Chapter 3
Apples and Oranges
Lance waited in the recruitment office in Canterlot for what felt like hours. He sat as still as a statue making sure nothing broke his concentration. The guard behind the window was watching him like a hawk. The door opened to reveal a white unicorn stallion with a long blue mane. The stallion took a seat next to Lance and was breathing heavily. Lance then felt a small tap on his shoulder. “Excuse me. Is this the guard recruitment center?” He asked.
“Yeah, just got here myself.” The stallion said as the door opened again to reveal a dark grey mare. As she walked in over tot he main desk Lance looked in surprise as he noticed that her wings weren’t feathers and were like that of a bat. She had spliced pupils that were in the middle of her bright blue eyes, which were partly covered by her snow white mane.
“This the recruitment center right?” She asked.
“Yup.” The blue maned stallion said. The bat pony looked at the two of them and gave a small grin.
“Let me guess, you guys are twins?”
“What? No.” Lance said as he looked at the unicorn. The three looked at the far side of the room to see a Pegasus guard in white armor approached them. The stallion’s coat was grey and his mane was bright yellow.
“Alright maggots! Line up!” The three instantly stood in a line as the guard looked them over. He stopped in front of the blue maned unicorn first. “Name!” He demanded.
“Shining Armor sir!” He said with a salute.
“Armor eh? I heard about you. Some fancy stallion from Canterlot right?”
“Yes, sir!” The guard then moved onto the bat pony.
“Name!”
“Midnight Star.” She said with a salute.
“Where are you from half breed?”
“Shadowlands sir!” She said as she held back her rage. The stallion looked at the mare and gave a scoff.
“How about you sissy boy? Impress me.” He said as he eyed the white stallion.
“Splintered Lance sir!” The stallion looked at his clip board and scanned the names.
“Right you’re from some back water town out in the middle of nowhere.” The stallion remained silent. “What the buck are you doing here then? Go back to your farm ‘cause I’m pretty sure that’ll be the only field you’ll ever plow.” Splinter still holding his composure.
“CORPORAL! WHAT THE BUCK ARE YOU DOING?” The armored stallion looked behind him to see a taller white Unicorn stallion in gold plated armor glaring at him. The stallion’s eyes were a bright red and his mane was a dark swamp green.
“Sergeant! I was just-”
“Just what? Doing MY job?” The stallion said as his glare intensified. “Latrine duty NOW!” The white armored guard saluted and quickly made his way into the restrooms. The three new comers looked at one another and gave a gulp. “Sorry about that. His ego’s skyrocketed ever since he got promoted to Corporal.” He said as he rolled his eyes. “I’m Sergeant Bunker. I’ll be your exam proctor.”
“Exam?” Midnight said in confusion.
“Yes, an exam to see where we put you. IF you pass the test then you get a psych evaluation before you’re assigned anywhere. Understand?” The three ponies gave him a nod. “Good, you’ll take the test and then I’ll call you in to review your score and the psych administer will see if you’re fit for duty.” He said as he levitated them each a packet. “When you’re done put it in the door slot.” He said as he trotted over to the door and pointed to the small opening. The guard closed the door as he made his way back to his office.
The three sat down away from one another and started to fill out the test. Lance noticed that the other stallion had finished within thirty minutes and was waiting patiently. Lance double checked his work and submitted it. Soon the bat pony was finished and she did the same. The three sat in silence as they waited for their names to be called. “So....You’re from Canterlot?” Midnight said trying to break the silence. Shining gave her a nod. “What about you?” She asked as she looked at the other white stallion.
“Missourneigh.”
“You’re a long way from home.” She said in a surprised tone
“I could say the same thing about you.” He said as he looked at the mare’s wings. “I don’t mean to cause offense, but what are you?”
“I’m a bat pony.” She hissed.
“Sorry, never seen one before.” He said with a shrug.
“What are your names again?” She asked.
“Splintered Lance.”
“Shining Armor.” The other one answered.
“Midnight Star.” She said in a flat tone. The door opened and the guard stepped out holding their packets.
“Shinning Armor. You’re up.” The white stallion let out a sigh and followed the guard inside. Leaving the other two ponies alone in the lobby. The bat pony walked over to the white stallion and sat next to him.
“So what did you do in Missourneigh?” Midnight asked.
“I was a farmer. What about you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” She said in a low tone. The two then saw the unicorn stallion walk out and raise his hoof in the air.
“YES!”
“You got in?” Splinter asked.
“Yup, see ya at the academy.” He said with a small wave. The Sergeant then trotted out of the room and let out a sigh.
“Alright you two, in my office.”
“Both of us?” Midnight said as she raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, our Psychological evaluator has some important business to do and doesn’t have the time to do you individually.” The stallion said as he shrugged. The two looked at one another and trotted inside the office. The interior had two chairs on the other side of a wooden desk that sat in front of a leather chair. The armored stallion sat across from the two and looked at their packets. “You two passed the entrance exam.” The two let out a small sigh. “However we still need to give you a psychological evaluation.”
“Who’s the evaluator?” Midnight asked.
“That would be me.” The two ponies looked in surprise as they saw Princess Celestia standing in the doorway with a smile. The two immediately bowed to her. “I’m terribly sorry for rushing things like this, but I must return to the castle on official business.”
“It’s no trouble Princess. I can come back tomorrow if you want me to.” Lance said.
“No need. I just want to ask the two of you a question.” The two moved their heads in closer and waited to hear the Alicorns question. “Tell me, why did you want to join the guard?” She asked with a warm smile.
“I want to serve the kingdom in anyway I can.” Midnight said in a bold tone.
“So you thought the guard was your best option?”
“Yes, I want to show the kingdom what I can do and that it can rely on me.” The Princess looked at her and smiled.
“What about you?” She asked as she focused her gaze on the stallion who scratched his chin.
“I want to protect what matters most.” He said in a calm tone.
“You wish to protect me?”
“No.” The ponies looked at him in confusion. “While you are the Princess you’re not the heart and soul of this land.” He said in a flat tone. The other ponies let out a gulp as he looked at the whit Alicorn.
“I’m sorry your highness he’s new and-” The armored stallion was stopped as she raised a hoof.
“No, I want to hear this.” She said as she raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“The public. The ponies that make up this country of ours is what make this land great. What is a kingdom without subjects?” He said as he let out a sigh. “I don’t want glory or recognition. I just want to keep the ones I care about safe from harm.” The alicorn looked at him with a raised eyebrow. The armored stallion and bat pony were watching with anticipation. The Alicorn closed the gap between them so that they were standing a foot away from one another. Celestia’s stature towered over Splinter’s height.
“I can honestly say that I’ve never heard that response before.” She said in a flat tone. “You will make an excellent soldier.” She said with a warm smile. The ponies looked at one another in surprise and smiled. “Welcome to the Canterlot Royal Guard.” She said as she shook their hooves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Splinter woke up in a cold sweat and was breathing heavily. The stallion got to his hooves and looked at himself in the mirror. He gave a small scoff and quietly made his way out the door. The white stallion made his way towards the edge of town. He smelt the damp morning air as it mixed with the dust from a faint breeze.
The stallion quickly made his way down the road and found himself face to face with hundreds of rows of apple trees. Splinter cleared his throat and approached the house to see the orange mare conversing with a large red stallion. “Morning Splinter.” She said as she tipped her hat.
“Morning.” He said with a nod. “Who’s this?” He asked as he looked at the red stallion.
“This here is my brother Macintosh.” She said with a smile.
“Just call me Big Mac. Everypony does.” The stallion said in a deep, calming voice.
“Will do. What are we doing?”
“We’ll be apple bucking.” She said with a grin.
“Alright, where do I start?” He asked as he looked at the vast orchard.
“Do you know how to?”
“Yeah, I’ve worked with fruit trees before.” He said as Applejack led him to the row. Splinter positioned himself in front of the tree and kicked it with his back right hoof. All but one apple fell off the branches. Splinter gave it another light tap and the final fruit fell into the basked.
“Golly. Yer a natural.” The orange mare said in amazement.
“Thanks.”
“We’ll do this until it’s lunch time then ah’ll see what else needs to get done.” She said as she left the stallion alone. Splinter continued to work as his mind drifted off to memories of his training.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Splinter walked beside the other ponies that were with him in the registration office. The trio each had a saddle bag with them and were led by a stallion in gold plated armor. As they rounded the corridors Splinter noticed that the rooms had three numbers on the door.The stallion pulled out a clip board and stopped to face the three ponies. “Okay, what are your numbers?”
“116, sir.” Midnight answered.
“119, sir.” Shining said.
“117, sir.” Splinter said as he looked at the stallion who was scanning the board.
“Okay, follow me.” He said as he continued down the hallway. The stallion stopped in front of a door that had their three numbers on it. “This place will be your home for the time you are with us. We break you up into teams of three based on the time of your entry.” He then looked at the two stallion. “I shouldn’t have to remind you about protocol between bunk mates.” He said in a flat tone.
“No sir.” The two stallions answered back.
“Um, shouldn’t I be in the mare’s barracks sir?” The stallions looked at her in confusion.
“All the barracks are co-ed. There are separate showers and bathrooms at the end of the hallway.” The stallion said as he pointed with his hoof.
“May I ask something sir?” Shining said.
“You may.”
“What happened to recruit 118?”
“He dropped out at the last minute and we had to fill the opening. Any other questions?” The three trainees looked at one another and shrugged. “Good. Dinner is served at 6:00pm sharp. So don’t go belly aching if you don’t get your food. Breakfast is served at 5:00am. We expect you to be ready by 6:00am for the day’s training.” The stallion gave the three a salute which the three returned. The stallion gave them each a key and trotted back down the hallway. The three entered the room.
There was a bunk bed and a single bed on either side of the room. That rested flat against the white concrete walls. There was a massive window that showed the practice field where ponies were running laps. “Dibs on the top bunk.” Midnight said as she flew up onto the bed. Splinter looked at Shining who had a blank expression on his face.
“You want the single bed?” The blue maned stallion asked.
“Doesn’t matter to me.” Splinter said as he took the bunk underneath the bat mare. The white stallion threw his bag on the bed and started to unpack. He taped a photo of his family to the wall. The photo showed himself, four smaller Earth Pony fillies, an elderly blue Earth Pony mare and a Maroon Earth Pony stallion all smiling.
As he continued to unpack his belongings he came across a small mahogany box with an orange imprinted in the lid. He opened the box to reveal an old wooden pipe. As he picked up the pipe a note fell from the box. The stallion picked it up and read it to himself.
Lance,
There comes a time in every colt’s life where he must become a stallion. My dad gave this to me when I took over the farm. As did his father before him and so on. I’m giving this to you so it’ll help bring you luck. Your mother sends her love along with the rest of your family.
Sincerely,
Rusty Scythe.
Lance smiled and carefully put the pipe back into the box and slipped it into a drawer. After he set his bad down the bat mare got off the top bunk and trotted out of the room. Lance looked over to see that Shining had a photo stand holding himself a small purple filly. “Is she your daughter?” He asked.
“Nah, that’s my little sister.” He said with a chuckle.
“Sorry, I just assumed.” Splinter said as he nervously rubbed the back of his mane.
“It’s fine. What about you? You have any family?”
“Oldest of five.” Shining whistled at the amount. “Yeah, I get that a lot.” He said as the bat mare walked back into the room.
“What are you guys talking about?”
“Lance here is the oldest of five. What about you?” The mare’s expression turned stagnant.
“None of your business.” She said in a flat tone. As she walked by Lance eyed the mare who’s ear twitched and she immediately lunged at him and pressed him up against the wall with her hoof to his throat. “Let’s get one thing straight here cowboy. If I so much as even feel you stare at me, then so help me I will beat you like a drum. Are we clear?” She said as she pressed on his throat.
“Y-yeah. Crystal.” He said as he gasped for air. Midnight let go of the stallion and flew up to her bunk. Shining stood there stunned at the mares reaction time. Lance regained his breath and laid down on the bed.
“This is gonna be a great squad I can already tell.” Shining said as he face hoofed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lance snapped out of the memory as he looked up in the sky to see the sun hanging over head. He looked ahead to see Applejack trotting towards him with a smile on her face. “Woo doggy. You sure know your stuff.”
“Thanks.”
“It’s lunch time. Come by the farm house when yer done with that last tree.”
“Got it.” He said as he kicked the last tree and made his way towards the farm house. As he trotted inside he saw a small yellow filly waiting at the table, along with Big Mac and Applejack sitting across from her. An elderly green mare was busy serving the food. The stallion sat down next to the filly who looked at him in surprise.
“Who’s he?”
“This here’s Splintered Lance. He helped us today in the orchard.” Applejack said. The yellow filly looked at her brother who gave her a nod.
“I’m Applebloom.” She said with a smile.
“Nice to meet you Applebloom.” He said with a grin. The ponies dug into their lunch and engaged in some small talk. Lance managed to steer the conversation away from his job.
“Hey Lance, how’d you pick up apple bucking so quickly?” AJ asked.
“Well, I did it for the first eighteen years of my life so it all came back to me.” The mare looked at him in surprise.
“You worked on a farm?”
“Yup, my family owns a farm. You guys probably have their product your fridge right now.” He said as he got to his hooves. He walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a carton of orange juice. “Here it is.” The family’s jaws dropped.
“YOUR FAMILY OWNS CITRUS ORANGE FARM?” The filly yelled.
“Yup, of course that’s not our only product. We sell potatoes, strawberries and whole bunch of grain.” He said as the ponies were still getting over the shock. “I take it that you know them?”
“We sure do! They’re our biggest competition.” Applejack said with a grin.
“Oh....well this is awkward.” He said as he levitated the juice box back int the fridge.
“Nah, it’s a friendly rivalry. They’re not mean about it. They actually buy a large portion of our apples.” Applejack said with a smile. “How come ya didn’t know about that?”
“I haven’t been home in a while.” He said with a shrug. “When you have a job like mine you get moved around a lot.”
“When was the last time you were home?” The filly asked.
“Five.....Six years ago.” He said as he sat back down.
“WHAT?”
“Yeah, like I said I get shipped around a lot.” He said in a flat tone.
“Why don’t ya go and visit them?” The filly said.
“I just can’t go whenever I want.” He said as he got to his hooves. “Thanks for lunch. I’ll get back to it if that’s alright with you.”
“Ya done a fine job Splinter. We can handle the rest.” Applejack said with a smile.
“You sure?”
“Eeyup.” The red stallion said with a smile.
“Well, okay. Just remember if you need anything just holler.” He said as he looked at Applejack who gave him a reassuring wink. The stallion waved goodbye to the farmers and made his way back into town. He saw the busy streets of Ponyville filled with different colored ponies. As he made his way through town the white stallion felt a kink in his back legs. Remember rule number one; stretch before bucking trees. He thought as he made his way through town.
The white stallion took in his surroundings. The small town seemed to come to life like a flower coming into bloom. The stallion made his way down the dirt road and found himself in the massive library. He saw the lavender mare sitting at her desk behind a pile of books. “Looks like Shining was right. You are addicted to books.” He said with a smile. Twilight looked up and rolled her eyes at the stallion.
“Ha, ha. Very funny.” She said in a sarcastic tone. “What are you doing here? I thought you were working with Applejack.”
“I was. She relieved me for the day. I figured I come here. Seeing as how I was instructed to guard you specifically.” He said as he sat down on the couch.
“Me specifically?”
“You are the most well known out of the elements.” He said with a shrug.
“So I’m the main target?”
“In a way, yes. While the others are just as important, you are the most valuable.” He said with a sigh. Twilight shrugged and returned to her studies. The stallion levitated a book over to him and read the title. ‘Pegasi and Demons.’ He stared at the cover which was a statue of a pony half bat pony and half Pegasi.
“You read?” She asked.
“Yeah. I’d always try to squeeze in some reading time between assignments.” He said as he opened the book.
“So you and Shining went through the academy together?” She asked.
“Yep. The academy, boot camp, the whole shebang.” He said as he flipped the page. “We were a force to be reckoned with back then.”
“How so?”
“Let’s see. You’re brother is an expert in shield spells while I take the offensive route.” He said in a flat tone. “We were the perfect team.”
“What about your folks?” She asked.
“Farmers.” He said in a flat tone.
“Really?” She asked in a surprised tone.
“Yeah. Why?”
“Just surprised. I figured that you grew up in Canterlot or something like that.” She said in a flat tone.
“Nope. Born and raised on a farm.”
“What do your parents think about it?” The stallions eyes shrank and closed the book with a hard slam.
“THAT is none of your business.”
“Sorry. I was just curious.” She said in a low tone. The stallion let out a sigh and looked at the mare.
“Look Twilight, there are things you shouldn’t know about me. Things I deem ‘sensitive’ and ‘fragile.’ Understand?”
“I get it. Can I ask one last thing?”
“Depends on the question.”
“Have you ever.....Killed anypony?” She asked in a hesitant tone.
“Yes, but I never killed unless provoked or the target had it coming.” The stallion said in a flat tone. “Anything else?”
“N-no thank you.” She said in a concerned tone.
“You don’t have to like what I do. Only that I do my job well and I’ll protect you with my life from anypony or anything. Even if it means I end their life.” The mare looked at him with fear in her eyes. “That’s the burden of a soldier.” He said as he got to his hooves. “If you need me then just call out my name.” He said as he walked out of the library.
The stallion mad his way through the small town until a familiar cyan mare flew up to him. “Hey.”
“What’s up?”
“Nothing, just wanted to see what you were up to.”
“Just looking around.” He said as the mare landed beside him.
“Why?”
“Getting a layout of the town.” Lance said with a shrug. “Don’t you have weather duties today?”
“I got.....Wait, how do you know I work for the weather team?” She asked as she looked at the white stallion. Splinter’s horn glowed and a folder appeared before them.
“I’ve got a file on all of you guys.” He said as his eyes danced over the papers. “Rainbow Dash; Weather manager for Ponyville. Hospital visits; twenty-six. You have a subscription to Wonderbolt’s Monthly and your middle name is-”
“DONT YOU DARE!” She yelled as she glared at the stallion. The guard shrugged and made the file vanish. “Dude that’s creepy.”
“What is?”
“How you know so much about us.”
“It’s my job to know everything about you. While I’m guarding you at least.”
“Yet we know nothing about you.”
“That’s how it works. Trust me you don’t want to know.” He said in a flat tone. The mare started to glare at him with an intense look in her eyes. “Fine ask away. Although most of my work history is classified.”
“Where did you grow up?”
“Missourneigh on a farm.” The mare blinked her eyes twice.
“Really? I figured that you were from Canterlot or Manehattan.”
“Nope. Born and raised on an orange plantation.”
“Orange? You’d better watch out for AJ then.”
“Nah, turns out my family is one of their biggest customers.”
“No way.” She said in surprise.
“I was as shocked as you are.”
“You didn’t know?”
“I haven’t been home in over five years Dash. I’m not exactly ‘in the loop.’” He said as he made quotation marks with his hooves.
“Five years? Why?”
“When you’re in the guard you get moved around a lot.” He said with a shrug. “I hope my sisters are okay.”
“Sisters?”
“I’m the oldest of five.” The mare’s jaw dropped. “The only stallion too.”
“Dude. Bummer.”
“Nah, we all got along for the most part.” He said with a smile. The stallion then felt his back leg clench up. “Crap.”
“What?”
“Is there a massage place in this town?”
“There’s a spa. Why?”
“I pulled something while bucking apples with Applejack today. Better take care of it now. Where is this place?”
“Seriously? A royal guard going to a spa?” The mare said as she laughed.
“Laugh if you must but it’s better to get a professional look at it.”
“Down the road, Second building on your left. You can’t miss it.” She said as she flew off. The stallion nodded and made his way down the street. He found himself in front of a bright pink building with several fragrances in the air. Splinter walked into the lobby to see a light blue earth pony mare with a pink mane at the desk.
“Hello.” She said with a smile.
“Hi, this is the spa correct?”
“Yep what can I do for you?” She asks in a cheery tone.
“I pulled something in my leg while I was working and-” The mare giggled and raised her hoof.
“Say no more. Aloe! We’ve got a customer.” Splinter looked to see a similar looking pink Earth pony mare with a light blue mare come out from the other room.
“Hello, I’m Aloe.” Splinter looked at the two mares and put the pieces together.
“I take it you guys are twins?”
“Yes, I’m Lotus by the way.”
“Splintered Lance.” He said in a flat tone. As he shook the mare’s hoof the door opened up to reveal a familiar white Unicorn mare and a yellow Pegasus mare.
“Splinter?” Rarity said in surprise.
“Hey Rarity.”
“What brings you here?”
“I pulled a muscle working with Applejack this morning.” He said in a flat tone.
“Ah I see. Girls two usuals and put Splinter’s visit on my tab.” She said with a smile.
“You don’t have to do that Rarity.”
“I insist.” The mare said with a smile.
“Well, okay.” He said with a shrug. The stallion followed the bright blue mare into the massage room and laid down on the table. The white stallion let out a groan as he felt the mare’s hooves dig into his back. “Oh that feels good.” He said with a smile.
“Thank you. Might I ask how do you know Ms. Rarity?” The blue mare asked.
“She’s letting me stay with her while I’m in town.”
“Are you two...together?” She asked in a hesitant tone.
“No, she’s just a friend.” He said as the mare started to dig into his shoulders.
“What do you do?” She asked.
“I’m freelancing right now. What about you? Always been a masseuse?”
“That’s right. My sister and I opened up this shop a few years ago.” She said with a smile. The ponies then heard a crash come from the other room.
“I told you to stay away!” The two heard the other spa pony yell. The guard quickly got to his hooves and the two trotted down the hall way to meet up with Rarity and Fluttershy.
“What’s going on?” Lotus asked.
“I don’t know. Fluttershy and I were sitting in the sauna when we heard a crash.” Rarity said. The stallion poked his head out and saw the pink mare with her back against the wall. The spa pony was being cornered by a black Pegasus stallion with a yellow mane. “Who’s that?”
“My sister’s ex.” Lotus said as she narrowed her eyes. “He was abusive so we filed a restraining order.” She said as she let out a sigh. Before anypony could react the blue mare trotted forward with a cross look on her face. “Hey get away from my sister!” She yelled.
“What the fuck do you want bitch?” The stallion asked in a rough tone.
“Scram before I call the police.” She said in an angered tone.
“Yeah......no.” He said as he slammed his right hoof into the blue mare’s face. Lotus’s head collided with the desk and she fell to the floor.
“LOTUS!” Aloe yelled as the stallion grabbed her by the throat and forced her against the wall. Rarity and Fluttershy let out a gasp. Rarity looked to her left and saw that the white stallion had vanished. The Pegasus then withdrew a knife and twirled it in his hoof.
“Now then I think you deserve a nice acupuncture treatment.” He said with a wicked grin. The pink mare had fear in her eyes. Something hit the black stallion sending him back away from the pink mare who started to regain her breath. “What the hell?” The stallion aid as he looked around the room. The Pegasus felt something collide with his face. “Where are you?” The stallion yelled.
“Here.” The black stallion turned around to be met with a pair of bright green eyes and a white hoof slamming into his face. The dark stallion felt blood come from his nose as it broke. The black stallion swung the knife wildly at Splinter. The white stallion caught the Pegasus’s hoof holding the knife and started to squeeze. The black stallion was soon screaming in pain as Lance applied pressure to his wrist and forced him to the ground. The white stallion delivered a quick jab to the Pegasus’s face knocking him out.
Splinter and Aloe hurried over to the unconscious mare and loomed over her. Rarity and Fluttershy quickly made their way over to them with worried looks on their faces, “Is she alright?” Aloe asked with tears in her eyes. Splinters horn glowed and a horizontal line appeared on the mare’s body. The line then moved up and down her body.
“She’ll be fine. Just a concussion.” He said as his horn flared and a bottle of smelling salts appeared in his hoof. He opened the bottle and put it under the mare’s nose. The blue mare’s eyes fluttered open to see the ponies looking down at her. Splinter offered his hoof as she sat up. “Easy.”
“What happened? I remember that plot hole coming back and then-” She was cut off as the black stallion’s eyes shot open and he leapt to his hooves. With the knife drawn he charged at the white stallion. Splinter backflipped over the Pegasus and grabbed his wings as he turned one hundred and eighty degrees in the air. As his back hooves landed he tightly gripped the Pegasus’s wings and used the momentum to send him crashing through the window and out into the street.
A group of ponies crowded around the unconscious stallion and looked inside to see Splinter walk out the door and step on the Pegasus’s back. His horn flared and a magical rope wrapped itself around the stallion’s hooves and wings. Lance walked back inside to see the four mare’s staring at him in amazement. “You guys okay?”
“Y-yeah. Thanks to you.” Lotus said as she got to her hooves.
“Cop’s will be showing up soon.” He said as he looked towards the group of ponies. “Sorry about your window.” He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“It’s no problem.” Aloe said with a smile.
“Still I’ve made a mess of the place and I aim to fix it.” Before the mare could protest the white stallion’s horn started to glow and the glass shards started to rise from the floor and street. They came towards the stallion and were fuzed with one another until the window was fixed. “There we are. Good as new.” He said with a smile. Splinter watched as the authorities dragged the stallion away. The white Unicorn let out a yawn and started to exit the spa.
“Wait!” Lotus yelled. “Who are you?”
“Just a stallion who likes helping ponies.” He said as he gave Rarity and Fluttershy a nod. Lance made his horn glow and he vanished from sight as the paramedics arrived and a group of ponies entered the spa, being led by Dash and Twilight who quickly hurried over to their friends.