A sword that refuses to be sheathed....[Edited]

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"Given enough time, any man may master the physical. With enough knowledge, any man may become wise. It is the true warrior who can master both....and surpass the result." - Tien T'ai

Warmth. The comfortable kind. That is what the Excalibur felt as he started to regain consciousness. Strange. He can't remember if he ever felt warmth like this. His ship was cool and quiet, besides the A.I. of the ship routinely chiming in with a comment. The places he was often sent to fight in were freezing cold, moist and dark, humid, or in a controlled environment. Once he regained his sight, he was met with the sight of vibrant green grass, and felt that he was lying face down in it. His hearing slowly came back to him, allowing him to hear the gentle breeze that was making said grass sway and rustle in a mesmerizing dance.

The Excalibur stood, slowly, as his HUD came online last. The only difference was that his Mini-map showed blank, meaning the area was unknown completely, uncharted. His shields took the whole of the blast, his status bar showing his bodily fortitude being at 100%, and his shields fully recharged. But even so, he felt something was missing...

He found what when he looked at the grass ahead of where he was lying. His sword, his Skana, lying in the grass, awaiting its master to reclaim it. And that is exactly what Excalibur did, leaning down and picking up the blade and examining it for damage. As he did, he mentally cursed himself for what happened. He should've deflected the bullets, but his own instincts took over years of training in a moment of worry, and so here he was.

Oh well. Deciding that it's no use pondering over it, Excalibur placed the blade upon his back, and scanned his surroundings. There was a forest to his right, dense, thick. It reminded him of Earth, but without the ruins dotting the landscape. Following the treeline, he noted what seemed to be a village in the far distance.

Lotus may not be here to guide him, but that in no way would ever make him or any other Tenno Warrior like him helpless. He held out his left hand, and opened his mission log, which appeared on a screen projected from a small holopad embedded in the suits hand, 20 inches long and 10 inches in height. Unlike most Tenno, who often wiped their mission logs, Excalibur kept every last one. He studied them often, learning and referencing enemy troop movements and formations, reaction times, and how the other Tenno handled these situations.

The last mission he recorded, ended with his meeting with Stalker. Excalibur listed the mission as officially finished. As for the result....He named it a Victory. Even if they didn't get the device, neither did the Grineer. Win and loss, but the majority, a win. He switched out of the log, and created a new one. He titled it "Lost," since that is what he was right now, lost. He then typed for his first objective, "Learn Whereabouts." The second was "Find a way back." He then closed the menu all together by closing his hand, and then looking towards the signs of civilization in the distance, and started to stretch and limber up. It was his best chance, but off the mission log, he set his own goals. Try to find signs of life, and if found, discern if friendly and intelligent enough to speak with, somehow, and if so, try to establish a relationship with them, and see if they can help him get back to the other Tenno.

After he finished stretching, he stood and used his HUD to take stock of his weapons. Seventy-one arrows, Two-hundred and Twenty Kunai, and his Skana. The modifications he made to the weapons were stable. All Warframe functions nominal. He leaned down into an Old-Worlds sprinter's position, and counted down in his head. One....Two....Three! With a burst of muscles, agility, and speed, Excalibur took off across the plains, his feet barely making any noise as he ran full sprint towards whatever lied ahead. He was a Tenno, and he would overcome this challenge, just like any other.
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More than ten Tenno ships were docked in the clearing surrounding the Grineer base, the Tenno who operate each ship had formed a perimeter, while a Volt and a few other tech-savvy Tenno shifted through the remains of the Orokin device, trying to discern its use while Lotus searched Old War files about it, to no avail so far. The Mag sat on the rafters she held earlier that night, joining the perimeter with the other Tenno after being extensively interviewed about what happened. The rest of the Tenno spread across the stars were either busy keeping the Grineer looking for them, or searching for Stalker.

One Tenno, sat on an overlook, holding a metal shafted arrow, with a tip stained with Grineer blood, and blue wings at the base of the shaft. This Tenno was operating a Zephyr, one of the Tenno best used fighting from above. Plenty could keep up with her, but unlike the others, she missed the missing Excalibur more than most. He was a good friend, and while he could not speak, his actions always spoke louder than any words ever could. Most of the Tenno agreed, he was one of the more balanced fighters, not the best but still way above average than most at everything.

'Damn you, Excalibur. We've lost enough of our Brothers and Sisters in arms. Why'd you have to be a jackass and vanish without a trace?' Her thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of gunfire down below. 'Grineer...Wherever you are, Excalibur, and if you're still alive, get your ass back soon. We can all raid a base as one as a welcome home present.' With that, she set the arrow down, and leaped off, grabbing her weapons and charging into the fray.
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Twilight Sparkle was re-shelving books in her Crystal castle's library in Ponyville when her assistant, Spike, dropped the pile of books he was carrying just in time to belch loudly, then snatch the scroll that appeared in the conflagration of dragon fire. One look at the seal, and he held it out for Twilight. "It's from Princess Celestia."

Twilight sighed and set the last book in its place, before sliding down the ladder, and ruffling her wings and she spun, and took the scroll from Spike. "Thank you, Spike." She unrolled the scroll, and frowned as she read. The writing was hasty, ran a little. The letter was obviously rushed. She shook her head and truly began to read.

Dearest Twilight,

I hope you are settling well with your new duties as the Princess of Friendship, but this is of the utmost importance. Just a few minutes ago, a portal was opened on the outskirts of the Everfree forest. Now, we can only assume this, because we did not FEEL the magic. Luna, however, felt a new mind enter the land of dreams. She received a headache not a few moments later. She attempted to contact the being via their dreams, but Luna could get nowhere close to their mind, but from what she tells me, the being is definitely not of Equis. We have no other information, but this does not matter. Retrieve your friends, and ready the Elements. I have sent a letter to your Brother. He is on his way with an Elite Guard from the Crystal Empire, and will be there within a few hours. Wait for him at the train station with your friends, and locate whatever this being is. Hurry!

~Princess Celestia

Twilight had to read the letter twice before she threw it to the side, and heading for the door. "Spike! We need to get the girls! NOW!" The dragon sighed as he left the books on the floor, and followed after the mare. Before he left, he was sure to turn of the lights, and lock the door.
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Excalibur had reached the village in minutes, and was amazed. Life! And not just any life, but PEACEFUL life! He watched these strange creatures work their stalls, selling goods at the market, some flying and others even using some form of power to float things around them! He checked more than once to make sure his Warframe's mission camera was on and recording this. A sole, large tree-like crystal structure in the middle of the town had drawn his attention. It stuck him as strange at first, until he found out what it really was. It was a castle, carved into the tree! The sheer sight of it made him extremely curious, as well as the sight of the castle built into the top of it. From what he knew, castle's were strongholds. Strongholds meant information.

He watched with glee as his mission updated on his HUD. "Access castle." The nav marker tagged the front door. Excalibur nodded to himself, and used the shadows of the mid day sun to make it behind a nearby bush. Making sure the coast was clear, he snuck up to the front door and tried to open it. Locked. He mentally cursed, and made his way around back. No back door. He pounded the ground lightly, then looked up. It was a long climb, but the Tenno were no strangers to such impossible seeming tasks.

Excalbur made sure the coast was clear first, then stepped from the shadows for a moment, then ran up the tree. Before he lost traction and speed, he started to push himself up the castle with steady, powerful steps against the crystal trunk. He kept this up at a steady pace, until he reached a window, pulling it open before climbing in.

Excalibur mentally whistled at the sheer beauty of the inside, shutting the window almost all the way, giving himself a route of escape, before silently moving down the hall at a brisk pace. he found a large room with what he assumed to be a de-activated holo-table, though he could find no way to activate it. Continuing on he discovered a throne room, with six large thrones with symbols on them, and a smaller throne next to one of the thrones. The Excalibur was in awe, and numbly made sure his recorder was STILL going. It was built to last for sure.

Tearing himself away from the throne room, he continued to investigate the surprisingly empty castle, up until he found a large and expansive library....That was in disarray. The scribes must have left in a rush, perhaps. He scanned the room, and found candles all over. Taking two kunai, and striking them against one another carefully, he managed to light each one in sequence. Excalibur nodded and turned off his flashlight, and looked at the mess of books on the floor. The way he figured, it would help his situation, if he helped these scribes with their organizing. A welcome surprise no doubt.
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Twilight had gathered the girls, met with her brother, and was leading them back to the castle with the four Elite Guard crystal ponies in tow. Spike however, stopped the group at the door. "Hold on a sec, Twi." He said, pointing to one of the windows of the castle. "We didn't light any candles before we left..."

Twilight blinked, then sighed. "You probably thought we didn't and did, Spike. Come on, open the door. I need the Tome of Offensive Spellwork by Starswirl." Spike shook his head and unlocked the door, opening it and walking inside, leading the group up towards the library. He noted, with a furrowed brow, that the door looked like it had been scrubbed clean of dust just seconds ago. He shrugged it off, and opened the door, only to gawk in shock. Twilight came in and gawked with him. The floors had been scrubbed at least twice. All the books, and shelves, had been organized perfectly and dusted. The candles were replaced with new ones, and had only been burning for at least ten minutes. They snapped out of it when Fluttershy's arms pointed past them, and she shakily said Twilight's name.

Spike and Twilight looked at where she was pointing, and suddenly figured out why she was suddenly so scared. Sitting there, on a pillow, with several books open in front of it. A being that screamed danger, from the devices on its hips, the bow on its back, and the handle coming over its shoulder. That wasn't the scariest part, and neither was it's armor. It was the helmet, or, it's face. The thing looked up from the books in front of it, and tilted it's head at her. Shining stepped in front of her, blocking her view and readying his shield. "IN THE NAME OF THE PRINCESSES, YOU ARE HEREBY UNDER ARREST!" Oh boy....
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"IN THE NAME OF THE PRINCESSES, YOU ARE HEREBY UNDER ARREST!" Excalibur deadpanned in his mind. Arrest? What did he do wrong!? He watched as the purple creature forced the purple and green scaled creature behind her, while her and her friends hung back near the door, and the obvious guards took the front. Excalibur scanned them warily, not one to misjudge his opponents. Two with horns, one with wings, two with neither. The first horned one, who spoke, wore a regal looking golden armor with purple highlights and a tower shield, and a hammer. Defense with a slight of offense. The second horned one had a long sword, but his posture suggested tricks up his sleeve. The winged one was female, and she had a crossbow. Interesting. The next, normal one was female as well, wielding two deadly axes. The last was male, and wielded a spear. Each was....Well, looked, like crystal beings, except for the first, as did their armor.

Excalibur slowly stood. "DON'T MOVE, DAMN YOU! SIT BACK DOWN!" Excalibur was having none of that. Especially with what the Grineer pulled with all his brothers and sisters. He stood, and glared at them from his minds eye. Rarity, in the back, couldn't help but shiver. She could feel something was about to happen, and it might not be good.

Excalibur gave them one last chance. He raised his hands and did the motions for them to calm down. Fluttershy noticed this, and silently wondered why it did that. Twilight noticed this as well, same as Spike, who poked out from behind her, only to get pushed outside and the door slammed in his face, but Shining and The other guards didn't bother to notice. They spread out, the unicorn and female earth pony guards to Shining's left, and the others to his right. Twilight nodded to the girls, their bodies starting to become coated in light. Excalibur looked at the guards, their stances....

And the only thing he could think of is how there were oh so how many openings they left. And how it looks like he was going to need to exploit them. He readied himself now, standing straight, fists aimed at each other in front of his pelvis, before he moved into a relaxed stance, turning his body slowly, so his chest is angled to the guard to their far left-his far right. He then brought his left arm up and held it straight, palm shooting upwards in an open hand. His right arm is cocked in a relaxed punching position.

The guards tensed at his stance. It was a silent tension, each waiting for the other to make a first move. The tension ended when the Male Earthern guard struck out with his spear, intending to use his range as his advantage. Excalibur showed him it was also a weakness. Excalibur's torso spun in an instant, seeing the spear move out of the corner of his vision, his right arm shooting out, and latching onto the spear, just below the head, and used the momentum, turning his legs only a bit, and his torso to the left, he pulled the spear towards him, and the guard with it. Before the other guards could react properly, Excalibur turned his left arm so the palm was aimed at the guards neck, before striking out as soon as he was in reach.

The process took mere seconds. The result, was the guard holding his throat, gasping for air, and Excalibur had acquired the spear, Excalibur spun, striking out with the pole of the spear while crouching, tripping the female Earthern guard, who charged with a roar at seeing her comrade defeated easily. Excalibur didn't make sure she stayed down, instead hopping back upon hearing a twang, just in time to move out of the way of the crossbow bolt, which was now embedded in the hard ground. The Pegasus guard who shot it was airborne, and reloading. Excalibur would get her down later. For now, he was fighting off six translucent long swords, and a real one from the unicorn, using the spear to swiftly block each one of them, to the guardsman's dismay. That ended when Shining charged forward and bashed at Excalibur with his shield.

Excalibur expected this, and jumped just before the blow hit, planting his feet at the intended point of impact, then pushing off, landing by hanging high up on one of the book cases, using them as a ledge. Perfect for him. He leaped from it, flying closer to the ceiling to the Pegasus, who aimed to shoot him while he was airborne. The bolt fired, and Excalibur just managed to piss them off more when he deflected it with the spearhead. With a few swift motions, the flying guards-woman could only blink: The blunt end of the spear had been suddenly aimed, and launched at her. It impacted with her face with a loud thwack!, followed swiftly by a crack and a spurt of blood as it rebounded off her face. Her nose had been broken, and she was sent out of the air and to the ground. Excalibur grabbed the rebounding spear, and threw it back at the ground now, before following it. The spear and woman impacted into the ground at the same time-far from each other.

Excalibur had actually landed on the back of the female Earthern guard, as she was getting back to her feet, and planting her into the ground, more than likely cracking her back, but not in a lethal manner, before picking up her axes, and hopping back. Shining and the remaining guard stared in shock. In less than half a minute, this one, strange being, had out classed, out skilled, and knocked out, three highly trained, Elite Crystal guards-ponies. The girls were in shock as well. They had all finished changing to their Harmony Forms. With a stern nod from Twilight, they were surrounded by the familiar magic, and got ready for an attack.

Excalibur watched as they floated upwards, before turning his attention back to the two unicorns, blocking sword after sword, and dodging multiple shield strikes. They glowed a different color, and Excalibur knew how to finish this. Together they were a weapon together. And he was geared to get out of situations like this. The Excalibur disengaged, dropped the axes, then flicked his right hand. An ethereal sword formed in it, and he raised it above his head in a familiar motion. Radial Blind. Without further ado, the blade erupted, breaking apart in a burst of flash and ear piercing sound. As expected, the last two guards faltered, dropping their weapons and holding their sensitive ears. The spear user from before, who finally recovered, went back down again. The girls, while impervious to magic, were not impervious, to this kind. And thus, also blinded, stunned, and unable to hear a thing, breaking the spell, and forcing them to the ground.

Spike had enough from listening, and busted through the door, shocked at what he saw. All of them, down, and that weird guy, still up, not even winded! Excalibur looked at the young dragon, tilted his head...

And bolted for him. Spike ducked, only to be surprised as he felt wind over his scales. He opened his eyes and twisted around, watching the weird guy go. He did his best to keep up, his knowledge of the castle aiding him in this nearly impossible task, only to watch him leap out a window that was open. Spike, panting heavily, made his way over. He was shocked to see the guy land on a nearby roof without beign hurt or even hurting the roof, before leaping off to vanish into an alley.
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Spike sighed, and turned , and immediately made his way back. Once he was back, he noticed that, in the left corner of the doors inside the library, were all the cleaning supplies that guy had to have used, and a box that, when opened, showed the candles that had been replaced. All the cleaning products were even alphabetized. 'Just who was that guy, and why did he clean the library? Then something came back to him. 'Wait, that crazy guy was reading some books!....And burning tea leaves." He stopped his thoughts to sniff the air. "Jasmine, I think? Wonder what he was reading? Spike went to where the guy was originally, and looked around for the now scattered books, picking them up to read the titles and before putting them away.

'A book on today's society? A book on the Equestrian government system? Oh, well, haven't seen this one in awhile.' Spike smirked as he looked at the book on plants. He then furrowed his brow, his smirk turning to a frown. 'Reading three books, two on Equestrian society, one on plants? Well, it explains the one's burning in bowls. Makeshift incense? And then the hand motions...Why didn't he try to talk to us...? It doesn't make sense. From all that he did around here, it was like....' Spike looked on as the girls helped Twilight on her feet, and Shining and the unicorn guard helping their fellow guardsmen. '....A peace offering....' Spike beamed as he slammed the books on a bench, much to everyone's chagrin. "I'VE GOT IT! I know why this all happened!"

Everyone stared at the teenage dragon for a long time, and the ridiculous, beaming smile on his face. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at him. "Well? What did you figure out, Spike?"

Spike chuckled. "The guy was a mute! He has to be! Check it out, when he got in here, the place was A MESS. Books everywhere. And yet he put all the books away, alphabetized them even, swept AND mopped the library, dusted the shelves, AND sat here, reading, WAITING FOR US, while burning tea leaves as makeshift incense! He was making a comfortable environment for us to talk in! But, when Shining rushed on, like the soldier he is, the guy never ONCE spoke! He tried to tell them to calm down with his hands! So, he's a mute, who was trying to TALK to us! Cleaning the library was the peace offering he made!" Spike puffed out his chest with pride as he put his fists to his hips.

Everyone stared in silence at Spike now, actually connecting the dots laid out for them. Pinkie's hair deflated, and her gaze went to the floor. "I should've listened to my twitches before.....He wanted to be our friend, and we were so mean to him...."

Spike turned to Shining and frowned as he opened his eyes to glare at him, crossing his arms. "Not cool, jumping to action like that, Shining. Not. Cool. Now, we may have pissed him off, and he totally wiped the floor with you all." Everyone deadpanned at Spike, but he glared right on back.

In the end, Twilight shook her head and recovered, mostly. "I think we get it, Spike...Listen girls, I think it best everyone head home, but keep your wits about you. No telling what he may do now. Shining, you and the others can use the guest rooms. I have plenty and all are empty." Everyone nodded, and slowly trickled out of the large library. Twilight sighed and lit her horn, using her magic to fix the damages in the library while Spike sighed heavily. "So, Twilight, what if that guy comes back? Mind if I try to talk to him? He seemed pretty cool. I mean, he might've even have cleaned the bathroom if we asked him."

Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. "Sure Spike. We can both talk to, and apologize, to him. Though, I wish I knew what he was. That armor, it looked so advanced....Nothing I've ever seen before!" Spike shrugged as he headed back into the hall.

"Maybe he's from space." Twilight chuckled and shook her head as she followed her little assistant.
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Excalibur eventually looked back, after ten minutes of non-stop running. His mission tracker had given him two options in that library: Engage or extract. He extracted. There had to be SOME way to salvage this situation, he just needed to look harder....

The Tenno Warrior opened up his mission log and checked it for any new objectives. It showed all completed, but the mission had yet to end. Fair enough. He input a new objective: "Explore forest." He then closed the screen and started to casually stroll through the tranquil forest in the setting sun. It was peaceful. The only peace he'd ever known was the peace of sitting in his ship between missions, meditating for a few hours, or getting some sleep. Heh. Sleep. All the Tenno loathed the idea after being in Cryostasis for so long. Some awoken only to stare down the barrel of a Grineer rifle, then fight their way to freedom. He was one of these Tenno. He originally had a voice, but when he awoke, it was to a Grineer Butcher, ready to behead him. With some quick thinking, even while drowsy from the cryo-sleep, he managed to dodge being beheaded, but only just. It ended up not bothering him. For a Tenno, such situations were bound to happen.

His thoughts were interrupted suddenly by screaming. Young. Female. The last time he heard that, was when he was too late to....

The Tenno was gone from his spot even before his mission tracker could change the objective. "Save innocent lives." Damn right he would. Not again, not ever again would he let a life slip through his grasp! Foliage and shrubbery were blasted through, as the Warrior flew through the forest, following the echoes of the screams. He almost stopped when they ended, but was aided by a roar that definitely belonged to a predator.

To avoid bolting into something he knows nothing about, he skidded to a halt, and drew his Paris, crouching in the bushes. Two young creatures-Ponies, as he learned they were called, while he read what he did, were backed up against a large tree, a large, cat-like creature with bat wings and a barbed tail, with foam dripping from its maw had them in its sights. No, wait, there were three of the small ponies, but the third.....

A familiar rage clouded his vision, and he focused on the large beast, tightening his grip as he readied a quivering arrow. As soon as it pounced, so did he....
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Applebloom and Scootaloo had never been more scared for their lives. They always got into trouble, but this! A rabid manticore!? They had been walking home with Sweetie Belle from Zecora's, when suddenly, the manticore leaped from the bushes and chased them into the forest. Sweetie fell behind, and the beast caught her with a paw. Bloom and Scoot tried to block it, but now it seemed like the Cutie Mark Crusaders would all become rabid kitty chow. The last thoughts they had, when the beast pounced, was that they had a good run.

Then, out of nowhere, they heard a shunk!, and a low growl, with a loud thud. When they finally opened their eyes, sure they weren't dead, both girls dropped their jaws in shock. There, lying on its side, was the manticore, blood pooling from the wound in its head. The expression of sudden shock mixed with its relaxing, predatory face in its death throes. The rustling of bushes drew the girls attention, and they then saw their strangely armored Unicorn savior, armed with the bow responsible for the kill.

Then, the bow was placed on their back, with the weird unicorn LEAPING in front of them, landing softly, and then moving ast them to inspect their friend.
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Excalibur got a good, quick look at the two still standing from the encounter. The first one had yellow fur, wore a plaid red shirt, with overalls. To top it off, she had rosy red hair and a matching tail, the hair done up with a nice, light red bow To fully complete the look, she had peach colored eyes. The other one had purple eyes, purple hair and tail, orange fur, and wore a tank top and blue sports shorts. The one on the floor though....

She was white furred, her eyes shut tight, clutching a wound in her stomach. Judging from the small puddle under her, it was serious. The Excalibur sadly frowned as he took in her other features. She wore a stylish white and pink shirt, with jeans. While the yellow one was "normal", and the other had wings, this one had a horn Her hair was light purple, with a pink streak in it, same as her tail. He was starting to notice a pattern. The Excalibur knelt down, in time to see her take a shaky breath. She was alive! Thank Lotus! He blinked one something shook his left arm. He looked to see the yellow one with a scared look on her face. "Please Mister! Ya gotta save her! Do ya know any healing magic?" Magic? Ah yes, he read about that. They must think him a horned one.

He shook his head no, but that didn't stop him. He picked the white one up, and cradled him close to his chest. He nodded towards the direction he came from. The orange one seemed to get it. "The hospital in Ponyville! Can you get her there fast enough? We need to let her sister know what happened." His mission tracker had already updated, and finally, a new damned objective marker on his mini-map. He nodded and turned.

The girls could only blink as he dashed off at a speed that made AppleBloom sure he could outrun her sister any day, before the both of them started to make their own way out of the forest.
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As thing happened around town, something happened in one of the abandoned shops. A robed figure strolled up to said broken down shop, and pounded on the door. Said door was opened, granting the being access, to which they entered with haste. The door slammed shut behind them, and the shop was pitch black, save for a single spotlight, which the stranger stood in. "The time is nigh...Inform the Queen, we strike now. Shining Armor is far from his wife, and the Elements are exposed. We strike at nightfall..." Hundreds of blue orbs suddenly, appeared, and the figure grinned evilly, before the light shut off...
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Excalibur caused all kinds of panic as he ran through town, bolting through the crowds of ponies, heading straight for the nav marker. Course, someone spotted him, and did stop him. "HEY!" Was the warning Excalibur got. Enough to drop from a sprint into a low slide along the ground, barely dodging the leg that came from the sky to no doubt kick his head into his shoulders, if he didn't have his shields. He hopped to his feet and skidded to a stop, looking over his shoulder. It was the cerulean pegasus from the library, wearing a golden necklace with a ruby thunderbolt, a sweater, track shirt, and cargo shorts, with crimson eyes and rainbow hair and tail. He kept Sweetie out of sight for now. "Hey bud! I need to have a few words with you!" Excalibur furiously shook his head and pointed at the hospital, just in sight over the buildings. The woman grunted. "Yeah. Your gonna need it after I'm done with you."

Excalibur never spoke, but when he used his voice, it came out as grunts, or in this case, growls. A growl that would tell anyone to back off. Yet it sounded ethereal, as if, not his own, as he fully turned to the woman, revealing the girl in his arms. The pegasus' demeanor immediately changed, so did the gathering crowd. She got angrier. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!?" Excalibur shook his head with a guttural grunt and pointed at the hospital again. Rainbow Dash followed his pointing, then looked back at him, before remembering what Spike said in the library. Her demeanor slowly calmed down. "Your...Trying to help her." A nod was the silent reply.

Rainbow growled, mainly at herself for being so stupid, then took to the air. "Come on then! I know your fast, ninja boy! RUN!" Excalibur was off like a gunshot, the crowd yelling "RUN! HURRY!" as well. Now with the rainbow pegasus flying over him as the sun set, he had new hope. Maybe everything would be fine after all.

As soon as they reached the hospital, Excalibur kick slid through the door, and hopped to his feet right in front of the receptionist desk, where a stunned nurse looked at him in shock. But then her eyes fell onto the dying child in his arms. She slammed her hand on the p.a. system. "DOCTOR ALL TO THE ER! DOCTOR ALL, REPORT TO THE ER IMMEDIATELY! GET A STRETCHER TO THE RECEPTIONIST AREA!" The stretcher was there in seconds, and Excalibur gladly handed off the child to the medical professionals. He blinked as a finger poked his shoulder. He spun to see the impatient rainbow girl with her arms crossed.

"Alright bud. Spill. Just who the buck are you, how can you do what you do, and more importantly, who in the name of Celestia taught you to fight like you do? I've heard of NInja's, even seen some ninja movies, but you make that all look like a cakewalk, and then some. So spill!" Excalibur blinked at her, then tapped the chin of his helmet before holding a hand out to her, palm up. Rainbow Dash blinked at him, not getting it. Excalibur silently sighed, and gently, reached out, and took one of her hands, and placed it in his, then turned it over so her palm was facing up.

He then wrote letters in her palm, one at a time. C-A-L-L-M-E-E-X-C-A-L-I-B-U-R She blinked as she read, kinda read that is, what he wrote. "Your....Name is Excalibur? Did I get that right?" The Tenno nodded. He then wrote: I-A-M-A-T-E-N-N-O-W-A-R-R-I-O-R. The girl shook her head. "The buck is a Tenno Warrior? Some secret ninja order?" N-O, T-O-M-U-C-H-T-O-E-X-P-L-A-I-N. She frowned and deadpanned at him. He shrugged. With a roll of her eyes, she huffs. "I'm Rainbow Dash, fastest flier in Equestria."

Excalibur mentally chuckled at her. Rainbow sighed. "So, what's with the weird growling and stuff? Are you mute?" She asked, what Spike deduced in the library sticking with her. Excalibur shook his head, using his hand to make a talking motion, before wagging a finger back and forth. "So....yes?" Excalibur tilted his head for a bit, then shrugged again, mentally chuckling.

The Tenno shrugged, then wrote: G-O-T-U-S-E-D-T-O-B-E-I-N-G-S-I-L-E-N-T. Rainbow smirked at that. "I guess that's cool, but with what happened in the library, speech helps, y'know?" Excalibur silently, visibly chuckled, and nodded. Their conversation was broken when the doors were burst open. Excalibur's instincts kicked in, and he suddenly pulled his bow off his back, and knocked an arrow. A white furred woman, then one from the library with light blue eyes, stylish purple hair and tail, and white dress,with another golden necklace with a purple diamond as the choker, held her knees, panting.

"Where...Where is Sweetie!?" Rainbow sighed and patted Excalibur's shoulder. He nodded and disarmed the bow. Rainbow ran to her friend and helped her straighten up.

"She'll be fine, Rare. She actually had some help from an...Unlikely, cool dude. Rarity, meet Excalibur." Rarity was about to offer a hand, when she saw who this, Excalibur was. The man from the library, suddenly sprint at her.

No, past her, sliding and then leaping from the slide, at a person with a hood behind Rarity and Rainbow. Before anything else happened, Excalibur stabbed his arrow into the person's head, much to the girl's shock. "EXCALIBUR! WHAT THE BUCK, MAN!?" Excalibur stood as the person was suddenly engulfed in green flames, revealing them still in a cloak, but to be covered head to toe in chitinous plating, with pupiless blue eyes, a jagged horn, and insect wings, with wicked daggers in each hand. Rainbow Dash blinked, then shook her head. "Saved Sweetie, and then saved both our asses. You sure you ain't a super hero in disguise of a ninja, Excalibur?" Excalibur humored her with planting a foot on the body, then, planting his empty fist on his hip, then raised his bow over his head in a heroic stance.

Rainbow worked hard not to laugh, and hold the now unconscious Rarity in her arms. Excalibur nodded and, looked down at the creature. Rainbow set Rarity on a bench before looking at it herself. "That's a Changeling. What the hell is it doing-Im asking an answered question. Ok, so their here to....Oh shit, the others! We need to help them!" Excalibur nodded and pulled the arrow from the Changeling's head, and readied it in his bow, motioning for Rainbow to lead the way. Rainbow nodded, and bolted out the door, leading the way on the ground, since it was dark out.

Excalibur activated the flashlight on his left shoulder, and followed close behind her, switching out his bow for his kunai, and throwing them into the forehead of every Changeling they encountered. The sound of...Cannon-fire? This. This, drew them to the square, only to find numerous changelings blasted out of...A gingerbread house. Rainbow pointed at the upstairs window, and took flight. Excalibur didn't bother. He took the front door. Twenty three kunai and three sword strikes later, he poked his head in the doorway, and pulled back a a blast of confetti fired out the doorway. He took his chance, charging around into the doorway, and diving behind a table, pulling down for makeshift cover, then raising his hands up in surrender. There was no shooting. He slowly stood up, keeping his arms outstretched, and looked at the suddenly confused face of the pink pony from before.

She had wild pink hair and tail, sky blue eyes, and wore a yellow t-shirt and jeans down to her knees. She beamed at him. "ITS YO-" She blinked, the growled and pointed the cannon at him. At the same time, a changeling flew in the door. Not on Excalibur's count, with a kunai thrown precisely, catching it in the neck and sending it flying over the counter. Pinkie watched this happen, with interest.

She then tackle hugged Excalibur who struggled to keep balance. "IT IS YOU! Oh my gosh Im so so so so sorry! We didn't know!" Excalibur didn't know what to do, but a sudden ruckus upstairs made him curious. He tore her off him, and bolted ustairs, finding the door locked. Not on his watch. A well placed kick, and it went down. A woman, and man, were tied up in the corner. Four Changelings were trying to make off with Rainbow.

And two crying babies. If Excalibur wanted, he would have roared. Instead, it sounded like a VERY PISSED OFF animal. The Changelings only had a second to look, before Excalibur was on them with his Skana. Blood splattered the walls, but in the end, there were four changelings ready for garbage day, and the babies...Were laughing, as a blood coated Excalibur set them on the bed in the room, before untying a stunned Rainbow Dash and the parents, who ignored the scene and rushed to their children. Rainbow gawked at Excalibur, so did the Pink one that just entered. "Dude....You were going easy on us in the library....You're fucking scary when mad...."

Excalibur nodded, and looked to the pink one. He then noticed she had a pendant as well, a pink balloon. Excalibur looked to Rainbow and pointed at Pinkie to be sure, he knew she was in the library. Rainbow nodded. "Yeah, their after her too. Pinkie, this is Excalibur. He's helping us, and the Changelings want to KILL us." Pinkie blinked at Rainbow, then her hair deflated. Excalibur looked out the window, then popped his head back in, drew his bow, knocked an arrow, and fired it outside, the cry of a dying changelings not a second later.

Rainbow got up and hugged Pinkie tightly. "Pinkie. I know it's tough....But, we need to save the others. They're still being targeted....Do you want to let them hurt Fluttershy? To make her cry?" Pinkie's hair went poofy from hearing that, but her eyes were filled with RAGE. She burst downstairs, and game back up with a modified cannon with eight barrels protruding from it. Excalibur knew, it was a mini-gun. "NO ON MAKES FLUTTERSHY CRY! NOBODY!!!!!" Excalibur was going to enjoy seeing this...
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A group of changelings remained in that abandoned shop, around a table with a map of Ponyville. "Our squads are being wiped out! How the hell are Ponies, PONIES, taking down our elite assassins!?" A new changeling burst in from the front door just as this question was asked.

"With their own assassin. Faster. Stronger. More accurate, more deadly. From what one our scouts got before the assassin killed him, his name is Excalibur. We've nothing beyond that, but that he is nothing like anyone has ever seen. His accuracy is perfect, and he is using throwing knives, a bow, and a sword. Whoever this Excalibur is, he is saving the targets, and making fools of us. Won't be long till the Princesses are here..."

The changelings started to talk loudly among themselves, each trying to come up with a way to stop this newcomer. "ENOUGH!" A female voice yelled. A female looking changeling, with a small crown upon her head and wearing a dress made of silk fibers, approached from the shadows. All the changelings bowed. "We will wait for him at Sweet Apple Acres. Withdraw all units to the orchards surrounding that area. We will end them all there. If we can kill just ONE element....This all ends."

All together, they yelled, "YES MY QUEEN!"
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The Grineer base had been abandoned long ago, and the Tenno scattered to keep the Grineer on their toes. It had been hours since the Excalibur disappeared....And not a trace. The Tenno were disheartened by this, but the Volt that was on scene kept hard at work in his ship, trying to fix the machine. He'd been at it non-stop, and now it had gotten to him. He growled and slammed his hands on the table where the machine was, accidentally releasing a static discharge. The machine sparked erratically, before exhuming a puff of black smoke, much to Volt's chagrin. "By the Lotus, we'll never find him at this rate!"

"Actually, sire, I think I just did. When you zapped it, it transmitted for a few seconds. Scanning....Aha! A set of coordinates! At the farthest reaches of space!" Said the ship's AI triumphantly. "Shall I transmit to all Tenno ships that responded to the original alert, sire?"

Volt was on his feet and dashing to the comm station. "Yes! Transmit! Transmit now!" He then opened a direct link to all Tenno ships. "Attention, Tenno! This is Charge! We got coordinates! I repeat, We have Ex's location! WHOSE UP FOR A RESCUE MISSION!?"

It was not even a moment before the first reply came in. "This is Sight, bout time we found that silent son of a bitch, thank Lotus! I'm on my way to the coordinates now!" "Glide here, good job tech-head! I'm on my way!" "Pull here! Thank Lotus, and I'm going too! I owe him one!" "Shade here, locked in and ready to rock!" "Blitz here, charging in!" "Mirror here, they'll need to keep guessing. Let's make sure Ex is safe." "Third here, Im burning stratosphere and on my way!" More and more followed, as Volt locked in the coordinates himself and took off. "ETA for all Tenno ships, Thirty minutes sire. Rescue Alert: Bloody Blade, is officially a go. Also, a message from Lotus."

A motherly female voice entered Volt's mind. Lotus. "Well done Tenno. Thanks to your efforts, we won't have to mourn the loss of another. Make haste, I still worry."
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Excalibur, Rainbow, and Pinkie, finally reached the cottage, to find it bare....

Curious, Rainbow knocked on the door. "Yo! Shy! You there!?" A small, timid voice replied. "Rainbow? Erm..How long were we in school together...A-and where?"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Our entire school life, Cloudsdale flight academy." The door opened, and a buttermilk pegasus with pink hair and sky blur eyes, wearing a butterfly pendant and a yellow sweater with a green skirt, hugged Rainbow tightly. Rainbow smiled and hugged her back. Pinkie dropped her cannon, and hugged them both. A rustle came from behind the Tenno however, and he spun, sword in hand, to see a changeling glaring at him. Excalibur growled back.

The changeling grunted as the girls noticed and glared. "You, you are Excalibur? The assassin aiding these ponies? You will come with me, or Honesty dies. And you will come alone."

Rainbow fumed. "WHAT DID YOU DO WITH APPLEJACK!?" The changeling didn't answer. Excalibur went to thinking. An innocent life....

Excalibur sheathed his sword on his back, and motioned for the changeling to lead on. Rainbow and the girls gawked. "What? Your going with him!? Its a trap!" Excalibur looked at her, then her friends, and nodded. His stance said it all. He knew. He was going anyways, and he'd fight till this Applejack was safe, or he was dead. Rainbow frowned. "Come back safe, man. Your a pretty cool dude..." Pinkie started crying as the Tenno followed after the Changeling.
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Minutes later, the changeling led Excalibur to the front of the home, of Sweet Apple Acres. The guide buzzed his wings loudly. Buzzing came in turn. Hundreds of changelings came out of hiding, all glaring death at the Tenno. One of them held a pony with no horn or wings, bound all over by rope. Far as Excalibur could tell, she was the orange one with the stetson and green eyes. She was also gagged, but also surprised to see him. The guide faded into the crowd, and a taller changeling, with larger wings, thicker chitin, especially around the thighs, wearing a silk dress made of webbing, and a small black crown on her head. She grinned, a mouth full of fangs at him. "Ah. So YOU are Excalibur! My scouts are right, you are truly something! Just look at you, covered in my children's blood! You, are a born killer, aren't you?"

Excalibur did not answer, but glared under his helmet. The queen shrugged. "I, am Chrysalis. Queen of the Changelings. I have a proposition for you. Why fight for these pitiful ponies? Come, join me. We can take this world over, and you can fight or hunt whatever you want. Whenever you want. Hmm? What say you?"

The air around Excalibur began to grow thick, then began to form around him, in a miniature twister. Excalibur shook with rage as his raised his right hand, palm towards the night sky. On the wind, most Changelings were sure they heard it. A deep, angered male voice, saying: RADIAL. JAVELIN! Chrysalis put up her strongest shield in an instant. Javelins made of wind exploded form the twister as Excalibur closed his fist, slaying numerous changelings. The twister dispersed, and Excalibur drew another ehtreal sword, with energy trailing off of the pommel and guard, almost the same blade as his Skana. The Exalted Blade. "SLAY HIM! NOW!" Green bolts of energy flew at him from all directions, and he redirected them back at the enemy as much he could, while slicing the air, sending blade after blade cutting through changelings in droves. But he was one. There were hundreds.

His shields fell fast, and in the end, he was down on his knees, too weak to stand. Chrysalis grinned savagely, forming her own green, ethereal sword as she walked up to him. "Your life. Is mine."

Or she thought. A sudden series of bursts from orbit, and over twenty strange ships appeared over the orchard. "WHAT!? WHAT IS THIS!?" Excalibur couldn't help but smile in his mind as he heard Lotus on the Loud-speakers on one of the Tenno ships. "We are the Tenno, and you have threatened one of our brethren. Tenno! Rescue Excalibur, leave none but the leader!"

The ships clicked, and suddenly, Tenno of all colors and armor and warframes dropped down into the fray. One landed right next to Excalibur and got him back on his feet, just in time for his shields to reach max. "Hey Bro! Bout time we found ya!" A friend of his, whom used Zephyr. Excalibur was never so glad to see her. He pulled out his bow and fired the first shot. Tenno bows were especially deadly, and his was no different. The arrow went through twenty Changelings before stopping. The Tenno took the Que.
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In a matter of less than a minute, every changeling lay dead, Tenno all surrounding Chrysalis with their weapons aimed at her, while greeting their lost brother. Chrysalis was in shock, and Excalibur had befriended Applejack, who wore a brown vest over a plaid orange shirt with denim jeans, and even greeted her little sister, Applebloom, once more.

The Tenno were chatting among themselves happily, with Chrysalis now tied and gagged. Most were patting Excalibur on the back for his ballsy move. Excalibur looked towards the road to town. Something bugged him.....

A flash near the house, and all the Tenno spun, weapons ready. Excalibur walked past them, surprised by what he saw. An army of gold armored, white furred ponies.

And the five others from the library. Rainbow, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Applejack ran to embrace her friends. Excalibur waved the Tenno down, which made a few of them mumble among themselves again. Excalibur slowly approached the group, and noticed a new one. No, two. Two regal beings. The first was tall, with a mature body and hair and tail colored that of a rainbow and the fur of pure white, wearing a regal white gown mixed with golden battle armor and a spear. The second was shorter, with hair and tail like the stars, and heavy battle armor with a greatsword. Rainbow looked to Excalibur and ran up, offering him a high five. He returned it silently.

Rarity smirked as she walked over, tilting her head. "Morning, fighting the guards, the night, save Ponyville? You are a mystery, Excalibur." Pinkie tackled hugged him once more. "YOU ARE SO COOL!" The other Tenno burst out laughing at seeing this. One of them even yelled. "HEY! EX HAS FAN GIRLS!" This caused even more riotous laughter. Ex was the nickname for this particular Excalibur using Tenno. He responded to it's use by flipping them a friendly bird.

Once Pinkie was off, the purple one walked up with the white and blue ones. They all had wings and horns. "Erm, hey...Sorry, about this morning, Excalibur sir...." Excalibur waved off the purple one's apology. Th white one....Smiled at him. "A modest, and fierce warrior. You are indeed one to watch, Sir Excalibur. Though, one Rainbow Dash told me you don't like to speak, yet you seem to have a voice....Would you please speak with us, if only a little?"

Excalibur sighed gently, before seeming to take in a deep breath....Then exhaling, a word on the wind. "Yeah, might as well." The girls all stared in shock. The Zephyr barked off a cocky laugh. He rarely spoke, and CHOSE to be mute on purpose. He sounded young like the rest of them, and just as experienced, if not slightly wiser than most Tenno.

"Thank you, Sir Excalibur." Excalibur grunted, turning to the white one fully.

"Just call me Ex. It's what my clan calls me." He said, jerking a thumb at the gathered Tenno.

She chuckled in turn. "Then, just call me Celestia. This is Luna, my sister." The smaller blue one grunted in reply.

Zephyr chuckled as she walked over and nudged Ex's shoulder. "Your ship is inbound. Get ready to pull out."

"Actually, Glide," He started, "I think...I'll stay awhile. This world will need a guardian Tenno since we found it. Who says the Grineer won't? Plus...The races here are interesting."

Glide, the Zephyr, and the other Tenno just gawked mentally at their brother. "I approve of this decision." A new voice chimed in. Lotus....

Excalibur chuckled. "Lotus. I was wondering where you were. So you support this?" The voice replied smoothly, "Yes, Ex. All other Tenno will pull out, and do their best to keep the Grineer from finding this planet. Be well, my child."

Ex looked back to the shocked ponies, and the guards who were cleaning up the bodies, and taking Chrysalis away as the Tenno silently made their ways to their ships and took off, with promises to check in often.

"So....Who doesn't mind a resident Tenno Warrior staying as a Guardian?"

It was smiles all around.

With blade in hand....

View Online

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness. Nothing is so gentle as real strength."- Frances de Sales

Ex awoke with a slow trickle of willpower. He had fallen asleep while meditating again. Then again, he killed more than a hundred or so Changelings, and was nearly ended by their leader. He shook his head, glad that he made it out of that alive, and contemplated his new situation. He was now a Guardian Tenno. Said Tenno were highly skilled, and guarded VIPs in the Old War.

With a mental chuckle, he extended his legs and once again touched the ground. When a Tenno meditates….They like to show off a bit, floating a foot off the ground usually. He had done the same in the back of his Liset, which was given permission to hover a good ten feet above Applejack’s barn. As he started to walk into the armory section of the ship, his Cephalon chimed in, wishing him a good morning, and letting him know of a few new updates.

His clan had donated more than several weapons of different types for his use, as well as having set up a small supply line for every month or so in case he wanted to build something to keep busy.

Ex sighed, and then let out a quiet chuckle. His clan was an odd one alright. He looked to the empty Incubator off to the right of the ship, next to his Weapon Modification station, then to his left, to the empty Sentinel station and Foundry, and lastly, to his far left, the relic station. He wouldn’t be closing any rifts any time soon it seemed.

He stepped into the armory, and watched the holo-display appear before him and update.with the new weapons. An impressive array to be sure. With a mental smile, he sent orders to his Modification station, giving it a long list of work on all the new weapons.

While it whirred and worked, he traded out his kunai knives for a pair of AKMagnus. The twin, revolver like pistols settled onto the fin-like protrusions on his hips, magnetizing to his warframe and ready for use. Making sure their mods were stable, he then decided it was high time he changed how his warframe looked. Opening up the armory’s color system, he couldn’t help but feel necessity for this. While the default colors of his warframe were decent, he needed a different solution, so that the inhabitants-sorry, Ponies, would know it was him, in case another Tenno using an Excalibur came along.

First, he changed the primary color from a light grey to a nice, smooth black, changing most of his helmet, his chest, most of his arms and legs. Easy to pick him out from the crowd of colorful beings, but hard to see if he didn’t want to be found. The secondary was changed to the old primary, merely adding some detail around the parts of the warframe that looked like armor, and the back, which looked like it was exposed, when it was truly as much armor as his front.

He left the tertiary color as it was, merely leaving the mantle piece the dull gray it was, seeing as it blended well. As for the accents, he changed those to a midnight blue, and left the energy color as it was. Why Tenno felt the need to change that was beyond him. With a few commands, his weapons took on the same color schemes. With a mental check, and making sure that he wasn’t forgetting anything. The Foundry was silent, and the only sounds in the ship were the ship itself and the Mod station working its ass off.

With a chuckle, he went into the upper part of the ship, to the Star Chart, and sat on his legs, and made a few hand motions the Ship was familiar with. Within seconds, the floor opened up, and he slid down and got into the ready position. Tenno prefered to leave their ships like this. Grabbing ahold of the two rods as he magnetized to the ship, the cylinder turned over, exposing him to the barn below, before releasing him. Doing a flip, he landed lightly on his feet as the ship closed back up and continued to hover.

Ex stood up, almost reached for his weapons, but pushed his instincts and training aside, and merely dropped from the roof of the barn, making his way in the direction of the house on the property. He was pleased to see the trees growing as such. The trees he was used to seeing were either overgrown giants, or grown in controlled environments It was refreshing to see some well taken care of apple trees on this peaceful planet.

As the farmhouse came into view, Ex broke into a slight jog, easily making his way up to the front of the house, and immediately came face to face with an elderly mare of light green, with tired, amber eyes that pierced to his soul. She wore a blue blouse, with a long white skirt, and a frilled, yet worn, white apron over those. Her hair was done up in a practiced bun as she gazed upon Ex coming up the steps. “.....So, yer the one who saved my granddaughters last night? Excalibur, from what Aj tells me?” She asked in her aged and experienced voice.

Ex put his fists together, and bowed to the elderly mare once, then nodded as he straightened out. The Elderly mare gazed at him warily for a few moments longer, before smiling softly, her gaze turning just as soft as she stood up with support from a well-worn wooden cane. “Welp. I guess I owe ya thanks, sonny. I’m Granny Smith. Just call me Smith.” She said, her bones creaking gently from her movements.

Ex sighed softly, before speaking in his gentle voice. “I like to speak often, Miss Smith, but call me Ex, as my friends do.” When Granny Smith raised her brow, her smile grew to a smirk.

“Well, do you know sign-language?” Ex wish he had eyes to blink. He grinned in his head as he quickly used sign language to tell her, ”Why yes, I do.” Granny chuckled and beckoned him to follow her inside. Ex was quick to rush up the steps, and hold the door open for her. She nearly burst into laughter at that. “Well I’ll be! What a fine gent you are!” She commented as she headed inside, and to a large oak-wood table in the middle of the house.

Ex shut the door softly, then followed her to the table, taking a seat across from her. ”How do you know sign language?” he signed. Granny rolled her eyes and crossed her arms on the table, keeping her elbows off. “Ex, my boy, I used to run Sweet Apple Acres. I traveled all over, worked and did business with all kinds of ponies and such. I learned sign language as a courtesy not only to those who needed to use it when buying from me, but to those I did business with….And also a precaution in case any of my family members needed to do so as well. Thankfully, I’ve not needed to use it. Doubt my bones could handle it at this point.”

Both of them chuckled at that remark. Ex had nothing but respect for this mare so far, for how hard she seems to have worked throughout her life. After a few minutes to calm down, Ex signed, "Where is Applejack now, by the way?” Granny grunted and craned her head, just in time for the door to open, with a sweating Applejack holding it that way as she and a taller Equine walked in behind her. He was big, red, and had sandy-orange hair. Both were staring at the Tenno sitting at the table, apparently having a conversation with their Grandmother. Said Tenno waved at the duo, before tilting his head at the red giant, while also taking better stock of Applejack, as he didn’t last night.

Both wore plaid shirts. Aj wore a brown one, and the male wore a darker version. Both also wore workers jeans, and dark brown boots. Applejack took off her stetson and fanned herself with it. “Well I’ll be! Ex, is that you? I thought yer armor was a different color?” She stated in confusion. Ex signed to Granny, and the elder mare chuckled before turning to her grand children.

“He changed the color this morning is what he said. Big mac, this here is Ex, the young fella we have to thank for saving both AJ and AppleBloom last night.” Big Mac, finally let his confused look fade, and walked over, gently putting out a hand to shake, to which Ex gladly stood, and shook firmly. “Thank you, Ex. Because of you, I didn’t have to lose them both in a day,” Mac said in his deep, yet gentle voice.

Ex released his grip, and gave a slight bow, before looking to Applejack. He noticed the apple shaped pendant on her neck, and pointed at it with a tilt of his head. Aj followed his finger, then chuckled. “Ah, yeah, this ol’ thing. The girls and I had em made. We don’t have the originals anymore, but they’re good for memories. They represent what Element of Harmony we stand for. I stand for Honesty.”

Ex had read-well, not exactly read, but scanned-a book on the subject. Only five were mentioned, and a mysterious sixth. Honesty seemed like a decent trait, however. For now, he didn’t question it further. He just nodded, tilted his head for a few seconds, then made his way to the door. Aj grabbed his shoulder before he got there. “Woah there buddy! Don’t ya wanna eat something first?”

Ex silently chuckled, before using a hand to make an eating motion, then wagging his finger no, like he did with Rainbow last night. Applejack gave a new confused face. “....Ya don’t eat…?”

Ex didn’t give her time to ask why. He slipped from her grasp, waving to all three, before popping open the door and dancing outside while she futilely tried to grab him again. “Hey! Git back here Ex!” Ex laughed loud enough to be heard on a gust of wind, before turning to the road leading out of the acre, and getting into his Old Runner’s stance. One of the only few things he remembered from a time long since gone, before breaking into a mad sprint like the crack of a whip.

Steel, flesh, and will drove him as fast as he could, at which the speed would easily out run anyone on land with an abundance of ease. His recorder was going once more, the recording and the mission that lasted the whole of yesterday was easily counted as an amazing success. As the farmhouse faded behind him….He started to slow, ever so much, until he reached a steady, decent walking pace. The scenery was just too astounding to the Tenno used to seeing war-torn worlds and colonies of metal and odd shaped buildings, military compounds, and the like.

“When I upload this for all Tenno to see,” He started, making sure to get as much of the scenery as he could, even spinning about to get the scenery behind him, before turning back around, “I hope that all of you can appreciate it as it is. As the Guardian for this world….Not a thing I would want to change about it.”

With that tidbit out of the way, he continued on with following the road, passing by a large red building, with a playground next to it. He took a long few seconds to record it, before heading off again, eventually coming to a small cobblestone bridge that allowed passage over a small river. He remembered passing over it last night, but was forced to keep focused on the mission. As he gripped the side and peered, he marveled at the clear, spring like water, also flowing naturally and not in a controlled environment. So calm, and peaceful, yet ever shifting.

After standing there, staring at the reflection of his warframe for a few minutes, Ex pushed away from the side of the bridge and continued on his way to the town. He eventually came upon, and zoomed in on, the town, which for now, was crawling with guards, whom were in the midst of checking all the homes, buildings, and business for any of the remaining changelings. “Currently, these guards are the local defense, and are rooting out any of the enemy from last night, classified as Changelings. They are indigenous to the planet as far as I know. Most of them were killed last night, but stragglers remain.” He really didn’t want to speak, but if ever more Tenno from other clans were to come, or need to take his place for whatever reason, this information would help them.

He climbed atop a roof, and ducked into an alleyway, swiftly using back roads and alleyways until he came into sight of the castle once again.Except now, there were guards all over the place. A sinister thought came into the Tenno’s mind, and if Ex had a thought, he’d be grinning mischievously. He decided to test how how good these guards were at spotting him…

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Twilight was double checking every book in her library….Ok, more like quadruple checking. Spike was yawning in a corner. It was well into the noon of the day, and after briefing guards, stressing NOT to attack Ex or try to arrest him, and making sure her friends were all okay again, she decided to revisit the room that seemed to have started it all. No matter how many times she looked over the place, Ex had left not a SPECK of dust, anywhere to be seen. The books were just...Perfectly organized and handled. It was just, truly astonishing! Course, she had to move the cleaning products back into the closet they came from, and had to get rid of the makeshift incense, but it was trivial at best.

As she was near finishing the check, the door was burst open, Shining striding inside. “Twily? The castle might’ve been infiltrated.” Twilight frowned at that, and turned to her brother.

“How so, Shiny?” He beckoned her to follow, and as she left, Spike followed suit, stuffing his claws in his cargo pants while Shining began to explain the situation. “We found one of the windows open, and more than several guards reported what they thought was a shadow moving around the outside of the castle.” He explained, bringing them into the hallway with the open window. Spike had went through his mental map of the place, and as they got to the window, he deadpanned.

“Oh you have got to be bucking kidding me.” Twilight spun on him in an instant. “SPIKE! Language!” He recoiled only slightly. “Sorry Twi, but if my hunch is correct, I already know who it is.”

His brother and sister both stared at him with the same deadpan expressions he wore a few moments ago. Spike rolled his eyes and pointed to the window. “I’m Twi’s assistant. I’ve got the whole castle memorized in my head, and THIS particular window, was opened by someone yesterday. Here’s a hint: He saved us after he wiped the floors with Shining.” That got a blink from Twilight, and a recoil from Shining.

They all perked up however, at the sound of soft clapping. The echo of the hallway however, made it extremely hard to pin down. When the clapping ended, a soft thud sounded from near the window, causing all three to turn back to it, and see Ex standing there, yet all of them blinking.

Shining outright glared at the Tenno, while Twilight studied him anew with awe. Spike was grinning all cocky like. He was right this time~ Ex looked to the small Dragon, and after a few moments of staring, turned, and clapped once more, nodding his head ever so slightly. That just got Spike to grin even more. “Man, you are just making my days here! Nice to finally meet you, I’m Spike.”

The Tenno bowed his head, and then let out a sigh. “Call me Ex. Guess I have to use my voice more often while I’m here.” Spike and Shining stared, for a few moments, before Twilight started circling the Tenno, before stopping in front of him, staring at him in curiosity. “Ex, did you change your armor color somehow? And what’s with the weird things on your hips?”

Ex was silent for a few seconds, and those tidbits had put Shining on his guard….before the Tenno sighed, slumping a bit. It was a few more seconds before he straightened up and shrugged. “Yes, I changed my colors, for several reasons. Also, the items on my sides are different weapons from what I had last night. The hope is that I won’t need to use them as the Guardian Tenno.” He explained, crossing his arms. Twilight blinked, then crossed her arms. “How’d you met my brother last night?” She asked suspiciously of the Tenno. Ex titled his head, before chuckling.

“Well, he and his four guards-whom I was severely curious about and why they looked like they were made of crystal- decided to TRY and arrest a Tenno. I proceeded to exploit the openings in their stances and reaction times without using any of MY weapons. I did, however, take a spear from one of the guards, and use it against the rest, before using the twin axes of a female guard. Hen I blinded you all, and jumped out the window I came in from, hence, how Spike figured out I broke in…..Again.” IT was a long winded explanation, but it had the effect. Shining facepalmed alongside Twilight, while Spike was chuckling happily.

“S-still think he’s a c-changeling, Twi?” He asked through his chuckling fit. Twi removed her hand from her face and glared at her assistant, before looking to Ex. “Sorry about that Ex. After last night-” Ex cut her off with a raise of his hand and a slight bow of his head. “Do not worry, Twilight. I understand….Now that I am here, I was wondering if you might help me. Most of the populace is scared from last night, no doubt. Having another being be seen on the streets, one they never heard of and know nothing about, would cause quite a panic.” The Tenno crossed his arms as he finished explaining his predicament.

Twilight looked to her two brothers, then back to Ex, smiling gently. “Well, some of the populace seems to know you as a good guy already. Sure, they don’t know your name, but the Crusaders spread word about how you saved them and Sweetie Belle. And Rainbow is bound to brag and spread word about how amazing you were during the fighting. But you DO still need to be fully introduced, to stop any panic from spreading,” She went on, resting her chin on her balled up hand. “I guess we can do an announcement. But wrangling up the whole town right now would give any changelings a chance to get away. It’s a predicament for now, for sure.”

Shining frowned heavily and nodded. “Yes, she’s right. While we have spells to find hidden Changelings, and an abundant amount of troops in the area, A changeling could very well easily dress up as an officer, or a group of them as a squad and say they were reassigned to a post to relieve the sentries, even draft up documents and fake orders almost perfectly. Then when he real orders will have come through, they’ll all have gone through the way that they themselves made.”

Ex listened carefully as the situation, and the problems along with it, were explained in full. He ended up rubbing the chin of his warframe in thought. He looked out the window….Then snapped his fingers, and clenching his free hand. “I think I have a way to counter them doing that….”

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It had been an hour, and the meeting near town hall was already starting. Most of the guards were stationed in the square, making sure no hidden Changelings were planning something amongst the crowd. It seemed skeleton crews were manning the makeshift checkpoints at all of the town exits.

It was at the Western exit, that was suddenly, being reinforced. A six pony squad, the same size as the guards currently on duty, approached at a steady pace. “Where is the commanding officer? We were told to relieve this post.” Asked an Earth Pony Mare leading the new squad. The commander stepped forward, sliding his sword into his sheathe. “Those orders come with papers,” he paused a moment to read her rank, “Lieutenant?” The Lieutenant nodded, digging into her satchel, and handing the commanding officer a scroll. He looked it over, then nodded, turning to his squad.

“Alright boys! We’re heading back for some rest and reassignment. Let’s move!” In under a minute, the switch was complete. However, as soon as the relieved squad was out of sight, the leader stopped the squad, and turned, pointing to the only pegasus of the squad, and the smallest of the two unicorns. Both nodded, and the pegasus jumped over to the unicorn, and grabbed them under their arms, spreading their wings after a spell was cast, and taking to the skies, up to a reasonably high height, where the unicorn cast another spell, and both landed safely on a cloud, before hunkering down. The unicorn pulled out a pair of binoculars, and handed them to the flier, who immediately took them up, and began to spy on the ‘replacement squad.’

“Cmon, you bastards, take the bait….” The pegasus said under his breath. His companion smirked, and even chuckled at his companion, pulling out an orange colored firework. “Oh don’t worry,” He began, putting on a tough leather glove, and holding the firework at the right angle, “they’ll take it alright. I’m just surprised this worked. I heard that strange creature came up with it.”

The pegasus grunted, keeping still as her squadmate talked. “Yeah, he did. What the hell was he called again, anyways? Ex, or some shit? Talk about friggin’ edgy.” Her companion had to let out a laugh mixed with a snort, trying to keep it quiet. “Edgy! Heh, you’re learning kid. Yeah, that’s what the advance force thought too, but if you saw what he and his pals did to these bastards, you gotta give credit where it’s due. They sure-” The pegasus cut her companion off with the raise of her wing.

She had begun to see movement. More ‘guards’ approaching the checkpoint. She started to count, using the dexterity of her wings to raise one feather slightly higher than the other….Then a second….And soon a third, followed by a fourth shortly after. Her companion blanched. “Fourty!? Are you bucking kidding me!?” His companion kept watching as she responded, “No, but I counted thirty-four, so I’m going to round it up for safety. Better to have more forces and not need them..”

The Unicorn grumbled as he fished for a different firework to go along with the orange one, pulling out a blue one after putting on another tough glove, and holding both in position. “...Than to need them and not have it. Jeez, you won’t be a rookie long, kid. Taking the fun out of being just a few ranks higher than you.”

The Pegasus smirked as she continued the conversation, waiting. “Isn’t that a good thing then? Means I got a good sense for this last time I heard~” The Unicorn rolled his eyes, then blinked as he felt her wing pound against his back. He grinned mischievously as his horn flared up, and the orange firework fuse was lit. The fuse was longer than any normal firework, giving it the few more precious seconds they needed. The unicorn counted to two, then used his magic to light the blue one’s fuse. Just before the fuse went up into the orange one, he loosened his grip, and stuck his face into the cloud, his winged companion following suit. A second later, the orange firework was off, followed almost exactly two seconds later by the blue one.

Both guards brought their heads up with a grin. “Off and away~” Said the unicorn with a whistle. He looked to his companion, seeing her offering him a casual fist bump. He responded with a lazy eye roll, then bumped it back. It only took them a few seconds to get ready, before they were off to regroup with their squad.

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The gathering was actually nearing its end. Ex had been introduced to the public, and though many had questions, it was Twilight who answered them, saving Ex some trouble. There were a lot of questions about his race. Twilight dismissed all of those as something that has yet to be disclosed for safety reasons and to keep the general public from, for now, knowing that, yes, aliens DO exist.

As the meeting was beginning to close up, two loud BANGs sounded from the western sky. Ex spun, and would have smiled like a devil if he could have. Shining walked over and sighed, shaking his head. “That’s in the direction of the western checkpoint. So they were probably planning to use false orders to get on the train, and get away from us through semi-legit channels. Either that, or they were planning to get to the hospital and use the patients as hostages. The squads we had in position will be there soon,” he whispered to the Tenno. Ex nodded, before turning to the crowd, and bowing once.

And then, he spun, and launched himself up the balcony of the town hall, running across the roof, before leaping towards another building, charting a course westward.

“Hey! Where the hay is he going!?” Twilight looked back to the crowd, a little flustered. After taking a moment to recompose herself, she gave a grand smile, straightening out the papers used for her speech. “Well, everypony,” she began, looking up to the crowd with a grand smile, “I would imagine he’s gone to do the very job he came here to do in the first place. Be a Guardian.”

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Ex was indeed off to do his job. What Shining had said struck a chord with the Tenno. Thinking back to some of his recorded battles, some Grineer hoped to survive confrontations with Tenno extermination squads by using hostages. As he near the tracks and the hospital, he saw the a large group of the real guards, all surrounding the group of fake guards, and keeping at a distance. Some of the fake guards knew it was over. Some were down, with more than a few arrows in them, from having tried to escape or cause a distraction. His plan was working, so far. But one can never been too careful. Several guards waved as he dashed by.

Skidding to a halt, he gently pushed the wooden twin doors open, striding to the front desk. Upon seeing him, it being the same mare as last night, she looked past, and around him for a few seconds, then sighed and smiled at him. “Well, if it isn’t last night’s hero. No damsels in distress this time?”

Ex calmly rested his palms on the counter, and sighed, making the mare sitting there blink. “No, not this time. I need you to tell me what kind of security you have, numbers, and how you keep in contact with them all. Patients may be at risk.” He said cooly. As the mare blanched, and then took time to compose herself, Ex got a better look at her.

A vibrant, light red coat covered her body, disappearing under the the pink shirt and pants she wore. He noted the green cross on the bottom of her wrists as she moved folders and forms about her well kept station. Looking to her face, the most immediate feature he was drawn to were her dark amber eyes, before taking note of her darker shade of red hair, or, mane as he heard it be referred to, broken by a streak of green that bore the same color as the mark on her wrist.

As she looked back up at him, she gave him another once over, opening a few of the folders. “...Nice colors, by the way. Anyhow, we have our nurses, who are permitted to throw anyone out given proper reason. If said ponies or otherwise won’t leave, then the orderlies are called in to aid the nurses, and if things get violent, the security team will be called in. We have an even staffing of eighty in total, with twenty-two doctors, thirteen nurses, fifteen orderlies, and fifteen security guards. The last are six secretaries, four I.T. personnel aaaaand five technicians for medical equipment.” She stated as she read off from the binders. “Currently we have seventeen patients, and nine logged visitors, each of whom should have an i.d. tag clipped to their shirts or apparel.”

Ex waited until she was fully finished, then nodded once, rubbing his chin. “Do you also log which visitors go to visit which patients?” He asked curiously. The mare nodded, and showed him the visitors log. “We do, we have them state who they come to see, and have them wait while we look up the patients, and then log the room the visitors are heading to.” She grabbed a small box with an antenna on it, turning a switch and speaking into it. Ex recognized as a primitive, (at least to him), radio as she started speaking into it.

“This is nurse Feel Good at Station 1. All orderlies and security personnel, we have a possible threat to the patients reported. Security is to check the following rooms: Eighty-Two A, Ninety-Three A, One-Seventeen S A, Thirteen B, Twenty-Five B, Thirty-Two C, Forty-Six C, Fifty-Three C, and Sixty-Seven C. Orderlies are to help sweep all halls and rooms, have all staff checked for proper credentials.” A series of affirmations were broadcasted from the radio speaker shortly after. Looking up at Ex, Feel Good smirked and lowered her eyelids while raising her right brow. “I take it you wanna go have a look yourself, huh, Deus?”

The Tenno tilted his head, and looked about the room for a second. No one there but them. Looking back to her, he shrugged. “Deus?” The nurse chuckled at pointed up to the t.v. on the wall. “I saw the announcement. And considering your name, and last night? Well, it sounds less edgy than Ex, and you were that little girl’s Deus Ex Machina, so~” She explained with a small smirk. Ex would have blinked if he could have. Instead, he let out a simple chuckle. “Funny. Maybe, if I live up to it. So far, I’ve been doing what I can, that’s all….Speaking of that girl from last night, do you-”

Feel Good cut him off with a wave of her hand. “Eighty-Three A. Down the south hall, follow the numbers till ya get to the room.” Ex shook his head, then beckoned her. “You might as well come with me, miss. The guards won’t know me unless they saw the news as is.” Feel Good blinked a few times, before chuckling and standing, grabbing her radio and clipping it to her belt. “You think WAY too much. You make most anime heroes look like morons.”

Ex stopped before he even moved, looking at her with his ‘blank’ stare. “....What in the name of the Lotus is an…’Anime’?” Feel Good stared at him, and then shook her head, leading the way. “Never mind, let’s uh, get moving.” Ex just shrugged and followed closely.

The few guards and orderlies they did encounter, didn’t mind the duo making their way. The way Ex figured, they either also saw the news, or they trusted this particular Nurse enough not to ask. As they approached the room, a guard came out, smiling softly. As he came out though, Ex immediately noticed something wrong. Of all the denizens he’s seen, not a single one, had eerily glowing green eyes.

Ex stopped the guard as he tried to walk by. The guard didn’t even notice, and tried to walk away from Ex’s iron grasp. Feel Good stared with a confused expression. She poked her head in the doorway, and poked Ex in the chest awkwardly. The Tenno let the obviously mind controlled guard go, and moved into the doorway without hesitation.

In the room, with her back to them, looked like Rarity, whom he met last night. But he knew something to throw that decent disguise through the mud. The ‘mare’ turned around, and feigned surprise. “Oh! Hello there! You saved the girls last night did you n-” Ex interrupted her with a hand raised up. And his free left hand bringing up the pistol from his hip, and aiming it right at her.

She blinked a few times, before sighing loudly. Her horn suddenly lit up in a brilliant green light, blinding Ex for a few moments. As soon as her horn lit up however, he snapped off a shot, the crack adding to the blinding. As his sensors re-calibrated, he noticed three things. The hospital bed ‘she’ sat next to was overturned. ‘She’ was holding the little girl he saved last night in an arm lock hold with a knife to her neck. And his shot had connected with ‘her’ midsection.

The changeling winced from the pain, baring their teeth. “How!?” They roared, still using the borrowed form’s voice. Ex steadied the pistol with both hands, even as they moved the child’s head slightly in front of theirs. “Easy,” He stated while shifting the pistol slightly, “The real Rarity was backstage of the announcement, thanking me again and again for saving her sister last night. So now you have a choice. Get that wound checked out, or find out how much I loathe hostage situations.”

The ‘mare’ growled and pressed the tip of the wicked blade against Sweetie Belle’s neck, drawing a hint of blood. “Why in the name of my Queen, would I give up with a Hostage in my-!” Ex was already bored of the monologuing. A sharp Crack cut the Changeling off. A second bullet ripped through the air, tearing through the exposed bit of the Changeling’s head, poking out from behind the filly. As both fell over to gravity, orderlies and guards piled in behind the Tenno, who was already placing the smoking gun back on his hip. As he turns, a flash of green creeps over the overturned bed.

The staff all make way for him as he passes, staring in shock. Feel Good walks up to him, keeping in step with a slightly impressed, yet cautious look on her face. “No fancy one liner’s? You definitely live up to that nickname, Deus….So what the hell was that you used back there?” Ex grunted and laid a hand on one of his twin pistols. “That, was a gun. A piece of tech that I’m not sure this world is ready for.”

Feel Good rolled her eyes, her suspiciousness draining from her face as they walked, guards who heard the sound rushing past, led by an orderly. Some nodded to Ex in respect. Ex just kept walking. “Ok, that line kinda aligns you with comic book characters….But still, there can never be too many heroes.”

Ex chuckled as they reached the Nurse Station, turning to the mare. “No, there certainly can never be too many, but you are forgetting that there is always some form of balance. Where there are heroes, there are villains to counter them.” Feel Good crossed her arms and shook her head. “Great. He’s got philosophies too. So what comic book did you pop out from, again?”

Ex shook his head. While he didn’t know what an ‘anime’ was, he knew about comic books. Some Tenno drew created them, and posted them on their network, allowing some semblance of artism that wasn’t in battle spread amongst a race of age-old warriors. “None that you could have ever read. Keep an eye out for more. Now that the guard is here, I’m leaving it to them. I’ve a feeling I’m going to need to check in with Miss Twilight soon.”

Feel Good rolled her eyes and shoo’d him with her hands. “Fine fine, ya crazy ninja hero. I’ll see you around, maybe?” She asked as she sat back down at her station. Ex shrugged and made his way to the doors. “If I let you,” he teased, before opening the doors, and vanishing from the mare’s sight. Feel Good shook her head and closed the folders on her desk, and setting her radio back in it’s cradle. “Yup. Definitely a Deus Ex Machina. Wonder what big bad is gonna chase him?”
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Ex was dancing across the roofs of Ponyville once more. He thought about the Nurse’s nickname for him. A Deus Ex Machina. If anything, he figured, the Tenno were probably always considered that. If all the Tenno currently out there, went up against either the full might of the Corpus or Grineer armies right now, they’d more than likely win that fight. The Infested were another story. It would most likely be extreme casualties if they attempted that fight.

While lost in thought, he lept over a street, gliding through the air, and landing in a roll, coming up in a kneeling position, before sitting down with a sigh, and looking to the sky. So far, the threats he faced in the two days here, were mostly trivial. Forces were scattered, and the leader was captured. But it was what he said, that made him ponder. He was already considered a hero. And like he said, there are always villains to counter those heroes. If the Grineer stumbled across this planet, the Tenno would be their only defense, hands down….

He was brought from his pandering, by the sound of someone landing next to him. He looked over, half expecting to see Glide, but instead, got Rainbow, wearing jeans and a sweater without a hoodie. “Yo, Ex. What’s up?” Ex looked to the streets below, and motioned to them. Rainbow tiled her head as she walked over, and sat next to him. “What, not talking now?” He looked to her and shrugged. She at least knew he preferred silence from last night. With a grin, she offered him a hand. Ex took it gently, and began to write.

W-O-R-R-I-E-D. Rainbow raised her brow at him. “What? You? Why?” Ex considered before he answered, H-E-R-O-S-Y-N-D-R-O-M-E-K-I-N-D-A. Rainbow blinked, then chuckled. “You’re worried being a hero around here will get to your head?” Ex shook his head at her before adding, E-N-E-M-I-E-S. The flier nodded, smirking slightly. “So you’re worried about the bad guys. To be honest, I kinda had Hero Syndrome a while back. My friends showed me the wrong of that, though. All of them dressed up like a comic book hero and averted disasters before I did. After I found out it was them, I learned the lesson they were trying to teach me. It’s ok to be a hero. But it’s bad to get caught up in the glory.”

Ex listened kindly. Not interrupting her explanation. It helped him re-affirm his belief that, this world, while it had it’s own version of the evils he and his fellow Tenno faced, it was still innocent in nearly every sense of the word. And from what he read last night, there was so much more he needed to see. The other races he needed to make contact with, and investigate. All in due time, of course, but still.

Ex patted her hand, before standing, letting the limb go. “You and your friends are an interesting bunch, to be sure. Speaking of, do you know where Miss Twilight is?” Rainbow cracked a smile and jerked her thumb towards further in town. “Yeah, she was with Pinkie, heading to Sugarcube Corner for a bite to eat. Ya know, the gingerbread house you slashed up those bastards in last night?” Ex ‘frowned’ and nodded, turning towards the direction of said location. Hard to forget a place like that looked like a confection. “Right. You coming?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and got up herself, before spreading her wings, and flapping them several times to get off the ground. “Nah, I’m gonna go nap. You tell ‘em I said hey, kay?” Without letting him respond, she was off. Ex stood there a few minutes, before shaking his head. If only she saw him with his Itzal. With a stretch, he rolled his shoulders, and started hopping from roof to roof, making his way over the town, many following him with their eyes when they saw him, and children pointing out the new, ‘Resident Ninja.’

As Ex landed on the roof of the shop, he found that it actually wasn’t made from gingerbread, to his relief. He would have had WAY too many questions for the owners. Sliding down the roof, he dropped to the side of the building before making his way around the front. As he opened the door, he saw something just in his vision that suddenly made him leap back. A cannon went off, and as he jumped back, he watched as a...cupcake, went flying past his face.

And right into the path of the second cannon, which fired a pink blur that wrapped its arms around his neck, and used the momentum to make him swing around a few times, before falling on his back, with a Pinkie on top of him, giving him a hug. He honestly didn’t know how to feel about this.Pinkie was wearing a multi-colored striped shirt and sweatpants, and an apron….And was hugging Ex so tightly that his shields were decreasing at a total of five per second, which was stunning. “Erm...Miss Pinkie, if you keep hugging me like that, you might actually damage my warframe’s internal components.” He claimed as he went about trying to push her off.

Pinkie looked up at him with her crystal blue eyes, before pouting and sitting up on him, keeping him pinned. “Aw c’mon Exie! I thought you were made of sterner stuff!” Ex sat up somewhat, watching the meter on his shields replenish. “So did I. Now, if you please, I would like to get up?” Pinkie giggled and got off, before giving the Tenno a hand up. He decided to humor the situation, and dust off his legs. Twilight watched from the doorway, brow raised. “Well, it’s not a Pinkie Surprise Party, but hey, that’s a welcome if I ever saw one.”

Ex nodded to the both of them and motioned to the building he was just assaulted from. “Shall we step inside?” He asked. He was mildly concerned with why the ponies all around them weren’t really reacting to this. Pinkie bounced her way inside, while Twilight held the door open, smiling at Ex. “So, how was your run?” Ex chuckled as he made his way inside, following her to a table and sitting across from her. “Well, if it helps, I added another changeling to the count from last night.”

Twilight stopped smiling at that and lowered her lids at him, her brow raised again. “Did you kill a runner or something?” Ex shook his head. “I visited the hospital. Seems I have a habit of saving that girl, Sweetie Belle.” Twilight’s other brow shot up, along with her eyelids as her pupils dilated. “What! What the hay happened, Ex?” Ex shrugged, looking over his shoulder to watch Pinkie work the counter, serving several customers. “Changeling disguised as Rarity in her room. I showed him that hostage situations don’t work against a Tenno’s aim.” Twilight winced at that and sighed, shaking her head as she massaged her temples.

“Suddenly, I’m glad Rarity was adamant about thanking you today, otherwise she might’ve been taken hostage as well, and things would really go south.” Ex nodded as he looked back to her. “Yes, indeed. What I find strange, is how well the populace is taking this.” Twilight chuckled, not opening her eyes. “We usually get a dire situation every two to three weeks. But, thankfully, me and the girls can handle them.” She opened her eyes, looking up at him. “Here’s to hoping we won’t need to lean on the crutch you gave us.”

Ex shrugged, crossing his arms, putting a smug tone in his otherwise quiet voice. “Hey, I don’t mind the exercise.” Twilight was about to say something, when a shake was put in front of her by Pinkie. Before Pinkie could put a cupcake down, Ex gently stopped her hand. “That, isn’t necessary, Miss Pinkie. While I appreciate the gesture, it’d be for not. We Tenno do not eat or drink.” Both girls stared at Ex with wide eyes (and low-hung jaws in Pinkie’s case) at the admission. Twilight teleported a quill and pad to her side, and wrote that tid bit down. Pinkie got teary eyed, however. “B-but, if you can’t eat, then how can you know the joys of a cupcake?”

Ex shrugged. “I won’t delve into it, but...We Tenno, don’t eat or sleep, because we were made, not born. We are warriors of steel and flesh, but do not need to partake in biological functions. We sleep to pass time, when in truth, we don’t even need it.” Twilight wa sin a frenzy with her quill, and Pinkie, saddened by this, took the cupcake back behind the counter. When Pinkie was out of sight, Twilight pointed the tip of the quill at Ex. “So the Tenno are really sentient constructs created by someone to be their warriors?” Ex nodded, before standing. “Yes….Like I said, I do not wish to delve into it. If you’ll exc-” Spike opened the door to the store and bolted inside, right to Twilight and Ex. “Twilight! Oh, hey Ex, good that you’re with Twilight. Saves us trouble.” He said with a grin, before handing Twilight a scroll. “Letter from Celestia.”

Twilight snatched up the scroll, unfurling it and reading it over. Ex was unsure if he should sit back down or not. Twilight, for her part, tensed up a bit. “Well, that was fast.” She said, tossing the scroll to her assistant. “Ex, Princess Celestia wants you in Canterlot by tonight. There’s gonna be a meeting tomorrow with the leaders of all neighboring nations, and those from overseas. Seems that when she sent word about you to them, they all came running. Said for me to stay here though, to help Shining finish the search.” She explained, fishing through her bags. “I’ll give you bits to pay for a train ticket.”

Ex wished he could have grinned at her. This actually helped him a bit. “No need, Miss Twilight. I’ve got a ride.” Twilight stopped rummaging and looked up at him as he held out his hand, a screen soon floating above it. Before should could try to read the backwards words, he was pressing and swiping along it, before making it vanish. “Where do I go?” He asked. Twilight had so many questions, but knew better, crossing her arms. “The city on the Mountain. You’re taking that ship that’s above Aj’s barn, aren’t you?”

Ex chuckled as he made his way for the door. “See if you can’t let her know before I get there.” He challenged, before leaving out the front door, and leaping atop the roof as his Liset stopped overhead, reorienting itself so the nose was pointing to the sky. With a powerful jump, he made it to the docking station, and rotated in.

Twilight had gotten up and out to watch, an expression of a wow-factor on her face, as she watched. Before she could speak, Spike had blown fire on a hastily written letter to the Princess of the Sun with a grin. “He may be fast!,” Spike called out over the thrusters of the ship propelling if forth toward Canterlot, “But not even he can beat the speed of Dragon Fire.”

A sword, NOT in the stone...

by Dunking monkey

Prologue: Offense, is the best Defense [Edited]

A sword that refuses to be sheathed....[Edited]

With blade in hand....