//------------------------------// // Spartans Vs. Sun // Story: The Noble Guardians // by nobreiner //------------------------------// Spike was rudely awoken by a series of knocks against the Library’s door. Grumbling harshly about his dreams being interrupted, he stomped down the stairs and threw open the door. “Look, do you know how late it-“ His mouth dropped open in shock at the sight before him. Fluttershy, panting in exertion, was carrying a limp Twilight in her hooves, and after Spike had opened she had immediately brushed past the dragon, leaving him staring open-mouthed after her. Then, Spike’s senses returned to him, and her rushed after the Pegasus, up the stairs, to find her tucking the unconscious Unicorn into bed. Worrying for his friend’s safety, Spike rushed to her bedside. Looking up at Fluttershy, he said, in a panicked tone, “Fluttershy? What’s going on? What’s wrong with Twilight? Is she okay?” The yellow Pegasus fluttered over to Spike and laid her forehooves on his shoulders. Smiling uncertainly, Fluttershy said, “Twilight is alright Spike, she’s just passed out.” The dragon was unconvinced, and looked to the lavender mare, concern framing his features. “What happened to her?” He asked. The Pegasus then proceeded to explain the situation to Spike, starting from Twilight’s expedition into the Everfree, to her, Rainbow, and Applejack going to help them, and finally to finding Twilight outside the Forest, and her message to the three of them. At this point, Spike was shaking like a leaf, muttering, “M-M-Monsters? Monsters did this?” Fluttershy nodded. “That’s what Twilight said. Oh my goodness, and now Rainbow and Applejack are going after them. They have Rarity and Pinkie Pie too! Oh, what are we going to do?” The baby dragon thought for a moment, then suddenly brightened. “I know! Princess Celestia!” Fluttershy cocked her head in confusion. “Princess Celestia?” Spike grinned. “Yeah! If anypony can handle these monsters and save the others, it would be her!” Spike quickly snatched a nearby scroll and quill and rapidly wrote down a short letter. Then, sucking in a breath, he blew a short gout of flame that engulfed the page and sent its ashes sailing off in the direction of Canterlot. As the message was floating away, the small dragon and Pegasus watched its progress, hopefully awaiting its response. Celestia sighed, staring out at the lands sprawling beneath the balcony upon which she stood. She honestly didn’t even know why she was up here. She had been sleeping soundly, having handed over the night to Luna hours ago, when she was suddenly awoken by an intense burst of pain. After falling out of her bed in a very un-Princess like fashion, she had quickly identified the source of the pain. Somewhere, an enormous surge of magic had appeared. She had leaped from the floor, heading out onto her balcony in search of the source, but by the time she reached it the surge had passed, and there was no sign of anything that may have caused it. Nervously, Celestia had sat back on her haunches and began to cast her magic outward, sensing for anything that may have caused such an anomaly. She continued to expand her senses, reaching out toward Ponyville, and finally ceasing at the edge of the Evefree Forest. She then began a silent vigil, waiting for a sign. Hours later, and she was still waiting. There was no sign of anything, and by now Celestia was considering she might have imagined the initial surge of magic. The pain could have simply been the part of some nightmare, it wouldn’t have been the first she’d had during her reign. Thoughts of Discord and Nightmare Moon surfaced in her mind, and she quickly quelled them. Both of those threats to her ponies were gone now, Luna was back and Discord was safely situated in the Royal Gardens. Still, she worried. The magic she had felt had been powerful, powerful enough that whatever its source, it could pose a very serious threat to all of Equestria if it so desired. So, nightmare or not, Celestia would find out what it was, and if it posed a threat to her subjects, dispose of it. Concentrating, she prepared to send out her magic again, when suddenly she caught sight of a rapidly approaching familiar vapor. Celestia perked up in surprise as the cloud coalesced into a rolled up scroll, which Celestia instinctively caught and unfurled in her magic. Before she even began to read it, she noticed something was off just by the quality of the script. All of Spike’s usual neat, orderly style formed from years of practice was missing, instead replaced with a scribbled, untidy scrawl. With a growing sense of dread, Celestia began to read. Princess Celestia, This is Spike. We’re in trouble! Something landed in the Everfree Forest, and Twilight went in with her friends to find it. Now, she’s unconscious, and Rarity and Pinkie are missing! Rainbow Dash and Applejack went to save them, but before Twilight passed out, she said something about Monsters! They must have taken the girls! Please HELP US! -Spike As Celestia finished reading the message her eyes widened in shock, and she quickly discarded it. Then, summoning her strength, she prepared a teleportation spell. As her horn began to glow brighter and brighter, one thought was making its way through her mind. I’m coming, Twilight. Spike was pacing nervously, back and forth across the library. He nervously cast a glance to Twilights bedroom door. Inside, Fluttershy was examining Twilight, ensuring that the Unicorn was stable. He resumed his pacing, until finally Fluttershy emerged through the door, closing it gently behind her. Spike rushed to the yellow Pegasus, wringing his hands with worry. “Well?” He asked. “Is Twilight gonna be okay?” The Pegasus gave Spike a gentle smile. “She’ll be alright, Spike. I looked her over, and she seems fine.” A touch of nervousness entered her expression. “I honestly don’t know what happened to her. She just seems to be exhausted, I’ve never seen anything like it before.” Spike frowned. “Me neither. Do you think the monsters did something to her?” The Pegasus shook her head. “I don’t know. But she should be fine; she just needs her rest. I’m sure once the Princess gets here, she’ll know what to do.” As if in response to her statement, the Library suddenly filled with golden light. The light dissipated to reveal Princess Celestia herself, standing proudly. The Alicorn turned to Fluttershy and Spike, who immediately bowed in respect. Smiling gently, she nodded and said, “Rise, My Little Ponies.” The pair complied, and her expression grew serious. “I received your message, Spike. Please, where is Twilight?” Spike pointed to the bedroom, and Celestia took a step towards it, but was stopped by Fluttershy, who quailed under Celestia’s confused look. “Umm, I’m terribly sorry, but Twilight is resting right now, and from the looks of it, she really needs it. We should really just let her sleep. Umm, if you don’t mind, that is.” Fluttershy seemed to retreat like a tortoise into its shell, hiding behind her hair and ending her sentence with a whimper. Celestia smiled warmly and lad a hoof on the mare’s shoulder. “I understand, Fluttershy.” Celestia said kindly. “And you’re right, Twilight should rest for now.” She straightened up, and turned to Spike. “Instead I should be focusing on saving my subjects from these monsters.” Spike nodded, and proceeded to explain the situation to the Princess in detail, and when he was done, Celestia was fuming. These monsters have come into my kingdom, hurt my student, and kidnapped my subjects! They must be stopped! Facing the pair, she continued, “I must find these monsters and ensure they cannot endanger anypony else. I just wish I knew where to find them.” “Hey! Look! It’s Rarity, she’s alright!” Spike exclaimed, pointing out one of the nearby windows. As Celestia and Fluttershy rushed to the window, Spike blushed and added, “Oh, and the others too I guess.” It was true; coming up the street was a group of ponies, among them the remaining Elements of Harmony. But as they drew closer, Celestia saw that the other ponies were something else. Hulking metal monstrosities that Celestia immediately identified as the ‘Monsters’ her subjects had mentioned. Red beginning to overtake her vision, Celestia turned to Fluttershy and Spike and growled, “Stay here, and keep yourselves inside. I will handle this. Her horn glowed with magic, and she disappeared. As she vanished, a golden sheen splayed over the door and windows of the Library. Reappearing just outside and above the figures, she looked down on the group. As she saw her ponies surrounded by the creatures, she scowled, and before the monsters could move to stop her, teleported the remaining Elements into the Library. With the girls safely out of the way, Celestia directed the harshest glare she could muster, and in a volume she hadn’t reached since using the Royal Canterlot Voice, roared, “YOU MONSTERS WILL NOT HURT MY SUBJECTS!” The figures stood silently for a moment, until one of them stated, “Well shit.” Carter looked from the Alicorn to Emile, frowning. “Stow it, Emile.” Looking up at the Princess, he began, “Listen, we-“ “SILENCE, BEASTS! YOU HAVE THREATENED MY LITTLE PONIES, AND YOU HAVE HURT MY STUDENT! NOW YOU WILL FEEL MY WRATH!” Celestia boomed before her horn pulsed with light again, this time extending past her horn and shooting straight at Noble Team. Reacting quickly, Carter shouted, “Noble, Scatter!” and he as well as the rest of Noble Team immediately dived out of the way of the magic missile, which exploded upon the cobblestones of the street, scorching them black and smoking. Celestia was shocked at the speed with which the monsters dodged her attack, but quickly recovered and summoned even more blasts of magic, sending them at each of the Spartans and forcing them to dodge one after another, or else be struck down by her arcane rockets. From her position floating above them, Noble could do little to strike back. Dodging yet another shot that burned the bush behind him to ashes, Carter activated the COM link, and quickly began to deliver orders. “She’s not going to reason with us like this, and we’re in the middle of a town. We need to force her down, or somebody might get injured, namely us. Here’s the plan: Kat, Emile, you’re with me. We’re going to draw her fire. Jun, you’re job is to get her out of the air, and keep her grounded. We need to be able to hit her back. Jorge, once he’s done that get on her and press her back. Don’t let her get on the offensive. Six, wait for your opportunity, and end this. Understood?” Five simultaneous ‘Yes, Sir’s answered this order, and Noble Team leapt into action. Emile was the first to act, dodging one of the Princess’ blasts and shooting the Princess a grin. “Is that all you got, bitch?” He challenged. “Come on, gimme your best shot! I’m ready!” The Princess screamed in fury in response, forming multiple balls of solar energy before releasing them all towards Emile in one burst. Emile’s eyes widened and he moved to dodge the blasts, and succeeded with the first volley, but no sooner had he done so then Celestia launched another one, and three of the orbs impacted solidly against the Spartan. The first blast caused Emile’s shields to flare dangerously, the second shattered them completely, and the third sent Emile flying backwards. He soared through the air, until he finally crashed into a stall set up in the market, shattering it to pieces. Flying over, Celestia regarded the downed Spartan before looking to two stalls still intact next to the one upon which Emile had landed. Seizing them in her magic, she lifted them up before slamming them down harshly on Emile’s form, burying him beneath the rubble. As Kat watched Emile get sent flying back, she tried to think of a way to assist. Celestia was flying just high enough that the only ones capable of reaching her were Jun and Six. She had observed the magic the Alicorn was attacking them with, and she remembered what Pinkie had said earlier. Unicorns could use magic. She was a Unicorn now, so hopefully she could do the same. She focused, attempting to draw form her own magic. To her surprise, her horn ignited in cyan light. She attempted to summon magical blasts of her own, but found it impossible. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she canceled her magic, and the glow faded. How was she supposed to do this? Then, as the Alicorn began to lift the stalls to bring them down on Emile, Kat observed with rapt attention. The Princess seemed to focus on the stalls, and they were surrounded by an aura of her magic. If the magical blasts were beyond her, was telekinesis? She looked around, until settling her gaze on a cobblestone blasted into fragments from one of the Alicorn’s stray blasts. Focusing on it, her horn ignited, and to her delight, an aura identical to the one around her horn surrounded a piece of the rubble. She looked back toward the Princess and grinned in anticipation. Celestia looked down at the pile of debris, and turned to deal with the remaining invaders. Suddenly, she was struck across the face by a jagged piece of stone, causing her head to snap back, and carving a deep gash into her cheek. Howling in pain and anger, she looked toward the source of the stone; she saw that one of the figures was just in front of her, her horn aglow with magic and a collection of stones surrounding her. Sending another of stones towards the Princess, Celestia batted it away with a sweep of her horn, and glared at the figure opposing her. “Do you think rocks will be enough to challenge me?” She yelled. The unicorn’s only response was to hurl several more of the stones at her at once, and Celestia fired a beam of magic to intercept the attack. The beam successfully launched the stones away from Celestia, and the beam continued to make its way toward Kat, forcing the Spartan to dodge out of the way. Not giving Kat a moment to recover, Celesita immediately wrapped her in her own magic, lifting her off the ground. Kat’s eyes widened in horror as she found herself lifted off the ground. Flailing her legs desperately, she attempted to thrash free of the golden field. Suddenly, she was thrown heavily to the side, smashing into a nearby house and leaving a large crack in the wall. Groaning in pain, Kat again attempted to break free from the magical grip, and was rewarded with another brutal toss, crashing into a building opposite the one she had just impacted. The second impact proved strong enough to send the Spartan through the wall. As pieces of rubble rained down on her broken form, Kat feebly attempted to rise to her hooves. Before she could, however, she was once again lifted into the air. She felt herself being lifted out of the building through the hole she had created, and was brought before the Princess. The Princess then lowered her horn to face Kat and released another blast. This blast caught Kat directly in the chest and sent the Spartan backwards with the force of a rocket. She was stopped mid-flight by a collision with one of the street’s lampposts. She smashed into the metal pole with a resounding clang, before collapsing beneath it, unconscious. The dented lamppost gave one loud groan, before toppling over with a shriek of metal. The lamppost landed harshly on Kat, pinning her limp form to the ground. Celestia regarded the trapped Spartan for a moment, smiling in victory, when from behind her she heard a rough voice bellow, “Get away from her, you kurva!” Whipping around, Celestia was faced with another of the monsters, this one a titanic stallion whose size nearly rivaled her own. “Pick on someone your own size!” Snarling fiercely, Celestia sent a bolt of magic at Jorge, who dove to the side. Then, before the Spartan could recover, Celestia fired another bolt, stronger this time. It smashed into the Spartan, who staggered back from the blow, but managed to remain on his hooves. Not giving Jorge a moment to gain his footing, Celestia fired bolt after bolt at the Spartan. Thrown off balance, Jorge was unable to dodge the attack, and one by one the bolts slammed into him, quickly demolishing his shields and forcing him to his knees, his armor scorched and blackened wherever the bolts had struck. Seeing her target was vulnerable, Celestia smirked, and gathered all of her strength, her horn erupting into a bright golden glow. Jorge was unable to move, fighting to simply stay upright, he could only watch as the Princess charged up for a massive attack. Celestia scowled at the behemoth before her, and roared, “NOW MORTAL, FEEL THE POWER OF THE SUN!” With that she leveled her horn at Jorge and released the spell. Immediately a massive beam of magic, larger in diameter than Celestia was tall, erupted from her horn and plowed into Jorge’s kneeling form. In a moment the Spartan was engulfed in intensely bright monolith of light, disappearing beneath the blinding pillar of energy. Watching their comrade vanish beneath the onslaught of energy, Carter and Jun each gave a distressed cry of “Jorge!” Carter rushed forward, desperately hoping that somehow Jorge had survived. The beam continued for several seconds, and for each moment that passed, Carter felt his hopes drop. Finally, the Princess was unable to maintain the beam, and it dissipated. Grinning darkly, Celestia looked up to admire her work, and gasped. There, in the center of a darkened crater knelt Jorge. His entire body was encased in a solid screen of crackling blue energy, and as she looked on in awe, the energy shattered with a series of loud cracks. Jorge slowly rose to his hooves, and inspected the ring of destruction that encircled him. He chuckled. “Right, good to know that still works.” He said hoarsely, before keeling over, landing heavily on his side with a thud. Celestia could only stare in shock as the blue armored figure leapt to the massive one’s side. How? She thought. How could he have survived that? I struck him with the directly channeled energies of the sun! That’s impossible! Her thoughts were broken when a new force suddenly slammed into her back, driving her downward and slamming her into the ground. She attempted to push herself to her hooves, when a colossal weight suddenly pressed itself down upon her back. Jun pressed down with all his might, pinning the Princess to the ground and causing her to gasp in pain. Instinctively, her wings began to flap desperately in an attempt to lift off, buffeting Jun. Remembering Carter’s orders, an idea entered Jun’s mind, causing him to sneer at the immobilized Alicorn. As one wing rose up towards him, Jun released his hold on Celestia’s back before wrapping his hooves around the feathery appendage. Then, he leapt off the Princess, still holding her wing in his forehooves, and planted one rear hoof firmly in the dirt, the other aganist Celestia’s side. Grinning fiendishly at the Princess’ terrified expression, he hissed, “You want us to feel the ‘Power of the Sun’ huh? Well feel this!” He then gave an almighty jerk, and with a giant POP yanked the Princess’ wing out of its socket. Celestia screamed in agony, tears springing to her eyes as she fought not to black out from the pain. Her horn immediately ignited, and before Jun could react, Celestia released a large pulse of energy, sending a wave of force directly into Jun, whose eyes widened as the wave made impact. Inside the Library, the ponies and Spike were watching the fight with rapt attention. When Celestia had teleported the girls away from Noble, they had arrived inside the Library. Instinctively they had attempted to rush through the door, desperate to prevent a battle from breaking out. Unfortunately, they quickly discovered that Celestia had placed some sort of shield over the door to the Library. Rainbow quickly discovered the same held true for the windows and balcony door as well. Now, they could only watch as the Princess battled Noble Team, with all of them save for Fluttershy and Spike, unsure who to be worried for. “We gotta get out there and help!” Rainbow Dash declared, frowning. Spike stared at the battle for a moment, before raising an eyebrow at Rainbow. “It looks like the Princess can handle herself, Rainbow. I mean, how much can we help?” Rainbow huffed at the dragon. “Not Celestia, Spike, Noble Team! She’s gonna kill them at this rate!” Spike looked dumbfounded. “Who’s Noble Team? You mean those monsters? Celestia just saved you from those guys!” Rarity laid a hoof on Spike’s shoulder. “We can explain later, darling. But for now, Rainbow is right. We simply must find a way to help end this brutality!” Applejack shook her head. “But just how’n the hay are we supposed ta do that? All the doors n’ windows’re blocked, we’re trapped in here like pigs in a pen!” Suddenly, I titanic CRASH was heard, followed by the sound of splintering wood, as Jun went sailing through the wall, before slamming into a bookcase, burying him under a pile of tomes. As one the girls looked from Jun’s unconscious form to the Spartan-sized gap in the wall. Applejack whistled. “Well shoot, that’ll do it. C’mon, girls!” With that she leapt through the hole. Rarity and Pinkie Pie followed, but Rainbow hesitated before zipping after them. Looking back at the confused Fluttershy and Spike behind her, Rainbow said, “I promise I’ll explain everything later, okay?” She pointed a hoof at Jun. “Just make sure that he’s okay, we’ll be right back!” She then sped through the hole, following her friends towards the fight. As Jun’s oppressive weight was lifted off of her back, Celestia whimpered in pain. Her dislocated wing hung limply at her side, and as she slowly got to her hooves, the motion sent a jolt of sickening agony through the appendage. Fighting the urge to be sick, Celestia faced her final opponent. Carter had stepped away from Jorge after confirming the Spartan’s vitals were stable, and now stood across from Celestia, and the two leaders stared each other down. As much as he hated to admit it, Carter was afraid. The power that the Alicorn had displayed during the fight, and the swiftness with which she had dispatched the rest of Noble; it frightened him. But he could see the fight had taken its toll on her as well. Besides her dislocated wing, the Princess was covered in several small scrapes and bruises from her encounters with Kat and Jun, and her stance told Carter that all the energy she had expended had come with a cost. She was completely drained, fighting just to stay on her hooves. He was sure that for now, she would hold off on the magic for fear of overexerting herself. So for now, it was an even fight, hand-to-hand (or hoof-to-hoof). Now it was just a matter of who made the first move. “HEY BITCH!” The combatants turned to face the source of the shout, to find Emile, a forehoof wrapped around his kukri. “REMEMBER ME? I SAVED SOMETHIN’ FOR YA!” With that he whipped his hoof forward, sending his kukri spinning through the air toward the Princess. Celestia dodged to the side, and just barely managed to avoid the blade, feeling the wind of it on her face as it whizzed past her. Looking back to Emile, she saw that he was already mere feet from her, before he threw himself in a tackle at the Alicorn. Celestia instinctively whipped around and delivered a solid buck straight into Emile’s jaw, flipping the Spartan head over heels where he landed roughly on his back, out cold. Turning back to Carter, she looked just in time to save herself from the Commander’s charge. As he barreled into the Princess, she managed to bring her horn up in time to slam into Carters. A large jolt of magic passed between the crossed horns and Carter howled as a fiery pain shot through his brain, before he collapsed to the ground, conscious but his body unresponsive, paralyzed by the mental shock. Standing over the beaten Spartans, Celestia grinned in triumph. Five of these invaders, and she had defeated them all! Suddenly a stray thought caused her insides to turn to ice. Five of them… There had been more, she was sure of it. Where was- Suddenly a fierce grip wrapped itself around her throat, before yanking her off her hooves and onto her back. As the grip began to tighten around her throat, cutting off her air supply, Celestia looked up to see her attacker, and felt her eyes widen. There was nothing, the force on her throat seemingly coming from nowhere. As Celestia’s air supply began to be cut off by the strange force, however, the empty space above her began to dissolve. Slowly, a translucent figure began to take shape, finally fading into the image of the last opponent, Noble Six. Six was hunched over Celestia, her hooves wrapped around the monarch’s throat, and tightening with each passing second. Celestia’s horn began to glow dimly with magic, but Six tightened her hold, breaking Celestia’s concentration. As Six continued to strangle the princess, she heard a chorus of voices shouting pleadingly. Six ignored them, focusing on finishing off the Alicorn until she suddenly felt another pair of hooves wrap around her shoulders, tugging desperately in an attempt to drag her off the Princess. “Let her go!” Rainbow Dash cried, pulling on the Spartan with all her strength. Instead, Six roughly shrugged Rainbow off, not stopping her throttling of the Princess. Seeing the display, Carter fought with all his might to get to his hooves, before shouting out, “Six! It’s over! Let her go!” The Lieutenant ignored him, meanwhile Celestia’s vision had begun to tunnel, and she was now scrabbling desperately at her neck with her hooves, to no success. Pinkie, all traces of cheer forgotten, turned to Carter and pleaded, “Please, stop her! She’s killing her!” Carter looked from the mare to Six and, sucking in a deep breath, shouted as loudly as he could, “STAND DOWN, SPARTAN!” This seemed to finally reach Noble Six, who froze, before releasing the Princess and leaping back. Celestia gasped, greedily sucking in as much air as she could manage, while her subjects rushed over to offer their support. Carter stomped his way over to Six; he was furious. “What the fuck was that, Lieutenant? You could have killed her! I ordered you to stand down, and you disobeyed me! What happened?” Six looked down, unable to meet his livid gaze. “I-I don’t know, Sir.” Carter balked. “You don’t know? Well know this, then, Three-Twelve.” He jabbed her in the chest with a forehoof. “If anything like this happens again, you’re going to wish you had stayed dead on Reach, am I clear?” Six stood frozen, but gave a firm “Yes, Sir.” in response. “Good. Now go check on the others. I’ll handle this.” Six nodded, and stepped around Carter, heading towards Emile’s prone form. Carter then moved toward Celestia, but was stopped by the four mares. “Y-You just stay back! You keep away from us, you monster!” Rainbow spat, all trust for Carter lost from witnessing the battle. Behind her, the others gave their own shouts of approval. Carter sighed. “I don’t want to fight. I just want to talk.” The four mares burst into cries of outrage at Carter’s words, but were silenced by a voice, speaking quietly behind them. “Get back, My Little Ponies, let me speak with him.” The four Elements turned and saw Princess Celestia, back on her hooves, and quickly made a path for her as she strode up to the Commander. The two regarded each other silently for a moment, a mutual respect passing between them, until Celstia spoke. “I do not know why you have come here, creature, but know that if you pose a threat to my subjects, I will fight you to my very last breath.” The vehemence with which these words were spoken shook Carter. She meant every word of what she said, and Carter could tell. Gathering his thoughts Carter said, “We have no intention of harming your subjects, ma’am. I swear, on my honor, that we aren’t looking to hurt anyone.” Celestia’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. “If what you say is true, then why have I heard that you are responsible for endangering my subjects, and harming my personal student?” Carter shook his head. “We saved your subjects from a pack of dangerous animals, and I promise you we never hurt any of your ponies, let alone your student.” Celestia’s eyes widened, and she looked to the four Elements. “Is this true?” Nervously, the four mares gave their agreement, and Rarity and Pinkie Pie gave a brief description of their encounter with in the Forest. When they had finished, Celestia turned to Carter and, to everypony’s surprise, sank to her knees in a bow. “I apologize, Sir. You are strangers to Equestria, and I have welcomed you with suspicion and hostility. I beg for your forgiveness. Carter Nodded graciously, and Celestia rose to her hooves. “All is forgiven, ma’am. To be honest, it isn’t the worst First Contact situation I’ve heard of. Now, I would just like to talk to you.” Celestia nodded. “Thank you for your forgiveness. Let me introduce myself, I am Princess Celestia.” She stuck out a hoof to shake, which Carter accepted. “Commander Carter, Leader of Noble Team.” To his surprise, at this Celestia’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell open in shock. “Did… Did you say Noble Team?” She asked, astonished. Carter raised a brow. “Yes, I did. Why, have you heard of us?” Celestia said nothing for several moments, before finally responding, “Commander, I believe we definitely need to talk.” Glancing around, Carter replied. “I’m glad, Princess, but what about them?” The Princess, as well as the Elements looked around to find themselves surrounded by a crowd of Ponyville’s citizens, all staring with a mix of shock and horror. Shooting a glance at Carter and the Elements, Celestia said, “I will handle them, just get to the Library, quickly! I will be there shortly.” The group nodded and started toward the Library, until Carter stopped. “Wait, what about my team?” Carter asked, turning to face Celestia. The Alicorn gave a whisper in response. “I’ll make sure they are taken to Ponyville’s Hospital, and that their wounds are treated.” Carter nodded, and he then followed the Elements back towards the Library, the crowd parting to accept them. Back inside the Library, Fluttershy and Spike were tending to an unconscious Jun, having found that they couldn’t move the Spartan and instead favoring to simply clear the area around him of books. The entire time they worried about the rest of their friends, and when they finally came through the door, they were relieved. That relief was short-lived, however, when they saw Carter follow them inside. “What’s that thing doing in here?” Spike growled, glaring at Carter. Rarity spoke up in Carter’s defense. “Spike, this is Commander Carter. He and the other so-called ‘monsters’ saved Pinkie, Twilight and myself in the Forest.” Spike looked confused. “Wait, he saved you in the forest? How does, I mean, what’s going on here!” He finally cried. The four mares proceeded to tell him, as well as Fluttershy, the events that had occurred in the Everfree. When they were done, both Fluttershy and Spike were overcome with guilt. “Oh my goodness, this is all my fault! I was the one who told Spike that monsters had captured you and Pinkie Pie!” Fluttershy whimpered, looking on the verge of tears. “No, it was all my fault!” Spike argued. “I was the one who wrote Princess Celestia, saying we needed help!” Carter decided to step in. “Look, it doesn’t matter whose fault it is. It happened, and its over. It would be best for everyone if we all simply forgot about this misunderstanding and moved on.” The others nodded in agreement. Suddenly, the door to the Library opened, and Celestia, closely followed by Six. Stopping in front of Carter, she cleared her throat and said, “Alright, Commander. Let’s talk.” Author’s Note: AAAAAnd it’s done! This chapter was so much fun to write! I don’t know if I’m halfway decent at fight scenes, but I sure do enjoy writing them anyways! I hope you guys liked it, and will now forgive me for the massive cliffhanger at the end of the last one! Expect the next chapter to be 100% exposition, as well as a more detailed description of Noble, from coats to cutie marks! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I’ll see you in the next one!