//------------------------------// // Third Floor: Trees, Vines, Mythological Predators // Story: The Noble Guardians // by nobreiner //------------------------------// As one Noble Team looked toward the source of the roar, tensing in preparation for combat. After a minute of silent anticipation, it was clear that whatever made the call wasn’t in fact heading toward them, and the Spartans relaxed. “Looks like we’re clear for now, Noble.” Carter said. “But we’re still in an unknown location, with no supplies, and an unknown number of possible hostiles nearby. We need Intel, and then we need to start moving. We can’t stay here.” The Spartans nodded in affirmation, and Carter turned to Six and Jun. “Six, Three, I need you up above that tree line, see what you can see.” The two Pegasi nodded, and in unison launched into the air, quickly breaking through the forest canopy. Carter turned back to the rest of Noble Team, before his attention turned to Kat as she spoke. “This isn’t good, Commander.” Kat said, her concern palpable in her tone. “We’re going to have to find shelter, and fast, or we’re going to start drawing the attention of every living thing in this forest.” Emile laughed. “Let ‘em come.” He said boastfully. “I’ve been dyin’ for a chance to have a real fight again.” Emile drew his kukri, eying it appreciatively. Carter frowned, but kept himself from reprimanding him. Emile was Emile, and Carter trusted him to stay in line. Kat on the other hand rolled her eyes. “I’m confident that we can handle whatever comes after us, but I’m not stupid enough to go looking for a fight. We manage to draw even one animal’s attention, and we’ll be ringing the dinner bell for all the other predators in this forest. We should find shelter, somewhere to hole up and wait until night.” Carter nodded in agreement. “Kat’s right. Once Six and Jun come back, be ready to move. “ No sooner had Carter belayed this order than two shapes burst through the canopy, flying down to reveal the forms of Jun and Noble Six. Stepping towards them, Carter asked, “Well? Any idea where we are?” Jun shook his head. “I can’t say for sure, Sir. All I can tell you is that we are in one giant damn forest. It was all I could see, and in all directions.” Carter’s expression darkened at this news. “Damn. How high were you?” He asked. Jun shrugged. “High. I’d say about a hundred and fifty meters above the treetops.” Carter sent a questioning glance to Kat. The Spartan was already crunching the numbers in her head and within seconds answered, “Assuming this planet’s radius is similar to Earth’s that would be about 44 kilometers. This drew a groan from the remaining members of Noble. A nearly fifty-kilometer hike through thick foliage would take a while, even for a Spartan. “That’s not all, Sir.” Six added. The Spartans turned their heads to regard the Lieutenant with confusion. “I know where we are.” Carter cocked his head to the side in curiosity. “What do you mean, Noble Six?” He asked. “As Jun and I were observing the area, I noticed a cloud moving.” Six stated. This statement only brought forth only blank expressions from the others, and she elaborated. “The clouds here don’t move on their own, Sir. They’re supposed to be regulated by the Pegasi weather controllers.” Jun caught on, nodding in agreement. “So wherever we are, it’s somewhere where the rules of Equestria don’t apply.” Six nodded. “Right. There are only a handful of places on the planet where this occurs, and only one of them is a forest like this: The Everfree.” Carter felt a sense of recognition to the name, but it was Kat who made the connection first. “The forest where we first woke up. The one we landed in.” Six nodded. “The Everfree Forest is the largest in Equestria, over three hundred kilometers in diameter. If I had to guess, I’d say the Princess placed us directly in the center of it.” The Spartans took a moment to digest this news, but the silence was broken by Emile. “Wait a second.” He said to Six confusedly. “How the Hell do you know all this?” The rest of Noble considered this question for a moment, before turning to Six in surprise. Six looked to each of her teammates before responding, “I didn’t just sit around all night when I stayed up. I looked around, found the Royal Library. I decided to make use of it.” Jorge cocked his head. “So you stayed up all night… reading?” Six nodded in response. Carter shook his head. “But how did you know to research the Everfree Forest?” Six gave a small humph of laughter. “I didn’t.” Carter’s mouth dropped open in shock. “So you mean that you knowing all of this-“ “Was pure, dumb luck, yes.” Carter stood there dumbfounded for a moment, before chuckling deeply. “Well, I can’t exactly complain, at least we know where we are now. What else can you tell us?” Six shook her head reluctantly. “Nothing good.” She answered grimly. “Only that it includes at least half of the Official Equestrian Bestiary. Manticores, Cockatrices, and even a few Dragons are known to live here. It’s essentially the most hostile environment in Equestria.” Jun laughed. “Well, that explains why the Princess would send us here. This place is the ultimate test of survival.” Carter nodded determinedly. “One I expect all of us to pass. So first things first, we need to find shelter. Six, Jun, did you see anywhere we could use?” Jun gave a contented nod. “Yes Sir. There’s a cave roughly two klicks that way.” Jun pointed off into the forest, and The Spartans followed his gesture, and the others gave sighs of relief, save for Emile. The direction Jun was pointing was, to Carter’s great relief, the opposite direction that the roars had issued from earlier. Carter smiled, reflecting that Noble seemed to have received a bit of luck for once. He then turned and marched in the direction Jun had indicated. “Come on, Noble. We’re moving out.” The Spartans nodded in agreement, before moving to follow the Commander. Emile gazed longingly in the direction of the roaring, before sighing and following the others. Carter plodded along through the forest, the rest of Noble marching in step behind him, when a nest of vines blocking the path ahead halted his progress. Carter had noted the vines growing steadily thicker as they continued towards their objective. Now however, they were much too thick for the Spartans to easily traverse through. Turning to his team, Carter said, “Noble, looks like the path ahead is blocked. We need someone to cut through. Emile, you’re on point.” Emile nodded. “Got it, sir.” Stepping past Carter, Emile drew his kukri and proceeded to hack away at the vines, quickly carving a path through the vines. Nevertheless, their progress was severely slowed, as they were forced to proceed single-file through the narrow path Emile cut for them. After five minutes, during which they proceeded at most only three hundred meters, Six spoke up. “Sir.” She said, annoyance tingeing her tone. “Maybe I could assist Four in clearing a path.” Carter looked back to the Lieutenant, cocking his head curiously. “Unless you’ve got more than your combat knife, I don’t think you could help much.” In response, Six simply flared her wings, allowing the sharp rasp of her combat sheaths being drawn to speak for her. Upon seeing this, Jun let out a gasp of shock. “Damn, you actually slept in them? I nearly gutted myself just by sitting down in those things!” Six simply shrugged in response, and Jun huffed in irritation. Carter meanwhile, gave Six a nod. “Alright Six. Get up there.” Six nodded in return, and leapt over the others, gliding down to a landing next to Emile. Emile nodded to Six, and stepped aside, giving her room to fall into step beside him. The two shared a glance, before diving forward, quickly reducing the vines ahead to mulch. Their progress now nearly unhindered with Six and Emile’s cutting, Noble Team quickly made their way through the thicket, and within minutes had reached their target. The vines gave way to reveal a large clearing, with short grass giving way to dirt and gravel near the mouth of a massive cave. Jun pointed to the entrance to the cave. “There’s the cave. It looks big enough for us all to use as shelter until nightfall.” Carter nodded. “Alright, first things first though. If anything’s already set up shop in there, we’re going to have to clear them out.” He turned to Six. “Lieutenant, do you still have your active camo generator?” Noble Six nodded. “Yes sir.” “Good. Activate it, and go inside. Let us know what we’re up against.” Six gave a quick salute, before disappearing. Carter glanced at his now malfunctioning motion tracker, and watched as the effect slowly faded as Six moved away from them and into the cave. Jun looked to Carter curiously. “So, what’s the plan if there is something in there?” Carter grinned beneath his helmet. “Kat?” He asked, turning to the Spartan. Kat was already looking about the clearing, the gears almost audibly turning in her mind. Turning to Carter, she smiled. “I have a plan.” Six crept into the cave, moving slowly to keep her active camouflage as complete and perfect as possible. Knowing she couldn’t rely on her motion tracker, Six remained alert, her eyes searching every corner of the cave for hostiles. As she drew further and further into the cave and away from the light of the entrance, darkness began creeping in. Six proceeded as long as she could unassisted, before activating her night vision. As the cave was suddenly revealed in the green luminescence of her night vision, Six reflected that she probably should have turned it on sooner. There, no more than a few feet in front of her, was a massive sleeping form. From its verdant silhouette, Six was able to make out that it was large, larger even than Jorge, and covered in short, coarse fur. At first glance, Six almost mistook it for a massive lion, until she noticed two major details that made her take a step back in shock. From its back sprouted two large wings, similar to a bat’s except covered in shimmering scales. From its rear end a long, segmented tail unfurled, wrapping about its body in its sleep. From her nighttime excursions to the Royal Library, Six was able to recognize the creature as a Manticore, and a female one at that. Six looked away from the creature, scanning about the cave for any other targets. Thankfully, she saw nothing, and turned to leave when a soft growl stopped her. Whipping back towards the creature, Six saw to her horror that the creature was waking up, blinking groggily and shaking itself free of its drowsiness. Thinking quickly, Six froze, hoping against hope that the creature would fail to see her and return to sleep, however the quickly draining energy of her cloak only reminded her that waiting wasn’t an option. What was more, Six saw that the creature’s nose was twitching. The creature hadn’t heard or seen her; it had smelled her. Six quickly decided to beat a hasty retreat, turning and stepping towards the entrance to the cave, until she was stopped in her tracks by a soft splash. Looking back, Six saw that her back right hoof had stepped into one of the pools of moisture forming in the cave. Six could only stare horrified, as beads of water seemed to hang in the air, as they trickled down her invisible hoof. Oh, shi- Any further thought was cut off as suddenly a massive paw wrapped around her hoof, before Six was lifted bodily into the air, hanging there for a moment, before she was thrown sharply to the right, slamming harshly into the wall with a crunch of stone. Six gasped in pain as she impacted the wall, as she felt a stinging pain blossom in her sides. Six quickly shook off the pain, flaring her wings. As she did this, Six felt pain erupt in her sides. Six ignored this though, as the Manticore lifted Six to hang before it, upside-down. Six’s cloak had finally failed from the strain of the impact, and it looked to the Spartan with a snarl. Six returned the gesture from beneath her helmet, before whipping her wings forward, launching a trio of blades towards the Manticore. The Manticore’s thick hide proved too tough for the flechettes to pierce, as two of them thudded off of the Manticore’s chest, leaving only two small scratches. The third however, flew straight into the Manticore’s face, carving a gash across its snout. The Manticore roared in pain, dropping Six to clutch at its face. Six impacted the ground with a thud, before clambering to her feet. Through the blood pounding in her ears, Six was able to make out the Commander yelling over the com, “-happening? Six? We’re hearing a struggle, get out of there! Whatever’s in there we can handle out here, lead it out of the cave!” Staggering forward, Six said, “Copy sir, on my way out.” Six flared her wings, launching into the air. She didn’t make it five feet before a paw once again wrapped around her hoof. Oh, not again. The Manticore drew back its arm, bringing Six down to slam her face-first into the floor of the cave. It then turned and hurled Six forward, thankfully directly towards the mouth of the cave. Six flew from the cave, impacting the ground and rolling through the gravel. For a moment, the dazed Spartan could only stare blearily around her, before she was lifted in a magical aura. Blinking away the haze in her vision, Six was able to make out the image of Kat, her horn alight as she carried the Spartan away from the cave. “Don’t worry Lieutenant.” Kat said. “The others can handle this.” Meanwhile the Manticore burst from the mouth of the cave, prepared to finish off its prey. It spotted two ponies, one in the grip of the others magic, and prepared to lunge after them. Suddenly, it was halted as a weight dropped onto its back. Jun clung tightly to the Manticore’s neck, holding fast as the Manticore did its best to buck him off. Jun then drew his combat knife, before thrusting downward to sink it hilt-deep into the Manticore’s neck. The reaction was instantaneous, the Manticore let out a cross between a gurgle and a roar, reaching desperately to grab the Spartan and rip him from its back. Its efforts proved fruitless, as Jun remained latched onto the Manticore’s back, despite the Manticore’s efforts. The Manticore’s pain and anger distracted it from the rest of its surroundings, making it incapable of defending itself as Carter and Emile each slammed into one of its legs, charging into the Manticore in an attempt to topple it. Unfortunately, the creature’s massive size allowed it to remain standing, despite the two Spartans straining to shove it over. However, its weight proved incapable of keeping it upright as Jorge tackled the Manticore, diving into its stomach and sending it flying off its feet, before crashing into the gravel. The Manticore gave one last pained gurgle, before it finally succumbed to its wounds, and grew still. Pulling himself to his hooves, Carter panted heavily. “Good work, Noble. Target down.” Emile and Jorge each climbed to their hooves, giving the Commander triumphant grins. “Get… this thing… off of me.” Jun’s muffled voice emanated from beneath the Manticore. The Spartans turned their gazes to him, before they stepped forward and lifted the corpse off of Jun, who pulled himself to his hooves as well. “Thanks. Ugh, helmet’s filters won’t purify a stink like that.” The Spartans shared a quick laugh. Carter’s attention was then drawn by sounds of a scuffle nearby. Walking over to the source of the commotion, he found Six struggling to escape Kat’s attention, while the Lieutenant Commander attempted to inspect her form, to little success. Walking over to the two, Carter asked, “What’s going on here?” Both Spartans looked towards the Commander, and Kat answered, “I need to inspect the Lieutenant’s injuries, but she’s being uncooperative.” Six jerked away from Kat, shaking her head roughly. “That’s because I’m fine.” She growled. “I’m fit for duty, sir.” Carter scanned Six’s form with a critical eye, before nodding firmly. “Alright Six. Just be careful, our goal here is to survive, and I don’t intend to let anyone fail that objective, clear?” Six gave a solemn nod. “Understood, sir.” Six looked to the corpse of the Manticore for a moment, before returning her gaze to Carter and saying, “We might have more hostiles on the way, sir.” Carter cocked his head in confusion. “What do you mean, Lieutenant?” “Well from what I read, it is uncommon to see a fully-grown female Manticore like this all alone. They’re usually-“ RAAAAAAAAWR!!! The Spartans whipped around to find no less than eight Manticores entering the clearing, the roar having issued from the one leading the pack, a massive hulk of muscle easily head and shoulders larger than Jorge. Six looked to each of the Manticores and realized that they were indeed all males, as their shaggy red manes indicated. “Where the Hell did these things come from?” Emile shouted, drawing his kukri. “They must recognize the one we just killed.” Kat said, her horn igniting with magic. “The larger one must be its mate, and the smaller ones…” “Its cubs.” Jorge finished gravely. “Must’ve been where the roaring came from.” Carter looked from the Manticores to his team, before settling his gaze on Six. He gave a moment of thought, before turning to the rest of the team. “I’ll protect Six, the rest of you, take ‘em out.” Six turned to Carter, her wings flaring in anger. “Sir, I-“ Carter held up a hoof. “You don’t fool me, Six. You’re wounded, and until I know how badly you’re not fighting anything. Let us handle this.” Stepping forward, Carter pointed a hoof at the now charging Manticores and ordered, “Noble, engage!” Immediately the Spartans rushed forward, meeting the Manticores head-on. Jorge was the first one to reach them, colliding with the largest Manticore, locking his hooves with its paws as his shields shattered with the impact. The two titans grunted and snarled as they struggled to overpower the other. Jorge had pure strength on his side, but the Manticore had mass. The two were locked in a stalemate, only able to match the others strength, but unable to outdo each other. Jun meanwhile, had taken to the air, and was currently dive-bombing the attacking beasts. Again and again the rifleman zipped down, slamming both hooves into the Manticores with brutal strikes. Unfortunately, his attacks were incapable of truly damaging his targets, and only served to momentarily distract them. Growling in frustration, Jun thought of how he could do more damage. A small movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention, and he turned toward it. Upon seeing what it was, Jun smiled darkly, and flew towards it. Kat dodged another blow from a Manticore cub, before leveling her horn in its direction, firing a volley of magical blasts that sent the cub staggering backwards, its coat singed and smoking. The cub gave a roar of anger, before leaping towards her, and Kat instinctively snatched it from the air with her magic, grunting in exertion as the Manticore’s weight sapped her of her strength. With a heave, and a gasp of shock at the sudden wave of fatigue, Kat sent the cub sailing through the air impacting solidly with a tree, producing a sharp crack as both wood and bone splintered with the collision. The cub slumped to the ground, unmoving, and Kat gave a smile of satisfaction. Turning to face the rest of the skirmish, Kat was forced to dive backwards to avoid a swipe from another of the Manticore cubs. Her horn flared, and Kat prepared herself for another melee. Emile dove into a roll, just barely ducking beneath the claws of one of the cubs. Tumbling to his hooves, Emile lunged forward, burying his kukri into the cub’s shoulder. The beast howled in pain, which turned to sharp cries of agony as Emile twisted the knife deeper, before ripping it to the side, freeing it with a splash of blood and gore. Not pausing, Emile backed up to allow the cub to clutch at its mangled shoulder, before once again leaping forward, this time tackling the cub and sending both of them to the ground. The cub writhed beneath him, fighting to free itself, but these attempts ceased as Emile slammed his hoof into the cub’s shoulder. The Manticore flinched instinctively, and Emile took the opportunity to bring his kukri across the cub’s throat in one clean slice. Immediately the Manticore gave a pitiful whimper, twitching occasionally as the Spartan looked on impassively. After the Manticore had finished its feeble movements, Emile readied his kukri and turned to face the others, only to be bowled over as another cub tackled him, sending the two into a rapid tumble, ending with the Manticore straddling the Spartan, pinning him with its claws and raising its tail to lunge at him. Emile laughed uproariously, relishing the combat even as the Manticore brought its tail down to strike. Carter watched all of these battles unfold, occasionally wincing as three of the cubs impacted against the magical barrier surrounding himself and Six. The Lieutenant for her part looked to him with concern, panting heavily and prepared to fight should the shield fail. Carter followed the cubs’ movements as they prowled around the shield, occasionally slamming themselves into it and causing it to flicker slightly at the area of impact. Carter’s shields easily withheld the attacks, but his energy was being steadily drained by the constant bombardment. No matter how strong he was capable of making his shields, he could only hold them up for so long. If he wished to end this, he would have to end it now. Focusing his energy, Carter’s horn flared in sapphire light, and the shield rapidly expanded outward, sending the Manticores sprawling. The flare caused his shield to shatter, but Carter capitalized on this opportunity to slam his hoof down, as another spherical shield formed around the two Spartans. The angered cubs were now back on their feet, and the closest decided to take out his frustrations with another lunge toward the shield. What the cub didn’t expect was to fly through the shield, slamming into the dirt before the Commander, who took advantage of its confusion by leaping onto it and drawing his combat knife, plunging it into the cub’s neck before tearing out its throat. The other cubs saw their brother pass through the shield and were quick to do the same, diving through the walls of the shield and bearing down on the Commander. One of the cubs pounced, flying towards Carter, until it was knocked out of the air by Six, who landed roughly atop the cub, flaring her wings in preparation to strike. Before she could, however, the cub raised its tail and slammed it into Six’s side. Thankfully the barbed tip missed the Spartan, but the impact served to knock the Spartan off her hooves, leaving her gasping on the ground as pain erupted in her side, paralyzing her with shock. As the Manticore cub drew towards the Spartan, its tail whipping about like a cats ready to pounce, the Lieutenant’s eyes darted toward Carter. The Commander was busy handling a cub of his own, rolling along the ground as the two fought for dominance. Her gaze shifted back to the approaching Manticore, as the beast finally stopped mere feet from her. Six shut her eyes, the sound of the drop shield shattering the last thing she heard before the Manticore leapt towards her. As Jorge wrestled with the father Manticore, he shouted out over the com, “Emile, I could use a little help here!” “I’m a bit busy at the moment!” Emile called back, still bursting with sadistic glee as the Manticore once again brought its tail down, forcing the Spartan to jerk his head to the side to avoid having it impaled. Finally, as if bored of the cub’s attacks, Emile bucked beneath its grip, jerking the cub from its position atop him, allowing Emile to roll on top of it in return, wasting no time in bringing his kukri across the cub’s throat. Clambering to his hooves, Emile turned from the dying cub to face the grappling pair. “Alright, what do you need?” Grunting in protest as the Manticore pushed its attack, Jorge snapped, “Just get ready! On my mark!” With that, Jorge twisted his hooves to the side, wrenching them from the Manticore’s grip and throwing it off balance. Then, before it could recover, Jorge launched himself into the Manticore’s abdomen, wrapping his hooves around its midriff. With an almighty heave, Jorge lifted the Manticore off the ground, hefting it above his head despite its flailing and protests. “Double Buck Drop! Now!” He commanded, hurling the Manticore through the air, straight towards Emile. Emile’s eyes bugged out of their sockets as he saw the hundreds of pounds of furious animal being thrown at him, but nonetheless spun around, cocking his back legs before delivering a violent buck directly into the Manticore’s face. The move was the signature technique of the Spartans’ trainer, one meant to incapacitate large targets with a single blow. As Emile’s hooves impacted on the creature’s face, it certainly lived up to its reputation. There was a sickening CRACK as the blow shattered the Manticore’s snout. The force proved enough to send the Manticore tumbling through the air, back towards Jorge, before landing in a heap before the Spartan. Jorge looked down on the broken beast before him, seeing the burning anger and pitiable pain in its eyes. Lifting both forehooves upwards, Jorge ended its misery with a hard stomp, crushing the Manticore’s skull with a single blow. Jorge stepped back from the corpse, panting heavily, and met Emile’s gaze, together, the two shared a silent nod. Kat ducked another blow from the cub, following it up with a quick blast of magic that sent it stumbling back. Wasting no time Kat focused her energy, building up a much more powerful blast. As the cub recovered and bore down on the Spartan once more, Kat released the blast, the powerful spell slamming into its skull. There was a sharp crack as the Manticore’s head was forced into an unnatural angle, and it collapsed, lifeless. Carter and the cub rolled along the ground inside the drop shield, grappling viciously for a position atop the other. Carter’s augmented strength proved to be an even match for the beast, but Carter still had one more card to play. His horn ignited with magic, and in a flash, Carter sent a bolt of magic into the struggling Manticore’s face. Its head snapped back, as it shook its head in an attempt to regain its senses. Wasting no time, Carter lunged forward, pinning the cub to the ground, before using his magic to draw his combat knife and sink it into the flesh of the Manticore’s neck. With a swift jerk of the knife, the cub’s spinal cord was severed, and it flopped to the ground, dead. Carter slowly pulled himself to his hooves, casting a glance over to Six, only for his eyes to widen in panic as he saw the last cub readying itself to finish her off. Carter readied another spell, knowing full well he would be too slow to save her, as the drop shield he had spawned collapsed around them… Crack! BOOM! The Manticore suddenly went rigid, spasming as electricity coursed through its form, courtesy of the lightning bolt impacting in the center of its back. The Manticore gave one last twitch, before keeling over into a pile of smoking flesh. Carter followed the path of the bolt to find Jun, sitting on a dark cloud above the clearing, his head cocked to the side as he regarded his target. “Sorry I’m late, sir.” He said, his tone smug. “These wild clouds can be a bit hard to move.” Carter grinned back at the rifleman. “No problem, Jun. Looks like you were right on time.” A soft groan drew his attention back to Six, and he rushed to her side. Anger at her fighting despite his orders was overridden by his concern for her health. “Lieutenant, are you alright? Respond.” Slowly, Six opened her eyes and turned her helmeted gaze to regard Carter curiously. She looked over to the charred corpse of the Manticore, before breathing a sigh of relief. Pulling herself to her hooves, Six snapped off a quick salute. “I’m okay, sir.” Six answered evenly. “Just need a minute to-“ She was cut off as a blinding agony in her side caused a gasp of pain to escape her lips. “-to catch my breath.” Carter fixed the Spartan with a hard stare. “Negative, Six. You’re too badly hurt. Let’s move you inside, and we’ll see if we can do anything to fix you up.” The Lieutenant regarded Carter for a moment, before sighing and nodding, gingerly stepping past him and into the cave. Carter watched her enter, before turning to the others and saying, “Come on, Noble. Let’s get inside.” With that he turned and entered the cave, with the rest of Noble following close behind. Six lay in one corner of the cave, doing her best to ignore the throbbing pain in her side, as it grew steadily worse over the course of the last few hours. She lifted her wing, inspecting the wound located there. The flash of pain Six had felt hadn’t been from the impact as Six had hoped. Rather, it had been from her own wing blade stabbing into her side. The honed blade had easily cut through the weave of her bodysuit, before plunging directly into her chest. Adrenaline had numbed Six to most of the pain, and it wasn’t until she finally settled down that she saw the extent of the damage. The blade that had stabbed into her side had thankfully been ripped from the primary to which it was attached, and remained lodged in her side. Six knew better than to remove it, as for the moment the blade was the only thing that was keeping the wound sealed. The pain was excruciating, but the blade seemed to have failed to pierce her lung, so as long as no major arteries were severed, the wound was far from lethal. Nevertheless, it was still a constant source of agony with every movement Six made. Despite the pain, she was thankful she had managed to once again ward off Carter’s offers for assistance. Carter had been firm in his desire to see her wounds treated, but Six had stoically replied with the argument that it would simply be wasted effort. She had been right, of course. As every member of Noble Team had learned after Jorge was injured, healing spells were extremely taxing. What was more, healing spells weren’t capable of simply removing any wounds sustained. Rather, they simply accelerated the healing process, allowing the body to heal wounds that would take weeks to heal and make them fixed within a matter of days. Combine that with a Spartan’s augmented metabolisms, and that time was effectively cut in half. Jorge’s cracked rib had been healed within twenty-four hours of being treated, but Six’s wounds were far too severe for anything but surgery to fix. What was more, Six had argued that the wound was painful, not crippling, and if there was one thing that Six could handle, it was pain. Carter had eventually relented, but not before making her promise to seek treatment once they returned to Canterlot. The Commander had then taken Jorge and Emile to drag the Manticore corpses further into the forest, lest they attract scavengers. Before he had left, however, he had ordered Six to do nothing that may worsen her condition. Six desperately wished for a way to make herself useful, but she had reluctantly agreed. Now she lay on her uninjured side, silently observing, as Kat seemed to be using her magic to fiddle with the servos in her arm, her helmet removed and her expression a mask of concentration. Jun meanwhile lay atop his thundercloud, his helmet on the floor as he stared at the ceiling. The sound of approaching hoofsteps signaled the return of the others, and Six shifted her gaze to the entrance of the cave, where Carter and Emile entered. Jorge soon followed, bore down with what seemed to be a large collection of sticks upon his back. Setting the bundle down, Jorge reached up and removed his helmet. “Anyone up for a campfire?” He asked, cocking a grin. Kat looked from the pile to Carter curiously. “That took a while. What kept you?” Carter, Emile and Jorge shared a look, before simultaneously chuckling. “Ran into some more of those Timberwolves.” Emile answered, pointing to the pile of wood. “Decided a fire might be a good idea. Light this place up a little, you know?” He gestured around the dank interior of the cave. Kat frowned uncertainly. “I don’t know, smoke coming from the mouth of the cave might attract attention.” “Actually,” Six jumped in. “that might be a good idea. Dragons tend to make a home in caves like this, albeit bigger ones. The smoke might fool the animals into thinking one’s nested here; might even scare them away.” Carter accepted Six’s plan with a nod. “Sounds good.” Turning to Jorge, he said, “Get that wood ready, and I’ll start the fire.” Jorge nodded, and set to work arranging the sticks and logs into a basic teepee shape, grabbing a few rocks strewn about the cave to form a crude fire pit. Carter then stepped past the Spartan, settling down near Kat and using his magic to lift his helmet from his head. As his face was revealed, Six was able to make out deep bags underneath his eyes. Six eyed him with some concern, but elected to remain silent. She wasn’t in any place to judge someone about his or her sleeping habits, after all. Within minutes the fire was blazing, its shifting flames causing waves of orange light to dance about the cavern. The Spartans gathered around it, each of them staring into the fire but saying nothing. Finally, Emile broke the silence. “This is too fuckin’ weird, y’know?” He said, shaking his head softly. “We’re fightin’ Covvies one day, the next we’re in the land of magical fuckin’ ponies. Not exactly what I was expecting when I was bleedin’ out back on Reach.” Jun nodded in agreement, chuckling faintly. “Yeah, definitely not my idea of an afterlife. I mean, I don’t know if I expected there to be anything after death, but this… this certainly wasn’t something I expected.” “And what about the Covvies?” Emile said; drawing looks from the rest of the team. “I mean, who’s gonna stop ‘em now? We lost Reach, our biggest colony, and it’s only a matter of time before they find Earth.” “I’ve been wondering about that, actually.” All eyes turned to Jorge, who looked to each of the Spartans in turn. “I’ve been holding off, what with all that’s been going on, but now I want answers. I blew up that Supercarrier. I gave my life to save Reach, how the Hell did it fall? What happened to my home?” The assembled Spartans cringed as his last question rose into a firm demand near the end. Carter did his best to meet Jorge’s gaze as he answered, “After you… died, the Supercarrier was destroyed. We thought that Reach was safe. But then at least a dozen more showed up. It must have been the whole damn Covenant Fleet.” Jorge said nothing, only staring blankly at the Commander. His jaw worked as he struggled to find the words to respond. Swallowing, he finally managed to choke out, “So what happened next?” Carter sighed. “The Covenant then hit all the major population centers; cut off our means of evacuating the citizens, then started glassing the planet. Thanks to Six, we managed to escort a few ships off planet, but not enough.” Carter looked down, his expression somber. “Never enough.” Jorge was again silent as he digested the news that his home was destroyed, and most of its people, his people, were dead. Suddenly, his expression brightened slightly as he recalled something. “Jun said that Halsey was safe.” He said, his expression one of hopeful confusion. “I thought she died when the Supercarrier glassed Sword Base.” Carter shook his head. “After New Alexandria was glassed, we recieved orders to go to back to Sword Base. A Torch-and-Burn Op, they said. In reality it was just a ploy to lead us there so we could go to the base located two klicks underneath it. There we found out Halsey was not only alive, but had some sort of discovery that could possibly defeat the Covenant. She had us deliver an AI to a ship in Aszod, which Six did successfully. I sent Jun with Halsey to secure her in Castle Base.” Jun jumped in quickly. “Which I did, despite the Covenant already being there. I managed to lock her inside, then brought the mountain down over the entrance. It will take awhile for the Covenant to dig through that rubble, let alone breach the base. She’s safe.” Jorge nodded as Jun finished, his expression one of relief. This soon gave way to depression as Jorge mourned the loss of his home. Carter quickly strode up to the Spartan, resting a hoof on his shoulder. “Reach won’t be forgotten, Jorge. People will remember it, and when this war finally ends, they’ll return. They won’t let its memory die.” Jorge looked to the Commander, meeting his gaze for a moment, before nodding resolutely. “You’re right, sir. Besides, as long as I still breathe, I’ll remember Reach.” Carter gave Jorge a reassuring smile. “So will we, Jorge. All of us.” He looked to each of the remaining members of Noble, seeing them nod and give their own words of affirmation. There was silence for a moment, no one saying a word out of respect for the fallen world, until Six spoke up. “The fight isn’t over yet.” She said flatly. “Reach wasn’t just an end; it was a beginning. Humanity won’t take this lying down; there’ll be plenty of people who will fight in Reach’s name. This fight, this war, it isn’t over yet. There’ll be another time.” Kat frowned. “But who will fight it?” She asked to no one in particular. “Who will be able to stop them?” Carter looked to Kat, before answering, his voice full of confidence, “As long as there’s a single Spartan left out there, then the fight isn’t over.” Emile laughed. “Well, whoever he is, he’s gonna have to be pretty damn good if he’s gonna have any hope of beating the Covenant.” The other Spartans gave various murmurs of agreement. Jun raised his hoof as if giving a toast. “To The Last Spartan. Whoever and wherever you are; Good Luck.” “Good Luck.” The rest of Noble chorused, raising their hooves as well. For a moment, they simply remained still, until they simultaneously lowered their hooves, grinning to each other. The Spartans then lapsed back into silence. For a long while, none of them spoke, as they all became entrenched within their own thoughts. Jorge allowed his thoughts to remain focused on Reach, recalling all his time spent there, from his early childhood, to his training as a SPARTAN-II, and finally to the battle held there. It hurt to remember these things, knowing that they would be forever lost, but Jorge smiled anyway. The pain of loss could not overcome the hope he felt that one day, these things would return. Emile thought about the Covenant that had invaded the planet, as he removed his helmet and set it beside him. He had no regret killing them, in fact he only wished he could have killed more. He wished that he could go back to Reach, if for no other reason than to pay those alien bastards back for each life they took from the colony. He shook these thoughts away. Reach was gone, and he was dead to that world. He had a new objective, and following it would be sure to give him plenty of targets for the foreseeable future. He began contemplating all the best ways to kill a Griffon, and allowed a twisted smile to creep across his face. Jun’s thoughts were firmly locked onto his new charge, Rainbow Dash. The Pegasus had remained on his mind since she had left him back in Canterlot. She was brash, loud, and arrogant; many qualities that Jun detested. However he couldn’t help but notice that these traits were ones he could point out within himself. He thought back to all the times that Carter had told him off for speaking out of turn during a mission, and chuckled. Maybe they would be able to get along, despite the differences in their personalities. Six’s thoughts too were on her own Element of Harmony: Fluttershy. The meek Pegasus was everything that Six wasn’t. Where Six was calm, self-assured, and fearless, Fluttershy was anxious, meek, and spineless. Six held some regard for her consideration for others lives, as the capacity for kindness was something that Six herself had lost a long time ago. Her innocence, however, only filled Six with contempt. Thinking back to how she had looked at Six, as if she were a monster for killing those Covenant… Six shook her head; it wasn’t fair to judge her because she stood by her principles. Six only hoped that the timid Pegasus would prove to contain some form of hidden strength, if for no other reason than to allow Six to tolerate her presence at all. Another twinge of pain interrupted her thoughts, and she gingerly lifted a wing to inspect her side. The wound was growing worse, as her unintentional shifting had slowly worked the blade out of her flesh, allowing blood to weep from wound in worrying amounts. What was worse, if her labored breathing was any indication, she more than likely had collapsed a lung with her movements. She quickly folded her wing, hiding the wound. There was nothing that could be done now, short of surgery, and she refused to have her teammates worry about something they couldn’t control. The thought of having either Kat or Carter cast a healing spell, to at least slow her injury if not cure it, was quickly banished. She refused to have them exhaust themselves. Even if the spell was cast, she wouldn’t be as effective in a fight as the Unicorns were at full strength. She could wait for extraction. As the blood began to pool around her stomach, she silently wished that sunset would arrive soon. Kat thought about the war between the two groups within the Griffon Kingdoms. Already her mind was reviewing everything she knew about Civil Warfare, from guerilla tactics to battle strategies, to the possible outcomes of their engagements. She worried that becoming involved with another nation’s war, despite the threat it may pose to your own nation, may not be worth the risk. And to do that without the consent of your own government… Kat only prayed that the Princess was correct, and that winning the war would ensure Equestrian Security. Carter looked to each of his subordinates in turn, regarding them silently as he attempted to guess what they were thinking. Kat was probably going over tactics. Jun’s small grin suggested he was satisfied about something. Emile’s manic grin could only mean he was thinking of combat. Jorge meanwhile had a solemn expression. No doubt he was thinking of his home on Reach. Carter's thoughts drifted back to his own childhood on Biko, and he felt a pang of sympathy for the Spartan. Finally, Carter settled his gaze on Six. The newest member of Noble was also the one whom Carter found to be most unfathomable. As usual, her helmet blocked any hope of reading her expression, and her body language was limited at best. However, the way she shifted uncomfortably, occasionally ruffling the wing on her right side, suggested that her wound was bothering her. Carter hated doing nothing about it, but one thing he learned about Six in their short time together was that she was above all else practical. She would not place her own health above the good of the team, but on the other hand she knew perfectly well that dying would leave all of them much worse off. He trusted her to seek help when she truly needed it, lest she become a liability. Carter smiled; he knew his team, possibly even better than they knew themselves, in some cases. Satisfied that his team was comfortable, he turned his gaze towards the entrance to the cave, examining the orange light that streamed in. In all the excitement, the day had gone by far more quickly than he had expected; sunset couldn’t be more than an hour away. Smiling to himself, Carter prepared to spend the next hour in peace. RAAAAAAAAWR!!! Carter sighed Of course. He thought darkly, as a roar more massive than ever before caused the cave to tremble violently. Staggering to his hooves, Carter looked to the entrance to the cave, and discovered that the sunlight that had been streaming in previously had gone dark. Something was blocking the entrance. Trespasser! Intruder! You infringe upon my domain! Show yourself, so I may punish you for invading my territory! The voice thundered, each word sending a small quake throughout the cave. Carter looked up to see the rest of Noble Team observing him with apprehension, waiting for his direction. Carter looked down, his face a mask of concentration as he considered how to respond to this challenge. From the simple fact that whatever was calling them out was talking to them, however hostile his words may be, it at least meant that he might be able to negotiate with the source of this voice. His attention was then drawn to the voice’s words. It had referred to Noble Team in the singular, which meant it most likely had no idea there were in fact six people in this cave, only one. Carter quickly put together a plan of action. Lifting his helmet back onto his head, Carter strode towards the entrance to the cave. Then, before the others could move to follow him, he turned around and addressed them. “I’m going out to greet our new guest. I want the rest of you to stay here, and stay quiet. I’ll see if I can resolve this peacefully.” Naturally, the Spartans responded with immediate cries of dissent. Emile in particular looked irritated at Carter’s plan. “Commander!” He huffed indignantly. “Did you even hear that thing? Whatever it was, it obviously isn’t friendly.” Carter shook his head in response. “Maybe so, but it also appears to be sentient. And if this thing can think for itself then that means that we can negotiate. Besides, from the sound of it that thing is bigger than whatever else we’ve fought so far, and I’m not in the mood to start a fight I can avoid.” Jun frowned as well. “But sir, why go out there alone? If this does turn into a fight, it’ll be better if we’re there to help you.” Carter again shook his head. “From the sound of it, that thing thinks there’s only one person camped out in here. If I go out there and negotiations do break down, then we’ll at least have the element of surprise.” He grinned. “Just because I’m not looking for a fight, doesn’t mean I’m not prepared for one.” As Carter’s arguments made their impact on the Spartans, they finally relented, and allowed Carter to proceed out of the cave. What he saw after doing so caused a solid lead weight to settle in his gut. Before him was a massive form that was unmistakably that of a dragon. It was huge, almost the size of a Covenant Scarab, and was sheathed from head to toe in brilliant emerald scales. It’s back, head, and tail bore a row of razor-sharp, lighter-green spines, matching the color of its javelin-sized claws. From its mouth sprouted multiple rows of dagger-sized teeth, and above its mouth two eyes the size of Carter’s head were narrowed in fury, their golden irises a stark contrast to the slitted pupils within. As Carter exited the cave, the dragon surprisingly no outward reaction, its gaze remaining focused on the space well above him. With a jolt, Carter observed the smoke pouring from the cave and mentally slapped himself. Of course, He thought. He must think there’s a dragon in there. That explains why he’s being so territorial. Another dragon would be a serious threat. Thankful that he may in fact be able to escape this endeavor without the need for bloodshed, Carter raised a hoof to his helmet and gave a quick, Ahem. Immediately the dragon’s head snapped down to Carter’s position, and its expression morphed into one of confusion. What is this? It asked, its booming voice forcing Carter’s expression into one of irritation that was thankfully hidden by his helmet. A pony? What are you doing here? Why are you encroaching upon my territory, filling the skies with smoke? Do you realize how insulting this is? Mere ponies, infringing themselves upon my land? Carter observed the dragon’s insulted expression, and answered, “I am sorry if I have offended you. I assure you, it was not my intention. I-“ I care not for your intentions! You have invaded my territory, and I demand compensation. Tell me pony, what have you to offer in recompense for this insult? Carter frowned. This was not going well. He had nothing to offer this dragon, and from the fierce look on its face it wouldn’t take much for the situation to deteriorate into combat. “I don’t have anything to offer you, I’m afraid.” Carter said evenly, ignoring the dragon’s snarl as he continued, “I only intend to stay until sunset, and then I will be out of your, err, scales.” The dragon’s brow furrowed at Carter’s statement, as curiosity overcame its possessive rage. What is your business in the Everfree; pony? Carter gave a silent sigh of relief that the dragon’s attention was directed away from its rage for the moment, and answered, “I have been sent here as a training exercise from Princess Celestia.” This seemed to earn a reaction from the dragon, who at first seemed surprised, before growling angrily. Celestia. I had believed we had reached an accord last we met. This forest is MINE. The dragon loosed a roar as it flared its wings impressively, and Carter found himself tensing in response. When the dragon had finished its demonstration it looked down at the Commander. Seeing Carter had held his ground against its display, the dragon lowered its wings, a befuddled expression upon its face. You show more spine than many of your brethren, pony. It said with equal parts distaste and respect. But this does not excuse your trespass upon my land. Carter quickly smothered his desire to attack the beast and was about to respond when his COM link burst to life. “Commander!” Kat shouted over the link, tension discernible in her tone. “What’s going on? Do you need assistance?” Remaining still so as to keep the dragon unaware that he was talking to someone else, Carter responded, “Negative Kat, stay back. Negotiations are having some trouble, but our guest doesn’t appear to be hostile. Not yet, anyway.” Kat seemed unconvinced, but didn’t argue as she answered, “Alright, but what exactly is our ‘guest’? From the roaring I doubt that its another pony.” “Got it in one, Kat.” Carter said. “It’s a dragon. Apparently we’re trespassing in his territory.” Emile joined into the conversation then. “No shit, really? Well that sounds like a challenge, you sure you don’t want us to engage?” Carter was firm in his response. “Negative, Four, I don’t want a fight with this thing if I can avoid it. Just stay back, and wait for my go.” A grumbled “Fine.” was returned to him, and he returned his attention to the expectant dragon. “I was uninformed of any agreement, as well as your presence within this forest. I’m just a soldier; I follow orders given to me, and I was ordered to stay in this forest until nightfall. I apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you, but I will not disobey a direct order from a superior. Until nightfall, nothing is going to make me leave this forest.” The dragon growled at Carter’s response, but looked to Carter with a sense of begrudging respect. Such loyalty is admirable, but foolish. It paused for a moment, looking over Carter dubiously, as the Spartan forced himself to remain still under the dragon’s scrutiny, while steadily meeting its gaze. Finally, the dragon sat back on its haunches, appearing satisfied. Very well. It said. I will allow you to stay until nightfall. However, should you prove to be lying to me, and I discover you within my territory again, I will not be so lenient. You have until nightfall, and if I ever find you in my territory again, I will feast upon your bones. The dragon finished with a snarl, puffs of smoke jetting from its nostrils. With no small amount of relief, Carter nodded. “Thank you. I promise I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t come to that.” The dragon gave a low rumbling chuckle. Be sure that it doesn’t. I shall return in the morning. Should you be true to your word, then this is farewell. Carter nodded again. “Farewell.” The dragon returned the gesture, before flaring its wings and in one mighty flap, took to the skies. Carter watched it depart, waiting until it had disappeared over the tree line, before heaving a massive sigh of relief, plopping down on his haunches. Behind him, the rest of Noble Team began to emerge from the cave. They approached the Commander, regarding him with equal parts curiosity and amusement. Jun was the first to speak. “Great work, sir. It’s nice to meet something without having to fight for our lives for once.” Jorge nodded in agreement. “If anyone could talk down a dragon, it would be Carter.” He said, chuckling deeply. Kat and Six gave their own praise for the Commander, while Emile sulked quietly, slightly put out at the fact that they had resolved things without a fight. Nevertheless, he congratulated Carter on a job well done. After accepting the commendations from his teammates, Carter looked to the sky, and was pleased to find that it was drawing close to sunset. The orange sphere hung low in the sky, almost entirely hidden by the trees. Carter ordered his team back into the cave, and the Spartans complied, returning to their positions around the fire. At first, the Spartans returned to their thoughts, until Emile broke the minute-long silence saying, “I still think we could’ve taken on a dragon. Definitely would have been a nice challenge.” Carter chuckled at Emile’s nearsighted bloodlust. “The thing was the size of a Scarab, Emile.” He said sardonically. A smile came to his face as he added, “And I didn’t have a Pelican to crash into it this time.” This drew a laugh from Emile, and a small scoff from Six, while the others looked to him confusedly. “Long story.” He answered simply. The others looked even more bewildered by this response, but simply shrugged it off. Any further conversation was cut off as a loud fwoosh resounded through the cave, and a burst of light appeared directly in front of Carter. As Noble all looked to the source of the flash, they saw it dissolve into the form of a rolled-up scroll bearing a golden seal, one which Carter recognized as Celestia’s. Carter instinctively caught the scroll in his magic, the blue aura wrapping around the scroll, breaking the seal and unrolling the parchment. As he read the message, he relayed the words aloud for Noble Team’s benefit. Commander, If you are reading this, then congratulations. You have successfully proven capable at surviving in a hostile environment. Your extraction will be arriving momentarily, and after you return I expect a full report on your experience. Princess Celestia No sooner had Carter finished the note, another light appeared within the cave. This one was growing larger and larger before finally settling into the form of a large portal. The portal was glowing with a golden ethereal light, and through it Carter could make out the image of what looked to be a large decorated chamber beyond. Carter looked to each of his team in turn and, seeing that they were ready, signaled them to follow as he stepped through the portal. As Carter crossed the threshold of the portal’s edge, he was overcome with a strange sensation, akin to static, washing over him. His HUD flickered as the magic washed over him, and a tingling sensation grew over his horn. Then, as quick as they had come, the sensations faded, and Carter found himself standing before the form of Princess Celestia. The Alicorn smiled down at Carter, as he quickly snapped into a firm salute, the forms of Noble Team doing the same as they appeared behind him. Celestia regarded each of them for a moment, her gaze lingering especially long on Six, before she returned her gaze to Carter and nodded her head. “At ease.” The Spartans released their salutes, and Celestia continued, “It is good to see you are all still alive, though I can’t say that I’m surprised. Before we go any further however, do any of you need medical attention?” To nobody’s surprise, Six stepped forward. “I do.” She said impassively. “I have received blunt force trauma to my midsection, as well as a deep stab wound and a punctured lung.” The impassive way she listed the otherwise debilitating injury sent a chill down Celestia’s spine, and Carter frowned upon hearing how badly injured the Lieutenant was. He mentally noted to be more forceful with her next time, if this was what she considered to be a walking injury. Quickly recovering from her uneasiness, Celestia turned towards the door to the chamber, and the two guards stationed there. Gesturing to Six with a wing, she said to them, “Please lead the Lieutenant to the Medical Wing, and see to it that her wounds are treated.” The two guards nodded stiffly, before turning and striding out of the room, Six following close behind. Returning her attention to the remaining Spartans, Celestia continued, “I wish to once again express my joy at seeing you alive. I wish to hear a full report on your time in the Everfree.” Jorge looked to Celestia in confusion. “Right now? What about Six?” Celestia smiled at the Spartan’s concern for his ally. “She will be debriefed in time. Now, tell me everything, I wish to hear the full story.” The Spartans took a moment to regard each other curiously, before complying, relaying their tale to the Princess. “-and that’s it.” Carter finished, the rest of Noble giving sounds of agreement behind him. Over the course of the last hour, Noble had relayed their experiences to the Princess, stopping occasionally to answer the occasional question. When they had reached the point of Carter’s discussion with the dragon, Celestia had expressed surprise at the dragon’s presence, but was glad to hear that the situation had been dealt with peacefully. As Noble finished recounting their tale, the sound of a clock striking nine could be heard. Celestia turned towards the source of the noise, a large grandfather clock placed in the corner, and turned back to Noble with a smile. “The hour grows late. You have all been through quite the ordeal today, and I think you all deserve some much-needed rest. Tomorrow I will be sending all of you to Ponyville, something that I assure you will require a good deal of energy. You are dismissed.” The Spartans each gave Celestia another crisp salute, before moving to file out the door to the chamber, heading towards the barracks. Carter however stopped before passing through the doorway. Kat looked back to him in confusion, and the Commander responded with a jerk of his head toward Celestia. Understanding his meaning, Kat nodded and proceeded out the door, using her magic to close it behind her. Celestia heard the door close and looked to find Carter still in the room with her. “Is there something you wish to discuss Commander?” She asked innocently. Carter nodded, lifting a hoof to retract his armor, revealing an accusatory glare directed at the Princess. “You set us up.” He said. Walking up to Celestia, his stern expression remaining locked on her own. “You knew that dragon was there. He said you had worked out his territory. That isn’t something a ruler forgets, especially since the dragon’s home is so close to a town.” Celestia silently regarded Carter for a moment, the only change to her expression being a subtle raise of one brow. Seeing that Carter’s resolve showed no sign of wavering, she sighed. “You are correct.” She relented. “I was perfectly aware of the dragon’s territory, and purposely dropped you within it. I planned for you to encounter him.” Carter fumed at this revelation. “Why?” He demanded. “Why put us in danger against such a dangerous enemy? Did you expect us to kill it? I don’t appreciate being sicked upon someone without any idea of what I’m up against. Especially if it endangers my team.” At this statement, Celestia’s expression fell into one of sadness, much to Carter’s surprise. “Trust me Commander, I do not relish placing anypony in danger, especially my own subjects.” Celestia paused, striding over to a nearby window. She took a moment to regard the night sky with a genuine smile, before continuing, “This Civil War… it is not one that can be won with pure brute force.” Celestia turned back to Carter, her face grim. “I explained that Noble would not be able to hold back the Griffon Armies should they invade Equestria. The same could be said for the opposite: Noble alone will not be able to win the war. You will need allies. I needed to know that you were capable of doing more than fighting everything you come across. The Loyalists will be wary of your support, and may even become hostile. I will need you to know when not to fight. Today you proved to me that you are capable of defusing a potentially antagonistic situation. I now know that I can trust you to show restraint.” Carter frowned. “You could have done that without endangering me and my team.” Celestia nodded. “Maybe. I took a gamble, and it paid off. You have my word Carter; I will never purposely send your team into a situation I am not completely confident they can handle again. I now trust you to make the right decisions.” Carter regarded the Princess in silence for a moment, before turning towards the door. Pulling it open, he was about to pass through the door, but instead looked back towards the Princess. When he spoke, his voice was cold. “I wish I could say the same.” Not waiting to hear Celestia’s reaction, he strode through the entrance, shutting the door behind him. Author’s Note: Alright! Next chapter is up! Now I know what you’re thinking, why wouldn’t Noble fight the dragon? Well, I believe it’s perfectly reasonable that no one on Noble Team, save for Emile, would purposely go looking for a fight. Yes, they may be perfectly capable of tearing apart anything in their path and would never run from a fight, but to make them actively seek out dangerous combat when they could avoid it would be stupid. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty of opportunity for Noble to fight a dragon in the future, and I promise it’ll be epic. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I’ll see you in the next one!