A young solider from a neighboring nation is forced to go to the prestigous Ponyville Academy
A young Drone Controller named Cy from Cryteria, one of the nations bordering Equestira, is sent with his unit to a small base in a town called Ponyville because of the raising tension between the two superpowers. After a incident happens on the base Celestia forces Cy to attend the prestigous Ponyville Academy, where her protege Twilight Sparkle could keep an extra eye on him.
A/N- I want to thank both of my pre-readers Doctor Colgate and DJ Leftwing for helping me with my plot holes and grammar mistakes
“All right, so this is how it all breaks down,” began an energetic young voice in a dark room. Two silhouettes were barely visible in the dim lighting. One was of a man sitting on a barrel; his head rounded off in some kind of headgear and his body seeming bulkier than that of a regular person. In his hands he held what appeared to be some kind of assault rifle. The second figure was that of a younger person, sitting on the ground in front of the first.
“Go ahead,” the first figure said, his voice sounding rugged and aged.
“Our nation is known as Cryteria,” younger figure spoke again as his hands started to make gestures to go along with the story. “We are one of the few superpowers on Earth. We are known for our military might, political system, and foreign affairs. Our military is rivaled by none and is constantly helping out other nations in defending their borders. Of this there are five branches, each with their own mission and specialties.”
“Correct,” stated the first man. “We have the Army, Air Core, Naval Force, Trechnic, and Experimental. Each one has their own pros and cons to them. Only together can we be successful. Now please do continue.”
“Okay,” the second figure said as he thought about what was next. “Our political system is one based on voting for our leader. Every five years there is an election between the three parties to see who will run our country. Our leader decides what will happen and how to run everything. Votes are based on the section of which you live in and you status as a citizen.”
“Kinda,” started the older figure as he checked his rifle. “Our leader does not have total control. He has four other parts of the system that make sure everything he does is in our country’s and the people’s best interest, and the status of a citizen is mostly their job and crime records. What is next?”
“We are very diverse nation. Our nation is made up of four different races. The first are the humans, a basic race that depends on tools to help them survive and is very adaptable. They can be found in almost any nation. Next are the Wildiania, a race of more tribal people, they are usually considered a mix of man and beast. They take on many forms but the thing that is always the same is the fact they are bipedal. The next race is the Elemanita, a more clustered race, they are known for their ability to control elements like fire and water. The last of the races is the Familaai, a rarer and older race; they have a familiar within them that they can summon to help them. They also take some of the characteristics of the familiar.”
“You forget some things,” the gun wielding figure added, shaking his head. “The Elemanita can only control one element, which is based on their group they were born into. They look like humans but can have a defining attribute or characteristic that sets them apart, it all depends on the group. And the Familaai are very diverse and random. They are considered some of the most powerful beings in the world. Now please go on.”
“The Nation is very involved with the surrounding area. We primarily give defense and support to our allies and help out neutral nations that need it. Our two allies that border us are Griffonia and Equestria. Equestria, who some say is our greatest ally, is very economically wealthy. They are a monarchy ruled by twin princess sisters, Celestia and Luna. Their nation has three different races: the humans, Wingies, which are basically humans with wings, and Unimagi, which are human looking creatures that can cast magic and have a special horn on one side of their head. Equestria is one of the nations we guard and we currently have a couple of bases within it. The princesses do not like war and always stay out of it whenever they can.”
“You forgot about the Alimage” stated the first figure, which confused the second. “The Alimage is what the princesses are. They are basically a mix between Equestria’s three races. They are also considered one of the most powerful races in the world. Now wha-” His sentence was interrupted by rapid footsteps going up stairs.
“Well, looks like they’re here,” the first figure stated as he stood up and turned toward the door. He brought his rifle up and looked down the sights.
“So now what do we do?” asked the second figure, now scared about what was going to happen.
“We fight young one,” the older said as the footsteps rapidly got closer to the door. The door was kicked down and the man opened fire on the doorway as the other one was enveloped in a strange aura.
“Hey……wa…..p,” came a distant voice that caused the young man’s form to stir slightly.
“G…yo……zy…..ss….up!” the voice came again, accompanied by the sleeping form being shaken.
“GET THE F UP YOU LAZY ASS!” the voice now yelled into the figure’s ear, causing him to jolt straight up and fall onto the floor. The young figure, a teenage boy, quickly shook his head in order to wake up, and used his hands to rub the sleep from his eyes. As he re-opened his eyes, he saw the interior of a cargo plane that he and his unit were on. As he looked around he saw his team leader, Tate “Strike” Terian glaring at him.
“Do I really need to yell at you in order to wake you up?” He asked the young male, as he closed his eyes and shook his head. “We are nearing the airport RC, you might want to go ahead and prepare for landing.”
“Yes sir!” replied the boy, whose name was Cy Core, also known as “RC”. Core was a sixteen year old human in the Experimental branch of the Cryterian military. His job was a Tactical Drone Controller, which was someone who controlled drones to help out a fireteam. He was often attached to a fireteam and helped out when needed. His hair was grayish silver with natural blue highlights that cut into a small military fade. His left eye was gray while his right eye was a deep crimson color, both of which usually hid behind his special blue contact lenses. His skin was a little paler than most others, but the problem was genetic.
Core slowly stood up and went back to his seat, strapping himself in and checking the cargo pockets of his uniform to make sure nothing fell out while he was resting. After everything was accounted for he turned toward his current team leader to ask the question he already knew the answer to.
“So, why do we have to move to this base in Equestira again?” asked Core as he pulled his phone out of his pocket to check the time.
“They want extra security for our embassy there,” Terian began as he pulled out the orders sheet to review it once again. “Princess Celestia also thinks I might be able to help our straining relations,” he concluded.
Cryteria had recently entered a war with a militia force, one that had attacked in order to show Cryteria that they were not as invincible as they had thought. The militia force was mostly supplied by a group that seemed to have some relations to the royal sisters. What the connection was, no one quite knew. Cryteria blamed Equestria for the attack and almost invaded them, until they found out that it was a big trick to turn them against one another. Cryteria canceled the attack and focused on eliminating the large militia force. The strains of the near flashpoint still caused tension between the two nations, and the fact that Equestira had once actually held Cryteria in its borders (mostly using the strange natives as slave labor until they rebelled) did not help the matter.
“Listen RC,” began Strike as he looked over to the young boy, “I know you don’t exactly like Equestria, but at least try to act professional. You will be staying on base anyways. The only locals you will see will be some of the Royal Guard.”
“I know Strike, but why can’t we be going to where the real action is? We belong in combat to make sure that damn militia pays for what it did,” RC stated with a hint of anger apparent in his voice. “We were supposed to go there, but instead they change our orders all because of some dumbass princess wanting better relations. Why did it even have to be our unit? What could they possibly do with such a specialized unit?” he concluded, the anger now taking over his entire speech.
Core’s unit, the 98th Combined Operations Force (AKA “Brain Splitter”) was a highly specialized unit that employed the use of mostly mechanized forces. The overall size of the force was around 3 IFVs, 1 Command vehicle, 24 infantry of varying classes, 2 HUMVVES, and 1 Drone Control Center (DCC). RC was the only drone controller for the small unit currently en-route to a small base in a town near the capital of Equestria. The unit was mostly used for a more hit-and-run type of tactic, and relied heavily on the intel that came in from the Core’s drones.
“I’m sure there are reasons for this, just learn to accept it,” said Strike as he felt the large cargo plane start to descend and touch ground. The aircraft slowly came to a halt and taxied to the unloading area. The rear ramp opened up and the vehicles slowly backed out of the plane and went to a halt, waiting for men to load up to go to their new base. As RC walked down the ramp, he noticed it was a small civilian airport and it seemed they did not get too much traffic. As he looked at the landscape he saw a brilliant grassland environment with fresh air. As they exited the aircraft RC and the others put their cover on and went to their respective transport. As RC neared his transport, the DCC nicknamed “Android,” he thought he saw some people scowling at the unit from within the small air terminal.
“Load up men, we have some ground to cover to get to the base and we only have around thirty minutes to get there!” the unit commander, Colonel Yeria, yelled over the radio. “Let’s show these locals that we’re in town!”
RC watched the scenery go by from his seat inside of Android. The monitor in front of him showing small parts of the seemingly lazy town. He noticed that a lot of the locals glared at the war machines as they roared through their quiet little town.
“I don’t think they like us all that much boss,” said the driver, Lou “Little” Litia, as he observed some of the townsfolk.
“Course dey don’t like us,” stated the commander, Daine “Eye” Dreima, with a hint of caution on her voice. “We are going tru’ der town in foreign machines made to kill anytin’ dat moves. I would be a little pissed too if dat happened to me in my hometown.”
“I don’t think it’s quite pissed boss, more of questioning ‘why’,” Little stated as he turned a corner and halted behind an IFV. “Hey look at that school over there, it’s huge,” Little said as he started moving around to get a closer look at it. RC adjusted his FLIR (forward-looking infrared systems) to see what he was talking about.
“Wow! That is a big school!” RC exclaimed in amazement. The campus was around the size of a university and had many different figures walking around it. The campus was made up of numerous buildings of varying sizes, all of which seemed to serve its own purpose. The sign in front of the school read “Ponyville Academy, Home to the brightest minds of Equestria.”
“Ponyville Academy eh,” said Eye as she looked at some of the buildings before Little started moving the DCC again. “I tink dat’s where Celestia’s protégé is going to school now. Sometin’ ‘bout making new friends and furterin’ education. Ya’ know, borin’ crap like dat.”
“I think we can all agree with that boss,” Little said as they neared the base. The DCC rolled through the gates and made its way toward their assigned location.
“Brain Splitters, fall in!” Commander Yeria enthusiastically yelled out to his unit once all the vehicles had unloaded. Soon everyone stood at attention at their respective spot in formation in front of their commander. Yeria looked over his men carefully before speaking. “All leads report in.”
“All Hatchet crew members present and accounted for sir,” reported Uait Utah with a crisp salute.
“All Slither crew members present and accounted for sir,” reported Sai Seira as she gave her salute.
“All command elements present and accounted for sir,” reported Ale Aie as he gave his salute.
“All boots present and accounted for sir,” reported Wayne Wac as he gave a two fingered salute.
“At ease!” ordered Yeria, to which everyone in front of him went to parade rest. “Welcome to Equestira men, home to magic and everlasting peace.” Yeria paused for a second to remember exactly what he was going to say next. “We are here to provide more security to our resources due to recent events. Remember, this is not our base, so be on your best behavior and stay out of trouble. Huah!”
“Huah!” roared the whole unit.
“You will now be released to go unpack and familiarize yourself with the layout of the base and town,” Yeria stated as he went to attention. “Unit ten, hut!” Everyone snapped to attention immediately. “Brain Splitters,” he began.
“Through anything. To serve, protect, and kill!” the unit roared, finishing the small motivational chant.
“You are released,” Yeria yelled to the unit as he turned around and started going toward the headquarters of the base.
“’bout damn time!” the unit yelled as they slowly dispersed toward their new homes. Cy started toward his own new place of residence.
“Hey RC, wait up!” shouted Strike as he ran to catch up to the young drone controller. “Listen,” he started once had caught up to Cy, “I heard that one of the princesses might be on base. So be extra careful with what you do. Something tells me she will want to see our unit first hand.”
“Wait,” Cy said as he looked at Strike like he had a second head, “why would she be here? Doesn’t she have something better to do, like run the country?” asked a semi-worried Cy as he thought of why one of the royal sisters of Equestira would on a base in such a small town.
“I heard that she wanted to see our ‘expert’ unit firsthand,” Strike stated thoughtfully. “Don’t worry about it too much RC, it’s just a rumor that probably isn’t true,” Strike finished as they got to their unit’s new living quarters. The building looked more like a large college dormitory than the barracks that most of the men of the unit were used to.
As both men entered the dormitory they proceeded to sign in and grab their bags from a storage room where everyone in the units’ bags was being stored for their owners to claim them. RC grunted as he hoisted his heavy duffel bag onto his back and grabbed his suitcase. The two then started towards the stairwell so they could go up to their rooms, both of which were on the fifth floor.
“Since when have we been considered an ‘expert’ unit?” Cy asked as they started their ascent up the large stairwell. “I know we are specialized for tactical hit and run assaults, but expert seems to be pushing it. The only true ‘experts’ would have to be Reaper Squad and they are not even officially part of the unit.” Cy sighed as they neared the middle of their climb to the top floor.
“That may be true, but you have to remember this isn’t our nation,” Strike began as he looked at his junior with a small smile. “While to our own nation our unit may be just another specialized task force, here in Equestira it seems that our units’ mission and build classifies it as a Special Operations Unit.” Strike saw a look of surprise come onto the young boys’ face for a second before he regained his composure.
“Are you sure we are considered Spec Ops?” questioned Cy as they reached the top of the stairwell and proceeded through the double doors into the main hallway. They both stopped as they considered this for a few moments.
“Here? Yes. We are,” Strike answered, “but officially we are still classified by our nation’s judgment. Remember that the only reason we are here is to provide a more stable relationship with Equestira. I think the whole embassy guard thing is a load of bullshit, they already have some specialized details guarding that building.” Strike adopted a look of thought as he went on. “We are here for some other reason, and something tells me we will find out what that is in time. For now though, we will play the middle ground for the princesses and our leader, which is why you really need to stay out of trouble,” Strike concluded as he started down the East hallway towards his room, leaving Cy standing in front of the doorway to the stairs.
“I don’t get in trouble,” Cy said to no one in particular. “At least, not often.” Cy then proceeded down the North hallway towards his room. When he reached the door he opened it and went inside. Cy dropped all his gear down next to his desk and dug out some of his civilian clothes from his suitcase. He changed out of his combat uniform and put on a pair of urban camouflaged cargo pants, a 405th Robotic Training Squadron T-shirt, and an issued urban watch cap. Cy threw on his gray sneakers before he went out the door to go back downstairs to sign out.
As Cy exited the dormitory, he thought he saw a formation of Equestrian Royal Guards (ERG) surrounding something. Dismissing it as just one of their ceremonial practices, Cy started toward the Drone hangar which was situated close to the dormitory along with the units’ other vehicles. The main difference between the regular depot and the drone storage was that the drone storage hangar depot had a keycard system that would only allow a few select individuals in, one of which was Cy. As he neared the door, Cy noticed a small group of ERG approaching him. Cy stopped right in front of the door as the Guardsmen confronted the young drone controller.
“Excuse me young man but are you lost?” asked the middle guardsman, a Unimagi wearing silver armor, with a worried expression. “You should be in class right now.”
“Do you need help finding your school?” asked the right guard, a Wingie wearing shiny gold armor.
“I am sure the three of us can help you find your school yard and help explain why you are a little late to class,” the left guard, a Human wearing bronze armor added as the three gave Cy a soft smile. Cy sighed as he gave the three guardsmen a look of annoyance.
“You three do know that I am a member of the unit that just came in right?” Cy asked as he attempted to get past the guardsmen in which the three still blocked his way to the door of the hangar.
“And I am sure your parents would want to make sure you are safely transported to your new school,” the Human guardsman stated.
“And what better way to do that then have members of Equestiras’ best give you a ride to school?” the Unimagi guardsman asked as he held out a hand towards Cy. “I don’t know how they did it back in your country, but here all the schools are off base.”
“Now come with us young man so we can get you to class safe and sound,” the Wingie guardsman finished as he gave a smile to Cy.
“Now why don’t you try listening a little closer,” Cy started, his anger starting to raise at the guardsmen lack of knowledge. “I am a member of the 98th unit and am here on orders. So can you three please leave me so I can attend to my job?” Cy finished, hoping the guardsmen would go away so he could check on the drones.
“Aren’t you a little young to be serving in the military?” questioned the Unimagi guardsman as he looked over Cy, trying to figure out whether or not he was telling the truth.
“That sounds a little bit more like an excuse to get out of class young man,” the Human guardsman stated as he adopted a look of disappointment. “Do we have to call your parents to tell them that you are trying to get out of your first day of class?” Cy’s anger was now starting to reach a boiling point.
“I am guessing you three know nothing about foreign military standards,” Cy hissed as he glared at the three guardsmen, now pissed at the fact that they wouldn’t listen.
“Now don’t be taking that tone with us, we are just trying to help you get to where you’re supposed to be,” stated the Wingie guardsman as he and his comrades took defensive positions. “Even if you are military, you still have to go to school.”
“Now I know you three are full of shit,” Cy stated as took a step towards the guardsmen. “I know for a fact that I do not need to do anything but my job, which you three dumb-fucks are keeping me from doing. So get out of my fucking damn way before I make you,” Cy threatened as he took another step towards them, adopting an offensive stance.
“Is that a threat young man?” the Unimagi guardsman asked with a hint of anger in his voice.
“No, it’s a fucking promise,” Cy answered as he got ready to make the three get out of the way.
“I would like to see you try to make us move young man, I am sure you would just be detained,” the Wingie guardsman stated as he took a step towards Cy.
The Wingie then felt a sharp, unexpected jab to the front of his neck before landing unconscious in a supine position. Before the other guardsmen could react, Cy stepped left and proceeded to grab onto the Unimagi's arm. Cy pulled the guardsman close to him and rammed his shoulder into the Unimagi's stomach. Cy then jabbed the guardsman’s’ neck before he released his grasp and the guardsman fell to the ground.
Before Cy could react, the last guardsman grabbed Cy from behind, keeping a tight grip around his arms and body. Cy let a deviant grin cross his lips as he jabbed his right heel into the guardsman’s foot. The guard instantly released his grip before feeling a pair of arms wrap around his neck. The human then flipped across Cy’s back, striking the ground with a heavy thud. Cy slammed his palm onto the guardsman’s’ chest, effectively incapacitating him.
As Cy looked up from his now incapacitated target he saw something that made his stomach drop. Not too far in front of him was a formation of what appeared to be high ranking guards, all looked eager to avenge their fallen brethren. Though that wasn’t what really made Cy start to regret what he did, it was who they guards were surrounding. In the middle of the formation was a tall woman dressed in an all-white royal gown. Gold, only interrupted by the presence of seemingly iridescent jewels decorated her. On her head was a tall pointed horn and a golden diadem, on her back a pair of large powerful angelic wings. She stared at Cy with a mixed expression of amazement, confusion, and agitation. Cy knew he had just royally messed up.
“Guards, detain him,” the woman shouted with a powerful, commanding voice. Cy saw the guards running towards him and knowing he could not escape, just threw his hands up and let them tackle him.
“Half a day, that’s all we asked for. Not even one full day, only half of one. But somehow you still manage to not only get in a fight with foreign soldiers, but do it in front of their ruler,” Strike stated as he glared at the young boy while they waited outside of their commanders’ door. Both were in their full service dress uniforms, Strike’s a green colored military dress and Cy’s a purple military dress. Cy’s was given to him by Strike, who luckily had a spare key to his room in case of emergencies.
After Cy had knocked out the guards, he was put under arrest by Celestia’s own personal guards. He was told by Celestia that she wanted to see him along with his commander, supervisor, and chief immediately. Cy was then escorted rather roughly to the headquarters building, where he had to be watched until Strike, who after hearing what happened knew he had to get Cy's service uniform, took on the role of watching over Cy until the chief got to the building.
“I hope you know that the Chief will most likely tear you a new one, and the commander won’t be any better,” Strike said as he shook his head. “Hell, even I have a few choice words for you. First being, what could have possibly possessed you to fight with three guardsmen? I told you to just stay out of trouble, and look what happened,” Strike stated as he started to rub his forehead in frustration. “You just better hope that Celestia is in a good mood, because something tells me she has the ultimate say as to what happens to you, so you better get your head on as tight as possible and not act like an ass in front of her, or the commander,” Strike finished as he stared angrily at Cy.
Both soldiers turned as they heard the door open and saw their Chief, Commanding Serzanto Crystal Cry, in full service dress, and she did not look happy. She glared at Cy as she went into the commander’s office, closing the door with a soft thud. Cy took the time to adjust his purple tie and make sure his uniform was perfect, he did not want to give them any more reasons to rip him in half. After a few moments the door reopened as the Chief stepped out.
“Enter,” she stated with a voice full of poison as she held the door for both men to enter. The two entered and stood at attention in front of their commander’s desk, which was currently occupied by Celestia with their commander standing next to the desk. “Sir, Protoss Core reports, as ordered.”
“Sir, Serzanto Terian reports, as ordered.”
“Protoss Core,” Commander Yeria started, “you have not only committed acts of aggression towards foreign allied soldiers, but you have also engaged them. Now, do you know exactly what kind of punishment this kind of behavior usually gets?” Yeria asked as he stared at Cy.
“Sir, it always gives the offender an article eighty-two as well as possible expulsion from service with no honors,” Cy stated coldly as he maintained his bearing.
“That’s right,” Yeria stated as he continued, “and I think after what you just did you deserve that and much more.” The commander paused for a second as a collected his thoughts. “But it seems the fair princess here has a better idea, don’t you ma’am?” Yeria finished as he looked at Celestia. Celestia cleared her throat and in a regal tone started to explain her own plan.
“Young Core,” the Alimage princess started, “after reviewing some of your… behavior in the past, I have decided that the mistake here is not yours but your environment’s. It seems that aggression and anger are not foreign emotions to you and considering that for most of your life you have lived in a military environment, this is not surprising. I believe there is only one solution for this kind of behavior.” She stared at Cy as the silence started to become more pressing for the young boy. The silence lasted a couple minutes until Strike decided to break it by asking the big question.
“And what would that be your highness?”
“Cy shall be enrolled into my academy here, so my personal student, Twilight Sparkle, can keep an eye on him and teach him how one is supposed to act in a civilized environment,” Celestia stated as she gave a soft smile towards the foreign personal. A few seconds passed before everyone but the commander and Celestia burst out into confusion.
“What!” all three enlisted personal cried out as they looked at the princess with wide eyes.
“Your highness,” the chief started as she tried to wrap her head around how Cy was getting off so easy. “Surely you jest? This young Protoss knocked out three of your guards right in front of you, to which you respond by sending him to one of your most elite academies. You have to be joking ma’am,” The chief ended as she stared at the still smiling ruler with wide eyes.
“This is no joke,” Celestia began as her smile turned into a look of seriousness. “My student has been studying the magic of friendship for some time. I think all young Cy needs is some hands on training in friendship, and who better to teach it then someone his own age who has been studying it for quite some time?” the ruler finished as she looked towards the chief, her smile returning. “And don’t worry, Cy will be in the good hands of the Elements of Harmony,” she added after she saw a worried look on Sargent Terian’s face. Cy started to open his mouth to protest but felt a small jab on his side and stopped.
“If that is all you need to say ma’am, than you can go ahead and take your leave,” Yeria said as he looked over to the princess. “And Core,” Yeria stated as he looked toward the young drone controller with heavy eyes, “you and Terian can go ahead back to the dorms to change back into street clothes. Be in front of the building in thirty minutes,” the commander finished as Celestia left the room.
“Why do we need to be in front of the dorm in thirty minutes?” asked Strike as he looked at his commander.
“To take Cy to school of course,” the commander stated half-heartedly. “It is actually still pretty early in the school day and the princess wants Core to start immediately. All the paperwork is already done and you will be given a tour today as well as start your classes, which I took from your online courses,” the commander finished. “Now you two are dismissed, but chief, stay behind. I still need to talk to you for a second,” Yeria said as he looked at the steaming chief. As the two left headquarters they both let out a sigh.
“I hope you know that you are very lucky that the princess decided to make your punishment much less severe,” Strike told the young drone controller as they neared the dorm. “But it also looks like you are going to be much busier than we originally thought.”
“Yeah, though I can’t help but wonder something,” Cy stated as he looked ahead with a look full of thought.
Cy felt a little more at ease as the soft hum of the Humvee echoed in his ears. He was glad that he didn’t put his clothes from earlier away, though his squadron shirt might get the attention of some people. Cy looked around the rest of the vehicle, seeing the three crewmembers and Strike looking a little too serious. Strike leaned toward the navigator and asked exactly how much longer till they got to the school grounds.
“Around four more minutes.” the female solider said as she checked her GPS and read the next direction to the driver. Strike looked toward Cy and decided to use this last moment to lay down some guidelines to ensure Cy didn’t cause any more trouble.
“Cy,” Strike said getting the boys attention, “You do know that whatever this Twilight girl says you have to follow right?” Strike asked as he stared at the drone controller. Cy nodded and Strike continued, “And that while on this campus you are not to carry any kind of weapon or get into any kind of confrontation. Got it?” Strike asked again and got the same response. Strike sighed as he zipped up his old woodland camouflaged jacket, matching perfectly with his old retired camouflaged cargo pants.
The navigator gave her two passengers the thumbs up as the gray Humvee came to a halt. The gunner got out of his seat and opened the door for the two exiting personal. As Strike and Cy exited, they both could not help but be amazed at the size of the campus. Six big white/gray buildings surrounded a circular enclosure. They saw a multitude of students of all ages scurrying around trying to get to their next class, though many stopped to look at the strange vehicle that had decided to pull up and quickly turned away and went faster when they saw the armed solider holding the door open. As Strike thanked the crew and told them he would be back a few minutes than turned toward the closest building which Strike was told was the administration offices which was where Twilight was going to meet up with them.
As the two walked on the path leading up to the building, they both could not help but notice all the strange looks they were getting from all the students scurrying around. Both men ignored them and went through the large double glass doors into the administration building. They were blasted with a wave of hot air as all the students and faculty in the building turned to look at the strangely dressed men who had entered the building. Strike scanned the room looking for Twilight, who he was told stuck out because of her purple hair with pink streaks. Not seeing anyone with such hair, Strike walked up to the nearest desk to ask for assistance. The middle aged Unimagi looked up from her computer at the camouflaged man, waiting to hear what it was he wanted.
“Excuse me ma’am,” Strike began as he looked the woman dead in the eye, “I am looking for a Twilight Sparkle. I was told she would meet us in here” Strike said as he scanned once again in case he had missed her.
“Oh,” the woman said as she looked at the kid next to Strike, “She is waiting for you with the principal. It is the third door on the right in the hallway to you left” she stated, pointing toward the hallway before going right back to work.
“Thanks ma’am” Strike said as he and Cy started moving into the hallway, going up to the right door which had ‘Principal Wright’ labeled on the door. Strike glanced at Cy before knocking on the heavy wood door. They both heard a middle aged male voice tell them to come in. Strike opened the door and walked in with Cy to see two people in the room. The first one was a white haired human with brownish skin. He had small spectacles on and, despite his hair, seemed to be only in his late thirties or early forties. He was wearing a professional dark gray suit with a black tie. The other occupant of the room was teenage Unimagi with dark purple hair with lighter tones of purple highlights, her horn sticking out from the left side of the top of her head. Her clothes were comprised of a dark purple torn mage like robe with what appeared to be some kind of black sorcerer outfit underneath. In her hands was a rather large book with strange symbols on the cover.
Both equestrians looked toward the new occupants, adopting nervous smiles as they watched the two strange military personal move to the two chairs that was set out for them. Strike and Cy took their seats, both noticing the awkward silence. Strike leaned close to Cy to give him one last bit of advice before starting the conversation.
“I know that this is your first time… interacting with a Unimagi,” The veteran stated as he looked over the two figures across from them who were doing the same as them, “and even I think that they are a little strange. Just try to roll with these magic beings, they may not be as tech savvy as us, but when it comes to natural prowess the arcane arts always somehow beats us to the top.” Strike finished as he straightened himself up and looked the middle aged gentleman, who he presumed had to be Mr. Wright, in the eyes. Mr. Wright looked from the professional gaze of Strike to the now wondering eyes of Cy. He closed his eyes and sighed as he finally mustered up the words that would start the needed conversation.
“Good morning, I am Principal William Wright.” The gentleman began as he shuffled some papers on his desk. “Mr. Core, first let me just say that it is an honor to meet someone of your status, though I do wish the conditions leading up to it were a little more graceful.” Mr. Wright started as a friendly smile took over his features. “And of course it is an honor to meet you to Mr….” Wright trailed off as he waited for the camouflaged man next to Cy to say his name.
“Jack Terian sir. You could say that I am Cys’ temporary guardian for now.” Strike stated politely as he and Cy shook the offered hand of the gentleman.
“Well then, I do hope that you will enjoy seeing just what we have to offer here at the acade…”
“I am sorry sir,” Strike interrupted as polity as he could, “but I have to leave right after this meeting. I have business to attend to on base, business that has now been doubled for a lot of us.” Strike hissed the last part as he gave a short glare at Cy, which he ignored as he continued to listen to his new principal.
“That is rather unfortunate.” Wright began, his face becoming a little darker. “You must know though we usually require the guardian to take the campus tour as well, but considering the situation and who the new student is, we will let it slide this time.” He finished as his smile came back. He looked to his side to the nervous looking teenager sitting next to him. “Before we continue, I am sure that my star student here wants to introduce herself” He added as he waited for her to start. The girl put on a forced smile as she spoke.
“Hello,” she said timidly, her gaze avoiding the two men, “I am Twilight Sparkle and I will be showing Cy the magic of friendship……….” She trailed of as she looked into the cold gaze of Cy. Twilight cleared her throat and continued. “I am the personal apprentice of Celestia herself, so I am sure my friends and I can help you out.”
Twilight kept her smile as both foreigners’ faces showed a hint of confusion. She saw the two exchange glances for a second before Strike spoke up his now building thoughts.
“The magic of friendship?” he asked in a confused tone. “What is that? Some kind of special arcane art that helps someone act nicer or something?” Strike was being completely serious and Twilight could tell. She just shook her head as she explained the premise of one of her favorite teachings.
“The magic of friendship,” she started, her smile growing wider now that she was in a familiar subject, “is something I have been studying here under Princess Celestia’s orders. It is the lessons me and my friends have learned from various events and happenings. It has really helped all of us grow into more dependable and friendlier people. It is the eternal bond that we all share that helps us get through even the toughest of times. The Princess hopes that by teaching Cy about it, he will become less aggressive and more open.” Twilight ended, her eyes closed and a wide smile on her face as she reminisced about some of the adventures she and her friends had. Cy just rolled his eyes only to get a small hit on the head by Strike, silently telling him to be a little more respectful. Twilights thoughts were broken up by Strike who had just taken a quick glance at his watch, realizing that he had to go back to the base to help out.
“I am sorry to cut this short Miss Sparkle,” Strike began as he started to rise from his chair, “but I have to get going. The unit is still setting up and I have to make sure no one tries to cut any corners. It was nice to meet you both.” Strike shook both Equestrians hands before heading towards the door, pausing for a moment to give one last bit of information to Cy before he left. “I also should warn you about something Cy. It seems that Reaper is coming a bit early, and something tells me they will want to have a little chat with you. Keep that in mind before you even think about anything. Have a good day and I will make sure someone is here to pick you up at the end of the school day.” Strike stated as he left the room leaving Cy alone with his new principal and ‘mentor’. After a moment of silence, Wright spoke up to ease the building tension he felt rising from both teenagers.
“Now then Twilight,” He started as he looked at his star pupil, “I have a bit of work I still have to do concerning Cys’ admission and enrollment. I am entrusting you to give him the grand tour of our grand campus. You can handle that right?” he asked after seeing Twilight turn pale and start to shake. She quickly shook her head and nodded to her principal.
“You can count on me Mr. Wright” she stated with a determined look on her face, all prior fears and uneasiness taken over by hopes of gaining yet another new friend. This time from another country that was quite unique when compared to Equestira. Mr. Wright chuckled to himself as he got started on his paperwork.
“I knew I could. Now you two go ahead and start, class can only be delayed for so long.” Mr. Wright stated as he saw Twilight get up and hold her hand out toward Cy. Cy scoffed and swatted the hand away, mumbling something about being able to do things on his own just fine as he got out of the chair. Twilight, though a little disheartened by the turndown, still kept her cheery attitude as she told Cy to follow her. Cy complied and followed the Unimagi out of the office and outside of the administrative building. As the two went outside, Twilight started to talk about the school in a way that was a little to detailed in Cys’ opinion.
“This is Ponyville Academy, home to some of the best and brightest minds in all of Equestira!” She began as she did a little twirl with her hands outstretched, trying to present the academy as a whole. “This academy is where many come to help them get a jumpstart on their future job or trade” she stated, though what she had just said confused Cy greatly. Cy had to speak up about the small error that was in her statement. Before Twilight could get another word out, Cy interrupted her, voicing his thought.
“What do you mean ‘get a jumpstart on their future job or trade’?” Cy asked as he continued, “I believe you mean that they learn the skills and knowledge needed to advance in their education and maybe help them get a jumpstart on a career that they want.” Cy stated, remembering his classes from back home teaching him a wide variety of knowledge. While some did focus on a certain skill or trade, most were things that everybody had to know in order to get a job out in the real world. Cys’ statement however, confused Twilight as she took a thoughtful pose to try and think though what the young military member had just said.
“Why would you go through those kinds of classes if you already know what you are good at?” Twilight asked only to get a confused look from Cy. “You know that special talent that everyone has?” Once again she received a blank look from him. “Come on, that one special skill that you are best at. It is what your Cutie Mark represents remember?” she asked, this time getting a completely confused looking Cy who could only say one thing at this point.
“What the hell is a ‘Cutie Mark’?” he asked as he glared at the Unimagi, not believing there could be something so absurdly named existing in this world. Twilights’ jaw fell as she stared at Cy wide eyed, not believing the fact that there was someone who did not know what a Cutie Mark was. Twilight slowly recovered and started to explain the concept to Cy.
“A Cutie Mark is what shows everyone what your special talent is.” She started as she looked at Cys left hand to see if he had his yet. She jumped a little when Cy jerked his hand away when he saw her inspecting it. Twilight could feel a murderous glare coming from Cy, confusing her as to what could cause a reaction like that. Casting the strange behavior aside, she moved her sleeve away from her left hand to show her mark to Cy. “This is my Cutie Mark” Twilight stated as Cy inspected the strange looking mark on the back her hand. It looked like a purple six pointed star over a white six pointed star with five smaller white stars surrounding it. “Of course we also have it on both of our hips, but this one is much easier and more appropriate to show everybody.”
“So what does yours mean then? Astronomy or, something like that?” Cy asked as he crossed his arms, not quite grasping this strange concept of tattooing a skill that you think you are best at onto your hips and left hand.
“No,” Twilight stated. “Mine stands for magic. I am sure you have seen people with marks where you come from.” Twilight ended, starting to get a little tired of having to explain such a simple and elementary subject to someone her own age. Cy thought for a second, remembering the only marks he saw on people were tribal marks, ID marks, or the faction mark along with some others, but never before had he even heard of a cutie mark. Let alone a mark based on ones skills.
“I have seen a lot of different kinds of marks,” Cy started, his eyes narrowing, “but one based solely on skill is unheard of where I come from. It is arbitrary to tattoo such a mark on yourself, because skills can come and go. The mark would become obsolete after a while.” Cy opened his eyes and waited for the Unimagi to respond, which only took a few moments.
“What do you mean ‘tattoo’ it on ourselves,” the purple haired Unimagi started, now getting irritated at the foreigner in front of her. “It shows up naturally after…” Twilight was cut off by a loud shout from somewhere above. Twilight turned her head while Cy sidestepped just in time for a multicolored blur to rush right by where he was standing right into Twilight.
“Sorry Twi; was trying a new trick when I got distracted by some weird looking vehicles driving away.” The figure on top of Twilight said. Cy watched as the figure, a female Wingie with cerulean wings and strange multicolored hair, helped Twilight back onto her feet. She appeared to be wearing an unzipped track jacket and pants that matched her wings with a white shirt that had a picture of a rainbow colored thunderbolt coming from a white cloud. The Wingie turned her head to look at Cy before squinting her eyes and marching right up to him. “Are you a spy?” she demanded as she looked over the foreigner. Twilight walked up to her and, putting her hand on the Wingies shoulder, introduced Cy.
“No, he isn’t a spy Rainbow Dash. He is a new foreign student from Cryteria, Cy Core, who Celestia has put me in charge of looking after.” Twilight said as she looked over to Cy. “Cy,” she began warmly, “this is Rainbow Dash. She is one of the best…”
“Is the best!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, which won a glare from the purple haired Unimagi. “Sorry, just had to be sure you got the facts straight.” She said, prompting a sigh from Twilight as she continued.
“Like I was saying, Rainbow Dash is one of the top athletes in Equestira and holds a couple of records.” Twilight was about to continue, but once again got cut off by the multicolored athlete.
“That list includes speed, agility, strength, awesomeness, coolness, and radicalness.” She said proudly as a loud sound of frustration came from Twilight.
“How many times must I tell you that one; those last three are not real records and two; that they are the same exact thing?” Twilight asked, an annoyed expression on her face. Rainbow Dash just looked at her and then ruffled Twilights’ hair.
“You would say that Twilight.” She said as she started stretching before letting out a loud yawn. Looking back to Cy, she then realized a question she had forgotten while boasting. “So what are you exactly doing right now with him?” she asked as she stretched out her wings. Twilight looked back to Cy before answering Rainbow Dash.
“I am showing him around campus. He just got here a couple of minutes ago.” She said as Rainbow Dash once again got close to Cy and started to look him over again. Before Dash could observe anything else, a light purple aura surrounded her as she started to levitate away from the young man. “You really should learn to respect someone’s personal space a little bit more Rainbow Dash.” Twilight scolded as she lowered the Wingie at a more reasonable distance away from Cy. She released her magic hold of Rainbow with a simple flick of the wrist, causing the aura to dissipate from Rainbow Dash’s body and from her horn and hand. “Now, you are more than welcome to help me show him around if you want.” Twilight said cheerfully as Rainbow glared at her before putting a confident smile back on her face.
“Sorry Twilight, but I got work to do. Weather Club is having a meeting very soon and I can’t be late for it.” The rainbow-haired athlete said as she turned around with a wave. “It was nice meeting you though, Cy. We’ll have to talk some other time. Peace!” she called out as she took off into the air towards another one of the buildings. Twilight waved goodbye to her friend as Cy observed the horn on Twilights’ head.
“How does it work?” Twilight heard Cy ask. She turned her head and gave a look of confusion. Cy clarified, “How does your horn work?”
“What do you mean by that?” Twilight answered as they started walking towards the closest building.
“You picked her up as if she weighed absolutely nothing. Exactly how did you do that?” Cy asked again as they neared the building. Before Twilight could even answer, they both heard what sounded like arguing coming from the other side of the building. Curious, both of them walked on the path towards the other side and were met with a strange sight. Five figures surrounded a strange looking contraption. Four of the figures seemed to be Equestrian natives, while the other seemed to be rather unique, and familiar to Cy. The figure nearest to the contraption, whom seemed to be tinkering on it, had long teal hair with pink highlights. She wore a pair of blue jeans which had multiple burn marks on them and wore an unzipped light-tan jacket with four front pockets on it and a teal shirt underneath it. On the right shoulder of the jacket was a patch that looked like two lines with a green arc going between them.
Standing over her was a darker skinned Wingie with gray wings and long dark red hair. She wore a long gray coat that ended around mid-calf with dark grey jeans. Dark combat boots encased her feet and a white shirt with a bass clef overlaying a green wave form decorating its center. Leaning on a nearby pillar was a very light skinned Unimagi wearing large purple shades over her eyes and big electric blue headphones around her neck. Her hair was the same electric blue but with lighter highlights, most of it was covered by the hood of her unzipped blue jacket. A white shirt was visible underneath the jacket. Purple cargo pants ended with electric blue and white skater shoes on her feet. A double eighth note decorated her headphones and left side of her jacket.
Standing on the other side of the path was what at first appeared to be a dark skinned human with gray stripe tattoos running across parts of his visible body. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to have a broken horn barley poking out of his messy silver and gold hair. His eyes were hidden beneath a pair of rusty looking machinist’s goggles with blacked out lenses. He wore a dark brown trench coat that went all the way down to his ankles with a dark brown and gray vest visible underneath it. Leather pants that seemed to have some wear-and-tear to them hid most of the dark brown and gray boots he wore on his feet. A gold and silver messenger bag rested on his right hip and seemed to be filled with something. Standing right next to him was a white feathered Gryphon, a race usually only seen in the Griffin Empire. His eyes seemed to have blue designs around them and he had an unusual white beak. His front claws and wings were gray with tribal designs on them. He wore a light looking snow white coat with dark gray and light blue cargo pants. He wore no shoes, instead choosing to let his white furred-padded feet be free of any confines.
“I’m telling you Viridian, this machine will not work!” the goggled figure said as he rubbed his forehead in what looked like annoyance. The brightly haired Unimagi working on the machine looked up at the speaker before looking back to the machine.
“Nonsense Grav, of course it will work. I spent more than enough time perfecting everything.” she said cheerily as she took out a black rod looking object from her pocket. She took off the top and activated the small blowtorch and started to weld some of the metal parts together.
“You only spent five minutes thinking about it then just started working on it.” The Gryphon retorted as he observed the Unimagi work on the strange machine.
“And that is all that it needs.” She said as she hopped up and looked over her machine. “This machine will revolutionize everything we do!” She uttered as she raised both her hands toward the sky.
“Sooooooooo… what exactly does it do?” asked the brown Wingie standing next to her. Viridian turned around to face her and put her hands to her chin in thought.
“Hmmm” Viridian tapped her chin in thought for a few moments before a big smile came to her face. “I have absolutely no idea Cassie, but it has to be good with this much complexity to it.” She energetically stated as everyone face palmed. Twilight finally approached the small group with Cy. Viridian, seeing her, quickly started to wave at her. “Hey Twilight, what do you think of the worlds next great machine?” she asked as she motioned toward the strange contraption that looked overly complex.
“It looks… interesting, Viridian” Twilight said as she smiled at the now beaming eccentric Unimagi.
“Wait until you see wha… who is that person,” Viridian asked as she finally noticed Cy standing next to Twilight, “and what does he think of the machine?”
“Viridian and company, this is Cy Core. He is a new foreign student from Cryteria.” Twilight specified as she looked at the group of people surrounding the contraption. Twilight turned to Cy as she named off the group in front of them. “Cy, this… energetic Unimagi right here is Viridian Arc, one of the most interesting people you will ever meet and president of the Inventor Club.” Viridian beamed at the foreign student as she quickly bounced up to him and rapidly shook his hand at what seemed like an impossible speed.
“Nice to meet you Cy.” she said as she let go of Cys’ hand and went back to working on the machine.
“The Wingie standing next to her is Cassandra Altish. She is currently taking classes here for her university credits and she is co-founder of the Wub Club here.” Cassandra nodded in acknowledgment.
“Pleasure.” She said as she stared at the two. Cy noticed that there was a slight delay in the blinking of her eyes. Cy decided to let it pass as Twilight went on.
“The Unimagi leaning on that pillar over there is Vinyl Scratch. She is quite well known around town as one of the best DJs and she is the president of the Wub Club.” Vinyl lowered her glasses to reveal pure red eyes.
“Sup.” she said as she nodded towards Cy. Cy returned the gesture as Twilight continued.
“And those two over there are GravGear and Air Raid. These two have been all over the Griffin Kingdom and a lot of Equestira. They know some things that even I have never heard of.”
“We know some things that even Celestia herself doesn’t know.” Air Raid claimed. He took a step forward to get a better look at Cy. “So Cy, you must be part of the Cryterian military, and more than likely a special sect of it. But which one is what I wonder.” Cy looked at the Gryphon. He had to admit he was mildly impressed that this Gryphon was able to decode all that just by looking at him. Air Raid quietly spoke to GravGear before turning back to face Twilight and Cy. “It’s a pleasure to meet you young Cy. I do hope our interests don’t conflict in the near future.” Everyone looked at Air Raid and GravGear with a confused expression before Viridian stepped back in front of Twilight.
“So do you two want to see this contraptions maiden voyage?” she asked her smile wider than ever.
“Sure, what will it do Viridian?” Twilight asked as the energetic Unimagi walked up to a lever sticking out of the ground next to the machine. Viridian put her hands on the lever as she looked directly into Twilights eyes.
“Good question, let’s find out” She yelled as she pushed the lever down.
