A New Threat Looms
It had been seven years since the day Grand and Doom entered the Royal Guard. When they did this, Canterlot had been undergoing an expansion. As such, the city was covered in cranes, bulldozers and other magically powered vehicles to build the city even further. On the surface, it appeared like Canterlot was the ever growing regal city of nobility it always seemed to be.
But things were not what they always seem. In one of the less public streets of the city, a lone cyan unicorn with a purple mane and tail was calmly trotting through the town with a saddlebag on his back. He turned to one of the alleyways between two large buildings being worked on. At the end was a single doorway, the pony walking up and knocking on the door, waiting a moment before the door opened to reveal a bulky grey earth pony with a blue mane. The earth pony stepped aside, allowing the pony in as the unicorn walked in and up to a bronze colored pegasus with a yellow mane and tail standing against a wall. He then saw a green colored unicorn with a lavender mane, beard and tail, sitting behind a desk, counting his bits before looking up at his client.
"Big Score," the first unicorn walked over to the desk. "Nice to see business is booming." Score opened a draw and magicked the bits into it, "How's the family?"
"Good," he nodded. "The wife and I just had a baby filly. She has my coat and her mother's mane."
"She must be adorable," the unicorn replied, "But raising a child is expensive."
"Well hopefully, our transaction today will help with that." Score looked back up, "You bring the bits?"
"Maybe," the unicorn chuckled, "You have the merchandise?" Big Score smiled before gesturing to the other ponies, the pair walking away. Once they were gone, Score magically lifted a suitcase up from behind the desk, undoing the clips that soon opened to reveal a load of differently colored gems that unleashed a brilliant glow. "Beautiful."
"And very illegal," Score added, "Place one of these gems on the tip of your horn and it'll unleash a magic backlash that'll have you feeling great for a couple hours. Very addictive stuff. Wasn't easy to get. Even harder to get them into Canterlot without any of the guards noticing." The unicorn reached out to take one, but Score shut the case before he could. "Which is why they're so expensive."
The unicorn sighed before taking out a pair of money bags from his saddlebag and placed them down on the desk. Score used his magic to lift the bags, his magic spreading to every coin the bag contained. "Nice." He took both bags and pushed the case up to him, "Pleasure doing business with you."
The unicorn smiled and took the case in his magic, looking forward to selling these crystals for twice what he had spent on them. But as he neared the door, the piece of wood suddenly shattered. The unicorn gasped at this, now seeing the pegasus pony from earlier fly through the door, splintering wood flying over him as the pegasi crashed into the floor. Swirls appeared in the pegasus's eyes as the client pony turned back to the door.
"Big Score," a pony decked out in golden armor and helmet with a blue vest walked through the destroyed door, "You're under arrest."
The unicorn glared back at him, the client slowly tiphoofing around the guard before a spear suddenly shot out of the wall, inches from his face. "Going somewhere?" his eyes slowly turned to see another pony in golden armor with an apple in his hoof. "I've got this one Grand."
"I'll take the rest Doom." the first guard pony replied as Doom pointed his spear at the client pony.
"Drop the case and come out slowly." The unicorn gulped, slowly putting the case down as Doom then slapped an anti-magic-ring on his horn, two more guards appearing and pulling the unicorn away. While this happened, more guards came to tie up the knocked out pegasi. "That's two down," Doom chuckled, crossing his hooves, "You gonna come quietly?"
"Here's my answer," Score yelled before pointing at the earth pony from earlier, "Get them!" The bruiser charged, but Grand met him halfway. The crook threw a punch, Grand easily ducking before hitting the earth pony in the back of the knee, making him buckle. Doom then swung a kick into his face, knocking him flying into a wall before slumping over. Several more guards filed into the room, some grabbing the earth pony while the others turned Big Score along with Grand and Doom.
"Last chance," Grand added, "Come quietly and nopony gets hurt." A groan of pain made their gaze flick over to the pony they had just knocked out, "Anymore that is."
Big Score growled back, "You might have taken them, but you won't get me."
"Oh please," Doom laughed, "You're outnumbered and outgunned." He saw the unicorn's cutie mark, a pile of money, and smirked. "I doubt you'll be able to put up much of a fight. If you did, you wouldn't have needed those two suckers."
"Oh, I can put up quite a fight alright." In that moment, his horn glowed as the guards got into a fighting stance. "I just need my medicine!"
Something then flew out of the desk and went up to Score's neck, Doom the first to react and leap forward. But before he could reach him, whatever he had grabbed let out a small hissing sound.
"Kung-Fu!"
"RAAAH!" He roared as he swung his leg around, kicking the object out of Score's grasp and shattering it.
"Too late," Score laughed.
"What did you-" Doom stopped when he saw Score take a fighting stance, the pile of money cutie mark adorning his flank beginning to blur and change...into a black belt. "His cutie mark changed?" Before he could say anything else, Big Score spun like a top, swinging his hoof right up to Doom's face. The pony flapped his wings, hopping back just as the hoof almost nicked his chin, "WHOA!"
Grand went wide-eyed at this, only for the other guards to charge at Score, "Wait!" he yelled, but it was too late. Big Score laid out the guards with a fury of blows, single punches causing them to fly across the building.
"No way..." Doom gasped at the sight before glancing down at the broken object, seeing it was some kind of tube with words written on the side along with the image that now adorned the criminal's flank. "It didn't just change his cutie mark."
"It changed his talent," Grand grumbled as he ducked under a flying guard. Big Score then took this moment to run for the door, Doom quickly zipping ahead of him, blocking him just as two guards pulled the tied up pegasus criminal out of the building.
Score skidded to a stop, only to turn to Grand as he ran up to the unicorn. He threw a punch right at Grand's face, but the guard just swatted it away, Score trying to do two more punches, but Grand also easily countered them. "What?!" Score yelped before having to duck under a punch from Grand, only to feel a kick in his side from Doom. "Blaugh!"
The unicorn was knocked back, now finding himself facing both guard ponies. Grand glanced down at Score's legs, seeing them slightly shake. "Whatever you did doesn't work a unicorn body well, does it?" Score snarled back at him as he continued, "Just give up."
"Never!" Score roared as he charged at them, Grand meeting him alone. Score threw five instant punches, but Grand just put his hooves in a blocking position, taking every punch without even flinching. The sight made Score go wide-eyed, seeing his new strength not work on the pony. Grand then side-stepped at this, Doom appearing to kick Score in the gut. Feeling the blow knock him back, Score saw Grand was going to hit him next, causing him to leap back just in the nick of time.
But as he did this, his back hit a wall, making him realize he was now stuck. However, two of the guards from before recovered and the charged at him with their spears, Score smirking at the sight as he ducked under both and then slammed both into the face with his hooves. He grabbed a spear next, swinging it to make Grand and Doom jump back before running for the door again and managing to get outside. They followed him out and found Score blocked by more guards, Only for the unicorn to run towards the fence. Using the spear as a pole-vault, Score shot over the fence and into the construction site next door.
Doom flew over the fence while Grand parkoured over as well, Grand landing beside one of the guard's spears from the earlier outside fight. "I have an idea. Can you keep him in place?"
"No problem!" Doom shot ahead, flying past Score and landing to once again block his escape. "You're not going anywhere."
"Oh yeah?" Score leapt at Doom, the guard easily dodging his punches before the unicorn grabbed a bunch of concrete slabs in his magic and threw it at the pegasus. Doom ducked under the rocks, only for Score to sock Doom in the jaw, knocking him back. Score laughed as he punched Doom again, only to hear a battle cry, making him turn to see Grand charging with a spear to a long piece of rope around the bottom end. The earth pony slashed at Score, the unicorn jumping back, only for Grand to swing the rope and swung it around the unicorn.
"Raaah!" He leapt at Score, knocking him down, getting on top of him and pushing the spear's staff down. But as they did this, Score managed to roll them around so he was on top, allowing Grand to see something above Score before he rolled them around again, now on top again.
However, Score just hissed at him, "You think you can take me?! Please! I have way to much to live for to be caught now! Why do you even bother trying?!"
"Because I have a duty to the princess," Grand grunted before Score laughed.
"HA! Don't make me laugh. She may call herself a princess, but she doesn't know half the stuff that's going on in this city." He then kicked Grand off, the earth pony skidding on the ground as Score pushed the spear off himself, "Knowledge is power and I make it my business to know everything, meaning the true ruler of this city is me, King Big Score!"
In that moment, Grand grabbed the spear and threw it. It sailed passed Score's shoulder and stuck itself into the top of a cement mixer slide. "Your majesty," Grand wrapped his hooves around the rope connected to the spear and pulled it. "Allow me to make a statue in your honor!" Score heard a sound, making him turn and gasp as he saw the cement inside fell free and hit him before he could escape.
"Aaaaaah!" He screamed as the cement fell on him, Grand quickly working to keep the liquid from covering his face. Once enough of the stuff covered his body, he used the spear and rope to pull the slide away from him while Doom moved over to switch it off. At this point, the slimy substance had hardened and Score's entire body was trapped. "LET ME GO!"
"We will," Doom laughed, "Once you're safely locked in a holding cell."
Grand nodded as the other guards arrived at the site. They quickly worked to transport the unicorn to where the other criminals were waiting in a transportable prison cell, the group lifting the statue up into it while placing an anti-magic-ring on his horn. Once that was done, the criminals were transported off to prison to await trial, Grand and Doom sticking around to investigate the building.
"We need to make sure all the crystals are accounted for," Grand said to a few more guards who were carrying the case. "And make sure the bits are safely secured until Celestia can decide what to do with them."
"Yes sir!" The guards replied before running off, Grand rolling his eyes while Doom chuckled.
"Not bad boss," Grand glared at him, the pegasi giving him a big grin, "I told you accepting that promotion was a good idea."
"I still can't believe I let you talk me into it," Grand sighed. "I don't deserve it and you know it."
"I'd say today's outcome would beg to differ," Doom then held up the remains of the tube Big Score had used. "Though I gotta admit, this bust was a lot harder than it should of been...all because of this little thing."
Grand nodded back, "Any idea what it is?"
"Never seen it before," Doom looked at a piece, seeing a kind of pump. "But whatever was in this thing, it somehow changed Big Score's natural talent."
Grand hummed at this, "Princess Celestia will definitely wanna know about this." Doom nodded, the pair heading out before making their way to the castle.
It wasn't long till they got there, the guards at the entrance telling them to halt, "Sergeant Grand Hoof, lieutenant Doom Chaser. The Princess has asked for you to be sent to her when you arrive."
"That's convenient," Doom chuckled, "We needed to talk to her as well." The pair nodded before making a beeline to the throne room, the doors opening up for them as they approached.
Inside, Celestia was surrounded by her assistants and reading through several pieces of paper floating around her. When she noticed the pair approaching, she quickly put the papers down and ushered the assistants out, "Sergeant," she smiled at Grand before turning to Doom, "Lieutenant. I understand the capture of the criminals you were after went well."
"It was successful," Grand replied while they both bowed, "But there were...complications." Celestia raised an eyebrow as he continued, "One of the criminals had some kind of device that he used to transform his cutie mark and grant him incredible fighting skills."
"We barely managed to stop him," Doom added before taking out the remains of the item.
Celestia took the device in her magic and looked it over, sighing at the sight, "This isn't good. I had hoped these were just rumors."
"You know what this is?" Grand asked, Celestia not answering as she took out a scroll and quill. She wrote something down and rolled it up before zapping it with her magic, the scroll vanishing before she took another look at the item.
"Yes, I think so, but I want a second opinion before I can to be certain." As she said that, the throne room doors opened and they turned to see a pale blue unicorn mare with a red mane and tail that was about their age. Her cutie mark was that of a soldering iron with a spark of lightning shooting out of it. "Live Wire. Good to see that you could make it so quickly."
"Of course your highness," the mare nodded while bowing, "How could I ignore a summons from our great leader?" She then glanced at Grand and Doom, all raising eyebrows at each other.
"Gentlecolts, may I introduce Live Wire. She's one of my best scientific minds. She's also in charge of the Royal Knight's Celestic Gear forging."
"Really?!" Doom asked, "Wow. You can actually turn alicorn magic into a weapon?"
"Not exactly. There's a few more steps to it than that." She turned to Celestia, "Your letter sounded urgent. Is something wrong?" Celestia levitated the item over to the unicorn, who took it in her magic, "This is..."
"Can somepony please tell us what that is?!" Grand barked, Live turning to him and rolling her eyes.
"It's a Cutie Marker," Live Wire replied, "A dangerous device that has the power to change a pony's special talent." She tried to put the pieces back together as she said this, "I'm guessing whoever used this suddenly gained fighting abilities?"
"Yeah," Doom nodded, "He was unicorn and yet he could fight like a fully trained earth pony. I had no idea that could happen."
"We had only heard rumors about them before," Celestia sighed, "I had hoped they were just something somepony made up, but it appears they're more than just fairy tales."
"Is it okay if I study this?" Live Wire asked next, "I might be able to figure out how it works and determine what effects it has on the body."
"Of course," Celestia nodded. "We need to know as much about these things as possible. For all we know, there could be hundreds of them out there. And these ones could be much more powerful than this one. Grand, Doom." The pair turned to her, "I want you both in reserve starting tomorrow. If it turns out these devices pose a serious threat, I'd like you to deal with it."
"Yes, your highness," the stallions replied while standing to attention. Celestia nodded and dismissed them, telling the pair to enjoy the rest of the day for themselves.
And as they left, Live Wire watch with a low stare, "So that's Grand Hoof and Doom Chaser," she commented as they disappeared, "Do they live up to the reputations they have?"
"Doom isn't as serious as he's believed to be," Celestia responded, "But Grand certainly lives up to the legend. His service record is impeccable. If I had my way, he'd be a commander and next in line to be captain of the guard."
"Your way?" Live turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "You're the princess. Isn't it always your way?"
"Not with Grand," Celestia sighed, "It took him three years to get from private to corporal, even though he was offered the rank six months into service. It took another two years to convince him to accept the lieutenant rank...and he basically deserved it in just a month there. It was only recently that he agreed to accept the rank of sergeant, but stated that's the last promotion he'll accept."
"Sounds like a slacker to me," Live replied, "Isn't it every guard's dream to rank up as fast as possible?"
"He's hardly a slacker. Like I said, his record is impeccable. It's more of the fact that he doesn't trust himself with a higher position...but I don't know why. He constantly looks down on himself, and Doom...well, Doom could also be higher rank, but insists on sticking with Grand everywhere, but refuses to tell anypony why Grand is like that."
"Huh. Still sounds slacking to me." Live Wire just chuckled at this, "Maybe he wants a lower rank so he has less responsibilities."
"I understand your point...but I don't think its that." Celestia responded while shaking her head, "Anyways, how goes the project?"
This made Live Wire smirk. "Finished it a few hours ago. it's ready when you are."
"Good," Celestia nodded before staring down at the Cutie Marker Live was still holding. "If these things are as dangerous as we think they are, then we're gonna need as much power on our side as possible."
As soon as Celestia dismissed them, Doom grabbed Grand and led him out of the castle to enjoy their night off. They soon found themselves in one of Canterlot's best establishments, sitting in a booth with Doom drinking cider together. They were discussing the Cutie Markers, Doom chuckling at the idea, "I imagine there isn't a Cutie Marker to give you exceptional green hooves. Think about that...instant farmer pony."
"Eh, probably not." Grand replied as he took a sip of his drink. "I'm betting whoever made 'em probably want rare talents or...special magic. I mean, if you could skip years of practice to master something like that kung-fu one we fought, you probably would want to make one. That and it was a unicorn we fought. I don't think you give that marker to an earth pony cuz it would be easier for 'em."
"I guess so. Think there would be ones that grant talents only pegasi can have to like an earth pony?"
"Probably." Grand grumbled, "Sounds like we're about to get into a full mess."
"It sounds insane." Doom sighed, "I just hope this doesn't go out of control. I mean, what if its just for unicorns and they get some kind of super magic?"
"Then we'll handle it." Grand remarked, making Doom raise an eyebrow as Grand took another sip, "You know we can. The unicorn we fought didn't have the body for that thing. Changing his Cutie Mark didn't change his body, which made his punches relatively weaker than an earth pony. All that thing does is change talents."
"Its messing with nature." Doom added, "Sounds really crazy..." He gave Grand a big smirk, "You know, maybe this would be a good time to accept a higher rank. Give us some more resources and-"
"Not this again." Grand interrupted.
"Come on Grand," Doom snapped, "You're way too good to be just a sergeant. If you were a commander-"
"You know why I can't," Grand waved his hoof, "What I did-"
"Was a long time ago," Doom chimed in, "You were a kid. You've grown up a lot since then, and you've done a lot to make up for what you've done."
"Still doesn't mean I deserve any special rank," Grand replied while glancing away, "You used to agree with me on that. You know what I did."
"Well...I've grown up a lot too. And I think you've payed for everything you've done."
"No...not yet," Grand sighed, "Possibly not ever. I don't deserve anything."
Doom groaned at this, "Grand, you can't just-" He stopped as he saw a pony behind Grand. "Cruncher?" Grand glanced up at this, turning around as both saw their old friend walk inside, the unicorn now older but looked almost exactly the same as when he was a colt. His mane was still neatly combed, still wearing the glasses on his face. The only differences were the few spots on his face, along with the white shirt and brown tie vest combo he wore.
The unicorn trotted over and sat down, "Gentlecolts."
"Glad you could make it," Doom replied while Grand just nodded.
"Glad I could make it too. Just as long as you two don't stick me with the bill...again."
Grand and Doom chuckled before both taking a sip of their cider. "Come on. For a big shot accountant like you, one little bar tap ain't gonna bankrupt you. You just turned twenty-five and you're already making more in a month then either of us will make in a year combined. You're set for life."
"Well, what else am I supposed to do with myself?" Cruncher asked, "My talent is math. How else are you supposed to make a living with that? I might be financially secure, but I'm also bored as heck at work." He let out a sigh and put his chin on the table. "I wish I had a cooler job, like the two of you. Who wouldn't want to spend their days fighting villains all day?"
"Don't be silly," Doom told him. "You don't want our job. It's no place for a guy with something to live for. After all, you have somepony to have a future with." Cruncher's eyes went wide while Grand raised an eyebrow.
"I don't-"
"I saw you the other day," Doom chuckled, "You were having lunch with a cute looking unicorn mare. Ring any bells?" Cruncher began to blush, Doom and Grand both laughing. "Come on, fess up. Who is she and how long have you two been together?" Cruncher looked up Doom, then to Grand. However, the stallion gave him no gesture, making him sigh.
"Her name's Remarie. She's a stage-hoof at the local theatre. We met when I was helping with the budget for a production. I was a little nervous about asking her out, but I managed to get up the courage to do it and she accepted. That lunch you saw us on was our fourth date."
"You dog," Doom punched him in the shoulder. "Way to go my colt."
"I hope we get to meet her soon," Grand added as he finished off his cider. "Which theater is she working at?"
"That one that just opened a few blocks away. They're putting on a production of The Three Unicorns." He replied, "The show doesn't start until next week, but I bet I could get us in to see the place, then introduce you to Remarie."
The guards nodded, then looked down at the bill they had racked up. Doom and Grand turned to Cruncher, giving him a smirk as he sighed, "Fine." He pulled out a bag of bits and put it out, then took out a pen and signed his name.
"Another reason you shouldn't be a guard," Doom added as he stared at the cursive signature. "Your hornmanship talents would be wasting filing reports."
Cruncher rolled his eyes and the three got up, leaving the bar as Number Cruncher guided them to the theater. Ironically, it was the same theater that would one day be demolished by a particular knight's apprentice, but right now it was brand new and waiting for the day the first product would be put on.
"Here it is," Cruncher commented as they headed inside. There they saw a pink unicorn with a black mane and tail while wearing a white jumper, and her cutie mark was a slice of pie. She almost ran into them, only to step aside and allowed the three in as she walked off. But as she did this, Grand glanced back at her, feeling a slight shiver down his spine.
That is, till Doom said, "Hey, this place is pretty cool." Grand glanced back and blinked at the place, seeing a large stage with multiple ponies on it while the rest were behind a counter.
"Sure is," Cruncher nodded, "Its top of the line."
But before they could reply, a loud cry rang out: "You idiots!" They turned to the stage and saw a bulky red unicorn stallion chewing out a pegasus stallion with a mop and bucket. "Are you trying to kill me?! I could have broken my neck!"
"I-I-I'm sorry," the unicorn replied, "I-I-I was just cleaning up the jam."
"When I want your excuses, I'll ask for it! Now get this water cleaned up!" With that, the stallion ran off the stage, the three walking up next.
"Spick, are you okay?" Cruncher asked as the unicorn turned to him and nodded, Grand seeing his cutie mark was a mop.
"I'm alright," he sighed, "That's just...Center Stage being himself." Cruncher shook his head at this, Grand raising an eyebrow before seeing Doom move onto the stage and sniff a puddle of water.
"Is this...lemon curd water?" He asked, taking another sniff.
"It's part of a prop," Spick replied, "In the play, Center's character throws a jam jar on the floor. He was just practicing."
"And you have to clean it up?" Grand added, Spick nodding back before getting back to work.
It was here Cruncher asked, "Have you seen Remarie anywhere?" Spick pointed to where Center had gone, saying she was busy checking all the outfits for damage. "Thanks." Cruncher ran off at this, his friends laughing when they saw him move with an actual skip in his step.
They headed offstage, the trio hearing a female voice while coming from around the corner. And as they turned the corner, Cruncher showed a big grin...only for it to vanish, making a giant frown.
"Cruncher?" Grand asked as they reached him, "What's-" He didn't get to finish, Cruncher suddenly running past them both. They glanced back at him, blinking before looking around the corner.
"Remarie..." Doom whispered as Grand took in the sight of an olive green unicorn mare with a lime green mane and tail. She was pinned against the wall with Center Stage, pushing her while locking lips. They then saw her trying to push him off, her hooves beating into Center's chest.
She gave one last shove, making Center stagger back as she yelled, "How dare you!"
"Oh please," Center laughed, "You loved it."
"No!" she barked back, "I love Cruncher, not you!"
"That nerd?! Please! What could he give you that I couldn't?"
"Respect," she replied before Center rolled his eyes.
"Overrated. I could give you a great time and you know it. Now come here," he grabbed her chin, trying to kiss her again, but Remarie pushed him away again. "Hey! Come here you little-"
His words came to a stop as something grabbed him by the shoulder. "Huh?" He said before suddenly finding himself being thrown across the floor. "Blaugh!" He let out a yelp before scrambling onto his hooves and turning to see Grand next to Remarie. "Big mistake, pal! I'm gonna call the guards on you-"
"We are the guards," Doom interrupted, "And we just caught you assaulting this young lady. Now unless you want to get arrested, leave."
Center growled back, only to see Doom crick his hooves. He let out a hiss, turning to Remarie. "You'll pay for this. You'll regret not becoming mine."
He then ran off, Remarie sighing in relief before turning to the pair, "Thank you. That could have gone a lot worst if you weren't here."
Grand turned to her with a deadpan stare, "Just to be clear, you didn't want to kiss him, right?"
"Of course not," she shook her head, "There's somepony else I like, but that slob seems to think any good looking mare belongs to him."
"Good," Grand nodded, "But you have a new problem."
"What you do you mean?"
"We're friends of Number Cruncher." Doom replied, "And when he kissed you, Cruncher saw." Her eyes went wide at this, "He ran off and...he probably thinks you're cheating on him."
"Oh no," she whispered, "I have to find him." She then sprinted off, the stallions following her to the stage. She began to glance around, only to slump over, "No...Cruncher."
They caught up to her at this, about to tell her to go outside to see if she could catch him, only for Grand to notice something in the corner of his eye, "Look out!" He tackled Remarie seconds before a blast of purple magic shot down from the rafters and hit the stand, causing part of the wooden floor to glow before-
KABOOM!
The stage exploded, knocking Grand, Doom and Remarie off while causing several ponies standing in the audience to duck down to avoid flying debris. Grand swiveled himself and Remarie around so that he landed first, cushioning her fall, the three groaning before a voice called out to them.
"DO NOT INTERFERE!" They glanced up to where the spell had come from, now seeing somepony standing in the rafters, "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, SO JUST STEP ASIDE!"
"Not happening!" Doom yelled as he got up, then turned to a nearby knocked over stage lamp and pointed it to the rafters, illuminating the place and revealing the attacker. It was a unicorn pony who was dressed from head to hoof in a black leather body suit with red and green lines wrapped around it. The back hooves had boots with metal knee-pads and his front hooves had gauntlets that were in the shape of grenades. Around their neck was a metal U-shaped collar and the head was covered in a black gas-mask with red eyes and a hole in the top that a black material covered horn poked out of. On the back of their head was a long black chord with a design on the end of it that made it look like a lit fuse, and the suit's flank was a patch of red that had a black bomb symbol on it.
"Who are you!?" Grand yelled as he stared at the figure, "ANSWER ME!"
"I am Bomber!" The pony replied, "And I will destroy all those that cross me." With that, his horn glowed purple before it fired a spell down at Grand, the guard grabbing Remarie before leaping back, the spell hitting the ground and causing it to explode. Bomber then fired a barrage, striking anything between him and his target. The seats, ground, props, everything, all struck by light before exploding.
Remarie's eyes went wide at the sight of her workplaces destruction while her co-workers all tried to hide behind chairs or anything else they hoped would protect them. As this happened, Doom flared his wings before zipping straight up at Bomber. But as he did this, Grand yelled, "Look out!"
Doom blinked at this, only for a sudden metal ball to appear to his side, flying at him before glowing and splitting in half into a long metal chord, grabbing the pegasi, "Augh!" he yelped as the chord threw him across the building, the pony landing into the bar.
"Doom!" Grand exclaimed before glancing back at where the ball had come from, only to see a figure standing in the darkness of the stage. It had what appeared to be a pair of bat wings before shooting out of the shadows. At first, Grand thought he was looking at an alicorn, as the pony had a horn, only to see the wings were mechanical.
It was a mare, wearing an all purple spandex suit that was covered in a vast array of gadgets. The most noticeable one was the metal vest around her chest that was connected to the mechanical wings, while her waist and fronts legs were wrapped in metal bands that had a series of different pieces of equipment connected to them. Her head was covered in a mask with a horn hole in it like Bomber's, only that her mask was shaped like the head of a bat. The flank of her suit was emblazoned with a remote device with a single red button in the center along with several circuit boards around it.
"Who the heck are you?" Grand asked as Doom got the chords off himself. The mare then flew over to the rafters and landed beside Bomber, the mare letting out an amused cackle as she stared down at them.
"Greetings. The name's Technica."
"What are you doing here?" Bomber hissed, "This is my show!"
"Oh please. I'm just making sure my best customer gets to show off all our product's perks," the mare giggled while Bomber growled at her.
"Product?" Grand asked, "What are you talking about?" As he said that, the mare just ignored him and gestured to the other ponies all hiding from their attacker.
"Hear me ponies, as today is your lucky day." She pointed to Bomber, "This pony has incredible power. But that power is not one he was born with. Instead, he was able to achieve it using one amazing device."
Grand and Doom's eyes went wide as she took out a suitcase out from somewhere, holding it out to be seen before opening it up. Inside were a bunch of differently colored tubes with different words and symbols. "Behold!" She exclaimed, "Equestria's future...Cutie Markers!"
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Once that was done, the criminals were transported off to prison to await trail,
Change trail to trial
It seems Cutie Markers are the one that causing a crisis for Equestria.
I know Grand doesn't want to get higher rank but eventually, he have to be Royal Knight to stop Technica and her Cutie Markers.
Here's highlights
Big Score? Damn! I didn't expect you to appear! Wait, is Big Score in his mid twenties cause Big Score must be in his either sixties or seventies when Flash confront him.
Look like we are going to learn how Live Wire fall in love with Grand Hoof and who she was before married him.
The Slacker is the one you ends up married to, Live Wire.
Well, we finally know who is the main villain of the story and Grand Hoof's first big opponent as a Royal Knight
As for Bomber, here's potential suspects of how could be the real identity of Bomber
* Number Cruncher
* Center Stage
* A random mare
* Nobody
P.S.
WHERE THE FUCK IS ROYAL KNIGHT?!?!?! Should they been here when Technica and Bomber causing the mess or they are just being lazy…. No wonder why Grand Hoof becomes the leader of Royal Knights. Lol
Oh snap, so this is where those Cutie Markers came about, well played at how you got them introduced on an earlier story Banshee! Loved the dynamic between Grand & Doom taking down Big Score (wow, creep's been around that long?!
), also really hope that's not Cruncher under that villain's mask next time around! 
As for Highlights go :
Damn, this guy's been around!
Oh crap!!!
LOL that was a very short reign King Score!
Oh girl, if you only knew!
OOOHHHHHhhhhhhhhh snap!!!!
Really hope that's not who I think it is under that mask!
Sweet chapter Banshee, let's see where it goes from here!
10889790 10890016 You guys realise it's not the same Big Score...right. If you go read season 1, boast busters, you'll see their designs aren't the same.
10890021
Oohhh my bad, I take it the present one took on that name instead?
Anyway thanks for clearing that up Banshee!
This is getting more and more interesting.
We see more of Grand's past that was briefly mentioned in previous stories, like these Cutie Markers. Those made for a great chapter back in Season 5, and now we get to see Grand take care of (most of) them like he said he did. Interesting there is a different Big Shot back then too. Maybe the new one, that is to say the one we all know about, stole the name? Or maybe it was given to him by the original?
But we also get to see more of Live Wire. It will be fun getting to see her and Grand bond and slowly fall in love. Maybe she is the one who will convince him to become a Royal Knight? I agree with Doom though. Grand was a kid at the time, so he needs to stop holding it against himself long after he has taken responsibility.
I hope Center Stage gets hit with karma hard though. He sexually assaulted Remarie and ended up making Cruncher think she is cheating on him. Guys like that who only see woman as possessions deserve no mercy.
Ha! No wonder Flash Sentry seems so much like Spider-Man, he must have gotten it from Grand Hoof when he was training him.
10890021
Oh! Thank you for clarify it!
I didn't know there was another Big Score in the past!
That's not how ranks in the military work. If Doom is calling Grand 'boss', Grand must there for out rank Doom, and Lieutenant out ranks Sergeant, and when someone calls for officers of different ranks, they call the superior officer first. in this case it would be 'Lieutenant Chase, Sergeant Hoof (because you don't use first names when using ranks unless in special events)
Banshee, body, you have an up hill battle as it to sell this story (to me), you really should be better about these kinds of details
10893755 Maybe that's just how my version of Equestria works. Maybe Celestia decided Sargent sounded more important then Lieutenant.
10893757
But it doesn't, Sergeant comes from the Latin Servire: meaning to serve, as in a servant or slave
Lieutenant on the other hand comes from Old French meaning 'to hold a place' as in keep a fort or military position or compound occupied.
You have Sergeants serve the needs of the commissioned officers, while you trust Lieutenants to hold a the fort, while the general plans for the battle a head.
10893757
This would go a lot easier for and on both of us if you just admitted that you make a mistake with the ranking.
10893781 Fine, I made a mistake. But I'm not changing it. I just think Sargent sounds better then Lieutenant. I was in the Air Cadets and that's not a rank they use
10893788
Just ignore him. It's not like the show itself was completely accurate with the titles and rankings in their armies anyway, like how Seaspray was a "General" in the Navy when he would be an "Admiral" in real life.
So if you say Sargent outranks Lieutenant in Equestria, then that's how it works.
10893788
Um that's not true either, The Air Force has Sergeants and Lieutenants and Lieutenants out rank Sergeants
10893865 Maybe yours does, but not mine.
10893814
That's just intellectual lazy arguing, 'The show was wrong, so it's okay that you're AU is wrong'.
No, it's not okay. We know it's wrong, and part of this whole fanfiction thing is to correct the errors found on the show.
I worked with the military, you fuck up and call a commissioned officer by a non-commission rank, you can bet that you liaisons officer was going to hear about it, then you supervisor and you're go to have spend hours re-learning every single rank and which was a commissioned officer and which was a non-commissioned.
10893887
I'm ignoring you because you literally can't give any positive reviews if your life depended on it. All you ever do is rant and complain about stuff you didn't make yourself. It's boring. You're boring. Unlike Banshee's stories. So if you don't have anything nice to say (and we all know you don't) then don't read these stories.
10890021
I figured as much. Did you run out of fitting names or something?
10895179 No. Honestly, I figured this was gonna be an easy thing to figure out. This Big Score is meant to be modern day Big Score's grandfather.