ended it. They wont be bothering you any time soon."

After saying that she looked down, trying to form a sentence as she couldn't believe what she just heard.

"It's... over? Just like that? What did they say?" She asked, listening intently.

I looked to my sides and noticed every guard was also listening curiously. "Well, they said they surrender to YOU, so do with that what you will... but for now we have something to discuss." I said as I made my way towards her throne. "And I think it's best to speak... in private. It has to do with... returning home." I said as I glanced to the back door leading to the war room.

Nodding, she quickly stood up and made her way there before I stopped her.

"You think you can call Luna as well? This has as much to do with her as it does you." I said back as she nodded, and flashed her horn yellow.

A few moments later, Luna appeared next to her with a curious look. "What's going on? Oh Jake your back already!" She said with a smile.

Nodding I began walking to the war room. "Yes, now let's get to discussing our current circumstances." I finished as I opened the door for the two princesses before walking in myself.

We all walked around the table, map placed out in front of us, as I set my hands down and looked at them both. In response they both looked straight back at me, motioning for me to begin.

"Alright, so Celestia... you know this but Luna you do not. As of about a half an hour ago, I finished the war between you and the Griffons. They had apologized for their actions, and have promised not to bother you with violence anymore." I said with a smirk. "Well as long as I'm here anyway... which brings me to my second point!" I said as I stopped leaning on the table and began pacing. "As you know my ship is fixed... but not COMPLETELY. I need to repair the FTL drive, also known as 'Faster than light'. Without it, I'm not going anywhere." I said getting them both to nod. "Now... depending on the damages I can expect to have it functional within the next day or so... leaving me two days time to get back to earth before..." I paused as I nodded. "You know the rest... so now brings me to point three..." I said as I turned to Celestia.

"Do you want to hide, or reveal yourself now?" I asked Celestia seriously, getting her to look at me with confusion.

"I... don't follow." She said with Luna nodding as well.

"Well... what it means is, do you want to seek help, and reveal yourself to my kind and, by default, the Verix as well." I spoke getting Celestia to wince. "Or plan b, you can try and stay in hiding while I return to my planet, as if I never even came here." I said putting Celestia into deep thought. "The way I see it, both sides have it's advantages and disadvantages. On one side, getting help means the ponies of Equestria become the most technologically advanced species on this planet, meaning you will never be under the threat of war with other species from Equis." I stated, taking in a breath. "But... in turn reveals your planet to the Verix, therefor dragging you into this mess. And to pay for your protection you WILL have to help out the cause in some way." I said watching her intently, letting it all sink in.

After a few minutes passed by she let out a breath and looked right at me. "And what if we take option two?" She asked worriedly.

I scratched my chin as I thought it over. "Well... if your lucky the Verix will never come across your planet, and you'll never have to deal with them. I'd leave and never return and Humanity would never know of this place." I said getting her back into a state of thought. "But... if they DID find you. There is nothing that we have to get us here fast enough before the whole planet is dead." I said in a somber tone.

Celestia winced as I finished my explanation and began thinking it all over. She took a few steps away from the table, and turned around with Luna and spoke in hushed voices. After a few minutes, Celestia turned to me with a look of defeat on her face.

"We have decided... to reveal ourselves. We don't want to take the risk of being found by the wrong side first." She said nodding to me. "So we'd like to join your fight against the Verix then, in return please keep my ponies safe." She finished.

Nodding back I replied. "Don't worry, they'll be in good hands. Now the fourth point WAS going to be who shall accompany us on the ride there to speak to Earth Gov with me... but we already had that one figured out." I said as I turned and motioned to Luna.

Celestia looked at her sister a few seconds before something clicked. "L-Luna... your going with him?!" She said shocked.

Nodding back she smiled. "Yes! I've always wanted to go beyond our reach and know what's out there! Now I have a purpose to do so AND a way!" She said smiling.

Celestia let out a sigh as she looked between us both. "I just wish you'd spoken to me before making these plans but... I guess this is probably the best way to do things. I need to stay and watch over my ponies." She said as Luna leaned into her.

"Cele don't worry, you can handle the sun AND moon by yourself! I can't! You've had over a thousand years of practice!" Luna exclaimed as Celestia put on a hint of a smile.

"I... suppose your right. Alright I guess that's it then, alert me when you're ready." Celestia said as I nodded and made my way out the door.

As I left the castle and walked to my ship, it automatically started it's engine and began hovering, courtesy of Lucy. I jumped into the door as it closed behind me and piloted the ship out of the area and back towards Ponyville. As I did so I thought about all the ponies I had met in my short time being here. I had met all of the elements of harmony... on my first encounter! Heh what were the chances of that? Not to mention meeting Celestia and Luna, especially my friend Luna. I hadn't shown it while I was there... but when Celestia had said she wanted to stay in contact with us... I felt so relieved... and I didn't even know why.

'Perhaps it was just the thought of losing a friend...' I thought to myself as I nodded.

As I flew over Ponyville I spotted a tree-house, belonging to one Twilight Sparkle, so I decided to take a little detour.

"Lucy, pull up in front of the Library, I want to talk to Twilight." I said getting an 'Affirmative' from Lucy as I stood up, took off my armor, and made my way to the door.

A few moments later there was the sound of ground meeting the bottom of the ship as the door opened and I stepped out. I looked around me and saw that every pony nearby was looking at the ship in wonder. I ignored the looks and walked up to the door, quickly knocking. I waited a few more moments before Spike opened up the door and stared wide eyed at me and then the ship behind me.

"... TWIIIILIIIIGHT!" Spike yelled out as he turned around.

A few moments later I heard Twilight from inside. "What is it Spike!" She yelled back getting the dragon to look at the scene again before turning around and answering.

"Uh... door's for you!" He shouted as he ran inside.

A few moments later Twilight emerged and took in the scene with wide eyes before gasping, grabbing me in her magic, and throwing me inside the house. She immediately slammed the door behind me before turning to me with an angry look in her eyes.

"What's wrong with you! Do you know what you've done!" She shouted as she ran into the kitchen.

Confused, I replied. "Uh... what do you mean? The ship is perfectly safe sitti-" I was interrupted as she came back into the room, holding a newspaper in her magical grasp.

"Not the ship! THIS!" She shouted as she threw the paper on the ground in front of me. Curious, I bent down and picked it up, straightening it out and looking at the front page's headliner, and the picture directly under it.

Friend or Lover?

As shown above in this picture, it seems somepony has finally caught Luna's eye! But the strangest fact is... they aren't a pony! Nor any other recorded species on the planet! With the exception of one... very strange (And thought fake!) race. Eye witnesses say it's an intelligent being with super advanced machines as they are called, and already flew one across Equestria, taking out a part of the Saddle Arabian kingdom! Upon closer inspection of the being... the only documents with diagrams or information even relating to him... is of a very old mythological race... known as the HUMANS! Yes we've all heard the stories from when we were young, of the things they created! Of the terrifying and wonderful stories that were never proven true or fake... but this is the first hard proof of the existence of humans EVER documented! Not much more is known about this 'human', but reporters all across the globe are currently doing anything they can to contact and interview said pony (person?) themselves, as ponies across Equestria want to know...

Why is he HERE and just how CLOSE are these two?

The picture in question is the picture of Luna and I, with me standing on my two legs and her on her back hooves, and this photo was taken as she was in midst of blinking AND blushing, making this photo look excruciatingly suggestive. I dropped the paper on a nearby table and ran my hand through my hair.

"Holy shit... well I guess the whole world knows about me now..." I said looking back at the peeved Twilight.

"That's not what I'm worried about!" She said pointing to the paper. "The paper is right! Just how close are you two?!" She asked taking a step closer.

I took a step back in response as I quickly answered. "Nonono we aren't close like that... we're just friends!" I said back getting her to huff.

"Horseapples! Look at the way she's looking at you! You can't tell me there's 'Nothing going on'!"

I put my hand on my forehead as I let out a nervous chuckle. "Trust me Twilight... nothings happening. The events leading up to that picture were so unexpected you wouldn't believe me if I told you. It's like the whole world is trying to make a joke out of me!"

Shaking her head she let out a sigh. "Alright... I'm gonna believe you on this one. But I'm still warning you. BE CAREFUL! These ponies already SUSPECT you two are something. So you are going to have a lot of attention very soon. Just... try and not attract anymore?" She asked politely as I nodded and breathed out.

I walked over to the window beside the door and looked out, seeing over fifteen ponies taking pictures of my ship. I shook my head and stepped away, turning towards Twilight for the original reason I came.

"So Twilight... I was wondering if you wanted to see my ships FTL drive?" I asked as she scratched her chin.

"I don't know... I'm kind of busy..." She said as she gave a small smile.

"Are you sure? Cause when I fix it... I'm leaving the planet." I said getting her ears to drop.

"But I've been working on this new potion and if I don't finish it now I'll have to redo it all-"

Interrupting her, I spoke up with a smile. "Oh... did I mention the FTL drive was a scientific breakthrough?" I said perking her interest. "It lets you travel across space... Faster than light." I said with a smile.

Her eyes widened to unholy levels as her mouth hung open. In an instant, she was beside me and ready to go.

"SPIKE! WATCH THE LIBRARY FOR ME WHILE I'M GONE!" She yelled into the Library as she pushed me towards the door. "Come on! Let's go slowpoke!" She said as she gave me another shove.

I let out a small chuckle as I reached for the door and opened it, immediately being swarmed by ponies with notepads, quills, and cameras.

'Probably just best to ignore them for now...' I thought as I led Twilight through the sea of ponies.

"Equestria wants to know... where did you come from?!"

"Are there more of you?! If so how many?!"

"Are you going to be the future king of Equestria, due to your relationship with the Princess?!"

'Just... ignore...'

I finally made it to the ship and got in as it hovered in place, helping Twilight up as well... before it closed, silencing their endless sea of questions. As I made my way towards the cockpit, Twilight followed, looking around in awe at everything around her.

"Hello Twilight!" Lucy said through the ships speakers.

Twilight jumped in the air a foot or so, giving a small "EEP" as she did.

"Who was that?! Where is she?!" She asked looking around.

Chuckling I turned to her, watching as she looked at every crevice, looking for the owner of the voice. "Twilight... remember when I said I had someone with me named 'Lucy'?" I asked, getting her to nod. "Well that was her."

Confused she looked around some more. "If that was her... then where is she?"

"Well Twilight... she isn't actually ALIVE. She's an A.I. A program... but a damn smart one at that." I said as I turned and looked at her even more confused expression as I sat down in the captains chair. "Eh... I don't feel like explaining this... Lucy... do me the honors please?" I asked getting a 'Yes Sir!' As a response as I took off into the sky, towards my landing point to fix this FTL drive.

Chapter 23: Repairs

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So... I came online today to have a good... hundred notifications greet me. ALL of them being story favorites for THIS story in particular. So I'm like 'Oh that's cool!' Then I check my story stats and see, over the last view days this story has gotten OVER 4,400 MORE VIEWS?! EXCUUUUUSE ME?! You don't know how happy I am to hear this! AND THAT IT GOT FEATURED?! HERE HAVE A CHAPTER AS MY THANKS!

Chapter 23: Repairs

I flew the ship just outside of Ponyville as I slowly set it down in a green field as Twilight was beside me was giddy with excitement.

"Twilight, before we do this I need to make sure of two things." I said as I shut the ships engine off. "One... do NOT touch the FTL drive core. You are only to observe." I counted off as she nodded. "Two, if things get hairy... can you create shields of any kind with that magic of yours?" I asked getting her to slowly nod. "Alright... let's go!" I commanded as I stood up and walked out of the ship, carrying a box of tools with me.

Twilight hurriedly followed behind me as we rounded to the back of the ship, towards the engines.

"Alright Lucy, show me it." I said as the middle section between the engines slowly split open, and out hovered a cylindrical object that was humming with power, with lights flashing all over it.

"I've had the bots fix up much of the ship, and they've repaired a lot of the FTL drive but it seems they didn't finish the repairs." Lucy said as I nodded.

Carefully, I took it in my hands and backed up a few steps, before lightly setting it on the ground as I turned to my tool box and Twilight stared on in awe.

"This is what the big deal is about? ALL THAT POWER! In this tiny little thing?" She said as she moved an inch closer, getting a better look. "It's... amazing."

I gave a small chuckle as I found what I needed and continued to get to work, first by opening the casing, revealing many wires and lights on the inside. But the part that caught our attention the most, was the small ball of light that was floating in the center, surrounded by a layer of glass.

"What is that..." Twilight breathed as her eyes opened a bit wider.

"That, is what I was worried about." I said aloud as I let out a sigh. "See that glowing ball there?" I asked pointing to the small ball of dimming light. "THAT... is super condensed energy. But see this crack?" I questioned pointing to the crack in the glass case, getting her to nod. "That crack and many others has made this thing leak power this whole time. It's not nearly powerful enough to work anymore..." I said sighing.

"Well..." Twilight began examining further. "This doesn't look any different than compressed magic. Maybe we could give that a try?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Shrugging I began taking out the little ball of light. "Well... worth a shot I suppose." I said as I held the ball out in front of me, slowly opening the capsule as the ball of light floated out as the energy dissipated into the air, making the hair on the back of my neck stand up as I gave a small shiver.

I went to work on the small glass ball, filling in the crack with a fluid that quickly hardened, sealing it shut as I looked back over to Twilight as her horn became brighter. It flickered with bright purple energy as I saw the tip begin to form a small ball of light, which slowly grew in size before she suddenly stopped, getting the ball to drift away from her horn and float in place.

"Whew!" She said wiping sweat off her brow. "Is this good enough?" She asked gesturing to the magical ball of light.

"I don't know... are you sure it's stable? We only have one shot at this." I said warily as I examined the ball.

Nodding she smiled. "Oh yes definitely! You could even touch it with your hands if you want to!"

Nodding back, I moved forward and enclosed the ball in its new glass prison as I returned back to the FTL drive. Slowly, I slid the core back into the drive and clicked it shut. I waited a few more seconds before the whole thing let out a little shake and began humming ever so slightly as a small smile creeps onto my face.

"You guys have no idea how easy you got it with this damn magic thing..." I whispered.

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The rest of the repairs were fairly minor, such as shifting things back into place and replacing a few wires as it seems Lucy had been hard at work fixing all of the major parts of the ship. When I was finally finished I slowly slid the drive back into the ship and turned to Twilight, who was still smiling. As I was repairing it I had been answering all of her questions about space flight and the FTL drive, well as many as I knew the answer to.

"So... I guess this is my last day here huh?" I said with a small smile. "I gotta say I'm gonna miss all the colors of this place." I finished as I looked around.

"What do you mean? Doesn't your planet have colors?" She asked confused.

I cleaned off some tools and set them back into the toolbox as I looked over to her and sighed. "It does but... let's just say we have a very different color palette. You see... we basically have run most of our planet's resources dry and therefore almost everything is synthetic or metal." I said getting her to slowly nod. "We have no forests or anything left on earth. We barely kept that planet alive before we put money into cleaning the atmosphere. We weren't kind to the planet in the past."

"That sounds so... different! I can't even imagine it." She replied as I nodded and closed the toolbox.

"Well... I guess I should go alert the Princesses everything is ready to go. Want me to give you a ride back?" I asked getting her to shake her head. "Alright... tell your friends it was a pleasure." I finished as I made my way into the ship.

"Hey!" Twilight yelled back causing me to stop and turn to her. "You think we'll ever hear from you again?" She asks as I stop and think.

"Well... I guess that's up for fate to decide. Hopefully... if we do... it's on better terms." I said with a smile as I got into the ship and booted up the engines.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The fly to Canterlot was filled with silence and deep thought as I kept a slow and steady drift through the air. I had this deep feeling within me, but I couldn't single out what it meant. Something about tomorrow is making me feel uneasy.

'Maybe I've grown too attached to this place' I mulled over as Canterlot came into view.

I flew back up to the carriage landing area as I had before and touched down, immediately being swamped by more ponies with cameras, shouting random questions in my direction, more than half of them having to do with me and Luna in ways I'd rather not mention.

'They don't give up easily... I'll give em that'

Shutting off the engines, I quickly left the ship as some guards grouped around me, holding back the ponies from mobbing me. I hurried my way through the landing strip and into the castle, not wanting to hear any more of their ridiculous claims or questions. Taking in a deep breath to clear my mind, I made my way through the castle once again, for what may be the final time.

'Jeez I've been here for less than a week and I'm already gonna miss this place...' I thought to myself as I looked around the halls as I passed by beautifully crafted windows, depicting different scenes of history.

When I finally reached the two ornate doors I slowly pushed them open, attracting the attention of the two alicorns at the far end of the large room.

Nodding in their direction, I spoke with authority. "It's ready."

Chapter 24: Ascension

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Chapter 24: Ascension

The sound of overlapping voices slowly brought me out of the daze of sleep as I blinked the blurriness from my eyes. After informing Luna and Celestia of the finished repairs I had agreed to stay the night in a castle bedroom before leaving in the morning. Of course that was proving to be the wrong choice as I listened to the sound just outside my door, the sound of many many voices demanding questions.

'I guess I might as well get this over with... I don't want to cause a panic by just leaving with one of their Princesses without leaving some information' I thought as I grumbled and stood up, pulling on my clothes and walking to the door.

The room was simple, with a desk, chair, and a single bed atop a single colored rug. I grabbed the handle and opened the door slightly, peeking out and looking at the crowd of ponies trying to get past the two armored guards present in front of my door. I slowly opened the door and crossed my arms as they all looked up to me and stopped in an instant.

"This needs to stop. I will take ONE pony with me, to ask questions I CHOOSE to answer. Is that clear?" I asked getting them all to nod eagerly. "Alright... uhhh." I thought as I skimmed over all of the ponies present. "You! Come on in." I called out to a Unicorn mare off to the left of the group.

She made a little *Squee* sound as all the other ponies whispered some expletives.

"Alright, the rest of ya beat it!" I said pointing behind them, getting them all to start dispersing.

The pony I had chosen watched the rest of the reporters leave as she could barely contain her excitement.

"Uh... alright come in miss...?" I began as I made room for her to come in.

Said pony quickly made her way past me and jumped on my bed before getting comfortable. "Silver script!" She said with a smile. "Sorry I'm just excited is all! I never get in on big stories like this!"

Slowly nodding I walked over to the desk and pulled out the chair, setting it in front of her and pointing at it.

"My room, my bed." I said looking at her as she smiled sheepishly.

"Eh heh... of course..." She said quietly as she jumped down and got onto the chair as I sat on the edge of the bed.

"A few things I want to make certain first... one. Some things are classified and you are not allowed to know. Two. Some things I may just not want to answer, and if that's the case I I'll say no, and that's the end of it. Understand?" I said seeing her nod as she pulled out a quill and notebook. "Alright... begin."

"Where did you come from and what are you?" She asked curiously.

'I guess some of this should be okay to talk about'

"Well I'm a human, spelled H U M A N, and I'm... well to be quite frank I'm an alien." I said as she furiously scribbled down notes.

"Aaaalright um... what's that thing you came in on? Some kind of carriage powered by magic?" She asked motioning to the door.

"Nope... it's my ship, which is capable of space and FTL flight, also known as faster-than-light. It's how I got here. And where I come from magic basically doesn't exist to us so no, it's all tech."

For a few moments she just stared at me with the 'Are you fucking kidding me?' look before blinking and writing more stuff down.

"Um... herbivore or carnivore?" She asked somewhat shyly.

"Both, Humans are Omnivorous." I said getting her to shiver before writing some things down.

'Hey... I thought horses were omnivores...? Eh they are alien so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt'

Looking up to me with a slightly excited smirk, she asked the next question, which completely caught me off guard.

"Do you find yourself attracted to any of the Princesses? Luna in particular?" She asked.

I did a double take as I let that sink in. "...sorry what?"

"Do you have any feelings for Luna?" She asked as I shook my head.

"What! No! I mean... she's not ugly! She's actually gorgeous... I mean... she's... GAH!" I said stumbling over my words as I saw her scratching things down on her notepad. "Alright... yes she's beautiful... and yes I like her... but not like THAT." I said getting her to look up from her notebook.

'I should have just said no opinion...'

"I find that hard to believe..." She asked raising an eyebrow. "What with all the pictures and gossip of Luna's 'Beloved unknown biped' I just thought... you know..."

Shaking my head and placing my fingers on the bridge of my nose, I sighed. "Listen... that stuff was an accident. Just trust me on that... plus I wouldn't even think something like that would be legal for me to do..." I said getting her to give me a confused look. "Humans have this... law where were are not allowed to perform those... acts... to ani-" I quickly stopped myself.

'Oh god I almost said animal...'

"What was that?" She asked curiously.

"N-Nothing don't worry about it... just Luna isn't my cup of tea alright?" I said getting her to shrug.

"Alright... if you say so." She said in a sing song voice as she stood up. "Well that's pretty much all I wanted to know... I'll be on my way now. This has been enlightening. Especially now that we have solidified proof you like the Princesses in some way." She said waving her notebook in the air before running out of the room.

"... I walked into that one anyway. Hey who knows, while I'm gone with Luna maybe they think we'll get married and start a Lunar empire in the stars or something crazy like that..." I said aloud chuckling to myself.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I walked down the hall leading to the landing strip of Canterlot as Luna trotted next to me. The air was thick and I could tell she was nervous about the upcoming trip so I stepped closer to her and put my hand on her back, making her jump a bit.

"Hey... calm down. It's gonna be alright... trust me. When we get up there you won't ever want to leave." I said as she looked at me with a questioning gaze.

"What makes you say that?" She asked as I chuckled and looked up into the sky as we exited the castle.

"Imagine the endless expanse of space and the millions of stars filling it. Now imagine how many of those have planets near them with other life on it? Don't you want to explore? I know I did... it's kind of been mankind's 'insatiable hunger' to traverse the stars." I said with a smile as she slowly relaxed and looked up into the sky. "There's also the fact that the stars are so calming. You really lose yourself out there... which is why I love the night so much..." I said quietly as I continued to stare off into the distance before shaking my head and looking forward, lifting my hand from her back. "Ahem... anyway. Are you sure your sister can handle explaining to the populace your sudden disappearance?" I asked looking to her as we neared my ship.

Nodding she gave me a quick glance. "Yes, she's told me that we should leave as soon as possible. We've delayed too much already. Also... there's something you should know but we'll talk about it when we get on board." She said as she trotted ahead of me and into the opening doors.

I hopped inside as the doors shut behind me and made my way to the cockpit. "Alright Lucy I'll be in there in a minute. Bring the ship out of the atmosphere and prep for FTL travel." I said getting an 'Affirmative' from Lucy as I turned to Luna. "Alright, what did you want to tell me about?" I asked as I could feel the ship take off.

Luna looked at me sheepishly and smiled. "Well... me and my sister have always been... linked." She said getting me to raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"Meaning...?" I asked urging her to continue.

"Well... it would be too difficult to explain to those with no knowledge of magic so... think of it as we can share thoughts with each other. But Usually it's a bit taxing from very large distances... but we're telling you this in case things... don't go well." She said shivering a bit.

Nodding slowly I agreed. "Yeah... just in case... but don't worry we'll be fine." I said with confidence as I walked to the cockpit with Luna close behind. "So Lucy, are we ready to go?"

"Yes sir, we just left the atmosphere now and the FTL drive is charged and ready for take off." She said as I sat in my chair, with Luna sitting next to me.

Nodding I gave a small smirk. "Alright... you know our destination so I don't need to say the coordinates. Luna... get ready for a view that's..." I began as I paused. "... out of this world..." I said smiling as she lightly smacked me on the shoulder while giggling.

The engines whirred up as the FTL drive kicked into action, and we were off in the blink of an eye. I looked up at the digital map showing a lot of uncharted territory between us and known space, along with what the current arrival time was.

<<E.T.A. TWO HOURS>>

I glanced over to Luna as she slowly stood up with wide eyes and watched as stars streaked past us. She walked up to the cockpits window and lay her hoof on it, slowly turning to me. "You see this... every day?" She asked with amazement in her voice to which I nodded while smiling, causing her to stare back out at the shimmering expanse of space. "It's... beautiful."

I thought back to the discovery of the Verix, caused by humanity's own curiosity of exploring the stars.

"Yeah..." I whispered to myself. "Yeah it is..."

Chapter 25: The Council

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Chapter 25: The Council

"Sir! There's something you should know!" Lucy said loudly through the intercom, getting my attention. "I'm picking up the signal of the Starstreaker, It's much closer to earth than we thought..." She began, pausing. "Sir... it's going to be there within the day." She said getting my heart to drop.

'Today? TODAY?! WE CAN'T RALLY A FORCE BIG ENOUGH IN ONE DAY'

"How can you pick up it's signal? No doubt they are trying to cloak it from us." I said hoping she had been wrong as Luna watched our exchange with worried eyes.

"I'm sorry sir but... since this ship came from the Starstreaker, it's beacon homing frequency is identical, and I'm doubtful they know how to shut that off. But it does make it hard to get their current whereabouts however I can get a rough estimation."

I paused for a few moments, looking out at the stars blazing past us as I looked up to the time to arrival.

'Two minutes...'

Sighing I slouched back in my chair as I thought about this new information and what could be done about this.

'I should have left earlier... I shouldn't of wasted so much time.. GOD DAMMIT!' I thought as I clenched my fists around the wheel.

A minute of silence passed before I felt a small weight on my shoulder as Luna gave me a caring look.

"It will be alright. Everything will work out fine. Just focus on our current objective." She said with a smile.

She was right. Moping over this won't get us anywhere but dead in the ground. We needed to take action and hope we can pull through these terrifying odds. Blinking and clearing my mind I shut off the FTL drive, quickly slowing our speed so we could easily see ahead of us. Just outside the window stood Earth in all it's glory. You could see the billions of lights and the hundreds of super cities dotting the landscape as the planet slowly spun on it's axis. Luna was in awe as she watched the planet below, unable to form a sentence... until my radio came to life.

"Unknown vessel, you are in a no fly zone, please identify." Said the monotone voice of a machine.

Inching closer to the microphone I cleared my throat. "Jake Carson, ID number 901425, ranking of first lieutenant, Space Marines branch."

A few seconds of silence followed before a beep and reply was heard. "Voice match confirmed, welcome back Jake."

"I'm requesting permission to speak with the council, this is of utmost importance." I said letting worry sink into my voice.

"All meetings with the council must be booked ahead of time by at least two weeks-" The voice rung out as I rapped my fingers against my leg impatiently.

'We don't have time for this...'

"Alright I want to request permission to land then. As soon as possible." I asked getting another series of beeps from the intercom.

"Request pending... please identify other person aboard your ship." The voice asked getting my breath to hitch.

"Uh... it's just me here." I said hoping the AI would just let it go.

"Negative, my scans indicate at least one other life form... please identify."

A few seconds of silence later I spoke up. "Alright Luna... your not in their banks so just... make a new account I guess?" I asked getting out of my seat where she sat down.

"Okay... how do I-" She began before being cut off.

"Please state your full name, age, and your planet of birth." The voice rung out as I looked at Luna and shrugged.

Shrugging back, she did just that.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"I haven't spoken my full name in... well I don't even remember the last time..." Luna said as I smiled at her.

"Alright Luna... I need you to stay in the ship as I... ease them into what they are about to see. The last time we found an alien race we almost died off. So... just wait here, alright?" I asked getting her to nod understandingly.

The ship touched down as I waited at the door, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly as I looked to Luna. She stood beside me, out of viewing range of anyone outside when the door opens, giving me a confident smile.

"Here goes nothin'." I said as I opened the door.

And was immediately grabbed by my shirt collar and pulled from my ship by a very angry looking man.

"Soldier! Do you think this is some kind of joke?!" He yelled right in my face, a bit of spittle going as he did.

I immediately snapped into a straight stance and saluted. "Sir no sir!"

"Then what the hell is THIS?!" He asked pulling out a sheet of paper and read it aloud, as I noticed the many other soldiers in full armor standing around the runway.

Their armor was nothing as advanced as the Spartan armor I had in the ship, more along the line of standard ballistics armor.

"First Lieutenant Jake Carson on board with, Princess Lunaris "Artemis" Eclipse the 1st... keeper of the moon?" He asked looking up at me in anger before going back down to the sheet and running his finger through all the lines. "Also known as 'Princess Luna', she is currently 2375 years old, was born on planet Equis, and lives on the continent of Equestria? DO YOU TAKE ME FOR SOME SORT OF MORON?" He yelled back to me before pushing me out of the way and walking to the door of the ship. "Out of my way! I'm gonna teach this little prankster a lesson!" He finished as some of the soldiers standing around snickered a bit.

I turned and reached out to stop him, but it was too late. He stepped inside and took a look around before no doubt seeing what he'd been looking for. He stood stock still for a few moments before clearing his throat, and walking out of the ship. He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me in the eyes.

"Soldier... did I just see... what I think I just saw?" He said seriously to where I nodded.

"It had a horn..." He said awestruck.

"Yup."

"A-And wings..."

"I know."

"It's hair looks... like space?!" He said desperately trying to make sense of the situation.

"Yeah... yeah I know." I said smiling.

"I..." He said lost for words. "I wasn't trained on how to handle this..." He said in a whisper as the soldiers around the area exchanged confused looks.

Seeing as the cat was out of the bag, I called out to Luna. "Alright Luna I guess now's a good a time as any."

A few seconds of silence followed before Luna showed her face from the ship, looking around nervously. She hesitantly took a step outside the ship and immediately was aimed at by all present soldiers, except me and the stunned General next to me.

"ALIEN SPECIES ON DECK!" Cried out an alarm as a siren began wailing and all the soldiers started shouting things like 'GET DOWN' and 'HANDS WHERE I- oh...'.

As quick as I could I ran in front of Luna and put my arms up. "Don't shoot! She's a friendly!" I yelled out but to no avail. "I SAID STAND DOWN! I AM YOUR SUPERIOR AND YOU WILL FOLLOW MY ORDERS!" I yelled out to all the soldiers, getting them to flinch.

"But sir-" One of them began before getting cut off.

"I said stand DOWN!" I yelled out again, getting them all to look between each other and slowly lower their weapons. "And someone turn off that god damn alarm."

A few moments later the alarm stopped and I breathed out a sigh of relief and turned to Luna as she spoke.

"All according to plan right?" She said smiling as all of the present soldiers, including the generals, jaw dropped.

I turned back to the general and spoke quickly. "Sir! We need you to bring us to the council! This is of utmost importance regarding the protection of Earth!" I finished getting him to raise an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?! This is our first contact with a friendly life form that's not human!" He said with a smile as he walked forward and offered his hand, which Luna took quickly. "A pleasure to meet you ma'am! I'm general Chase and I'm the leading authority here. Please, come with me to the council as I'm sure they'd really want to meet you!" He finished as he began taking a few steps back, urging the Princess to follow.

"I think there are more pressing matters to discuss general." Luna said as she motioned to me.

Sighing, the general turned to me and motioned for me to speak.

"Sir, have you gotten any reports from the Starstreaker recently?" I asked getting him to roll his eyes.

"No, I have not. That dammed signal relay of theirs was always a little on the delicate side." He said as he paused for a few seconds and a look of worry adorned his face. "...why?"

Me and Luna looked between each other, then back to the general, making his face pale.

"Oh no..." He said as he signaled us to follow. "Come on! Run and talk let's go!" He said as he began a brisk pace, with us both following along.

"Sir, how could you tell something was wrong?" I asked as he looked back at me.

"Kid, when you've been fighting as long as I have you pick up on these things just from the looks on your soldiers faces. Now tell me... WHAT HAPPENED?!" He said as I picked up my pace to get beside him.

Many many soldiers watched Luna as we ran past, some with confused looks, and others with looks of awe. I even saw a few get scared or flinch at seeing her.

"Sir, about a week ago the Starstreaker was hit by some kind of ambush attack! I'm not sure how the Verix managed to keep us from sending out a distress signal but regardless things didn't turn out so well!" I shouted as we ran.

"DAMMIT!" He yelled out angrily. "What happened to you? How did you escape?"

"Well, I was recovering from some medical procedures and when I woke up the fight was over. I ended up getting wounded as I left on one of the ship's emergency shuttles but I didn't plot a course. Lucy donwloaded herself onto my ship and-" I was cut off as the general stopped and turned to me, bringing up a finger.

"Wait... did you just say our greatest AI is being kept in an emergency ship?" He said suspiciously.

"Sir, with all due respect she did it herself, and I was just a vessel to protect any information she had from the enemy." I said as he slowly nodded and started running again.

"Alright, but the next chance we get we're taking Lucy off that ship and into safe hands. Continue." He said as we were running at full speed towards a very big building.

"I'll explain the rest when we get inside, so you can hear it along with the council." I said getting him to nod.

We ran up to a set of doors guarded by two guards wearing full battle armor. These guys were serious business. Even though the Spartan armor is a one of a kind, due to it being a prototype being tested on the Starstreaker, these armors were only a tier below it. They had the same basic design, but were less power efficient and lacked power shielding. But besides that, they were just as deadly.

"HALT! Under what terms must you speak to the council?!" The right guard yelled back at us.

Luna walked around from behind the two of us and spoke up, causing the two guards to flinch a bit.

"Stand aside young guards! We have matters to discuss with thy leaders!" She spoke out in a voice that seemed much too loud.

The two guards just stared for a few seconds before looking between each other.

"Do we let them in... she sounds legit."

"We were told to not let anyone in unless it's an emergency..."

"Dude... if a blue unicorn with wings and a sparkling, floating haircut just said it was an emergency... it's probably pretty bad!"

A few seconds of silence went by before they took a few steps to the sides. "Alright move along!" Yelled out the guard on the right.

All three of us ran through the doors and down the main hall, ending up at a set of beautifully crafted silver doors. I took a deep breath as I grabbed onto the handle and slowly opened it.

"And that is why I believe more money should be put towards the strip clubs in new vega-" I heard as I took a step into the room, immediately catching the attention of every single pair of eyes present, while I heard Luna whisper behind me.

"Whats a strip club..."

"Ahem!" I cleared my throat as I looked around at all of the faces watching me.

In this room sat the leader of every major colony on earth, where they governed the world. After world peace was finally declared in 2642, everyone agreed to have their leaders be situated in the heart of Canada and run the planet's government... where people can come and speak with them on changes they think would help the world the most.

The whole "Voting for your leader" was still practiced, they just all were under one roof now.

"Uh... sorry to interrupt... but we have something really important we need to talk about." I said looking at the un-moving looks. "Like... now."

The Russian leader stood up and pointed down at me. "Why have you come to this place? We are busy!" He said as Luna slowly opened the other door. "Now leave while we-" He stopped dead as Luna became visible, causing the rest of the council, and the person who was here before me, to gasp. "Боже мой!" He shouted out as he fell into his seat. "It's a unicorn!"

The man who was here before me slowly backed away from the podium. "I'm... gonna go. I can see you have some issues to discuss..." He said as he quickly left the room, pausing to look at Luna on the way out.

"Mister..." Canada's leader began, motioning to me.

"Jake, Jake Carson."

"Mr. Jake... is this some kind of... joke? Because I really do hope so. That looks... quite real." He said as he squinted his eyes at Luna, trying to get a better look.

"No sir, this isn't a joke, this is Princess Luna and she-" I began before being cut off by America.

"I'm sorry but... did you say Princess?" He said with a crooked smile.

"I'm sorry but... you're going to have to leave now. Guards please escort this man out!" Called out China as two guards came out of no-where and right at me.

Before I could speak up there was a flash of blue, causing me to close my eyes... then nothing. I opened my eyes to see the two men who were walking towards me floating above us in a blue aura.

Every council member in the room stood up immediately, staring at what had just happened, while the general behind me gasped.

"Do I not get a say in this?!" Shouted Luna as she walked forward. "And my say is... let Jake speak!" She said as she set the two slightly shaking guards down, a few feet away.

A few moments of awed silence passed as the council all looked between each other, before Canada motioned forward.

"We're listening."

Chapter 26: Battle on the Home-front

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Chapter 26: Battle on the Home-front

Chaos.

That's the only word I could use to describe what was happening. There were sirens going off across the city while weapons of every type were handed out, be it bullet or energy based. People everywhere were panicking, trying to get to a ship to be evacuated before the fight. The sky was alive with the sound of thousands of fighters and drop-ships as they soared overhead, taking away civilians and setting up perimeters around the earth. I turned to Luna to see her mouth agape, staring at it all.

"If this wasn't such a bad turn of events... I'd say just how amazing this looks." She said to me as she watched the fighters leave the atmosphere. "You can't possibly lose with this much help... can you?" She asked, looking me in the eyes.

Sighing, I shook my head. "Honestly, I don't know. We're unprepared. This is like trying to barricade a door with a twig."

"Jake!" Shouted the general from behind me, getting me to turn and stick up a salute. "You have proven yourself a very capable soldier in this last week, so see to it that this next assignment is done just as good." He said as I rang out a 'Yes Sir'. "Your mission is to protect the Princess here. If we make it through this we sure as hell need her on our side. Remember, we need to hold out until reinforcements from Xeron get here without being shot down!"

Nodding I turned to Luna and motioned her closer.

"Alright Luna... no matter what happens down here I need you to STAY CLOSE!" I said as I grabbed a Plasma Rifle and some grenades off a rack of weapons being wheeled by. "If you can do that, nothing will touch you." I said getting her to nod.

I ran back to my ship as fast as I could, noticing the absence of all the guards, and ran through the door.

"Sir, I've supercharged the armor for you, and did the best I could to track how far out the ship is. It should be here within the next hour." Lucy rang out as I quickly suited up.

After pulling the armor on I quickly started the ship up and flew it back to Luna, carefully landing it beside her and the General. Shutting it down, I quickly left the ship to see the surprised face of the General.

"Jake, that armor... is that..." He began as he looked at my setup.

Nodding, I let the face-plate retract. "Yup, and the stuff is working beautifully."

"Hmm... well alright but take care of it! And for god sakes don't die! I need to go overlook the preparations now so get that ship somewhere safe! We can't afford to lose Lucy either." He said as he began to turn around.

"Wait sir!" I said getting his attention. "What about... Project Decadence?" I asked in a low voice.

Scowling, the General answered. "That damned thing... what about it?" He asked as I bit my lip.

"Don't you think we should use it? It'd give us an edge." I said getting him to shake his head.

"Maybe. But only as a last resort. Too much could go wrong. It's still Highly in the prototype stage." He said as I nodded, getting him to run back to the building where we spoke to the Council.

Turning to Luna I motioned behind me. "Alright Luna let's go." I said as we both walked to the ship.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I had placed the ship somewhere safe a few blocks from where we were as we currently waited outside, watching the sky. We stood outside the building with many other soldiers. The building still currently held the council, who had refused to leave Earth. Something about being born on the planet and dying on the planet. Besides them there were still millions of civilians who had not made it off the planet, due to lack of time. We'd only managed to save a few million... and we had to hold out hope that we would somehow pull this off.

A few moments of silence passed by, before one of the soldiers pulled his helmet off and walked up to Luna. I looked him over and nodded to him, moving out of the way so he could talk to her. He looked no more than nineteen years old...

"E-Excuse me... Ma'am." He asked politely as Luna smiled.

"Yes young one?" She answered back, getting the kid to blink as he still found it hard to believe she could even talk.

"Is what the Council told us true? Are you really going to aid us in this war?" He asked getting Luna to smile warmly.

"Yes, it's true. We'll do all we can to help you in this fight. You are no longer alone." She finished as the kid smiled a bit.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he looked at the ground. "Things have been especially hard the last few years on all of us. We've barely held our own against the Verix and this is a godsend to us." He said as he gave a very slight bow. "I promise we'll fight to the death to keep our new allies safe!" He said loudly as he raised his gun into the air. "RIGHT BROTHERS?!" He shouted, getting all of the soldiers around us to raise their guns in agreement. "FOR OUR NEW ALLIES!" He shouted again.

"OORAH!"

I smiled at Luna's expression of pure surprise before turning into a smile of her own. Suddenly a message rang out over my radio, so I turned it up for us all to hear.

"Attention! Scans have picked up the Starstreaker! It doesn't look to be accompanied by anything..." Said the voice, confused.

"Stay on high alert! Watch for any movement!" Shouted back the General as a reply.

There were many moments of silence before the voice spoke up again.

"Sir there doesn't see-" The voice was cut off by a sudden loud static.

"Report scout 3 do you copy?" The General said out again.

"ZZZZzztt -LDIERS FOCUS FIRE O-" The voice cut out again as I turned to Luna. "SIR THE'RE HERE! THEY WERE CLOAKED! I SPOTTED A TOTAL OF TW-" He cut off again at the sound of an explosion as silence followed suit.

I stared at the sky, waiting for something to happen as the General began shouting into the microphone, alerting all of the ships overhead to prepare for the attack.

Silence.

No one dared speak.

No one dared move.

No one dared breath.

...

*BOOM*

The ear-shattering sound of an explosion filled the air as we all covered our ears to drown out the sound. A few moments later, when the ringing stopped, we looked up, and gaped at what was before us.

Two Verix battleships each about half the size of the Starstreaker stood above the planet, looking down at us.

"Oh my god..." I said as I stared up at our end. "This... this is impossible..." I said as I shook my head. "We... we can't..." I stumbled over my words as I looked over to Luna, seeing the fear evident in her expression as she watched the scene before us.

"Alright boys! We've got two Omega class warships over the planet! Let's get to work!" Yelled the general through the radio. "I want every drone up into the air and attracting enemy fire! Pilots, do what you can to try and take out those engines!" The General finished as I caught my breath.

'No. No we have to try... no matter the odds...' I thought as I stared at the two behemoths. 'Even if the odds are staggering...'

I watched as thousands of small unmanned ships left the planet and quickly soared past the pilots hovering over the atmosphere. All of the ships began to make way to the enemy as small openings opened on the sides of the Warships. Out poured hundreds upon thousands of Verix fighters from within the two monstrosities as they soared over to our own ships.

Then all hell broke loose.

The sky lit up in every color imaginable, as ships were torn asunder from each other's weapons, a few passing through our defenses before being gunned down by our AA weapons.

"So much destruction." Luna whispered beside me. "And for what cause?" She asked no one as she turned to me with a look of sorrow. "This burden should be nopony's to bear."

<< Click here for fitting music and some gunfire/radio chatter, this is optional and if listening to it, feel free to pause it whenever to keep immersion up >>

^^^Sadly, this link no longer works... If anyone wants to throw together a good mix for me PM me to get my attention^^^

I placed my hand on her shoulder and began pulling her along with me as we hid behind a building, as did the rest of the soldiers as they scattered around the perimeter, readying themselves for the inevitable. The ships overhead continued to come full force down to the planet, some slipping through the defenses of the AA guns and landing somewhere nearby. The sounds of explosions, shooting and screaming could be heard a few moments after we lost sight of the ships. Then suddenly one of the ships flew overhead, and was immediately shot down by one of our drones, causing it to spin out of the air and crash directly into a building.

Within moments Verix fighter upon fighter started to pour out of the wreckage where we quickly opened fire on them as they took cover anywhere they could.

*Swoosh* *BOOM*

A small explosion rang out as one of our soldiers fired a rocket at them, breaking some of their cover. I turned to some of the soldiers who were reloading and nodded to them.

"Alright! You all keep this place under control! I'm going to escort our package to a safer area! Godspeed!" I yelled out as the man gave a salute as he leaned back against the wall.

Turning to Luna I placed my hand on her cheek. "We'll be okay, you just have to trust me... alright?" I said getting her to nod. "Alright follow me!" I said as I turned and ran down the alley with Luna close behind.

At the end of the alley we passed by another soldier who had been watching this end to make sure we didn't get flanked.

"It's quiet sir, no sign of any Verix headed this way. They must be trying to get into the Council's building. Hell if I know how they figured out it was this one though." He said as I nodded and walked past him, scanning the area.

I let my helmet close around my head as I walked across the open street, watching for any signs of movement. I stayed low, as did Luna, as I listened to the havoc going on all around the city.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Everything after that became a haze. I'm not sure when the first Verix showed up, or how many shot's I've absorbed, but I know it's in the double digits. I wasn't even sure how long we'd been fighting. Minutes? Hours? It's all just meshed together into one blurred memory. I do know my armor had died a long time ago and was currently sitting beside me in a heap.

'Those batteries were super-charged... meaning at the very least we've been fighting for a few hours now... combined with the many lethal shot's it's saved me from' I thought to myself.

Currently Luna and I were held up in the remains of an old church that had it's roof caved in as we were being shot at by a squad of Verix soldiers. I took a small look over the edge of the window before quickly ducking as plasma singed the spot I had been.

"Fuck! I'm counting at least twenty!" I said as I gave another look. "No shit scratch that, thirty!" I finished as I blindly fired some shots out the window, hearing a screech of anger in return. "Luna! How are you holding up?!" I asked as I looked over to my right to see her against a wall next to a window, taking shots out of it with her magic.

"JUST PEACHY!" She yelled back as she fired another shot, scoring a hit as the head of a Verix exploded in a shower of metal and blue liquid.

"GREAT! YOU HAD ME WORRIED!" I yelled back as I pulled the pin from a grenade and let it fly.

*BOOM*

The grenade exploded followed by yet more metallic screams as I took another look. We'd easily killed more than a hundred of them but they just kept coming and coming, never seeming to give up.

"We can't stay here! We'll be overrun!" I said as I fired another few shots out the window.

Suddenly the sound of engines screamed past us overhead, followed shortly after by a series of explosions as dust flew up through the window. Immediate silence and the sound of faraway warfare greeted me as my ears rang. I shook my head and cautiously looked out the window to see the scattered remains of the Verix who had pinned us down.

"I thought you might need some help sir!" Lucy's voice rang out overhead.

"Son of a bitch!" I yelled out as I stood up and raised my rifle over my head. "I had it under control!" I said smiling.

"You'd be lost without me sir!" Lucy responded back as the ship landed just outside the church.

"Come on Luna let's go! I need to talk to the general, grab my armor for me!" I said as Luna grabbed my armor with her magic and jumped out the window as I followed suit.

I watched as she ran into the open door of the ship and threw the armor onto the floor, before turning around and gasping at me.

*BZZZZT* *BZZZZT* *BZZZZT*

"AHHHH!" I screamed out as I fell to the ground, pain surging from my back and right leg as I squeezed my eyes shut.

"JAKE!" I heard Luna scream out as the sound of her magical beam fired off, obliterating whatever was behind me.

I felt the flesh on my back and leg sizzle as I writhed on the floor in pain before I felt myself become weightless. A few moments later I felt myself placed on cool metal as I opened my eyes. I slowly pushed myself off the ground only to be held down by Luna.

"No! Your badly hurt! No more fighting!" She said as I shook my head.

"No... I've got to talk to the general." I said as I shakily stood up. "Lucy! Bring us to the Council building! Quickly!" I shouted out as I felt the ship lurch forward.

I almost fell before Luna quickly stood beside me, supporting my stance as I threw my arm around her to keep upright. A few moments passed before the door opened up revealing the Council building just below us and the fight going on between the Verix fighters and the soldiers I had been with earlier.

"Get on my back! Hurry!" Luna shouted as I did as she said.

I quickly got onto her back and before I even had a chance to grab a hold of something, anything, she jumped out of the door. I quickly latched onto her mane for dear life, deciding now was not the best time to question how an ethereal mane was palpable. She nosedived straight down towards the fight before spreading her wings at the last second and evening out. We glided forward towards the doors of the building as plasma fire soared past us, but one finding it's mark on her hind leg. She let out a muffled scream as the plasma burned into her leg, tears forming in her eyes.

Within moments we landed outside the door, almost tumbling upon impact as she put pressure on her leg. I quickly jumped off and moved towards the door as we both supported each other. We burst through the doors and fell onto the floor in a heap as gasps were heard all around us. I looked up to see all the members of the council, the General and many other guards staring at us in shock. The general ran over and helped us both to stand, looking us over.

"Oh my god... you both need to get to the infirmary. Come I'll-" He started before I cut him off.

"No, sir. It won't matter if we don't do something now." I said as I sighed. "We have to fire Project Decadence." I said as he flinched.

"Whats... project Decadence?" Asked one of the council members.

Sighing, the general placed two fingers on the bridge of his nose.

"Project Decadence... it's... a secret project of ours." He said guiltily. "A whole planet turned weapon." He said getting everyone in the room but me to gasp.

"How long has this been going on without our knowledge!" Yelled out another member. "This... this is unacceptable! You cannot keep information like this from us!" He said aloud as the general turned around.

"Well it's the only chance we've got now so we might as well use it!" The general shouted back. "It's in early development stages but... it does work. We've only got one shot though before it needs to recharge." He said as I raised an eyebrow.

"How long does it take to recharge?" I asked getting him to grumble.

"A few days..." He said solemnly.

A few moments of silence passed by before I spoke up. "Then we should take careful aim, shouldn't we?" I asked, smiling.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Location: Planet Sirus

Perspective: Project Decadence Scientist

"Alright boys look alive! I just got word from Earth's General! They're under attack and need aid!" Yelled out a soldier up on one of the catwalks.

I gasped at this information.

'Earth is under attack?!' I thought to myself in a panic.

"I want this weapon primed and ready to fire on my command! Follow these targeting coordinates exactly or we'll risk hitting earth! The Coordinates are-"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Location: Planet Earth

Perspective: Jake Carson

I hobbled outside with the aid of Luna and looked up into the sky at the two Warships, and the nearby fighters that were still battling each other, but the Verix's fleet being constantly replenished.

"How will we know when it's fired?!" I yelled out to the General behind me.

*CRRRRRRACK* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

An ear-shattering sound was heard as the two Warships were gouged straight through the center by the same purple beam. It passed straight through them completely unhindered, decimating the two ships as it tore through their hull. The remaining fighters left in the air were quickly taken down by our pilots and AA guns, as I heard cheering start to roar through the city.

'I can't believe it...' I thought to myself. 'We actually fucking did it!'

I smiled as I turned to Luna and pulled her into a huge hug before giving her a huge smooch on the lips. I quickly pulled away and raised my fist into the sky at the Warships as they were tearing apart at their own instability.

"HAHA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH EARTH MOTHER FUCKERS!" I yelled out in pure ecstasy as I pranced around, completely forgetting about my wounds as I was caught up in the moment.

I turned to Luna to see her blushing like mad, with the General beside her with his mouth hanging limply.

I slowly lost my smile as I looked between them. "What?" I asked as I felt the pain come back with a vengeance.

I doubled over in pain as I let out a grunt as I leaned over before being caught by Luna and helped to stay steady.

"Thanks..." I said smiling.

"No problem." She said, smiling back warmly and still slightly blushing.

"Alright you two... I think it's time you both got to the medb-" The general began but stopped as his eyes locked onto something in the sky. "Oh... lord have mercy on us." He said as he stumbled back.

I slowly turned to see what he was looking at, and to my horror I got what I was looking for.

And oh how I wish I hadn't looked.

High above the atmosphere, covering almost our entire vision of the sky, was more Warships revealing themselves... ten more in total.

"Twelve..." I said quietly. "Over the radio... he was gonna say twelve... not two..." I said with defeat in my voice as I felt the burns in my back and leg worsen.

I could feel my eyelids getting heavy as I stared up at the ships as the pain worsened.

'Maybe I'll pass out before this all happens... then it wont haunt me as memories in the afterlife...' I thought as I fell from Luna's support and onto my hands and knees.

"We... we can't fight this. It's over... we can't win." The general said aloud as he slowly took off his hat and held it against his chest.

I strained to look up at Luna to see her deep in thought, before she looked up at the ships, then closed her eyes and began whispering words to no-one. I could tell it was straining her as she did so, before she finally stopped and looked down at me... before walking forward into the open street.

"L-Luna! What are you doing! We need to evacuate!" I shakily yelled to her as I watched her go.

I let myself lay on the ground and rolled onto my side, as I felt myself get even weaker and harder to stay conscious.

The last few moment's I remember, is Luna's horn lighting up, and her strained cry that followed.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Perspective: Luna

I strained to cast the spell as it fought against me due to the large distance it had to cover, and the pain it caused me. I looked around at all the soldiers watching me with worried looks on their faces.

'I must do it! An entire world is counting on me! I can't let them down without making this try count!' I bellowed out into my thoughts as I surged more power forward into the spell.

"AHH!" I screamed out as I cast the spell as it struck the ground with an obscene amount of force.

I fell to the ground, breathing heavily, but I watched as the runes on the ground flickered and lit up, before forming an oval shape in the air with a rippling reflection in the center. A few moments later, she emerged.

Celestia stomped out of the portal, and looked around at the death and destruction around her with a mournful look, before locking eyes with me before I finally blacked out.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Perspective: Celestia

As I stepped through the portal created by my sister, the first thing I noticed was the death all around me. Bodies lay everywhere I looked, along with buildings completely destroyed or on their last legs. Then I turned my vision back ahead of me just in time to see my sister collapse onto the floor due to the stress of casting such a spell so far away. I quickly ran up to her and looked her over, immediately noticing her wounded hind leg. I looked up to see another human looking at me curiously and hopeful.

"Um... hello! I'm General Chase and I'm in charge here!" He said as he ran up to greet me. "You two must be related." He said as he noticed my opposite color theme.

"We're sisters..." I said as I looked down at her. "Please, get her to safety." I said as he nodded and waved down a pair of field medics who took her away on a stretcher. "So... where are the one's who did this to her?" I said with seething anger.

He slowly pointed into the sky, where I turned and looked up, seeing the flying monstrosities overhead.

"Why do they just sit there? Why won't they attack?" I asked angrilly as I could feel the temperature rise a few degrees around me.

"I-I think they're... taunting us. They know we don't have the reinforcements to stop them. So they're enjoying their victory." The General said solemnly as I shook my head.

"Well you have your reinforcements now. My name is Celestia, keeper of the sun. And I need to ask you a favor." I finished as he quickly shook his head and saluted.

"Yes ma'am! If your not joking I'll run to hell and back naked to get us out of this!" He said back as I smiled and nodded.

As I did, more ponies came through the portal as I immediately recognized the first one as my arch-mage from Canterlot, the second one being Twilight and the third being Shining Armor. They were followed by seven more unicorns who quickly came through the portal and waited farther back. The three ponies ran up to me and and waited for me to say what to do next.

"Alright..." I began, looking back at the General. "I need you to get these ten ponies situated evenly across the planet, as soon as possible. I don't care how you do it... just get it done." I said with authority as I looked up at the ships flying outside the atmosphere. "And get the rest of your soldiers out of the air!"

"Yes Ma'am! HEY YOU GUYS! YEAH YOU PILOTS! GET OVER HERE AND GET TO WORK!" He yelled off to the distance as he ran off.

A few moments later many of those floating ships neared us and set down in front of us as I turned to the Arch-mage, Twilight and Shining Armor, who were currently looking in stunned awe at the creatures around them.

"You three go prepare the others in those ships over there!" I yelled pointing to the floating pieces of metal, causing them all to shakily nod and run off to the others.

I turned to the nearby human soldiers, one who was holding onto a small piece of rectangular metal and pointing it at me, smiling.

"I suggest you all move back a bit, unless you think you can handle the heat..." I said slowly as they all backed up.

I could feel my fur begin to give off heat, as it began to sparkle a bit, slowly turning the area around me hotter and hotter. My mane began to change from it's normally pristine look and multiple colors, into a raging inferno of hot flames. I let out a slow breath of pure heat as I fully transformed into my Goddess form. I slowly opened my eyes, which had turned pure white and were glowing with power as I stretched my wings as fire trailed along with them before they were fully spread out.

"Alright your friends are at their designated-" General Chase began but stopped as soon as he saw me as I turned to look at him. "Positions..." He finished as he stumbled back a bit.

"Good..." I said as the ground rumbled from my voice.

With a great flap of my wings, I took off into the air at terrifying speeds towards the sky and towards the ships in the distance. I watched as their sides opened up and out poured millions of small dots, all flying straight at the planet.

'I suppose they are done waiting...' I thought to myself. 'So am I...'

It's been millennia since I had allowed myself to take on this form and use this kind of power. A long time ago I had perfected the art of my Goddess transformation. Luna had as well but... after her incident with Nightmare Moon she has sworn to never use it again. But now I could finally use my power that I had stored for so many countless years. To cut loose on my enemy for the sake of the greater good... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't kind of enjoying it.

I stopped as I left the atmosphere and looked down at the planet below.

'Now'

My thought rang out to the minds of every being on the planet, and after a few moments I watched as beams of magic shot up from different parts of the world below, forming different sections of a shield before all coming together and forming one giant orb around the planet. I turned to see the enemy fleet stop in their tracks as they surveyed the new change.

Taking this shock as a chance to attack, I began to gather power on my horn, and reached out to this planet's sun as memories flashed back into my mind... back to when I was but a young mare.

'You see Luna...we control the moon and the sun because it's our special gift!' My voice rang out in my head as I remembered sitting on a balcony, my young sister beside me.

'But Cele... how do we do it? What makes us different than the ponies who moved them before us?' Luna asked back as she snuggled up closer to my side.

'Well... you see... those unicorns only pushed the sun and moon along. We do something much more special!' I said as Luna listened in awe. 'Each sun and moon has a soul... we reach out to it... and we speak with that soul, and ask it for the strength we need to continue!' I finished while Luna looked up at the moon with new-found love.

'So... we don't force it to do anything... we just ask it to help us with something we cant do alone?' Luna asked as she turned to look me in the eyes.

I leaned forward and nuzzled her cheek. 'Yes Luna... that's right'

As the memory ended I quickly thought back to the state of my sister upon arriving to this planet... and who had caused it.

I opened my eyes as I felt the connection to the sun solidify, and willed it to help me with this fight.

And watched as beams of pure fire mercilessly sliced through every Warship, tearing each one into pieces as the smaller ships melted into nothing almost immediately just from the heat radiating from the beams themselves.

"BEHOLD THE ENDLESS MIGHT OF THE SUN AND SUFFER IT'S WRATH!"

I shouted out in anger and I obliterated every ship in the area as rage coursed through my body, willing me to continue.

Chapter 27: Healing wounds

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Just a short chapter I wrote quickly cause I had some free time :)

Chapter 27: Healing Wounds

Perspective: Luna

My eyes shot open as the memories of the last day came flooding into my mind. I looked around to see I was still in the same hospital room as before, sitting in a chair next to Jake as he slept. They told me he'd be fine and his body was nearly complete fixing the damages itself anyway... but it wouldn't stop me from worrying. They had told me more about the 'Super Soldier Program' and how he was one of the newer members, but how his mind hadn't fully grasped it yet. His mind was still clinging to the limits his old body had, and not what he now holds.

'And what about the kiss...' I thought to myself as my cheeks heated up a bit. 'Was it intentional...? Or just something in the heat of the moment'

I was in the room Jake was currently being 'treated' in, which actually consisted of him laying on a bed with no medical equipment. Apparently he wasn't hurt enough to keep the equipment here rather than in other areas. As I looked down at him, sleeping soundly, my bandaged leg involuntarily twitched as I remembered how painful it was to be hit by their weapons.

I was quickly brought out of my thought process at the sound of a low groan.

Perspective: Jake

I slowly opened my eyes as I tried to speak, only to let out a groan from my dry throat. I blinked rapidly as I tried to clear my sight as I rubbed my face with my hands. When my vision cleared I saw Luna looking at me with a relieved smile on her face as she floated a glass of water over to my mouth. I happily took the water and gulped it down, enjoying the cool sensation as it ran down my dry throat.

"What happened?" I asked surprised as I looked around the room. "Did we evacuate?" I said in a low tone, to which she shook her head and smiled. "Did we die and this is some kind of afterlife?" I asked, getting her to shake her head again. "Then... how?"

She smiled a bit and levitated over a laptop, which she set out in front of me.

"This... thing they brought to me. Is called a 'lap top'. I'm not sure how it works but I was sure you'd know." She finished as she slid the laptop closer to my side.

I leaned forward and looked at the screen, seeing a paused video that had a thumbnail of Celestia looking up into the sky. Curious, I moused over the video and pressed play as Luna leaned forward to watch as well.

What I saw next made me absolutely speechless.

She turned to the camera and spoke.

"I suggest you all move back a bit, unless you think you can handle the heat..." Celestia spoke out as the person holding the camera took a few steps back.

Suddenly her body started to transform into... something else entirely. Her coat began to sparkle a bit as her mane turned into an inferno. Her eyes were pure white as she opened them, and when she spoke she sounded like many voices speaking at once.

"Dude are you seeing this!" The guy holding the camera said to someone next to him.

"This is intense I can feel the heat from here!" Said another as Celestia suddenly jumped into the air and sailed towards the Verix battleships, where music suddenly started playing.

'I'm just gonna call them dude 1 and dude 2'

"What do you think she's gonna do?" The dude 1 asked again.

"I don- woah! Look at that!" The dude 2 yelled back as the camera zoomed in a bit.

I watched as millions of ships poured out of the Warships and came straight at the planet, before a massive barrier appeared over the planet, locking Celestia out. I leaned closer to the screen as I tried to get every detail.

"Holy fuck! Dude they shielded the whole planet!" Dude 1 shouted as he broke off into a sprint with the camera, before it suddenly stabilized looking straight up.

Then it happened.

I watched as every ship in the air was torn apart from beams of fire, coming from our own sun. I shook my head, refusing to believe how this was possible... how someone can hold such immense power.

"Oh my god! Dude are you seeing this holy fuck!" Dude 2 yelled out.

"Yeah man I'm recording it!" Dude 1 answered back as I stopped the video and turned to Luna with an awestruck look.

"Luna..." I began, getting her to stop looking in awe at the laptop.

"Hm? Oh... yes?" She said completely unaware of anything out of the ordinary.

"Luna... did your sister just fucking barbecue an entire Verix fleet...?" I asked, getting my eye to twitch. "With our own fucking sun?"

Looking back at the video for a moment she nodded. "Yes it would seem she did. Why? Is that a bad thing?" She said tilting her head.

"No... no this is great! It's just... holy fuck!" I said as I fell back into my pillow with my hand on my head.

"Well... it's a side of us I don't really like to talk about... but anyways... how are you?" Luna asked as she placed her hoof on my arm. "You looked like you were in a lot of pain for a while."

Shaking my head and waving her off, I replied. "Nah I'm fine. Had a... weird dream though." I said as I raised an eyebrow at Luna, getting her to shrug. "Whatever... lets see what the comments look like." I said with a small smile.

"Comments?" She said back getting me to chuckle.

"Oh... yeah... you don't know about the internet... well you see. Nothing on the internet ever dies. So... sorry to say but it looks like your sister has already become the next big thing." I said as she raised an eyebrow and looked at the screen as I scrolled down...

(Below are the comments of the video. It's just a small thing I added for the sake of comedy. You can skip it if you wan't as it doesn't hold any significant meaning to the story P.S you might see your name in there if you have commented on this story prior to this chapter [*Hint hint* click their names])

Hawkx1 - (Reply)

"Yowtf that horse is so OP plz nerf rito"

>BeastialMoon - (Reply)

"What do u mean? this is a blizzard game ;)"

BrutalHydreigon - (Reply)

"So cool!"

>Pinkies Imagination - (Reply)

"You mean 'Hot' EYYYY"

>>DeathDustwalker - (Reply)

"GOTEM"

DarkStarz - (Reply)

"Hey... anyone know of some r34 artists?"

>Liaf112 - (Reply)

"I know one... why o-o"

>>DarkStarz - (Reply)

"I need them for... scientific reasons"

Sub Zero - (Reply)

"Whats the song at 6 seconds? (plz no darude)"

>Seviedoters - (Reply)

"Sandrude dankstorm"

>>Sub Zero - (Reply)

"Shutup fukboi"

Therisinghero - (Reply)

"Horse: This isn't even my final form!"

>Nowhere Man - (Reply)

"Just... don't"

Dr. Vodka - (Reply)

"Looks like this fight is... *Sunglasses* just getting warmed up"

>BrotallySwagical - (Reply)

"YYYYEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

After looking through the comment's for some time, I decided now was the best time to go see the damage on the city. So I slowly stood up as my legs felt like they were made of rubber, and gave a big stretch. At this moment I noticed the bandage on Luna's leg.

"Oh! Shit I forgot about that." I said aloud as I pointed to her leg, getting her to wave it off.

"Don't worry about it. You got it a lot worse." She said trying to change the subject.

"No... you shouldn't of even been hurt. If I had been paying attention and not got shot... I wouldn't of needed you to do what you did..." I said scowling at no one in particular.

"It's fine, it's in the past now. Let's go see if we can help around the city. I'm sure they could use anyone they can." She said as I nodded.

We both took off through the city, to aid in the cleanup process.

Chapter 28: New Sensations

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Now I don't wanna near no complaining about what this chapter implies! You all saw the tags! You know what your getting in to! (Don't worry I won't rush it, this is just the start, it will take a while before... THINGS happen)

Chapter 28: New Sensations

Perspective: Luna

Jake had parted ways shortly after we left the building, saying we could cover more ground split up. I just nodded and continued on without him, but as I did, I felt a very small pain in my nether region, causing me to twitch.

'Ow! What was that...?' I thought as I looked behind me to find nothing.

Shrugging I continued on my way as I looked around at the destruction before me. Buildings lay in ruin along with some bodies, Verix and human alike, that were being cleaned up off the street. I walked over to the nearest soldier as I ignored the very slight burning sensation starting up in my nether region.

"Hello. Do you need any help with anything?" I asked as the soldier looked in my direction and opened his eyes wide in surprise.

"Uh... y-yeah... yeah!" He began as he shook his head and motioned to the destroyed buildings. "Um we need help cleaning up the streets so we can land our ships closer to the more seriously wounded." He said as he turned to me. "Think... you can help with that?" He asked looking down at my hooves.

I gave a small smile and nodded as I lit up my horn. He watched as all of the debris from the fallen buildings were surrounded with a blue aura and slowly lifted off the ground, before being flown over to an area out of the way and piled up into a small mountain.

"Hows that?" I said happily as he looked around shocked.

"..." He sat froze for a few seconds before flicking on his mic. "You are clear for landing... the debris has been..." He paused as he looked at me for a second. "... moved..."

I nodded and walked off, trying to push out the increasingly uncomfortable feeling in my lower body that was slowly beginning to rise.

'What is wrong with me... I've never felt like this before... especially... there' I thought as I shook my head and looked around. 'Hm... well I guess I can't really do much else but clean, I'm not the best at healing magic and I don't know anything about their biology.' I thought to myself as I chuckled. 'I don't really know PONY biology either...' I thought as I remembered how bad I was at science in general compared to my sister. 'Jeez... it would sure help me right now though...' I finished as I twitched my back leg.

Trying as hard as I can to ignore the strange empty feeling welling up inside me, I continued on my way down the streets of this city, taking in the sights.

'I never realized just how tall the buildings are! They're absolutely MASSIVE' I thought as I craned my neck up to look at a building that was as high as a mountain... it seemed.

"LOOK MOMMY A PONY!" Shouted a girlish voice from behind me.

I quickly spun my head around to see a small child running toward me, giggling all the way. I slowly lowered my head and gave a small smile.

"Hello little one... whats your name?" I said gently, causing them to skid to a stop and their eyes to widen.

They spun around and took off, before returning a few seconds later, tugging on another person's hand, bringing them towards me.

'Wow... this human looks much different' I thought as I looked at their body structure, taking note of the larger chest area. 'These must be their species females...' I thought as I looked at her bewildered face.

"Mommy mommy look! She talks!" The child said happily as she hopped up and down.

"Um... hello! Is this child yours?" I asked nicely getting her to blink a few times and slowly nod.

"J-Jennie, come on let's go." She said as she took a hold of the kids hand and quickly walked off.

"But mommy I wanna see the pony!" The child cried out as the two turned a corner.

I stood still for a few moments, just staring at where they ran off to before shaking my head and turning around.

'That was strange...' I thought to myself as I felt the strange sensation again, getting a shiver to travel through my body. 'Ugh... this is so-' I stopped as I got an idea. 'Of course! Lucy can help me! She has a med-bay on the ship!' I smiled as I turned and made my way to where we had left the ship.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Welcome aboard Princess Luna." Lucy said aloud as I stepped through the doorway as it closed behind me. "Something you needed?"

Nodding I spoke up. "Yeah... is Jake here right now?" I asked as I looked around the cabin.

"Negative, he's still out." She said as I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whew... good. There's something I need you to... check." I said awkwardly as I rubbed my two hind legs together.

"...yes?" Lucy asked as I reddened a bit.

"Can you do a... check up on me..." I paused as I hid behind my mane. "Back... um... there?" I asked awkwardly as I motioned behind me with my head.

A few seconds of silence went by before Lucy tuned in.

"....OH! Oh yes I can, I'm programmed to do any kind of checkups and services in the medical profession. What exactly are your symptoms?" She asked as the lights in the med-bay lit up.

"W-Well... I'm really sensitive... back there. And um... it kind of strained up now and then." I said as I left out the empty feeling from it.

"I... see..." Lucy said as silence went by as the med-bay lights shut off before I could reach. "Hold still." She said as a laser shot out of the ceiling and scanned my body. "Oh. That's it? It's nothing serious your're just in heat." She said as my eyes went wide.

"I... I'm sorry... what did you just say?" I asked hoping I misheard.

"Your in heat. It's a cycle for equines that causes their-" Lucy began before I cut her off.

"NONONO! I know WHAT it is but... it doesn't make sense." I said as I sat on the cool metal floor and shook my head. "There's no way."

"...excuse me for asking but... why is it impossible?" Lucy asked as I breathed out a sigh.

Groaning I covered my face with my hooves. "Alicorns don't GO into heat unless-" I cut off as my breath hitched. "Oh dear..."

"Oh dear what...? What is it?" Lucy asked as I let out a small whimper.

"Unless we feel a... Ahem... connection with somepony..." I said, emphasizing the word 'connection'.

"...oh..." Lucy replied.

"The worst part is... it doesn't go away easily... and just gets harder and harder to ignore..." I said as my thoughts shifted to someone particular.

'Nonononono... NO! This is crazy! I cant be... NO! We've only known each other for a while but... he does look really good for a huma- NO STOP IT BRAIN'

"Please Lucy! You can't tell him this!" I said pleadingly.

"Well. I won't mention it... but if he orders me to tell him I have no choice." She said as I let out a small whimper.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

I sat in the ship, with a pillow over my head as I tried to drown out the world, and drown out my own thoughts.

'Nope nope nope nope nope nope' I thought as my thoughts slowly drifted to Jake. 'NOPE NOPE NOPE NOPE'

My thoughts were cut off as the door to the ship flung open and a familiar voice rang out down the hall.

"Luna?! You in here?!" Shouted out Jake as my eyes shot open. "Hello?!" He called out again.

"I'm here..." I squeaked out before clearing my throat. "I'm here!"

I pulled the pillow off my head and fixed my mane just before he rounded the corner and looked at me as I gave him a small wave and sheepish grin.

"Where have you been? Come on you need to be out here for this... the council want's to publicly speak with you!" He said with a smile as he grabbed my hoof and got me to follow him as a shiver went down my spin.

"...good luck..." Lucy rang out over the speakers as I exited the ship and was immediately swarmed with what looked like dozens of news crews.

'Today just isn't my day...'

Chapter 29: 'Breathing' Troubles

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Chapter 29: 'Breathing' Troubles

Perspective: Jake

I stood beside Luna as we listened to the Council speak one by one as we stood in front of a crowd with the Council situated behind us, each giving their gratitude to Luna and what she and her sister had risked to aid us in our fight, and of our new alliance. However, I began to notice she looked rather nervous... well at least I thought so. She constantly flicked her eyes to me and I could see her breathing a bit faster than normal.

'For a princess this doesn't seem right... maybe I should bring her home' I thought as I clued in to what the Council was saying.

"-and even more thanks to the soldier responsible for it all... First Lieutenant, Jake Carson!"

'Wait what? They are thanking me too?' I thought as I heard the crowd in front of me cheer as news groups moved to get the best angle.

I just smiled and waved at them.

"And for his tremendous acts of bravery I-" The Council member began before getting something whispered in his ear by the General as he looked at me. "Ahem, alright change of plans! From this day forward, with permission of the Equestrian leaders," He paused looking at Luna, who nodded. "-We will appoint a new Starship to overlook and control our military in Sector 15, home of planet Equis." He said pausing for a second. "Who will be overlooked by the sector's new general!" The Council member said as he motioned to me, getting cheers to explode from everywhere around me.

I looked at him with a look of amazement. "M-Me? As a General?" I asked unbelieving.

Nodding slowly he smiled. "You've shown tremendous dedication to the protection of our people, YOUR people, and did things that no normal man could have done." He said as he nodded to Luna. "Trapped, on an alien planet with no way off but to make an alliance in seven short days is nothing short of a miracle. So if you ask me, you DESERVE this position." He said as he walked up and stuck his hand out. "Congratulations."

Slowly, I reached out and shook his hand as I got a wider smile each second.

**************************************

"HOLY SHIT!" I yelled out, ecstatic. "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! THEY MADE ME A GENERAL! I HAVE A STARSHIP AT MY COMMAND NOW!" I shouted with excitement. "And LUCY is the appointed AI!"

I looked over to Luna to see her smiling awkwardly and looking anywhere but me.

"Y-Yeah... that's great!" She said as I raised an eyebrow.

"Hey... are you alright? I've noticed you seem a bit, anxious." I said getting panic to flood her eyes as she shook her hooves.

"Nonono, I'm fine! See I'm not anxious! Why would I be anxious it's not like I'm-" She began but stopped as she covered her mouth. "Tired... I'm tired." She said as I raised an eyebrow and slowly nodded.

"Aaaaalright... well let's get back to the ship. We could both do with some rest then I'll take you home tomorrow. I was told to stay in Equestria with my ship because they planted a homing signal and they will bring a fleet by within a few days." I said as the ship slowly came into view.

When we made it to the door Luna went through first rather quickly as I followed, before I caught scent of something.

"Do you smell... blueberries?" I asked as Luna went deep crimson and shook her head. "Huh... whatever it's gone now."

I slowly made my way to the sleeping quarters alongside Luna and flopped down onto my bunk.

"Lucy lights off please." I said as the lights dimmed.

A few moments went by of silence before I opened one of my eyes slightly to see Luna staring at me, breathing a bit heavily.

'What's up with her lately?' I thought to myself as I saw her take a step closer.

And closer.

'Uhhhhhh'

"Luna?" I said aloud getting her to freeze in place, mere inches from my side. "Whatchya doin?"

Blinking a few times she took some steps back. "You can see me?" She asked.

"Yeah?" I asked as she turned her head sideways, trying to hide her red face.

"B-But it's pitch-black in here." She said getting me to raise an eyebrow.

"Uh... no it's only dimmed." I said as I looked around.

"Low-light vision. A perk of being a super soldier." Said Lucy through an intercom. "I don't know why it's taken so long to take effect but you seem to posses it now."

"Huh..." I thought aloud as I flipped over and faced the wall. "Well g'night." I said as I closed my eyes.

'Hm... there's that blueberry scent again'

Perspective: Luna

'Oh my god I don't think I can last much longer' I thought as I looked to Jake while my eyes adjusted. 'I feel like I have an unholy fire inside me...'

I looked at the sleeping form of Jake as a shiver went down my body, causing me to let out a small whimper of annoyance.

'I need to get home and hide until this goes away. Oh I don't even wan't to know how bad it will be in the morning' I thought as I covered my face with my hooves. 'Oh what will my sister think of this! Knowing her she'd just laugh and embarrass me!'

My ears perked up as I heard a very slight snore from across the room.

'He's asleep...' I thought as I slowly stood up. '...just for a moment... for curiosity...'

I slowly made my way to Jake, moving as quietly as possible on the metal floor as I neared his sleeping body while my cheeks began to heat up.

'Why? Why him? Why me? Why does this happen now?' I thought as I looked down at his sleeping form, and moved as close as I could, before he suddenly rolled over, getting me to jump back in a panic.

I let out a sigh of relief as I saw he was still asleep, before slowly moving forward again before I was just a few inches from his face. I let out a very slow breath, and watched as he breathed in, before he did the same and I breathed it in without thinking.

Then I quickly jumped back, eyes wide. 'DID I JUST' I thought to myself, panicking. 'WHY! WHY DID I JUST DO THAT' I thought as I slowly backed away and tried to push all thoughts to the back of my mind.

To ponies, the act of trading breath is almost as intimate as kissing.

'And I just did it too him without thinking...' I thought as I slowly lay down in my bunk. 'Nononono... this can't be happening... I... I...' I tried to form a thought as I closed my eyes and slammed my head into the pillow.

"I give up..." I whispered as I tried to ignore the thoughts making their way into my head and go to sleep.

Chapter 30: Solutions

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Chapter 30: Solutions

Perspective: Luna

I slowly came to as I wearily opened an eye to look at the world around me. I could tell the ship was in motion because I could feel the hum of the engine as I rubbed my eyes and slowly stood up, yawning as I did. The first thing I noticed was the absence of Jake from the control deck, as the door was sitting open. The second I noticed was how I felt.

'I... I feel good!' I thought to myself as I relished in the feeling of no... well... feeling back there.

Smiling that it was finally over, I decided to look for Jake. I took a quick look through the ship before I could hear running water coming from a doorway that looks quite familiar. Before thinking about it for too long, I hit the button next to it and watched it fly open, revealing a bathroom.

With a shower.

Currently occupied.

Without the shower curtain.

And there it was. The same feeling as yesterday amplified ten fold, all rushing back and hitting me like a runaway carriage. I watched on as Jake's naked self stood under the water and he washed himself.

Every part of himself.

'BAD LUNA! LOOK AWAY!' I screamed in my head as I stared wide eyed, frozen. 'WHY AM I NOT LOOKING AWAY!'

"Enjoying the show?" Jake said aloud as I let out a loud 'EEP' and jumped to the left and hid behind the wall.

"WHY DOTH THOU NOT HATH THE SHOWER CURTAIN DRAWN!" I yelled as I breathed quickly.

"Eh. I'm used to being seen naked." He said aloud as I raised an eyebrow.

"How so!?" I yelled back.

"Ever gotten Verix blood on you?" He replied as I answered back 'No'. "Well it's basically acid. Once me and my team had to crawl through a muddy stormy planet naked while fighting back the Verix... good times." He said chuckling.

An image of what that would have looked like flashed through my head as I shivered and shook my head.

"Well you can at least lock the door!" I shouted back.

"Eh." He said as the sound of a curtain being drawn came through the open door. "Better?" He asked as I peeked around the corner and sighed in relief.

"Much." I responded.

"I don't see the big deal. Ponies are naked all the time right?" He said back in a mocking tone.

"Very funny." I said back in a monotone voice as I walked into the bathroom and towards the sink.

I filled it with cold water and dunked my head in and sat like that for a few seconds before coming up for air. I shook out my mane and looked in the mirror.

'This heat cycle has to stop at some point...' I said as I sighed and walked out of the bathroom, closing the door as I went.

Perspective: Jake

'What's up with her lately' I thought as I recalled her strange behavior lately. 'She seems really... distracted' I thought as I shut off the water and stepped out of the shower.

"Hm... maybe I'll take her on a tour around the moon when we get back." I thought as I dried myself off.

I wrapped my towel around my waist and made my way out of the bathroom and towards the cabin. When I reached it I saw Luna take one look at me and quickly look away.

"Hey Luna, anything interesting going on lately?" I asked as I walked to my bunk and grabbed some of the clothes folded on the mattress.

"N-No why would you say that?" She said back uneasily.

"I don't know you just seem really distracted lately." I said as I took off my towel and started getting dressed.

After a few moments when I pulled everything on, I turned around to see Luna mere inches from my face.

"GAH! Hi there!" I said as I jumped back and fell onto my bunk. "Something I can help you with?" I asked as I began to lean forward before Luna jumped on me.

"YES! THERE IS! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!" She said loudly as she lurched forward towards my mouth.

Time slowed down as she came closer and closer to me with every passing millisecond. Then it all began to make sense, the strange behavior, the over reactions to seeing me naked, and it all was expressed with a single thought.

'Wat'

I quickly dodged her facial assault and rolled over, throwing me on top of her before I quickly jumped back and watched as she scrambled to get back up.

"Luna, think about what your doing here. Your hot and all but your not really my type." I said as she jumped off the bed and crouched low. "But really, what's up with you?" I asked as I looked at her posture.

'Wait...' I thought as I saw her tail swishing a lot, and her recent behavior towards me. '...wait...' I thought again as I remembered her reaction to me being naked. '...pony... ponies have heat cycles...' I thought as I saw her take a step towards me. 'Oh...'

She lunged towards me where I easily dodged and ran to the other side of the room.

"Luna I'm gonna forgive you for this only because you have no control over it!" I said as I dodged to the left and ran around her again.

"I know! I want to stop but you have no idea what it's like." She finished as she charged again, getting me to dodge.

'I don't know how much longer I can keep this up before she realizes she has magic'

This song and dance went on for some time. Me running around the ship, avoiding Luna. And her trying to catch me. I couldn't really blame her, instincts were a bitch. Hopefully this doesn't end with me losing my virginity. I'd rather not have to deal with her sister.

...

Oh and the sex thing too...

It finally came down to a stare-down. I had my back against a wall, as we both were inside the med-bay. She rushed me and I quickly back flipped off the wall and ran for it, before sealing the door behind me and locking it.

"HA! I WIN!" I yelled as I jumped up and did a little dance.

A few seconds of silence processed before I heard a small sobbing sound. I frowned and got closer to the door, listening as she cried.

"Luna you alright?" I asked as she hiccuped. "Listen it's not like I don't like you. Your a real cool... pony to be around. But I'm reeeeaaally not ready for that kind of thing." I said as she sighed.

"It's not that... it's that I didn't realize what I was doing. Oh my god what's wrong with me." She finished as she sobbed some more.

Then I got an idea.

"Hey Lucy, you know that medicine that women take to make themselves infertile for a bit. I don't know what it's called." I said as Lucy spoke up.

"Yes sir, I could manufacture some. Why?" She asked as I smiled.

"Think you could mix up a modified batch for me that would stop a heat cycle?" I asked as Lucy went silent for a few seconds.

"...yes I think I can, one moment." She said as there was a few seconds of silence. "Done, here you are." Lucy said as a slot opened up in the wall and out popped a needle.

"You sure this is safe?" I asked as Lucy spoke up again.

"Yes I've already checked out her Bio's, worst case scenario, nothing will happen." She finished as I nodded and stood up.

"Alright Luna, I've got something that will help all right? Just trust me." I said as I reached for the door control.

"But you just said your not ready for that.... and neither am I..." She said getting me to face-palm.

"Not what I mean." I said as I pressed the button and saw Luna looking at me with an ashamed look. "This will push back your... cycle. Alright?" I said getting her to nod.

"Alright." She said in a sad voice.

I slowly walked around her and knelled down, as I stuck the needle into her flank, getting her to flinch for a second, before she breathed out a sigh.

"Better?" I asked smiling.

She nodded, before answering. "A lot better... oh my god..."

"Listen. I just wan't you to know I don't blame you for what you did." I said smiling.

She immediately pulled me into a tight hug. "Thank you... you have no idea how much that means to me. I'm not proud of it... it's my first heat cycle and I didn't know how to control it..."

'Wait... first?'

"Wait a minute... first?" I said as I pulled away from the hug. "But, aren't you like two thousand years old? How could it be your first?"

She fiddled with her hooves as she looked down at the ground. "... uh... nothing. I guess I just... never got it..." She said as she looked anywhere else but me.

'...note to self, ask Celestia... wow that will be awkward' I thought before I rolled my eyes. 'I'm talking to a pony who just recently tried to have forceful sex with me... I can manage'

"Oooookay... anyway's... we should be arriving in Equis soon so... get ready." I said as I stood up and made my way to the cockpit. "I need to talk to Celestia about a few things..." I said under my breath as I left the room.

Chapter 31: Sister Oh Sister...

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This amazing chapter (Snicker) is in honor of DarkStar. Happy birthday bruh

Chapter 31: Sister Oh Sister

As I stood by the door leading to the outside world... I thought over just what's happened over the past few days. I slowly looked to my right and saw Luna standing next to me, waiting impatiently to get onto some solid ground.

'We haven't slowed them' I thought as I remembered the video of Celestia fighting the warships. 'Not one bit... especially now that they know of earth... AND that we have some kind of..' My train of thought paused as I looked at the Alicorn next to me. '...ace up our sleeves' Shaking my head a bit I ran my hand through my hair. 'Alright Jake, there's nothing you can do about it. Not yet'

I could feel as the ship hit solid ground as the engines died down, before I looked to Luna and smiled as she looked back at me.

"You ready?" I asked getting her to smile and nod. "Welcome home!" I said as I pushed a button and the door flew open.

"WHERE DID YOU TAKE THE PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT?!"

"DID YOU TWO ESCAPE TO BE SOMEWHERE ALONE?!"

"ARE THE RUMORS OF A UPCOMING WEDDING AND KING TRUE?!"

I did a double take as I heard all of this shouted at once. Standing outside the ship, once again, were many reporters trying to get the next big story. I slowly leaned to Luna.

"I'll take care of this..." I said as I grabbed my rifle sitting next to the door, stepped outside, and fired it into the air... silencing them all. "YOU ALL HAVE 10 SECONDS TO EVACUATE THE AREA. I'VE HAD ONE HELL OF A FUCKED UP COUPLE DAYS AND IM LOOKING TO RELEIVE SOME STRESS." I finished as I brought the rifle to a two handed grip again. "... WELL?! BE GONE!" I said again loudly before they all broke off into wild sprints.

Nodding satisfied, I turned to Luna, who had an annoyed glare on her face.

"...what?" I said getting her to raise an eyebrow. "Hey there's no negotiating with these ponies. Trust me."

Rolling her eyes she stepped out of the ship and began trotting in a few circles. "It feels so nice to be back..." She said smiling as she took in a deep breath, before letting it out slowly. "I need to go think about a few things..." She said, as her smile remained on her face. "No doubt my sister wishes to see you." She finished as she looked at me for a moment before taking off into the air.

'Whew... alright time to drop the bomb on Celestia' I thought as I made my way to the castle.

**************************************

I walked slowly though the halls of the castle as I neared the doorway to what I believed was Celestia's quarters. Why a guard had told me Celestia wanted to meet me here, I had no idea... but I decided to just leave it be. I paused beside a door which had the emblem of the moon on it... which no doubt meant it was, in fact, Luna's bedroom. I shook my head and walked for a few more moments, before coming to a stop just outside another set of double doors, this time with the emblem of a golden sun.

Taking a deep breath, I knocked a few times, and slowly pushed the two doors open.

"I'm here Celestia." I started as I quickly looked over the room before spotting her at the far end, looking out over a balcony and down at the city below. "So... why should we do this here?" I asked getting her to look at me in the corner of her eyes.

She motioned with her head for me to join her, and so I did.

"This is the only place other than the war room that I guarantee you we will be alone." She said getting me to nod in agreement as I leaned on the railing. "Jake. Listen to me now." She began, getting me to turn and look at her as she looked back with a serious stare. "You must NEVER tell anypony about what you saw me do on earth. Alright? At least not yet." She began as I slowly lifted a finger to object. "Knowledge of that form is lost to all but me and my sister... I plan to keep it as an ace up our sleeve for when we really need it here." She said as I raised a hand.

"Bu-"

"If word got out of our power... not only would it change ponies view of us, but it would make the Griffons feel they need to push an attack as not to feel threatened." She said, cutting me off.

"Yeah bu-"

"And as long as we have this power hidden... we have the upper hoof wit-"

"Celestia!" I yelled out interrupting her.

She looked at me shocked for a few seconds before quickly shaking her head. "Yes what is it?" She said impatiently.

"I'd be more than happy to do that. But you're already kind of an online sensation." I said smiling awkwardly.

"...online... sensation? What's online?" She asked as I thought of how to answer this question.

"Well... you're all over the internet. Basically... the internet can be thought of a giant invisible library, that can be accessed to store and retrieve data from anywhere at any time..." I said as she slowly nodded. "And a video of you..." I paused, "You have movies right?" I asked getting her to nod. "Alright well imagine a movie of you turning into... THAT... got stored on there, and by now most of the planet has seen it..." I finished as she slowly turned to look out over the railing again.

"Ponyfeathers..."

"But... um... Celestia..." I started getting her to look at me. "I... need to talk to you about a few things." I said getting her to nod. "What do you want to hear first... the good news, or the I'm-not-sure-how-to-explain-this news." I asked getting her to look at me oddly.

"Uh... the good news I suppose?" She asked as I let out a breath.

"Well... as you already know we managed to hold off the Verix from destroying Earth. And in return, Earth Gov is appointing a fleet and starship to protect this planet. Under my command followed by the next highest power, which is you and your sister." I said, getting her to nod. "And because of our alliance... that makes Equestria the most secure and technologically advanced race on the planet." I said smiling. "How's THAT for an ace up your sleeve?"

Smiling, Celestia looked up into the sky. "Yeah... maybe it's not so bad ponies will know of our power now." She said as she looked back to me. "And what was the other news?"

My heart immediately dropped into the pit of my stomach as I thought about how to go about this.

'Do I just... outright say it...? Or do I ease her into it...' I ask myself as I hear the impatient clicking of one of Celestia's hooves.

"Well?" She asked.

'Sigh... whatever let's get this over with'

"Alright... this is gonna sound really... REALLY odd." I said as I she raised an eyebrow. "When was the last time your sister had her heat cycle?" I asked quickly, tensing up.

Her breath hitched for a second as she blinked rapidly. "W-W-W... WHAT?!" She asked loudly as she looked around really fast. "What does THAT mean? Why would you want to know?!" She asked a bit angrily.

I raised my hands defensively as I took a step back. "Hey hey hey, calm down, I just wanted to know. She mentioned how old she is and how she's never gone through one before. I was just worried... cause you know. Shouldn't you go through it every year?" I asked getting her to shake her head.

"N-NO! Alicorns only go in heat when they are attracted to some pony!" She said as she suddenly stopped and squinted her eyes at me. "... wait... why would Luna tell you this." She asked me slowly.

However I didn't hear her.

'... unless........ attracted.....' I thought as every single encounter with Luna ran through my head as fast as they possibly could. 'Oh... oh no...' I thought slowly before being cast out of my thoughts.

"Jake!" Celestia shouted, shaking my shoulders. "Why did Luna tell you this! What happened?! DID SHE GO INTO HEAT ON THE SHIP?!" She continued yelling as I just stared blankly into her eyes before I hitched my breath.

'For my own safety... I should probably have broke this to her slower'

"Uhm N-Nothing! Absolutely NOTHING happened!" I said smiling, and laughing nervously as I slowly backed up. "I'm gonna... go... somewhere. And wait for the fleet to get here." I said as I quickly turned around and ran to the door, before it slammed shut mere inches from my face.

"You... are not going anywhere... until you tell me... everything." Celestia said as she slowly walked towards me. "Now... is my sister still in heat?" She asked before I probably said the most stupid sentence ever conceived by man.

"No I took care of it." I said as her eye twitched.

Chapter 32: What The Heart Wants

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Chapter 32: What The Heart Wants

'Alright... now that I think about it... PROBABLY wasn't the best sentence to say...' I thought as Celestia stared me down with anger.

"WAIT WAIT WAIT! POOR CHOICE OF WORDS!" I yelled as she huffed out and stomped the ground. "What I MEANT was... I just gave her something to alleviate it!" I said quickly as her eye twitched again. "Wait... also bad choice... what I MEANT was I gave her a needle." I said quickly as Celestia tilted her head.

"You gave her a shot? How did that solve anything?" She asked as I let out a breath.

'I may actually get out of this alive... just keep talking'

"Y-Yeah... Lucy mixed up something that suppresses the heat cycle." I said as Celestia took up a thoughtful look. "Do you ponies not have any spell or something for it?" I asked getting her to shake her head.

"No, no spell has ever been founded..." She began as she looked at me. "So you two never...." She continued, clicking her two front hooves together.

"N-NO! Nononono! We didn't!" I said quickly, blushing.

Letting out a breath of relief, she looked back at me. "Would you get... Lucy... to show our ponies how to make this?" She said and I quickly nodded.

"Yeah why not!" I said with a fake smile as I slowly pulled open the door behind me. "I'l... go tell her that now... nice talkin' to ya!" I finished as I pulled the door open and quickly got out, making my way down the hall.

'Just keep walking... don't look back.. don't look ba-'

"WAIT A SECOND! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!" I heard her shout from behind as I took off as fast as I could run.

'FUCKFUCKFUCKFUCKFUCK'

*SLAM*

I ran headfirst into a pony as I tumbled into a heap and groaned. I quickly regained my balance and stood up, noticing the pony I had ran into.

"Hey Jake what's up?" Golden Bolt asked as I shook my head and took off.

"CAN'TTALKGOTTARUNPISSEDPRINCESSKBYE!" I yelled as I sped through the castle.

I whizzed down the hall and took the nearest turn and ran down the next corridor, zipping whatever which way. I thought I was making progress until Suddenly there was a bright flash of white, and I collided with something furry. Slowly I blinked my eyes to clear the white haze, before seeing more endless white, and weight on my face, before it shifted and all I saw was two large eyes, looking down at me as I lay on the ground.

"How did you find me?" I asked panting a bit.

"I locked onto your magical signature. Now come on." She said as she lifted me off the ground with her magic and began carrying me.

"My magic- wait. I don't HAVE magic though..." I said curious.

"Well I found you so I guess you have some innate magic in you... somehow." She said as she opened the door to her room and tossed me onto the bed. "Now... your not leaving until you tell me EXACTLY how you feel about my sister." She said seriously while watching my every move.

"W-Well... she's fun to be around yeah. I don't think I like her like THAT though..." I said getting Celestia to look slightly disappointed.

"Well alright... but I would like to know... what don't you like about her?" She asked with genuine interest.

"Well... she's not really my type I guess." I said getting Celestia to take on a look of shock.

"Why's that?! Is she not good enough for you?" She said hurt as I quickly backtracked.

"Nonono! I mean... look at me." I said, gesturing to myself. "I'm a human."

"...and...?" She asked confused.

"...what do you mean and? We're a completely different species!" I said as I got off the bed and paced a bit.

"I don't see the harm in that. Many of my ponies have relationships with other species! I even know of a few with dragons." She said as I shook my head.

"Well... be that as it may, it's different where we come from." I sighed as I turned to look her in the eyes. "Remember how I told you about ponies from where humans come from?" I said getting her to nod. "That's the thing! It's not like I see Luna as a mindless animal... but it's still un-nerving." I said as I sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

A few moments went by before I felt a wing wrap around me and pull me closer to her as she spoke softly.

"Sometimes, what's important isn't what your eyes see." She said as she pulled a little tighter. "But what the heart wants."

Sighing I ran my hand though my hair and thought about Luna. I'd been pushing back all my thoughts about her except for when necessary. I kept telling myself, it's just another mission, it's just another mission. But I knew, deep down something had changed. But instead of embracing it, I tried to cover it up, pretend those feelings weren't there.

'I don't even know what my heart wants anymore'

I looked up to Celestia to see something I never thought I'd see on her at a time like this.

The biggest shit eating grin I'd ever seen.

"Well... I guess not everyone can talk to girls..." Celestia said as she looked away and stood up.

'Ohhh she did not just say that'

"Hey what are you talkin' about I'm great with girls!" I said standing up quickly. "You should have seen the number of women I had after me just due to the fact I was in the Special Forces Military... seriously it's kind of scary."

"Oh really?" She said smiling. "Alright then, pretend I'm somepony else... like Luna." She said grinning a bit.

"I'm not gonna do that. Luna's my friend not..." I began before trailing off.

Shrugging, Celestia started walking away. "Alright... really is quite a shame though..." She said in a voice that made me a bit angry.

Clearing my throat. I spoke up. "Hey Luna? How are you?" I said noting how awkward the situation felt.

I was talking to Celestia pretending she was her sister. Yup I was officially blushing as hard as possible.

Celestia turned around, with a look of fake happiness. "Oh Jake! I'm good! How are you this wonderful night?" She said in a voice that was... terrifyingly close to Luna's.

"Uh... alright I guess... I was just admiring the..." I trailed off as I looked around and saw another emblem of the sun. "...moon... it's really beautiful tonight." I said getting Celestia to smile as I looked away.

"Say... would you like to join me to dinner tomorrow?" She asked in a voice perfectly mimicking Luna's.

"Heh... yeah sure it's a date..." I began before covering my mouth and spinning around. "Yeah alright that's enough!" I said quickly as I waved my hands in front of me.

Celestia smiled warmly before slowly nodding as I walked to the door. "Jake... do not dwell on this too long. If you ever need me... you know where I can be found." She said in a calming manner before I sighed and opened the door.

'I don't drink often... but god do I need one'

\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Perspective: Luna

I quickly flew towards the Canterlot castle, hoping to get a chance to talk to my sister again. We haven't been apart for very long but it's still felt like an eternity. I was returning from Ponyville after a little visit to my friend Twilight and to tell her we've returned, but I also visited the Crystal Kingdom and my Niece Cadence. The memory still sits in the back of my mind...

'Love is never an accident' Her words echoed through my head as I neared the castle.

Perhaps... she is right... maybe I just need to get it over with and stop avoiding it' I thought as I made a turn in the air and towards the balcony of my sister's room. 'But first I must talk to my sister'

As I neared her balcony, I could hear talking within... and decided to get a better look as I peered inside through the open doors beyond the balcony. the first thing I saw was my sister, then Jake sitting beside her with a wing cast around him. At that moment my sister looked up and saw me, and put on a grin.

That grin.

That one look I fear to see on her more than anything.

'What are you planning...' I thought as I backed up a bit and saw Jake look up to see Celestia smile down at him.

"Well... I guess not everyone can talk to girls..." She said aloud as I raised an eyebrow, and got out of sight from Jake and just opted to listen.

"Hey what are you talkin' about I'm great with girls!" I heard him add quickly. "You should have seen the number of women I had after me just due to the fact I was in the Special Forces Military... seriously it's kind of scary."

"Oh really?" Celestia asked. "Alright then, pretend I'm somepony else... like Luna." She said as I shook my head.

'Sister what are you doing...'

"I'm not gonna do that. Luna's my friend not..." Jake trailed off as I tried to listen closer.

I heard my sister walk around a few steps before speaking again. "Alright... really is quite a shame though..." She said in a voice I've heard all too much.

After a few moments, Jake cleared his throat and spoke again. "Hey Luna? How are you?"

My sister replied with fake enthusiasm. "Oh Jake! I'm good! How are you this wonderful night?" She said mimicking my voice like she used to do when we were young.

"Uh... alright I guess... I was just admiring the..." He trailed off as I leaned in more again. "...moon... it's really beautiful tonight." he finished getting me to smile softly.

"Say... would you like to join me to dinner tomorrow?" She said getting my pupils to shrink.

'SISTER WHAT ARE YOU DOING? DO YOU THINK THIS IS A GAME?!'

"Heh... yeah sure it's a date..." He said getting my jaw to drop. "Yeah alright that's enough!" He began, but I didn't hear the rest of because I jumped into the air and flew up a few feet, freaking out a bit.

'WHY WOULD SHE DO THAT! ...well if I had known it was that easy to- NO! No, I'm mad at my sister right now!' I thought as I peered down at the balcony.

I quickly soared down to the opening and flew straight in, noticing Jake was nowhere to be seen.

"You just missed him dear sister. You know it's quite impolite to listen to others conversations." Celestia spoke up from behind me, getting me to whirl around.

"Oh my gosh Cele! Why would you do that! Do you know how embarrassing that is?!" I said angrily.

"Pfft please. If I hadn't done it you'd NEVER ask him out. Your're too shy." She said getting me to rear up.

"ME?! SHY?! HA! I laugh at you!" I said letting out a few loud HA's. "I could very well ask him... if I wanted that is!" I said getting her to give me a deadpan stare.

"Hmmm... nah I don't think you would." She said getting me to grind my teeth a bit. "Oh... do you think otherwise?" She asked getting me to nod.

"Yeah! Yeah I think I could do it!" I said puffing my chest out a bit.

"Oh?! Then go ask him! Prove me wrong little Lulu." She said grinning a bit as I ran to the door.

"Oh I will! I bet you I'll make it the best date ever! I'll make sure all of Equestria knows what I asked! I'll-" I cut off as I exited the room. "Ponyfeathers she did it to me again..."

The door quickly opened and showed a smiling Celestia.

"Oh and don't take too long. The day is almost over! Have fun!" She said shutting the door.

'...what did I get myself into...'

Chapter 33: First Date- Oh Fuck...

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WELL... since no one decided to give it a try I guess Alcamore is the winner by default... kind of a let down of what COULD have happened but whatever GRATZ

Chapter 33: First Date- Oh fuck...

Perspective: Jake

I strolled down to where I had left my ship and heard the sound of hooves against the hard ground behind me. I stopped to look behind me to see Luna running towards me, getting me to draw in a breath and let it out slowly before smiling.

"Hey Luna! How are you?" I said as she smiled and stopped next to me.

"Good, my little flight was just what I needed... really cleared my mind. So what are you up to?" She asked as I shrugged and began walking, getting her to walk next to me.

"Nothing much... I don't have anything to really do but wait for the fleet to arrive sometime this week." I said as I neared my ship and reached for the door button. "Care to join me on a random flight?" I said as she nodded.

I pressed the button and we both entered quickly. I did the usual start up routine and soon we were in the air. As we soared over the vast landscape, a thought popped up in my mind, a thought back to what Celestia had said.

"Hey Luna-"

"Hey Jake-" We both said at the same time.

"Heh sorry, you first." I said motioning for her to continue.

Blushing a bit, she looked away before continuing. "W-Well... I was wondering... well.. I um..." She said, having trouble finishing her sentence. "Would you... wanttogogetsomethingtoeat?" She said really quickly as she squeezed her eyes closed.

'...Celestia...' I thought as I turned to Luna, blushing a bit myself but nowhere near the intensity that she was.

"Hmmm.... yeah why not. I'm up for some food." I said smiling as it looked like a massive weight was lifted from her shoulders.

"OH tha- I mean... oh... okay. Yeah let's go! I know a good place in Ponyville! Just go right down there." She said as she pointed to a place just below.

I touched down where she said before I realized something. "Wait... I don't have any Equestrian money on me." I said getting Luna to wave.

"It's alright, they serve me free here. Perk of being a Princess!" She said happily as I shrugged and stood up.

I watched her leave the ship before quickly turning to the dashboard.

"Holy fuck Lucy I'm freaking out here help me!" I said as Lucy spoke up.

"Uh... what do you want ME to do?! I'm an AI!" She said matching my panicked tone. "I thought you had this under control!"

"Are you serious?! I'M TERRIBLE WITH GIRLS! I'M A GOD DAMN VIRGIN PLEASE ANYTHING WILL HELP!" I said as loud as I could, hoping Luna shut the door behind her.

A few seconds went by before she spoke up. "...My scans tell me she's omnivorous. Unlike the rest of the ponies. Must be an Alicorn thing." She said as I gave a are you fucking kidding me look.

"HOW DOES THAT HELP?!" I said aloud as I covered my face with my hands.

"I DON'T KNOW! I'M AN INTELLIGENT MILITARY AI NOT A MATCHMAKER!" Lucy shouted back as I took a deep breath.

"Hey you comin' or what?!" Shouted Luna from an open door, getting me to jump.

"Y-Yeah! I'll be right there!" I shouted as I took in a deep breath and straightened myself up. "I'll be right there..." I said in a lower voice before speaking up. "Go ahead and take off Lucy, keep her out of sight over by the entrance to the town. We'll come on by when we're done." I said as I made my way to the exit.

As I stepped out of the ship, it took off into the air, quickly disappearing from sight as I stood next to an excited looking Luna.

"Alright... let's get going." I said motioning ahead of me.

Luna took the lead into the restaurant as I looked around and saw many ponies gaping at us. I ignored it as I followed her through the doors and was greeted by a pony wearing a suit, with an accent that reminded me of the french.

"Ahh! Miss Luna! How are you this evening!" He said aloud as he did a small bow.

"Oh, I'm doing great. Is there an open table?" She asked getting him to nod.

"Oh yes there is a single table right over here." He began as he motioned her to follow.

"Actually... um... we need a table for two." She said blushing as the pony stopped and looked between us a few times before smiling.

"Oh ho ho! Table for two huh? Well right this way!" He finished as we both smiled and followed him through the restaurant.

The same thing happened with every group of ponies we passed... they would look at Luna and bow, then see me, look between us a few times, and start giggling or whispering.

'You know what. Fuckem. I don't care what they think anymore, the news ponies could catch us doing something embarrassing again for all I care' I thought as I nervously looked around. 'But not um... right now'

"Here is your table you two! The waitress will be along soon, so please get yourselves comfortable." He said doing another bow before leaving.

We looked at the table for a few moments, and saw where it was located. The table was, as expected, the right size for two, and was sat next to a very nice looking window with a beautiful view.

We both looked at each other and grinned.

"Window seat!"

"Window seat!" We both called out but Luna being a bit ahead. "Dammit!" I said as I watched her walk and sit down next to the window.

Shrugging, I made my way to the other seat, which was situated on Luna's right, where I sat down and got comfortable. There were also already two glasses of water to drink so I took a sip of mine while I waited. Not a few moments after did the waitress come by, where I raised an eyebrow at her figure.

She looked... so familiar.

Her coat was pure white and she had a slightly longer than normal horn. She wore a suit just like the last pony had and carried a notepad and pencil with her. She also had completely pink hair that almost covered up one of her eyes. I couldn't see her cutiemark as it was covered by her suit.

"Hello! I'll be your waitress for today!" She said happily just making her seem even more familiar but I let it slide. "Here is the menu, I'll be back in a minute for your orders." She said as Luna looks up, and almost does a spit take with her water.

"Hey are you alright?" I asked getting her to nod and stand up.

"Yeah... I'll be right back." She said as she left and so did the waitress.

Shrugging, I leaned back into the chair and took a look through the menu.

****************************************

Perspective: Luna

'What are you doing here!" I angrily whispered to the waitress.

"I don't know what you talking about..." She said smiling. "I'm a pony waitress!"

Shaking my head, I reached forward and pulled open her suit revealing her wings. "Sister why are you here! This is already embarrassing enough!"

Shrugging, she smiled again. "It's been a while since I had some fun and decided to come and make sure your... date goes just fine."

"It's not a date!" I said back angrily. "We're just... two friends getting something to eat."

"Ooohhh really? Alright then well I'll leave you to that." She said as she winked and walked off.

I let out a low growl and made my way back to my seat.

****************************************

Perspective: Jake

I watched as Luna approached the table again and raised an eyebrow at her looking a bit more angry than she previously was.

"Hey, what's up did something happen?" I asked getting Luna to shake her head and smile.

"N-No... don't worry about it." She said as she sat back down beside me and picked up a menu. "Did you figure out what you want?" She asked getting me to nod.

We sat there for a few more moments in silence as Luna looked through her menu before she set it down, looking content. A few moments later the waitress returned and took our menus.

"And what will you be having today?" She asked smiling.

"I'm gonna have the steak, rare, and with some orange juice for the drink." I thought as I remembered the size it said the steak was.

'Yeah I'm not getting any side dishes'

Nodding as she wrote it down, she turned to Luna, who looked at her with a bit of anger before shaking her head and saying what she wanted.

"I'll have the salad of the day, with extra carrots and orange juice as well." She said as the pony smiled and gave a small bow.

As she turned to walk away I stopped her. "Hey wait!" I said getting her to stop and look at me. "What's your name? I feel like I've seen you somewhere." I asked getting her to look at me nervously for a moment before smiling.

"Vanilla swirl, and I'm sorry but I don't think we've met. Have a good meal though!" She said as she walked away.

I shrugged and sat back, making idle talk with Luna while we waited for our food to be cooked. As we did, we were interrupted by a very loud voice.

"WHAT?!" A male voice shouted from the kitchen, before out comes running a very large griffon.

I immediately stood up and went on guard, watching what he was doing before Luna put her hoof on my arm, shaking her head. I gave him another look before sitting down and watching what he was doing. He looked around frantically before spotting me, and running towards our table. He stopped mere inches from it, and surveyed the two of us.

"Is it true... did one of you really order a meat dish?" He asked, buzzing with excitement.

"Yeah that was me. Why?" I asked getting a better look at the griffon.

He was wearing a suit like all the others that worked here, and also had his own mustache like the small ones you see of the really stereotypical french guys.

"It's just..." He started, looking like he was going to break into tears. "I have yet to show my expertise because no one ever orders my dishes!" He said hapilly. "Are you... seriously going to eat meat?" He asked hopeful.

"Well yeah, if it's good." I said shrugging.

He gave a small salute and straightened his back. "Sir! I'll make it the best steak you've ever tasted! On my honor!" He said as he walked away proudly.

I turned to Luna to see she had the same bewildered face as I currently had, before we both started laughing.

"You know it makes sense." I said as I wiped a tear away. "The dude is trying to serve meat in a pony town." I said smiling. "If I had known this place had meat I would have come by quite a bit." I said as Luna nodded.

We continued to chat and take drinks of our water, but also some wine which had found its way to our table somehow. It tasted much stronger than the wine I was used to but let it slide. Soon Luna and I had drank half the bottle by the time our food had arrived, being carried by Vanilla, and the griffon.

"Here's your food ma'am." Vanilla said as she placed her plate down in front of Luna.

"And here is your steak." The Griffon said anxiously as he set the food down in front of me.

Now I'm usually pretty modest when it comes to most things, but holy god damn it was probably the best looking, and smelling, steak I'd ever had the pleasure of being near. I turned to the pony and Griffon and gave them a very slight bow.

"Thank you." I said getting them to bow back and walk away, but the Griffon constantly taking looks back at me.

I looked down at the steak, then looked to Luna to see she'd already put a chopped piece of carrot in her mouth. Shrugging I took my knife and fork, and went to work on the steak. I slowly cut off a piece and stabbed it with my fork, watching as all the juices squeezed out of some sides of it as I lifted it to my mouth and set it on my tongue.

I immediately let my hand hit the table as I stared into nowhere.

"What? What is it?" Luna asked as she tried to look where I was looking.

"This..." I began, looking down at the steak. "This... is the best thing I've ever tasted in my life." I said as a single tear rolled down my cheek.

"Well you don't have to rub it in..." Luna said as she pouted a bit while I chewed my food.

'What do you mean?" I asked as I remembered what Lucy said about Alicorns being omnivores.

"Well you know... I'm a pony. We can't eat meat... but it always smells sooooo goooood." She said as she drooled a bit.

'...wait... she doesn't know?'

"...here." I said as I cut off a piece and lifted my fork. "Try it."

Shaking her head, she lifted a hoof. "N-No I can't. I wouldn't be able to eat it... it'd probably taste horrible." She said as I shook my head.

"Something tells me you'll like it... just trust me on this one." I said getting her to shake her head. "Hey... did you ever find out if your actually a herbivore?" I asked getting her to raise an eyebrow. "What if Alicorns are different?" I said getting her to stare at the piece of meat.

I guess that was all the inspiration she needed as she scooted closer to me and looked at the piece. "Alright fine... but if it's gross I'm spitting it out... on your plate." She said as she tentatively moved her mouth closer to the fork as I slowly moved it closer as well.

When it finally made it's mark, she bit down on the fork, and I pulled it out, letting the piece fall in her mouth. She sat like that for a few moments... then began to chew... and slowly opened her eyes to look at me with a look saying "What have I been doing all my life?"

"Oh my god..." She said her mouth full of steak, before she swallowed it. "That was soooooo gooooood." She said with a smile, before putting on a pouting face. "Can I have another bite?"

"Haha nope. The rest is mine." I said smiling, getting her to make a face in annoyance.

I took a chunk out of the steak and raised it to my mouth, before my fork was taken from my hands by a blue aura. I watched the floating fork slowly make it's way to Luna's open mouth before I quickly stood up and leaned in front of her as the piece of food found it's mark in my mouth.

"Ha! Match point." I said as I took back the fork as Luna made a pout face again.

And thus it began. The war of the steak. Two super powers constantly battled for dominion over the meaty delight. As each savored their victory with more drinks from the wine as the other quickly tried to make a counter attack, taking their own piece as a sign of being on the offence again. When the steak was finally no-more, the two powers sat back, and relished in the silence and feeling of being fulfilled.

However Luna ate most of it.

"Oh my god that was the best thing I've ever tasted..." She said with a bit of slur in her speech. "It was like, a hundred times better than salad..." She said looking at me and smiling.

"I know right?" I said with my speech equally as slurred.

"We need to like... try more meat." She said as she struggled to stand up.

"Here lemme help you." I said as I stood up, and promptly fell over. "Ah hey! WHAT HAPPENED?!" I yelled as I quickly fixed myself and stood upright. "Did you see the bro that shoved me?" I said getting Luna to gasp and shake her head. "Well... keep your eyes... OPEN for him. He was about THIS high." I began, raising my hand to my waist. "And looked like a HORSE." I said getting her to nod.

We both made our way to the exit but along the way were stopped by Vanilla. "I hope you two had a goo-" She cut off as she looked at the state of us. "Oh my... I guess you drank the wine I gave you guys." She said smiling.

My eyes widened. "That was... yooouuu?!" I said in disbelief as she nodded. "Ohhh it was so good." I said as I hugged her a bit and whispered in her ear. "Thaaaaaaank yooooooou..."

We both slowly made our way to the exit and as we left, I stopped and turned around, running forward to speak with the french pony guy.

"Hey man..." I said getting him to raise an eyebrow.

"Yes sir?"

"You have some really lovely... ponies working for you. Especially that Vanilla girl... she's pretty cute too you should get on that." I said getting his face to redden as I walked away.

"W-Wait... Vanilla girl?"

"Alright... whatchu wanna do now?" I asked Luna getting her to brighten up.

"Ohhh let's go get some more meat!" Luna said as I nodded. "What do you think we should get?" She asked as I scratched my chin before smiling.

"Bacon!"

*****************************************

"Alright Luna... lay low... I'm going in." I said as I stumbled forward into the farm, holding captive the means to sating our hunger.

"Don't die!" She said as I gave a shitty salute. "Remember... I can make some of that bacon stuff... we just need a pig!" She said as I nodded.

I slowly moved in on the farm and towards what I thought was the place they kept the pigs. It was pretty dark out by now but I stayed as quiet as I could. I stumbled into the wooden building and looked on in happiness at what was before me.

Pigs.

Pigs everywhere.

I slowly made my way to one as I tried to pick it up, and it instantly started squirming and squealing.

"No! Noooo Shhhhh!" I said aloud trying to get the pig to quiet down. "We just want to eat you!" I picked it up, getting covered in mud as I ran out of the place as fast as my drunken flimsy legs could carry me.

"What what is it!" Luna shouted as she saw me panicking and carrying the squealing pig.

"HEY! WHO"S OUT THERE!" Yelled a southern accent. "WHEN I CATCH YOU I'M GONNA.... HEY MAC GET MA ROPE!" She shouted as I turned to Luna and we both spoke at the same time.

"BOOK IT!"

We both took off as Luna shot the pig with something, instantly making it go silent as we ran. We both ran for who knows how long until we finally were out of sight of the farmhouse. We both stopped and panted as we sat down, trying to catch our breath.

"YEAH! WE DID IT!" I said as I held the sleeping form of the pig above me. "VICTORY FOOD!" I said as I turned to Luna. "How we gonna do this again?"

She walked up to me as I sat the pig on the ground and put her horn to my head. "Think of the... bacon stuff. And I'll use the pig as an example of the meat and make it myself!" She said smiling.

I smiled and pointed at her. "Should you be using magic while your..." I snickered as I pointed at her some more. "... tipsy?" I finished while laughing.

"Pffffft I'm not drunk. I've never been drunk my WHOLE life." She said smiling. "Now let's go!"

I thought about bacon as perfectly as I could. The amazing look, texture, smell and taste... then suddenly there was a small charging sound... then-

*BANG*

I watched as she shot the pig, and it exploded into thousands of cooked pieces of bacon. It was both horrific and beautiful.

"...oops..." She said as she looked at the spot the pig once sat.

I picked up one of the pieces and took a bite. "Ahhh just like I remember it." I said as I offered Luna a Piece, which she took quickly.

"Oh my gosh this is heavenly!" She said as she chewed on the piece of bacon.

As we sat and ate the bacon from the pig Luna horrifically baconized with her Bacon Beam™ we looked at each other, and for a moment we just sat still. Staring into each others eyes.

"Hey Luna..." I asked as she nodded.

"Yeah?"

"I couldn't think of someone better to share this bacon with." I said as she hugged me.

"Me either!"

We leaned in closer to each other... until we could feel each others breath...

Everything after that became a haze.

***************************************

"Sir... Sir... you should probably wake up now..." A voice said quietly into my ear.

Suddenly my head exploded in a mixture of pain and... pain.

'Holy mother of fuck what happened last night' I thought as I shivered. 'And why is it so damn cold'

I looked at the ground I was laying on and saw only a metal floor and a blanket that was draped on top of me.

"Holy fuck..." I muttered. "That must have been one hell of a-" I cut off as I felt something furry on my back.

My bare back.

"Oh fuck to the hell no..." I said as I slowly lifted the blanket covering me with one arm, revealing my naked self. "Lucy..." I said quietly. "Is Luna sleeping behind me right now..." I asked getting her to reply.

"Yes Sir."

"And this looks pretty bad doesn't it..." I asked again.

"...Yes Sir..."

"Please... please tell me... nothing happened..." I asked hopefully, but before I could get an answer I felt movement behind me and low mumbling.

"MMMmmm...." I heard as she wrapped her hooves around my chest and hugged me like I was a stuffed animal.

"Luna..." I asked.

"MMmHmm..."

"Your holding onto me..." I asked.

"Mmhmm..."

"And I'm naked... next to you..."

"...Hmm?"

A few seconds went by as I could swear I heard the gears turning in her head.

"Oh... my... GOSH!" She squealed out as she jumped out from under the covers and started freaking out as I covered myself with the blanket. "WHAT DID WE DO!" She yelled, quickly running in place. "Oh my god did we..." She asked as I shrugged. "Ohhhh nonononono!" She started hyperventilating as I stood up, making sure to cover myself, and walked over to her.

"Calm down we don't know what happened." I said as I set my hand on her shoulder. "LUCY DID SOMETHING HAPPEN!" I yelled with a bit of panic seeping into my voice.

"....no..." She said and we both let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank god..." I said as I sat down on the ground. "How the hell did... THIS happen then?"

"...Well you both came in... muttering something about bacon and a pig." She said as we both looked at each other and shrugged. "Then you realized you were covered in mud and took off your clothes. You apparently forgot you had a bed and lay down on the ground to sleep naked, where Luna covered you up and slept beside you... what did you two do last night?" She asked curiously.

I slowly turned to Luna and spoke. "Do you remember... anything from last night?" I asked getting her to shake her head. "Ugh... let's just... pretend nothing happened..." I said as I stood up and went to go get a change of clothes.

************************************

As I stepped into the cockpit I began turning on the engine as I looked up through the windshield.

'...are you fuckin' kidding me...' I thought as I looked at the "Welcome to Ponyville!" sign currently painted over with completely different letters.

PRAISE THE MOON!

************************************

We both watched at the rolling landscapes below us as we flew towards the Canterlot castle.

"I can't remember ANYTHING about last night... all I remember is eating some of your steak and then... nothing!" Luna said as I sighed.

"I think we drank too much wine..." I said as she nodded in agreement.

When we finally landed in the castle, we both stepped out and were immediately confronted by Celestia.

"Hello you two! Have a... ahem... nice night?" She asked as I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... yeah it was great... but I just came to drop her off. I'm gonna go get some breakfast." I said as I turned but was stopped by Celestia's hoof.

"Why not eat breakfast here in the castle?" She asked as I shrugged.

"Eh yeah why not..." I said as I followed Luna and Celestia.

We walked through the castle quickly, and before I knew it we had walked into a very large room, with a very large table. Along with said table, there were two ponies currently already seated there, and were looking directly at us.

"Hey Cadence! I didn't expect to see you here! And hello to you too Shining." Luna said as she walked forward and bowed to Cadence and Shining, where they stood and repeated the gesture.

I raised an eyebrow at the whole thing as I looked at the two.

'Who are these ponies... and another Alicorn?' I thought as I slowly walked forward.

"Well I decided to pay Celestia a visit, and see if you had followed my... um... advice?" She asked looking to me as Luna nodded and blushed. "So you must be Jake!" The pony named Cadence asked me as she reached out with her hoof.

I walked forward and took her hoof, shaking it while I smiled. "Yes, my name is General Jake Carson, of the Earth's Special Forces Military." I said as I pulled my hand back and smiled more. "May I ask your name?" I said getting her to smile back.

"Why yes... I'm Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, and this is my husband Shining armor." She said motioning to the pony beside her.

I turned to look at him and noticed he was inspecting me closely before he shook his head and stuck out his hoof. "Ahem hello. I'm Shining armor, Captain of the Royal Guard." He said getting me to nod and shake his hoof. "I'm quite interested when you said military of EARTH. Where is that on Equis?" He asked getting me to chuckle.

I walked away as I waved my hand in the air. "No-where. Earth is another planet." I said as I hear the sound of surprise from the two behind us.

"Your an alien?!" They asked.

"Mmhm." I said as I found a nice spot beside Luna and sat down.

"Like... from SPACE." Asked Cadence.

"Yup."

"... how have we not heard ANYTHING about this." Shining asked as I scratched my chin.

"Did you hear about what happened to the griffons that made them back down?" I asked getting him to nod.

"Yeah, a rumor about some steel bird raining fire down on them." He said as I smirked and winked. "...no way..."

Perspective: Luna

'Sister... why doesn't he remember anything about going to earth? I remember Twilight saying he was there'

'I had wiped that part from his memory... in case ponies were not yet ready to hear of our... special form...'

'Then why didn't you wipe your students mind as well?'

'Because she's an Alicorn just like us, and deserved to know sooner anyway'

Perspective: Jake

"Yup." I said smiling. "Anyway, whats on the menu for breakfast?" I asked as everyone started taking their seats.

Cadence and Shining sat a few chairs to the left of me, Luna is directly on my right, and Celestia is on the other side of me.

Celestia was the first to speak up. "They are bringing in many different types of fruits from across the lands. Along with any drink or juice you could imagine. Today is a special occasion.... right?" She asked as she looked at the two of us.

"Uh... it is?" I said getting Celestia to shrug.

"I don't know... is it?" She said smiling before looking down at a newspaper in front of her. "Huh... how strange. Apparently a pig went missing from the Apple Family farm last night. According to Applejack she couldn't make the two out because they were gone before she got a good look at them..." Celestia said as Luna and I looked between each other and thought the same thing.

'...bacon...'

Shaking my head I turned to my glass of water and picked it up to take a sip.

"So Luna... I heard you became a Carnivore last night." She said as she wiggled her eyebrows.

I did a spit take as the words left her mouth and I looked to Luna, who had the same expression on her face.

"W-What?!" Luna said back. "W-What do you mean?"

"You know... you tried something last night... that you've never had before." She said smiling.

"B-But we didn't, anything you think we did together last night wa-"

"What do you mean? I'm talking about the steak... what were you talking about?" She asked smiling.

"N-Nothing!" She said loudly as Celestia turned to me.

I shook my head. "Nope! Nothing!" I agreed as she turned to Cadence.

I turned my head to see Cadence staring between the two of us, mouth hanging open, with the edge of a smile on her lips.

"Did... did you two..." She started as she brought her hooves together before I interrupted her.

"NOPE! I'M SUDDENLY NOT HUNGRY!" I yelled as I stood up and made my way for the door. "Sorry Luna... your on your own. Was fun!" I said as I was gone in the blink of an eye.

Chapter 34: Night's Vigil

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Sorry for the slow update. I came down with a reeeeaaaal bad sickness, any of my youtube followers already know this, but I'm starting to feel better so here is the first of (hopefully) many updates to come!

Chapter 34: Night's Vigil

The next few days had passed by quickly while I spent this time watching the sky for the fleet, and flying across the planet to map the ground. At the moment I was just sitting in the cockpit chair, letting time tick by. As I leaned back in my chair I looked over to a two day old newspaper.

'DINNER FOR TWO' The headline read, showing a picture of Luna and I sitting at the restaurant table just a few days ago, taken as we were just looking at each other.

'-A pony named Vanilla Swirl, who was inside the restaurant at the time had this to say... "At first I couldn't believe my eyes. But now that I look at it, why would it be weird? Plus I think they make a cute couple." So just how much do these two lovebi-'

I looked away from the paper as I sighed and looked back up at the sky through the windshield. Before I even had a chance to think, Lucy spoke up.

"Sir! They're here!" She said getting my eyes to widen.

"Wha- already?" I asked leaning forward.

"Yes! I can pick them up from here. They are about to exit their FTL flight!" She said as I looked up at the sky.

A few moments passed by before the sky was quickly filled in by what was unmistakably a very, very large starship.

"Good lord... look at the size of that thing..." I began as I quickly exited the ship. "Still not as big as the Starstreaker... but still..."

A loud *CRACK* was heard from the other side of the ship as Luna came running around it, shouting all the way.

"JAKE! JAKE! THEY'RE HERE THEY'RE HERE!" She shouted as she saw me.

"Yeah I see it!" I replied as I motioned to the ship. "Come on let's go!" I said as she nodded and got on board.

I ran in, fired up the engines, and took flight. I made a quick stop at Ponyville, where all the ponies were currently looking up in either awe or fear.

"Attention ponies of Ponyville!" I said getting them all to look at the ship as I hovered in place. "Do not be alarmed by what you see! They mean you no ill-will!" I said back before some of them visibly calmed and Luna walked up to the mic.

"My little ponies, do not be afraid, what you see will bring you nothing but safety!" She said getting the last of them to let go of their fear and just stare up at the behemoth is awe.

With that out of the way I took off for the ship, as I neared and left the atmosphere, a voice cracked to life from my intercom.

"Ship, please identify." A robotic voice asked.

"My name is Jake Carson, ID number 901425, ranking of First Lie- I mean... General, Space Marines branch." I voiced into the microphone.

A few seconds passed by before it spoke up again. "Second passenger, please state identity."

I motioned to the mic as Luna leaned forward. "Um, Princess Luna." She said as the intercom beeped.

"Voice match confirmed, welcome to the [UN-NAMED] General Jake Carson and Princess Lunaris "Artemis" Eclipse the 1st. Enjoy your stay." It said as Luna looked at me.

"Yeah I gotta think up a name..." I said as I pushed the ship onward.

I flew to the side where a docking station took hold of the ship magnetically and pulled us in. After a few moments, a loud *CLANG* was heard, and the door opened by itself. Before I walked out I turned to the ship.

"Alright Lucy, go ahead and get yourself set up into the ship." I said getting a few beeps in response.

As I stepped out I noticed a good ten soldiers inside the launch bay.

"Officer on deck!" One shouted, getting them all to salute.

"At ease." I said as I motioned down with my hands. "You boys must be excited to get started, but to be honest we aren't going to be doing much until later. Take a few hours, get acquainted with the ship, and be ready then. Because you're all going to be meeting with the world's inhabitants." I continued getting them to look around at each other. "Well? Go on! Go spread the news!" I finished getting them to nod and take off.

"Look at you. Already giving orders." Luna chided as she walked by me.

Rolling my eyes I caught up and walked a bit ahead, guiding us through the ship.

I knew the layout of the ship because they gave me a blueprint of it before I left Earth. I'd been studying it the last few days until I could remember it like the back of my hand. And if I remembered correctly, which I'm sure I had, we were about to enter the bridge. As we neared the door, it hissed open and we both took it in. The room was massive. Control panels and computer screens everywhere with one chair in the dead center, surrounded by many other buttons and screens. The front of the room had three huge windows, one in the center, and one on either side, all reaching from ceiling to the floor, which was about a 20 foot height.

Many people walked around the deck, either socializing, looking at Luna, or just wandering. Before anything else was said, a little tune played as Lucy's voice chimed through the speakers of the ship.

"Testing testing. Download complete. All systems normal." She spoke as I smiled and walked over to the Captain's chair.

I sat down as I saw Luna continue to look around in awe. She ran over to the front window and looked out at the many stars and the planet below.

'Yup... no one ever get's tired of the view' I thought as I smiled and looked at the screens around me.

As I did, holographic screens appeared in front of me as well, with a keyboard popping out from the right arm piece and sitting above my lap.

"Time to choose a name." Lucy spoke from the chair's speaker.

Smiling, I looked down at the keyboard, the perfect name in mind.

I quickly typed it in, and pressed enter, as the windows at the front had a few words sprawl across them while Lucy read it aloud.

"Welcome... to the Night's Vigil." She said as Luna looked away from the window, back to me.

"Like it?" I asked smiling.

She quickly nodded in return as she ran up next to my seat. "Yes I do but... what does Vigil mean?"

"Vigil... it's Latin for wakefulness..." I said getting her to slowly nod.

Lucy chimed in through the speakers. "Vigil... wakefulness maintained for any reason during the normal hours for sleeping. Hence... Night's Vigil. Meaning we will always be watching even through the night."

Luna's eyes watered slightly as she turned away. "You really want to name your ship after the night?" She asked, getting me to nod.

"Yeah why not?" I said, as she turned around and gave me the biggest smile I've seen from her in a while.

"Th-Thank you. It mean's a lot to me." She said as I smiled back.

"So... Lucy. What's on the schedule for today?" I asked getting Lucy to speak up.

"Well. First we have to address the planet's inhabitants, then set up a planetary base where we can land some ships freely." She said as I nodded.

"Alright let's get to it then." I said as I moved my hands to their respective sides, and began my first day as a Starship Captain.

Chapter 35: Announcement

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Chapter 35: Announcement

"Attention. Class one pilots please report to the bridge." Lucy rang out over the speakers as I sat back and waited.

Within a few minutes, a large number of soldiers poured into the bridge and stood at attention in front of the captains chair. They all gave me their undivided attention as I looked them all over before giving a small nod. The center of the room lit up and showed a hologram of the planet, slowly rotating with small dots labeled all around it.

'Good thing I spent those few days mapping the planet...' I thought as the pilots all formed a half circle around it.

"This is Equis. The planet located below us. Here I have marked all of the locations where any of our allies town's and cities are located. I want all of you to split into four teams and each cover a section of the planet." I said as the hologram planet split into four slices. "Each team will cover any and all of these marked areas. On my mark, we will broadcast a live signal to the world, so that they all may know their new allies." I said as they all nodded. "Alright get to it men."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Luna and I stood in front of the windows, and watched as ship upon ship launched away and shot towards the planet.

"This is a great moment in history." Luna said as I turned to look at her.

"Oh?" I asked, getting her to nod.

"I... don't know what it is. But I feel like we were destined to meet..." She said as she motioned to the planet and the ship. "If it it had not been for you crash landing here, we'd have a full scale war on our hooves." She said as I nodded my head.

"And if I had landed on any other planet than this one, the Earth would be rubble right now." I said smiling.

But one thing nagged at me, one thing that didn't make any sense.

"Hey... Luna?" I asked, getting her to look at me.

"Hm?"

"You know how the fight ended on Earth...? When Celestia did what she did?" I asked getting her to nod. "It makes me wonder... why didn't she just use that form if a war were to start?" I asked getting Luna to sigh.

"You see Jake... the power we have... it's a terrifying one. And to be honest quite hard to control. If your not careful it can consume you... or you could put a bit... TOO much power into it." She said as I slowly nodded.

"So she was afraid of collateral damage?" I asked, getting her to nod back. "I see... well at least she still has it in case of an emergency." I said, getting Luna to shake her head.

"No I'm afraid not." She said as I looked at her, confused.

"... and that is because...?"

"The form is powerful... much too powerful for our physical forms. To use it that often would tear our physical being apart. Nothing would remain but our soul as it drifted through space. My sister knew this when she took that portal... she knew she'd be losing one of her greatest hidden powers." She said as I sighed.

"How often is too often?" I asked getting her to shake her head.

"About one hundred years before it's safe to use once again." She said getting me to nod understandingly.

'Damn... well there goes using THAT against the Verix'

"Ooohhh so that's why you didn't use your form?" I asked getting her to look at me. "Celestia had told me about how you refused to use it after the Nightmare Moon incident. So it's because it would kill you?" I asked, getting her to shake her head. "Alright I'm confused... explain please."

"That form, that... Nightmare moon... was not my Goddess form but more like... and imperfect version. An incomplete transformation." She said as I gave a small 'Oohh', "The reason I refuse to use it is because... I'm afraid of what I may do." She said as I tilted my head. "The destruction I caused those many years back with just a fraction of my power... I fear what would happen if I lost control while wielding something ten fold stronger." She finished as she gave a small shiver.

I was about to say something when Lucy spoke up.

"Sir, all ships are at their designated positions, with holographic screens at the ready." She said, getting Luna and I to look at each other before walking back to the center of the room.

"Alright Luna, you know the drill." I said, gesturing her forward.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Rainbow waited impatiently outside the door of the flying ship. She'd noticed it looks similar to Jake's, but with many different features. Noticeably a much smoother and sleeker design, like it was built for speed and agility. After a few moments of nothing she reached forward again and banged on the door. A few moments went by before the door started to open.

"Ugh FINALLY! Now what's going on Jak-" Rainbow immediately stopped talking as she saw the contents of the ship.

"Sorry Ma'am but you'll have to wait down there with the rest of the ponies. We'll be announcing to the world shortly." A man wearing a helmet with a closed visor said.

Rainbow blinked once before nodding quickly and flying down to the ground, meeting with the rest of her friends.

"Well Rainbow? What's up?" Applejack asked as Rainbow slowly turned to her.

"We're about to find out..."

Suddenly, there was a small sound of static before a screen lit up in front of the ship. Every pony in the area immediately quieted down and watched the screen, waiting for answers. From what they could see, it looked like the inside of Jake's ship but much bigger, and with many more flashing lights. Suddenly, somepony walked into view that everyone immediately recognized.

"Look it's Princess Luna!" Called out a pony from the crowd.

"Hello my little ponies. I'm here today to spread to you this most wonderful news! My dear sister could not be here today because she had duties of her own to attend to. But fret not! Today is a day for celebration!" She said as she lifted her hoof into the air. "Many of you may have heard rumors about what happened between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdom, and the events of Fillyfjell. Now I want to say, all those rumors are true."

As she said those words, the crowd exploded into chatter, before Luna raised her hoof.

"Now... I know many of you have questions about this but I cannot answer them right now... however many of you may see the large thing floating high above the skies. This is... in fact, an alien star ship that has traveled a very great distance to reach this planet." She said smiling. "But before you become frightened! Know that they are our allies! Care to join me?" She asked as she looked off screen.

A few moments later Jake walked onto screen and stood perfectly straight as he smiled at the screen, before bowing a bit.

"Look guys it's Jake!" Pinkie yelled aloud as all six of us cheered.

Nodding again and looking at the screen, Luna continued. "This here, is General Jake Carson. He is the commander of the ship you see in the sky, and the one flying above you right now."

Nodding, Jake picked up where Luna left off. "Hello everypony. It is my honor to be here today beside Luna. Many of you may already know me from the newspapers and whatnot. And many of you probably want to know how this all began. Worry not, details will be ironed out later. For now we want to ensure you understand the gravity of the situation." Jake paused as he took a breath. "We, are human. We, are alien. We come here, to YOUR planet, to help you in your time of need, and in return, you may help us. We will keep your cities and towns safe from harm, and help the grow of your civilization." He said as he turned to Luna.

Luna in turn, continued. "Today, is the start of a great alliance! Let it be known that we welcome our new found brethren, not as aliens, but as friends!" She said as Luna and Jake turned and shook hands/hooves.

Suddenly the crowd exploded into cheering as the two lowered their limbs and turned to the screen once again.

This time Jake spoke up. "Now about those details. A full report will be released soon, don't you worry. But for now the ship's you see shall be sticking around for a bit. Feel free to ask the soldiers any questions you feel, and they'll answer them... be it reasonable. Now with that said..." He paused as he turned to Luna.

"Have a wonderful day!" Luna finished as the screen shut off.

As it did the floating ship slowly started to descend, before landing on the ground, the moment the doors open, out poured about five people that all resembled Jake, but still had their own unique features. As they stepped out, they were immediately bombarded by question after question from the crowd. One thing rocked around in the soldiers heads as they looked at the ponies.

'Today will be a loooooong day'

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Perspective: Jake

"Whew!" I exclaimed as I wiped my forehead. "Well now that the worst is over... maybe we should discuss a spot to build the planetary base." I said as she nodded.

"You know, I was thinking maybe around the base of the mountain that Canterlot resides. It's really close to the throne, and a nice, centralized location." She said getting me to agree.

"Wow I didn't think you'd be alright with it that close. Alright base of Canterlot mountain it is." I said smiling as I walked back to my seat and sat down.

I pressed a button and the PA system immediately pinged, getting everyone's attention. "Attention, all engineers who are to construct the Planetary base of operations, the location is to be at the base of Canterlot's mountain. It's location will be marked on your ship's GPS." I said nodding a bit to myself. "Construction should begin immediately."

After the announcement, I sat back in my chair, pondering what to do next.

'We already made the announcement and set up a location... honestly I thought that would take up more time' I thought as I tapped my chin.

"Ahhh shit." I said as Luna looked at me. "I hadn't even thought about currency."

"Oh yes... that's right. What do you use?" Luna asked as Lucy spoke up.

"Universal Standard Currency. Or USC for short." She said as an image of our current paper money showed up on one of the screens.

"Well what about 1 to 1 conversions?" She said as I shrugged.

"Honestly... I have no idea." I replied, scratching my chin. "Depends on your economy... also your bits aren't actual GOLD right?" I asked getting her to shake her head. "Alright uh... how much does an apple cost here?" I said getting her to think.

******************

"That... was more annoying than I thought." I said as I rubbed my temples.

Three. Fucking. Hours.

Three hours just to find a nice middle ground for currency conversion.

"Alright... so just to clarify... one bronze bit is equal to two and three fourths USC?" I said getting her to nod. "ALRIGHT! Jesus that was just painful."

"I agree... now let's go do something else before I cave my head in." Luna said as I quickly nodded. "We should probably go check how the ponies are handling things." She added getting me to nod.

I smirked and waved it off. "Yeah but come on, what's the worst that could of happened?"

Chapter 36: Magic Poisoning

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Chapter 36: Magic poisoning

So as it turns out... MOST of the ponies were excited for the appearance of us humans. Some... however...

Were most DEFINITELY not.

"You know I should have seen this coming..." Luna said as we walked through the castle.

I took another look out a nearby window and noticed the huge crowd of ponies gathered at the gates.

"So why are they so angry?" I asked getting Luna to sigh.

"Nobles... trust me they will get mad over ANYTHING. They'll get over it eventually... I hope." She said as I nodded.

I walked down the hall with my armor on but the helmet retracted as I clicked my tongue a few times.

"Oh! I forgot. I need to give this to you." I said as I reached to my hip and a small socket opened up as I grabbed what was inside and handed her a small rectangular piece of glass.

"Oh..." She began as she took it in her magic. "...what is it?" She asked as I moved forward and waved my hand over the screen.

It lit up with a number pad.

"It's a phone. Go ahead and make a password." I said as she nodded.

4-2-3-2

"Alright, now I guess you don't really know how this thing works. Here let me show you." I said as I stepped a bit closed to her as we walked and started my lesson.

******************************************

It had taken quite a while to get her to understand it, being so far behind in the tech side of things. But she eventually got the hang of it.

"So if I tap here then-" As she tapped a spot on the screen, a tune started playing from my suit.

I tapped a button on my wrist to end the call sound.

"Yup." I said as it almost immediately sounded through her phone. "Neat huh?"

Nodding she spoke into the phone. "H-Hello?" She said as it rang through my speakers before she jumped a bit with giddiness.

"Ahhh the feeling of new tech." I said to myself as I hung up the call. "Anyway, the reason I'm giving you this is in case you EVER need to contact me. For any reason." I said getting her to nod. The phone suddenly vanished into thin air with a small flash, and we continued walking.

Suddenly a wave of nausea washed over me in an instant, making me lose my balance. I placed a hand to my head and leaned against the wall, causing Luna to look at me worriedly.

"Whats wrong?" She asked as I shook my head.

"N-Nothing. It's gone now, just a bit of dizziness." I waved it off as I straightened myself and motioned forward. "Let's keep going. We should probably try and hurry up a bit and settle this little riot the nobles are causing out there." I said as she nodded and picked up her pace.

******************************************

The gates parted as we both walked out of the castle and looked ahead of us at the large group of rioters. Some guards were currently trying to keep it from breaking past the main gates as the ponies tried to push their way through.

"What's going on here!?" I called out getting many of the ponies to quiet down.

"My subjects! Why must you all protest so!? These are times for celebration!" Luna called out.

"We don't want celebration!"

"We don't want change!"

Many ponies shouted random bits of hatred towards me but I just shook my head. I was about to say something when a sudden shield shot up around us.

"Magical discharge!" A guard yelled out as he held up the barrier.

Just as he said those words, a pony from the crowd fired off a shot from his horn as it was quickly absorbed in the shield. He was swiftly subdued by a few more guards and had something placed on his horn, as the other ponies became much more cautious.

I held back another wave of sickness as Luna charged her horn and we both vanished in an instant. A moment later my vision cleared and we were in the throne room, currently occupied by Celestia and another pony. I fell to my knees, breathing a bit heavily as I stared at the spinning ground. I looked back up to see Celestia and the pony arguing with each other.

"What do you mean it's just GONE?" Celestia said to the pony.

"I'm sorry you're highness... but the cake simply vanished!" The pony said aloud as Luna shook her head.

"Sister!" She said aloud getting Celestia's attention. "The nobles are out of control! They actually tried to attack Jake! We cannot let this go unanswered!" Luna began as she looked to me. "Right Ja-" She cut herself off with a gasp as she saw my condition. "Jake! Whats wrong did you get hit?"

Shaking my head I shakily stood and let out a slow breath. "N-no. Just feel a bit unwell. I think it be best if you took care of this without me." I said getting her to slowly nod.

I slowly made my way out of the room and watched as the doors closed behind me. Almost immediately I heard shouting from the other side, mostly from Luna. Chuckling a bit I lay my hand on my stomach as I turned to a nearby guard.

'Maybe I'm just really hungry... low blood sugar or something I don't know...'

"Is there someplace I could get a bite to eat?" I asked while he nodded.

"Yes sir right this way." The guardspony said as I followed him quickly.

After a few minutes of walking the pony opened a set of doors leading into a very large room, filled with tables and benches, which in turn were filled with ponies. All of them donned different colored armor, ranging from black, to blue to gold.

"Is this the...?" I asked as the guard finished.

"Yup. The mess hall. There are some ponies here you want to meet you, and you can get a bit to eat as well." He said as I gave him a nod.

As the guard left, I took a look around the room. Some of the ponies were looking at me but the rest seemed to be minding their own business.

"Never thought I'd see you here." Voiced a pony from behind me.

I quickly turned around and smiled at the face of Shining Armor.

"Well why not? If our armies are gonna work together might as well take a look right? I was also told that someone wanted to meet me?" I asked getting him to nod.

"Oh yeah. A lot of the recruits and vets here want to see you all right. But for now I was about to get something to eat. Care to join me?" He asked smiling.

He began to walk towards a open window and nodded to the pony on the other side. A few moments later a tray came out with some food on it. Apples, a glass of water, and what I had to guess was a sandwich with... flowers in it.

He raised an eyebrow and looked down at the tray then back up to me.

"Oh!" I said as I reached forward and grabbed the tray, getting him to release his hold on it.

He quickly grabbed another one and we both walked to a nearby empty table.

"So, what do you think about our guard?" He asked as we both sat down and I inspected the sandwich, slowly lifting up the corner of the bread and clarifying there was, in fact, flowers in it.

I just decided to munch on the apple.

I took a bite out and chewed for a few seconds before answering, pushing the food to one side of my mouth. "They are well trained, but far from soldiers I'll tell you that." I said getting him to nod and take a bite out of his sandwich.

"Tell me. What makes the difference?" He said getting me to stop mid bite and think.

"Well... how many of your guys have been in a firefight?" I asked before face palming. "Wait never mind... no guns." I said getting him to shake his head.

"Nonono I know what that is. But here it's with magic. Well... the last one I know of was... about seven years ago over in downtown Canterlot." He said as he began to go into details. "If I remember correctly... there were about eight ponies, all using magic enhancers." He paused as I raised my hand.

"Magic enhancers?" I asked.

"Yeah. They're these things you put on your horn and it amplifies your magic immensely. Highly illegal. Anyway... these guys were held up in a bank and were trying to get out with over three million bits."

I held up my hand for a moment, getting him to pause. "Wait, three million? How the hell could they carry that much?" I asked getting him to look at me blankly. "Magic... right. Go on." I said as I took another bite of my apple.

"The fight was stuck in this stalemate for a good four and a half hours, each side taking potshots at each other. Until finally Celestia called in the Elites." He said nodding over to a group of ponies in the corner.

The ponies were wearing black armor and all consisted of Unicorns with very sharp looking horns.

"Anyway, the elites came in and ended the dispute in a matter of minutes." He said smiling.

"How?" I asked looking over at the group.

"Well, their armor there has an enchantment on it that allows itself active camouflage. Personally enchanted by the princesses themselves. Highest grade armor we have. They're also trained in every magical art I know of... except time spells for obvious reasons." He said as I nodded.

"Jeez. So those guys are the real deal huh? I'd like to see how they stand up to my own boys." I said as I turned to see him grinning.

"That's kind of what I wanted to ask about. Think you'd be up for a little sparring match? Some of my guards are still a bit... shaken up by the sudden addition to our army. Maybe seeing us fight, captain to general, would ease their worries a bit?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows a bit and smiled.

"Heheh... you know I won't go easy right?" I asked getting him to smile and stand. "Alright guess we're going. Lead the way."

I followed Shining to a set of doors that led to an outside field, with a number of noteworthy things. There were all kinds of different exercise materials along with a medium sized track and an arena which was currently occupied with two ponies in the middle of an intense duel. I quickly shed my armor, setting it next to a wall and caught back up with Shining, getting a few looks as I did so.

"Nice place you got, much more open that the ship's training yard." I said aloud as I followed him to the ring.

"Hey boys! Mind if I take this from you for a few minutes?" Shining shouted aloud, getting the two ponies attentions.

"Yes sir!" They both said as they quickly jumped out of the ring.

"Alright, weapons or no?" I asked as I stepped up into the arena.

The arena was square and made of concrete, sitting a good foot off the ground with bleachers a bit away from the edges to let guards spectate. Currently there were only a few ponies sitting there but more began to flood in as word got out there was going to be a fight between their captain and a human.

"No weapons for now, hoof to... hand first." He replied.

We both stood opposite to each other, and waited.

"Begin!" He shouted as we both jumped into action.

He immediately went for my lower body and tried to land a few punches which I swiftly dodged, along with a few of my own thrown. Kick, punch, grab... it went on like this for a while. Both sides holding their ground but not really gaining any advantages. However... slowly the fight began to pick up pace, as cheering began to raise in volume around us. Within a few minutes, we weren't playing around anymore, making each swing and dodge count.

"You're *Huff* not bad *puff* for someone... half my height!" I said as I sidestepped a buck he made.

Letting out a small laugh, he replied as he jumped back, avoiding one of my own blows. "There's nothing to it. You're basically *Whew* a Minotaur."

He jumped forward again, trying to land a strike on me, but didn't pull back in time as I sidestepped and hit him with an open palm strike on the right side of his barrel. He followed up with an elbow to my chest as we both separated and held our affected spots.

Smiling, he spoke up. "Heh... Nice hit."

"Yeah but I wasn't fast enough to get out." I said under my breath as he visibly calmed down and sat on his haunches.

I did the same by relaxing my muscles and sitting cross legged on the ground. We both sat like that for a few minutes catching our breath as I looked at the ponies around me sitting on the bleachers. There was at least more than forty ponies, a mix of Day, Night, and Elite forces among them all sitting on the seats as they placed bets on either of us. From what I could hear, Shining was the most highly bet on here, which came as no surprise to me. I spotted a certain pony however, sitting on the bleachers and waving at me trying to get my attention as he munched down on some cake with an emblem of the sun on it.

"Woooo! Go Jake!" Bolt yelled out as I rolled my eyes and looked back to Shining.

"Alright, you ready for round two?" Shining asked as I turned and saw him holding a spear and a sword both with flat ends.

I nodded to him and he motioned to the weapons.

"Which do you prefer?" He asked as I pointed to the spear.

He tossed it in the air and I caught it as I stood up, readying myself for the next fight.

"What weapon are you using?" I asked as his horn lit up and two short swords appeared in a pink light, both with no sharpened end. "Oh..." I said getting into position.

"BEGIN!" He shouted again as he charged forward, going on the offensive.

I immediately took the spear in both hands and held it up, blocking the downswing of his two weapons. He jumped back for a moment then tried again with a side swing which I quickly evaded and tried for my own stab. He smacked the attack to the left and went for a quick counter attack but I jumped out of the way.

However... as the fight continued... I felt the same uneasiness start to rise in my stomach again, slowly going up to my chest. I quickly parried another attack, and the feeling intensified, causing me to lose my balance and get dizzy as the sound of cheering began to get more and more dull.

Shining took note of this and immediately stopped his advances, causing his weapons to vanish.

"Jake? Jake is something-" He began before I lurched forward and puked onto the ground.

I almost immediately began to violently cough. It felt like an unholy fire was in my lungs, burning me from the inside out.

I fell to the ground and lay there for a moment, trying to breath before a few moments later I was rolled over onto my back. I could barely hear anything going on around me and my vision was blurry and tunneled. Voices cut in and out as I lay there trying to stay awake.

"-EDICAL TEA-"

"....magical poisoning-"

There was a sound of thunder, a feeling of emptiness, then all I saw was black.

*************************************************

Perspective: Shining Armor

'What the hell is this guy made out of! He's almost faster than me!' I thought as I backed up and readied my weapons.

As I prepared myself for another attack, I saw Jake's expression suddenly change from determination, to unease. He began stumbling a bit and I immediately recalled my weapons.

"Jake? Jake is something wrong?" I asked but before I could get an answer, he lurched forward and puked out a purplish blue liquid that evaporated almost instantly into the air.

He collapsed on the ground and began coughing violently as I turned to the bleachers.

"GET A MEDICAL TEAM HERE NOW!" I yelled as some ponies quickly flew off.

I turned back to him to see an elite guard rolling him onto his back as he examined him with his horn.

"He's got magical poisoning. His body is burning up itself to make room for the excess magic." He said quickly.

I was about to pitch something in when I saw him jab his horn into Jake's arm.

"What are you doing!" I said as he squinted in pain.

A few moments later he stomped the ground, cracking it and filling the air with static electricity which quickly faded. He slowly stood back up and cleaned the blood off his horn.

"Some magical pressure had to be relieved or he'd be ashes by the time the medical team got here. He doesn't have a horn so I had to make an outlet for the energy." He said stoically as a team of ponies flew down with a stretcher.

I sat in silence as the team scooped him up and slowly flew off, careful not to move him too much.

"WHAT?!" A voice screamed from inside the castle.

'Oh I'm definitely dead...'

Chapter 37: Sweet Dreams

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Just a little 'Bonus' chapter I quickly whipped up in like... 30 or so minutes. I decided to give you guys a little something extra because of the long wait.

Chapter 37: Sweet Dreams

Muffled sounds echoed around me as I slowly cracked my eyes open and blinked rapidly, trying to clear my vision.

"-should be aboard the ship! We have much more advanced medical tech!" A human nurse said as she held onto a clipboard.

"He should remain here! Humans have no real experience with magic!" Argued back a pony doctor.

"Not true! Lucy has a lot of information in her databases!" The Nurse replies back.

Shaking his head, the doctor sighed. "I'm sorry but he's staying here!" He said getting the nurse to growl angrily and stomp off.

I was about to raise my arm when a shot of pain ran through my body.

"Arrg!" I groaned out as the doctor looked at me and ran to my side.

"Nonono. Don't move. You need time to heal, 'Super solder' or not." He said as the pain began to retreat.

"Wh... what the hell happened?" I asked.

"Well..." He began as he walked to the end of the bed and opened up a binder. "It seems you had magic poisoning. A pretty bad case too."

"M-Magic poisoning? How the hell does that work?" I replied.

"It happens when a magical being attempts to store too much energy in their body. The cells begin to... destroy living tissue to try and make room for the magical energy. If you hadn't gotten here when you did you would have burned up completely." He explained as I shook my head.

"But... that's impossible! I'm not a magical being! Human's have never been in contact with magic!" I said getting him to nod.

"Yes that's why it's curious. I've sent some blood to the labs for testing, as well to your... uh... 'Ship'." He said as he flashed a look. "Well.. I guess I should give you some time to rest. I think you need it. I'll check in again tomorrow." He finished as he took a needle. "This will help with sleeping and with the pain."

As he injected me with the needle, everything began to fade once more...

********************************************

I sat up in the hospital bed, startled awake by some sudden noise. I took a look around the room but didn't see anything too suspicious. It seemed quite late still as the room was illuminated by the glow of the moon, painting everything a cool blue. I lay back down and let out a huff as I began to roll over, and immediately my face collided with a muzzle.

I jumped back and looked down at the pony in question, as she in turn looked back at me.

Then, something I never expected to happen, happened.

She lurched forward before I could utter a single word, and made contact with my lips. It was forceful, but was full of passion. For a while I was so completely engrossed in the kiss as I began to push against her, slowly pushing her down and onto her back. We finally broke contact, and I looked down at her blushing figure as I-

********************************************

*GASP*

I shot straight up in my medical bed, breathing heavily and frantically looking around the room making sure what just happened, didn't just happen.

'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT!' I internally screamed. 'THE FUCK DID THAT DOCTOR GIVE ME?!'

I slowed my breathing as I lay myself back down on the bed, before I noticed the sheets tenting up down below. before I could react the door began to open, and I quickly turned onto my side, away from the door.

"Jake... are you awake?" Softly spoke a familiar voice.

"Hm? Oh yeah... hey Luna." I said as I fake yawned.

I sat up as to hide my morning... 'surprise', as I turned over, seeing Luna looking down worriedly at me.

"Did you sleep well?" She asked as she sat at the foot of the bed.

"Yeah... I mean it was alright." I said as I rubbed the back of my neck.

'Is she... blushing? OH GOD SHE CAN SEE MY HARD ON CANT SHE!' I thought as I began to blush a bit. 'It's fine just play it off.'

"You know you gave us all quite a scare. Magic poisoning isn't anything to scoff at." She said as I put my pillow on my lap to 'Lean' into.

"Yeah... but man what was in that medicine?" I asked jokingly. "They can give you some weird dreams hehe..." I said as she blushed and stood up.

"W-Well y-yes... I suppose it would... I'm going to go check in on the lab and all! Don't... go anywhere!" She stutterend out as she backed up into the wall next to the door.

She gave a sheepish grin and magically opened it and ran out, slamming it behind her.

"Whew..." I thought as I removed the pillow. "Close call."

'Heh she had no idea...'

Chapter 38: Training

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Chapter 38: Training

"Alright... now we think we've figured it out." Said a pony wearing a white lab coat.

I was currently standing next to Luna in the labs in Canterlot, a few days after the "Poisoning" incident, and was eagerly awaiting an explanation that made sense.

"You see, your body was not enhanced right away in the super solder program." A human also wearing a white lab coat said beside her pony assistant. "They are serums that cause your body to go through enormous changes over time." She finished as she motioned down to some charts.

"Yeah yeah." I said waving my hand. "I know how the super soldier program works. Why is that an issue?"

The two scientists looked at each other and the human stepped forward, handing me a report. "Are you familiar with the radiation issue during early uses of the serums?" She asked as I took the report and read it over, noting how old it looked.

"I... can't say I am. Why?" I asked back reading through the report.

"Well..." The woman began, motioning to the report. "As you can see, some things had very interesting reactions to the serums."

I skimmed farther down until I found what I was looking for, and my eyes widened.

"This... this really happened?" I asked getting her to nod.

"Yes. During the early stages of the serums making changes to the body, it seems if you are brought into contact with low doses of radiation, the cells of your body mutate to allow themselves to absorb it." The woman paused motioning her pony assistant.

The pony continued his speech. "From what I've read about this 'Radiation' it behaves slightly like latent magic would in this case. Latent magic covers our planet like a shroud, so it's no doubt you've picked a lot up. Perhaps when you landed here, your body's cells mutated to store this magic, just like the radiation."

I put the paper down and leaned on the table, letting this all sink in.

"Well... I guess what Celestia said about my magical signature makes sense now... but why did I get sick from it? In the report it says the radiation proved harmless to the carrier?" I asked getting the pony to shrug.

"I guess that's just the nature of how magic works. I don't think it was the latent magic that made you sick, but simply being in contact, or close proximity to active magic for so long without... how do I put this... 'Using up' what you have?" He said getting me to sigh.

"Yeah... now that I think about it, Luna has used a lot of magic around me. So... what do I do about this?" I asked getting the two to look at each other.

"Well..." The human girl spoke up. "I'm out of my league when it comes to magic, but I guess... learn to harness it?" She asked getting a look from all three of us. "...what?"

Luna finally spoke up. "Well combined with him being a creature of no magical heritage. Learning the proper control of magic can take years." Luna said as she looked me up and down.

"Actually, what she says probably isn't that far fetched after all." The pony said as he walked over to me and lifted my hand, examining it. "I don't see why he can't use his hands as an output for the magic, and he doesn't need control. He just needs to know how to vent it. All he needs is a teacher."

There was a few moments of silence before Luna spoke up. "Well... I suppose I could teach you some fairly simple techniques." She said low getting me to smile.

Shaking my head, I let out a small chuckle, getting the others attention.

"What's so funny?" The pony asked getting me to wave it off.

"Guess I'm humanity's first mage huh?" I said getting him to shrug.

"I suppose so."

'This shouldn't be so hard. Luna makes it look so easy'

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"How the fuck do you make this look so easy?!" I shouted in anger as I kicked a stone into the nearby treeline.

We currently were standing in the field I had first walked across to get to Ponyville, just outside the Everfree forest.

"Well I'm sorry! I'm not the greatest of teachers alright!" Luna replied back. "Now try it again!"

Growling low, I straightened myself up, and breathed out. I tried to calm myself down as I closed my eyes and slowly raised my hand... I tried to feel for the energy running through my body, and focus it to my chest, and out my hand in a delicate and calm manner.

"IT'S NOT WORKING!" I shouted as I kicked at the ground again.

"You need to be patient! It'll never work if you don't wait!" Luna shouted back.

"We've been going at it for HOURS! The sun is already starting to set!" I exclaimed, pointing at the setting ball of fire.

"Then we keep going until dawn! You're never gonna get this if you don't follow my instructions! All you have to do... is keep a clear picture in your mind of what makes you happy! IT'S THAT EASY! Stars above you're acting like a foal!"

"So you're telling me ponies can't use magic when they're angry?" I asked annoyed.

"No I'm not saying that... I'm just saying it's the best way! Magic used through hatred is un-paralleled in power, but incredibly volatile and dangerous! Many ponies have been consumed by it! Now try again!" She finished, motioning to me.

I huffed and shook my head, before closing my eyes and letting out a deep breath.

'What makes me happy'

The thought drifted around in my head for a little while, before some images began to overtake my mind. However this time, unlike all of my other attempts... they were of only one pony in particular.

"Good... now hold onto that feeling, let the calmness pass through you." Luna said low as her voice began to echo in my mind.

I continued to hold onto the image in my mind, the one pony who I truly considered a friend. No... not just a friend... but a-

*zzZZZZT*

My eyes flew open as I looked at my extended palm, and saw it glowing a deep blue, like a darker version of Luna's magic.

"Yes! You have it! Now quick before you lose it... do as I taught you!" Luna exclaimed as I quickly blinked and mimicked the movements she had shown me earlier this day.

After getting into a stance, I looked up and spotted a cloud in the sky. I slowly brought my hand to the target and breathed out slowly. I remembered the symbols Luna had showed me before, and pictured it vividly in my mind... the runes of water and air together. I shut my eyes as I recalled an idea for it to hold onto.

'Rain'

I closed my fingers together as a bolt of energy surged out towards a cloud. The moment it struck it the cloud became darkened, and began emitting lightning. I quickly ran out from beneath it and stared at the area and back to my hands a few times, before throwing them in the air.

"YES! FINALLY I DID IT WOOOOO! Not exactly what I wanted to happen but WOOOOO!" I shouted as I pranced around.

Luna came galloping towards me, smiling. "I can see that! But you need to work a bit on your spell weaving still." She said watching the cloud.

I looked to her a few moments after staring at the cloud and cleared my throat. "Will it always be that hard to um... prepare the magic?" I asked getting her to shake her head.

"Nope! You've allowed the flow of magic through your body now! Just remember whatever memory made you happy, and it should activate your magic." She said as I nodded and looked down at my hand.

I let the thought into the front of my mind again, and my hand began to glow blue once again.

"Wow... you can't understand how amazing this is. Being a Alicorn and all... it's natural to you. But to us humans it's just... unbelievable." I trailed off as she nodded.

"It's alright. Now practice whenever you can. BUT if you feel tired, give yourself a break. Just like magic poisoning, theres magic exhaustion too." She said as I nodded in agreement.

"Alright... I think I've got it. So what now?" I asked getting her to shrug.

"Well..." She began as she looked to the sky. "The sun is down, we can call it a night if you wish. Have another session tomorrow maybe?" She asked back.

After a few moments of thought, I shook my head. "Nah, how about we go to Canterlot? I'd love to read up some more on magic. You know, be more prepared." I asked getting a small nod from her.

I gave her a few minutes to quickly raise the moon, before she turned to me and spoke up.

"Well alright... but remember. You'll never have the finesse of a Unicorn. You just don't have the biology for it." She replied as her horn began to glow. "Just don't try anything too complex."

I tilted my head a bit and smiled as I walked to her and placed my hand on her side. "Awww, are you worried about me?" I asked jokingly.

Shaking her head, she chuckled a bit. "I'm more worried about damage to the castle." She finished as a bright flash blinded me for a moment before we both appeared in Luna's bedroom.

She walked ahead of me and opened the door, as we both stepped out and we came to a halt. Standing just in front of us is a stunned Cadence.

"Oh! Hey Cadence. What brings you here?" I said getting her to blink and look at the two of us, then the room behind us.

She gave a small smile, and motioned down the hall. "Just uh... stopped by to see how Luna is uh... doing... Hey um, mind if I steal Jake from you for a moment?" Cadence asked Luna who was behind me.

Luna shrugged then nodded. "Yeah, I don't see why not. When you're done could you show Jake to the library? He wants to study up some more before our next session. I'll be in the throne room." She said more to me than Cadence, before teleporting away.

Immediately Cadence began blushing deeply as she quickly turned away and cleared her throat. "A-alright, let's go."

Shrugging, I began walking next to her through the halls of Canterlot. Silence fell over us for a good few minutes before she spoke up.

"So uh... how was it?" She said blushing a bit.

I shrugged back. "It wasn't that hard. The session took all day but we finally finished a few minutes before we ran into you."

She cleared her throat again, blushing deeper. "O-Oh wow... all day? Wow you put shining to shame..."

I picked up on her whisper and cocked my head at her. "What? I thought Shining would be good at magic. Being a Unicorn and all."

"M-Magic?" She asked back as she thought over the conversation again. "Oooooh... oh my Celestia" She said as she began laughing. "I thought...! Oh my word!" She said trying to calm down and catch her breath.

Raising an eyebrow, I spoke up. "What? What's so funny?" I asked as she began to calm down and waved a hoof at me. "Have I missed something here?"

Finally calmed down, she turned to me as we walked. "Are you seriously telling me... you two aren't together yet?" She asked getting my face to flush bright red.

I looked around us to make sure nopony was around before pulling her to the side, while trying to hide my huge blush. "W-WHAT?! Did you SERIOUSLY just ask that?!"

Shaking her head, she smiled some more. "Well I'm sorry but it's just beyond obvious now. I had thought you two could sort it out but... it seems you need a little push. And who better than the princess of love herself?" She said aloud as I made hand motions to quiet down.

"Would you keep your voice down?! Alright look... I can't lie about this because you know... princess of love." I paused for a second, again making sure nopony was around. "I... ALRIGHT! I have feelings for her! Are you happy now?! But I'm just... terrified on how to advance with this..." I said to her defeated, still not believing what I was currently talking to her about.

"What's so hard about it! Just go tell her how you feel!" Cadence said passively.

I gave a small laugh. "Ha, easy for you to say, you're a god damn princess just like her. OF LOVE EVEN. I've fought in wars, killed Verix after Verix. I've stared down my own death in the eyes and didn't even flinch, and let me tell you... this terrifies me more than any of that." I said getting her to laugh.

She let out a huff before speaking up. "Alright, let's go, you're setting up a date with her NOW."

Bewildered, I began shaking my head as she started pushing me down the hall, presumably towards the throne room. "No! What are you nuts?! She's probably busy with paperwork or ponies or something! Come on!"

"Nope. No one ever comes during night court." She said happily.

A few seconds later, I took off in a full sprint down the hall in an attempt to escape, before being quickly stopped by a magical aura. That's when the feeling really sank in.

'Oh god... I'm about to ask a pony princess on a date...' I thought as I hovered closer and closer to the throne room doors.

'God help me...'

Chapter 39: Plans

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Chapter 39: Plans

"Please. Cadence. Don't do this. I'm not ready!" I begged from the air. "I have no idea what I'm doing!"

She shook her head as she looked to the side and right at me, as we stopped at the doors. "Oh shush now. It won't be that bad."

"For the love of god I'm still a virgin please!" I said a little louder than I wanted, getting her to freeze in place.

She looked over to me, raising an eyebrow as she looked me over. "...Really?" She asked.

I nodded furiously.

'Oh please lord let the virgin card pull me out of this'

She blinked a few times, before shaking her head. "Wow... didn't expect that... well there's a first time for everything!" She said as she pushed open the doors and set me on my feet.

'TIME TO RUN!'

But it was already to late. As the doors swung open, a very familiar voice shouted to me.

"Jake! Cadence! Welcome!" Celestia exclaimed from inside the room, getting me to clench my teeth for a moment, and turn to greet her.

"Hey... Celestia. Kinda late for you to be up don't you think?" I said aloud as she neared us and gave Cadence a small hug.

I spotted Luna on the throne behind Celestia, along with there being two other night guards looking towards us with boredom evident in their gaze. As Celestia finished the hug, she stood back up and looked over to me, giving me a small smile before answering.

"I could say the same about you." She replied before I waved it off.

"Nah, I spent so much time in space, my internal clock is completely butchered. Doesn't matter what time I go to sleep." I said nodding to her and smiling. "Night and day are both beautiful in their own way."

Nodding back, she smiled even warmer. "How nice of you to say. Anyway's, I must be off Luna!" She shouted back before looking to me. "I don't think you'll be bored alone anyway." She said as she winked at me and trotted off.

I felt a bump on my hip, and turned to see Cadence as she tried to signal me to walk. I rolled my eyes and did as she wanted.

'I can't believe I'm just gonna let her do this...'

As I neared Luna she perked up and smiled.

"Hey Jake." She said with a sigh. "I thought you were going to the library to research magic?" She asked getting me to awkwardly swing my arms, and randomly play with my fingers.

"U-uh... yeah... I WAS." I said as I looked over to Cadence as she let out a little whistle. "But um... I was gonna ask you s-something." I said as I could feel my face starting to turn red.

"I'll be right back Luna." Cadence said suddenly. "I think I heard Shining calling for me." She said as she quickly galloped out of the room.

I stood for a few moments in dead silence, before I turned back around to Luna as she had a completely innocent and oblivious face on. "W-Would you like to uh..." I continued, clearing my throat. "G-go... out?" I finished tensing my body.

The statement caught her by surprise, along with the two guards currently posted in the room. Both their mouths hung open slightly and Luna tilted her head before smiling.

"Oh, yeah sure. I'd like to go out and do something again." She said as I shook my head.

"No I mean like... on a... *Ahem*... date..."

Then it happened. The two guards jaws hit the floor, as did Luna's, and I tried my best not to burn up into ashes from the amount of heat currently leaving my face. Before I could speak up and tell her to forget it, she suddenly spoke up... with a blush just as bright on her own face.

"A d-d-date?!" She said looking around the room bewildered. "W-well that was certainly... unexpected..." She said trailing off.

"I'm sorry I-"

Then she smiled.

"But not unwelcome." She finished.

Alright. My turn.

My jaw mimicked that which the guards had done before, while the guards in question basically dropped their's even farther. I'm sure this wasn't even physically possible.

"How about Saturday? Day after tomorrow?" She asked getting me to blink and slowly nod.

I slowly started backing out of the room, with a very bright blush still very visible on my face. "U-Uh... y-yeah sure... I uh... need to go and-" I said as I nearly tripped while fumbling over my words. "Uh... get ready. And... stuff."

I quickly left the room, and the moment I did I turned around and came face to face with Cadence as the door shut behind me.

"See? Was that so tough?" She asked with a little smirk. "Oh my Celestia you two are so cute." She said as she moved my cheeks around with her hooves.

I rolled my eyes and walked off.

'Fuckin' princesses man'

**************************************************

Perspective: Cadence

'Alright... I wonder how it went'

I stepped into the throne room and was immediately grabbed by a blue aura and pulled across the room. Within a split second I was face to face with Luna, who looked excited out of her mind. I also noted the guards were gone as well.

"Oh stars! Cadence!" She said as she took me with her front hooves and pulled me closer. "I. NEED. ADVICE." She said, pausing between every word.

I shook myself out of my stunned state and wiggled out of her hold, falling to the ground. "*Oof*... uh, need my advice with what?" I asked, but already knew the answer.

"Jake asked me out on a date!" She said aloud as I pretended to have a look of shock. "I-I-I don't know what to wear even!"

Before I could answer, another voice spoke up behind me.

"How about those really saucy socks you have in your closet?" Celestia's voice rang out.

My eyes opened wide, as did a smile of mine, as Luna took on a face of horror.

Luna fumbled over her words as she looked over to her sister. "W-W-WHAT?!" She yelled aloud. "I HAVE NO SUCH- *gasp* SISTER!"

I turned to face Celestia, and my eyes widened. She stood there, wearing two pairs of knee high socks, filled with constellations and dark colors.

Smiling, Celestia replied. "Oh yes, you do." She said as she did some mock posing.

Luna let out an annoyed groan. "Oh grow up sister!" Luna shouted as her horn glowed and the socks vanished. "Over two thousand years old and you still act like a foal! And I thought you had somewhere to be!"

Rolling her eyes, Celestia answered back. "Oh... and miss a chance to tease my little sister like the good old days?" She said as she pranced next to her sister and bopped her on the nose. "Never!" She said with a giggle. "And being a ruler is taxing, as you know... sometimes you have to, as Jake would say, relax."

Shaking my head, I spoke up. "Luna. Do you have any dresses? At all?" I asked getting her to raise her hoof to her chin in thought.

"Oh!" She said as she brightened up. "Yes I have one! I got it on my two hundredth birthday!" She said as I looked over to Celestia.

She was cringing.

"Uh... alright. We need to get you some clothes. let's go!" I said as I teleported the both of us out of the room.

And directly into a Canterlot dress store.

"I don't know about this Cadence... it's been a long time since I've been out... shopping." Luna said as I rolled my eyes and smiled.

"It's alright. Just follow my lead." I replied.

Ponies quickly took notice of our presence and were either bowing, or looking on in awe that they were shopping in the same store as the princesses. I walked up to the nearest worker and tapped her on the shoulder.

"*Ahem*." I said getting her attention. "Sorry to bother you but... we're looking for a special dress."

The pony slowly turned around, and spoke out with an annoyed voice. "Oh how specifi-" She began but stopped as she saw us, and her jaw dropped. "Oh Celestia..."

"Luna here." I said motioning to Luna who was currently looking around the room, getting the pony to look even more aghast, "Is looking for the perfect dress for her first date." I said smiling, before leaning in. "First ever..."

*Gulp*

Chapter 40: Offline

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'Very, VERY short chapter that I quickly whipped up to send one, small message. I'M BACK!!'

Chapter 40: Offline

'What am I even going to do...' I thought as I paced back and forth the halls of the starship, getting soldiers saluting me along the way.

Suddenly, as if a light bulb lit up over my head, I had the perfect idea.

'Earth!' I thought with a wide smile. 'Of course!'

I quickly made my way back to my own personal ship, wanting to waste as little time as possible.

'I'll make a stop at earth and figure out something fun to do!' I smiled to myself as the door to my ship hissed open, and closed behind me.

Lucy immediately spoke up over the speakers as I sat down in the pilot seat.

"Have you chosen a location to hold your... date?" She asked with a bit of mirth.

Rolling my eyes, I nodded. "Yes, Lucy. We're going to earth. I want to go and make some reservations and plans before though so lets take a small trip there today."

As I powered up the engines and slowly rose off the ground, I punched in some coordinates and took off into the starry void. In an instant, the stars began to streak past me in long white lines, as we hurdled through space at unfathomable speeds.

I was going to make this date one to remember.

*******************************************

Perspective: Luna

"I don't know Cadence... this outfit makes my flank look a bit big..." I said aloud as I looked myself up and down in the mirror.

We were currently in a back room trying on different clothing items to try and find the perfect one, 'Trying' being the keyword.

"Oh trust me Luna it's not that bad. And I hear stallions are really lovin' mares with a big flank." Cadence said as she snickered.

Rolling my eyes, I huffed as I took the article of clothing off. I've tried on at least twenty different pieces of clothing and NOTHING speaks to me!

Shaking my head, I turned to the Mare who had been helping me pick the dresses. "Is there any more to try on?"

In response, she just shook her head. "I'm afraid not. It's not exactly easy to find a dress that matches your dark colors AND flowing mane with you know... bright stars."

I sighed and walked back into the main part of the shop, ready for another round of searching.

'There has to be something in here that's for me'

*******************************************

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\ 4 HOURS LATER /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Luna! Come here I think I've found one that matches you perfectly!" Cadence called from across the store.

I quickly ran over to her voice and stopped in my tracks when I saw what she held in her magic. "Oh my..." I whispered.

The dress itself was simple, but at the same time matches me in every way. It was dark blue and purple, and draped along my forelegs. The dress also had small white stars all over, complete with a glass crown that rested atop my head.

Smiling, I looked it over some more.

'Yes... this is just perfect.'

*******************************************

Perspective: Jake

"Alright! We're all set! Dinner reservations, ready. Movie tickets, purchased. Now, to get back to Equis and wait until tomorrow!" I said happily as I closed the ships doors behind me as Lucy fired up the engines.

Lucy spoke up as we began gaining altitude, while I lay down in one of the in-wall beds. "Sounds like a plan, so shall we make haste?"

I nodded back as the sound of the FTL drive powering up began.

"Wake me when we get there Lucy, I'm gonna take a small nap." I spoke low.

Lucy quickly responded as the ship shot off into space. "Yes sir."

*******************************************

1 hour : 25 minutes : 56 seconds later

Lucy continued to monitor every single process as it flashed around in her brain, millions of times a second. Were the shields holding up? Were the engines okay? Anything overheating? These were things any AI was programmed to do with ease. However, there has always been one thing any small sized ship has never been equipped to handle. One type of attack that's always been notoriously powerful against machines.

This was one instance where Lucy noticed a small anomaly on their destination. A large source of energy blocking their path. Simple, move to dodge it right? Easy for an AI to work around.

However, what was not so simple, was how it followed to intercept us.

Just like that, Lucy felt true fear for the first time as she tried to activate an emergency beacon.

Just like that.

Everything went dark.

*******************************************

Perspective: Jake

*BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZT* *BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

My eyes were open the instant the sound made it to my ears. However only darkness met my eyes before I was violently flung across the cabin, and almost to my death. Moments before I made impact the emergency systems came online, restoring a little bit of power, enough to straighten out the ship which at the time was hurtling in space with no power and at intense G-Forces. I was immediately pulled to the floor by increased gravity for my own safety as the ship leveled itself out and quickly powered the shield back up to full, before it released me once more.

I looked around the cabin in the dull red light emitting from a not so large bulb in the roof.

"Lucy! Lucy what happened why'd we lose power!?" I shouted hoping she can still function on emergency systems.

I waited for a few moments before I heard some static through the speakers. "Elect- *Bzzt* p*lse... I ca*SKRRRR* nt-" Then silence.

"Shit!" I shouted as I ran to the main computer at the bridge. "Come on COME ON! Something has to be working here..." I yelled aloud in a panic and I tried different controls. "FUCK! It's all fucking fried!"

Trying to get control of my panicked state I took some deep, but shaky breaths, before the cabin suddenly lit up. But it was not, however, from the lights in the room. But the lights blaring in from the ship flying in front of my own.

A massive Verix battleship, and said ship immediately began pulling my ship in with some unseen force.

"Oh no.... nononono FUCK NO!" I shouted as I ran farther into the ship and searched for a weapon.

They were almost all destroyed from the unexpected power loss as they were presumably thrown across the ship and smashed into the walls. Much like how I could have turned out if luck hadn't been on my side. Scavenging what I could, I managed to recover a plasma pistol and a couple plasma grenades. Along with enough ammo for about 5 reloads.

"Okay... think think think..." I said aloud as my eyes lit up and I ran to my armory.

Upon entering I breathed a sigh of relief to see my spartan armor had stayed attached to his charging unit. I quickly ran to it and pulled the set on, hoping to god it will power up. I smiled as the suit immediately powered on and started tightening itself to my body.

"Okay... one more thing." I said aloud again as I ran to the front of the ship.

I started pulling apart the front computer until I reached the part I was most worried about. I pulled all the wires off it and looked it over. No bigger than a flash drive, but yet infinitely important.

'Lucy's Brain...' I thought to myself, and without hesitation, swallowed it whole.

Sadly, Lucy couldn't talk to me in my suit, as her whole system was based off the brain running in that drive. Copies of her are saved in drives just like that on big ships, but suits only act as a relay of sorts.

Mostly due to the massive amounts of power needed to run an AI brain.

I looked out the front window and saw I was entering the Battleship through it's underbelly now. I grabbed the emergency shutters and manually pulled them down over the window darkening the room almost completely, with the exception of the very small lines of light streaming through the shutters. I quickly ran over to the main door and took cover next to it, breathing heavily as my armor's helmet closed over my head.

The sound of metal banging outside the ship began, as I recited over what my higher-ups always told me. The memory of me standing next to many others as we listened to our commanding officer.

'There's never been a recorded case of a Verix Abduction! They've Always just chose the path of shoot on sight!'

*BANG*

'However! If you ever end up in a situation where they will actually attempt to take you as a prisoner of war...'

*BANG*

'REMEMBER THESE THREE THINGS! ONE! IF YOU HAVE AN AI WITH YOU, EITHER DESTROY THE POOR THING, OR HIDE IT'

*BAAAAANG*

'TWO! NEVER REVEAL THE LOCATION OF EARTH, OR ANY OTHER COLONY PLANET!'

*BAAAAAAAAANNNNNG*

'THREE! FIGHT TO THE BITTER GOD DAMN END!'

*BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANG*

Tsssssssst....

As the door slid open, I immediately looked out, and opened fire on anything, and everything, that moved.

'There are so many of them...'

Chapter 41: Captive

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Chapter 41: Captive

Perspective: Luna

My hooves clicked on the metal floor loudly as I walked down the hall of the Night's Vigil. It's been a couple days since I've last seen Jake and I'm curious to what has kept him so busy. I neared the door leading to the bridge when one of the two guards standing by it raised his hand, getting me to stop in my tracks.

"I'm sorry ma'am." He began. "No Equestrians allowed beyond this point."

I reeled my head back and gave him a bit of a sour look. "Excuse me, but I'm friends with your general and I'm one of the Equestrian princesses, I have access to this part of the ship."

Shaking his head, he replied. "I'm sorry, but our leading superior has asked that no equestrians are present beyond this point."

I let out an annoyed huff. "But your leading superior is Jake! Why wouldn't he let me in!"

There was a moment of silence as the two looked between each other, before nodding.

The other guard, who has been quiet this whole time, spoke up. "They haven't said we have this info classified so..." He began as he looked to the other guard, who continued his sentence.

"Our General hasn't contacted the Night's Vigil or any of our colony planets in the last two days." The guard finished as my eyes widened.

I quickly spoke up, getting a sinking feeling of dread in my stomach. "Have they been doing anything to find him? Is that what they're talking about in there?" I asked as I tried to move forward, just for him to place his hand on my chest, stopping me in place.

"Sorry, but I know for sure what's happening in there IS classified. Sorry but you really can't come in." He said as I let out an angry snort and turned around.

I walked down the hall and took a turn, out of sight.

'Classified my flank' I thought as I powered up an invisibility spell and teleportation spell, before appearing inside the bridge.

Invisibility spells are very tricky, and also very draining on the user. Especially if you plan to be moving around while casting it. It was one of the few spells that required constant power feeding into it to maintain. I stood in the center of the room overlooking a bunch of other people scrambling about in panic.

"We still can't pick up any trace of him after the energy spike sir!" One soldier said standing at a ship computer. "They seemed to have just vanished."

I turned to see someone sitting in the captain's chair, probably their temporary captain while Jake is MIA.

"Keep looking." He said in annoyance. "I don't want to be the one to tell that pony friend of his he's dead."

As much as I felt like revealing myself right then and there, I decided against it. I teleported myself back out and over to my room at Canterlot.

"They may have trouble finding him, but I sure won't." I said aloud as I pulled out the phone Jake gave me and turned it on like he showed me. After a few seconds of it trying to connect, a voice rang through the reciever.

"I'm sorry, but the recipient of this call cannot be reached at this moment. Please try again later." Shaking my head in annoyance, I walked up to a mirror in my room, lighting up my horn.

I cast the scrying spell on it and watched as the whole mirror began swirling blue and white. After a few moments of nothing happening, the spell gave up. Annoyed, I tried again. This time I powered the spell up far beyond it's required amount.

At first nothing.

Then, I heard something...

Grunts, and yells of pain.... screeching of metal...

Then the spell finally formed and I saw something that still chills me to this day.

Jake was being forcibly held aloft by his arms, bound by metal looking cables inside a small, smooth white room that was ruined by the blood on the floor contrasting the rest of the room. His shirt was torn off and his pants had many shreds in them. His armor lay next to him in a heap, not too damaged but obviously useless right now. He looked covered in small cuts, and some large lashes on his back. Standing in front of him was one of those monsters.

I began fuming as I watched it's next move.

"Tell us... what we... desire..." It spoke in a harshly metallic voice. "You will... submit..." The skeletal beast moved forward and dragged something across Jake's chest, sending shocks through his body and leaving a nasty looking gash, making him tense up as he let out a pained scream.

"Speak!" It yelled as it whipped it's hand across his face, with a loud 'DING' sound as metal hit bone.

**********************************

Perspective: Jake

I grunted in pain as it's hand made contact with my face, before it spoke again.

"Speak!" It demanded.

In all recorded history... there has never been a recorded instance of a Verix actually abducting someone... and yet here they are... in a ship that's actually pressurized with oxygen and a Verix that actually speaks English... all created for the first time for this single objective...

It really puts into perspective how far the Verix are willing to go to get something done. Like building an entirely different ship to handle living beings and also programming the English language into their brain... for this one meetup.

'They must be getting really desperate...' I thought to myself as I looked up to the monster.

It leaned forward a bit before I spat some blood at it, some landing on it's shuttering eyes, causing it to pull back and hit me again.

"You will tell us of this new species! Tell us how they did it!" It screamed angrily at me before bringing up a holographic screen with a Picture of Celestia on it moments before she eradicated the Verix fleet. "Tells us the power these beings hold, and you will be spared. That's what you Humans want right? To strive and live on?" It asked as I shook my head.

"Not this Human... I'll fucking DIE before I give you useless tin cans anything." I responded with as much malice as I could muster in my current state.

The Verix growled angrily before slowly bringing out a blade and getting ready to lunge it into my chest... before it suddenly stopped.

I let out a breath I was holding, which left my mouth as a small cloud.

'Why is so cold all of a sudden?'

**********************************

I watched in horror as the scene played out in front of me, as Jake spoke up at the Verix's question.

"Not this Human... I'll fucking DIE before I give you useless tin cans anything." He replied while the monster shook it's head and reached for a blade.

"This is enough..." I said aloud to myself. "I have to stop this!"

I closed my eyes and focused my power as hard as I could. In an instant, I could feel every single ponies magical signature on the planet. I tried to wade past them all, and reached out into the infinite expanse of space. Jake had magic inside him, I just had to find it.

I searched and searched, pushing more and more power into the spell, and just before I began to think there was no hope... I felt it. I felt him. A small dot in the endless black.

I latched onto it.

And I went to his side...

**********************************

Perspective: Jake

There was a blinding flash of light, before it quickly dissipated and I opened my eyes to find myself completely and utterly speechless. In front of me, was Luna herself as she grabbed hold of the surprised Verix and squashed him into the ground with an obscene amount of force.

"Holy shit Luna!" I said in a panic. "What are you doing here!"

"I'm saving your damn life!" She said as my bindings were cut and she immediately wrapped me in a hug, not caring about the blood staining her perfect blue coat.

She pulled back a bit as I noticed the tears in her eyes, before she let go and looked around the room. I could feel pain everywhere as I struggled to stay standing, but I pushed through it. I was captured accepting the fact that I was dead... but now I had a chance again.

"Alright then... let's get out of here." I said as I shakily used the wall as support. "I'm guessing that there's some reason you can't teleport us out...?"

Shaking her head, she spoke up. "I'm afraid not. I spent enough energy just getting here. I don't have enough to get us both back like this." She said as I noticed she was actually panting a bit. "Where's your ship? Is it still functional?" She asked as I shook my head.

"I'm afraid not. Half of the controls and computers aboard were fried when they hit me with an EMP. They knocked me straight out of FTL... I still can't believe it." I said thinking back to it.

Shaking her head, she spoke up again. "I'm not sure what all that means, but if your ship doesn't work... then we will just have to take one of theirs." She finished as I nodded.

'This is insane...' I thought as I looked around for a weapon. 'But... it could work'

After a few minutes of looking, I gave up on finding a weapon. I slowly put on my suit and powered it up, showing that the shields were dead, but the suit itself still functional.At least it's powered parts will help me stay standing. When I arrived here, I held them off for quite a while. But eventually I ran out of ammunition and without the aid of my ship's weapon systems I was doomed. Imagine how surprised I was when they took me prisoner instead of finishing me off.

'Of course I guess it makes sense if they went to such trouble to capture the ship in the first place. Thank god they didn't know it had an AI'

"Okay Luna, you'll have to cover me for now. I don't have any weapons and you have magic. They already know what's happened because they all are connected to some kind of central brain." I told her as she nodded.

"Just like a changeling hive mind..." She said aloud as I gave her a curious glance from under my helmet, which went unnoticed by her. "Okay then, follow me."

And without hesitation, I followed her into the maze that was this forsaken ship... trusting completely in her abilities to keep me safe until I find a weapon.

'Let's just hope I can fly a Verix ship...'

Chapter 42: Escape

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Chapter 42: Escape

The metal halls stretched on endlessly as Luna and I ran through the ship. It seemed like we'd never find what we were looking for.

"Luna, I'm not sure... how much longer we can... keep this up..." I expressed in-between panting breaths.

Luna didn't answer back, looking much more worn out than I as she breathed heavily and her coat was matted in sweat. I finally managed to find a weapon, a Verix plasma rifle. However it was extremely low on ammo and Luna was on her last legs with her magic. As we turned right at another corner I heard the sound of another energy discharge as a bolt of plasma soared at us.

"Get down!" I shouted to Luna as I tackled her to the ground and immediately took aim.

With a swift motion I lined up the head of another Verix soldier and let loose my own shot, this time finding its mark. The sound of twisting metal filled the corridor as it's head exploded in a mix of molten metal, crimson liquid and blue plasma.

"Jeez Luna that one almost killed you!" I stated as I quickly got to my feet and began running.

After a few moments I noticed I didn't hear any more hoof steps, and looking back I realized why. Luna lay on the ground panting hard and trying to stand up on wobbly legs. I quickly ran to her aid and helped her stand.

"Come on girl, just a bit farther. We have to be close to their hanger now. Just cool it on the magic for a bit okay? Let me handle this for a bit." I asked as she slowly nodded and walked alongside me.

As I passed the body of the Verix I just dropped, I swapped the rifle for the one it was holding to keep up on ammo. I was gonna need it.

"I'm sorry Jake..." She wheezed out. "All the spells I've cast in such a short time... I've completely emptied my reserves. I'm of no use right now. If I push myself too much harder I might..."

Shaking my head I snapped back. "Don't say that, just hold on a bit longer and we should be-"

Right as I was finishing that sentence, we turned a corner to reveal a HUGE room full of Verix fighter-class ships.

"BINGO!" I shouted as we quickened our pace with renewed hope.

Immediately we came under fire from catwalks above us, and I took a shot to my right shoulder. I seethed in pain but pushed on towards the nearest ship, shooting Verix after Verix off the catwalks as we went. Once we reached the door to one i slammed a nearby console and the ship roared to life and a door slid open. Luna and I ran in as I closed it behind me and took a deep breath.

"Luna, do you think you have enough magic to levitate this rifle?" I asked as she nodded. "Good, here i'm gonna go try and fly this damn thing." I finished as I threw the rifle to her which she caught in mid-air with her magic.

I sprinted to the control room of the ship and sat in the pilot chair, looking around quickly for any controls to get off the ground. Then I felt my heart hit the pit of my stomach.

"No... nonoNO!" I yelled as my fists came down on the sides of the chair. "GOD DAMMIT!" I quickly got up and ran back to Luna, where I could see her shooting through the now opened door as she took cover next to it where I joined her. "We have a problem!"

"What now?" Luna questioned back as she fired another round out the door.

"The fucking controls!" I yelled at her.

"What about them?" She answered back.

"THERE ARE NONE! The bastards must just plug themselves in directly!" Groaning I slam my fist into the wall behind me. "I'm officially out of ideas..."

*Zzzt*

"And I'm out of ammo..." Luna said in defeat as she threw the gun away and hid behind the door frame.

My brain went into a panic as I tried to think of a way out of this, something we haven't tried yet. But nothing came to mind.

"I... I don't know what to do. Do you have any ideas?" I asked Luna desperately.

She went to answer but suddenly stop as her eyes widened for a moment, before her ears fell. "W-well... I-"

"Come out... of the ship! You have... 10 seconds... we only wish for information." A voice screeched from outside. "If you resist you will be... destroyed."

We both looked at each other for a moment and peeked outside the ship.

'Oh my god...'

There were easily a hundred of them. Or more, all aimed and ready to fire at the ship. We quickly pulled back inside the ship desperately searching for escape.

"Five... seconds!"

Something...

"Three!"

Anything!

"One-"

"WAIT!" I shouted back as I stepped out into the door frame, hands up. "We surrender!"

Luna looked at me with surprise in her eyes, but followed my lead out the door. We slowly walked out as the Verix formed a small circle around us.

"Luna... I'm sorry I got you into this mess..." I whispered as we walked.

"Do not worry yourself... I'd never leave you alone in a hell like this." Luna whispered back.

The Verix fighters finished forming a circle around us and kept their weapons trained on us. Then, suddenly they parted ahead to allow another through. This Verix was... different. And when I say different I mean, something spawned from a nightmare. It adorned many of the features of the rest of the Verix fighting force, however with some VERY noticeable differences.

Like actual eyeballs, reptilian in nature held together by metal and red tendrils of... something living, and pulsing.

Or the exposed skull that looked like actual bone, screwed in place with metal and bolts.

Or perhaps the fact the figure was currently coughing like it's about to hack up a lung.

The metallic coughs rang through the hanger for a moment before it stopped in front of us, about 5 feet away. I noticed a slight shimmer of blue as it looked at us, like he was made of air.

'A hologram...'

"You two... are quite the *Cough* resilient duo. Aren't you?" The figure spoke out in a voice that chilled me to the very bone.

Not because of the innate nature of a Verix's voice, which sounds akin to nails on a chalk board. But how... alive it sounded, however disguised by a shroud of machinery.

"You definitely put a *Wheeze* dent into our forces on this ship... but I knew you would falter... eventually." It said as it grinned, just another thing that sent shivers down my spine. "They all do in the end..." It slowly walked forward, analyzing every feature of Luna in specific. "And aren't you quite the species... so much power tucked away in that... thing on your skull. Your horn. My how strange the English language is." It said as it slowly reached forward to her horn, causing Luna to pull back a bit and the Verix to train their guns on her. "Hmph. No matter. Your secrets will be revealed." He went into another coughing fit for a moment before finishing his little speech. "Time reveals all..."

'Who the hell is this... THING. We have no data on anything like this ever being in the Verix army. Although it was foolish to think they really fought with no purpose' I though to myself as I tried to take in as many details as I can of this figure.

If I live to see another day, what I learn now may very well tilt this war in our favor.

"Anyway..." The being proclaimed. "I'm done here."

He began walking toward the opening of soldiers he emerged from, before stopping for a moment and turning back with that sadistic smile on his face once more.

"Contain that one..." He started, pointing to Luna. "And... kill this one. It has a strong will. We will gain more from the AI tucked away in it's stomach." He finished as he dissipated in a blue haze.

I blinked for a moment before I looked around me, panic setting in as all their guns whirred up and pointed to my body. Luna took on a look of absolute horror as she attempted to muster any magic, but to no avail.

This was it.

Time slowed to a crawl.

This was the end.

And nothing happened.

I opened my eyes to a barrage of gunfire, all being soaked up by a defensive bubble shield sustained by Luna.

"Luna!" I said as I knelt down to her height and saw the expression of immense pain plastered on her face. "What are you doing! You know you can't keep this up! JUST GO!"

"I..." She began as tears flowed down her face.

"Luna this will kill you... you're straining your body too much! You need to-"

Luna quickly interrupted me, looking me in the eyes with a tear stained face. "And if I don't they will kill you!" She explained through the pain. "You will honestly, never understand how much you mean to me. You are the first, true friend I've ever had." She stated as she winced and fell to her knees.

"A good friend isn't worth killing yourself over!" I said back, getting her to wince.

"It is for me..." She whispered back as her shield faltered for a moment and a shot from the barrage got through, striking the ground next to her.

I evened her gaze with my own, and leaned in. "I probably should have done this sooner..." I whispered as I pressed my lips upon hers.

Her eyes shot open for a moment before closing and pushing back into the kiss herself. The sound of gunfire was drowned out as we both lost ourselves in the kiss. It was a slow, passionate kiss that felt like it lasted for ages, both of us battling for dominance over the other as we pushed against each other. Luna moaned into my mouth and I wrapped my arm around her neck, before we both broke apart panting for air.

"You... dummy~" She said with a huge smile on her face.

I nodded up to her horn. "Better?" I finished as we both stood up.

Letting out a small smile, she nodded forward. "Lucky that you seem to be a walking magical battery. You had a lot more of my magic in you that I... took back." She finished with a quick glance. "Do you trust me?" She asked as she closed her eyes.

"Yes." I replied.

"Hold on to me." She said as her horn grew brighter and brighter. "It's about to get very cold..."

I quickly latched onto her with both arms, and just as I did the ground around us began to freeze. I watched as her coat began to change from it's normally blue color... to a cascade of black and purple with stars flickering all over. Her mane changed from its free flowing blue ethereal color... to a black void that seemed to devour any light that touched it, and began flowing erratically. Luna's eyes flew open to reveal deep crimson light, much like how Celestia's was pure white.

"You... voyagers of the stars with no purpose but to kill... FEEL THE STARS' FURY!"

Everything went white, the sound of destruction filled the air...

Then silence.

We floated in space, the two of us alone in a magic bubble surrounded by debris in every direction. Luna maintained her form as she looked around solemnly, then down to her body and began to cry.

"Whats wrong?" I asked.

Shaking her head and sniffling a bit, she answered. "I... I promised myself I'd never use this form again... I-"

I placed my hand on her mouth, silencing her. Her red eyes receded and her teal orbs looked back at me.

"Shhh. Its in the past. And you saved my life as well as your own. Whatever you may have done to cause yourself so much grief with this power is long behind you..." I paused as I pulled her in for a hug. "This, is the real you Luna. It is and always will be. Don't ever think any different, OK?"

Luna pulled me into the hug further and nodded. "Thank you..." Pulling away she looked at me one more time before her eyes filled with crimson light once more. "What say we get back home?" She asked as I nodded eagerly.

As I held onto Luna, I could feel as her magic enveloped me, and began to pull me to a new destination. Right before it finished, I vividly remembered the giant fucking kiss I just planted on the Princess of the Moon.

'Sun-butt is gonna have my head'

Chapter 43: After the storm

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I have a small question... Was there a change at some point between now and two years ago to formatting on this website? Because I can't seem to indent my paragraphs anymore. When I do and hit save then view them they remain un-indented? Just a question I hope I can get a response to down below. Enjoy!

Chapter 43: After the storm

My head was swimming and there was a ringing in my ears that never seemed to stop. I opened my eyes as I fell to the ground, trying to keep the contents of my stomach as I looked around. Everything was a massive blur, all colors melting together as my head began to pound, and the ringing got louder, and louder. It felt like an eternity spent in this state, until the ringing noise seemed to recede...

"-the only way!" I heard from above me.

"Luna, how could you have been so foolish to fight all of this alone?! You could have come to me first!" Another voice asked as I shook my head trying to remove my dizziness.

The room seemed to stop spinning enough I felt like I could finally stand up without falling on my ass promptly afterwords. Slowly, and shakily, I stood up to greet the others in the room. I noticed Luna next to me still, who I leaned on immediately to help my balance, accompanied by Celestia not far ahead with two of her day guards.

'Note to self. No more long distance teleportation

"Jesus... Luna. Don't *urk* do that anymore..." I said holding my hand over my mouth. "I nearly emptied my stomach. Where are we anyway?" I asked as I glanced around. "Oh..."

Without the room spinning on me as it was, I could finally see where we had appeared. We were smack dab in the middle of the throne room, with only a handful of guards, Luna, Celestia and myself.

"Where you are..." Celestia began, "Is nothing compared to where you WERE. Now tell me, WHAT HAPPENED?!" She asked as she looked us up and down.

I glanced to Luna and noticed she was still in her new form.

'Ascended form I think they called it? I'm having trouble remembering it off the top of my head but I also just went through a lot. I'm sure a bit of rest would definitely help right about now.'

Right as the thought crosses my mind, Luna closes her eyes and she turns pure white, before shrinking down to her normal form. Luna began trying to explain their situation to her sister, who looked on with a questioning gaze.

"Sister," She began, "I'm... I'm sorry we- I left without you. When I heard Jake had been missing for so many days that not even his people could find him I had to know." She continued. "I used every scrying spell I could think of, and when I found him I... I had no time left. I had to act or he'd be dead."

Celestia looked on for a moment, processing this information before closing her eyes and letting out a drawn out breath.

"*Sigh* Alright... I understand. But please don't scare me like that anymore, okay? You're still my sister." She pleaded.

Celestia walked forward and gave a small nuzzle to Luna before stepping back and looking me over.

"So what exactly happened to you?" She asked me sternly.

I looked around a bit before motioning to my figure. "I'd gladly explain but... Could I sit down for a few minutes first please?" I asked eliciting a small nod from her as she gestured towards the throne.

I walked over to the throne with the help of Luna, and stripped off my armor as I went. As I shed off the torso piece I seethed in pain as it brushed against my right shoulder. I carefully maneuvered the piece off without agitating the wound further and looked it over.

'Well... Nothing too deep. Should heal right up. Will leave a plasma scar though...' I thought as I shed the rest of the armor off.

Placing all the armor next to the throne, I sat down and let out a sigh of relief before looking up to Celestia.

"Well... It started when I was in deep space flight, returning from my trip to earth." I began, as Celestia sat and listened. "I was about half way back, when my ship was blasted by some kind of EMP. Electromagnetic pulse, it disrupts any electronics it hits so my ship shut down instantly. It was the Verix, they had captured my ship and pulled me out." I paused for a moment taking in a breath. "They... Tortured me for two days straight, they kept asking about ponies magic, Celestia in particular." I finished as I looked up to see the looks of horror on their faces.

"They... They tortured you?" Celestia asked quietly while Luna looked on with watering eyes.

"Yeah... They were persistent. Seems your display really put them on edge." I said with a small chuckle as I began to take off my shirt. "See?"

As I slowly took off my torn up and bloodied shirt, my battered body showed underneath. The princesses recoiled as they saw my broken body. All over my exposed torso lay bruises, cuts, burns, broken ribs and all sorts of other painful wounds.

"You don't suppose I could rest for a bit before continuing this conversation?" I asked getting a quick nod from Celestia.

Celestia looked me up and down, before giving a sigh. "I would try healing you, but I do not yet know enough about human anatomy to do it safely. Luna, I trust you can contact the Night's Vigil and let them know Jake has returned?" Celestia finished getting a quick nod from Luna. "Jake, you are welcomed to stay in the castle for some rest... However we don't have any open suites for you. Only a few guest rooms and I don't think they're quite-"

Luna cut her off, piping up. "W-well... I suppose he could stay in my quarters for a bit? Just until a room opens up. After all, with what he's been through he deserves a great rest." Luna finished with a small tinge of red.

"Oh, is that so?" Celestia said with a small smile. "And that's the only reason?"

Luna gave a quick nod, getting her sister to give a chuckle. "Well I suppose that wouldn't hurt. Just don't do anything ♪ I wouldn't do... ♪" She finished as Luna gulped.

"Sister!" Luna cried back annoyed before shaking her head and turning to me. "Come, I'll telepo-"

I quickly stopped her. "I'd rather not. I've had enough teleportation for one day. I'm sure I can walk for a few more minutes."

Nodding back, Luna helped me stand while picking up my things and walking with me to her room.

Perspective: Celestia

As Luna passed me by, my nose perked up at a particular smell.

'Blueberries...? But where...' I looked on at the two as they walked. 'OH! Oh dear...' I thought as I looked at my sister who seemed to be eyeing Jake a bit too closely.

*Shrug*

'Oh well. He'll figure it out'

Chapter 44: Just Spending the Night

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Chapter 44: Just Spending the Night

I flopped down onto the bed in Luna's quarters and immediately felt most of the tension in my body leave me. I took in a deep breath and let it out, letting myself succumb to the comfy blankets, already slowly drifting off to sleep...

"What do you think you're doing?" Luna chimed in as my eyes flicked open and she quickly levitated me up.

"Wha- huh?" I asked looking around as I floated in the air.

Luna set me down on my feet next to the bed before standing up straight. "You may not sleep in my bed until you've cleaned yourself up." She said with authority as she opened a door to her right with her magic.

I gave a small huff and went through the door as I closed it behind me.

'Pfft whatever it's not like...' I began to think to myself as I lifted my arm and gave a sniff. 'WOW okay yeah maybe I do need a bath' I thought as I blushed a little.

I took a look around the room and immediately opened my jaw in amazement. This was no mere bathroom, but was more like an indoor swimming pool. The whole room was easily 30 feet in every direction and covered in water that got deeper as you went in. Everything steamed with heat as bottles of various shampoos lined the outside.

'Alright... now this is fancy'

I quickly began to strip down my clothes and throwing them aside. As quickly as I could I moved for the inviting waters. The moment my feet made contact with the water I could see some pink liquid come out of the ceiling in the center. I watched with curiosity as it went into the water, and it all started to bubble up instantly.

"When was the last time I had a fuckin' bubble bath...?" I thought to myself as I tried to recall.

I shook my head and walked forward, submerging myself completely in the water letting it go up to my chest. Feeling around the edges I noticed a little spot that stuck out, so I sat down allowing the water to go to the base of my neck. The bubbles didn't really go up very high, more like just stretched across the surface of the water. As I sat and relaxed some small water falls began on the left and right side of the pool.

'Man I need one of these things...'

****************************************

Perspective: Luna

I lay on my bed, pillow over my head panting as I kept my legs crossed. A fire burning between them.

"Ohhhhh why now..." I said to myself as I squirmed. "Its even more intense then before..."

I lifted my head and pulled back the pillow, looking at the door to my bathroom as I could hear the sound of the waterfalls pouring.

'He's probably under one right now... washing himself down-' I face planted my face into the bed again, squirming more than before. 'STOP IT BRAIN YOU ARE MINE TO COMMAND. YOU DO NOT OWN ME'

Letting out a growl, I turned my head to the left towards my closet, which was currently ajar. Sticking out was one dress in particular which I had only recently acquired. Picking it up in my magic I floated it towards me and looked it over.

"Shame... I wish I could have seen his reaction to me wearing it." I said aloud.

'And his reaction to taking it off me' I thought as my face flushed red.

"Ugh! how do mares deal with this every year!" I whined. "Maybe I should go get Lucy to make some more of that stuff..."

My backside twitched causing me to let out a neigh of displeasure.

'How DO mares deal with this?' I thought as my mind answered it's own question. 'Oh... right...' I thought as I looked over the dress.

'....'

****20 minutes later****

Perspective: Jake

"Hey Luna, that bathtub is amazing. Think i could-" I started as I left the bathroom, to see nopony in sight. "Oh..."

I shrugged, and walked over to the bed, towel wrapped around my waist still. Sitting atop the bed, was a fresh set of clothes with a note on top.

I flipped the note over and read the perfect cursive.

Jake,

I went and got you a new set of clothes from the Night's Vigil as well as alert them to your presence. They were very relieved you were okay, but insisted someone come and take a look at you. I reassured them you are safe in our care, however a human nurse will be around sometime in the early morning.

Sleep well. ~Luna

I gave a small smile at the small heart drawn next to her name, before folding up the note and setting it aside. Pulling on some undergarments, I slowly got into bed. Taking great care not to put any pressure on the couple ribs that haven't healed yet, I got comfortable and let out a sigh of relief as darkness took me.

****A few hours later****

Perspective: Celestia

I lay sprawled out upon my sun shaped bed, with candlelight flickering next to me as I read my latest report from my favorite pupil. Slowly I nodded to myself with a small smirk.

'All is as it should be...' I thought. 'Jake is safe and sound, my day shift is over, and Luna is... presumably...' I chuckled a bit in between thoughts. 'Busy"

BANG

I looked over in surprise as my bedroom door swung open to reveal non other than my loving sister.

'Or not'

"Ah... had a bit of a panic attack did you?" I said with a bit of mirth.

"Wha... what?" She answered back. "N-no I need help with-"

I quickly brought my hooves. "Whoa whoa whoa. I don't think I'll be joining you there."

Tilting her head, she looked at me strangely. "What are you on about sister? I'm saying I need help controlling this... feeling." She whimpered making her face red.

I looked back, surprised. "Oh... OH you mean you didn't already.... you know?" I asked clinking my hooves together.

"OF COURSE NOT!" She shouted back closing the door behind her. "ARE YOU CRAZY!"

"But didn't you hear what I told you?" I asked, snickering.

She nodded, speaking back my words I said earlier. "I know I know... don't do anything you wouldn't do. Which is why I can't..."

"Can't what?" I asked getting closer, and dropping my eyelids. "Rut him like mad?"

'Well that did it. Whoever said Luna was blue anyway? She looks quite rosy from here.'

"SISTER!"

"Like I said," I began, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do. And If I was you in your position I would have bucked him sideways by now." I said in between chuckles at my sisters expense.

Her eye twitched for a moment, before letting out an angered snort and running out the door, towards her own room.

Sighing, I magically closed the door and went back to reading.

'There we go, just needed a small nudge is all.'

**************************

Perspective: Luna

'Oh buck oh buck oh buck' I Thought as I pranced in place, just outside my room. 'It's okay, relax. Everypony does it at some point. But usually its a pony, not a human, and usually not a princess, and... I shook my head, and looked at the door. 'No you go in there right now! You go in there and... and...'

*Gulp*

With a flash of magic, causing a bit of dizziness, I adorn the dress that was meant to be used on our date and slowly push open the door.

"J-Jake... I j-just wanted to-" Before I could finish, I notice just how empty the room was of anypony. "Jake?" I asked aloud as I walked in, looking around.

I scanned the room, and noticed the bed was recently slept in, but held no current residence, and the bathroom door was ajar which held nopony as well. I noticed the doors to the balcony wide open, as the drapes blew in a small breeze and moonlight flooded in. I ran to the edge in hopes of seeing him, to no avail. I reached the bar and looked over it.

I attempted to cast a scrying spell just like before, but it didn't work.

'It seems I've overworked my magic today...' I thought as I looked down towards the Royal garden. 'Hmmm...'

****Minutes Earlier****

Perspective: Jake

I awoke quickly and in a cold sweat, panting as I looked down at my sore hands. I felt the familiar ache creep back into my head. I smack myself with the palm of my hand for forgetting something so important.

"Of course... so much magic has been used around me lately. Especially that huge teleportation. I should probably go and expel some magic before it gets too severe like last time." I said aloud as I pulled on the clothes left for me.

They were simple attire worn by the unit working the Night's Vigil. Of course it had my patches and badges and all on the chest but none of that really mattered to me at the moment. I left the hat there. I still hate wearing them.

I made my way to the nearby balcony doors, and click the latch before pulling them open. Moonlight filled the room as I took in a deep breath, noting my chest had stopped hurting. The ribs must have healed up while I slept.

I brushed my hand over my chest as I pondered the speed of my healing. "Still amazes me..."

Looking up, I was greeted by a beautiful sight. The balcony itself looked over all of Canterlot from nearly the highest point, and ahead the rolling green fields of Equestria stretched on, with the Everfree forest matching its size off to the left. The moon soaked the whole world in a gentle blue hue, as I walked forward and leaned on the railing. I could see everything. Not sure if it had something to do with the moon's light, or my low level vision, but everything looked crisp and perfect. Below me, the sound of rustling leaves reached my ears as I looked down.

The sight of a beautiful garden connected to the castle was below me, not too far down but far enough to risk injury if I jumped. My original plan was to come out here and burst some magic into a cloud as before, however looking around at the clear sky I noticed that would prove much harder than I thought. Then, an Idea sprung to mind.

I backed up to the center of the balcony and closed my eyes. I pictured the memory anchored to my magic causing my right hand to envelop in a warm veil. Without opening my eyes, I pictured a specific rune vividly in my mind.

'Gravity...'

And almost immediately, I felt a weaved spell sit heavily in my hand.

'It worked! So I can form spells to act as solid objects. That will be useful if I start weaving more powerful, damaging spells. I thought as I looked the orb over.

The orb was light blue, and seemed to have some sparkles inside, falling down from the top as if it was falling incredibly slowly. I closed my hand around it, and crushed the orb, before I felt myself become almost weightless.

"Feather-fall." I whispered as I jumped in the air, slowly drifting back down. "Perfectly executed." I said causing my ego to inflate.

I walked back over to the railing, which apparently proved extremely difficult when you feel like you just shed over 90% of your body weight. Every step felt like I was gonna launch myself into the air. Once I was close enough, I latched onto the railing, and pulled myself over it, sitting on top.

I let out a breath. "Alright... here we go!" I said aloud as I pushed myself off the railing and slowly began to fall to the ground.

My anxiety left almost immediately as I watched the garden come closer and closer. It was actually a quite pleasant experience. I extended my feet out as the ground neared, and planted them on the ground as I made contact.

Closing my eyes once again, I felt for the spell affecting me. It's hard to explain... but try to imagine a bubble which contained a certain spell which was tethered to me by a string. I imagined the string being cut and almost immediately the spell ended. The sudden re-introduction of weight caught me off guard and I almost fell straight on my ass, but I managed to steady myself.

Back on the ground safe and sound, I decided to have a little stroll, and use my magic as I go.

'I could use a bit of time to think anyway'

As I walked down the path, I weaved small spells as I went. With every spell I could feel the small amount of nausea caused by magic poisoning start to dissipate. A little wind spell to ruffle leaves here, a bit of water to sprinkle on flowers there. It was very calming as I dropped into a rhythm, but as I continued my little magic spree I heard a sound up ahead.

I crouched a bit, and slowly crawled forward. 'Who else could be out at this time?' I thought as I neared the sound.

As I got closer, I began to hear the sound of tiny hoof-steps, like somepony was trying to sneak but failing horribly, or a very young pony was out way too late. I followed the path I was on, careful not to trip over any random sticks or rocks, which really helps when you can see in the dark, and reached a corner where I peered around the hedge I was walking beside. As I peered by, I saw a familiar looking blue Pegasus colt, with black hair and teal eyes.

Chapter 45: Memories of the Past

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Chapter 45: Memories of the Past

I continued to watch from behind the colt, as he sat on a bench near a pond, throwing small stones into the water and watching them sink to the bottom.

'Isn't... that the kid from Fillyfjell?' I thought to myself as I stood up from my crouching position and crossed my arms.

"A little late to be this far from home don't you think?" I asked aloud, getting him to jump in shock and almost land in the water, just catching himself with his wings.

He panted a bit before turning around and looking right at me, a smile spreading across his face. "It's you! Oh man I knew I could find you again!" He yelled excitedly as he started to fly towards me.

He came to a stop and landed on the ground in-front of me, looking giddy as he looked me up and down. "Where's your cool armor?! And that awesome weapon of yours!" He asked running around me and inspecting me.

I shook my head and let out a sigh as my arms dropped. "Kid... why are you out here so late, isn't it like midnight?" I asked getting him to skid to a stop.

He looked down at his hooves and kicked at the ground a bit. "Well... no its like... six o'clock.... but I had to find you! I heard you were living here and I had to see you again!"

'Six o'clock...' I thought as I looked up at the darkened sky. 'Must be nearing the winter season, sun starts going down early' I thought as I felt the slight chill in the air. 'Wait... this kid lived all the way in the mountains!'

I looked at him bewildered. "Did you fly all the way here from Fillyfjell? Jesus kid!" I said as I reached down to pick him up.

"My name is Silver!" He said as I picked him up and immediately turned to walk out of the garden. "And no we're visiting my aunt here and I wanted to look around for you! You know cause you and Luna are together now." He said as I gawked at him.

"W-what!" I said as I put him down. "Where the hell did you hear that?" I asked as he shrugged.

"Well my mum and dad talked about how they read about you guys in the paper, and said you're basically king by now." He said smiling as my face glowed red.

"N-No... no me and Luna are not... together. And NO I'm not gonna be king... I have too much to worry about already." I said as I pointed at him. "And don't change the subject! You still shouldn't be out all by yourself in a city like this." I said as his ears drooped.

I let out a small sigh as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Alright... let's go I'll walk you home." I said as I motioned forward. "Lead the way."

The colt nodded, ears still down, and started to walk ahead of me. We walked out of the garden and into the streets of Canterlot, as I looked around and noticed the few ponies still out this late looking at me. I've pretty much gotten used to it by now and learned to ignore it. As we walked I noticed silver has been really quiet the whole way, and still had his ears folded down.

'Maybe I was too hard on him. His parents will probably tear him a new one anyway' I thought as I sighed quietly.

"So... you said you're here visiting family?" I asked getting him to perk up a bit.

He nodded, looking back to me. "Yeah... my mom is visiting her sister. She's a unicorn who lives here. Said she'd give us a place to stay for now." He said as I raised an eyebrow.

"A place to stay? Why?" I asked.

"Well, we're moving to Ponyville. Dad says we should get a fresh start, and Ponyville is a small town like we're used to. So while our house gets built there we're living here for now." He said with a smile.

"Do you agree with him?" I asked noticing the lack of enthusiasm in his voice.

Silver sighed, and nodded his head. "Yeah I guess so. I mean, I'll miss the place and my friends there. But what happened there... leaves some bad memories."

'I know how he feels...' I thought as my mind drifted to my old home-world, eliciting a small shiver as I pushed the memory away. 'No... it's too soon to be thinking about them'

"What about you?" Silver asked, getting me to look at him with a questioning gaze. "Where's your family?" He asked as my breath hitched.

"....back home." I said after a pause. "They're... not here. Not on this planet I mean." I said as he nodded.

"Oh yeaaaaah! I remember that floating thingy with you on it. You're from another world! What's it like!?" He asked excitedly as memories from my home world flooded back, as much as I tried to push it back...

"It was... beautiful. Unlike a lot of the worlds we lived on, this one still kept it's lush look." I began with a small smile on my face. "I remember going and sneaking out every night." I said as I remembered returning home late and getting caught by my father, leading to some harsh punishment. "Man I got into a lot of trouble as a kid." I said as I chuckled. "The sky was so beautiful there. Looking out at it, it reminded you how small you are, with all the other worlds out there I mean." I said zoning out, forgetting where I was. "But... something about knowing that didn't bother me. It kind of... made me feel safe. Like nothing would ever come for a place that barely mattered..." I said as my smile started to fade.

"That's not true!" Silver said out snapping me from my trance.

"Huh?" I asked as he looked back with furrowed eyebrows.

"No matter how small you are, you always play an important role!" He said as he turned to look in front of him. "Like where I lived! You wouldn't think a small town in the middle of the mountains would be useful at all! But even though we were such a small town, and looked like we didn't do anything important... we actually contributed so much!" He said, looking back again with a smile. "We gathered a special root that only grew in the mountains. And being a population of Pegasi, it was really easy because of our immunity to the cold! That root is used in many medicines to cure things like the common cold and feather flu!" He said excitedly as I thought back to my old home.

"Yeah... you know what you're right." I said with a small smile as I reached down and ruffled his black mane. "You're a pretty smart kid, you know that?" I said as he giggled a little bit.

As we walked a bit further, I looked at his flank and noticed he didn't have a cutie mark yet.

I wonder how old he is?

"We're here!" He said as we stopped in-front of a nice medium sized house.

I walked forward and knocked on the door, and immediately I heard hoof steps clicking on wood. The door swung inwards, and a voice spoke up.

"Hello, how can I-" The female voice began before stopping once they saw me. "O-oh! Oh my goodness!" She said as she ran back inside.

I stood there for a second, before I heard two sets of hooves running back to the door. Two ponies emerged, and I immediately recognized them from Fillyfjell as Silver's Mother and Father. I didn't really have enough time to see the details then, but I soaked them in now as they smiled at me.

"See I told you it's him!" The female pony said as the other pony looked me up and down, smiling.

The female pony looked to have a blue body, and teal colored mane, and from what I could see of her cutie mark, it looked like red Icing being spread on a cake. Her eyes shone a light pink color as they looked to her spouse. The other pony had a grey body, black eyes and a white mane, his cutie mark depicting swirling winds and snow.

"Well look at that..." the male pony said aloud. "Never thought we'd get to see you again and properly thank you for all you've done." He exclaimed as he reached a hoof forward. "The name's Storm. Storm Snow." He spoke proudly as I shook his hoof. "And this here's my wife, Velvet Snow." He finished as I gave a small bow towards Velvet. "We're honored for the visit."

Nodding, I finished shaking his hoof and put my hand down."My name is Jake Carson, General of the Night's Vigil." I said getting Storm to bow his head a bit in respect as I looked behind me towards Silver. "I'm actually here to deliver something of yours." I said as I stepped out of the way, revealing silver who was attempting to hide behind me. "Found him in the royal garden."

Storm looked down at him, and anger crossed his features. "Boy! Did I not tell you going out by yourself is dangerous! What if somepony else had found you, and not this kind gentle colt here? Anything could have happened!" He scolded as Silver looked at the ground. "You know your mother was worried sick!"

Silver nodded a little bit as I crossed my arms.

"Come on, get in here and don't think you're off the hook for this!" Velvet said as Silver hurriedly ran inside.

"Well it was nice to meet you guys, I hope you have a good evening." I said as I nodded and started to turn around.

"Wait!" Velvet said, causing me to stop and look back. "Why not stay for dinner? At least let us show some appreciation for what you did." She asked as I shook my head.

"No really, it's alright. I was just doing my job." I replied as Storm stepped forward.

"Nonsense! Come on, dinner is almost ready!" He said ushering me inside.

"Please?" Velvet added in as I looked between them.

I let out a small sigh, and smiled back at them. "Alright."

They both adorned a huge smile, and turned to go back into the house. I followed them in and shut the door behind me as I took off my shoes and looked around the interior.

Directly ahead of me to the right, there was a staircase leading to the second floor of the house. To the left there was a small archway that led to what looked like a living room. I walked into that and noticed that on the right there was another archway leading to a dining room, where a heavenly smell was coming from. Before going further, I looked around the living room some more, it seemed very cozy, and smaller than I thought it would be.

For some reason, I kind of expected everyone who lived in Canterlot to have these HUGE houses, now that I look back at it I'm not sure why I thought that. The living room adorned a couch against the wall across from where I came in. To my left I noticed some bay windows with comfy looking chairs sitting in front of them. After looking around the room, I moved through the archway to my right and into the dining room, which looked like what you'd expect. There was a pretty old, golden colored chandelier hanging from the ceiling, which had candles lit atop it. The room was big enough to house the table, which looked like a semi large oval table surrounded by 6 chairs, the ones on the end having armrests. All in all, not too much different than a human's dining room... other than the slightly lower ceiling, which was no problem apart from the fact that the chandelier hung low enough that I could walk into it.

Across from the table was what I presumed was the kitchen, as I could tell the wonderful smell was coming from there.

"We have a guest?" I heard from a voice inside the kitchen.

A few moments later a Unicorn came out and stopped when she saw me, before quickly turning around and fixing up her mane, shaking her head a bit, then turning back to face me with a smile.

"Hello there... my name is Crystal Melody." She said in a proud tone as she walked over to me and gave a small bow. "It's so nice to meet you Jake."

I looked at her bewildered for a moment. "You... know me?" I asked.

She looked back up and smiled. "But of course! How could I forget a face as handsome as yours? Especially from the way you presented yourself in the sky alongside princess Luna!" She finished as she giggled a bit. "I must say I'm a bit surprised. I didn't expect to see a General at dinner today." She said as she raised her hoof a bit.

'Of course! Pretty much every pony must know me by now after that speech I gave' I thought as I mentally slapped myself for being so stupid.

I looked at her for a moment to quickly take in her features, she was a white unicorn with a red mane and rosy eyes. Her cutie mark depicted a music note with music sheets swirling around it.

I knelt down and got to eye level, taking her lifted hoof and giving it a small kiss. "Well I'm happy to make your acquaintance Miss Melody." I said getting her to blush.

"My my! If all humans are as chivalrous as you are I can't wait to meet more of them." She said as she put her hoof down. "And just Crystal is fine dear, go ahead and find yourself a seat dinner will be ready soon."

I nodded and stood back up, looking at the seats, I decided to take the seat on the far left end of the oval table. Who could turn down the chair with the armrests?

As I sat down at the table, I looked around the dining room's walls at all the pictures hung up. There was a couple with Velvet and Crystal in them from when they were younger, playing in a sandbox. Another one that looked like Velvet wearing some kind of uniform and holding school books.

As I looked at the pictures I noticed one with two ponies who looked an awful lot like Velvet and Crystal, but the picture looked real old. Black and white, a bit crumpled up around the edges and faded.

'Must be their parents' I thought as I looked at it sadly.

Before I could dwell on it any longer, the door to the kitchen flung open, and out came Silver. He ran around the table, and hopped up onto the chair to the right of mine.

"Mine!" He said aloud as he planted himself in place.

I gave a small chuckle as Storm and Velvet came out of the kitchen as well, taking their own seats on the other end a bit to the left. Leaving the arm chair directly across from me open.

"I was just admiring all your photos." I said gesturing to the walls. "Who are those ponies there?" I asked pointing to the picture which I suspected was their parents.

Velvet followed my finger and looked at the photo in question. "Oh, those are my parents, Lotus and Night Melody."

I nodded at the answer and decided not to push anymore, I didn't have to know every detail.

A few minutes of idle chatter went by before Crystal peeked out of the kitchen.

"Oh my, I completely forgot to ask you what Humans eat." She exclaimed in a worried tone.

I waved my hand dismissively. "Don't worry about it. We're omnivores, We can eat anything except things like flowers and stuff. We eat meat, veggies, fruit, all that stuff." I said with a smile.

"Whew!" She said aloud. "We have daffodils included but they're on the side." She said as she went back into the kitchen.

A few seconds later she came walking out of the kitchen with plates of food in tow in her magic. She set the food down across the table as she pulled the chair across from me and took her seat.

Things went on pretty smoothly after that. We all passed around food, taking portions onto our plate and making small talk, telling jokes, and having a good time. I looked around, with a smile on my face as they laughed with each others jokes. I should feel happy, this is something I haven't experience in... a long time. A family getting together and enjoying themselves...

...

Then why do I still feel empty?

Chapter 46: Snow Of Red And White

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Chapter 46: Snow Of Red And White

My vision swirled as I put down my empty glass and stared into it, the scent of alcohol wafting up into my nose and stinging my eyes a bit. I let out a huff as I slowly pushed the glass forward towards the barkeep, getting him to fill the glass again. The brownish liquid filled up the cup as my thoughts drifted back to earlier.

The capture, the escape, and the more recent dinner with a loving family. These thoughts disappeared as quickly as they came. I lifted the glass up and took a long swig, quickly emptying half of the glass, much to the dismay of my burning throat. I let out a drawn out sigh as I used my other hand to rub my eyes, my movements lazy and uncoordinated.

’I should probably call it quits before it gets out of hand...’ I thought to myself as I lifted the glass and quickly finished the rest.

“I’m done here.” I said as I pushed the glass forward again.

“Yeah I was startin’ to get worried I was gonna have to stop ya.” The scruffy looking pony said on the other side of the counter as he took the glass and placed it somewhere behind him. “How are ya gonna pay?” He asked me as I stretched a bit and cracked my back.

“USC. Print, not cash.” I said as he lifted up a flat glass rectangle and slowly tapped on it a few times before pushing it to me.

I picked it up in one hand and opened my eyes wide as I stared into it. A few seconds later after scanning my iris it flashed and a circle popped up in the center, where I pushed my thumb onto it and it turned green, made a chiming noise then shut off.

The pony took the piece of glass and looked it over for a second before shaking his head and putting it away.

’He probably still doesn't understand how it works. Going from their technology state to this one surely must have been a shock’ I thought as I slowly stood up and wobbled a little bit before getting my bearings.

I walked over to the exit door and pushed it open as I supported myself on the wall. A sudden gust of cold air blew onto my face, shocking me for a moment. I peeked outside to get another surprise, the ground was covered in a thick layer of snow with more still falling gently from the dark sky.

“Jesus... I didn’t know it was so close to winter on this planet.” I said aloud as I watched the gently falling snow onto the perfectly smooth white blanket.

I let out a shiver as I begin walking through the pristine snow and close the door behind me. I trudged through the snow, ruining it's perfectly smooth look as I held my arms together to try and keep warm. The last drink I had seemed to start more of an effect on me as I swayed a little bit now and again.

*Crunch*

I stopped in place, for a moment I could have sworn I heard another footstep in the snow. I listened and looked around, scanning my surroundings. Even with my low-light vision I couldn’t make out any others, and continued my journey ahead.

The silence didn’t last forever however, before I heard a voice directly to my right.

“Interesting.” The gravelly voice said as I spun to meet it and seeing no-one.

“Who’s there?” I said as I looked around me, still seeing no-one.

“You have a special energy surrounding you. And so many emotions swirling in that small head of yours, delightfully chaotic.” The voice said again, directly above me. “Bundle up, it’s quite cold out.” The voice said as a flash of light appeared in front of me.

I covered my eyes for a moment, before the light faded as quickly as it came. I opened my eyes, and saw a warm looking coat on the ground. The whole thing was brown and black, with a very strange looking creature on the right side of the chest looking to be in mid cheer. The creature looked brown and made up of many different species.

In a hurry I put the coat on, pulled up the hood and zipper then continued through the snow, looking around every few moments for the owner of that voice.

’I’m not sure I’ll ever fully understand this place...’ I thought to myself as I shook my head.

Time passed by as I walked through the empty streets of Canterlot. The only sounds that came to my ears was the occasional howling wind, and my own footsteps crunching into the fresh snow below. I looked up, and saw the castle approaching quickly in the distance.

Suddenly a loud piercing noise filled the quiet night, followed by the sound of a weapon firing. I immediately broke into a sprint towards the castle. That sound... I know it all too well.

’Oh nonono... oh god no please let it be something else’ I begged as I closed in on the castle.

As I approached the front gates of Canterlot, I noticed a small group of ponies clad in blue armor standing in a circle looking at something in the center. As I reached the group a couple turned to look at me. They must have recognized me because they immediately split and let me through.

What I saw made my blood run cold.

In the snow, lay the body of a Verix scout. The thing looked like it took a pretty bad hit to the chest as it was smoldering.

“What happened.” I said as I circled around the Verix, studying it.

“W-Well this thing just came out of nowhere and attacked a guard. He’s currently in the medbay. The thing looked invisible... we could barely-“ I raised my hand, getting the guard to fall silent.

I lifted my finger slowly to my mouth, and told him to be quiet.

The Verix looked absolutely dead as it lay there completely motionless. Of course to anyone who doesn’t know better. If there is one thing a machine can do, it’s play dead.

I slowly reached to my right, and motioned to the spear one of the guards had under his wing, he looked at me questioningly before relinquishing it. I took it and slowly moved forward, trying my best to keep my footfalls silent.

My memory flashed back to my training academy, and one of the most important lessons you will ever learn as I looked at this monstrosities glowing spine. It pulsed with red so gently it was barely noticeable.

I slowly raised the spear, and took aim, before plunging it down and severing it’s head from it’s shoulders. For a moment it let out a screech as it reached up, before quickly going limp as it’s blue blood drained from its body causing the snow around it to melt.

All of the ponies watched with curiosity and fear as I turned to them.

“They are NOT alive. They are machines, and machines are amazing at playing dead.” I said as I pointed towards it’s spine with the spear, which was now a very dark red. “If it’s spine is still bright red, it’s still alive.” I said as I threw the spear into the snow which now had a melted tip. “Don’t touch the blood or the body, use magic and get it in the castle before anyone sees.” I said with authority as ponies quickly scrambled into action.

As the body was lifted into the air and carried off I took at look at the area. Blue and red blood was sprayed everywhere, marking a grim looking scene. I looked around a bit before shuffling the snow around and covering up all the blood, then quickly followed them inside.

’Things just got a lot more complicated...’

Chapter 47: A Very Special Hearths Warming Day (Christmas special)

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IMPORTANT
This chapter takes place an untold amount of time in the future on Hearth's warming day...

Chapter 47: A Very Special Hearth's warming Day (CHRISTMAS SPECIAL)

I looked out the colorful window of the castle as I watched the snow lightly falling, unimpeded by anything... even wind. My eyes drifted across the horizon as I slowly walked down the hall, passing by many windows each showing the same thing outside. I paused at the last window, and looked back at where I started from, towards the thrones sitting at the end of the room and the telltale sign of recent construction nearby them.

I let out a small sigh and smiled as I looked back out the window, pulling my robe around me a bit more out of instinct, almost as if the chill outside had reached me. In the distance, I saw a chariot flying towards the castle as a larger smile graced my face as it went out of view.

’They’re here...’ I thought to myself as I took off out of the throne room.

After a few minutes of running through the castle and almost tripping a few times on my robe, I made it to my destination. I pulled open the double doors as a cold air hit me immediately, causing me to shiver. However I was un-bothered by it as I ran through the snow towards the recently landed chariot. The doors on the vehicle opened as I reached it and before I could get a good look at who was there, I was tackled to the ground.

“Jake!” A familiar voice yelled out.

“Twilight! Man it’s been too long!” I yelled back as I wrapped my arms around her and stood up, picking her up off the ground eliciting a small squeak from her.

After a few moments of hugging, I let go of her and she fell gracefully to the ground and more ponies poured out of the chariot. The ponies in question were none other than Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow-Dash, Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

“Come on...” I said as I beckoned them to follow me. “It’s freezing out here.”

They all followed me eagerly, chit chatting as we reached the doors. As we all got inside, I swiftly shut them and turned back to the ponies .

“Follow me.” I said as they smiled and started to do so. “So what have you been up to lately?” I asked Twilight as they all walked with me.

”Well...” She began, “I’ve been studying more into the human biology and how it reacts with magic. It’s very interesting how humans are able to adapt to such a thing they’ve never been in contact with.” She replied as I nodded.

“Ah yes... studying as always.” I said getting her to roll her eyes.

She perked back up, and looked down to my hands. “So how have you been fairing with your magic since our lessons? Have you progressed?” She asked as I nodded and lifted my hand.

I began lifting multiple objects at a time as we passed, either potted plants, or even the occasional guard much to their displeasure, in an attempt to show off my newfound dexterity with magic.

She looked on with a smile. “Excellent! So I guess you have that assignment I gave you done already?” She said as I looked away a bit and chuckled.

“W-Well.. uh, not exactly.” I stammered as she let out an annoyed grunt.

“Hm... you’re late.” She said as she squinted her eyes at me.

“I’ll have it done by tomorrow I promise, besides I’ve been really busy around here with Celestia over in Saddle Arabia the past couple months and Luna dealing with the strikes in Manehattan. It’s been a busy couple weeks!” I exclaimed getting her to huff and look forward again.

“...Fine. Because it’s hearth’s warming day I’ll give you a one week extension.” She finally said as I breathed a sigh of relief. “ONE. WEEK.” She said, punctuating each word with a pause.

We continued to walk as I talked with the other ponies along the way. I asked them about how things have been, and apparently they haven't been up to much as they have mostly all been on break. Fluttershy doesn’t work much as most of the animals are in hibernation. Applejack has no trees to buck for apples. Rarity doesn’t get much traffic through her shop as most ponies would rather bundle up warm then wear dresses. Pinkie Pie is busy as always, as what's better then coming in from the snow to a warm cinnamon bun and hot Cocoa? Oh and Rainbow Dash? Well she’s just lazy.

And then of course there is Twilight. Busy as ever of her own accord, and also being my magic teacher. I figured if I’m gonna learn to refine this magic more I better learn from the element of magic herself.

As we finished up chatting, we neared a single wooden door that I slowly pushed open. The inside revealed a comfortable looking area with a couple bookshelves, a large area rug in the center and a large roaring fireplace nearby with some chairs and a couch. It just screamed cosy.

This was actually Celestia’s personal study, but we decided to use it as today's get together area of choice. I took off my robe and hung it on the nearby coat rack. As I did Rarity gasped.

“My goodness Jake! Where’s your-“ She began as she pointed to my head.

I quickly interrupted her with a wave of my hand. “I told you guys, I hate wearing it.” I said as they all sighed.

“Where are Celestia and Luna? I thought they were coming?” Asked Twilight as I shrugged.

“As far as I know, yes they’re coming. Might just be running late.” I answered as I heard the door creak open behind me.

As if on queue, the door opened to reveal Luna and Celestia, looking exhausted from a long trip and both didn’t have their usual regalia on. Luna looked unfazed, but Celestia however was shivering as she quickly pulled out the pin holding her pink hair up, allowing it to fall freely.

“Quite the trip?” I asked as Celestia sighed and shook her head as a small smile creeped on her face.

“Very much so, cold too... but I promised I’d be here.” She replied as she walked by me and lay down by the fireplace, nodding to the ponies as she passed their bows. “Relax my little ponies, today we treat each-other as equals.” She finished as the group reluctantly agreed and lifted their heads.

As I turned to welcome the other new addition to the room, I was immediately pulled into a hug as I felt a nuzzle against my neck.

I let out a warm smile and ran my hand down her neck as I hugged her back. “Heh, miss me?” I asked getting her to give a small laugh in return.

Things continued on for a little bit, as we all sat around the fire, most of the ponies and Celestia on the soft rug by the fire, with me and Luna sitting next to each-other on the couch. I looked over the room at the collection of ponies. It still felt odd seeing Celestia in her small form. The lack of flowing hair is probably the biggest difference if I had to choose.

As it was hearth's warming for the ponies, I had told them about my own human holiday named Christmas and how similar it was. However I mentioned that it was a little while away still and I wasn’t going to be going to any family get together to celebrate it on any human colonies. So they happily said that instead, today they will celebrate Christmas with me instead of hearth's warming. So here we were.

As we talked and laughed around the fire, telling stories that we’ve experienced from days past, Luna quickly got up and walked off, saying excuse me as she went. She went out the door and right before I lost sight of her I noticed the nauseous look on her face.

The rest of the ponies went about talking again, but I kept glancing back to the door, a bit worried. She had been like this for a couple weeks now.

Eventually she re-emerged from the door, looking refreshed and sat down next to me, unnoticed by the rest of the ponies present.

I leaned over, and whispered to her. “Still feeling sick?” I asked as she nodded. “Have you been to the doctor yet?” I prodded as she shook her head.

“No... I’ve been far too busy.” She said as she lay her head on my shoulder. “It comes and goes anyway, it can’t be anything serious.” She replied.

Sighing, I looked back at the group. “If you say so.” I said, defeated.

“Hey guys lets do gifts now!” Pinkie Pie chirped as the rest of the gang nodded in agreement.

We all handed out our gifts as we took turns opening them and cycled around the room.

Of course Rarity had the hardest time accepting my gift, being the element of generosity. But after much pleading, she finally gave in, and accepted the Fire Ruby. I won’t lie, the thing was expensive as hell, and apparently rare enough to warrant it.

Fluttershy got a hand-stitched scarf made by the finest tailor in Canterlot, with silk imported from Saddle Arabia. She loved it.

Twilight got some new books. Speaking of which, do you have any idea how hard it is to find her books she hasn’t read already? I swear if I didn’t have the option of some sciencey human books, I’d say she’d read them all!

Rainbow-Dash got some VIP tickets to the snowstorm race being held at Cloudsdale by the Wonderbolts, and of course a new Daring Doo book.

Pinkie Pie got a pastry recipe book from Earth, containing some very delicious and exotic treats.

Applejack got a new hat (Of course) and a gift certificate to be redeemed for some free farm equipment from the human colonies. I promised her it will make her life a lot easier around applebuck season.

Celestia got something both me and Luna thought up was a great idea for a gift, and watched eagerly as she lifted the small package with her magic and opened it. She looked inside and slowly a huge smile spread across her face as she lifted out the object inside.

The object in question was a small picture frame, containing a photo of Celestia and Luna Quite young as they opened up some presents in a hurry, and next to them a couple of larger Alicorns.

“O... Oh my goodness...” Celestia started as she lifted her hoof and covered her mouth and her eyes become glossy. “How... how did you get this?” She asked as she looked up to Luna and I.

Shaking my head and chuckling, I began. “Well... it wasn’t easy. Let’s just say it involved a lot of study and dream hunting.” I said as I gestured towards Luna. “It was mostly her work, I was basically useless.” I said as Luna gave me a small push.

“Oh don’t be so modest. It was your idea in the first place.” Luna stated as Celestia wiped a tear.

She placed the picture next to her and got up, walking towards me and Luna as we stood up. She embraced us both in a tight hug, laughing a little.

After a few moments, she pulled away, wiping another tear. “I’m sorry... It’s been... so long since I’ve seen our parents. Even in my dreams.” As she said that, Twilight’s ears perked up and she glanced at the picture, causing her jaw to drop, but she didn't say a word.

“It’s no trouble Celestia. I’m glad you like it.” I said as I sat back down and she returned to her spot, a content smile on her face as she kept looking back at the photo.

And now it was for Luna’s gift. I turned a bit on the couch, and handed her a small wrapped gift. She gingerly took the wrapped box, and began to peel the wrapping paper off. Once removed, she slowly lifted the lid of the box and revealed a beautiful blue gold chain. She took hold of it with her magic and lifted it out of the box. The necklace was a deep blue with a pearl on each side and a very ornate crescent moon in the center, which contained a beautiful sapphire.

She went to thank me, before I lifted my hand and pointed to it. “Shine some light into the gem at the center.”

As I finished, she looked at it curiously, and shone some light from her horn. In an instant, the gem projected a beautiful blue sparkling image in-front of us. The image showed Luna and I laying on the back of a cloud, smiling at the camera as we both hugged each-other closely. She looked at the picture with happiness as her eyes became glossy and she turned to me and planted a long kiss on my lips.

As she pulled away, she looked me in the eyes and smiled. “I couldn’t have asked for a more perfect husband.” She said with a smile as she leaned against me again. “Come on, it's your turn to open your presents.” She said as I sighed with relief.

Through everything I’ve been through, it looked like things were finally starting to get better.

Chapter 48: High Alert

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Back to present time proceeding events of Chapter 46

Chapter 48: High Alert

My blurred vision and sluggish movement disappeared in an instant as I followed a trio of guards through the halls. The adrenaline coursing through me paired with my increased healing made quick work of the alcohol in my system. I pointed to one of the pegasus guards following us and motioned her forward.

“Go, tell Luna to meet me there immediately.” I ordered as she nodded and took off.

Next to me as we ran was a earth pony guard and a Unicorn guard, who kept the body of the Verix suspended in the air, holding it’s blood within it’s chrome body. Both to keep it from singeing the ground, and prevent injury.

I turned to the unicorn next to me as we ran. “Are you sure this place is secure?” I asked as he nodded.

“Absolutely. The canterlot laboratories keep secrets behind thick walls. We don’t want any volatile information leaking to the public. Or worse, our enemies.” He said as I nodded back, satisfied with that answer.

We reached the end of the hall and came face to face with a small stone door, which didn't have any visible opening mechanism. The earth pony next to me walked forward, and tapped three different spots on the door. After a moment of silence, the door began sliding aside, and we quickly made it through.

The lab looked no different than what you would expect, just with no computer screens and more paper and clipboards. The walls and floor were tiled a sterile white, and the whole room smelled like stale air. A few ponies wearing white lab-coats stopped what they were doing and turned to us with confusion. Before it quickly turned to shock looking at the body currently suspended in magic.

The earth pony next to me cleared his throat. “Everypony out, we need this area cleared asap.” He said aloud as all the ponies dropped what they were doing and quickly filed out, some pausing for a moment to look at the body before leaving.

As the last member left, the door slid shut once again. Making an audible *Thud* as it fully closed. I followed the two guards closely as they brought the body towards an operating table that looked to be made of stone.

I ran my hand across it, confirming my suspicions.

’Good, it won't eat through this’ I thought as I nodded to the unicorn.

He lifted the body up, and dropped it onto the table making a loud clang as metal met stone. Almost immediately afterwards, a flash of light went off behind me, and I hear the sound of hooves hitting the floor. I spun around and Luna was blinking, trying to focus her vision again.

“Jake whats-“ She began as I cut her off.

“Put up a soundproof barrier, as fast as you can.” I ordered, catching her off guard.

The initial surprise quickly receded as she nodded. Luna lit up her horn and in a flash of light a large bubble surrounded us all, including the table housing the body of the Verix. As the bubble fully formed I let out a small amount of built up stress as my body relaxed a bit. I waved her to follow me, and we ran over to the table.

“We found it outside. It must have gotten spotted because it attacked one of your guards.” I started as Luna looked the corpse over.

I could see a bit of hatred in her eyes as she looked at the body of that dreaded machine.

“Is the pony alright?” Luna asked as she looked the machine over some more.

“He’s being tended to in the ICU. He’s pretty banged up.” The earth pony next to me answered quickly.

I walked around to the head of the Verix, and slowly lifted it up and inspecting it. I dropped it back down and looked over the rest of its body.

“There’s no signs of any wear or markings on it’s body except for those it sustained during the fight.” I began.

“What does that mean?” Luna asked as she looked up from the body and to me.

“It means its a fresh new unit. You mentioned it looked almost as if it was invisible?” I questioned the ponies getting them to nod quickly. “Shit... shit shit shit. That means they’ve miniaturized their cloaking fields.” I mused as I scratched my chin in thought. “Has there been any missing pony cases lately?” I asked the guards again.

“A few over the last week came in. Do you think they’re abducting ponies?” The earth pony asked.

“Maybe...” I began, “Were There anything in common with these ponies?” I asked getting him to nod.

“Yeah, I think the report mentioned they were all unicorns.” He said as I scratched my chin some more in thought.

“And the guard who was injured, was he a unicorn too?” I asked with worry, getting the pony to slowly nod again. “Shit!” I said as turned away from the body and fumed.

’They’ve been doing this shit RIGHT from under our noses and we had no idea! I thought as I paced angrily.

“Luna, your cell.” I said as she looked at me confused for a moment then realized what I meant.

In a small flash of light she summoned the glass phone I had given her a small time ago and floated it over to me. I quickly swiped it out of the air and began dialling a number. After a few moments Lucy’s voice rang through the phone.

“Hello and thank you for calling the Night’s Vigil, please state your reason for calling.” The recording voiced out.

“Lucy, it’s me Jake. It’s an emergency.” I said as there was a moment of silence then a beep was heard, before Lucy’s voice appeared again.

“Yes sir, what’s going on?” Lucy asked with a tinge of worry.

Without hesitation, I began listing off orders. “Set the alert level of the ship to maximum. The perimeter has been breached and Verix have been found inside Canterlot city. I need a team of soldiers down here immediately, equipped with some EM vision goggles. Also send down my own gear as well, I’m currently at Canterlot castle.” I said as there was a few moments of silence.

“Done, they will arrive shortly.” Lucy rang back.

“Good, also send some ships to go scout out the other major cities to make sure this is the only affected area.” I added before hanging up.

Right after hanging up, I immediately turned to leave before being stopped by Luna.

“What did you want me to do?” She asked as I looked back to the two guards still here who now looked a little worried.

After thinking about it for a few moments, I sighed. “I need you to stay here with your sister. I know you two are powerful but all it takes is one sneak attack and that's it. I don’t want to put you in harms way again.” I said as I turned and looked towards the door. “You need to keep everything here secure. After what just happened I’m sure your ponies are a little frightened.”

Slowly nodding, Luna sighed. “I suppose you’re right. I’ll go inform the captain of the guard.” Luna said as she charged her horn up. “Please be careful.” She added before disappearing in a flash of light.

“I’ll try...” I said to myself as I made my way out of the room with the earth pony.

As we crossed the doorway, I stopped and turned towards the unicorn still examining the body.

“I need you to destroy that thing. Completely.” I said as he nodded quickly.

I turned back around and ran down the hall and towards the meetup location with my ship. At the same time, I couldn’t shake this feeling like something horrible was about to happen.

Chapter 49: Death’s Door

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Chapter 49: Death’s Door

I flew over the city of Canterlot in my ship as I overlooked the area below, scouting out a good spot to land. It's been a few minutes since takeoff and I’ve already donned my full suit of armor, charged and ready to go. I had a small squad at my disposal currently aboard my craft, and as I found a good spot I spoke up over radio.

“Attention Romeo squad. Verix have been spotted in this area possessing new tech we haven't seen on the front-lines yet. From what we’ve gathered they seem to have miniaturized their stealth fields for personal use. So keep your eyes peeled and on your EM tracker.” I spoke over comms, as multiple acknowledgements rang through in return.

I slowly let the ship down and as we hit the ground I got up and ran to the door leading to the cabin. As I opened it up I saw four soldiers preparing their gear. I made my way to the doorway and turned around, seeing three members of my squad come up to the door as well, ready to go.

“Our job is to comb the south side of Canterlot and remove any threats we come into contact with. Lethal force is authorized and we have already put a curfew in effect, so there shouldn’t be any civilians wandering about. Everyone sync your overlay with each-other, Auth code: 48263.” I finish as they all type something onto their wrist.

In a few moments a series of names come up on the left side of my visor.

Our sniper, Call-sign Viper, wielding our powerful Cobra 34 plasma sniper rifle and long range EM scope.

Our heavy weapons, Call-sign Buck, bringing with him his Hellfighter shotgun firing powerful plasma slugs, and a 40mm grenade launcher.

Our medic, Call-sign Angel, carrying her own personal semi-auto plasma rifle and enough med gel to heal four large squads three times over.

Our support, Call-sign Grace, who will be piloting the ship and keeping an eye from the sky. She waited by the door of the cockpit for us to leave.

Then me. Squad leader, Call-sign Rook, wielding a full auto plasma rifle with a plasma “Spray” under-barrel, which acts as a short range shotgun blast.

“All synced up.” I say aloud as I look back at the team. “Squads Echo and Sierra are taking care of the north side of Canterlot as they have much more ground to cover. Lucy will keep us informed of any information that needs to be shared between us. Until then keep all focus on your squad. No matter what happens, you stick together like glue, understood?” I asked getting everyone to nod. “Then let's move.”

I opened the door, and we all stepped out into the snow as it crunched under our feet. Immediately, we all changed our armor color too a white camouflage and ran to the nearest building where we took cover. Quickly, we ran along the wall of the building and around the corner into an alleyway as we heard our ship take off.

“Angel and Buck, cover our six. Viper with me.” I said as we changed formation and walked down the alleyway.

The alley ended in a T shape, so as Buck and Angel kneeled behind us watching our back, I pulled up to the right corner and watched our left as Viper looked down his scope to the right. I lifted up my short-range EM goggles and peered through them. Nothing.

“Negative contacts my direction, Viper?” I asked.

“Negative sir.” Viper quickly answered back.

I tapped his shoulder and he stood up as we both took the right and went down the alleyway, buck and angel close behind.

“Contact.” Viper voiced up, causing us all to drop low and stay still. “Three-o'clock, one target.”

I pulled up my goggles again and sure enough, there was a Verix. It was currently cloaked and down on all fours trying to stay low. They must be aware that we are in the area, as it turned towards us we dropped to the snow and held our breath. Our armor hid any thermal readings, but they could still very easily register movement.

After a few moments looking in our direction, it stood up and began to move towards the nearest house and inspect the door, before jumping to the second floor window and looking inside.

“I’ve got it in my sights sir, permission to fire.” Viper said quietly.

“Do it.” I stated.

*BZZT*

There was an almost inaudible electric discharge before the Verix’s head lurched forward and cracked the window it was looking through, before dropping to the ground in a heap.

“Tango down.” He said as it’s spine turned dark. “Kill confirmed.”

“Romeo move up!” Buck said quickly from behind us.

Without hesitation we all moved ahead, sprinting across the street and vaulting over a knee high wall between two houses and taking cover.

“What is it buck?” I asked as I slowly looked over the wall.

“Multiple bogeys, at least four were coming from the direction we were.” He replied as I pulled up my goggles.

Sure enough, four Verix spilled out of the alleyway and immediately spotted it’s fallen brother. They looked around quickly then split up into groups of two down the street, one heading left and one going right.

“Angel,” I began, “Radio in those two’s coords to grace immediately, Buck I want you to load a 40mm right up the other group’s ass.” I said getting them both to nod.

Buck and I hopped over the wall to pursue the Verix to the right as Angel and Viper stayed back to radio in instructions. We followed the two Verix as I kept an eye on them through my goggles until the sound of explosions rang out behind us. The two Verix stopped in the middle of the road and looked back, where we then hid behind a house as Buck pulled out his grenade launcher.

“Confirmed hit.” Grace relayed through the radio. “Two Verix down.”

The sound of a grenade being pushed into the launchers tube and the audible click after was all I needed to hear as I switched positions with Buck so he was at the corner. He took in a breath and wrapped around the corner.

THUNK

*BOOM*

*BBZT*

Buck flew back behind the corner as plasma singed the spot his head was moments ago.

“Are they still with us?” I asked as he quickly peeked back around and hid again, before shaking his head.

“Negative.” He answered. “Just traded shots.” He finished as I nodded.

I motioned back the way we came. “Alright let’s regroup, if they saw you there'll be more here soon.” I said as we both took off back to our positions.

In less than a minute we met back up with Viper and Angel as we hopped back over the wall and took cover.

“Any activity?” I asked getting them to shake their heads. “Good let’s-“

Before I could continue, Grace spoke up immediately.

“Romeo squad, I’m picking up multiple frequencies converging on your position. They must have spotted you, it seems like the whole city is lighting up!” She finished in a panic.

I looked next to me to my squad, and they all looked afraid.

“It’s alright. Just stay calm and stay one step ahead of them.” I began as viper pulled out his sniper and began scouting down the street. “They don’t know exactly where we are right now so let’s use that to our advantage. Grace, tell the other squads to get over here as soon as they can, and Viper come here.” I said as I got up and positioned myself next to one of the two story houses.

I anchored my feet in place and put my hands together, getting ready to lift him. Viper pulled his sniper over his shoulder and got into running position before sprinting towards me. He jumped and planted his feet in my hands as I threw them up, launching him into the air as he ran up the wall the last couple feet and grabbed onto the edge of the roof. He hefted himself up and out of sight.

“I’m in position.” He relayed back as I got back down and out of sight.

“Good, Buck I want you to go across the street and get in position somewhere over there so we can have fire on both sides.” I ordered as he nodded and vaulted over into a sprint.

“GET DOWN!” Viper yelled over comms as Buck immediately hit the ground.

He planted himself deep into the snow in the center of the road, barely even noticeable and stayed completely still.

“What do you see?!” I asked as I turned the corner and pulled up my goggles.

Immediately, my whole vision lit up. There must have been at least twenty of them coming down the road. Half of them were walking down the street and some of them were crawling along the walls, their metal fingers digging into the brick.

I looked back over to buck, and motioned for him to stay absolutely still. He was almost completely invisible in the few feet deep snow with more falling from the sky covering him even more.

“Don’t. Move. You’ll be dead before you even make it across.” I said over comms as I watched him hold his gun under his chest, hiding it from sight.

“What do we do?” Angel asked as I slowly brought myself back down behind the half wall for cover and shook my head.

“Too many, stay down.” I answered as she hesitantly nodded and lowered herself behind the wall.

In a matter of moments I could hear the sound of metal against stone as they approached. I slowly looked over the wall and from this distance I could make out their shimmers without the goggles. Buck was practically covered in snow at this point as they neared him.

’What the hell is taking the other squads so long?’I thought as they came up to where buck was hiding.

They all stopped suddenly around Buck, and just stood there. On the left side on my HUD Buck’s name started pulsing red with a danger sign next to it.

He was starting to panic.

“Buck, calm down. They haven't seen you yet... just stay still.” I said as there was a sound of screeching metal.

The dead body of the Verix we had killed here before was picked up and inspected, before all of them turned towards the alleyway we came from and swarmed down it. Buck’s name slowly began to go back to green as Viper gave an all clear.

Viper jumped down from the building next to me and I let out a sigh of relief.

“Holy fuck... I thought I was a goner.” Buck said as he stood back up and turned back towards us.

*SHINK*

In an instant, a long bloody blade shot out of Buck’s chest as he was lifted into the air, screaming in pain.

“CONTACT! OPEN FIRE!” I shouted as I readied my weapon.

I opened fire on the thing holding Buck in the air and it screeched in pain, dropping him down as it’s cloak dropped and was quickly dispatched by Angel with a shot to the head.

I vaulted over the wall and ran to buck, grabbing him by a spot on his back and dragging him back to our position. I hefted him over the wall as he moaned in pain, before hitting the ground on the other side. Angel immediately began tending to his wounds as I heard more scraping behind me.

“Shit! Stay down!” I said back to them as I took off down the street, driving attention away from my squad, hoping they don’t notice them.

Almost immediately plasma starts streaking all around me, my shield taking hit after hit and quickly reducing it.

“Requesting air support on my position! I repeat I need air support!” I yelled into my radio as I came up on a corner.

I reached out with my right hand and grabbed onto the corner, swinging myself around it with my momentum and used it to propel myself forward, keeping up my sprint. I took a chance and looked behind me, just in time to see the street light up with explosions as Grace fired round after round into the street. The Verix remained cloaked so we were shooting into the dark, but from the metallic screams I could hear we must have nailed a few.

I came up on another corner and did the same thing again, and as I went around I could see on the corner of my eye lots of shimmering figures getting closer to me. I wrapped around the corner and grabbed onto the wall, digging my hands into it and climbing it effortlessly. I gave one final heave and launched myself the last few feet and landed with a roll, and continued running on the rooftop.

Not long after the sound of clanging was right behind me as they all started climbing the buildings as I jumped from rooftop to rooftop. I heard some heavy footsteps closing in behind me followed by a screech, as I spun around and Activated my under-barrel. My rifle let out a loud discharge and a figure not even a couple feet away from me exploded into blue liquid and plasma.

I swapped back to my main gun and started spraying all around me as they came over the edges of the building. To my right, my left, behind me. I was surrounded. I was holding them off, just barely, until my weapon clicked empty.

I frantically looked around for a way to run, but I saw nothing but shimmering figures emerging from the edges of the building. One directly to my right made it all the way first, just before it exploded and showered it’s blood all over the Verix around it attempting to climb up.

“Seven.” Viper sounded through comms as another exploded. “Eight.”

I took this chance, and sprinted towards where it had been standing, leaping into the air over them and onto the next building. I took a direct shot to the back of my head, causing my shields to fully deplete and cause me to stumble. Before I could re-orient myself, I tripped over the edge of the building and plummeted towards the alleyway ground.

“FUCK!” I yelled as I reached out and dug my hands into the wall to slow my fall.

It didn’t do much good as I slammed the ground with a lot of force, with a loud crack. I could feel my ears ringing as I rolled myself over and my left arm pulsed in pain. From above, I could see multiple Verix jump over the edge, covered in blue blood from their fallen brothers.

They slammed into the ground with enough force to crack the stones below them. I jumped to my feet, pain coursing through my body and readied myself. The four of them surrounded me and I could swear, that even through their cloaking... I could feel their red eyes looking straight into me.

Then they uncloaked.

These Verix looked different then any other I had seen. They were completely black, instead of chromatic. Their arms ended in talons with a blade above their wrist which extended out as it crackled with energy on the end.

‘Plasma tipped blades, that’s how they cut through Buck’s shielding so easily.’ I thought as the one in front of me tilted it’s head a bit.

“Well come on then. I haven't got all night.” I said with as much malice as I could muster.

In reality I was terrified. I’ve taken on multiple Verix on my own before... even in CQC, but not while this injured. I was pretty sure my left arm was broken. Either way my suit should still assist me with that... but it’s gonna be one hell of a painful experience.

In an instant, they all leaped at me. I brought my rifle up and blocked an overhead attack from the front, before quickly moving to the right. Swipes from the back and left of me went clean past, but the Verix on my right got a hit on my left shoulder. The blade sliced right through my armor and I could feel it burn right into my skin.

I yelped in pain as I spun around and fired a plasma splash shot at him, obliterating him on the spot before jumping back and avoiding another slash. I aimed my rifle and unloaded another couple splash shots, killing two more but missing the third one as it leaped to the right and grappled itself to the wall.

It ran on all fours towards me as I took aim at it and shot at it again causing it to jump across to the other wall, then straight at me. It swiped at me, knocking my rifle from my hands and making me stumble back. I swung my right arm, knocking aside it’s next attack at the cost of flaying my forearm then gave a hard kick, knocking it over.

As it fell to the ground, and screeched I looked around for the nearest weapon. The only thing closest to me being a body of one of the Verix. I looked back at the enemy as it started to regain its footing.

“Fuck it!” I yelled as I ran over and grabbed the blade affixed to it’s wrist, before twisting it and tearing it off.

I spun back around just in time as it rushed me, bringing both blades down hard as I raised mine up to block it, making a loud clang. The blade started to dig into my suit’s gloves then into my hands as I held it, plasma singing my skin. I ignored the pain and pushed forward, shoving it away and causing it to backpedal.

Taking this chance, I jumped forward and swung downwards, just barely making contact with it’s head as I burned a line down between its eyes. It pulled its arms back for another strike and I attempted to jump back in time.

*SHINK*

My eyes widened as it sank it’s blades into my stomach, pushing them deeper and deeper into me until it’s knuckles were touching my suit. I quickly lifted the blade in my hands and plunged it through bottom of it’s jaw and into it’s head. It attempted to back away as I did, but it was too late. As I drove the blade into its skull, it went limp and fell, pulling the blades forcefully out of my body.

I gasped, and fell to my knees as blood poured out of my suit. I could feel myself getting colder as the warm liquid was starting to pool around me. I fell back onto the ground, and started gasping for air as I felt my throat start to fill with liquid.

“HE’S OVER HERE!” Shouted a voice as Angel appeared at the edge of my vision as I stared at the sky.

She hit the ground fast and started rummaging through her bag as she pulled out some med-gel. I could feel my stomach get colder as she sprayed the contents of the canister onto it, and my vision started to darken around the edges.

“I-I...” I tried to say, as blood gurgled in my throat. “I-I cant...” I attempted to form a sentence as I tried to push myself up, before I fell back and darkness consumed me and everything went cold.

Chapter 50: Memories

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Chapter 50: Memories

*BANG*

I let out a sudden gasp as I opened my eyes, well tried to. I think they were open?

Everything was pitch black.

I tried to rub my eyes, and I could feel myself place my hands on my face, but I don't see it. Like there is absolutely no light at all. I spun around, looking for any indication of... something.

Nothing.

It's like I was floating in a void of darkness. No sensations at all except my own hands when I lay them upon myself.

"Hello!?" I yelled out to no-one.

Not even an echo answered me back.

"...Anyone?" I said again, feeling my anxiety quickly rising.

'Where am I...? What was I doing before this?' I thought as I kept looking around.

'Who... who am I?'

*********************************

Perspective: Luna

I sat at my throne, silence reigning through the large room as I waited for time to pass by. It had been a slow day for night court, only two ponies came by with something to say.

But, I was excited. Within the hour my court will end, and I'll be off to Canterlot hospital to see Jake. It's been... tough, the last month to come to terms with what has happened. But I'm determined to see him awaken.

Eventually.

*********************************

Perspective: Jake

It's felt like I've spent an eternity here. In this darkness, this void. But somehow it was a little comforting, I couldn't really explain why. It feels like my eyes have adjusted a bit and I could make out my body when I looked down.

I was wearing... some kind of uniform. Military maybe? I'm not sure... the harder I thought about it the more my head hurt. I've since given up on it, instead I've tried closing my eyes and dreaming about other places. Places I might have been, or may be making it up in my mind... I wasn't sure.

I saw a massive blue bear... it looked like it was made of stars and constellations! I tried to focus more on the memory, but it quickly faded and another came in it's place...

I saw a hallway. Littered with corpses, blood everywhere. The corpses, their body shape looked kind of like me. It was a horrific sight but... I felt like I had seen it before?

Were these my memories? Moments in time I had seen before?

Then the scene changed again, and I was presented with a different picture. One that completely reversed the last. I was staring out at a large body of water, as it sat calmly with no waves breaking it's flat surface. It's reflection showing thousands of small lights from the stars in the sky, and a large orb.

The moon.

The moon...

'Who are you?' I thought as I saw a blue figure fly across the sky.

It looked back at me, like it wanted to come down and see me. But it stopped suddenly, like it was forced back by an unseen force.

It vanished.

*********************************

Perspective: Luna

I sat next to a hospital bed, and lay my head down upon it as I looked up to it's occupant. Jake lay there, completely motionless as his chest slowly rose and fell.

I sighed, and looked at the small table next to the bed. Fresh daisies sat inside the vase on top of it, filled to the top with water. My gaze drifted back over to Jake, then down to his hand as I lay my hoof upon it.

'Maybe I should try and dream walk to him again?' I thought as I remember my last attempts and shook my head. 'No... I don't know enough about humans dreamscapes... it just forces me back out.'

I hear the door behind me creak open, and I quickly lift my head and take my hoof off his hand. I look back to see Celestia come into the room.

"Still hasn't woken up?" She said as I shook my head.

I let out a small yawn as I covered my mouth with my hoof.

"Go get some sleep sister." Celestia pleaded as I looked back over to Jake. "You can't keep this up. You need your rest just as much as he does."

I slowly nod and stand up, looking away from him. "What if... what if he never wakes up? I knew I should have just went with him..." I said as I felt a tear rolling down my cheek.

My sister quickly turned my head with her magic, so I was looking right at her.

"Enough." She began coldly. "He knew the risks. That's why he asked you to stay here. because of him, our kingdom is still safe. We mustn't waste the opportunity he's given us." She said as I wiped my eyes and nodded. "The enemy snuck right through our defenses once, let's not let it happen again."

I gave one last look to Jake, then turned around and followed my sister out of the room. I had been coming here every day for the past month, waiting for him to wake up. But I couldn't simply keep at this forever... I had my own duties to take care of.

*********************************

Perspective: Jake

I could make out my whole body now, clearly. The darkness that was wrapped around me seemed to have faded, and the world also seemed brighter. I could hear what sounded like talking... very faintly in the distance. But only sometimes.

Sometimes the voices would stop for an extended amount of time, but they would always return. And sometimes, I hear the most soothing voice, and it sounds like it's talking right to me. But I can never make out what it's saying.

Recently though... that voice has stopped.

I could still hear small commotions randomly that I can't quite make out... but that familiar voice I couldn't quite hear anymore.

I decided to close my eyes and go somewhere else.

The world rushed around me, and I found myself sitting on the ground. Everything looked a little bit larger, almost like I shrunk down a bit compared to the other dreams.

I was in front of a window, looking outside it at everything going on. The area looked very much like a jungle, trees everywhere causing thick vegetation, with low hanging vines. Children were outside playing with a ball on the ground, kicking it around and laughing.

Everyone stopped, and looked up. The sky suddenly went dark and screams rang out everywhere. Explosions rang out and shattered windows, including the one I was looking out. The glass flew at me as I covered my eyes and felt it cut my arms. The pain felt real, like I had lived through this very moment.

The world distorted again, and I was running through the trees. A bright light behind me and the sounds of screams and explosions filling the air. I tried to pull myself out of this dream, but I couldn't leave. I broke the treeline, and saw a couple more houses, one on fire with the sounds of fighting inside it.

I ran to the other house, trying the door and finding it unlocked. I went inside and quickly locked it behind me as I spun around and ran up some stairs. I opened another door and found... someone. He looked so familiar.

The sound of breaking wood came from downstairs, and the man looked back at me and motioned to the closet. I could feel fear welling up inside me, fear and... sadness. This all felt so familiar.

I ran to the closet, opening it up and hiding inside. A few moments later, there was a loud bang... the sound of someone choking, and a metallic screech.

Then the world faded, and pulled me out.

*********************************

*Beep* *beep* *beep*

My eyes snapped open.

The ceiling looked a sterile white and tiled. I slowly looked down, and saw where I was. I seemed to be in some kind of bed, white sheets covering my body. I looked down at my hands, seeing scars formed on the inside of my palm and knuckles. I lifted my blanket, and saw my bare torso with two large scars situated in my lower half of my stomach.

'Where am I?' I thought as I looked around some more and sat up.

Something on my left caught my eye, and I turned to look at it. A vase of flowers... wilted and dead, the water inside having dried up a while ago. I could hear a bit of commotion outside the door in front of me. I turned my body, and brought my feet off the bed and to the floor.

The ground felt cool to the touch, as the only clothing I had on were a pair of simple white pants. I got up, and wobbled a bit, my legs almost feeling like jelly. I quietly walked towards the door and put my ear against it, and could make out talking on the other side.

"Going to check on our vegetable again?" A voice asked from the other side.

"Same as every day." Another voice answered as the door handle jiggled.

I jumped to the other side of the door, so as it opened I am behind it and out of sight. Someone walked through as she hummed to herself and closed the door behind her, completely oblivious to the empty bed. As the door clicked shut, I looked down at the small equine like creature.

She immediately stopped humming as she brought her head up and saw the empty bed. As she took in a breath I moved up behind her, and wrapped my arms around her head, covering her mouth. She let out a small squeak is surprise, as I quickly whispered in her ear.

"Don't scream. Or I'll break your neck." I said as she nodded quickly, a tear quickly rolling down her cheek and onto my hand.

I slowly dropped one of my hands off her mouth, but kept hold of her head.

"Where is this, who are you, and... who am I?" I asked quietly.

Chapter 51: Awakening

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Chapter 51: Awakening

Perspective: Nurse Blueheart

I walked through Ponyville along the snow covered trail ahead of me as I brushed some of my blue mane out of the way of my face with my lighter blue hoof, and let out a sigh. Today had been a terrible day.

First, I woke up with a sore back, apparently I slept wrong last night...

Second, my date with Noteworthy had been put on hold due to an outbreak of the flu! And if it couldn't get any worse... heat season was starting up!

Just as I thought that I felt the familiar pain in my rear as I winced and continued walking, the snow crunching under my hooves.

’Oh well... today should be an easy day at work. I'm working rose unit today!’ I thought as I remember the unit fondly.

Rose unit was particularly easy, mostly because most ponies there were either in a coma, or independent. As I was nearing Ponyville hospital a particular patient came to mind that stood out from the rest.

Jake Carson...

It was such a surprise when it happened, well from what I’m told anyway. Apparently he defended all of Canterlot and got hurt in the process. They were taking care of him in the Canterlot ICU, but after he was stable he was transferred here... to the Ponyville LTC unit.

It’s been a few months now and he hasn't made any progress towards waking up, and while he had a lot of support in the first month... the princesses are understandably very busy ponies. Still... I was surprised how much Luna seemed to care for him.

I snapped myself out of my thoughts as I came up to the Ponyville LTC facility entrance, connected to the general hospital. I walked towards the doors, and pushed them open as I went inside. The smell of sterile tiled floors that I knew all too well greeted me, as I looked towards the front desk.

’Oh man... not her...’ I thought as I noticed Nurse Tenderheart sitting at the desk, flipping through documents.

Sighing, I walked up to the desk, around it, and into the side entrance. As I did Tenderheart turned and gave me a smile.

“Blueheart! Oh I didn’t know you were working today!” She said with fake enthusiasm as I took my scarf and jacket off.

“Yeah... I took an extra shift today.” I said as I grabbed a nurse hat from under the desk and put it on.

As I centered my hat, I reached down to a metal cabinet and pulled the drawer open, revealing multiple binders and clipboards. I reached in and pulled one particularly big binder out, and put it on the desk in front of me. Flipping it open, I saw a list of checks to be done, some which the previous shift hadn’t done.

I let out a quiet annoyed grunt, and stood up, walking out from the desk and towards the nearest hall.

“Going to check on our vegetable again?” Tender asked from behind me as I shook my head at her disrespect.

I turned and gave her a bit of a sour look. “Same as every day.” I stated coldly, as I turned and started walking towards the first door on the right down the hall.

’Dis respectful little... I can only imagine if Princess Luna heard her say that’ I thought as I gave a small smile to the idea. ’Oh that would be gold’

As I came up to the door, I started humming to myself as I tried to distract myself from my heat gnawing at the back of my mind. I pushed the door open as I hummed, and walked in as I closed the door behind me. I turned to look at the bed ahead of me and I immediately stopped humming.

The bed was empty.

I could feel an instant wave of fear and worry wash over me as my eyes widened, and I was about to turn around before something wrapped around my head, covering my mouth.

“Don’t scream, or I’ll break your neck.” A voice said from behind me.

Never, in my whole life, was I more terrified than right now. I could feel my legs wobbling and my heart racing in my chest, before I knew it I could feel tears welling up in my eyes and rolling down my cheeks.

I was utterly helpless. I couldn't do anything, as he held me in place with an iron grip stopping all of my attempts at movement. Quickly, I nodded my head, more tears rolling down my face.

Slowly, his hand lowered from my mouth and down to my neck where his other hand lay.

Before I could even think of what to do next, he spoke up again. "Where is this, who are you, and... who am I?"

Trying to control my breathing, I very softly began to speak, and as I did I could feel his grip stay on me, completely unflinching.

“T-This is Ponyville l-long term care... you were brought here because you were badly h-hurt...” I began as his hands didnt move even an inch. “M-My name is Nurse Blueheart... and yours is Jake C-Carson...” I stuttered out as I felt his hands flinch for a second, getting me to let out a suppressed whimper.

There were a few moments of silence, before he spoke again.

“That... sounds right... but I can’t... remember.” He said from behind me as I started to get control of my breathing.

Before I could say anything else, he let go of me and I fell to the floor, my shaking legs collapsing under me. Immediately I pulled myself away from him across the floor, and turned around to look at him. I had seen him for a while now laying in bed, but looking at him standing straight up was a bit intimidating.

I had heard of the humans integrating into pony society over the last few months... but that's mostly Canterlot. I haven't really gotten to see one standing close up before. He was looking down at his hands, thinking hard about something, before he looked back up to me.

I could still feel a bit of the fear from before, but now I could also feel a sense of worry as I watched him try and piece things together. I opened my mouth as I went to say something before he raised his hand to stop me.

“My clothes, where are they.” He said as I looked to the right and pointed to a closet built into the wall.

He walked over to it and opened a door up, pulling out some jeans and a blue shirt, with a leather jacket. As he pulled out the jacket he stopped and looked at it for a moment, like he was trying to remember something. Before he shook his head and put everything on.

As he pulled the jacket on, he turned to me again. “Go to that corner, count to thirty and do not leave there until you do.” He said in a cold voice.

I quickly nodded and went to the corner, and slowly counted to myself. For what felt like an eternity I counted from zero to thirty, before finally reaching it. Hesitantly, almost not wanting to turn at all, I moved to look behind me. As I did, I could see no trace of him at all, almost like he just vanished.

As I thought this, a cool breeze blew past me, getting me to shiver as I looked over at an open window as the sun was cast inside.

Today really is just terrible...

Chapter 52: Friendly Folk

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Chapter 52: Friendly Folk

My feet hit the ground with a crunch as I landed on a fresh layer of snow from the window I jumped out of. I looked up and saw snow trickling down from the cloud layer that was quickly forming in the sky.

And when I say forming I mean it literally. High in the sky, what looked like more of the pony I had seen before, but with wings, flying through the air and moving clouds into position. I would say it looks odd but... it didnt feel strange to watch. Looking down to the ground again, I could see a town in the distance that looked like a good starting point.

With my heart racing I ran down to the town and up to the nearest building, before peeking around it. It had gotten substantially darker since I left that building as sunlight was unable to break through the cloud layer. I looked around the town and saw almost no signs of movement, as everyone was probably in their homes for this snowfall.

’Alright... what exactly do I remember...’ I thought to myself as I made a mental checklist. ’My name... Jake Carson. Thats what I was told anyway. And while I don’t remember that it does sound very familiar, so It’ll have to do.’

I walked away from the house and started making my way through the town as I saw some movement up ahead as a snowstorm started to pick up. Ahead of me I saw someone who looked like me! Finally another human!

He was running a bit away from me, with his hand up covering his eyes and something in his right hand... a weapon.

’A... A plasma rifle.’ I thought as some new memories surfaced. ’Yes... I’ve fired them before. Actually I think I own some...’ Some quick flashes of memory of me in many different locations, dressed in a military outfit and holding a rifle go by.

’I’m a soldier! I remember now! I... I think I’m a private!’ I think as I feel a smile come on.

While I still couldn't remember any of my past, or anything recently like why I’m here and why there are talking ponies at least I had something to grasp onto. Even if it was just a little bit.

Before I could think on it anymore, a voice picks up ahead of me shouting my way.

“Hey! What are you doing out here in this blizzard! It’s about to get a lot worse!” The voice said ahead as I began to make out a silhouette of a pony walking towards me.

I started to get in a defensive position as the chill of the cold really started to hit me. I only had a thin pair of pants and shirt on, with a leather jacket which didn’t provide much warmth.

’Maybe... I over-reacted a bit to the last pony. I... think they were a nurse. Aw man...’ I think to myself as I remember how much I scared her when I snuck up on her.

My train of thought cut off as something grabbed onto my hand and gave a small tug. I looked down to see a pony next to me trying to shield her eyes and grab my hand with the same hoof. After a moment of hesitation, I followed her through the storm. A few minutes went by before we came up to a building and she pushed open the front door, ushering me in.

I quickly went through the doorway, as she closed it behind me and walked around me. She shook her body and a bunch of snow fell off her coat and onto the floor.

“Lyra! I told you to do that BEFORE you came inside!” An annoyed voice spoke up from a doorway leading to another room.

I looked towards the voice, and saw a pony who had a yellowish coat and pink/blue curly hair, finished with a picture of candies on her backside. The pony who had led me into the house had a teal color with a mix of teal and white mane, and a picture of a lyre on her behind. I looked at her side but saw no wings like the previous ponies, but there was a horn sticking out of it’s forehead.

“Oh come on Bonbon, its impossible to get all the snow off your coat with how hard its coming down!” The one who I guessed was named Lyra said to Bonbon.

The other pony, who gave out an annoyed grunt, looked over to me and raised an eyebrow. “Who’s this?” She asked curiously.

Before Lyra could say anything I gave a small nod towards Bonbon. “My name is Jake Carson. Nice to meet you Bonbon. Lyra here found me out in the blizzard and helped me get here.” I said with a bit of a smile.

Lyra looked a bit proud as Bonbon’s jaw dropped a bit. “You’re Jake Carson? THE Jake Carson?” She said as she looked around the house and started cleaning up in a hurry. “O-Oh my Celestia I’m so sorry for the mess, if I knew you were coming I’d have-“ as she ran around in a flurry and quickly cleaned up random messes through the house, I cut in.

“That's... alright. I really don’t mind.” I said getting her to stop with a pair of socks in her hoof and a small blush as she hid them behind her back. “And... how do you know my name?” I asked as Lyra looked over to Bonbon.

“Yeah... how do you know his name?” Lyra said with a questioning gaze.

Rolling her eyes, Bonbon spoke up, while throwing the socks into the room behind her and out of sight. “Are you kidding me? This guy was everywhere a few months ago! He’s the General of that huge... uh... ‘Starship’ up in the air. And Lyra don’t you remember the attack on Canterlot? It was all over the news!” Bonbon ranted as she Went back to cleaning up.

Lyra looked to be thinking for a moment before her eyes brightened up. “Oh yeah! I remember now!” She said as she turned to me with a wide smile. “Aw man that's so cool!” She said before wincing at the sound of Bonbon knocking something over. “Sorry about the mess...” She said with an awkward smile.

I gave a small chuckle and waved it off. “It’s really no big deal.” I said as I thought about what she said.

’General? Starship? What the hell happened a few months ago... why can’t I remember any of this?’ I thought to myself as I looked over to the now panting Bonbon.

The house now looked very tidy, well this room did anyway. I couldn't really tell you what the others looked like right now. The room I was in was pretty simple, with a small area rug in the center, two couches near the wall and a window that we could barely see out of due to the snowstorm raging outside. Other than that there was no other big furniture or anything else of note, just a bunch of pictures hung on the wall of Lyra and Bonbon.

The sound of howling winds pounded against the door behind me as I could feel a very slight draft coming from under the door.

Bonbon let out a few exasperated noises before shaking her head. “No big deal? Are you kidding, you’re a huge deal! In fact one of the latest families who moved here spoke very highly of you! Said they couldn't wait to meet you again.” Bonbon said as she sat on one of the couches and tried to catch her breath.

Shaking my head, I turned back to her. “Wait... what family?” I asked as she shrugged.

“I didn’t go to the welcome party, I just heard about them from the ponies around town. Apparently they lived up in Fillyfjell but moved here after the whole Griffon thing.” She said as I furrowed my brow.

I looked back towards the door and squinted my eyes. “I’m sorry but... I think I need to go.” I said as I reached for the doorknob.

“Wha-huh?” Lyra spoke up next to me. “Are you crazy? You’ll freeze to death out there like this!” She said motioning to all of me.

Shaking my head, I looked back at her. “No really, it was nice to meet you but I really have to go.” I said as Lyra huffed.

“Okay fine...” She said in a grumbly voice. “At least take this.” She said as her horn lit up.

I watched in awe as a red knit scarf literally floated over towards me. I didn’t know what to think, and I must have let my awe show on my face because Lyra lifted a brow at me.

“What? Never seen a scarf before?” She asked as I quickly answered.

“Not that... it’s just...” I began as the scarf floated in front of me.

As I watched it, I remembered those ponies that were literally flying and moving clouds around, and this suddenly seemed a lot more possible. At the same time... it also felt like I had seen this before.

’With my memory right now... I probably have’ I thought as I reached out for the scarf.

“Never mind.” I said as I took the scarf and the color around it faded as gravity took hold of it once more. “Thanks.”

I wrapped the scarf around my neck and also pulled it up a bit making a makeshift hood in the process before turning back to the door.

“Anyways, thanks a ton for your help, I hope to see you both again!” I say as I turn the handle of the door.

Lyra gave me a small smile and winked towards me. “Anytime, hope to see you soon!” She said as Bonbon came up to her side and gave her a small smack.

I opened the door and immediately was hit by a blast of cold wind and snow pelted my face like ice shards. I brought my right hand up to cover my eyes as I moved forward and began closing the door behind me.

“Lyra you big oaf! You know he’s already with Princess Luna right?!” I managed to hear Bonbon say from inside the house before I closed the door.

I furrowed my brow again as I could feel another headache coming on.

’Princess Luna... that sounds so... familiar’ I thought as I turned around and saw what lay before me.

A very deep blanket of white was spread out in front of me, with snow sheets coming down relentlessly, the howling of the wind making it impossible to hear anything else.

’If i’m gonna make any sense out of all this... I need to start somewhere’ I thought to myself as I remember the family Bonbon mentioned. ’And that seems like the perfect start point’

Chapter 53: Discordant Company

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Chapter 53: Discordant Company

The snow crunched under me, barely audible from the howling winds as flakes of snow pelted off my exposed skin. I tried to cover as much of myself as I could, but my face and hands were starting to go numb. I had been walking through the storm for a few minutes now but it’s felt like forever. Visibility was nearly zero, and I couldn't make out any more houses through the falling snow.

’Maybe I should have stayed and waited it out... I didn’t think it would get this bad’

Just as I began to consider turning around and trying to find my way back, the sound of the storm stopped, and so did the snow hitting my skin. Confused, I looked up to find something very strange.

The storm hadn’t stopped. If anything, it was actually getting even worse. The snow, however, wasn’t making it all the way to me but instead stopping mere feet from where I stood. It was like a large bubble had surrounded me and was warding off the harsh weather, and as much as I appreciated it, it still left me confused at how it was possible.

Before I could question it any further however, there was a bright flash behind me and a gravely voice spoke up.

“My my! Out alone in the cold AGAIN are we?” Spoke the voice as I spun around to meet it.

What I saw... I can’t even fully comprehend. This... thing, looked like an amalgamation of so many different animals all haphazardly strung together. Perhaps his biggest features were his long slender brown body, ending in a pony shaped head with two different kind of horns. Not to mention a long fang that stuck out of only one side of it’s mouth.

Taking a step back out of shock, I looked him over while he smiled at me. “What... the hell are you?” I asked as he put one of his... Hands, up to his chest and spoke up.

“Such rudeness! And even after I gave you that delightful jacket I made with my very own claw.” He exclaimed as he snapped his fingers, creating a brown jacket with a picture of him on the right side of it. “See, look I made another.” He finished with a bit of a chuckle.

Shaking my head and squinting my eyes a bit, I looked him over. “I... I’m sorry, who are you?” I asked a bit more politely.

He gave a little smile and snapped his claw hand again, causing the jacket to disappear this time.

“Me? Oh well I’m Discord! GOD of chaos!” He exclaimed proudly. “I believe we havn’t formally met.” He added as he stretched out his non claw hand towards me.

I looked at it for a second before slowly reaching forward with my own hand. “My name is Jake CaAHHHH!” I shouted out as I jumped back the moment my hand made contact with his.

He rolled back, floating in the air and going into a laughing fit. As he did so I noticed an electric buzzer on his palm, and I rolled my eyes.

“Are you sure you’re not the child of chaos?” I asked annoyed.

He wiped away a tear as he stifled the last of his laughter and shook his head. “Oh come now. It’s just a bit of harmless fun.” I rubbed my hand a bit as he composed himself and cleared his throat. “Besides I already know who you are. I’ve been watching you for quite some time, although the last few months have been quite... boring.” He said as he lurched over a bit and let out a huff.

I looked at where the sweater had been and back to Discord, before pointing to his claw. “How did you do that?” I asked.

He looked at me with a raised brow, before bringing his hand up. “What, this?” He said as he started snapping his fingers.

As he did, an object appeared infront of him and kept changing with each snap. First it was the sweater, then a paddle, a gold ball, a small flag, it just went on and on.

I waved my hand infront of me, getting him to stop. “Yes... THAT.”

He shrugged and gave a small smile. “Magic.” Was his simple response.

“Magic...?” I asked with a deadpan stare.

He just nodded, and smiled a bit wider, apparently finding my confusion amusing.

“Whatever.” I stated, “You said you knew me, correct?” I asked annoyed.

“Like the back of my claw.” He said as he spun his hand a whole 360 degrees. “Or maybe the front...” He finished with a whisper.

Almost at the end of my patience, I let out a huff. “ANYWAY... if you knew me then you must have known what happened to me. Could you please fill me in because im at a loss here.” I asked motioning around me.

Nodding slowly, he scratched his beard. “Ah yes... the events leading up to your... ahem... amnesia. Terrible business that, but was a necessary risk.”

I shot him a questioning glare. “What do you mean a necessary risk?”

Clearing his throat, he started to walk around the area of the bubble as he circled me. “Well you see, ever since my reformation as they call it, I havn’t been able to really be myself lately.” He began as he started to flap his mismatched wings and hover around the bubble. “However, when you came along... my oh my did the chaos follow! So I watched you for quite some time. Made sure not to interfere though. At least... not too much.”

He continued to circle around the bubble, until he suddenly stopped infront of me. “Not long ago you got terribly hurt and fell into a nice, long nap. I thought ‘Drat! I guess it’s back to watching the boring mundane life of the Princesses again.’ But then it hit me! If I help you get better, I’d not only get to continue watching you... but score some trust points with the Princesses! it’s a win-win!” He said with a huge smile as he raised both his arms, causing confetti to shoot out from nowhere and all over the white snow.

I furrowed my brow, and looked up to him. “So... you healed me?” I asked getting him to let out a quick Mmhm. “Then... why do I not remember anything?” I asked getting him to stop cheering.

He made a couple waving motions with his hands, and gave a small chuckle. “Oh no big deal, when you got hurt you were dead for roughly an hour. But nothing I couldn’t fix!” He said as my eyes widened. “Ah but! Before you panic, you needn't worry... nothing else is wrong. Just those pesky memories of yours.” He said as I looked down at the snow. “Well... I COULD help you get them back.” He said as I looked back up hopeful.

“How?” I asked getting him to rasp his fingers together.

“Weeeeeeell... It wont be pleasant. The only way to get them back would be to resurface a powerful memory.” He said as I squinted at the ground, trying to remember anything about my past. “It needs to be something rooted deep in your mind. Something that changed you forever, and I believe I have Just the memory. I hope you don’t mind but I spent a little time digging through your noggin while you were asleep and found a memory I couldn't access alone... but it was exuding some POWERFUL emotions.” He said with cooky grin.

I looked at him appalled, but quickly hid it as I thought it over.

’If he really can help me get my memory back... it’s worth a try’ I thought to myself as I could see him looking at me with anticipation. ’Surely nothing in my memories could be that bad... right?’

A few minutes of silence went on between us, and I very nearly considered declining. He looked at me with a bit of impatience, and just as he went to say something, I spoke up.

“Okay.”

Chapter 54: Repressed Nightmares

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Chapter 54: Repressed Nightmares

Perspective: Jake

Planet: Raylon, Part of the American Branch of Colonies

Year: 2844

I gave a small huff as I sat down in a chair, looking around the room.

’Where the hell is Chris? He said he’d be here by now’ I thought to myself as I looked around the room.

I was inside my classroom, sitting in my desk waiting for my friend to get here. It wasn’t like him to take this long but I’m sure he just got held up with something.

I let out another sigh as I pulled my backpack off and started rummaging through it, before I pulled out a rectangular glass device. I flipped it sideways and started playing games on it, waiting for the time to go by. After a while I checked the time, and saw roughly half an hour had gone by and he still wasn’t here!

“Where the hell is he?” I thought as I dialed him on my phone.

There was a short pause, then the ‘Disconnected’ tone started beeping through my phone.

’Huh that's... weird? Service is down...’ I thought to myself as I put my phone in my backpack and pulled it over my shoulder.

I stood up and walked over to the nearest window and looked outside it as I leaned against the wall. I watched the clouds drifting through the sky slowly and the thick vegetation around the buildings. Jungle trees stretched up tall over a lot of the houses present in the area with vines hanging down under them, some reaching the ground.

A small ball suddenly flew out of the treeline, followed by a few kids. I couldn’t hear them, but I could guess they were all laughing and having fun. I watched them kicking the ball around a bit before they all suddenly stopped. The light casting down into the area was suddenly blotched out by something as the kids looked up, a couple of them pointing at something.

I leaned into the window and looked up, trying to get a good look at what they were looking at.

*kraaa-BOOOM*

A thunderous noise erupted all around me, as the area the children were in was engulfed in fire and a moment later the window in front of me exploded.

I was thrown back, covering my face with my arms as I fell and landed on my back. I could feel glass shards slicing through my arms and side as I hit the ground.

“Ahhh! Ffffuck!” I yelled out in pain as I moved my arms and blinked away my blurred vision.

My ears rang as I looked around, the muffled sounds of screaming barely coming to my ears. A few moments went by, then my hearing started to get clearer along with my vision.

I shakily supported myself as I climbed to my feet, a sharp pain rushing through the right side of my stomach. Looking down, I could see a large chunk of glass roughly about the size of my wrist jutting out from my side. Reaching down, I touched it and immediately seethed in pain, a tear rolling down my face.

I stumbled over to a nearby wall and leaned against it, taking in a deep breath... before pulling the glass out.

*Shink*

“AHH!” I screamed, dropping the glass and holding the spot where it had been.

Breathing heavily, I looked up to where I had been standing. The window was completely blown away, allowing all the sounds outside to come flooding in.

The sounds of screams were the first thing I heard, followed by the sound of shooting and explosions ringing out in the distance. Holding onto my wound, I walked over to the window and looked out.

It was horrific.

The bodies of the children I saw before were burning in a small crater where they had been playing, and these metal monstrosities were running everywhere. Chasing people down and slaughtering them before they even had a chance to fight back.

My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I began panicking as I turned and ran out of the room, ignoring the pain in my side. I quickly reached the doors of the school, flung them open and took off as fast as my legs could carry me. I could hear plasma fire all around me as I ran towards the treeline.

I could hear footfalls next to me, and snuck a glance to my right as I ran. For a small moment I could make out another person running next to me, before their head exploded into blue and red gore.

I suppressed vomit as I reached the trees and didn’t stop running while the vines and trees blurred past me.

’What the hell is going on! I have to be dreaming, this must be some sick nightmare!’ I yelled in my mind as the pain in my side grew.

The warm feeling of blood had spread from my wound all the way down my side and leg, drenching my pants. But I had to keep going, I had to. After what felt like an eternity, I broke the treeline and saw two houses directly in front of me. The one on the right was engulfed in fire, the sound of screams rang out from inside.

I forced myself to look away, and ran up to the other house, bursting through the door and locking it behind me. Wasting no time, I turned and sprinted through the house and came up to some stairs. I followed them up and could hear someone rummaging around inside a nearby room at the end of a hall. I ran over and burst through the door, coming face to face with the person inside. He stood towering over me, in full military uniform except his hat.

“Dad!” I yelled as the man turned from where he was standing and opened his arms.

I ran into him, and he embraced me tightly. “Jake! Where the hell were you!” He asked as he let go of me and pushed me to arms length, not letting go.

“M-My friend C-Chris was gonna m-meet me after school...” I sputtered out in between hiccups and breaths. “B-But he n-never-“

He cut me off by shaking me a little. “It doesn't matter now, we need to get out of here!”

He looked down at my figure, and saw the still bleeding wound in my side.

“Oh my god what happened to you!” He yelled as he let go of me and turned around, going back to rummaging through a tall cabinet.

After a few moments he turned back around, a large plasma rifle hanging from his left hand and a small blue container in his right.

“Hold still.” He said as he knelt down and brought an end of the bottle to my wound.

A moment later, a cool wave washed over where I had been hurt, followed quickly by a numbing feeling. I looked down, and could see a layer of gel covering my wound, stopping anymore bleeding.

My dad threw the bottle behind him as I heard it hit the ground with a *Clunk*, before he turned back to me and looked me right in the eyes.

“We will make it out of this, you just have to do exactly as I say, okay?” He said as he brought his rifle up to both his hands.

I let out a small nod, my tears finally stopping now that the pain had stopped.

*KABOOM*

A loud sound erupted from downstairs, and my dad looked past me with worry in his eyes. Without a moment of hesitation, he stood up and motioned behind him towards the closet.

“Quick, go in there and hide and do NOT come out until I tell you to, understand?” He asked getting me to quickly nod and run past him.

I threw open the closet doors and went inside, before closing them behind me. I couldn't see out the closet as it didn’t have shutters, so I very slightly cracked open the right door, and peered outside. My dad was against the wall of the room, next to the door so that when it opened it covered him.

The tension was so thick you probably would feel like you’re walking through molasses while I watched the door. A few, agonizing seconds went by, and the sound of metal against wood could be heard outside as they burst through each room in the hallway.

*bang*

*Bang*

*BANG*

With every sound, I could feel my heart-rate rising higher and higher, until there was a pause.

Moments went by, with nothing happening as I watched my dad slowly take in a breath and tighten the grip on his rifle.

*BANG*

The door exploded violently as one of those horrible monstrosities came flying through the opening. Before it could even look around the room, my dad lowered his rifle and a cascade of plasma shots ripped through the things body, dropping it instantly. Not even half a second later another one ran through the door, this time gripping the door frame and wrapping it’s body around, swinging at my dad.

He ducked, just barely missing the swing as it caved into the wall behind him, and jumped forward and spun around. The monster gave him no breathing room as it leaped at him again as he fired more rounds at it, each hit landing on it’s mark. The machine shrieked a horrible metallic sound as it swiped at my dad, smacking the rifle from his hands before it fell to the ground, dead.

The rifle hit the ground and slid over to the closet I was hiding in, stopping just a few feet from it. My dad barely had a second to look where it landed, before he was tackled by another one of those things. They fell to the ground and tore at each other. My dad threw a few hard punches directly to it’s head and quickly bloodied his knuckles in an attempt to knock it off him.

I watched in horror as the machine was completely unfazed and began ripping and tearing at my dads chest. I watched, helplessly, as my dad fought an uphill battle. I wanted to go out there and help, pull the thing off him... but I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed in fear. It wasn't until the machine began to tear through the Kevlar vest under his uniform that his screams started.

I snapped out of my stupor, and listened to his bloodcurdling screams, which quickly began to sound like gurgling. My adrenaline spiked, and I burst through the closet doors and picked up the rifle on the ground. As I pulled the rifle up, the sound of fighting stopped and everything fell quiet.

I looked up, and saw that monster down on all fours, looking right at me with menacing red eyes. It let out a low hiss, and leaped towards me.

I let out a quick scream, and closed my eyes as I pulled back on the trigger.

The rifle kicked back and quickly made me point it straight up in the air as it flew out of one of my hands. I kept my eyes glued shut, terrified to open them. Moments went by in silence, and I creaked open one of my eyes to see the body of that twisted machine on the ground, it’s head caved in and smoldering with blue plasma.

I let the rifle down to my side and held it with my right hand as I ran past the body of the thing and up to my dad, who lay there not moving. I hit the ground to his right and let go of the gun as I leaned over him.

“Oh god... nonono.” I said aloud as I slowly reached my hands forward to touch his cheeks. “This can’t be happening, this isn’t real.” I kept saying to no one as I kept touching my dad, trying to get a reaction out of him.

Nothing.

Finally, the floodgates blew. I sat there and cried. I cried for what felt like an eternity. I cried until I had no more tears left and it was just howls in a raspy voice.

’This isn’t real, this isn’t real, this can’t be real, it can’t-

A sound from the stairway knocked me out of my thoughts. I quickly wiped away my tears and snot that was on my face and picked the rifle back up. I shakily aimed it towards the door, and waited.

I could hear the sound of multiple feet hitting the ground, coming towards me. With every step, I could hear my heartbeat in my ears. I gripped the gun tighter, and-

“Don’t shoot!” A man called out just as he turned the corner with a raised hand.

I let out a small gasp and dropped the gun, Causing it to clang against the floor. I dropped to my knees and tried to catch my breath. I couldn’t accept this was happening, this would never happen to me. It just couldn’t.

I flinched as a hand touched my shoulder, getting me to look up at him. He was tall, maybe even taller than my dad. He had dark skin and a military uniform, along with a rifle just like the one I had been holding. He looked down at me with sorrowful eyes, and motioned to the door.

“We have to go.” He said as he sprayed some kind of foam on my wound.

I let out a small hiccup and looked back down at my dad.

“B-But... I can’t j-just leave him here...” I said as he started to help me stand up.

“We’ll come back for him. Right now we need to get the rest of you off this planet.” He stated grimly as I wiped my eyes and nodded.

Before I left, I took his leather jacket laying on the ground, which must have fallen out of the closet when I came out...

The next moments passed by in a blur. I’m not sure if it was just the shock of what happened, or if it was the blood loss and receding adrenaline. Soon, I found myself boarding a small ship as the man followed me in and the doors slid closed behind him. The sound of gunfire stopped as the door closed, and I was brought over to the cabin where I saw many other people sitting on the ground.

I saw children, adults, wounded, all sitting together and waiting for it to all be over. The room was barely illuminated by the red light in the ceiling, and gave the whole place an even more grim feeling to it.

“You should rest here with everyone else, you’ve been through a lot.” The man said as he motioned to the group of people.

As he did, he turned and walked off. I watched him, and looked back at the group of people, before turning and following him. He walked over to a window and looked outside it to the planet below. I walked up next to him and took a look for myself, just barely being tall enough to see through it.

What I saw almost made me sick.

The planet below, the one I called home all my life, was in complete turmoil. Half of the planet looked as if it was engulfed in fire and ships all over the planet were escaping from it’s clutches. Far past the horizon, I could barely make out a massive ship, much different in look than any of ours. From the sides of it, it looked as if millions of small dots were flying out from it and down to the planet.

I watched the planet, a lump forming in my throat as I remembered everything that just happened.

“It’s not fair...” I said quietly as I watched the planet burn from the window, pulling the large jacket tighter around me.

The man to my right raised an eyebrow towards me, then looked back out the window. “*Sigh*... listen kid, I’m gonna tell you something I was told a long, long time ago.” He said as he leaned over to me a bit. “War. Isn’t. Fair.” He said, enunciating each word with as much malice as he could. “They show us NO mercy... you experienced that firsthand.”

I didn’t take my eyes off the planet, but answered back. “So what happens now?” I asked getting him to let out another sigh.

“Well...” He began, “For you, you’ll be dropped off on a temporary refugee camp on Varion. There you’ll be given what you need to get yourself back together and get an education. Then you’ll-“

“I meant,” I cut in, “What happens to my home.” I asked finally looking away from the window and over to his eyes.

He didn’t say anything, just looked back out the window and avoided my gaze.

The silence gave me all the answers I needed.

I was never going back.

****************************

Perspective: Jake

Present time

I let out a gasp as I sat up, breathing quickly with a cold sheen of sweat covering my whole body. In between gasps of breath I looked around the room, quickly taking in my surroundings. I was laying in a bed which didn’t have any special characteristics about it, other than the fact that it was almost too small for me.

’Looks like I’m back in Canterlot castle’ I thought to myself as the door to the room creaked open.

“Jake?” A familiar voice asked from the door.

Luna slowly pushed her head through the door, and upon seeing me awake she exploded into glee. The look on her face was so infectious I even felt a small smile coming on my own face. She cleared the room with a small jump, as she spread her wings and glided all the way across.

She landed next to the bed and pulled me into a vice grip of a hug. I could feel her sobbing and laughing over my shoulder as she held me. A few moments went by and I wrapped my arms around her as well.

“I’m so happy you’re back! I thought you’d never wake up! I... I thought-“ She attempted to talk through her sobs as I brushed her mane with my right hand.

“Shhh. It’s alright. I’m not going anywhere.” I whispered into her ear.

She pushed me away, her hooves pressed against my chest. I could see tears plastered down her cheeks and bags under her eyes. Her eyes also looked a bit red from rubbing, and she couldn't seem to stop crying even though she was trying hard to.

“Don’t you ever, EVER, do something so STUPID like that again. Do you hear me Jake?” She begged as I watched her broken form.

Before I could answer, the sound of the door opening again grabbed my attention.

“Is everything alright?” Another familiar voice asked.

I looked over to see Celestia peering in, along with Discord.

“Y-Yeah... everything's fine.” I said aloud, getting Celestia to smile and give a small nod.

She started to back away from the door, before I spoke up again. “Actually uh, can I talk to Discord for a moment?” I asked, getting her to look at me with a raised eyebrow.

She didn’t question it though, instead she just pulled her head out of the door frame, and Discord came walking in looking a bit less spastic this time around.

I looked down to Luna as she turned back to me. “Luna is it alright if I talk to him for a minute?” I asked getting her to wipe a tear and nod.

Luna reluctantly got off the bed, and walked past Discord. But not before stopping next to him and doing something I didn’t expect at all. She reared up on two hooves and wrapped Discord in a hug, which shocked him as well. I saw her whisper something to him, but I didn’t hear it. After a moment she pulled away and walked to the door, but not before giving one last glance to me and shut the door.

There was a heavy silence in the room as Discord didn’t look towards me, and instead at the ground.

“Did you see it too?” I asked him, getting him to nod.

He pulled in a breath, and looked to me. “It... it was never my intention to show you that. I was just so eager to get on the princesses good sides that I... I grabbed the first memory that had a strong connection... I-“ I cut him off by raising a hand.

“It’s alright. It was a long time ago. I’ve gotten over it then, and I can get over it now... I just need time. I don’t blame you for it... if anything I thank you for helping me the way you did. If it wasn’t for you I’d be dead...” I finished getting him to sigh.

“Regardless...” He began, “I feel horrible for putting you through that again. If there’s ever anything you need, just let me know.” He said getting me to nod.

He then snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light. Luna must have heard it, because she cracked the door open and peeked in.

“Oh, he’s gone already?” She asked getting me to nod. “Oh... okay. Well I guess I’ll give you a bit of time to rest.” She said as she began to close the door.

“Wait.” I asked, getting her to stop and look back over to me. “Can you stay with me? I don’t want to be left alone with my thoughts tonight...” I said in a low tone, getting her to nod and come in the room.

She shut the door behind her and I lay back down in the bed as she jumped in and lay next to me, extending a wing over my chest.

My memories had returned, all of them. Even the ones which I had fought to keep buried all those years.

I guess you really can never outrun your demons.

Chapter 55: Star Crossed Love

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Chapter 55: Star Crossed Love

In a moment, my eyes were open and I was awake to the world once more. Silence greeted me back as I looked around the barely illuminated room I had spent the night in after my recent experience. The eeriness of the room quickly wore off as I felt a warm sensation blow a bit of my hair on my left.

Taking a peek while being careful to not move much, I could see Luna slumbering quietly next to me, the warmth provided by her body heat and single wing draped over me trying to pull me back into a cozy sleep. As tempting drifting back off to sleep would be right about now, I had a lot of work to do if I really had been out for three months.

’What did I miss? Who’s been commanding the ship in my absence? Has the site Celestia gave us been set up yet?’ Many questions swirled in my mind as I let out a small huff.

Slowly, I lifted her wing off me and folded it against her side. She let out a small groan of annoyance but continued to sleep. I carefully pulled myself to the right side of the bed and slid out from under the covers as I gave one last look over to Luna. I gave a stretch, eliciting a few satisfying pops from my back before looking myself over.

’It seems I’m still in the same outfit when I left the hospital’ I thought to myself as I made my way to the door of the room.

“You know,” A voice picked up from behind me, causing me to stop. “You really should be resting that head of yours.” The voice announced with an annoyed tone.

I let out a small chuckle and turned around, looking at Luna as she lay on her side in the bed and shot me a disapproving glare. “I think three months is plenty enough.” I answered back as I watched her give a small stretch and hop out of bed.

She walked up to me, and stopped mere inches from me. “Jake...” She started, hesitating for a moment. “I... do you...” She looked down and let out a bit of an annoyed sigh, before looking back at me. “Do you... love me?” She asked, her eyes locked onto mine.

Shocked at her question, my mouth opened for a second as I was unable to formulate words. After a few moments of tense silence, I finally found my voice.

“Luna... of course I love you. I know it’s been tough the last few months, and I’m new to this kind of thing so I may have made it a bit hard for you to tell but...” I paused, looking her in the eyes as I placed one of my hands under her chin. “I will always love you. Nothing will ever change that.” I finished, moving in closer.

Luna seemed too know what I was doing, and began to move forward as well. We both hit our target as we locked lips, dropping into a long and passionate kiss. Before I knew it, it was over. Luna pulled back, gasping for air with a small smile on her mouth.

Looking back up at me, she wiped one of her eyes as it started to water. “I... I just thought... maybe I had imagined that connection we had on the Verix ship. I thought, maybe you only kissed me to give me your stored magic...” She said in a low voice, her eyes watering. "And... and with the months you were asleep I feared you'd never wake up and I waited too long to voice my feelings. I don't want to lose my only chance..." She finished as she blinked her eyes a couple times, getting some tears to roll down her cheek.

I gave her a small smile and placed my hand on the side of her face, wiping some tears away. “Luna, I know I’ve been distant lately. But after what happened and remembering my past... I think I’m finally ready to take those next steps. Even if the road ahead is going to be difficult.” I spoke softly, getting her to nod and her grin to widen.

“So uh...” Luna began, “I guess we kinda skipped the whole dating part then, huh?” She asked getting me to chuckle.

“Well actually, if you count the times we’ve been near death fighting Verix, I think we’ve been on a few good dates.” I asked getting her to laugh with me.

“So... you wouldn't mind making our relationship a bit more... public?” She asked, letting some eagerness slip into her voice.

Rubbing the back of my neck, I gave a small shrug. “Well, it'll happen sooner or later. And with all of the news and rumors floating around it shouldn’t come as much of a shock anyway. Let’s just try and ease into it, alright? Start slow.” I asked getting her to nod happily.

Turning around, I grabbed hold of the door and pulled it open...

And coming face to face with a small mob of ponies who immediately started bombing Luna and I with questions and flashes of cameras.

’I’m getting a strong case of deja vu here...’ I thought as the questions rolled in like a tsunami.

Chapter 56: Refresh

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Chapter 56: Refresh

*BANG*

The doors to the throne room slammed closed as I leaned my back against them. My hair shifted and covered m eyes as I grumbled out of annoyance. I could still hear the chatter of the news ponies on the other side of the doors, slowly being pushed away by the guards.

I flicked my head to the right, causing my hair to move out of my eyes. ’Wow, my hair really grew while I was out’ I thought as I eyed the long brown hair that was now nearly reaching my mouth. ’Still shaven though... must have kept me shaved while I was in the hospital’ I thought as I ran my hand over the slight stubble starting to poke through my face.

My attention turned to the room ahead of me, where Celestia sat upon her throne and scribbled on a floating piece of parchment. Every few moments she would stop to read it over some more, roll it up and with trained precision... the scroll would be sealed and disappear in a flash of light. Not a moment afterword, another one was unfurled and the process continued.

Directly to my right, Luna walked past me and cast me a quick glance before training her eyes on her sister. Celestia seemed to flick her eyes up, and back down to her scroll before refocusing on Luna again. A large smile adorning her serene face.

“Good morning sister!” Celestia stated as her gaze sweeped over to me. “And to you too Jake.”

Luna didn’t really say anything except smile and give a small nod. She continued walking forward before moving past the throne and disappearing behind it. Moments later I heard a door click shut from where she went.

“Morning Princess.” I responded politely, giving a small tilt of my head towards her as I approached the throne.

Celestia gave a small smile, and slowly put down the objects she had floating in her magic before looking back over to me. “So, what brings you here so early in the morning?” She questioned as I fidgeted my hands.

“Well...” I began, looking over to a nearby window. “I just wanted to ask a couple of questions... like how are things going on that site we agreed on, and who had been commanding the Night’s Vigil in my absence.”

Giving a small nod, she got up from her throne and in a small flash caused a piece of folded paper to appear next to her. It floated in mid air, before moving towards me and stopping just short of where I stood. I reached up and snatched the paper from the air as she spoke up.

“A nice... man by the name of General Chase was overseeing the Night’s Vigil in your absence. Apparently he was just commanding it from your home planet as you apparently havn't appointed any co-pilots.” She finished explaining, not seeming to really understand most of what she just said. “Thinking it over though, I think I met him when I first visited your planet...” She said to herself a bit quietly.

Nodding, I continued to read the paper over. It mostly just seemed like a bunch of agreements on areas of land we were allowed to touch down on and make temporary bases of operation. Looks like we had one in Ponyville, Saddle Arabia, and Fillyfjell, along with the permanent base at the bottom of Canterlot Mountain. There’s also notes at the bottom of the page detailing possible ways to set up in Cloudsdale, with little success.

Right next to that was a scribbled signature of General Chase.

I folded up the paper and offered it forward, where it was surrounded in a yellow glow and disappeared in a flash. I let out a small huff, my hair once again falling down infront of my eyes and causing me more annoyance. Brushing it out of the way I looked over to Celestia and saw her giving me a bit of a smirk.

“Driving you mad?” She asked as I nodded quickly. “I myself prefer to keep my hair long...” She said as I let out a little chuckle.

“Could you even cut it if you wanted to?” I asked looking the ethereal mane over.

She took on a thoughtful expression, tapping her hoof on her chin. “You know... I never really tried. It always did a good job of staying out of the way.” She gave a small laugh as she waved her hoof, before pointing at me. “You know, why don’t you keep it long? With a bit of styling you could look rather handsome.”

Shaking my head, causing my hair to swing freely, I looked back over to her. “Well as good as it might look, I have to keep it short. Longer hair has been known to get caught in retractable helmets on our armors. And I’m not too keen on wearing a hairnet into battle.” I joked, getting a small snicker from Celestia.

“No, I suppose not.” She quickly responded while giggling.

“So, where did Luna go?” I asked getting Celestia to look behind herself for a moment towards the throne.

“Oh... she’s a bit tied up with some political nonsense with the Griffon Empire. We may not be at war anymore but lots of things need to be worked out before we’re on good terms again. If we ever will be.” She said as she looked down at the floor for a second with a blank gaze, before looking back up to me with a smile. “Anyway, would you like me to recommend you to some good places in Canterlot to do your mane- er, hair?” Celestia asked, getting me to shake my head again.

“Nah, it’s alright. I usually cut it myself anyway. I just didn’t notice it got so long.” I paused for a few seconds as I looked back towards the throne room doors, and back to Celestia. “You wouldn’t mind... teleporting me back to the room would you? I just came here to ask you a few questions and go back, but I really don’t want to walk through those bloodsuckers again.” I stated as I pointed towards the front doors.

Nodding a bit and giving a small chuckle, she lit her horn up. “Of course not.” She answered softly as he horn began to glow brighter. “See you soon.” She finished with a wink before a bright flash blinded me, followed by a feeling of weightlessness.

Moments later, I felt my feet touch the ground and all gravity return to normal. I quickly blinked the spots from my eyes and saw I was inside the room I woke up in at Canterlot. I let out a small content smile as I walked over to a nearby window and looked out at it. Far beyond the city walls, lay rolling fields covered in snow and a small town by a river in the distance.

One thing, however, caught my eye. The fact that many MANY unicorns seemed to be out and about, melting snow with their horn and pushing clouds away from the city. I raised an eyebrow at their strange behaviour, and watched them for a few more minutes.

’I mean... I get the whole control over weather the ponies have going... but why manually get rid of the snow? Can’t they let the sun take care of it?’ I thought to myself as I shook my head and pulled away from the window. ’Well... I suppose there’s a lot more to this planet I don’t understand yet’

Clearing the thoughts from my mind, I turned around and walked through the room and towards the front door. To the left of it was another door, leading to what I suspected was the bathroom. Upon opening the door, my suspicion was proven correct as I looked at the simple toilet and sink. It may not have been as fancy as the one in Luna’s room, not even close, but it’ll do.

’Time to clean up, there’s a lot to be done’

Chapter 57: The Gala

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Chapter 57: The Gala

—LOG ENTRY 001: Onward—

‘So, it's been a couple days since I woke up and... I was told to start keeping a journal because I may have more memory issues pop up and its a good thing to write everything down... so here goes. Over these last few days I’ve been mostly brought up to speed on what's happened in my absence. Apparently I’ve been put on an "Extended Leave of Absence" until it was confirmed there'd be no unexpected side effects of prolonged unconsciousness regarding the super soldier enhancements. I knew I shouldn’t of went through with the procedure, everything’s been fucked ever since I woke up.

Part of me isn't even sure if all of this is real. Maybe I’m still on that operating table and this has all been a dream?

On another note I dreamt about my dad again. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that nightmare, even if it was a few days ago I still can’t stop thinking about it. Maybe that's what I needed, though. I’ve been relaxing too much on this planet as is and that's why I got hurt... its time to up my training.

They also reminded me today of my coming “Problem” again. When I had the mutations done they told me it’d dramatically reduce my life expectancy but... today they told me with all the extra strain and stress I shouldn’t expect to live another couple years at least...

Fuck.

What do I tell Luna?’

—END LOG—

I saved the first of many logs to be written, and slid my phone back into my pocket. Taking a deep breath, I sighed and looked around the room I’d been staying in for the last few days and recalled more information about the super soldier program.

The thing about super solders in our military is, they don't tend to live that long. After getting the enhancements their body slowly starts to mutate and get stronger over time. The body can't handle rapid mutations so this is the workaround. However... the mutations never stop, so eventually my body will keep getting stronger and stronger until... well... my heart gives out. Which is why they're usually put on the front line.

Most of the time there's 4 stages of mutation, in rare cases there can be 5. The first is strength which begins almost immediately. The second is perception which happened not too long before my coma, giving me an increased sense of smell, hearing and better low light vision. So far... no signs of stage 3.

'That's the price we're willing to pay though...' I thought as Luna came to mind. 'Fuck... What the hell am I gonna say...' I thought as I racked my brain for a good way to bring it up. 'We're gonna have to talk about it soon... It wouldn't be right leaving her in the dark about it.'

I shook my head, deciding to dwell on it later. Apparently while I was out the outpost at the bottom of the mountain is now complete. I hadn't realized it but apparently its right next to a set of train tracks, meaning ponies can visit on their way to the Canterlot castle.

'Meaning the ponies have had much more interaction with us around here. Hopefully they've warmed up...' I thought to myself.

I leaned into the balcony railing, overlooking the garden as the moon illuminated the tops of trees. The sound of water came from a fountain deeper in. Apparently tomorrow was something called the 'Grand Galloping Gala'. Some big party thrown by the rich on the new year.

'Sounds like a waste of time to me but... I guess I have to go...' I begrudgingly thought as I remembered my earlier conversation with Luna.

It's the perfect time to reveal our relationship...

Luna's voice echoed in my head from our conversation a few hours ago.

"I mean... she's right. She's royalty after all and we can't always keep this in the dark. Besides, I'd rather make it public myself at an event like this then have everyone find out through the media and however they decide to word it." I whispered to myself as I pushed off the railing and walked towards the door.

Before I could make it, I heard the doorknob rattle for a moment, before it began to creak open. Stopping in place, I watched as Luna peeked her head around the door and, upon seeing me, let out a small smile.

"Perfect, I was hoping you were still here. You know we can get you a better room if you want? We have plenty of bigger rooms which are much fancier." Luna said as she looked behind me to the small and slightly cramped guest room.

Shaking my head, I motioned to the balcony doors. "Nah, I prefer the view this one offers. It's right over the gardens." I stated, eliciting a small nod from Luna.

"Anyway, I've had something being worked on the last couple days for the gala and... well I hope you like it." She said with an excited smile as she opened the door the rest of the way.

What I saw made me... nervous, for lack of a better term.

"No." I stated bluntly. "Hell no."

"Whaaaaat?!" Luna said while letting out an exasperated sound. "But it looks so GOOD! And besides you have to wear something, this is a big deal!" She finished with a bit of a pout.

"Ugh... I know but... why that!" I asked as I took it from her magical grasp.

The outfit she handed me had a cloak which dragged against the ground a bit, and was colored a deep midnight purple and shimmered like stars on a sunless sea. Small gemstones were woven into the fabric near the bottom with an embroidery of painted gold. And the most noticeable of it's characteristics was the neck wrap around the top. Instead of a fur wrap you would see from this kind of style of clothing, they were deep blue, almost purple, feathers.

The part of the outfit covering the chest and legs were two separate pieces, and also had the same color scheme as the cape with a lot of painted gold trim forming intricate designs depicting shimmering stars.

"What do you mean?" She asked as she looked it over. "This outfit would be fit for a king! Midnight phoenix feathers are exceptionally rare."

"I know it's fit for a king, that's the problem! I wouldn't feel comfortable wearing something like this!" I shot back, getting an annoyed look out of her. "Can't I just wear a uniform from my home world?" I asked her hopefully.

"Pleeeeaaaase?" Luna asked again, her eyes growing and shining with hope.

I looked at her, and felt my resolve waver. "Ugh... fine. I'll wear it." I finished, getting her to let out a small squeak of excitement.

"I can't wait! I'll see you tomorrow morning. Remember, it starts at 4 pm sharp!" She finished as she turned and shut the door behind her.

Looking at the outfit and sighing one last time, I hung it on the door leading to the bathroom and jumped into bed. After a few sleepless hours, I was finally lulled into a shallow slumber.

************************

I had woken up multiple times throughout the day. Checking the hour each time and laying back down, with no will to get up.

'Whats the point anyway? I don't have access to my gear, or the equipment from the Night's Vigil due to my leave' I sighed as I rolled over in the bed and looked at the clock on the wall.

'2 pm... might as well get up now'

I groaned as I rolled over out of the bed and stood up, giving myself a long stretch and eliciting multiple pops from my back. Begrudgingly, I made my way to the bathroom while rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I grabbed the outfit I had hung on the bathroom door on the way by and got to work.

*One Hour Later*

The bathroom was warm with steam as I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a nearby towel off a railing. I looked into the mirror as I finished drying off my hair which I had just cut down to a reasonable size. My brown hair sat around an inch long and my face was once again clean shaven. After looking myself over in the mirror one last time, I gazed over to the outfit hanging nearby and, with a moment of hesitation, began pulling it on.

********************

Perspective: Celestia

I sighed and leaned my head on my hoof. I was bored out of my mind.

Luna was seated next to me at a large table that spanned in both directions, plenty of food placed across it. The beginning of the gala had gone off without a hitch, I met all the visiting nobility and high status ponies and finally got to sit down. The feast had already begun, however Luna hadn't started yet and was sat next to me looking quite nervous.

Looking to my right, I whispered to my sister. "Luna, what's the matter? You look nervous." I asked getting her to jump a bit in her seat, before looking over to me and breathing a sigh.

"I told him to be here for 4... he's late..." She said as she tapped her hoof against the table.

I looked up at the large clock on one of the walls. Indeed, he was late, it was already 4:30.

"Perhaps he's decided against coming?" I proposed, getting Luna to let out a huff.

The rest of the ponies in the grand room were all sitting at their own tables, littered around the room. Many of them were talking among themselves and eating the dishes being carried out by countless waiters.

Luna was about to say something, when we heard the double doors leading to the gala open. I turned to look and had to do a double take.

"Oh my goodness..." I mumbled to myself as I watched who entered the room, my face heating up slightly.

**********************

Perspective: Jake

'Good fucking lord I found it' I thought as I approached the two double doors with a guard on either side. I pulled a bit at the neck of my new outfit, feeling myself heat up in embarrassment.

I had left my room at 3:30 with the expectation I could find my way to the ball room. And if I couldn't find it someone should know where it is.

'How the fuck was I supposed to know the whole castle would be empty!?' I yelled in my head as I pushed my hands against the doors. 'Hopefully I'm not too late...'

I pushed open the double doors, and what I saw made me freeze in place. The entirety of the room fell to silence and all eyes turned to me.

I stood there for a few moments, unsure what to do.

"Ahem... as you were..." I said aloud giving a small polite bow.

A few of the ponies returned to their talks, but a lot of them stayed fixated on me. I ignored the stares as best as I could and made my way through the dining hall. Many ponies began losing interest as I did, and the music started to pick up once more.

I finally made it to the other side of the room, and took a seat next to Luna. Both of them had very different looks on their faces. Luna looked furious, and Celestia looked... well I wasn't sure actually. She seemed to facing away from me and fanning her face with a small folding fan.

'She must be pissed too.' I thought as I sighed and pulled in my seat, getting comfortable.

"What the hay Jake! I told you to be here for 4!" She angrily whispered to me from my left.

"I'm sorry okay! I got lost on my way here and there wasn't anyone around to ask for directions!" I whispered back, trying to look around her to see Celestia.

"Whatever... at least you made it here. And you're wearing the outfit I gave you." She said, dawning a small smile. "It fits you well."

"Are you sure? I feel like I stick out too much... Celestia what do you think of this thing?" I asked looking over to her.

She turned her head a bit to meet my gaze, still partially covering herself with the fan. "Ahem... uh yes, it looks good on you... Jake." She said as she kept fanning herself. "Is it really warm in here?" She asked as she put the fan down and levitated a glass of water to her lips.

Looking ahead, I sighed and shook my head. Ahead of me, many ponies were still looking at me with fascination. Some of them whispering to each-other.

'Are midnight phoenix feathers really that rare?' I thought to myself as a waiter came by and placed a plate in front of me.

He pulled off the cover hiding what was under it, and I beheld one of the most beautifully cooked steaks I've ever seen. It was pretty small though, but really thick. I can imagine the price of this thing was way out of my league.

"Your meal, sir." The waiter said as he held his head high and walked off.

"Oh uh, thank you!" I tried to say back as he walked off, and looked down at the plate. "Hm...."

"So Jake," Luna started to my left, "after our meal and our speech, the gala dance will begin. I was wondering... if you wanted to join me?" She asked with a blush.

I sighed and cut into my steak, pulling a small piece of it off with my fork.

"Sorry Luna. I'd love to but I don't even know how to dance with humans... I'd probably just step on your hooves every time." I explained as I popped the piece in my mouth.

'Just as expected, excellently cooked. Still not as good as that griffon's steak though...' I thought as I took another bite.

Just then, something clicked in my head.

"Wait... our speech?" I asked looking at Luna quizzically.

Nodding, she picked up a small cherry tomato with her fork using her magic. "Yeah, we're going to give our New Year's speech and then the dance will begin." She said matter-o-factly as she popped the tomato in and chewed. "Why?"

"Well, I just didn't realize I'd be giving a speech. I would have prepared more." I said, taking bites of my food between sentences.

Celestia spoke up, seeming to have gotten over whatever was plaguing her. "You don't need to speak if you don't wish to. I'll handle it." She said with a smile.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. I'm not good at making up speeches in the moment." I said, going back to concentrating on my food.

A bit of time passed, and finally the time had come. I stood up with the celestial sisters, and both of their horns began glowing brightly.

"Once again it's that time of year my little ponies!" Celestia began, getting all of the ponies attending to stand from their seats. "We are here at the end of the year once more, and I wish to thank each and every one of you for attending." She paused for a moment as her horn brightened a bit more and all of the tables and chairs disappeared from the room.

Luna's horn brightened next, and the room darkened slightly allowing the mood to shift to more of a casual dance setting.

"However, before we begin tonight's next act, I'd like to say a few words about our guest of honor, General Jake Carson." She said as I gave a polite bow and smiled at the crowd. "Our guest, and many more people from his home have been welcomed into Equestria over the last few months. And I must say I am very proud how all my ponies have welcomed them with open hooves." She finished as all the ponies in the crowd gave a small applause.

Just when I thought it was over, Luna spoke up next to me. "Also, right before we begin I'd like to announce something important..." She began as I could feel a cold sweat forming on my back.

'Good lord... here it comes' I thought as I dreaded the upcoming words.

"Many rumours have been appearing stating that I'm in a relationship with the Human standing next to me, Jake Carson. Well, I'm here to put those rumours to rest." She said with a nod. "Because it's with utmost certainty that Jake and I are in fact, together." She stated with as much courage as she could, even though a blush showed through her fur slightly.

The whole room fell silent, pretty much everypony's mouth hung open. Even Celestia to my left past Luna looked a bit taken back.

"Wow... so soon..." Celestia whispered to herself. "Well no matter... as you have just heard, General Jake Carson has officially courted my dear sister Princess Luna. I shall be putting the preparations for the marriage ceremony together soon." She finished with a raised hoof. "This is truly a wonderful day for both Ponykind and Humankind alike!"

My eyes bulged out of my head.

'EXCUSE ME WHAT!?' I screamed in my head. 'WHEN THE FUCK DID I SAY I WAS READY FOR MARRIAGE' I tried to say something, but I was frozen in terror and couldn't get my voice to work.

Next to me, I could see Luna staring at her sister with a surprised look as well.

"S...Sister..." Luna whispered to her sister, however it went unheard as the sudden roaring applause started up from the crowd.

I brought my hand up to my forehead, and could feel the color drain from my face.

"What the fuck just happened..." I said aloud as I looked around the room at all of the ponies as they began spreading throughout the room.

Suddenly the whole place was alive with music as ponies began elegantly dancing with each other or talking amongst themselves. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I turned and walked past Luna and got Celestia's attention.

"Ahem, Celestia." I began, getting her to turn to me with a massive smile on her face. "I-"

Before I could begin, she started prancing in place and giggling to herself. "Oh my goodness this is so exciting! Finally something to liven up this dull party! Oh I'm so happy for you Lulu! I knew you could do it!" She said as she walked over to Luna and draped a foreleg over her, standing next to her and shaking her back and forth.

"Sister you don't-" Luna began before being shushed by her sister.

Holding her hoof over Luna's mouth, she spoke excitedly. "Shh! Hold on... I need to prepare.. oh my goodness there's so much to do! I need you to handle the attendants I have to go!" Celestia finished and without hesitation, disappeared in a flash of light.

Luna and I stood there in awkward silence for a few moments, before looking at each-other.

"I-"

"Um-"

We both started at the same time, before she motioned for me to continue. "I... don't suppose you meant for her to say that... did you?" I asked getting her to sigh.

"No, no I did not..." Luna said as she paused for a moment, "Oh dear this is gonna be a mess..." She said as she placed her hoof on her face and sighed.

I walked next to her and draped my arm around her, partially covering her with the cape of my outfit. "Come on, I'm sure we can fix this misunderstanding..." I said as I noticed a whole mob of attendees walking towards us, big smiles on their faces. "I hope..."

Chapter 58: Re-Introductions

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Chapter 58: Re-Introductions

'At least It couldn't get worse' Was the only thing I could think to try and give myself some kind of solace at the current predicament I found myself in.

Not long after Celestia took off for her 'Preparations' as she called them... Luna took off almost immediately after! Muttering something about setting things straight and for me to handle the guests.

Before I could even formulate a response she disappeared in her trademark flash of moonlight. So here I am, forcing on my best smile and shaking the hoof of every single pompous pretty pony that pranced up the steps.

'Should have just left me with the Verix interrogator' I thought to myself as I "Happily" shaked the next hoof of a pony who, just like the previous, either spoke in a high and mighty pompous voice or smelled so strongly of perfume I almost found my smile falter in place of gagging.

"Having a fun time?" Sounded a familiar voice and broke me from my trance.

Blinking a few times, I laid eyes upon the next pony in line and felt a genuine smile cross my face.

"Well well, hello miss Twilight." I spoke genuinely for the first time since I "volunteered" for this job. "Sorry for not stopping by to see you more often after the first time we met. I guess we never really got a proper introduction." I finished as finished the hoof-handshake.

"Well, we did see each other that time I came to your planet but we didn't really have time to talk I suppose." She replied, before starting again, "Oh! And that one time Pinkie Pie threw you a party but... I remember you weren't very enthusiastic about it, ha... haha..." she finished with an awkward chuckle as I peeked around her to look at the line of ponies.

Almost all of them had varying looks of impatience on their faces.

"Yeah... that's not happening..." I quietly said to myself before clearing my throat and turning to Twilight again, "Twilight, care to take a walk with me?" I asked, much to the annoyance of the ponies behind her.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you about a few things... I was wondering-" Twilight began eagerly, but was quickly cut off as I placed my hand on her shoulder and ushered her towards the side of the ball room, away from the glaring ponies.

"Mmm hmm, yup, oh yeah! Yes... very interesting. Right this way please..." I kept interrupting as Twilight quickly hopped along beside me trying to squeeze a word in.

I slowly breathed a sigh of relief as we made it to the opposite side of the room and sat at a table that had been placed for ponies taking a break from dancing. With a moment to finally think to myself, I looked over to Twilight to see her annoyed look.

"...sorry." Was all I could muster to the pouting Alicorn.

Giving a small huff, and flipping some of her mane back into place that had fallen over her face she rolled her eyes. "It's okay, I get it. The gala can be... a lot sometimes." Twilight said back with a smile before turning her head to look at the dance floor.

A few minutes went by as I watched her and noticed something, almost like a longing look in her eyes as she watched the ponies in the ball room dance. Turning my attention to the ballroom floor I scanned the area and watched all of the couples dancing. First thing I noticed was that everypony dancing looked like they wanted to be doing something else. Every movement they made was precise and practiced with no emotion to it.

'Of course. This place is mostly just for status anyway' I thought to myself as I pulled my view away from the room.

But just as I did, one pair of ponies took my focus. I had no idea who they were, but I quickly realized this is exactly what Twilight was watching. At first it was almost exactly like everypony else but... there was a sense of tranquility to their movements. Every move, instead of both being precise and moving exactly as 'practiced', seemed to flow together naturally. Small mistakes become opportunities for the other dancer to change the pace of the dance.

Watching them spin and dance together was almost hypnotic, and for a moment I felt myself feeling-

"Ahem." Twilights voice startled me out of my trance, and I quickly broke eye contact with the group and turned to Twilight.

"O-oh... sorry I kind of zoned out." I said sheepishly as Twilight gave a cute giggle.

"It's okay, they're very good dancers. Wish I could dance like that..." She huffed as she leaned forward on the table and supported her head on her two front hooves.

Looking her over, I finally took notice of the dress Twilight was wearing. The dress was a tone above her own lavender color, but was dotted with hundreds of tiny twinkling starts that seemed to move with her, complete with a blueish white trim.

Before I could look any closer at the details Twilight spoke up. "Gift from a friend of mine named Rarity. I think you met her when you first arrived in Ponyville." She said as she lifted her head off her hooves and used one to brush the fabric clinging to her body. "She always insists on making me a new one every year..."

More silence ensued as I watched her slouch onto the table again and watch the dancing ponies, letting out a small almost in-audible sigh.

"Well miss sunshine I should have you know, no matter how bad your dancing is it can't be any worse than mine." I boasted with a cocky grin, getting her to let out a small snort.

"Haha, well you haven't seen me dance." She retorted, turning to look at me again. "They say it looks like I'm trying to invoke some kind of curse." She finished, laughing at her own joke.

"I could imagine if we both danced at the same time, they'd think we're doing some kind of freaky ritual." I added, getting us both to start laughing even harder. "Well, I wouldn't want to make your date upset by dancing with his mare." I replied, getting her laughing to quickly trickle off as a pang of sadness rang though her features.

"Well... actually no one asked me this year. Or last year." She mumbled to herself as she leaned on the table.

I immediately felt regret for opening my big mouth.

'Great job idiot, you fucked it' I internally swore to myself.

Shaking my head, I looked on at the ballroom again as the current song faded, and a new one started in it's place. Most of the dancing ponies didn't even miss a beat and continued along their scripted movements.

"...sorry. Again." Was all I could think of again as she let out a sigh.

"It's alright. I'm used to being last pick on everything." Twilight replied numbly.

'Okay, ouch. This girl must have had a rough childhood or something' I thought as I scooted over a bit and patted her on the back.

"I might not know what growing up was like for you, but let me tell you this... and don't forget it." I paused as she looked over to me. "It gets better. And I know that's the most bland and overused answer to this kind of thing but it's the truth." I finished as she gave a small smile, but I could see it still hid a lot of doubt.

'Come on... don't look at me like that...' I thought as she continued to stare me in the eyes, like she was waiting for another answer.

Finally, I let out a long drawn out sigh and slouched back into the chair. "Twilight... let me tell you a story." I began, getting her interest as her ears flicked a bit at my words. "A long... long time ago, I lived on a planet called Raylon with my dad. He was the only family I had and I loved him... even though sometimes I didn't really show it." I trailed off as a few memories surfaced themselves but were quickly snuffed out. "Anyway, I was born on this planet and lived their my whole life. Growing up was pretty difficult but we made it work, my dad was almost always working at the nearby mines and every now and then I'd find... ways to make some cash on the side." Letting out a sigh I remember all the people I'd stolen from growing up.

'Not like any of them are alive to care anyway' I thought darkly.

I heard a small gasp from Twilight, getting me to look over to her and see a bit of surprise on her face. "What do you mean like... illegal things?"

I nodded, much to her dismay. "Yep, mostly stealing petty things like watches and things of the like. I didn't feel good about it but I don't regret doing it. Not one bit." I said as Twilight looked to be having trouble processing what I told her. "Twilight, I'm not sure how things are here in Equestria but, back at home things are worse than you can imagine. Humanity are all fighting for scraps on the third world planets and will do what they must in order to protect their family. But enough of that, back to the story..." I thought as I cleared my throat again.

"Like I was saying, growing up on Raylon was rough, but I kept my spirits up because I had something to fight for. Until the day I heard that hellish sound..." I thought to myself as I felt my hair stand up on end just from remembering the cursed noise.

"What sound?" Twilight asked curiously, but with a hint of fear.

"The sound of a Verix Omega warship opening it's launch bays. The most daunting thing you'll ever see or hear in your life." I started as I recalled the sound. "When the ship opens it's bay doors, and the thousands of fighters start pouring out of the side and toward the planet... If I had to describe it I'd say it's like thousands of falling starts whistling towards the planet. Each one makes a little explosion as it enters the atmosphere. Not long after that they start bombarding the planet with plasma until it's fully glassed over. No survivors." I finished as Twilight looked at me with horror.

"I was 10 at the time. Just getting back from school when all hell started breaking loose. I got home as fast as I could, people dying around me as I went but I never stopped. When I finally made it, I rushed inside and looked for my dad..." I trailed off as Twilight hung on my words, and felt myself falter. "He was gone." I lied, "Not sure what happened to him. Shortly after I was found by the planets militia and we evacuated the planet. The rest is history." I fished, getting a slack jawed Twilight to stare at me.

"I... I'm so sorry you had to go though that..." Was all she could muster.

"It's okay, but do you know why I'm telling you this?" I asked as she quickly shook her head. "Despite all that I endured, every horrible thing that happened, here I am with you. With everyone. Like I said, it gets better."

She turned and looked out to the ballroom again. The couple that had been a point of conversation earlier had left at some point, and Twilight turned back to me with a look of sadness.

"But are you better?" She asked me, as she rested her hoof on mine.

I turned to meet her gaze, and just as I was about to answer, I felt myself hesitate.

'Am I really better?' I found myself thinking before shaking my head quick and smiling at her.

"Of course, it's been over 10 years since that day and I've had a lot of time to think about it." I said, punctuating my answer with a small nod.

Twilight scanned my eyes for a few more moments before speaking, "Sometimes we find that the worst thing for one's mind is time to think alone. Trust me, I know." Twilight said sweetly with a genuine smile. "If you ever want to talk, just let me know. You know where to find me."

I didn't know what to say, except nod at the ponies request.

"Anyway..." Twilight began, as she scooted towards me a bit and leveled her gaze at me, suddenly becoming much more serious. "About Luna." She began, as sweat began to gather on my forehead.

"Uh."

Chapter 59: A Walk In The Moonlight

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Anyone who is not interested in reading NSFW scenes should make sure to read the authors note at the end of this chapter for information on an upcoming scene

Chapter 59: A Walk In The Moonlight

'Reminder to self, Twilight will never stop talking about something she's enthusiastic about on her own' I thought to myself as rubbed my neck and gave it a small turn, eliciting a small crack.

The Gala was still running, but by now Celestia had returned to the party with her sister in tow. The latter looking beyond stressed out, while the former remained her ever serene self. Twilight flew off to go see her teacher and talk about... whatever it is Twilight does again. After explaining the situation to Twilight she had calmed down a lot, if she had anymore lingering worries she did well to hide them.

'She mentioned herself being the 'Princess of friendship' but as far as I know she lives in a treehouse in Ponyville' I pondered to myself as I continued my walk down the empty corridor.

I had decided to take a break from the party and go for a late night walk, which I found was starting to become quite the routine. The halls were very empty, with the exception being the odd guard patrol, which was absolutely fine by me.

After a brisk walk though the halls, I made it to the entrance of the Canterlot garden I frequented from my window. Almost as if she sensed me as I stepped out into the moonlight, I saw a flash right behind me and a familiar voice.

"I... am SO sorry about that." Luna pleaded as I turned around saw the stress on her face. "Sometimes my sister can be a bit of a-"

"-Annoyance?" I asked, getting her to roll her eyes.

Luna let out a small sigh, and nodded her head lightly. "I love her so, but sometimes she's such a pain in my flank." She joked as she walked up beside me, most of the stress having left her face. "A walk, then?"

I looked down at her for a moment and hesitated, before smiling and giving her a small nod. We both took to the garden and explored the wonderous flora and fauna that lived there. I thought I had seen a lot of the gardens but I was very wrong, I guess it just took someone who's lived here their whole life to show me where to go.

The whole garden seemed to be alive and almost glowing, many of the plants swayed with the movement of anything that went by them. Some flowers would recoil when touched, and others would let out a soft glow. The garden was definitely a treasure indeed.

Too bad I only had a couple more years to enjoy it.

'I should tell her' I thought to myself as I looked over to Luna, her look of pure happiness evident on her face as she took in the beauty of the garden around her. Eventually, we settled on a small bench in the middle of the gardens somewhere. I sat as one would expect a human to sit on a bench, but Luna seemed to have a tough time deciding how she wanted to sit. She opted for climbing onto the bench and sitting on her haunches.

The bench rested right nearby a beautiful fountain, which sprayed water in a brilliant pattern with multiple floating magical lights circling it.

We both stayed like this for a while, just enjoying the atmosphere and each others company and the sweet sound of the running water. However, this only lasted for a moment, before my attention turned to Luna as I noticed she had been staring at me.

"...Luna." I started, as she quickly spun her head to me, eagerly waiting for what I had to say.

"Yes?" She asked quickly.

'Oh god you're gonna make this so difficult...' I shakily took in a breath, and tried to bring up the subject.

"Remember when you saved me that time back at the ship. My heart was stopping and you had to administer medicine for me?" I asked, getting her to wince and look away. "Did Lucy tell you anything else about the nature of the mutations?" I questioned her, getting her to look up at the night sky almost like she was searching for something.

After a moment of silence she nodded, but didn't look back at me. "Lucy told me some things but... not everything I suppose?" She askes while avoiding my gaze.

"It'll get better... and worse." I started, taking in a small breath. "it's usually split up into four stages of mutation, I think I'm closing in on number three now... should be insanely fast healing rate at the cost of higher metabolism." At this, Luna pulled herself a little closer.

"What happens after stage four?" She asked with a small amount of desperation.

'Death, usually'

I opened my mouth to answer, but found myself choking on the words. Luna saw my hesitation and turned her head away again but this time to look at the ground infront of the bench.

"They told me I have-" I began before her hoof jammed itself into my face, silencing my attempt to tell her the grave news.

"Don't." She stated quietly. "Don't tell me. I already know I'm cursed to outlive anypony whom I love. When the day comes it will surely be a sad day for us all, but at this very moment... you're here. That's all I care about." She finished as she leaned her body into me. "And I'll be here for you. All the way to the end."

That line hit me hard, it suddenly brought to the surface the reality I was in. After all this time I thought I had convinced myself I was ready to die.

'And yet here I am, making a relationship with someone who I'll basically be abandoning' I thought bitterly to myself.

"Maybe there's something we can do." Luna started as she perked back up and straightened her body. "Surely there's something magic can do to help." She thought to herself as she began to mumble to herself and tap her forehoof on her chin.

"Maybe if we tried purifying you with the elements." She thought to herself.

"Sounds painful, no way." I stated bluntly, getting a small gasp from Luna.

"Absolutely not! The elements are prized artifacts of power and are directly connected to the veil itself." Luna lectured quickly, "All of the elements work together to access the veil and draw pure, raw magic out and into something useful, no matter what the need may be." Luna was about to continue on about magic theory, when I reached my arm around her and pulled her in eliciting a small Eek! out of her.

"Alright! I get it! You can shoot me with whatever lasers you want, as long as they melt feels not flesh." I said while giving her a small shake.

This got a small laugh out of her, and we both looked right at each other as silence reigned. Even the sound of the water fountain seems distant as I lost myself in her deep cyan eyes and we both began to draw closer. Before I could even comprehend the scene unfolding, our lips touched.

We had kissed before this sure, but I don't think I could ever get tired of this feeling. Both of us were immediately lost to our desires.

'Fuck... I really hope no one comes wandering though the garden right about now... this would be really awkward to explain...' The fear lingered for a moment, but quickly faded as lust began to cloud my mind.

Her breathing started to become much more labored as we both continued to kiss, and not long after we found our bodies against one another as I slowly lay her down on the bench, our mouths never breaking contact. As we kissed, her hoof slowly glided down my chest, before brushing past a bump in my pants.

Before things could escalate any further, the sound of a branch breaking got us both to almost jump out of our skin. Almost immediately, Luna grabbed me with her magic and pulled me into the nearby bushes. We both sat there for a moment, scanning the area for anyone who might have seen us, before a small squirrel came bounding out of the bushes across the clearing.

Both Luna and I sighed in relief before looking back to each other.

"I uh, really thought we got busted there for a second." I said nervously as Luna laughed awkwardly and agreed. "Well, I guess we'd best get back to the party..." I began as I started climbing out of the bushes, until a blue aura wrapped itself around my body and stopped me in place.

"And where do you think you're going?" Luna asked annoyed, as her tail flicked behind her, and in a flash of flight... we were in her bedroom.

Her personal bedroom.

I looked on at Luna as she climbed into her large half moon bed which, as she lit up her horn, began to turn into a full moon. "Well?" She asked as she swished her tail back and forth and lay herself down on the bed, a suggestive look adoring her face, under her obvious embarrassment.

I swallowed hard as I looked at the scene before me, and realized I was FAR outside my comfort zone.