Darkness of night. Sneaking, avoiding the enemy hunting packs. One target, one order. Search and destroy.
Sweat saturated his body as he crawled with his team through a narrow passage in a partially collapsed tunnel system. A visor assisted his vision, turning everything a light shade of green in exchange for sight in the oppressive darkness.
He came to a stop and waved his hoof in signal for his team to do the same. He lifted the visor from his face to reveal a pair of glossy red eyes behind them. He looked up through a gap in the pipe to see brief flashes of distant light. The deep throated rumble of artillery reverberated in his chest and he could hear the higher pitched crackle of discharging mana rifles in the distance.
He moved onward, placing the visor back over his eyes, and descended further into the darkness. Nothing but the soft click of hooves on the metal and the quiet breaths of the soldiers could be heard in the passage. As time passed and the team continued further down the tunnel, it began to widen out and small trickles of water began to be heard as they neared their destination.
After about twenty minutes the small group came to a split in the road. The leader looked back to the rest of his team and pointed down the tunnel to their right. They began to slowly shuffle down the passage, attempting to remain as quiet as possible. They soon came to an abrupt end in the pipe as it transferred onto a mossy stone ledge.
Here the leader motioned to his group. He leaned in and whispered a few quiet orders. The rest nodded and slid the automatic rifles off their backs and began to form a perimeter along the ledge. Once they were in place, he detached a case off of his armor and opened it. With a burst of telekinesis he lifted the several items out of their padded spots and began to assemble them.
After a few seconds of this he had a tubular object that was longer than he was. On it was one of the finest scopes in the world, no expense was spared for his mission. He took a slender box full of dangerous mana crystals and slid it into the bottom of his weapon and slid the huge bolt back until it made a satisfying chunk and pushed it back into place at the side of the rifle.
He then began to walk toward the edge of the cliff until it opened up into one of the largest caverns he had ever seen. With his goggles he saw thousands if not millions of Drakkon forces gathered around the center of this immense makeshift amphitheater. He smiled grimly as a highly decorated Drakkon stepped onto a raised platform in the center of the gathering.
A huge cheer rang out as he raised his arms into the air. The crowd began a steady chant as he spun around and reveled in the attention. He waved his arms, quieting the crowd and began to speak in a passionate, dedicated tone that incurred many short cheers and cries from his audience. He finished speaking for a second and smiled at his adoring fans.
This smile remained on his face even as his body hit the floor cold.
A cry of confusion was raised from the audience as their hero hit the stage. As soon as several went up onto the stage and raised the alarm, shots began to be fired on the location that the round had come from as few had seen where. When they did this, more and more of the army began to fire upon the location until the whole cliff was aflame with mana fire.
The assassins however were long gone. As soon as the killing shot had been fired they hightailed it back to the tunnel and began galloping as fast as they could. No longer caring about stealth, they activated their thrusters and used them to assist their running. After a few seconds, screeches and howls of angry Drakkons were heard behind the team.
The group continued at the fastest pace possible but their pursuers were catching up. With a quick glance to his HUD, the leader saw that they had over 2 miles still left to go. He looked around with surreal calmness for an exit out of the system. A few minutes of examination and he abruptly stopped his team with a point upward and a signal to follow. He flicked his thrusters and shot upward toward the ceiling. As he predicted, he smashed right through the rust weakened pipe out into a marshy no mans land.
Shells exploded all around him as he assessed where on the front they were. As he did this his team joined him on the surface. As they crawled out of the pipe, the screams from the Drakkons could be heard getting louder and rising above the cacophony of shelling.
When his team was fully extracted, they began to gallop at breakneck pace toward their side of the front. A glance over his shoulder and he could see the creatures pouring out of the tube in an angry, bloodthirsty mass. He urged on his comrades and pushed the pace ever faster toward the large walls and mounted artillery of their last defensive stronghold.
When they got in range, the cannons began to fire at the angry mob behind the team. They fell by the hundreds and yet continued to surge toward the small group responsible for their leaders death. The assassins reached the wall and immediately began to scale it as fast as they could. A few seconds later, the mass of enemies hit the wall with such a force that it actually shook.
Warriors appeared over the edge of the wall and began to throw incendiary grenades over the edge. As the area below them exploded into a hot, napalm-filled area, some of the climbing team lost their hoof holds and slipped back down toward the fury of the Drakkon army. They were quickly lost in the chaos.
A few seconds later, the rest of the team and their leader crawled up over the wall and sat on the battlements gasping for air. Their leader walked through the team, assessing losses and nodding to the ones that were still with him. As he walked past the last of his squad a troop carrier came out of the smoke and steadied itself by the wall. The team filed into the transport followed by their leader. He cast a grim last look on the massacre that was taking place at the bottom of the wall and cast a sigh as the heavy metal doors cut off his view and cast his world into darkness.
{}{}{}~~~{}{}{}
"Ah don't know Twi" AJ said. She paced around the library nervously as the others watched. "This pony, or whatever it is, seems ta be pretty dangerous."
Twilight looked up from her book at Applejack then engrossed herself again. "I see no reason to believe that he is going to do us any harm" she said "he did give me his word that he wouldn't be any danger".
Applejack frowned and shook her head "ah know Twi but... What if he lied?" She sat down on the floor and looked at the young princess "He's from another planet... The rules maybe are different there".
Twilight shut the book, set it beside her, and looked straight at Applejack. "I will not try and accuse him of guilt when there is none to be found" she looked away and sighed "I have sent a letter to Princess Celestia to see what we should do with him, unfortunately it seems that she has gone with a delegation to the griffin kingdoms... We won't get a reply for two more days".
She got up and walked to the stairs "in the meantime, you should come and meet our guest".
|~~[]~~|
His eyes slid open and he glanced around the room from his reclined position. After a few seconds, he sat up and rubbed his eyes with a hoof. A groan escaped him as he felt the deep scars on his sides. He slid his hind legs off of the bed and set his hooves on the wood below.
He shifted his weight and rolled the rest of his body off of the bed. He stood there for a few seconds then moved over to his suit lying on the ground. He reached inside the armor and pressed one of the many backlit buttons.
A small door opened on the side and a handle popped out. He pulled on it and a container came out, inside was two days worth of rations. With his magic, he grabbed a piece of jerky and began to tear into them, chewing it slowly.
He had finished one piece and started on the second when Twilight and her friends came in. He paused in the middle of taking a bite and stared at them. The five friends stared back at him with looks of disgust on their faces.
He set his food down and cocked an eyebrow at them. Twilight stepped forward and leaned her head in toward him. In turn, he completed the distance and crossed his horn with hers. After a few seconds their minds once again became one.
---
"You are a carnivore I see"
"Yes your majesty, I am truly sorry if this upsets you"
"I have seen meat eaters before, it does not bother me so much as it does my friends"
"I see"
---
He began to sweat and gasp for breath again after a few seconds of the mind-meld. She looked at him and began to develop an idea to extend their chat.
---
"I have an idea to boost the power of our meld"
"P-please do, I c-cannot hold for much longer"
---
Twilight began to put her own magic into his spell and slowly he began to stabilize. She matched his power and held steady.
---
"Ahh, that feels so much better"
"It is amazing that you were able to cast the spell in the first place"
"How so?"
"You're putting out over 6000 MP's* of energy into this spell"
"I'm afraid I can't relate that to my own meter system. I'm only putting 800 EM's* of power into it"
"We will have to discuss that later, for now let us talk about more pressing issues"
"Agreed"
"The princess is away dealing with the Griffon Kingdoms and until she returns you will have to stay here"
"Understandable"
"When she returns I shall receive a letter from her that will determine your stay here"
"Of course"
"Do you need any food or water?"
"I have approximately two days of rations within my battle armor to hold me. After that we will have to discuss hunting"
"Alright, we can cross that bridge when we come to it. Now, I don't think we have been properly introduced. My name is Twilight Sparkle, what is yours?"
"I have been given many titles but you can call me Fang your highness"
"You can stop with the formalities and just call me Twilight"
"Yes, Twilight"
"How did you guess that I was a princess?"
"On my planet, those in power were of the wing and horn as well. I merely assumed the same social status was applied here"
"A good observation, Fang"
"Thank you, Twilight"
"We can speak or, think later. For now I have to go and talk with my friends"
"Understood, I shall see you again, Twilight of the wing and horn"
"And I you, Fang of the horn"
---
She parted horns with him and walked back to her friends. She motioned them out the door and closed it behind her, not bothering to lock it.
When they got upstairs they returned to their previous positions like nothing had them get up in the first place. A short silence hung in the air until Fluttershy cleared her throat.
"Well... He doesn't seem very dangerous." The others looked at her and some nodded their heads in agreement.
"He looks pretty friendly, even though we couldn't hear what y'all were saying" Applejack added.
Rarity smirked "Rainbow couldn't take her eyes off of him the entire time". The rainbow maned pegasus snapped her head up and glared at Rarity.
"I did too take my eyes off him!" she countered "I just wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to hurt Twilight with his magic, that's all"
Rarity's grin grew wider "But darling it wasn't his horn you were staring at, was it?" She wiggled her eyebrow suggestively and a deep crimson blush came over Rainbow's face.
"Was too!" She retorted quickly. A little too quickly. The fashionista's grin grew even wider than before.
"Girls," Twilight sighed "it doesn't matter who stared at who, all that matters is that you've seen him and don't have to worry about my safety." She got up and ushered them out the door "Now get going, I have lots of studying to do and you girls hanging around isn't going to help."
With many words of protest the five friends filed out of the library and went their separate ways. She closed the door behind them and immediately began searching her numerous shelves for a certain book that might help her to better understand her guest.
After a few minutes of searching, she found the book and pulled it off of a high shelf. She laid it out on her reading bench and dusted the cover off.
Dangerous Monsters and Where To Find Them
She sighed and pulled open the book until she found the correct page.
---
Thestrals and Bat Ponies
Danger level: 9
These creatures are known to be found in densely jungled areas. Although they are not often aggressive, they can kill a full grown stallion without much effort. These hunters are known for their silent killing and flying techniques which they use to kill their prey. When left in the wild they will seek out medium to large prey depending on their appetite. Unfortunately if introduced into a populated area they will start to hunt and kill ponies, mainly foals and the old.
If one is seen, steer clear of the area and contact authorities so that they can dispose of the beast. Do not attempt to make contact or confront them for they will hurt or, in some cases, kill you.