Meanwhile, around the time after that heinous act was committed, Apple Bloom was still snoozing in bed with her hair all ruffled up, her body sweating from that foalplay that she and I had partook last night, and this strange feeling inside of her that felt as if the part of her that was still a little filly had now gone away for good. By the time her eyes were beginning to open, she turned to where I was sleeping beside her and found a note upon the pillow. When she finally got all of the sleep out of her eyes, she was able to get a much clearer look upon the note:

By the time you read this, I would probably be very far east by now. I know this might not be the best way to say goodbye, but knowing that Celestia is probably going to have all of Equestria calling for my blood, I figured that it was best that I leave as soon as possible. But always remember that I'll always love you; and even if you've moved on and found another stallion to replace me, I'll never forget you--and I hope that you won't forget me as well.

After reading it, she was getting close to shedding some tears, but upon hearing some hoof steps getting closer to her door, she quickly put the note inside her mouth and swallowed it right before Applejack had came in.

Applejack started to pick up a scent. "Why does it smell like a locker room in here? and how come you're sweatin' like that?"

Apple Bloom had quickly come up with an excuse before Applejack could start to suspect something. "Well it has been pretty hot fer the past few weeks; I'm surprised I was even able ta sleep at all."

She was worried that her sister might catch on immediately, but she was relieved to see that Applejack had actually believed the excuse. "Well shoot sugarcube, all ya gotta do is open up a window. Anyway, ya better get dressed up; Twilight has somethin' important ta tell everypony."

Applejack paused for awhile until she whispered, "I know that you miss him, Apple Bloom; but ya best not mention him in front of Big Mac again."

By the time everypony had finally gathered themselves over to Twilight's castle, she stood in front of the balcony as she made her announcement. "Citizen's of Ponyville, I gathered you all today to relay a couple of announcements from Princess Celestia. First, I regret to say that the ponies known as Egghead, Jack Clopper, Diane Clopper, Sheldon Clopper I, and Amy Clopper, have just been executed for the crime of harboring a Mindbender."

The whole crowd started to voice their own opinions upon receiving this news. Among the crowd, Pecan was saying to himself, "Oh poor Sheldon, he's gonna be devastated when he hears about this."

When the crowd had quiet down, Twilight continued her announcement. "Also, the Mindbender who you all know as Sheldon Clopper has been declared an outlaw for the crimes of resisting arrest and for murdering members of the royal guard..." a tear started to slide upon Twilight's cheek when she said this, "Furthermore, a bounty of one million bits has been placed upon his head."

Upon hearing this, Highbrow had remarked to himself, "Oh please, a rusty old horseshoe is worth more than that freak's life!" and then he received a smack to the back of the head when Rumble just happened to overhear it.

Twilight then had only this to say, "And last but not least, by order of Princess Celestia, every stallion from every town or village must serve in the royal guard." Spike then gave her a list of all the recruits; upon opening it, Twilight started to go over all the names.

After all the names had been announced, nearly every stallion was off to settle with their affairs before any of them would have to get on the next train to Canterlot. Around this time, Pecan was over at the dental office getting his teeth whitened by Minuette. "OK, now let's rinse all of that toothpaste out." Minuette instructed as she was making Pecan take a sip of water. After spitting it into a nearby sink, Minuette held a mirror in front of his teeth as she said, "There, now you can be the first royal guard to have a clean set of teeth."

"And whenever any of them ask me how I got 'em," Pecan stated, "I'll tell 'em that it's because I've known the best dentist since I was a colt."

Minuette giggled at his flattering comment as she then told him, "I'm going to miss you when you leave to Canterlot."

"And I'm sure going ta miss you when I'm havin' ta be around stallions fer Celestia knows how long."

They both had themselves a little laugh for a brief moment, that is until Pecan's smile had shifted into a frown. "What's wrong Pecan?"

"I really wish that I wouldn't have ta do this; I mean it's one thing ta hear that yer friend whom you've been playin' with since childhood has been branded a criminal, but it's a totally different matter when you're the one who has ta hunt him down."

"Now Pecan, I understand that having to apprehend Sheldon may seem difficult for you, but when Princess Celestia says you have to do something, then you really have no choice."

"I know that she claims Sheldon ta be a threat, but he's still my friend though. I'm not even so sure that I can be able ta bring myself ta kill him; in fact, a little bit of me is kinda scared that Sheldon might end up killin' me when he sees me in that fancy armor."

"Don't say that! you should know better than to make me think of something as horrible as you dying."

"I'm sorry Minuette, I just can't seem ta get these ideas out of my head. I just wish there was somethin' that could take my mind off of it fer awhile."

They were both silent for a long while, that is until an idea had popped into Minuette's head. "Pecan, you've never had a girlfriend before, right?"

"Well as much as I don't want ta admit it, but yeah I've never kissed any mares before."

"Well Pecan, since you've always taken better care of your teeth than anypony else, (and since this might be the last time we'll ever see each other again,) how would you like it if I were to give you a special treat?"

It took awhile for Pecan to comprehend what she was suggesting to him. "Ya mean ya want me ta...?"

"Well it's about to; so why don't you just close your eyes and pucker your lips."

Both of their eyelids had went down as their faces were slowly moving towards each other with their lips making contact. By the time they let their lips go from one another, Pecan's whole life had seemed to flash before his eyes. "Wow Minuette, ya don't know how long I've been dreamin' fer this moment ta happen."

"And now it's finally coming true; well, come on Pecan, let's go into the X-ray room."

"You didn't think that I was just going to give you one kiss, did you? besides, I did promise you a special treat, didn't I?"

Knowing very well that he's been desiring this for quite some time, Pecan got off of the dental chair and followed Minuette into the X-ray room to receive more of his "special treat".

Meanwhile, Rumble had just now received his own "special treat" from Scootaloo. They were both panting for breath and soaking with sweat after their first experience with foalplay. He had his hoof wrapped around her as he said, "Now that's what I call a going away present."

"Well I did promise you this after graduation," Scootaloo reminded him, "and besides, I figured you've earned a little reward for being so patient."

"Don't worry babe, I might have to end up killing my own friend, but I'll still make it out alive. Now, since it's not time for me to be heading towards the train station just yet, how 'bout we go another round?" before they could even so much as kiss each other, a loud bell was being rung all over Ponyville. "Aw great, well it looks like it's time for me to get going." And so he got out of Scootaloo's bed, removed a piece of rubber that was attached to his private area, straightened his hair, packed up his bags, and then he and Scootaloo were both walking to the train station together.

Over at the train station, nearly every stallion was gathering themselves to the next train to Canterlot, while some were taking the time to make a quick goodbye to their loved ones. Amongst them was my boyhood friends; Button was having a little private talk with Sweetie Belle. She had her hooves wrapped around him as she whispered, "Don't let me be alone, Button."

"Don't worry, Sweetie," he assured her, "after this is all over, I won't ever leave your sight again."

After giving her a goodbye kiss, Button then went to his family. His mom hugged him tightly while she said tearfully, "You be safe now, you hear me?"

After giving her a kiss on the cheek, Button turned and went into the train. His mom turned to Gibson and told him, "You keep an eye on your brother, Gibson." She then turned to Flynn. "And you make sure that our sons are OK after this."

"Honey," he assured her, "Ever since I was given that raise, I've made it my mission to never have our boys be put through any harm." He kissed her upon the lips. "Don't worry Elaina, nothing bad will happen to them as long as I'm around."

Around that same time, Rumble was having a last minute chat with Scootaloo. "So you're going to be a big, strong, and studly royal guard now, huh?" she asked him.

"You bet," said Rumble, "and if you thought that I look hot before, just wait until I get to wear some of that gold armor. Maybe if I'm good, Celestia might let me keep it; you know, so you can say that you're bucking a royal guard."

Scootaloo started to look serious when she said this, "Look, don't think for a second that being a royal guard gives you an excuse to fool around with other mares." She then gave an iron grip to Rumble's private area. "And I'll know if you have."

Rumble didn't know whether he should be feeling enjoyment or fear by this arousing threat of hers; but he did have this to say, "Babe, I'm all yours."

After receiving a long tongue bath, Rumble had decided to spare a few minutes with his family. As soon as he was with them, Thunderlane had jokingly told him, "Got enough lovin' from your mare, Rumble?"

"Well don't just stand there," his mom cried out, "come over and give your mother some goodbye love."

"OK Mom." Rumble had quickly hugged his mom and gave her a kiss on the cheek--while hoping that nopony was watching him.

And after receiving goodbye hugs and kisses from Thunderlane and Hurricane, she told each of them, "Now you three be careful now, you hear me?"

"Relax honey," Hurricane assured her, "you forget that we're pegasi; by the the time this is all over, none of us will have a scratch when we come back."

Before any of them could even get on the train, Rumble had soon found himself being smothered by the crushing hugs of his foalsitters. Cloud Chaser was pretty much letting out a whole leak of tears as she was crying, "Why must it be you?! why couldn't it have been somepony else?!"

"It's Princess Celestia's orders," Rumble pointed out, "there's nothing I can do about it."

He was then practically suffocating by the time Flitter had tightly wrapped her hooves around his neck. "I don't care what the princess says; she won't take our Rumby away!"

Thunderlane had eventually broke them apart from his little brother as he told both of them, "Look, I don't want this any much as you do, but when the princess gives an order you have to follow it. Besides, Rumble's a full grown stallion now; he's going to have to embrace the real world at some point or another."

Cloud Chaser turned serious for a brief moment and took the chance to tell Thunderlane, "Listen, Rumble might be your little brother, but after all these years of foalsitting him, he's become our little brother too. So I'm telling you right now, that if something bad ever happens to him by the time you and him have to start hunting down after Sheldon, then we're through. You got that?"

Thunderlane just looked at her straight through the eyes and said calmly, "Cloud Chaser, I've been looking after him since second grade; nothing bad will happen to him." After giving his girlfriend one last kiss, he, Rumble, and Hurricane finally got aboard the train.

Meanwhile, Pecan's family were still waiting for him just so they could have a proper goodbye. "Where is that boy?" Walnut inquired. "The train's gonna leave any minute."

But luckily for them, Pecan just happened to make it just as they were starting to get worried. "And just where have you been?" Tex asked him.

"Oh...just takin' care of some business." Pecan responded with a sly grin with just a hint of pride.

After they each said their goodbyes, Walnut turned to his sons and said, "Well, come on boys; we got ourselves a train ta catch."

And while they were getting themselves aboard the train, Big Mac was having some things of his own to tell his family. "Now Applejack, ya sure that you can be able ta handle everythin' without me?"

"Of course I can," Applejack retorted, "Ya act as if I'd never took care of the orchard before."

And then he turned to Apple Bloom, "And Apple Bloom, since you're all grown up now, I'm countin' on ya ta give yer sister a lending hoof while I'm gone."

"Now don't any of y'all start frettin'," Big Mac assured them, "by the time this is all over, it would seem as if none of it had ever happened."

And as soon as he was done saying goodbye, the snob couple were having their own little farewell. "Oh Highbrow, I don't want you to go!" Diamond Tiara wailed.

"I'm aware of that, my Diamond," said Highbrow. "But alas, it would seem that I must go hunt down that freak along with these other stallions. Sure, my father had enough bits to bribe his way out of this, but he couldn't even spare a few more to save his one and only son?!"

"Now, now, Highbrow, there's no need to start rebuking your father." Filthy Rich responded. "I'm not as happy about this little pony hunt as you, but at least I'll be able to spend a little quality time with my future son-in-law."

They both surprised after hearing that. "Why Mr. Rich," Highbrow exclaimed. "I don't understand."

"Well Highbrow," Filthy Rich explained. "Your father and I have been discussing things since you've moved here, and we've agreed that our families ought to join together. Which is why as soon as we come back from all this, you shall make a fitting husband for my daughter."

Diamond immediately wrapped her hooves around her dad's neck as she was crying, "Oh thank you, thank you, thank you, Daddy! I love you so much!"

"Daddy loves you too, Diamond." After kissing her on the forehead, Filthy Rich turned to Highbrow and said while leading him to the train, "Now then, shall we discuss about yours and Diamond's living arrangements?"

"Now Highbrow, if you're going to marry my daughter, then you better start calling me father."

"Assuming that that Mindbender doesn't end up killing him, first." Spoiled Rich spoiled the touching moment between Highbrow and his soon-to-be father-in-law.

"Nevermind her, she's always been pessimistic." Filthy brushed off his wife's comments.

As soon as every stallion was aboard the train, everypony else was just standing as they each watched their loved ones going away. Sweetie was standing next to Scootaloo and Apple Bloom when she said, "Well, there goes my pathetic dork."

"And there goes my perverted spaz." Scootaloo added. My beloved however could only just silently sob inside as she knew very well that their boyfriends might end up having to kill me.

As the train was getting closer and closer to its destination, most of the stallions were killing time by chatting with each other; and it just so happens that my three boyhood friends were sitting together. After noticing the relaxed attitude that Pecan seem to be expressing for the first time, Rumble was the first to say, "You seem unusually cool today."

"Oh," Pecan replied, "probably because I just got ta experience the greatest moment of my entire life."

"Well guys, after Minuette had finished whitenin' my teeth, she decided ta give me a little treat."

"That's nothing special," Rumble stated in disbelief, "she's always kissed you on the cheek."

"Actually Rumble, this one wasn't on the cheek. This was the kiss that you and Button usually get from yer girlfriends."

It took them awhile, but Button was the first to put the pieces together. "You mean Minuette had kissed you on the lips?!"

"Uh-huh, and that ain't even the half of it; after we were done kissin', we both went inta the X-ray room and got a little physical."

Rumble had immediately knew what Pecan was hinting at. "You mean to tell me that you actually got to buck the dentist?!"

"E'yup," Pecan said in a Big Mac impersonation, "not only did she give me my first kiss, but she also took away my virginity. And you two thought that it would never happen between me and her."

"Don't be too proud of yourself," Rumble smirked in retaliation. "It's not like whatever you just experienced is even on the same league of what I've had."

"Well, to make a long story short, Scootaloo gave me a very good going away present; and boy was it hot or what! after this is over, I plan on getting a whole lot more of that action when I come home."

Pecan decided to take this chance to ask Button, "Say Button, did you and Sweetie happen ta do somethin' special?"

It took awhile for Button to sink that question in, but he eventually was able to come up with an answer. "You know, now that you've brought it up, she and I actually did do something special."

"Well let's see...after Twilight had finished calling out everyponies name on her list, I spent some time with my folks and decided to head over to Carousel Boutique. When I got there, I went straight to Sweetie's room, and she and I just talked for a little while. She was very sad that I was going to have to leave for Canterlot, and she was almost about to break down in tears. I of course told her how sorry I was for never spending that much time with her before all this, so I promised her that I'd stay with her until it was time for me to go."

"Oh yeah, what happened was me and her just sort of lied down on her bed and we just cuddled next to each other. Then we started kissing for awhile; but then she let go of my lips and started to kiss me on my cheek, then underneath my chin, then at the part of my neck where my Adam's apple is, then my torso, and right until she came to my...'joystick'."

Even Pecan was starting to get interested at this point. "And then what happened?"

"Well, she gave the tip a little kiss and then it suddenly starts to feel stiff. Then next thing you know she just flat out engulfs the whole thing with her mouth!"

Pecan and Rumble both tried to contain their reactions after hearing this. "Ya mean she was suckin' on it?"

"Pretty invigorating; had I known that I could've been getting some of that the whole time, I never would've wasted all that time that could've been spent actually doing romantic stuff with her."

"Exactly," Button stated. "And had I also known that dating Sweetie Belle would involve having her suck on my 'joystick', then I probably would've wanted to grow up much faster."

"Oh for shame, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?" they were each suddenly had their attentions turned towards the girly voiced stallion known as Highbrow.

"Oh nothing," Highbrow replied, "I was just coming back from my trip to the restroom when I couldn't help but overhear you three discussing about your girlfriends."

"Well, not that if it's of any importance to you, but you three are now speaking to the future husband of Diamond Tiara."

"Hey, you're right; it's not of any importance to me," Rumble commented. "I don't even know whether I should feel sorry for you or not: on one hoof, you're an obnoxious, snotty brat who deserves a cruel punishment; but then again, Diamond is probably one of the most stressful mares in Equestria. I just hope that you're going to enjoy constantly putting up with loud wailing and pain in the flank hissy fits just so you can buck her."

"Yes. Well, as much as I disagree about your descriptions of my Diamond, I will agree that getting to procreate with her shall be a very joyful occasion."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there," Pecan did a double take as he tried to let Highbrow's last sentence sink in. "Ya mean that you and her didn't even get ta do a little foalplay before it was time ta leave?"

"Of course not," Highbrow firmly stated. "Unlike you three, I actually intend on making an honest mare out of my special somepony."

Rumble just gave himself a hoofpalm and then said, "Really, dude? you're just gonna risk dying a virgin just for the sake of preserving the honor of a shrew with a tiara?"

"Who says I'm going to die? Sheldon's probably rotting somewhere by now; so chances are this little hunt will probably be over by now. And I won't be a virgin anymore by the time I marry Diamond."

"So what if you do end up bucking her afterwards?!" Rumble exclaimed. "You'll still be remembered as that guy who lost his virginity after Button Mash!"

He and Pecan were able to find the urge to laugh for the moment (while Button couldn't even decide whether he should be offended or not), and with that said, Highbrow just headed back to his seat while he said to himself, "Even Sheldon was more tolerable to put up with than these three."

But that brief sense of joy had immediately been silenced by the time the train had finally stopped.

By the time every stallion had gotten off of the train, they were all gathered over to some courtyard, waiting for their instructor. But before he did arrive, each of the stallions were gazing upon a horrid sight. On the top of one of the towers stood five pikes; and on each of them were the heads of my family! as if murdering them wasn't enough, Celestia had to go and deny them a proper burial as well! as horrible and gut-wrenching this might've been, everypony was able to get their minds off of it when Shining Armor had finally arrived.

"Attention everypony, I'm Prince Shining Armor, and Princess Celestia has ordered me to train all of you into royal guards. Judging from your faces, I can see that you've all had just noticed Celestia's decorations. She insisted on putting them here as a reminder for any of you who start to have second thoughts over our target. And before we begin training, I think that it's best that you all know our target some more. Some of you have probably known Sheldon Clopper for some time, but none of you seem to understand how much of a threat that he poses to Equestria. After my first encounter with him, the Princess was generous enough to loan me a book on Mindbenders. Their powers mostly consist of moving objects, reading minds, and controlling other ponies through their minds. That last one you should all take extreme caution too; because it was that power that made Flash Sentry kill two members of my squad. And as hard as it might've been, I had no choice but to kill Flash himself. So when you do start searching for Sheldon, just remember that chances are you might end up having to kill your own squad mate. Because as soon as Sheldon gets control over his mind, then there's really no hope in saving him."

After that lecture, Button immediately blurted, "Wait, you killed Flash? I thought you said that Sheldon was the one who killed him?"

"Of course I did," Shining exclaimed, "you think that I would tell my sister that I killed her buck buddy?! (And don't you even tell her that I did!) OK, now for starters, let's begin with swords. We'll be doing this for a month, and then for another month we'll move on to crossbows, and the month after we'll start on spears. And by the time four months have passed, you should all be ready to hunt down this Mindbender."

As the first month had passed, nearly all of the stallions were getting the hang of handling swords. But it would seem that none of them could match Rumble's skill with it. It's only been a month, and Rumble had managed to disarm his brother and his father at the same time. Shining Armor had then decided to make an announcement. "OK everypony, I can see that some of you seem to have no problem when it comes to swordplay (while some of you might need a little work), but for now let's move on to crossbows. And for any unicorns amongst you..."

He turned around and noticed that Princess Celestia was gazing upon him with that same disappointed look from before.

"Excuse me everypony, it would seem that the Princess requires my attention." He then went up to her. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"What you're doing is wasting time that could be spent hunting down the Mindbender. Why aren't they in uniform yet?"

"Princess, it's only been a month; proper training usually requires about four months."

"Then that's all the training that they need to hunt down that Mindbender. So why don't you stop wasting time and get them some gold armor. You've proven to be very disappointing as of lately; it's times like this that I even wonder why I allowed my niece to marry you in the first place."

After that slap to face, Shining had turned to the stallions with his tail between his legs as he told them, "Everypony, there's been a change of plan; it would seem that the Princess feels that you're more than ready to start searching for Sheldon Clopper. So just follow me, and I'll get you into some armor and assign each of you an area to search."

The Secret of Sheldon Clopper.

by theanonymousbrony

New Recruits