Noctune gazed at the terrified pony lying across his desk, his newly waxed desk. That pissed him off.
The pony known only as Swift Shade was being held down by two others, two of Noctune’s closest friends. Swift’s terrified eyes quickly shot down to his foreleg being forced outwards in front of the dark brown stallion in front of him.
Noctune stared at the light blue pony once more before bringing his attention over to the knife in his hoof.
“How do we know we can trust you?” Noctune casually asked, his deep voice frightening the young stallion currently wetting himself.
Swift Shade’s focus landed on the knife Noctune was twirling in between his hooves. His eyes shrunk to the size of pinpricks. He stuttered with all his willpower, “P-please! I-I swear my allegiance to y-you and you only, sir!”
“And to whom else…?” Noctune asked.
Swift Shade gulped as the knife began getting closer and closer to his foreleg.
“To…to the Alliance of Alien Activity!”
Noctune raised an eyebrow, before smiling warmly. He chuckled at the stallion’s terrified expression, earning a few chuckles from said pony…though they were forced.
The screams of pain, however, were not forced.
Noctune grabbed Swift Shade’s foreleg and cut into his skin with the knife, drawing blood instantly. Swift shouted in agony, clearly unprepared for what was coming next. Noctune had to force more of his own weight onto the stallion to keep him from moving. He cut and slashed an emblem on the pony’s skin…to forever remain.
“You carry this mark, rookie. You carry it and soon all of Equestria will know it. Celestia will know it…Princess Twilight will know it…the whole damned world will know it sooner or later! When you carry this mark you work for us…nopony else…you’re allegiance is to the Alliance now…not to Princess Celestia or any of the Alicorns running this land!” Noctune hissed as he worked.
One final cut later, Noctune got off the young stallion and pushed him off his desk, which was now covered in blood stains. Swift gripped his foreleg in pain, small tears appearing at the end of his eyes. The two buff stallions merely stared at the young pony, no emotions running past their tinted sunglasses.
Swift stared at his new commander. Noctune sat back in his large leather chair. He had a short black mane and dark brown skin. His eyes were light grey, emotionless and evil. He wore a black coat that covered his front forelegs, which covered his mark.
The young stallion needed a towel or two…
“T-thank you, sir…I won’t let you down…” Swift stuttered, watching as Noctune simply nodded, waving him towards the door out of his office. The stallion nodded back making his way towards the door. The two buff stallions followed close behind him, Swift’s trail of blood staining the carpet.
Noctune sighed…it was still bucking Monday.
He never regretted a thing, though. This gig was the best he could possibly get, especially with the way Celestia is running the country. He sighed heavily and shook his head. Princess Twilight was going to make things even worse. Noctune hated the princesses, everything about them, but the one thing he despised them for the most was how they never could revolutionize the country. They had the power, he knew it, the country knew it, and even they knew it! Well, if the princesses weren’t going to offer change to the world…he would.
After the devastating effects of the Decepticon invasion, now referred to in the updated history books as “The Darkest Hour”, the world realized they could never be too safe knowing they weren’t alone in the galaxy. So, with secret aid from several underground companies, the wealth of the Griffon Kingdom, brilliant minds from all over the world, and cutting edge technology that was once seemed impossible now made reality, the Alliance of Alien Activity was born. Celestia was the one who allowed them to act only to protect the world and its citizens.
Princess Celestia allowed them to have their headquarters in Vanhoover.
And Noctune was the leader of it all.
He underwent everything. Noctune founded the AAA shortly after the invasion, receiving aid and support from multiple countries. Sooner or later, he became very powerful, one of the richest in the country of Equestria. His billboards stretched across the lands and in hundreds of cities. Most of them read “Remember the Fallen Cities.” Each one would end with his insignia and company name.
The Alliance.
Noctune had it all. Power, money, mares at his hooves, everything. He was the leader of what would soon to become the most powerful military force on the planet if his company and publicity kept at its pace. He could order his troops to level an entire city if he ever needed to. Yes, Noctune truly had it all. Then…why was he so angry?
Simple. The princesses.
Especially Twilight Sparkle.
There was a time where Twilight Sparkle truly shined, a time where Noctune actually saw her as an inspiration and a hero. The time she saved Equestria from Discord and King Sombra was a tale worth telling. She was magnificent. Then…Celestia…
She made Twilight a princess. That changed everything.
Noctune and many other ponies didn’t know how this would alter their way of life. Noctune once was proud of her that she received such an honor, and hoping that she would finally bring change to the country.
No…she’s just like all the others. Celestia…Luna…Cadance…all of them make him sick to his stomach. With all the problems in the world, not just the threat of an alien invasion would frighten ponies. Famine, pestilence, war, riots, creatures from the darkest pits of Tartarus, anything that could happen now could be prevented…if Celestia just allowed him to help.
Noctune wanted change. That’s all he ever wanted was to make Equestria and the world better, safer, more proficient. When he finally got the chance to travel to Canterlot to speak with Celestia about this problem…she denied him of his help and power.
She denied change.
Celestia told him that power like that can change ponies! That change in over a thousand years of peace would bring anarchy! Especially the way he described the change!
Change in military…change in weaponry…change in their very way of life.
That’s the reason he hated them. From that moment on, Noctune only worked to protect his country from alien invaders, quietly building a massive army of elite technology that Celestia couldn’t dream of. It was very, very impressive.
However, his worst nightmares came true not too long ago.
Tirek returned, and when he made his way to Vanhoover with that traitorous scum Discord by his side, Noctune actually tried to fight back with his army. Noctune tried to protect his city and everypony that dwelled in it, but even his mighty military strength was no match for the two gods. He lost the magic that resonated inside of him. Tirek enjoyed taking it from Noctune.
He actually thanked Twilight Sparkle that day. It was one of her only shining moments as a princess of Equestria. But it was all a mistake, a mistake Noctune swore to never happen again. He upped his military power even more, receiving more and more money from the Griffon Kingdom. Things seemed to be very promising.
Ever since that day, Noctune has become even more powerful, spreading his influence throughout the lands, insuring ponies that there was no reason to fear. Their world would be protected…from anything. Even if a tyrant was leading it.
Noctune leaned back in his leather chair and closed his eyes.
It was still bucking Monday.
Of course his moment of peace was interrupted by his doors slamming open.
Noctune opened one eye to see a sweating member of his top coalition, Brimstone, enter the room. He was a unicorn, young and powerful. He had a light tan coat and a blue mane. As well as himself, Brimstone wore a black coat to cover his two front forelegs. In his mouth was a newspaper.
“Sir! Youf got to shee thish!” Brimstone shouted with the newspaper muffling his language. He sped over to Noctune’s desk, spitting out the newspaper right in front of his commander. Noctune stared lazily at the headlines, which were mixed with spit and appeared unreadable. Noctune’s eyes rose up and glared at the unicorn.
Brimstone blushed lightly and pointed to a small segment of the paper. “Just read this, sir! You won’t believe it…” he chuckled lightly at that, removing his hoof from the paper.
Noctune casually looked down at the paper and read the small article that Brimstone had pointed to. He read silently and mouthed the words. As he read, Noctune reached over and picked up his glass of hard cider. When he took a sip, he literally spit every last drop onto his loyalist’s face.
Noctune dropped his glass and gripped the edges of the newspaper, his eyes wider than he ever expected. As Brimstone tried desperately to get the burning cider out of his eyes, Noctune slammed the paper on his desk and glared at him.
“How long has this paper been out?!” Noctune nearly screamed. Brimstone flinched back in horror, obviously taken by surprise.
“It...I-I mean one of the lower ranking privates found this on his usual routine through town!” he gulped when Noctune’s glare intensified. “B-but the paper just came out today! This morning!”
Noctune closed his eyes and took in several deep breaths, regulating his emotions. How could this have happened? An alien?! A Transformer even…found in Ponyville?! He mentally slapped himself for not finding this out sooner. The papers said of it possibly being Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, but none of that mattered to Noctune. Any alien…was a threat.
Autobots were the reason for the invasion; they were the reason for everything. Noctune couldn’t have that…even if it was an Autobot…it needed to be eliminated. When he opened his eyes, Brimstone could already see the red in his veins.
“Get Brass Hoof and groups one through four to Sweet Apple Acres this instant! Equip them with the best weapons we got! We CANNOT allow that alien to escape!” Noctune spat out to the young unicorn.
Brimstone bit his lower lip, looking side to side questioningly. “But…but this was Brass Hoof’s week off! You know how much he questions your authority…he’s not gonna be happy about-!”
He was instantly silenced when Noctune slammed his hoof on his glass of cider, smashing the glass. Noctune’s glare was as intense as a burning cinder, his teeth clenched and ready to bite off anypony’s nose that got too close. Brimstone found himself cowering under his commander’s stare, his legs shaking uncontrollably.
“That wasn’t a request,” Noctune hissed through clenched teeth, “it was a DAMNED order!”
Brimstone nodded quickly, doing the smart thing and getting the buck out of there. Noctune regulated his breathing. He soon found a seething pain from his hoof. He looked down to see glass shards stuck to his skin, blood leaking out vigorously. Not only that…but there was small cracks on his desk from the impact of his hoof.
Noctune quickly covered up his foreleg with his black coat, hiding the deadly weapon he had underneath. He leaned back and clutched his bloody hoof. It hurt…but not as much as when he carved the mark into his other foreleg.
He needed not to worry. The problem would soon be taken care of. Noctune smiled. Ponies did what he wanted when he wanted; he would have never gotten what he wanted if he was just a simple member of the Royal Guard. Power was truly a great thing.
Maybe Celestia was right all along…power changes ponies.
Power changes everything.