> Sentinels of Equestria
>  by Lightning Spear
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Mission Like No Other (Edited by: The rainbow explosion)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sentinel HQ, U.S.A
1200 hours
January 8th, 2062





A year has passed since the events of New Baghdad. With Johnathan Irons dead, and Manticore destroyed; Atlas was slowly but surely loosing (losing) its ground. Joker defected from the corporation as well, spilling every inch of intel he could get his hands on from Atlas before making a Chuck Norris style getaway to the Sentinel Task Force.

After New Baghdad, Jack Mitchell got promoted to captain while Gideon was promoted to Major; replacing Cormack who received the rank of Lieutenant Colonel after his death; honored with a Purple Heart and various awards of courage and honor. Mitchell was also given a new high-tech prosthetic arm from the task force; thanks to the techies who managed to create a blueprint based on Mitchell's old prosthetic arm with modifications to avoid the flaws of his old one. So basically, he could cut his arm again and get a new one straight away.

It was a regular day at the Sentinel HQ main hangar bay. After three days of R&R, Jack Mitchell, Gideon, Joker, and Ilona were testing a multitude of gadgets, weapons, and equipment before loading them into their transports; consisting of two War-birds and two heavily modified Razorback VTOLs with their basic amenities. They are about to go on a presumably months-long covert op; their mission is to search and destroy the remaining Atlas infrastructure throughout Europe.

"Damn, look at all of this stuff" Joker smirked while loading his Atlas 45, cocking it. "That's a lot of shit for us, we never carried this much gear before" he glanced at the stacks of various weapons, ammo, and gadgets in front of him "Kingpin even asked us to carry some spare exos and their spare-parts, just in case"

"Yeah it’s a bit unusual travelling with this much personnel. Minus us, we have 24 extra guns on our side" Mitchell said while testing a fly drone "But hey I am not complaining" he put the drone down and picked up a sniper drone or the WASP; quickly disassembling and reassembling it.

"Still falling in love with toys?" Gideon smirked while checking his Specialist type exo suit; making sure all of its features are working properly and stuffing more ammunition to his vest's pockets.

Mitchell chuckled as he tested the drone's control system, weapon system, and cloaking system. When all seems to be working properly, he put the drone down, and grabbed his IMR assault rifle with a target enhancer attached to it.

"Ammo's not going to be a problem" Gideon said while picking up his own IMR. "Besides this thing printing ammo each 30 seconds; we are going with a shit-ton of weapons, ammo, and supplies. Plus, some techies managed to install solar panels on our VTOLs and equipment; so fuel and exo batteries are not going to be a problem as long as the sun shines. And they also managed to fit the Razorbacks with cloaking devices like our War-birds, tuned down the engine noise, and with 50,000 25 mm depleted uranium rounds for their rotary cannons and twelve shots of anti-tank missiles..." he paused with a smile of satisfaction “don't worry mate, this going to be a walk in a park".

"Bad ass, fuckin' bad ass" Joker chuckled

"What do you think about them?" Ilona spoke up, while glancing at the three other VTOLs with Sentinel operatives doing final checks of their exos, weapons, and equipment.

"These guys have been the best of Navy SEAL, MSOR, and Green Beret operatives for most part of their careers. If I am right, we have a former NSA deep-cover agent with us; his name's Ramirez I think." he glanced once again at the operatives; more specifically to an operative who was cleaning his MK14 assault rifle "back during our times with the KVA they are the ones who managed to destroy most of their forces effectively compared to other forces." Mitchell continued. "Well, except for Atlas"

"And they know how to use their tech, bad-asses to be short. Overall we have a good back-up when shit goes down" Joker added "Oh, Kingpin also mentioned that all team leaders acts as Captain to avoid shitty chain of command issues." he paused "And the pilots are also former SOARs"

"Oh really?" Mitchell asked with a sarcastic tone "I thought I was the only Captain here" he smirked, getting chuckles from the others.
"Sounds like we have a helluva team on our disposal" Ilona commented.

With that, they sorted their gear and hauled them into their Razorback.

"We good to go?" Mitchell asked the pilot of their Razorback, Sergeant John Reeves, call-sign Viper 6-2.

"Yes sir, we are good to go" the pilot said while looking outside of the cockpit's window; getting thumbs up from the rest of the pilots.

"Kingpin this is Viper 6-2, requesting permission for take off" he spoke through his radio, seconds later the radio crackled to life.

"Permission granted Viper 6-2; good luck team" Kingpin's voice echoed through the radio, with that said the pilot started the engine with the other three VTOLs following suit; signaling their granted permissions as well. And in a matter of seconds, the four VTOLs punched their throttles to maximum speed; not aware of their impending fates.

12 hours later
0000 hours
Somewhere over Europe
Operation Subtle Dagger
Mitchell's P.O.V

Jack Mitchell was shooting his way through the Korean's People Army with his best friend Will Irons, all went exactly as what happened before. Even the scene where Will's arm got clamped on the closing hatch of the explosive-rigged Havoc Launcher went with every inch of detail, Mitchell could see the desperation on the face of his best friend as he attempted to save him; and he knew exactly how it ended.

"It's okay. I will see you on the other side"

Will Irons' final words echoed in Mitchell's abstract dream; jerking him out of his sleep and startling Gideon and the others.

"Oye, you okay mate?" Gideon asked with concern in his voice "You have been sleeping like this lately"

Rubbing his eyes, he nodded "Yeah, I am fine. Just had a dream, that's all"

"You may wanna buckle up" the pilot said "We've got a shit-ton of storm-clouds in front of us"

"Can we find an alternate route?" Ilona spoke up.

"No, ma'am; if we do we will be torn apart by Atlas air defense systems, this is our safest route" the pilot replied.

"I hope you are right pilot" Gideon said while fastening his seat-belt.
Mitchell fastened his seat-belt; bracing himself for a bumpy ride. Suddenly, the vehicle started to shake violently and soon; all was black.

Princess Luna was running her night court as usual, with piles of paperwork and documents stacked in front of her. She actually has no problems on reading and signing them all day; but if only they were not filled with more and more complaints she would keep on reading without throwing every piece of paper to the trash bin.

"Lulu? Is everything okay?" An all too familiar motherly voice echoed from the door; revealing her sister, Princess Celestia with a gentle smile on her face.

Luna sighed and walked over to a balcony "I just don't understand, ever since Tirek was defeated and Twilight became a princess; everypony should be basking on happiness, not giving more and more complaints!"

Celestia smiled and walked towards her sister, draping a wing on her "Sister, it is true; since those events our subjects have been truly happy, but things like these; will keep on existing forever. To show us that even with our royal status, life is not perfect"

"Thank you sister" she smiled while giving her sister a hug; which she returned, after a moment they let go of each other "Mind if I ask you what are you doing at this hour?"

"I can't sleep any longer sister, it's nearly dawn anyways" Celestia replied with a smile "So, I guess I could help my little sister with the last hours of her night court" she smirked.

Luna was about to say something until her eyes caught four strange creatures flying at the distance "Sister, do you see those...creatures?" she said while pointing her right hoof at the creatures.

"Yes, I see them Lulu" Celestia's face changed into a stoic but curious type of expression.

"Should we bring them down? You know, just in case..." Luna trailed off, however; Celestia nodded and concentrated her magic at the creatures, followed suit by Luna who swiftly but gently grabbed the creatures from the sky and placing them gently on the castle gardens with little resistance.

"Quickly, get Shining Armor and round up a platoon of guards" Luna nodded but before she could teleport away; she heard her sister spoke up again "But try not to cause too much panic this time, we don't know what these creatures are;but we can't assume they have ill intents for us."

"I will sister" with that, she teleported away to the castle wing which housed the guest chambers where Shining Armor, Princess Cadence, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and her friends are sleeping, unaware of the arrival.

15 minutes earlier...

"Oye, quit your dozing" Gideon said as he slapped Mitchell on his face; waking him up in an instant.

"The hell just happened?!" he asked.

"After that nasty turbulence , you, Ilona, and Joker fell unconscious and the VTOLs' system started to fail; but thanks to the emergency reboot system, we are saved...for now at least" Gideon replied. "But after the mishaps, we can't make any contact to Kingpin or any satellites orbiting the planet; but don't worry the rest of the VTOLs and our team are still in one piece."

"Good to hear, but where are we now?"

"Well, that's the problem" Viper 6-2 replied. "After the events, it's as if we entered another world or something like that; why? the star constellations don't look like anywhere on Earth, and we were flying across a remote jungle with no civilizations for miles; but now if you look to your right..." he said while opening the doors of the Razorback for a moment; long enough for the four to peek outside, before closing them again "We are flying over a mountain with a city and a large castle; indicating civilization." he concluded.

"Bullshit" Joker commented, but before any of them could respond; the four VTOLs got encased in a combination of blue and golden energy field, pulling them down swiftly but gently; all efforts to escape were pointless, so they relented but instead of crashing they were placed gently on a beautiful garden on the castle. As soon as they touched the ground, the energy field disappeared.

"Everybody report in!" Gideon barked through his comms.

"Aegis team reporting; we are in one piece and ready to go sir"

"Hunter team checking in; same here we are 100% and ready for action, sir"

"Phantom team standing by; a bit dazed but that won't stop us. Waiting your orders, sir"

Gideon sighed with relief before continuing "Good, now I am going to recon this place; to make sure everything's safe. Stay with our VTOLs and form a defensive perimeter, communicate through private comms only, is that clear?"

He received affirmative responses from his team "Gideon out."

Then he turned to his team mates "attach suppressors to your IMRs, we are rolling out" who immediately complied.

"What do you think we are dealing with here boss? First contact situation?" Joker asked.

"No idea" Gideon replied. "But we’re not waiting to find out" with that, the signature sentinel faceplate slide down their faces.

"Sir, you are NOT going to believe this!" The leader of Aegis team, Captain Matthew Mcknight, spoke to Gideon "we've got unicorns with huge ass spears surrounding us!"

Wasting no time, the pilot opened the Razorback's door; revealing a platoon of unicorns with levitated spears in their magic grip; brandished at them.

"Fuck me..."
> Introductions and Diplomacy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining Armor's P.O.V

Shining Armor was fast asleep with his wife; Princess Cadance by his side. Leading an empire with his wife, much less being the Captain of the Royal Guards was and still is a no easy feat to perform; surely a week of vacation with Cadance, his sister, and her friends could lessen the stress significantly. All seemed to be peaceful, until knocks were heard on their door; waking them up.

"Who could that be?" Cadance asked with a sleepy tone; rubbing her eyes.

"I don't know dear" the ivory-coated stallion replied "But it must be important" with that, he pecked her lips and answered the door.

When he opened the door, the cold night air rushed to his body; waking him up from his drowsy state. But what truly woke him up was the figure standing before him, no other than the Princess of the Night herself.

"Ah, Princess Luna; what a pleasant surprise. Is there anything I could help you with?" he asked politely. As she heard her beloved auntie's name being spoken; Cadance jumped out of the bed and rushed to her husband's side.

"Hello auntie, can we help you?" she asked with a cheery tone.

Luna smiled,"Forgive me for waking you two from your sleep, but we have a serious issue on our hoofs"

Cadance's eyes widened and Shining Armor's muscles tensed up as adrenaline rushed through his veins; knowing very well what he was about to get himself into. Having been trained as a Royal Guard, much less becoming its very captain has honed his reflexes and awareness more than an average stallion .

"What do you need me to do princess?" he asked with a serious tone and expression.

"I need you to form a platoon of guards and meet me at the throne room" she replied before teleporting away. 

Within minutes, a platoon of guards consisting of unicorns were formed with Shining Armor leading them. Princess Cadance, accompanied by Princess Twilight and her friends; who were also awoken when they heard the chatters outside, were also with him. Wasting no time, they teleported to the throne room. 





Back in the throne room, Princesses Luna and Celestia were observing the four unknown entities; sitting idly on the lush Canterlot Gardens. The creatures' bodies gleamed under the light of Luna's moon and stars; giving them an ethereal glow underneath the night sky. Despite the multitude of questions and wonders lingering on the princesses' minds, the fear of the unknown quickly swept those thoughts aside.

"Sister, what are we going to do if they are dangerous?" Princess Luna asked; still not taking her eyes away from them.

"Then we shall take action immediately" her sister replied with her usual poker-face, yet her voice was astoundingly stern.

Before any of them could talk, a bright flash appeared behind them; signaling the appearance of Shining Armor, his platoon, and his companions. 

Shining Armor and his platoon snapped the celestial sisters a firm salute; ready to heed their call.

"Everypony" Celestia began "Just now, four unknown entities flew over Canterlot. Me and Princess Luna brought them down into the garden as a precaution; but again, we don't know what they are, or if they are dangerous or not." she said towards the group.

"We need to know about these creatures, and if they are hostile, you are only permitted to take them down; not out. With some luck, maybe we can communicate with them." Princess Luna added.

"Guards, form a defensive line in front of the princesses and the civilians; protect them with your lives!" Shining Armor barked. With that, the guards formed two layers of defensive position with a combination of spears and magic as their firepower; the princesses and the rest of the civilians stayed behind the barrier of guards, but ready to use their respective skills if necessary.

As the group proceeded to the gardens, they could see strange bipedal creatures holding elongated metal sticks on their claws; exiting the beings mentioned earlier. Then, they proceeded to knelt on one knee (at least from their point of view) and formed some sort of perimeter with their sticks pointed at them. 

With a twirl from Shining's hoof, the guards moved in and surrounded the creatures on all sides with spears levitated in their magic grip; the same tactic they used to drive away or in some cases incapacitate Ursa Minors or worse, Ursa Majors. However, he noticed some things about these odd creatures; they seemed to be highly organized as he judged from how they formed the perimeter, clothed, and they tilted their heads towards one another as if they were communicating with each other, though no voice was heard .These three facts alone marked their high amount of intelligent and dexterity; noticing this, Shining Armor's horn glowed with magic and he spoke in a manner similar to Princess Luna's Royal Canterlot voice.

"If you come with peace, you will not be harmed!" he boomed.





Sentinels P.O.V

"If you come with peace, you will not be harmed!" The ivory-coated stallion's voice boomed across the gardens. 

"Boss" Joker said with a dumbfounded tone through his private com-link "That unicorn just spoke in English! and they can do fuckin' telekinesis!" he said as his nerd-gasm started to kick in.

"No shit" Gideon replied with an equally dumbfounded tone.

"What's the play sir?" The former deep-cover NSA operative, Ramirez spoke through his comms "Warm-friendly entities, or shadowy-mysterious enigmas? Advise we go the warm-friendly entities, we don't want to freak them out just yet or worse; bloodshed." During his time with the NSA, Ramirez had been trained intensively in every physical and psychological aspects to peak condition. And when it comes to playing and manipulating people's emotions and minds, he is very good at it. Much like a counterpart of Ilona, but way warmer and friendlier.

Silence took over the Sentinels as Gideon weighed his options; being mysterious faceless entities was more than intimidating, and quite frankly, he likes it. But nevertheless, Ramirez got a point; it is in their basic protocol to form friendly relations with civilians if possible, especially during covert-ops in case they run into them. 

"Fuck it" Gideon mused to himself before speaking through the comms again "All teams, lower your weapons but keep your fingers on your bloody triggers" he paused "We don't know what we might have gotten ourselves into" 

"Mitchell, Ramirez, Joker...on me" he said while holstering his IMR "we are going to speak to these horses"

"Ponies, sir" Ramirez replied "too small to be horses"

"Don't worry, we got your backs" Captain Rick Summers, Captain of Hunter team spoke up. This received acknowledgements from Captain Mcknight and Captain John Menendez; Captain of Phantom team, receiving thumbs up from the four. With that; they walked towards the inhabitants of the new world.





Seeing four of those creatures approaching, Princesses Celestia and Luna beckoned for a few guards to move aside as they proceeded towards the creatures. They were ready to unleash their magics if necessary but also tried to avoid conflict if possible, whether these things were friendly or hostile; violence was not their way of solving problems, especially since they don't know what they were capable of. But they shared Shining Armor's point of view and based on how they acted so far; they are not stupid and are to be reckoned with.

As four of the creatures closed in on them; the ponies could see their features more clearly. Each of them were covered in strange black fabric-like  matter on their bodies but are way more advanced than a typical fabric, which leads to their assumption that it was clothing of some sort and on their right shoulders was a black patch with a golden writing that reads "Sentinel Task Force" on top of a golden helmet; similar to those used by the guards albeit seemed to be built for the creatures' heads decorated with golden wings on each side topped with golden lightning bolts near each wings.



Another thing that caught their attention was these creatures have metallic-mechanical bars attached to their bodies and appendages (which Twilight assumed was some kind of exoskeleton) . Also, their sticks looked a lot more advanced than a regular stick and seemed to be made of metal as well; but what really shocked the ponies were their faces. These creatures had no facial features; due to the fact that their heads are covered with a black-metal helmet with numerous eye-holes on it, or at least that's what the ponies assumed.

For the guards, being intimidated was an understatement. But nevertheless kept pointing their spears at the newcomers who kept walking towards two of their leaders.

The creatures themselves also noticed the two approaching ponies; which they identified as alicorns. They were strikingly taller than other ponies in the area, even taller than two alicorns behind the  barrier of guards. About the same height as the creatures. One alicorn had a white coat, and the other one had a dark blue coat and shorter in height than the alabaster one. Their ethereal manes swayed majestically in the air, aside from no wind or any gush of air in the gardens; the white one possessed a multicolored mane, similar to that of a rainbow's while the other one possessed a mane that resembled the night-sky itself. And finally, they noticed that both alicorns got a mark on their flanks; each depicting the crescent moon and the sun respectively.

When they got five meters from each other, the leading one held up a fist and the newcomers stopped. So did the two alicorns.

They stared at each other for a moment; eyeing each other curiously. After a moment, the alabaster alicorn cleared her throat.

"Hello? can you understand me?" the white alicorn asked with a motherly but firm tone while inching closer to the leader of the group; keeping a neutral face.

With that said, the creatures' glanced at one another and their face-plates retracted into their helmets; showing their great advances in technology and startling the ponies a bit. But instead of seeing a grotesque alien faces, they saw faces possessing two eyes, two ears, a nose, and a mouth; but most importantly, made of flesh and blood just like that of a pony's. Three of the creatures had a fair skin, while the other one had a tan skin.

The leader cleared its throat before speaking; "Yes, I can understand you perfectly; ma'am" it spoke in a masculine voice; with a thick accent similar to ponies from Trottingham, indicating 'it' is a 'he'. The ponies, even the guards, gasped in pure astonishment; hearing the creature just spoke in their own language.

"I am not trying to be rude; but would you mind telling us what you are? we have never seen anything like you before" she continued; still keeping her poker-face.

"I am a human male; same goes for my team, although we have one human female with us too" he said while glancing at his companions behind him "and if I remember my childhood tales correctly, you are an alicorn, and these other ponies...are unicorns"

The white alicorn nodded in acknowledgement "That's correct" she paused "Let me introduce myself, I am Princess Celestia co-ruler of Equestria" then, Celestia glanced at the deep blue alicorn on her side "This is my sister, Princess Luna; also co-ruler of Equestria" Luna gave him a nod of acknowledgement; which he returned.

"Do the four of you have names? it is better for me to call you that way" Celestia asked.

"Yes we do Your Majesties,let us introduce ourselves. My name is Major Gideon, of the Sentinel Task Force" he replied "before you ask; yes, I am a soldier but I assure you; me and my team meant no harm to you or your subjects" Gideon paused, letting his words to sink into their minds.Both princesses stared deeply at him before looking at each other; then nodded. Perhaps they were trying to tell whether he was lying or not. Then, the other three introduced themselves as well.

"Captain Jack Mitchell" One of the fair skinned man said.

"Sergeant Ramirez" The tan-skinned one stated.

"Lieutenant Joker" The other fair one stated as well, as he said his name Joker could hear snickers from the crowd. 'Damn it I know my name sounds weird!' but before any of them could respond, Shining Armor intervened.

"So you are military?!" Shining Armor asked with a hint of shock in his voice; but before he could do something stupid, Princess Luna raised her hoof ; silencing him.

"I appreciate your concern Captain, but please let them continue" The Moon Princess spoke sternly;causing him to flinch a bit.

"Guards, stand down" she ordered, as soon as she said this; the guards pointed their spears to the sky; still eyeing the humans warily. 

"Forgive me for the hostility Major, but the Sentinel Task Force?"Princess Luna asked.

"Of course Princess, we are a tier-one multinational special forces unit formed and led by a country called the United States of America, our purpose is basically to fight our world's evil and tyranny" Gideon told them the truth but in a more poetic way. He can't tell them the entire story; not yet. Once again, the princesses stared deeply into his eyes. Their sharp gaze piercing his soul.

"So you are peacekeepers?" She asked again; this time with curiosity in her voice.

"Indeed, princess" Gideon responded politely.

"What business brings you here, Major?" Princess Celestia asked.

"Before I start, I apologize for the inconvenience Your Majesties, it was something that happened beyond our expectations..." Gideon began "Me and my team were travelling on a mission, and we were forced to go straight into a bunch of storm-clouds because if we so much stray from our route we will be torn apart by our enemy's aerial defense systems." He paused "But instead of passing through them, we somehow got transported here" 

The Princeses glanced at one another; contemplating the story"I see, do you have any means to return to your world?" 

Gideon sighed, before responding "I...we...don't know Princess, we don't even know what exactly caused us to end up here. Even if we use our VTOLs and try to find another bunch of storm-clouds there are no guarantees we will return to our world." He paused while glancing at the VTOLs."until we can piece the puzzles together,I guess we are stuck here".

"Very well" Celestia responded "until further notice, I shall grant all of you temporary residence in the gardens while we discuss this matter; our guards will fetch you some basic amenities. However, you will be under supervision." she stated.

"We understand Princess, but no offense Your Majesties; since we weren't travelling to a civilized area of our world, we came prepared with our own supplies so you don't have to be so troubled for us" Gideon added. "However, on the behalf of my team we greatly appreciate it" he smiled. 

"It is of the Equestrian way to be kind and tolerant, Major. Please see to it that you behave favorably during your stay" She replied while returning the smile with her own.

"You have our words, Your Majesties" he said while snapping her a firm salute, the rest followed swiftly.

"Do you have any questions?" Celestia asked.

Joker raised his hand.

"Yes Lieutenant?" Celestia asked.

"How can you do telekinesis actually?" he asked with a deep curiosity in his voice.

"That is simple, magic" The alabaster alicorn replied with a smile "Why? is your kind incapable of doing so?" 

Joker shook his head "No Princess, nobody outside of children in our kind believed in magic. Most magic we saw in our world were card tricks and such things. Or merely a work of fiction." he replied.

"Well, that's strange considering you know what telekinesis is" The Solar Monarch replied.

"That, I knew from an old movie called Star Wars; but Thank you Princess" he replied politely. 

The next one was Ramirez

"Yes Sergeant?" Princess Luna responded.

"Where are we exactly Your Majesties? I know you said 'Equestria' before, but you have not mentioned about our current location yet" 

"We are at Canterlot, the capital city of Equestria" she replied. 

With that, they made a few moments of discussions about their stay in the gardens and settling things up for the moment. After that had been done, the Princesses left the area along with the civilians, while the guards were stationed in the vicinity of the gardens in case the humans need anything and for security; a recomendation by Captain Shining Armor (whom Joker was a bit pissed of with). In addition, their presence were kept secret from the public for the time being, or at least until the Princesses were sure and learned more from them. 

"That went smoother than expected" Joker said as he and his comrades were setting up their tents.

" 'Smooth' would be an understatement" Ilona commented "These ponies seemed to be very accepting; even after knowing we are military, but why?" she spoke quietly so that the guards can't hear them properly.

"I don't know" Gideon replied "But maybe they can see our intentions or some bollocks like that; when the Princesses stared at me, it was as if they could see through my fuckin' soul" he said while checking every part of their tents; to make sure it was properly deployed.

"Goddamn Gideon, just an eye contact and you fell for her already?" Joker smirked, only to receive a hard jab on his shoulder. 

"And you seemed to be 'obsessed' with your new boyfriend" Gideon replied with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

Joker glared at Gideon for a moment before responding "The dude fuckin' pissed me off; what's his name again? Shining Armor?" He said the last part with the slowest volume of his voice; to avoid any conflicts from happening, especially with the ivory-coated stallion watching them.

Mitchell who had been silent for the most part of the conversation, finally chuckled before speaking up "I know, but can we really blame him?" He paused "We are strangers in a strange land; but the Princesses treat us with great hospitality, even after knowing we are military."

"Captain MitchelI's got a point" Sergeant Ramirez said while walking towards the four "I mean if alien soldiers suddenly appeared at the White House, and are armed to the damn teeth, I doubt POTUS would let them stay in his backyard" receiving responses of acknowledgement from the rest of the team.

"Easy Ramirez" Mitchell chuckled "you can call us by our names outside of missions"

"Sure thing Capt- er, Mitchell" he smiled sheepishly.

"I suggest we get ourselves some shut-eye" Gideon spoke through his comms "God knows what we will be dealing with soon" 

With that, the Sentinels walked into their respective tents and called the day off. As far as things went now, the Sentinels are guests of the Equestrian court under their hospitality, and like it or not they have to be as diplomatic as possible. Surely, they don't want to start a new war here.





Canterlot, Equestria
0600 hours

It was a peaceful morning for the Sentinels, an atmosphere they rarely get back from home. After a five-hour sleep, the Sentinels were up and were maintaining their weapons, supply, and equipment with the guards watching at the distance. Deep down in their minds, the Sentinels were wondering why the Princesses and the guards let them to retain their weapons and equipment. Maybe because they don't know what they really are, or as Gideon said earlier can sense their intentions; but nevertheless, they were glad they still have their weapons with them.

"So, Gideon" Captain Menendez said, getting Gideon's attention "about what you said last night; do you think we can go back to Earth?"

Gideon shrugged while assembling his IMR after cleaning the inner parts of the munitions producing assault rifle. "Hell if I know mate, that was pure speculation" he paused "Have you ever seen anything like that before? that was not like any regular storm-clouds I've seen back home" 

The Captain also shrugged in response, and went on with cleaning his own IMR. As the soldiers proceeded with their own business, the pilots made system checks on the VTOLs; after seeing their fuel was still abundant and their systems are good. the pilots gave thumbs up to each other before making their way to their comrades. As they sat down, suddenly their HUD feeds sparked to life.
> Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh shit!" Joker exclaimed while scrolling through his HUD over system error reports and authentication checks "We are IN! we are connected to the global Sentinel network! how the fuck?!" 

"Don't know, don't care" Gideon responded while typing authorization codes for the network on his exo wrist pad "There, I dropped full authorization to all of our comms, tablets, and computers; now whatever the fuck you need to do, get it done fast!" 

As soon as he said this; most Sentinels frantically tried to establish links to the network while some Sentinels and the pilots rushed to the VTOLs; activating the computers within, in hopes for better and faster connection. While the sentinels retrieved their laptops and tablets before distributing them to their comrades and doing the same. 

Seeing the sudden eruption of activities, Shining Armor trotted towards them with a couple of guards by his side.

"What is going on here!?" He asked.

"I will explain later Captain" Gideon replied "but right now, this is maybe our only chance of getting back or at least getting what it takes to survive here" 

Shining Armor nodded, and stepped back to give them some space



the laptops...

"I am sending mission reports and our current status, we are declared MIA for now that's all I can tell" Mitchell said while typing frantically on his newly acquired translucent laptop.

"I am downloading as many latest information and developments as possible from the servers as we speak" Ilona added. She quickly surfed through the files and downloaded as many debriefings and records as possible since their disappearance into her 5 terabyte capacity laptop before copying it to her spare hard-drive for back-up.

"I am downloading weapons schematics; medieval. Just in case if we ran out of ammo" Ramirez stated "Aegis, Hunter, and Phantom are doing the same to speed up the process" 

"I am uh, downloading recipes for vegetarian food...seeing these ponies, I assume they don't eat meat of any kind" he said sheepishly, the others ignored him as they were to busy with their own businesses. But he received nods of aproval from the guards.

"And...se- ah damn it! I can't send the report through!" Mitchell exclaimed "The signal's not strong enough for two-way communication! keep getting timed out from all servers!"he said as he tried to resend the report; but after a few times of fumbling with his laptop and connecting it to his Razorback's communication relay for signal boost, he finally got the report sent. But as soon as the report was sent; their connections with the network ceased. Any further attempts to reconnect to the Sentinel network were useless; resulting in only in statics.

"Damn that was close..." Mitchell said while wiping a few beads of sweat forming on his forehead "I got the message through; but it seems the entire network's swarmed with something else. I've never seen so much activity; not since Manticore" he paused "How's everyone else doing?" 

Hearing the word 'Manticore' the guards' ears perked up, but they knew it was best not to ask at their current situation. Not yet.

"I have the schematics with me; same goes with Aegis, Hunter, and Phantom" Ramirez replied "With these, at least we have some additional human techs on our side. But even with our weapons schematics on the central computers of our VTOLs, I don't think we will be making  any guns or bullets anytime soon. The precision tuning and the materials required to make one,are the two things we don't have" he paused "But considering the buttload of guns and ammo we have right now, running out of 'em is not something we should be worried about; for now at least."

"Ilona?" Gideon glanced over to the former Spetsnaz sniper who was putting away her hard-drive, giving him a thumb up.

"I have all of the latest data and intel after our disappearance" she paused "Now we just have to look through them"

"I, uh, got those recipes" he said sheepishly; earning glares of confusion from the others "What? I mean, this is going to be one hell of a ride. Might as well enjoy it right? even if we can't return to Earth; with our VTOLs, buttload of weapons, supplies, and ammo plus the schematics we have acquired; coupled with the killer scenery here, this is going to be fan-fuckin'-tastic!" he said with joy while dramatically pointing his hand on the gardens"And as long as the sun shines, we will have no problem over recharging our exo batteries and the VTOLs" Joker shrugged with a smug smile on his face.

"Well, that 'we can't go back to Earth' thing is fucking real and I think I know why the network's activities have been spiking up" Ilona commented with a deadpanned tone; but before any of them could ask what she meant, Ilona spoke again "sync to my HUD. I have to show all of you something"

"What the bloody hell's going on?" Gideon asked while syncing his HUD with Ilona's.

"Here, I am sending you my feed" she replied. As soon as she said that, an image of what looks like the EMP cannon installed on the experimental T-740 Hovertank were projected in front of them; much to the guards' astonishment. Except this one was ten times larger and were connected with lots of large cables.

"What you are currently looking at is a prototype of Atlas' latest weapon, dubbed as 'Excalibur' " Ilona began "It was developed by Atlas shortly after they knew the Manticore had been destroyed; built in the most remote part of Switzerland to avoid early detection" she paused "This weapon is capable of discharging highly unstable molecular particles of incredible range, accuracy, and power. So powerful that it disintegrates it's targets to their molecular levels. How this thing does that, is beyond me...but one thing's certain, a single shot of this thing requires an entire power of a city's power-grid. And before you ask, yes. This is what hit us back on Earth" 

"You humans are sure capable of creating such powerful weapons, and what is this Atlas?" Shining Armor stated; earning nods of agreement from the guards.

"We didn't even know that this kind of weapon exist in our world, but like I said before; I will explain later" Gideon replied

"Jesus Christ..." Joker sighed with deep frustration in his voice "but if it really disintegrates it's targets to their molecular levels how the hell are we still alive? And how the hell do we end up here?" 

Ilona sighed "According to the reports, the fucking cannon malfunctioned during it's first testing which included us as target practice" she paused "maybe that 'malfunction' is the cause"

"Whoa hold on, how can we know about this should be top-secret weapon so fast? We are only gone for eight hours for God's sake!" Ramirez said out loud.

"Well, have you checked the time on this report?" Mitchell asked "tell me, what date is it today?"

"January 9th 2062" Ramirez said "but in this report the date is..." He trailled off, eyes widened in disbelief.

"January 17th 2062" Mitchell replied with a deadpanned tone.

"Wait, fuckin' 17th of January?!" Joker exclaimed "guys, I think we are having a time dilation issue on our hands!"

"Since when you became an expert on this thing?" Mitchell asked sarcastically.

"Hey I read you know!" He retorted.

"Can the chatter you two!" Gideon cut them off "now what happened to that cannon?"

"In this report, due to the malfunction; the cannon's innards blew up, so it won't be operational anytime soon. Who gave us the intel? Atlas defectors. I think they are going to launch an all out attack on that thing soon" Mitchell stated while scrolling through his laptop "as for us, we are declared MIA just as I said before" 

"Joker, what did you say? Time dilation?" Gideon asked.

"Yeah, what about it?" He inquired nonchalantly.

"Fuckin' hell..." Gideon sighed "then that means,a few hours here equals to days or even weeks back in our world" 

"Whoa hold on..." Ramirez held his hand up, signaling them to wait for him to untie his brain "so, you are saying, um...the whole damn war could be totally done with,even if we manage to get back?" He asked, receiving a nod from Gideon.

"I don't think we will ever get back" Joker commented "that weapon requires an entire juice from a city's power grid to use, right?" he said "I mean where the hell are we going to find that here? Not to mention the sensitive materials and minds required" getting acknowledgements from the others.

"So, what do we do now?" Captain Mcknight asked "We are stuck, no way home, not even sure if we wanted to go home anymore."

"Live" Gideon said "Live our lives as best as we could. As far as things go now, we are strangers in a strange land. I don't want to get involved  in any uneeded fights, especially with our gears" he said; getting nods of agreement from his team and the guards, "live our lives here in peace; as much as I'd like to rejoin our boys back home and fight against Atlas, we are simply not in the same plane of existence anymore. But no matter what, we will always be Sentinels"

The team stood at attention and snapped him a firm salute; exclaiming 'oorah!', 'hooah!', and 'hooyah!'s respectively. Even the guards and Shining Armor himself had found a new respect for the human soldiers; seeing none of them were truly intending of harming him and the rest of the ponies, their distrust have eroded greatly. After the Sentinels cleared the whole 'never going back' issues they chatted with the guards to shift their moods into a better state. Even Joker and Shining Armor began to warm up to each other.

"An impressive speech Major" Shining said while walking to Gideon's side.

"Thank you Captain; but personally I am not very fond of speeches" Gideon replied with a neutral tone "When can I see Princess Celestia? I need to relay this news to her personally."

"Princess Celestia is having her daily court as we speak but--" Shining was cut off when he heard the all too familiar screeching of food cart wheels approaching them"I guess we can talk over breakfast; you know, to kill some time" 

"Fair enough, why not? You look like you could use some coffee yourself. And please; call us by our names  no need for bloody formalities" Gideon replied with a smile; earning a chuckle and a nod from the ivory-coated stallion "gather round gents, time to pack our gullets"

With that, the Sentinels gathered with the guards and sat on the grass as a quartet of pony chefs bringing in four carts filled with plates and foods. The mouth-watering scent of pancakes, hash browns, and various other non-carnivorous meals accompanied with pots of freshly brewed coffee, fresh air, and the stunning view of the Canterlot Gardens really made a perfect atmosphere for breakfast. The Sentinels put their laptops and weapons aside as the chefs unloaded their carts; both the guards and the Sentinels stared at the delicacy before them hungrily.

"Before we all eat together, I'd like to say something" Shining Armor rose from the ground; getting the attention from ponies and Sentinels alike "on the behalf of the Royal Guards, I apologize for the hostility last night" he said while lowering his head a bit "but as fellow soldiers, I am sure you understand the steps  we took to prevent harm from befalling our leaders and citizens" 

The Sentinels smiled and Gideon rose from the ground and placed a hand on Shining's soldier " We completely understand for what you did, it was necessary" he stated firmly, but in a friendly manner "We would've done the same if it was the other way around" 

Shining smiled and offered his right hoof "No hard feelings?" 

"No hard feelings" Gideon replied with a smile and shook Shining's hoof proudly; resulting on both parties to applause. Unaware that the Princesses and their friends were watching at the distance. 

With no further delay, both sides started to feast on the delicacy provided ravenously.

"HOLY SHIT! this is fuckin' tasty!" Joker exclaimed while munching happily on a plate of hash browns and pancakes; stuffing his face irresponsibly, not minding his table manners. Well, technically there were no tables on their current picnic site.

"Beats the hell out of any MRE" Mitchell stated, also munching on pancakes and hash browns; earning nods of agreement from his team.

"What's an MRE?" a random unicorn guard asked.

"Meal, Ready-to-Eat" Ramirez replied, running to his Warbird and returned seconds later with a dull brown bag that says 'Meal, Ready-to-Eat' on it's surface and showing it to the ponies.

"ookay..." the guard stated "what is it actually?"

"Well..." he said while opening the bag "we have jerked beef, crackers, bread, energy bar, and various powdered beverages. The most tasteless food you will ever eaten, but at least it's filling. Wanna try one?" he said while offering the bag to the ponies.

"Sure" the guard and Shining Armor replied in unison; while levitating some crackers in front of them before eating them up "yeah, pretty tasteless but not bad" the rest chuckled at this.

"So, you guys are omnivores?" Shining Armor asked after sipping his coffee dry; receiving nods from the Sentinels.

"You seemed to be calm, remembering all of you are vegetarians" Ilona commented.

"True, er--I am sorry ma'am but I never catch your name" Shining Armor said politely; while extending his right hoof.

"Ilona" She replied with an almost invisible smile on her face, and shook his hoof.

Shining smiled"Okay, so for your information we are not the only sapient beings here; we also have dragons, griffons, and minotaurs which are carnivorous" Shining began "At some occasions, Griffon and Minotaur diplomats stay in the castle; so the Princesses usually stock up on meat for them" he stated.

"First ponies, now dragons, griffons, and minotaurs?" Joker said sarcastically "man, we really are in fantasy land aren't we?" 

"Yeah, I know this must be strange to all of you; being here and all" Shining replied "We, don't know much about your kind's existence either; except from that one unicorn mare in our nearby town of Ponyville who somehow knew about your kind" 

The Sentinels glanced at one another with confusion audible on their faces. Seeing this, he quickly changed the topic.

"Anyways, what are those metallic sticks you are wielding all the time? Are they crossbows of some sort?" Shining asked again; this time, more guards seemed to be anxious for their answers.

"Kinda" Joker replied while holding his IMR in front of the ponies; who were looking on it with awe and confusion. They have never seen anything like it, since their weapons tech were hundreds of years behind what the Sentinels had. "It shoots out these" he said after opening the chambering mechanism and pulling out one 7.62 mm caseless round.

"And what are those mechanical metallic bars attached to your bodies and appendages? Are they part of your bodies?" Another guard asked while pointing at Gideon's exo-suit.

Gideon chuckled briefly "No, this is called an exo-suit" he said while standing up so the ponies could get a better view of his suit "it's not a part of our bodies, but when worn, these suits basically merge with our bodies. Enhancing our strength, speed, durability, pretty damn much everything; boosting our effectiveness and efficiency on the battlefield. We have developed two types of exos; the assault and specialist variant." He paused "Each exos have primary and secondary ability. Assault is equipped with boost jump, as well sonics for crowd control; basically it gives you versatility during assault missions. The Specialist exo like the one I am wearing right now, has a built in shield" he said while activating his riot shield; astonishing the ponies "in addition to Overdrive capability; which slows down things in our visions so we can shoot them more easily. So, in my opinion this type of suit is best used during covert ops or rescue operations"  the ponies were stunned when they heard this, never before they knew a piece of technology capable of doing so "And before you ask, even without our suits we are still perfectly capable to fight." 

Shining Armor and the guards nodded in acknowledgement; satisfied by his answer.

"Actually, I still have a lot of questions in my mind; especially in your war with this 'Atlas' and this 'Manticore' " he paused "but I think it would be best for you to answer our remaining questions during your audience with the Princesses" Shining Armor said "but could you maybe demonstrate your weapons and equipment later?" He asked

"I guess we could arrange that" Mitchell chuckled "But, I think it's best when the Princesses or perhaps your generals and military advisers are here with us" he paused "we don't want to cause panic of any kind, remembering how loud our weapons can get" 

But before any of them could respond, an light gray-coated pegasus guard landed in front of them and snapped a quick salute for the guards and the Sentinels; which they returned "Forgive me for interrupting, but the Princesses demands a private audience with Major Gideon, Captain Jack Mitchell, Lieutenant Joker, and Sergeant Ramirez" 

"Oh, this is gonna be good!" Joker said cheerfully.
> The Audience
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The four quickly jogged to their VTOLs and detached their exo-suits, weapons, and other combat gears. They did this because they knew they were still building their trust with the Princesses and the inhabitants of the castle. Surely walking around with weapons to the damn teeth won't win any favors.

After storing their gears neatly on the storage boxes, the four Sentinel operatives were finally clad on their MultiCam uniform, and quite frankly they loved the feeling outside of their combat outfit despite already being used to them.

"Aw man that feels good!" Joker said while stretching his body. Getting acknowledgements from the others.

"Come on, lets not keep the Princesses waiting" Gideon said while stepping out of the Razorback and back into the gardens with the others following suit. 

"Ready to go?" Shining Armor asked while trotting up to Gideon's side "You four look different by the way" he said while eyeing them curiously.

Gideon smiled "Yeah I don't see any reason why we need our weapons here, just give us a second" he said while grabbing four earpieces and four tablets with them and giving them to Mitchell, Joker, and Ramirez respectively.

"What are those?" Shining Armor asked while pointing at the devices.

"These are called tablets and earpieces" Mitchell explained "We use the earpieces to communicate remotely and the tablets to help us explain the answers of your questions later" he said while donning his earpiece.
"So, which way?" 

"This way please" Shining Armor said while walking towards a large gate that led to the castle; followed closely by the four and the pegasus guard.





There was an atmosphere about the castle that just made a person just stop and admire every inch of it. The Sentinels certainly did this a lot on their way to the meeting, resulting in Shining Armor and the guard to occasionally stop, explaining things about the castle to them. Despite the tour provided by both guards, the Sentinels were getting annoyed due to the endless hallways, twists, and turns they were being led on. The stained glass windows and the red carpet were luxurious and good to look at, but eventually they got old if they were the only things to look at. But nevertheless, they kept observing their surroundings and noting every possible escape route in case things get dicey.

After ten minutes of navigating the lavish hallways, they arrived at a heavily-decorated pair of double doors.

"Now this is the most fantastic door I have seen in my life" Joker said out-loud "Is this the throne room or something?" 

"Just wait until you see what's in there" Shining replied with a smirk "so, shall we?" 

"Yeah lets" Gideon replied after making sure there were no grimes or mishaps on their outfits. As much as he disliked formal meetings; especially with the higher-ups , he still held his manners and self-esteem high. Besides, first impression was and still is one of the most important aspect.

As the doors opened, they entered a very well-stocked and decorated study room. There were chairs and tables everywhere with piles of books and documents on top of them, which to the Sentinels' surprise were written in English. There were a seemingly endless shelves filled with books of various ages and some even looked they were hundreds of years old. It was a large open room with windows and a balcony at the end. Before it, at a long table with eight chairs,sat Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and two other unidentified alicorns. One had a pink coat and the other one was lavender, each had a mark resembling a crystal heart and a burst of pink and purple light on their flanks respectively.

Shining Armor cleared his throat to get their attention "Your Majesties, the four Sentinels have arrived" 

"Thank you Captain, you are dismissed...but feel free to join us if you'd like." Princess Celestia replied politely. With that, Shining Armor and the pegasus guard saluted and went back to the door, but instead of walking out, they stayed inside and kept watch.

When the guards retreated, Gideon stepped forward and saluted "Your Majesties, I believe you wished to speak with us..."

"We do, please sit.We have a lot to discuss" Princess Celestia replied. The four complied and took a seat next to each other directly in front of the Princesses. As they took their seats, they could feel eyes of curiosity roaming on their bodies; especially from the lavender alicorn.

"I have to say, all of you look different today" Princess Luna stated.

Gideon chuckled "True, Princess. We don't see any necessity to carry our weapons around here" he said "My team and I are soldiers, peacekeepers. And right now, seeing we are not in danger of any kind and based on how you treated us; even after knowing we are military, we saw it fit that our weapons weren't needed. I hope our relations can remain on the good track during our stay, and quite frankly this is how we really look like." he joked, the Princesses chuckled at this.

"So do we" Princess Celestia replied with a smile "Oh, before we begin, I would like to introduce Princess Cadance and Princess Twilight Sparkle" she said while glancing to the pink and lavender alicorn respectively.

"Hello, Your Majesties" Gideon greeted them politely "It's an honor to meet you both personally"

Cadance smiled "It's an honor to meet you too Major, all of you." she said while looking at the other three Sentinel operatives; smiling back at her "I see you and your team are getting along just fine with the guards. Forgive me for the hostility last night, but when it comes to our safety; Shiny could overreact sometimes..." she trailed off, only to be responded by a chuckle from Ramirez.

"Don't be Princess, your guards and Captain Armor were just doing their jobs and as fellow soldiers we completely understand everything they did so far" he said "It was necessary"

"I am glad you can understand Sergeant" she replied "Now, lets begin shall we? *ahem* Twilight?" 

Twilight snapped from her trance of preparing her writing utensils. Even after becoming the Princess of Friendship, her curiosity remained high as ever. "Oh-oh y-yes, forgive me. Please, continue" she stuttered.

"Feel free to ask Your Majesties; you probably have a lot of question for us" Gideon stated.

The Princesses nodded (Except for Twilight, who nodded frantically) "Yes, but don't you have questions of your own?" Princess Luna asked.

"We do, but it would be better to answer yours first" Gideon replied.

"Very well then. Tell us, where do all of you exactly came from?" Celestia asked.

"Ramirez, show them" Gideon ordered. He quickly searched for a large tactical image of planet Earth on his tablet and projected the image as a floating holographic image above the tablet; much to the Princesses' astonishment.

"We came from a planet called Earth" Ramirez began "With seven continents, and five oceans, splitting some continents apart. One of the continents was called North America" he said while pointing at the continent "With four major countries, and the largest one was called the United States of America, or U.S.A for short. Which were basically fifty united states ruled under a democratic government" he said  "most of us came from the United States of America, in exception for Gideon and Ilona, the human female we spoke about yesterday. Gideon came from a country called  The Great Britain, and Ilona came from a country called Russia" he said while pointing at the countries respectively. The Princesses nodded in acknowledgement, minus Twilight who was scribbling on her parchment paper.

"Plus, we humans, are the only sapient beings on our planet" Joker added.

"Fascinating" Twilight said while scribbling quickly on her paper.

"What are those devices you are using?" Luna asked while pointing at their earpieces and tablets respectively.

"This is called an earpiece and a tablet" Joker replied while taking off his earpiece and giving his tablet;placing  them on the table for the Princesses to see "the earpiece is used for remote communication and the tablet is used for various tasks; such as briefings, data search, and even for controlling our weapons and vehicles." He stated. The Princesses nodded.

"Could you tell us more about the Sentinel Task Force? I am very curious about your peacekeeping military organization." she stated.

"Of course Princess." Mitchell replied while gathering some images that would help in his explanation "In our world, we were formed five years ago, A tier-one U.S. led multinational special forces unit. Codename: Sentinel."He then showed the signature icon of the Sentinel Task Force as a holographic image. "Our mission, was to investigate severe attacks committed by a terrorist organization called the KVA and prevent things like that from ever happening again."

" Could you tell us more about this KVA?" Twilight inquired "And, how severe were their attacks?" a question she was about to regret.

"Of course Princess, The KVA was a leading anti-Western and anti-technology terrorist organization on our world; formed by Chechen separatists under the leadership of this man..." he said while putting up the image of Hades.



"Who is this?" Twilight asked again.

"Joseph Chkheidze, also known as Hades" Mitchell began "He was an anti-Western and anti-technology leader of the KVA. He stated that we have hidden behind the protection of technology, technology is cancer, the world must be reset to it's natural state, and he is the people's savior." He stated "And how severe the attacks were? enough to cripple most of our world and killing thousands of innocent people"

The Princesses gasped in horror after hearing the amount of casualties caused by the attacks. Nightmare Moon, Queen Chrysallis, King Sombra, and even Tirek despite their dark hearts would never commit such atrocity. A murder, let alone a genocide was never heard of in Equestria. Except for the occasional casualties from driving off the beasts from the Everfree Forest and clashes with rogue Dragons and rebellious Griffon troops. But the Sentinels just told them that a single organization turned their world into a state of disarray and chaos; killing thousands of their kind. Judging by their reactions, the Sentinels knew that the Equestrians never experienced the horrors they have been through.

"W-what h-happened after the attacks t-took p-place?" Cadance stuttered, holding tears from flowing down her face.

Mitchell sighed "With the governments crippled, the world turned to the most powerful private military corporation in the world called the Atlas Corporation for help and protection. With their massive industrial power and an endless wealth, they helped us to rebuild our world and providing our needs." He handed them the card Irons gave him years ago, displaying the company's name and its CEO. Celestia levitated the electronic card before passing it to Luna, Cadance, and Twilight; studying the card curiously before returning it to Mitchell.

"How noble..." Celestia stated with amazement "Did Atlas do anything concerning the KVA?"

Gideon nodded "We did Princess. A year ago,  me, Joker, and Mitchell were working for the corporation. We were stationed on a city called Detroit, we fought them 22 days straight, and captured Hades' right-hand man, Dr. Pierre Danois." He said while putting up the image on holo-projection. 

"After Ilona interrogated him, he eventually gave us the whereabouts of Hades. We tracked him down, and...killed him. And with that, the KVA."

"I...see" Luna commented weakly "Did you tried to negotiate?" Gideon shook his head.

"Negotiating with that man much less the KVA would be like digging your own grave." Gideon stated "Neither Hades nor the KVA would ever negotiate. They don't care about peace, they simply wanted to throw our world back to the Stone Age." 

"So we did what had to be done. It was either them, or us." Mitchell stated.

"We understand, but before we go any further I have one question in mind." Celestia said.

"Go ahead Princess." Ramirez replied.

"Do you enjoy killing?" She asked with a thousand yard stare visible in her eyes. The Sentinels immediately shook their heads.

"No" Mitchell replied "If there were any other options beside killing our enemies, we'd surely go for it." He stated "But unfortunately, there were no other options." The Princesses glanced at one another, before nodding.

"Okay, now lets get back to the topic; after the KVA was dealt with, did your world finally achieved peace?" Luna asked.

"Only for a short time, Princess." Mitchell stated "As Hades drew his last breath, he gave me and Ilona a data chip and uttered 'Irons knows' before dying."

"Do you mean Jonathan Irons the CEO of Atlas? w-what does he know?" Twilight inquired.

Gideon sighed "The insane bastard knew the upcoming attacks all along, but instead of intercepting the KVA when they were still preparing; he let them happened and profited from it." 

Celestia cocked an eyebrow at his statement "Are you sure? certainly a human with such noble heart won't do such atrocity." She stated, receiving nods of agreement from the rest of the Princesses.

Gideon glanced at Mitchell who immediately surfed on his tablet for a certain recording. The very same recording that opens everyone's eyes about the truth behind the scene. Moments later, a holographic image of two men showed up in front of them. One was clad in black attire, had a brown hair, and seemed to be on his middle sixties. While the other one was wearing a business suit, bald, had facial hair, and seemed to be on late 30's or early 40's.

"Who are these humans?" Princess Luna asked.

"The man wearing the black attire is Jonathan Irons and the other is a technologist we rescued from the KVA. This is what Hades gave us before his death..." Gideon stated, with that the recording started.

"The KVA are planning an attack...they told me everything!" The technologist stated with a panicked tone.

"What kind of attack?" Irons asked with a concerned tone.

"Power plants, all over the world. They want me to compromise their security systems." The technologist stated.

"Where are they planning on hitting?" Irons asked again.

"Seattle, Paris, Tokyo...thousands will die! We have to tell someone." The techologist replied again.

Irons got up from his seat.

"No! We have to tell everyone! It's okay. It's alright. I am gonna take care of this right now."

Irons drew one of those strange metal stick from his coat, which the Princesses assumed to be some sort of crossbow and shot the technologist in the head with a loud bang; spilling holographic blood and brain matter on the table. Plus, shocking the Princesses to an unholy point in the process.With that, the recording stopped and Mitchell turned it off. After regaining their composure, Princess Celestia spoke up.

"That was horrible" Celestia stated "I thought he was a good and noble man. He helped to rebuild your world and provide for your kind." She paused "But now...I take it back." something that the denizens of Earth learnt very well.

"That was what I thought..." Mitchell said with a somewhat saddened tone, but his words were barely audible.

"What was that Captain?" Princess Luna asked.

"Oh, nothing Princess. Just, thinking out loud." He stated. Luna raised her eyebrows, perhaps sensing a hidden truth. But she shrugged it off, deciding to ask him about the matter in private. Or perhaps when she got more information from his dreams.

"How could your kind kill each other so easily?" Twilight asked.

"Ambitions, religions, politics, resources,power...some just wanted to see the world burn." Gideon replied with a grim tone "Our history was not filled with sunshine and happy dreams. It was never pleasant, but we persevered through all of those hardships, becoming stronger and adaptive in the process." 

"We understand, but lets continue shall we?" Cadance asked.

Gideon nodded "Of course Princess.Long story short, Me, Ilona, Mitchell, and a year later; Joker defected to the Sentinel Task Force with more defectors coming in. By that time, our mission have switched from the KVA to Atlas; due to the corporation's sudden skyrocketing power and influence. And needless to say, becoming the largest and the most powerful standing military force in our world. They took security for ports, shipping lanes, pipe lines. Nation after nation handed their most critical infrastructure to Jonathan Irons. We realized too late, he was surrounding us." he said.

"Okay..." Twilight said while scribbling with her quill "what happened next? Did you struck them immediately?"

Mitchell chuckled"No Princess, it would be too reckless to do an all out war before our investigations were complete. So, not long after me and Ilona defected from Atlas, we heard rumors about a mysterious Atlas operation known only as MANTICORE. After further investigations in turns out that Manticore is a biological weapon of mass destruction designed to target specific genotypes. That means, if your DNA signature isn't on the Atlas database, you are dead." With that, he put up the Manticore's image in holo-projection.



Twilight's quill snapped into two pieces and the royals' mouth went agape. It took a couple of minutes for the Princesses to contemplate the whole story before continuing. For Twilight, she managed to summon another quill, thanks to her personal reserve.

"That's...something" Luna said, an understatement.

"Did the Manticore was ever used?" Celestia asked.

Gideon and Mitchell nodded in unison "Yes Princess, in fact we were there when it was first deployed." 
Gideon said. "During our initial shock and awe campaign, we were assaulting the Atlas headquarters in the city of New Baghdad to bring Irons in; dead or alive." He stated "Things were going just fine until the Manticore was used against us. Within seconds, our entire team was wiped out. Leaving me, Mitchell, and Ilona only to be captured by Atlas moments later." 

"And because you three are former Atlas operatives, you are immune" Twilight stated. Receiving nods from Mitchell and Gideon.

"Exactly. Not long after, we were taken to an Atlas prison camp on the outskirts of New Baghdad. There, we witnessed twisted human experimentations with the Manticore with hundreds of dead bodies being hung on air-tight plastic body-bags for further autopsy." 

"How barbaric..." Celestia stated through gritted teeth "Did Irons ordered this?" 

Mitchell nodded "Yes Princess. Even what's more shocking, Irons had a missile--a long range weapon, packed with even more Manticore gas. Enough to destroy every major military base on our country with even more to destroy every major military base on Earth." He said.

"After escaping from captivity, me , Mitchell, and Ilona were the only ones who could stop the Manticore missile from launching. We know it would be suicide, but we promised our late friend and former Major; Cormack that we will stop the Manticore and Irons no matter what." Gideon said.

"D-did Irons killed your friend?" Luna asked with a saddened tone. Mitchell nodded slowly, "I- we are sorry to hear that. We share your condolences." The rest of the Princesses nodded in agreement, lowering their heads as a sign of sympathy and empathy.

"Thank you Princess Luna." Mitchell and Gideon replied with genuine smiles on their faces

"What happened next? Did you managed to stop the Manticore?" Cadance asked.

"We did Princess. Using a pair of heavily armored battlesuits known as ASTs or Goliaths, me and Mitchell stormed the Atlas headquarters with no reinforcements supporting us due to the Manticore's contamination. After shooting our way through an army of Atlas soldiers, we stopped the missile launch and Mitchell killed Irons" Gideon stated.

"But Irons' death wasn't the end...it was just a beginning." Mitchell said.

"And that's how war started on your world...but it's good to know that the man behind the scenes has been defeated." Celestia stated "speaking of which, have you got any methods to return home?" 

Gideon glanced over to his friends who nodded in return,before turning towards the Princesses "It appears we can't go home anymore Your Majesties..." 

> A Blast In Ponyville 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After explaining everything that transpired back in the gardens and more talks,the Sentinels were once again walking through the lavish hallways of the Canterlot castle with Shining Armor and the pegasus guard; who introduced himself as Sergeant Silent Wing by their sides. 

The Princesses had assured them that the Sentinels would be allowed to stay as long as needed within the Equestrian borders, and were given the closest quarters to the gardens so that they could get to their weapons and equipment faster in case of trouble; although after noticing what their weapons were capable of after witnessing the recording, they made the Sentinels promised that they would never use their weapons unless on emergencies which the Sentinels immediately agreed with;thanks to their basic ROE protocol. Twilight and Cadance also revealed themselves to be Shining Armor's sister and wife respectively; much to the Sentinels' surprise.

They also mentioned they will be briefing the generals and top military advisers, who had been very intrigued by their presence and obviously wanted to know more about them; in a militaristic way. Twilight had taken her excuse to return to a town called Ponyville; due to some issue with a band of minotaur thugs led by a minotaur called Iron Will. Although Shining Armor and Gideon insisted they could go with her in case things get dicey, she turned the offer down; stating she could handle it herself, but Gideon had handed her a tablet so she could contact them in case things went wrong.

Gideon's mind was filled with endless train of thoughts until he felt a tug on his leg. 

"Hey Gideon, are you okay?" Shining Armor asked.

"Y-yeah I am fine, just trying to get things straight in my head that's all." He replied.

"Look, I am sorry this happened to you guys." Shining Armor said, but Gideon dismissed it.

"No worries mate. It feels good to be out from the war..." Gideon replied "from killing..."

"I agree" Silent Wing spoke up with a heavy but sympathetic voice "As peaceful as Equestria seems like, we royal guards also have to deal with wild beasts from the Everfree Forest; not to mention rogue dragons and rebellious Griffon troops." he said. "I lost a lot of my friends while dealing with them."

"We are sorry to hear that Sergeant" Mitchell replied; earning a smile from the light-gray pegasus.

"I am not trying to be rude here" Joker said to Shining Armor "but are you sure your sister should go without any protection? because even in our world's fairy tales, Minotaurs are dangerous."

Shining smiled "I appreciate your concern, but Twily's a diplomatic mare; she could handle herself." he paused "Besides, the royal guards stationed there could handle them in case things went wrong." 

"I hope you are right" Joker replied 'I have a bad feeling about this...'

Shining smiled, and they proceeded down the halls. The walk was quiet and uneventful, save for a few guards who shot them curious glances and castle maids running around; tending the castle grounds. On the way back to the gardens, they passed by two guards flanking a certain blonde alabaster unicorn stallion wearing a tuxedo collar. The guards nodded in acknowledgement but the the blonde unicorn just shrugged them off with arrogance.

"I can't believe my aunts decided to give these hideous mutant apes shelter in our gardens!" the arrogant stallion said with an annoyed tone. The Sentinels ignored the insult and kept on walking, once they were far enough Joker was the one to express his annoyance.

"Wow what a dick!" He said with an annoyed tone.

"Please forgive us for the inconvenience, that was Prince Blueblood" Silent Wing apologized "He is Princesses Celestia and Luna's distant nephew. Calling him spoiled would be an understatement." He said.

"Yeah, I noticed" Joker replied 

"He is just a kid" Mitchell stated "He's got a long life ahead of him, sooner or later he will learn his lesson." he continued with a charismatic tone.

"When the hell did you became so inspirational?" Joker smirked "Your brain's molecules got fried or somethin'?"

"Probably" Mitchell joked, they chuckled and kept on walking towards the gardens.





After ten minutes of walking through the hallways, they finally arrived at the gardens. Nothing seemed to be out of place, the Sentinels were all clad in their MultiCam uniforms with no weapons or combat gears other than their standard issue Atlas 45 and MP443 Garachs on their respective holsters, eating lunch ,and chatting with the guards. Just another peaceful afternoon.

"There you guys are!" Ilona put down her meal and ran towards them with Captains Mcknight, Summers, and Menendez in tow.

"So, how did it go?" Captain Menendez asked.

"Nothing special, gave 'em a little history lesson that's all." Gideon replied as they walked to their encampment with the guards in tow. "We've got a shit-ton of intel to go through, but I'll tell ya after lunch. The audience really did a number on me." he chuckled. 

After lunch, Gideon, Mitchell, Ramirez, and Joker, briefed them about the outcome of their audience with the Princesses; much to their relief that they are not going to get kicked out of the castle, and the probability of being integrated into the Royal Guards. But when Gideon told them the business with Twilight, they done their weapons and exo-suits in seconds; ready to go when needed. 

"You guys" Shining Armor chuckled while walking towards the battle-ready humans "I am sure it's unneces--"

*BEEP* *BEEP* 

Suddenly Twilight's distress beacon went off in the Sentinels' tablets and computers.

"Fuck me!" Gideon said while activating his tablet; with Twilight's panicked face coming up on the screen with royal guards running frantically behind her with spears and swords; probably to combat whatever's causing her to contact them.

"Get the Princesses!"he bellowed. With that, two unicorn guards teleported away and returned with the Princesses moments later with concerned expression on their faces.

"Major! can you hear me?!" Twilight asked with a distressed tone.

"I can read you loud and clear Princess!" he replied "Are you alright?"

"I-I am okay" she replied "But half of our Royal Guard has been defeated and the Minotaurs are--" the transmission was cut off when a blast engulfed the background.

"TWILIGHT NO!" Cadance exclaimed hysterically before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

"Get her to the infirmary!" Shining exclaimed, with that two mare unicorn guards levitated her in their magical grips and took her back to the castle.

"Princess" Gideon said while walking towards Celestia who seemed to be shocked as well.

"We are ready to go on your word..."
> Theseus
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville, Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle. Moments after Twilight's transmission was cut off

Twilight slowly regained her consciousness, with throbbing pain throughout her body. As her eyes opened slowly, she could see the details of the room she was in; the throne room itself....in a complete chaos. One by one, the bearers of the elements were forcefully shoved to their respective seats; Applejack, Fluttershy, and Spike had been knocked out cold and were shoved unceremoniously to their seats before being bound as well. The Royal Guards have either been captured or severely injured by the minotaurs; no match for their uncontrollable rampage. Even for the bearers themselves, despite having Twilight-an alicorn, on their disposal; rarely used her magic for combat and with black powder on the minotaurs' disposal didn't make things any better.

"Let me go you bucker!" Rainbow Dash yelled as she tried to escape a hulking minotaur brute, bounding her to her own seat, and delivering a powerful punch to her face, dissorienting her and causing blood to bled profusely from her nose.

Rainbow spat some blood from her mouth "That all you got you bucking COW?!" She taunted, receiving another punch to the face.

"Don't hurt her!" Twilight yelled on the top of her lungs while squirming fiercely in hopes of escaping the tight  binds of the ropes binding her to her own throne despite the immense pain raking her body, but a powerful jab smashed her ribcage; breaking a few of her ribs. 

"Twilight!" Rarity yelled as her friend screamed in agony "You will pay for this you ruffian!" 

"Be quiet!"  Iron Will gave her a punch to the face before walking towards Twilight with audible thumping as he took each step towards the injured purple alicorn.

"For the last time..." He spoke with a menacing tone "hand over your crown, or..." He raised his greatsword to her neck "I will cut your throat in front of your subjects and take the crown from your cold, dead body."

"For the last time..." Twilight coughed "I will NOT give you my crown!" She yelled "Don't you see? This is an element of harmony! If it falls to the wrong hoofs, it could upset Equestria's balance!" 

"Wrong answer" with that, Iron Will dragged the lavender alicorn by the mane and started dragging her to a balcony with screams echoing from her friends. Down below, the citizens of Ponyville were being rounded up from their homes forcefully by Iron Will's thugs and to the castle's courtyard; many of them were bruised badly, presumably being battered by the minotaurs. They witnessed one of their Princesses dangling helplessly from Iron Will's hand with his greatsword placed on her neck ready to end Twilight's life.

"Citizens of Ponyville!" He boomed whilst scanning the crowd of ponies below; fear and desperation visible in their eyes. "Your Princess refused to give what we wanted." He said while pressing his blade on the surface of Twilight's soft, unprotected, lavender coat; drawing a bit of blood. "Now..." He raised his greatsword high to the sky "bathe in her blood." 

But before Iron Will could even move his arm, a loud bang followed by a trail of orange-bluish energy impacted his greatsword with a blistering speed and power; blowing the greatsword to smithereens and moderately scorching his palm. Iron Will screamed in pain and clutched his injured hand with the other, dropping Twilight in the process. The crowd also gasped in both shock and awe.

"WHO DID THAT?!" He bellowed angrily. As he screamed, buzzing noises could be heard approaching their locations; yet nothing was seen on the afternoon sky, just the noises getting closer and closer accompanied with gushes of wind; kicking up dust and dirt in the area. The angered minotaur kept scanning the area; unaware Twilight had flashed him a sly smile.





On the attic of an abandoned house overlooking the castle, Ilona just took her shot at the minotaur's greatsword. Satisfied by her unflinching accuracy.

"Target hit" Ilona spoke through her comms as she loaded another round into her MORS sniper rifle. "Gideon, you are up."

"Good hit Ilona, if anything goes wrong you are cleared to engage. Gideon, out." with that, he turned to his team while also turning on his comms so Aegis team,could hear him as well; taking a Razorback and a Warbird with them. Phantom and Hunter had agreed to stay in Canterlot in case something happen there, but were also ready to back them up in mere minutes if needed. Shining Armor and Silent Wing had also came with them; fully clad in their battle armor and wielding a sword and a spear respectively.

"Everyone seeing this?" he began as he displayed a holographic layout of the castle using one of his Warbird's computers; with Aegis receiving the same view on their computer. "We are inserting on the main courtyard then we'll push straight to the castle, our VTOLs' going to provide air support if necessary and this shit ends in the throne room." as he explained, holographic markers marked their objectives.

"We are going to play this cool, this is our first appearance to the public. Stay diplomatic but if shit goes down we are permitted to use force against them." Mitchell added while loading his IMR; getting nods of approval from Shining Armor and Silent Wing "There are civilians down there, so watch your fire, I repeat watch your fire!" 

"Any questions?" Mitchell asked, receiving 'no sir's in return.

"Get in your positions!" Gideon barked.

With that, the pilots disengaged their VTOLs' stealth and opened the doors; revealing their true forms hovering above the courtyard, startling both ponies and minotaurs alike as two large flying metallic creatures appeared out of thin air. 

Gideon, Mitchell, Joker, and Ramirez quickly grabbed their zipline launchers and shot their ziplines ; descending rapidly to the ground, Silent Wing glided elegantly, Shining Armor teleported, followed suit by Aegis team using their land-assist to control their landings. As soon as they touched the ground, they knelt on one knee, aiming their assault rifles at the minotaurs; ready to blow their brains out if necessary. 

The minotaurs were greatly intimidated by the new-comers, although they were at least one meter taller than them and way bulkier. Seeing how fast and coordinated these creatures were, the minotaurs assumed that they were dealing with elite soldiers; which of course, were correct. On the other hand, the ponies somehow felt they were saved by the creatures before them; feeling no harmful intentions from them and they were much more relieved upon seeing Silent Wing and Shining Armor with them; confirming the creatures were on their side.

"WHO IN THE BUCK'S NAME ARE YOU??!!" Iron Will bellowed from the balcony. Shattering the silence between them.

"This is Major Gideon of the Sentinel Task Force" Gideon responded boldly "Under the command of Princess Celestia, you are to leave and never return again or we are going to use force against you."

Iron Will and his thugs boomed with laughter "You are joking, right?" he laughed again "Since when Celestia employed hairless mutant apes such as you?" he asked mockingly "and what will the charges be?" 

"For being criminals, harming civilians and royal guards, assault, attempting to steal an Element of Harmony ,but the worst of all..." Shining said while keeping his emotion in check so he won't throw his spear to the minotaur's face. "ATTEMPTING TO KILL A PRINCESS!" He boomed. 

"Go and buck yourselves!" Iron Will mocked.

The Sentinels ignored the insult "Surrender now, and none of us will have to harm each other." Gideon said, without taking his eyes off from his customized HBRa3 hybrid sight.

A minotaur brute walked towards the crowd, dragging a brown unicorn stallion away from the crowd with mares and foals screaming hysterically. He slammed the unicorn the ground and placed his feet on the unicorn's torso while drawing a large mace from his back, ready to crush the stallion's head. The Stallion tried to fight back, only to receive a hard stomp on his ribcage, causing him to scream in pain.

"Gideon!" Silent Wing exclaimed "We have to do something!"

"Wait...wait..."Gideon whispered on his comms.

"THIS IS OUR MESSAGE FOR THE PRINCESSES!" the minotaur roared,swinging his mace down.

"Ilona take the shot!"

In split second, the same trail of energy from before impacted the minotaurs mace; again, shattering it to pieces.

"If you don't want to end up like that mace" Mitchell said coldly "this is your final chance to walk away."

"ATTACK!" Iron Will roared without even thinking about the possibility that his entire gang could be killed in mere seconds if they attack first head. With that, 20 angry minotaurs charged at them with weapons brandished forward. Ready to cleave the Sentinels.

"Use your sonics then shoot their legs!" Gideon ordered before turning to Silent Wing and Shining Armor. "You might want to cover your ears." He warned them. Although not sure what that really meant, they complied nevertheless.

With that; loud,high-pitched, vibrating waves of sonic pulse filled every single ear canal on the courtyard. The rampaging pack of minotaurs were instantly incapacitated; hands holding their heads, due to their coordination and hearing systems being scrambled. After being incapacitated, a barrage of bullets impacted their legs; causing searing pain and preventing further rampage. Seeing how easily the Sentinels were capable of taking down his thugs that were so powerful moments ago, Iron Will bolted back to the throne room; dragging an injured Twilight with him. 

"Aegis, stay here and tend to the civilians. If  these bulls so much move an inch you put a bullet in their brains you got me? same goes for you pilots." Gideon ordered.

"Yes sir!" Aegis team and the pilots replied in unison. With that, they formed a defensive perimeter while also keeping watch for the minotaurs, in case they try something funny. The pilots lowered their aircrafts' altitudes so Aegis can fetch some medical supplies for the civilians.

"Lets go, we are moving to the throne room!" the four aimed their grappling hooks at the balcony; and at the speed of a bullet their grappling hooks latched to the balcony's ledge and the four sped towards the balcony followed suit by Silent Wing and Shining Armor; only to witness Iron Will and two hulking minotaurs holding Twilight and five other mares, and a small purple dragon hostage.

"Stand back or I will kill them! I swear to my ancestors!" Iron Will threatened fiercely; but fear was visible in his eyes. The Sentinels and the two royal guards said nothing whilst advancing slowly with their weapons pointed forward. Seeing this, Iron Will motioned for his two bodyguards to attack; only to have two bullets piercing their skulls respectively during their mad-stampede towards the Sentinels. 

"Just give up Iron Will." Gideon said as he stepped forward "don't make this hard."

""Hard? Hard?"he laughed a manic kind of laugh like you hear from an insane villain in the movies while also tightening his choke on Twilight's neck; unable to fight back anymore due to the injuries she suffered from. "A minotaur will never stop, I will be damned if I do so."

"So, that justifies hurting others? hurting innocents?" 

"If that is a must then it shall be done."

"You are insane."

"He is in my scope, say the word, and I am popping his head off." Ilona whispered on Gideon's comms

"Negative" he whispered back "we need him alive if we can." 

Iron Will shifted his gaze from his hostages and the Sentinels, his face was plastered with desperation and madness. He realized he was defeated, but he would never bow to his enemies.

"We can make this work, Iron Will. Just come with us" Gideon said, trying diplomacy one more time...

"No, no! You don't know what they know. What they'd do to me. I can't trust you!" it didn't work.

"Don't do anything stupid." Gideon lowered his gun slightly and held up his hand. "We can make this work."

"How can I trust you? I can't trust any living creatures here. Not the griffons.Not the ponies. And certainly NOT you creatures!" he shouted  as he drew a smallsword from a scabbard on his hip and putting in on Twilight's neck.

"Don't make this hard on yourself, Iron Will. Just turn yourself in."

"No! you won't take me! You will never take me! You Murderers! All shall start with the blood of this alicorn whorse!" Iron Will screamed as he swung his sword to Twilight's neck.

Followed by a single gunshot echoing throughout the throne room.
> The Wrap Up
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iron Will's sword dropped from his once mighty arm, hitting the floor with a clang. His body fell backwards, arms loosened, and dropping the unconscious Twilight in the process. Shining Armor immediately galloped towards his injured sister as Iron Will's lifeless body hit the floor with a dull thud, blood gushing out from a large hole in his skull. 

Gideon turned around , and saw Ramirez with smoke still pouring out from the muzzle of his MK14.

"Ramirez..."

"He tried to kill her, so I killed him first." he replied simply while lowering his gun.

"Check the wounded!" Gideon barked. Quickly wiping away the death of his probably only lead of information.

Ramirez ran towards the unconscious Twilight, while Joker and Mitchell secured Iron Will's former hostages; both guards and civilians alike before giving them medical attention as well.  

As his team gave medical attention to the wounded guards and civilians, "Ilona, do you copy?" Gideon called the former Spetsnaz sniper through his comms.

"I, copy" she replied with a somewhat defeated tone, perhaps for losing her kill.

"Get over here and help us. Multiple wounded guards and civilians." he replied.

"Roger." she replied. Two minutes later, Ilona appeared on the balcony after using her grappling hook, nodded at him, and proceeded to do what Gideon had instructed.

Gideon walked towards Ramirez who had just finished his treatment on Twilight's injuries.

"How is she?" Gideon asked gently.

"Her ribs are broken; those minotaur bastards must have hit her hard." Ramirez replied "don't worry, she will live."

"That's good to hear." Gideon replied "You did alright son." he said while patting Ramirez on his shoulder, which he replied with a smile.

"Thank you" Shining Armor smiled before levitating Twilight in his telekinesis grip and walking out of the throne room.

"Where are you going?" Gideon asked.

"To her chamber." Shining replied.

"I can go with you" Ramirez suggested "Maybe we have won, but who knows if any of these bastards still lurks inside the castle."

"No, that won't be necessary...besides the guards can..." Shining Armor trailed off as he saw a lot of the castle's guards are undergoing treatment by the Sentinels,nowhere in fighting condition. Gideon and Ramirez gave him a 'you-were-saying?' kind of look; not wanting to repeat the same mistake that nearly killed his sister, Shining agreed.

Gideon nodded at Ramirez who snapped him a quick salute before escorting Shining Armor and Twilight through the castle's hallways.  But not before picking up Twilight's broken tablet and muttered something about he would fix it soon for her; much to Gideon's amusement. Suddenly, Gideon's comms sparked to life.

"Sir, Princess Celestia needs to speak with you now!" Captain Menendez said, chatters could be heard on the background; probably him explaining how to use their communications system.

"Alright, patch me through."

Seconds later, Celestia's visage appeared in the top left corner of his HUD.

"Princess" Gideon greeted her politely.

"Greetings Major" Celestia greeted back "Have you got the situation under control?" she asked rather straight to the point.

"Affirmative, we have no fatal casualties on our side; save for ponies who got beaten by the minotaurs, including Princess Twilight, four other mares, and a baby dragon. But they are undergoing treatment as we speak." Gideon said "But I strongly recommend you send us more medical teams. I don't think me and my team are going to be enough, much less understanding your physiology."

'Wait, four? where is Pinkie?.' She wondered, 'oh wait, she is in Manehattan, attending to the Sweets Convention.' Celestia mentally sighed with relief.

"Thank Faust they are okay." she said with a smile. Much to Gideon's wonder about this 'Faust' but possibly it was their equivalent of God or something "Very well, I shall prepare the best royal doctors from Canterlot."

"Thank you Princess, I suggest you coordinate with Phantom and Hunter for faster transport and deployment." Gideon said.

Celestia nodded, "Speaking of which, how about the Minotaurs?"

"Negotiations didn't work, we had to use force on them. From the total of twenty-three hostiles, twenty are WIA and three are KIA." 

"Oh..." Celestia lowered her head slightly "If I may know; who are those three?" She asked with a slight grim in her voice.

"Unfortunately, one of them was Iron Will himself. But if it was not for Sergeant Ramirez, Princess Twilight would be dead now. Two others are his bodyguards." Gideon replied "I know he was the key for our answers, but at least; we have twenty of them to dig our intel from."

"Thank you very much Major." She replied with a smile "We are all in your debt." But Gideon dismissed her.

"My men and I are just doing our duty Princess." Celestia nodded and her face disappeared from Gideon's HUD. 

'Time to go to work then' with that, he went over to the injured and started giving medical attention to the wounded.



 

"Ow! be careful!" Rainbow exclaimed as Mitchell pressed an instant cold pack to her bruised face; after calming the ponies down and introducing themselves, both humans and ponies seemed to get along just fine. And needless to say, they thanked the Sentinels constantly.

"Actually, this feels good!" She said sheepishly, after the cold pack started to kick in. Causing the others to snicker at her statement "Thanks Mitchell!"

"You're welcome." Mitchell smiled as he moved to a mare unicorn guard with a broken right foreleg, her face contorted with pain  "Easy there ma'am." he said gently before adjusting the broken foreleg so he could bandage and tie a sling for her.

"Ah, thank you darling." Rarity said gratefully as Joker finished wiping dried blood off her face and applying an instant cold pack on the bruise. "Say, how about Spike, Fluttershy, and Applejack?" she asked with a concerned tone.

"Don't worry, they will life." Joker assured her with a smile, while also looking behind his shoulders at the recently awoken designated mares and baby dragon, who were undergoing final checks by Ilona and Silent Wing whilst also trying to calm Fluttershy down "Applejack and Spike were knocked out by the explosion, only minor injuries. For Fluttershy, she fainted because of well...fear." he stated. 

As he said that, two additional VTOLs entered the castle's airspace. Signaling the arrival of Phantom, Hunter, and the doctor teams prepared by Princess Celestia. A Warbird landed on the castle's courtyard; deploying two Phantom operatives and four unicorn doctors. Immediately tending to the wounded. Seconds later, a Razorback hovered in front of the balcony with it's doors opened; revealing two Hunter operatives, four unicorn doctors, and surprisingly the Princesses themselves.

Wasting no time, the unicorn doctors teleported to the balcony and rushed to the throne room; giving nods of acknowledgement to the Sentinels as they passed by them; quickly tending to the untreated ones and bagging the dead bodies with large body bags. The two Sentinels glided to the balcony with the Princesses; using their wings and exo land assist respectively, also sprinting to the throne room as the Razorback landed on the courtyard.

All Sentinel operatives in the room immediately stood at attention when the regents came in. The treated ponies, bowed before their rulers; although some only lowered their heads due to broken limbs. Much to the Princesses' concern about them.

"Major, how is Twilight?" Cadance asked while hastily trotting towards Gideon, concern visible on her face.

"Some of her ribs are broken. But other than that, she is okay." Gideon knelt on one knee to meet her on eye level, staring reassuringly at her eyes. "Your husband and Sergeant Ramirez is watching her in her chamber."

"Gideon, Princess Twilight is awake, she wants to see you and her friends." Ramirez said through his comms.

"Good, we are moving." Gideon replied before turning his head to the Princesses and the rest of their friends "Princess Twilight wants to see us now."

The ponies' heads perked up as he said those words, but before any of them could move; a unicorn doctor trotted next to them.

"Apologies for interrupting Your Majesties" he said politely "I just want to let you know that all of the injured have been stabilized, the civilians are not as beaten up as the guards. Only bruises. But the guards will need more medical treatment and rest for at least a week before they are fit for duty." 

"Good, then I declare all of the injured guards must rest until they have recovered. Also, I want the Minotaurs treated from their wounds." Celestia said out loud to make sure all of the room's occupants could hear her, including the guards "Thank you doctor." 

The unicorn doctor nodded and went to help the injured guards to get on their hoofs. 

"If I may Your Majesties, I'd like to stay here and help." Silent Wing stated.

"Of course you may Sergeant." Celestia replied with a smile, he saluted and went over to help the injured.

"Both of you stay here and help these doctors to carry the wounded." Gideon ordered to the two Hunter operatives who snapped him a salute and went on with their orders.

"Doctor Med Kit, could you come with us please?" Cadance asked politely to an ivory coated unicorn stallion with a white lab coat and a red circle adorned with a white cross as his cutie mark; getting his attention. "I need you to evaluate Princess Twilight's condition, not that I don't trust the Sentinels; but you know, just in case."

"Of course Princess, I would be happy to do that." the doctor replied with a smile while trotting to the group.

"So, shall we?" Luna asked.

"Of course Princess." Gideon replied. With that the group proceeded down the mangled entrance of the throne room and into the hallways of the castle.

"I have to say, Major." Celestia spoke up during their walk towards Twilight's room, getting his attention "I am still amazed that you didn't kill all of the Minotaurs that invaded Ponyville today." 

"I was thinking maybe we could use them as a leverage so Iron Will would come in easier,  but unfortunately; things got out of hand." Gideon replied. "And Princess, just call us by our names we are not much for formalities." he chuckled;earning acknowledgements from the Sentinels.

Celestia nodded with a smile "Then you can call me Celestia." she stated "Or even any of us by our names." Celestia said while glancing at the two alicorns; who nodded their heads "I presume you will question them soon?" The Solar Monarch asked.

Gideon nodded, "Only after they are treated and medically stable enough." He glanced at Ilona who nodded back at him. "Ilona is our best interrogator, she will have our answers before we know it."

"I am flattered my good sir." Ilona replied sarcastically, causing the others to chuckle. 

"Um, guys." Applejack spoke up with a thick southern US accent; which were interesting to the Sentinels because not only their worlds shared the same language, but also their accent. "Ah know maybe y'all have heard this a lot, but thank you for coming and savin' our flanks." she said with a smile. "Ta be honest, Ah'd thought y'all would never came; but now, Ah take it back." 

"We are just doing our jobs." Mitchell chuckled. But his chuckling stopped as soon as they came across a dead minotaur with a huge slice wound on his neck. The Sentinels didn't even flinch whilst The Princesses stared at the cadaver with widened eyes, the ponies (minus Doctor Med Kit) had to hold the urge of throwing up on the floor; Fluttershy 'eeped' and instinctively ran behind the feet of the one closest to her, Ilona. Despite being cool and aloof, Ilona would do anything to prevent anything bad from happening to her friends and teammates; so she knelt and comforted the timid pegasus mare.

For Gideon, Mitchell, and Joker this was a sight for a thousand years; Ilona had expressed her emotions occasionally, but never this friendly. Especially for a person or in this case a pony she barely knows. But again, she didn't talk much about her past or even conversed with them for that matter; in fact, nothing else was known about her other than she used to be a Spetsnaz sniper. So they took it as a character development.

"I think we are going to need another body bag here." MItchell said as he contacted the two Hunter operatives back in the throne room. And two minutes later, two unicorn doctors arrived with a large body bag; quickly levitating the dead minotaur, placing him into the bag, and carrying the now filled bag out of the corridor.

"I think we should dispose of the bodies soon enough, surely we don't want panic or disease to spread any further don't we?" Luna suggested.

"Of course Sister." Celestia replied. "But now, Twilight wants us to be with her; lets not keep her waiting." 





"Thank you for saving my life Ramirez." Twilight smiled as she reposed on her bed, still flinching due to her broken ribs. But thankfully, the bandage applied to her body was more than enough to support her; and in that case to make sure she stayed in resting position. And after listening to her brother and Ramirez's story, her pain alleviated a bit.  "I owe you one."

"I am just-"

"Doing your job, I know.I heard that a billion times already." She chuckled.

"And you thanked me like a billion times already." Ramirez retorted with a smirk; causing the two to laugh. unaware that Shining had gave a shit-eating grin at them before joining the conversation.

"Ramirez, do you copy? we are approaching your position." Gideon's voice spoke through his comms, silencing the two ponies in the room.

"Copy that, hurry up; she's been waiting for you guys. Ramirez, out." he said. Moments later, the door swung open; on that instant, Cadance ran past Ramirez and hugged Twilight as they have been separated for a thousand years causing Twilight to squirm in pain.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry." Cadance smiled sheepishly "How's your ribs?" 

"Still hurts, but if it was not for him..." Twilight said while pointing her hoof at Ramirez, who smiled back at her "Faust only knows what will happen to me."

"Thank you very much Sergeant Ramirez." Cadance said gratefully.

"I am just doing my job Princess." he said.

"Please Ramirez, no formalities. Right, Gideon?" Cadance glanced at the latter; receiving an acknowledgement from him.

"Alright then, Cadance." Ramirez chuckled. 

After the whole get-well-soon thing and sending the weary civilians to their homes (except for Twilight's friends since they kept insisting on staying), the Sentinels had agreed to move their FOB to Ponyville to safeguard the town against future attacks. While the Princesses (save for Luna) returned to Canterlot via VTOL ride with tablets on their disposal to inform the generals about the outcome of the attack. From there, the VTOLs will drop the Princesses, as well as picking up the rest of the Sentinels, their equipment, and some additional guards with more guards coming by train.

By the time the reinforcements arrived, it was nightfall. After setting up their gears on their designated chambers and a tour on the castle grounds by the element bearers and Princess Luna themselves, the guards insisted they will take the night's guard duty since technically they didn't do anything for the day while the Sentinels did the dirty job. Despite that, Gideon had arranged his team so they could also get involved when needed. With nothing left to do, the Sentinels called the day off.





It was like any other nights before, the same dream that kept haunting Mitchell in his sleep. 

Mitchell's IMR kept on firing streams of bullet, with the Korean's People Army as target practice with Will fighting by his side. All went exactly the same as that fateful day in Seoul. But this time, in contrast from his last dream; Mitchell saw the Havoc Launcher gunship exploded before his eyes, taking Will with it. Even the spinning sharp piece of metal that had cut off his arm, had became something like a common sight to him; normally that's where he'd woke up. But this time, the piece of metal and the background faded into distortion with a blurry dark-blue equine figure fading away. Then, he woke up.

But instead of being jerked from his sleep he opened his eyes with a peaceful heart and mind, as if it was only a bad dream, but with an equally confused thought because Mithell could've sworn he saw Luna in his dream.

"Oye, you alright mate?" Gideon patted his shoulder as he was also awake "having that dream again?" 

"Yeah, but I could've sworn Luna was in my dream." Mitchell replied.

"Damn son, you having a wet dream with her already?" Joker replied sarcastically as he got up from his bed, only to receive a hard jab on his shoulder by Mitchell "whoa, easy dude. Just joking around." 

"Knock it off boys." Ilona commented while donning her exo, in case the use of force may come to a necessity.

"We have some bulls to question." Ramirez continued her sentence, while charging his combatant suppression knuckles to full power; causing sparks of blue electricity on the futuristic taser's conductor.

"Use it if only necessary." Mitchell advised the former NSA operative "We want information, not another dead body."

"All teams, we are heading to the suites now." Gideon spoke through his comms "meet us there, Gideon out."





After strapping on their exo suits, weapons, and equipment; they headed to the suites where the surviving members of the attackers were being held, being joined by Luna (who subtly kept glancing at Mitchell),Shining Armor, and the rest of the team on the way there. Until they were identified, their group was simply referred to as OpFor, short for “Opposing Force”. After consulting with one of the doctors, who’d been vetted to the best of their hosts’ abilities, they headed to a room holding one of the OpFor members, specifically the second in command. Gideon was given a clipboard with all available information on the individual, most of it medical. He scanned the clipboard which before handing it to Ilona which contained information as follows.

Patient 07
Minotaur
Age: Mid 30's (presumed)
Gender: Male
Coat: dark gray
Eyes: brown

Patient was treated for numerous wounds inflicted by an unknown weapon. Small conical projectiles were removed from body, having caused extensive trauma to the patient's legs resulting in significant blood loss. If not treated more thoroughly soon, amputation may be necessary.
Currently fitted with a bulky cast and kept in cell-like room. Under suicide watch and guarded at recommendation of Prince Shining Armor and a third-party adviser dubbed as Sentinels. Patient is stable and lucid, but refuses to talk about himself. 

Sodium pentothal administered by recommendation of the third-party adviser.

After reading the sheet of paper, Ramirez and Ilona opened an iron door and entered the room holding his subject while the rest watched from a glass panel outside the room. The subject limped over to them, intrigued by their presence, before sitting back down. The soldiers took a seat on a stool facing him. Between them was a table.

“Ah, you must be the ones who did this to me.” The minotaur lifted his cast disdainfully, but smiled all the while. “And you’re here to…?”

“We are here to talk. Yesterday, you and nineteen others conducted an attack on this castle and Ponyville. I’m gonna ask you some questions, and I want you to answer them honestly.” Ilona stated with an icy tone.

"I will do my best." he replied mockingly.

"I want your name and the name of your organization." Ramirez began.

"You can call me 'Rook'. My organization isn't known to me or any of us, we are known as 'Berserkers'. Just some extra hired muscles and barely an extension of their will. In other words, expendable." Rook replied "But we are all here for a reason." 

"And why is that?" Ilona continued.

Rook laughed "Do you know what the Elements of Harmony are?" 

"I got a lecture about Equestria yesterday, so, yes. The six elements that keeps Equestria's balance and harmony." Ramirez said.

'This is not just a regular assault, there is something else here.'

Rook laughed again "Exactly, now imagine if those elements are wiped out or transformed into a weapon that will upset Equestria's balance. A country so vulnerable where it would tear itself apart from within, leaving outsiders to scavenge and enslave what's left from the smoldering ruins of war."

Then an audible crack came from the minotaur's mouth and he began to turn blue with radio chatters erupted from their comms reporting all other minotaurs were suffering cyanide poisoning accompanied by sudden explosion of activities by both ponies and humans trying to safe the poisoned minotaurs. The two interrogators called for a doctor complete with Cyanide Antidote Kit ; declaring that the patient was suffering from cyanide poisoning. Unfortunately, they were unable to save him, leaving the Sentinels with a single lead.





"So they are called 'Berserkers'?interesting. That name fits them perfectly." Luna stated after the royal guards and Sentinels had finished shipping the dead bodies to the castle's morgue before cremation. With the combination of both technology and magic, the work was faster than they expected.

"He talked way too easy." Ilona commented.

"But one thing's obvious, there's more than just a regular assault here." Ramirez added as they walked down the castle's lavish hallways. "Beside the potential threat of them targeting the element bearers, I think we will have to dig deeper."

"Guys, Princesses Celestia and Cadance will arrive with the generals and military advisers shortly." John Reeves, aka Viper 6-2's voice could be heard across the comms.

"Good, thanks for the heads up Viper. Gideon, out." The Major replied.

"This is going to be a long day..." Mitchell commented. But as he said those words, he felt a tug on his leg. As he looked down; Silent Wing, Shining Armor, and a few other guards he recognized as the same guards during their stay in Canterlot grinned at the intensity that could rival that of Jeff the Killer's.

"So? Demonstrations?" Shining asked.

"You guys got a shooting range here?" Gideon inquired and they nodded. Frantically.   
> Same Shit Different Day (And Place)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sentinels, Royal Guards, and Luna were standing by in the castle's courtyard, awaiting for the Princesses, generals, and military advisers to arrive, fully armed and equipped. Despite the urge to visit the firing range was a bit overwhelming, since most of them haven't fired their weapons since the beginning; they agreed to wait for the generals and military advisers first. Surely, there were a lot of things to discuss and their curiosity will be higher than Mount Everest upon seeing them. 

Gideon was chatting with Silent Wing, Shining Armor, and the Captains (Mitchell included) making their own interpretations about the attack yesterday with little to no intel. In the end, the conversation led them nowhere so they decided to drop the conversation and change it to something relaxing. 

"I am sorry guys, gotta go and check Twily's condition." Shining Armor said in the midst of the chatter. "If she is better, Twilight and her friends will come with me when I am done."

"Alright, all the best for your sister." Mitchell said. Shining smiled and walked towards the entrance.

"Hey, Mitchell do you have any good music?" Joker asked while chewing an MRE cracker in his mouth.

"First of all, that's gross. Second of all, I downloaded pretty much everything when we made contact with the network's signal. So I have everything uploaded to our local network." Mitchell said proudly.

"Well go on then mate." Gideon said "How about Guns and Roses?" 

"Guns and Roses? Now that's a classic." Ramirez said as he fumbled with Twilight's broken tablet, replacing every piece of broken hardware with a new one. "Lets introduce some human music to these ponies."

"You guys okay with this?" Mitchell asked to Ilona, the rest of his team ,and the guards who were busy cleaning and tending to their equipment, vehicle, and weaponry; getting a lot of 'Sure and why not's in return.

"Go ahead, Reeves. Use those speaker systems!" Joker said.

"Copy that." the former Night Stalker pilot said; having done with warming up the engines and checking their VTOLS the pilots have nothing left to do, so deciding to join the fun was of course the new priority. Something the soldiers rarely had back on Earth due to the ongoing war with Atlas Corporation. Reeves flipped some buttons on his Razorback's control to turn off the engines and browsed through the computer's data archive with the VTOL's system interface. He clicked with his finger on the music folder, and searched one track he knew most people came to love, maybe the ponies will love it too. He found the track, and selected it.



Shortly, series of high-pitched guitar strums filled every single ears in the courtyard. For the humans, they knew this song very well and they still do love it and for the ponies, they are about to get into a hell of a ride.

She's got a smile that it seems to me
Reminds me of childhood memories
Where everything
Was as fresh as the bright blue sky

"Oh yeah! this is my jam!" Joker said merrily. At this moment, everyone and everypony are nodding their heads to the song's rhythm and melody. Still doing their activities. Several Ponyville citizens had made their way to the castle's entrance due to the music playing in the air, in both curiosity and excitement. 

Now and then when I see her face
She takes me away to that special place
And if I stared too long
I'd probably break down and cry

Oh, oh, oh
Sweet child o' mine
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Sweet love of mine

Mitchell himself was enjoying himself in the song. If they have some cold beers, that day would've been perfect. Mitchell, Gideon, and some operatives was chatting to some guards and Ponyville citizens who got curious about them; until Luna's telepathic voice echoed in his head.

"Mitchell, can we talk?"

A bit shocked, he turned his head and saw Luna laying under a tree,staring at him from a distance. An expression of mixed sorrow and wonder written on her face. Seeing this, Mitchell excused himself and walked towards Luna's position. Interestingly, although the tree was not very far from the courtyard; the loud music's volume seemed to decrease more and more as he walked towards her. And when he got to her, it was completely silent; save for the rustling leaves and the chirping of birds, a perfect peace and tranquility. 

(You might want to stop the music now.)

"Please, sit with me." She said while patting a spot next to her. Which he complied. "I cast a sound barrier so we can talk privately. Nopony or nobody will eavesdrop on us." 

Mitchell nodded politely "What is it Luna?" Mitchell asked as he sat next to her. Also mentally questioning himself whether Luna really appeared in his dream last night. 

Luna inhaled and exhaled deeply before turning back to him "Have I told you before that as a Princess of the Night, I am able to walk into somepony's dream?" She asked "or somebody's in your case."

Mitchell's suspicion was confirmed by the time Luna said those words. "So, you were in my dream last night." He said calmly.

Luna was surprised by his statement "I...I am sorry! I didn't mean to invade your privacy; but I felt a disturbance last night so I-" she was cut off when Mitchell put a hand on her shoulder; his eyes staring reassuringly.

"It's okay Luna, you were just following your instincts." Mitchell said. "In fact, after you entered my dream; I woke up with a peaceful heart and mind. Thank you." He smiled.

Luna let out a smile of relief, but she still have some unanswered questions and decided to dig deeper "After that ship crashed and that piece of metal struck your arm...what happened?" Luna asked.

A long pause. Mitchell was and still is a battle-hardened soldier, although the memories were not pleasant; he was not a closed type of individual. In fact, sharing helped him to get over the problem. He was just thinking on how to tell Luna without freaking her out."It's okay if you don't want to answer my question, I understand." she said while standing up on all fours. But before she could leave, Mitchell stopped her.

"Before I start, are you sure you wanna hear this? 'cause this one will probably scare you." Mitchell warned her. And she nodded whilst sitting back down beside him.

"After that stray piece of metal impacted my arm, the damage was so severe that it cut my left arm on the crash site." Mitchell began "and the man stuck on the aircraft, Will Irons; my best friend and Jonathan Irons' son, was critically injured by both the bomb explosion and the crash. Long story short, the doctors removed his life support system since the wounds he suffered were too much. He saved my life..." Mitchell paused "And I owe him for it."

"I see...I am sorry for your friend, Mitchell" Luna responded while wiping away a tear from her eyes. "But I don't understand one thing..."she trailed off.

" Go ahead" Mitchell stated.

"It's about your left arm." Luna said while pointing a hoof at Mitchell's left arm "If it was truly cut off, how could your left arm still attached to your body? Do humans grow their lost limbs?"

Mitchell chuckled, "Oh, this is not my real arm." He said while rolling up his sleeve, exposing his advanced robotic prosthetic arm, causing Luna to stare at it with widened eyes. "Do you want to have a feel for it?" Mitchell asked again; extending his left arm in the process and snapping Luna from her trance.

Slowly but surely, Luna extended her right hoof and traced it gently on Mitchell's prosthetic arm, getting a good feel on the metallic surface. Her touch was gentle and delicate,quite frankly, he enjoyed it. After a minute of observing Mitchell's arm, Luna turned her head towards him.

"Irons gave me this arm, but in return; I have to work for him, as an Atlas operative." Mitchell told her. "But again, this is not my original arm; an improved design. The original one was long gone...taking Irons with it."

Luna flashed him a sympathetic smile, completely aware of Mitchell's past and losses which he returned.

"Now, lets go back to the courtyard; I think everybody and everypony are looking for us." Mitchell said with a smile.

"Yes, lets." Luna replied. "But first..." with that, her horn glowed with a bluish magic aura and a brief flash like that of a camera's blitz flashed from her horn.

"What was that?" Mitchell asked.

"Oh, nothing I just disabled the sound barrier." she replied simply. With that, the pair walked towards the courtyard. As they did this, heavy strums of electric guitar and the beats of drums began to play through their ears. But this time, instead of a cheery and relaxing tone; it shifted into more of an energetic and revolutionary tone. To Mitchell, he heard this song during his march towards the battlefield and needless to say, fond of it. But he wasn't sure about Luna's reaction about this.

This is survival of the fittest 
This is do or die
This is the winner takes it all
So take it all



As electric guitar strums followed by multiple beatings of drums filled the air, Mitchell knew the lyrics head on will probably make her uncomfortable; so he took the initiative.

"You might want to put that sound barrier up again, there are a lot of profanities in this song's lyrics." Mitchell said.

"And what's wrong with those?" Luna asked with a dirty smile "I swear quite a lot for a princess, and besides I love this song." she said as the song continued to play; Mitchell just shook his head with a smile.

Wasn't ready to being a millionaire, I was ill-prepared
I was prepared to be ill though, the skill was there
From the beginning, it wasn't 'bout the ends
It was 'bout busting raps and standing for something, fuck an acronym
Cut the fucking act like you're happy, I'm fucking back again
With another anthem, why stop when it doesn't have to end?
It ain't over 'til I say it's over – enough when I say enough
Throw me to them wolves and close the gate up
I'm afraid of what'll happen to them wolves
When the thought of being thrown into an alligator pit, I salivated it
Weight is up, hands up like it's 12 noon, nah, homie
Hold them bitches straight up, up wave 'em 'til you dislocate a rotator cuff
Came up rough, came to ruffle feathers, nah, egos
I ain't deflate enough, last chance to make this whole stadium erupt

As Mitchell and Luna walked to the courtyard, he noticed that Luna was nodding her head to the song and when they got to the courtyard; pony citizens seemed to be unnerved by the song while the Royal Guards and the Sentinels were also nodding their heads to the song. Seeing this, the two decided to sat and waited until the song ended; also enjoying themselves in the song.

I'm so close to my goals I can almost pole vault over the goal post
And if I don't got enough in the tank, maybe I can just siphon enough
To fill up this last can, man will I survive in this climate or what?
They said I was washed up, and got a blood bath
I'm not a rapper, I'm an adapter, I can adjust
Plus I can just walk up to a mic and just bust
So floor's open if you'd like to discuss
Top 5 in this mothafucka and if I don't make the cut
What, like I give a fuck, I'mma light this bitch up like I'm driving a truck
To the side of a pump, 0 to 60 hop in and gun it
Like G-Unit without the hyphen, I'm hyping 'em up
And if there should ever come a time where my life's in a rut
And I look like I might just give up, eh you might've mistook
Me for bowing out I ain't taking a bow, I'm stabbing myself
With a fucking knife in the gut, while I'm wiping my butt!
Cause I just shitted on the mic, and like getting cut
I get excited at the sight of my blood, you're in a fight with a nut
Cause I'mma fight 'til I die or win
Biting the dust it'll just make me angrier, wait
Let me remind you of what got me this far, picture me quitting
Now draw a circle around it and put a line through it, slut
It's survival of what?

This is survival of the fittest
This is do or die
This is the winner takes it all
So take it all

So get your ideas, stack your ammo
But don't come unless you come to battle, I'm mad now jump in the saddle
This is it, it's what you eat, sleep, piss and shit
Lift, breathe, your whole existence just consists of this
Refuse to quit, fuse is lit, can't diffuse the wick
I don't do this music shit, I lose my shit
Ain't got shit to lose, it's the moment of truth
It's all I know how to do, as soon as I get thrown in the booth, I spit
But my respect is overdue, I'm showing you the flow no one do
Cause I don't own no diploma for school, I quit!
So there's nothing for me to fall back on, I know no other trades
So you'd better trade your fucking mics in for some tool-box-es
Cause you'll never take my pride from me
It'll have to be pried from me, so pull out your pliers and your screwdri-vers
But I want you to doubt me, I don't want you to buh-lieve
Cause this is something that I must use to suc-ceed
And if you don't like me then fuck you
Self es-teem must be fucking shooting through-the-roof cause trust me
My skin is too thick and bul-let proof to touch me
I can see why the fuck I disgust you
I must be a-llergic to failure cause everytime I come close to it
I just sneeze, I just go atchoo then achieve.

This is survival of the fittest
This is do or die
This is the winner takes it all
So take it all

As the song ended, multiple hoof-stomps and cheering noises erupted from courtyard. Likely from the Royal Guards.

"That song was amazing." Luna said to Mitchell, who was sitting next to her "You humans sure have a good taste in music. Who is the singer?"

"Marshall Bruce Mathers III, also known by his stage name; Eminem. Featuring Liz Rodriguez." Mitchell replied. "Before you ask, his songs are cliche since there could be at least on word play or metaphor in every single line. But overall, it means he can do anything. He can reach any goal. He's almost there. He is back in the spotlight and he is loving it. He is saying that he is back to cause people to be upset and cause things to go haywire again. It's stating Eminem's undeniable epic skill and determination. Also, it expresses his cockiness. If you can control that cockiness, it's a morale booster." he explained "In my opinion, a good song to listen to when you are going to battle."

"Ah, I see...but how could he chant the lyrics so fast? If I try it myself, I may need a replacement for my tongue, throat, and lungs." Luna stated.

Mitchell chuckled "I don't know, but probably a lot of cardio exercise, spending your time with your nose buried under a dictionary and a creative mind to bend words so they will rhyme in the end." 

Luna chuckled, "Please tell me you still have more music?" she asked with an almost begging tone. Mitchell nodded, much to her delight.

"If you'd like, I could upload our musics to your tablet later." Mitchell said.

"Oh, that would be lovely." Luna replied.

Suddenly three pegasus-pulled royal chariots entered  the castle's airspace; signaling the arrival of Princesses Celestia and Cadance, and with that the top generals and military advisers. Seeing this, the Sentinels turned the music down and grabbed their gears alongside the royal guards with elements of them guiding the citizens politely, away from the castle; which they cooperated very well. After the citizens are out, they formed neat rows with Gideon, Luna, and Mitchell standing on the first row.

"Where have you been mate?" Gideon asked.

"Nothing, just had a chat with Luna that's all." Mitchell said while glancing at the Night Princess beside him. Flashing her a smile, which she returned.

As he said that, the chariots landed on the courtyard. There were Princess Celestia and Princess Cadance, accompanied by four military dressed ponies. A Unicorn stallion, a Pegasus mare, and an Earth Pony stallion.  Judging from the abundance of awards and rank insignia strapped to their red jackets, they were exactly the ones they have been waiting for. 

One of the ponies, the Unicorn stallion, stepped forward with the Pegasus and Earth Pony following close behind him. He has a medium build, a white coat, and a blonde mane. With a sparkling-shining dark blue shield as his cutie mark.

and saluted at the Sentinels; seeing this, the Sentinels saluted back. Despite their serious and no funny business attitude, the Sentinels noticed the ponies' prying eyes; scanning their bodies. The newcomers noticed that these creatures were clad in black vests with metallic bars on their bodies, carrying some oddly shaped metal-sticks in their appendages. With four large metallic creatures sitting behind them. They had been told that they were their weapons, equipment, and air transportations; and if the rumors were true, then they were armed to the damn teeth.

"At ease." The Unicorn said while lowering his hoof to the ground, the Sentinels did as they were told "Hello Sentinels, forgive us for the awkward introduction. I am General Gleaming Shield, the Princesses have told us so much about you. And we can't thank you enough for saving Ponyville from Iron Will and his scums." the General chuckled. "And I have to say, that was a very good music." 

Gideon and Mitchell stepped forward, as both leaders and representatives of the tier-one multinational task force "just doing our duty, sir." Gideon said politely.

"And believe me sir, we still have a ton of music to go through." Mitchell added.

"Ah, Major Gideon and Captain Jack Mitchell. We've got a lot to discuss with you and your team. " the General said with a tone of admiration towards the two "but before that, I would like you to meet my colleagues." as he said that, the Pegasus mare stepped forward and saluted. She has a slender build, cyan coat, and dark blue mane accompanied by a depiction of a hurricane as her cutie-mark.

"I am Commander Hurricane, Commander of the Equestrian Royal Air Force. It's an honor." she introduced herself.

"The honor's ours Commander." Mitchell said as he, Gideon and the rest of the team returned her salute. Shatter Storm stepped back, and this time the Earth Pony stallion stepped forward. He has a proportional heavy build, a crimson coat, and an orange mane accompanied by an iron sword as his cutie mark. Very reminiscent to Big Macintosh. 

"And I am Commander Iron Sword, Commander of the Royal Guards. My pleasure and honor to stand before you." he said respectfully, snapping the Sentinels a firm salute. Which they again, returned with an equal respect. With that, Iron Sword backed away After the introductions were done, Princess Celestia and Cadance stepped ahead of their military advisers with Luna joining them.

"I guess introductions are out of the way, shall we go inside? We have much to talk about." Celestia said.

"Lead the way Princess." Joker said.





"So, have you encountered any sort of problems last night?" Celestia asked as the group walked through the luxurious hall of Twilight's castle; being flanked by both Gideon and Mitchell complete with Luna and Cadance by her side as well as Gleaming Shield, Hurricane, Iron Sword, and of course the Royal Guards and the rest of the Sentinel operatives. Being escorted by a combination of both human and pony elites surely bolstered the their confidence. Even the guards, knowing such well-trained soldiers were on their side and ready to fight with them seemed proud as well.

"Absolutely not Princess." Gideon replied.

"That's because all of you were sleeping." Silent Wing said with a nasty hint of sarcasm in his voice.

"And you guys insisted to take the night shift, remember?" Ilona spoke up. This caused both parties to chuckle.

"Excuse me, Mitchell? Cadance said, inching closer to him.

"Yes?" Mitchell replied, looking at her.

"Where is my husband and the others? I haven't seen them since we got here. I hope Twilight is alright." she sighed.

"Shining is checking on Twilight's condition, he should join us when he is ready. And if Twilight's conditions are good, she and her friends will be joining us with Shining Armor." Mitchell informed her. Cadance smiled gratefully in return. With that, the group stopped in front of two large doors guarded by two royal guards; upon seeing them, they opened the door, saluted, and granted them entrance to a large conference room.

The group entered and took their seats, but before the guards could close the door; a familiar masculine voice echoed from across the hallway.

"Hold the doors!" Shining shouted. The group looked outside and to their excitement, Shining Armor was walking with a still bandaged Twilight with her friends behind them. Despite the injuries she has suffered, she seemed to be okay and fit for light non-physical activities. 

"How are you feeling Princess?" Mitchell greeted the newcomers as they entered the room.

"I am fine, thank you." Twilight smiled as she took her seat next to him, Gideon, her brother, and her friends. "But my ribs are still far from good." She said as she rubbed her still recovering ribcage.

"You will be okay, Twily." Shining assured his sister "that healing spell Doctor Red Cross gave you should help." 

"Thanks BBBFF!" Twilight said to her brother with a soft smile.

The room fell into a dead silence. Both parties awaiting for each other to start the discussion. The Sentinels are waiting for the higher-ups to begin, due to respect and etiquette. While the ponies are waiting for the humans to begin, due to both excitement and curiosity.

"Um, Gideon? Are you not going to say something?" Shining whispered while giving him a nudge.

Gideon nodded with a hint of surprise written on his face, he stood up and cleared his throat. "Good morning, I on the behalf of the Sentinel Task Force; felt honored to have all of you for coming here today." He began "You have been very kind and accepting to us. Even after knowing we are soldiers. The truth is, if alien soldiers shows up on our planet, our leaders probably won't respond with the same manner as the way you are treating us now."

"Because that is our way, to be kind and tolerant." Gleaming Shield said while scanning the room; getting a good view of every Sentinel operatives in the room "we too, are equally as honored to have soldiers like you on our side; not just as soldiers, but also our friends and allies." He said. 

"We are flattered, sir." Mitchell chuckled "But I reckon, you have a lot of questions for us?"

"Ah, straight to the point I see." Gleaming Shield said "First of all, I've been told that these are your weapons and combat gears; is that true?" he said while pointing at Mitchell's exo-suit and IMR.

"Exactly, sir." Mitchell said. "Don't worry, sir. We won't be using our weapons unless we are required to do so."

"I know you won't." he chuckled "But, could we perhaps see how your weapons and equipment works?" he asked.

Gideon chuckled "Of course, sir. The guards kept asking us about the same thing since two days ago." this caused the royal guards behind him to smile sheepishly, rubbing their helmets. 

"Captain Mitchell, could you tell us more about your team?" iron Sword asked.

"Of course, sir." Mitchell said while putting his tablet on the table, turning the projectors on for a proper briefing. The ponies, stared at amazement. "We have three teams on our disposal, eight operators each. As you may have heard before, we are the best of the best in our world; which means we were handpicked from various elite military groups and organizations. Despite being picked from different military organizations, we have been trained intensively to deal with situations such as Direct Action, Special Reconnaissance, Counter-Terrorism, Unconventional Warfare, Information Ops, Foreign Internal Defense, Counter-Insurgency, Deep Reconnaissance, Hostage Rescue, and other types of missions." he said "We are all weapons specialists with our own specialties; which means we are capable to use any weapons, vehicles, and technologies both new and old." 

"Ilona here is one our top snipers. And Ramirez is our lead intelligence officer." Gideon said.

"And I am just an extra gun I guess. An extra gun couldn't hurt, right?" Joker said, causing the room occupants to chuckle.

"Oh really? What's your story?" Gleaming Shield asked.

"Not much, former Spetsnaz special forces sniper. I never missed my shot." Ilona said.

"I have to say, ma'am. Your accent is very similar to our soldiers from Stalliongrad." Iron Sword commented.

"You mean Stalingrad? we call it Volgograd now." she added.

"I see, our world seems to share quite a lot of similarities." Hurricane commented. Receiving nods of agreement from the others.

"How about you?" 

"Not much, former National Security Agency agent; if you need any intel, sir; I can get it for you." Ramirez said with a smug smile,cracking his knuckles.

"Captain Mcknight, you are up!" Mitchell said.

With that, Mcknight got up from his seat "Thank you Captain Mitchell, I am Captain Matthew Mcknight; Captain of Aegis team." he introduced himself "Before joining the task force, me and my team were part of the United States Marine Corps; specifically the Marines Special Operations Regiment or 'MSOR' for short. Marines and Sailors of the MSOR train, advise and assist friendly host nation forces – including naval and maritime military and paramilitary forces – to enable them to support their governments' internal security and stability, to counter subversion and to reduce the risk of violence from internal and external threats We went through more and tougher training, specializing in actions Captain Mitchell mentioned earlier. Overall, we consider ourselves better than an average marine." he said "Oorah?!"

"Oorah!" the team exclaimed in unison.

"Just so you know, I was a part of the United States Marine Corps as well." Mitchell said "But I never made it to the MSOR though."

"Why?" Iron Sword asked "You surely fit the requirements to join."

"Having my left arm severed by a stray metal piece from an exploding gunship during my first day of deployment ended my career in the Marine Corps." Mitchell said while rolling up his sleeve, exposing his prosthetic arm to the ponies, much to their shock. Fluttershy was on the brink of passing out, but thanks to Ilona she didn't.

"I see, but if you were a royal guard; such wounds will cause you to be discharged with the greatest of honors and being supported by our government." Iron Sword said.

Mitchell chuckled "I actually thought so, but Jonathan Irons; former CEO of the Atlas Corporation, which you may have heard of...gave me a second chance in a form of an advanced prosthetic arm but in return I have to work for him. I think you know the rest." The ponies nodded in confirmation "Captain Menendez, you are up!"

Menendez got up from his seat "Thank you Captain Mitchell, I am Captain John Menendez; Captain of Phantom Team." he introduced himself "Before joining the task force, me and my team were part of the United States Navy Seals; specifically our country's intelligence division Special Operations Group or SOG for short. We were tasked to conduct small-unit maritime military operations which originate from, and return to a river, ocean, swamp, delta, or coastline. SEALs can negotiate shallow water areas where large ships and submarines are limited due to depth." he said "During our time with the SEALs, we were trained to operate in all environments; Sea, Air, and Land. Hence the abbreviation. We were also prepared to operate in climate extremes of scorching desert, freezing Arctic, and humid jungle. In the past, SEALs only undertook maritime and littoral operations. But today, we can also carry out lethal direct action strikes equally well from air and land. Put us anywhere, we are ready to go. Hooyah?!" 

"Hooyah!" the entire team exclaimed in unison.

"Captain Summers, you are next!" Mitchell said.

Summers got up from his seat "Thank you Captain Mitchell, I am Captain Rick Summers; Captain of Hunter Team." he introduced himself "Before joining the task force, me and my team were part of the United States Special Forces; known as the Green Berets. We were tasked with five primary missions: unconventional warfare;the original and most important mission of Special Forces, foreign internal defense, special reconnaissance, direct action, and counter-terrorism. The first two emphasize language, cultural, and training skills in working with foreign troops. Other duties include combat search and rescue (CSAR), counter-narcotics, counter-proliferation, hostage rescue, humanitarian assistance, humanitarian demining, information operations, peacekeeping, psychological operations, security assistance, and manhunts. Hoorah?!"

"Hoorah!"The entire team exclaimed in unison.

"Sounds like you have a hell of a team under your command, Major." Gleaming Shield commented.

"More than just subordinates, they are family." Gideon said "However, we are not the only ones from the spec-ops community." he said while turning his head to the pilots. Hurricane's ears perked up at his gesture, acknowledging his implication.

"So, you pilots are special forces too?" Hurricane asked with an enthusiastic tone.

"That's right ma'am." Sergeant John Reeves commented, getting up from his seat "I am Sergeant John Reeves, before joining this task force; me and my buddies here served for the United States Army 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment a.k.a the Night Stalkers. We provide aerial support for general purpose forces and special operations forces. Our missions have included attack, assault, and reconnaissance, and are usually conducted at night, at high speeds, low altitudes, and on short notice; hence the name 'Night Stalkers'."

"Impressive, very impressive." Hurricane commented "I am looking forward to work with you." 

"Talking about work, we have a--." 

Before Gleaming Shield could continue his words, all Sentinels exo-wristpads started sending alerts endlessly as their built-in radars detected two large objects were falling from the sky with a blistering speed.

"CLEAR THE ROOM NOW!" 
> Target Practice
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Is everybody okay?!" Mitchell shouted as he got on his feet; dusting himself from the debris getting 'yes we are okay's in return; this relieved him greatly. Apparently before they could clear the room, two large whitish metal containers breached the crystal roof above them and impacted the floor; causing huge shockwaves that certainly wrecked the entire room. The Sentinels quickly freed themselves from the wreckage and just as quickly; helped the ponies who got stuck underneath the crystal debris,fortunately no serious injuries save for cuts and bruises.

"Are you okay, sir?" Joker asked as he removed a large plank of wood from Gleaming Shield's body.

"I am okay Lieutenant, thank you." Gleaming Shield said as he inspected his body and flexed it, resulting in several crunching noises.  With that, he immediately started lifting some debris to free Hurricane and Iron Sword, followed swiftly by the guards. Meanwhile, Ramirez, Gideon, Ilona, and Mitchell were taking care of the Royal Family and the Main Six.

"Easy there, Princess." Ramirez said as he gently grabbed Twilight's hoofs; to help regain her ground. "Do you feel anything? pain? dizziness? headache?" 

"No, not at all. I am just a bit winded, thank you Ramirez." she smiled.

"Ilona, how's Fluttershy and the others?" Mitchell asked as he finished his inspections on Luna, with Gideon finishing his' on Celestia.

"Fluttershy and the others are okay." she said as she calmed the timid pegasus mare in her arms "Well, save for--." 

"AAAAAHHHHHHH." Rarity's high-pitched scream filled the room. Everypony and everybody immediately rushed to her spot. And there, they found Rarity; clutching her face with her hoofs, crying. 

"Oh shit! Rarity, what's wrong? Are you hurt?!" Gideon asked while frantically searching every inch of her body for any signs of damage; which to his amazement, he found none.

"Look at me! I am hideous!" She whined.

"It's just a frazzled mane, Rarity." Applejack said as she face-hoofed, shaking her head. 

"You are lucky to be alive you know." Rainbow added. 

"Just a frazzled mane?!" Rarity retorted

"Oh, for Faust's sake!" Twilight groaned, slowly walking towards the posh unicorn. She charged her horn with purple magic aura, and in an instant; her horn flashed and Rarity's mane returned to it's normal elegant shape.

"Oh, thank you darling. I am glad that nightmare is over." Rarity said dramatically.

"W-what a-are t-these? If you don't mind me asking." Fluttershy asked while pointing at the containers embedded to the floor.

"No idea, these thangs are made of metal." Applejack replied while knocking her hoof on the pods, causing loud metallic bangs in the process. She came across an LCD control panel, and placed her hoof on top of it; turning it on. "What in tarnation?!"

"I think our attack against Atlas forces on Switzerland has already started." Mitchell said as he moved towards the two pods.

"Wait, how did they get here?" Joker asked "Oh, you better don't--"

"Relax, there's a small recording device in each pod remember?" Mitchell said as he synced his tablet with the control panel and readied it's projector for all to see. The footage started with the pods falling from the sky, the pods' camera FLIR system was online; so the attack must've took place at night. Suddenly, a white light swept the pods and the transmission went dark. 

"What was that light?" Hurricane asked.

"That must be the Excalibur cannon. If that thing reactivates, our forces back on Earth will have a hell of a time fighting ATLAS in Switszerland." Mitchell said as he disconnected his tablet from the pod "But let's hope the cargo, isn't damaged." With that, Gideon moved to the other pod.

"What do you mean by 'cargo'?" Twilight asked.

"Just wait and see, prepare to be amazed." Joker said with a shit eating grin.

"And...presto." As Mitchell said that, both pods made a heavy hissing sound with steam coming out from all sides for a couple of seconds before stopping abruptly. And a couple of seconds later, all sides of the pods dropped to the crystal floor with a loud metallic clang. The ponies' dropped their jaws as they saw two large green, nine feet tall, futuristic suit of armor,stood before their eyes.

"What the hay are--?" Gleaming trailed off, unable to say a single word as he was too busy staring at the two advanced heavy mechanical battlesuits. The rest of the ponies did the same.

"XS-1 Goliath Armor also known as the AST suit." Gideon said "We will explain everything later, but now; lets get out of this room." With that, he and Mitchell handed their assault rifles to Ramirez and Ilona respectively before walking behind the suits and pulling the manual punch out lever on their respective suits, twisting it down, and letting go. With that, several armor plates slowly moved away in different directions, revealing a rather small interior made to fit a human. The two operatives stepped into their respective suits, and after fitting themselves inside; the same armor plates closed behind them. Encasing them in thick layers of titanium armor. Then, the female voice of the suits' AI spoke.

"AST suit online." it said. With that, the glass interior emitted a faint light followed by a large piece of armor; rising and clamping itself around the helmet. The armor plates slid away, and revealing more glass screening in the process. Then, a huge multi-cylinder tube extended from the suits' left shoulders before retracting again. As the process went on, the suits' HUDs became online; showing the weapons' names and indicators.

Mitchell and Gideon stretched their right hands, and with that the huge GAU-3/A main gun; complete with it signature rocket launcher folded into their hands; their thumbs holding their respective triggers. They pushed the triggers, causing the barrels to spin at an unholy rate. Then the AI spoke again.

"Weapon systems online." it said "Main gun ready, rocket ready, swarm missiles ready, trophy system online, ping system online." Knowing the suits were fine and ready for action, the two folded their rotary cannons and looked towards the ponies. Who had unsurprisingly, haven't moved an inch from their current positions. All staring at them with widened eyes of astonishment, amazement, and calling them intimidated would be an understatement.

"Well?" Mitchell spoke with an intimidating-heavy robotic voice due to his suit's sound processing system "lets go." With that, several dull thuds could be heard emanating from the group. Apparently, Fluttershy, Applejack, and even Iron Sword passed out on the floor.

"Great." Gideon sighed. 

"I got her." Ilona said as she picked up Futtershy in her arms.

"I got Applejack." Joker said while picking up Applejack in his arms.

"And I got Iron Sword." Shining said while picking the Royal Guard Commander in his magical grip.

"Alright, I think our weapons demonstrations have officially began." Mitchell smirked underneath the thick layers of bullet-proof glass.





"Look, Princess. We are very very sorry for this to happen." Gideon said as the group were navigating through the crystal hallways of the castle, still clad in his AST suit. Aside from the group, the hallway was filled with guards and workponies rushing towards the conference room. Frequently, the ponies would stop dead in their tracks and stared at the two huge war machines walking with their leaders and guardians. But after being assured that everything's okay, they resumed their activities.

"No need to be sorry, Major. Although we barely escaped with our lives, it was an accident. None of you meant for it to happen." The Princess of Friendship said with a genuine smile "In fact, if you were not there with us, I doubt we are still drawing our breaths right now." She said again "But your demonstrations better be good."

"You got it." Mitchell said still with his heavy robotic voice.

"By the way, do you think another attack is going to happen again soon?" Gleaming Shield asked.

"We don't know." Ramirez stated "When we interviewed one of the minotaur attackers earlier today, he said he was from an organization called the Berserkers; an extension of a larger group. But what that group is, we don't know. If they are going to attack, chances are they are going to attack at high-value territories with no attending military leader. Which scratches Ponyville and Canterlot out of the list."

"Which is why we are returning to the Crystal Empire shortly." Cadance declared. "Look Twilight, I know you want us to be together in times like these but--"

"It's okay, I understand." Twilight smiled "I'd do the same." 

"If that's the case, I can send a team to go with you. You know, just to be sure." Gideon suggested.

"That's very kind of you, but the Crystal Empire has the second largest garrison of Royal Guards after Canterlot. While Ponyville is only guarded with a company of guards. I am sure you will be more required here." Shining said. 

"You know you can always count on us." Mitchell said.

"Thank you, Captain." Shining smiled.

"By the way, how old are you?" Hurricane inquired.

"Most of us are at our early to late twenties, I am 36 years old." Gideon said.

"I am 35 years old." Mitchell stated.

"I am 33." Ilona said.

"I am 34." Joker said.

"And I am 20." Ramirez said.

"Ramirez here is the little brother of the team." Joker said while patting Ramirez's back.

"That means, most of you here are about the same age as us." Twilight commented.

"You are young...but you've been through a lot more than anypony else. Even for our guards." Celestia said.

"Trust me, Princess. None of your guards want to experience what we have been through all this time. Sometimes I can't believe that every single mission given to us, could be our last. But I guess, we didn't have a choice back home." Ramirez said.

"But you are free now, right?" Luna spoke up.

"Maybe Princess...maybe..." Joker replied. With that, silence fell upon the group. Aside from their footsteps and the heavy clanking of the ASTs,  there was no exchange of words, both parties left with their own thoughts. 

"Where are we?" Menendez asked as they exited the castle's hallways and into a large courtyard with numerous structures; presumably the barracks sitting nearby, breaking the silence "oh, at the barracks." 

"Precisely, Captain. There's a shooting range which you will certainly like." Hurricane said with a smirk.

As the group passed through the barracks, the guards stationed there shot them curious glances; mainly at Mitchell and Gideon since they were wearing hulking suits of advanced mechanical armor that seemed to create thumps each time their feet stomped on the cobblestone floor.

"Sergeant Reeves, may I ask you something?" Hurricane said as she walked beside the former Night Stalker as they walked through an incomplete section of the barracks. The ponies working on the building shot the group curious looks in return, so in return the group waved at them. This seemed to calm them down a bit as they went back to work, occasionally taking glances at the group.

"Of course, ma'am." he replied politely, returning to the conversation.

"Those four war beasts by the castle's entrance, are they living creatures?" 

Reeves chuckled, "No ma'am, they are called VTOLs. An abbreviation for Vertical-Take-Off-Landing--"

"Sergeant Reeves, I think it's better if you bring the--er, VTOLs over here; so explaining will be easier." Gleaming Shield said. "What do you think Princess Twilight?"

"Of course! That would be awesome!" Twilight said with an enthusiastic tone. The others nodded in agreement. Mitchell and Gideon lifted their thumbs up.

"Okay, you heard 'em; lets go!" With that, Reeves and three other pilots ran back into the castle.

"What are they gonna do? Drag 'em with huge leashes or somethin'?" Rainbow asked; causing all eyes to fell on her "What? Just saying." 

"Just wait, and see." Ramirez said with a sly grin. With that, the group continued their trek towards their destination. 

"And, here we are!" Twilight said with a bright smile as the group arrived at a very large field with a large sparring area with numerous weapons' racks nearby complete with various medieval weaponry displayed on them and several audience's benches. An obstacle course and a large shooting range decorated with pony training mannequins made of straws as targets; complete with the Royal Guard armor set. With a huge grotesque stone dragon statue nearby.

"This.Is.Awesome!" Joker exclaimed merrily. As he said that, humming noises from the VTOLs' engines filled the air; everypony stared at the hovering VTOLs with wide eyes. Especially Rainbow and Hurricane. As the VTOLs slowly descended into the courtyard, wind and dust began to kick up. This caused everybody (except for Gideon and Mitchell) and everypony to cover their respective eyes and faces. Once the VTOLs touched the ground, the pilots shut down their engines and stepped out.

"Like what you see?" Reeves smirked.

"So...awesome." Rainbow said with glimmering eyes. "Twi, you might wanna take that quill and note-pad again."

"Already did." Twilight smirked.

"Kid, you have no idea how awesome these beasts are." Reeves said while ruffling her mane; much to everybody and everypony's amusement and Rainbow's enjoyment "Okay, first of; VTOL is an abbreviation of Vertical Take Off Landing, which means we don't need a lot of space to go airborne since we take off vertically. We have two types of VTOLs on our disposal, which have been modified to aid us for long-missions. These two are called Razorbacks." He said while pointing at his ride and another Razorback nearby "And those other two are called Warbirds." He said while pointing at the Warbirds.

"I like their names, but what are they capable of?" Hurricane asked. 

"I was waiting for you to say that." Reeves smirked "Overall, these beasts are equipped with the latest technology and weaponry our world can offer; such as a cloaking device which enables us to be virtually invisible, a retrofitted solar panel to charge our power cells, and engines capable of using hydrogen from water for fuel." he explained.

"How fast can your, er-- Vee-tols go? Can they do Sonic Rainboom?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"How about the firepower?" Gleaming Shield asked.

"Our VTOLs are armed with 25 millimeter auto-cannons, which shoots out 25 millimeter depleted uranium rounds at 1.800 rounds per minute which will tear targets into shreds since it's effective to destroy almost anything plus twelve shots of anti armor missiles for heavy duty jobs." 

"What if you run out of ammunition?" Twilight asked.

"We won't. Our weapons are equipped with 3D printers which regulates ammo for us, believe it or not these machines could also produce weapons, exo-suits, food, and many more. The printers and most of our equipment are powered by high-capacity batteries that could last for months and rechargeable by solar panels." Reeves said.

"We have a portable 3D printer in each transport, Even those AST suits and this assault rifle I am holding uses 3D printers too." Ramirez added. "No offense." he said while looking at both Gideon and Mitchell who already exited their AST suits.

"None taken." they replied.

"Sounds like your equipment are very well-suited for long-term missions." Gleaming Shield commented.

"Exactly. Because before ending up here, we were supposed to conduct a possibly months long covert ops across Europe." Reeves said.

"As for Rainbow's question, the Razorbacks can reach up to 478 mph despite having heavier armor than the Warbirds which can reach up to only 351 mph thanks to their powerful jet engines instead of rotors. But again, the Warbird is more suited for stealth missions since it's naturally designed to do so. As a matter of fact, our Razorbacks have been modified based on the Warbirds' capabilities. So, our vehicles are not designed for supersonic speed but they obviously have tons of firepower." he stated with a hint of pride. "By the way, what's a Sonic Rainboom?" 

"OH OH! So I fly up and then dive down then suddenly--" 

"Basically she can break the sound barrier." Twilight interrupted her prismatic friend. Resulting in Rainbow staring sharply at the Princess of Friendship.

"Woah! going at supersonic speed?! shit, you can do that?! Wait,wait no living creature could go more than Mach 1 nor withstanding the intense pressure--" 

Before the former Night Stalker could finish his sentence, Rainbow flew to the sky at a blistering speed before diving back at an equally jaw-dropping speed; increasing more and more as she dove to the ground. Suddenly, Rainbow was encapsulated with a vapor cone followed by a vibrantly color ring which expands from the point of occurrence accompanied by a shockwave and a rainbow wake trailing behind it. She did several aerobatic maneuvers in the sky before landing back on the ground. Puffing her chest with pride.

"And how's that, pilot?" she asked with arrogance. With that an orchestra of applause erupted in the field. For the ponies, Rainbow's signature move was and still is amazing for them. Since she is the only pony capable of doing so. For the humans however...were rendered speechless. "Um. hellooo? Sergeant Reeves?" Rainbow said, waving her hoofs in front of a brain-dead Reeves.

"I think you just broke him." a pilot said. "All of us for that matter."

"Clear the way! I am an expert in this." Joker said with a nasty shit eating grin plastered on his face; putting an unconscious Applejack down near her friends and walking towards Reeves. As he got in front of him, Joker took off his exo-suit and waved his hands in Reeves' face before looking back at the group "Just making sure...don't wanna destroy his balls." as fast as lightning, Joker kicked Reeves directly in his nuts; causing him to scream, fell to the ground, clutching his family's jewel,and  groaning in pain. His face was beet red as a tomato. The ponies and humans laughed their rears and ass(es) off, since his scream also woke Applejack, Fluttershy, and Iron Sword from their unconsciousness.

"You good?" Joker said while offering his hand which Reeves took.

"You are an a-hole you know that." He replied, still trying to suppress the pain.

"You're welcome." Joker said sarcastically, he took an instant cold pack from his pocket;and tossed it to the pilot who immediately put it in his pants.

"Alright alright, enough of this." Gideon said, shifting the groups' attention "Joker, put on your exo we are going to show 'em what our exos can do." the latter complied. 

"Before we proceed, I think it's better for all of you take your seats first." Gideon said.The ponies complied, quickly filling the benches nearby. The rest of the Sentinels followed them suit.

"Right, before we start I want to tell you the basics first. A powered exoskeleton, also known as powered armor, exoframe, or exosuit, is a mobile machine consisting primarily of an outer framework akin to an insect's exoskeleton worn by a person, and powered by a system of motors or hydraulics that delivers at least part of the energy for limb movement." Ramirez explained. 

"They are not part of our bodies, but when worn, these suits basically merge with our bodies. Enhancing our strength, speed, durability, pretty damn much everything; boosting our effectiveness and efficiency on the battlefield. We have developed two types of exos; the Assault and Specialist variant." Gideon said "Each exos have primary and secondary ability. Assault is equipped with boost jump, as well sonics for crowd control. Basically it gives you versatility during assault missions. The Specialist exo like the one I am wearing right now, has a built in shield" he said while activating his riot shield; astonishing the ponies "in addition to Overdrive capability; an ability which slows down things in our visions so we can shoot them more easily. So, in my opinion this type of suit is best used during covert ops or rescue operations"  the ponies were stunned when they heard this, never before they knew a piece of technology capable of doing so "And before you ask, even without our suits we are still perfectly capable to fight."

"Wait, you mentioned that your exoskeletons boosts your strength and endurance; correct?" Gleaming Shield asked, receiving a nod from Ramirez "Then how far could they enhance them?" 

"Well, our exos are capable of denting steel and shattering wood and rock with ease. They make us run faster, jump higher, and hit harder than humanly possible. As for the ASTs, they enhance our strength from superhuman to god-like as they are capable of breaking solid steel and busting through solid concrete wall. Extremely useful in a lot of situations." Mitchell said. "To complete all that, our exos are also armed with a variety of unique abilities, which is controlled by our exo wrist pads here." he said while showing his wristpad to the ponies "Aside from those abilities, these wrist pads can also be used to control our mechanical weaponry. Oh, and the Assault exos are also capable of flight." Mitchell said, activating his exo's flight mode with his exo wrist pad. Two jet engines mounted wings sprouted from his exo and the jet engines immediately activated.

"How fast?" Rainbow instantly snapped up from her seat walking towards him.

"Say, 350 mph?" Mitchell said, based on the gut feeling he got after he chased and crashed the ATLAS transport during the mission in Antartica. "Not supersonic, but fast enough to chase the fastest military transport in our planet." 

"How about a race?" Rainbow asked with tons of excitement.

"You'd win, kid." Mitchell said, ruffling her mane "If we are lucky enough, we may stumble across an intact F-52B. Now that would be a hell of a race. But we'll see later." With that he disengaged his flight mode, with that the wings retracted inside his exo. Rainbow smiled and went back to her seat. 

"Next, we are going to show you our exo abilities." Gideon said. "First of, our exo-suits have been heavily modified to sustain the usage of a lot of exo abilities whereas our original exos are only capable of using a few of them." he explained. "Lets start with the exo-shield." with that he walked towards the middle of the field.

Reeves opened his Razorback's ramp and with Joker and James unloaded a remote turret, a medium-sized case, and some more large cases filled with weapons. Reeves quickly readied the turret and placed in on the middle of the field while Joker and James were assembling a WASP drone.

"This, my friends, is a remote turret. It fires 7.62 millimeter rounds, and it acts as a sentry gun; which will shoot targets automatically or you can manually control it with tablets." Reeves said. "It will only shoot targets with no Sentinel beacon or other types identifications which is why I am controlling it manually, or else Gideon's ass will be filled with lead since he turned off his ID beacon a second ago."with that, Gideon gave him his middle-finger with a shit-eating grin.

"Okay, all set." Reeves said, using his tablet to control the turret "Ready when you are." 

Immediately, Gideon activated his shield followed suit by a rapid rain of high-powered bullets from the turret's rotating barrel. After the turret overheated, Gideon deactivated his shield. 

"Electrified Ballistic Mesh, protects your body from being riled up with bullets." Gideon said with a smirk as he walked back to the audiences.

"Next, the boost jump and land assist." Gideon said "Ramirez, show 'em." Ramirez nodded and ran towards a rather high platform in the obstacle course and with his boosters, he jumped towards the top effortlessly before going down smoothly with his land assist. 

"Mag gloves and grappling hook." Gideon said "Ilona, you're up." with that, she ran towards the same platform Mitchell used earlier and with her mag gloves, she activated her mag-gloves quickly crawled on the metallic walls and reaching the top merely seconds later and using her grappling hook at a nearby tree which became her route to touch the ground.

"That was Spider-Mare kind of stuff." Rainbow commented.

"Steel wire rope with steel piercing heads, extremely sharp and durable." Mitchell said.

"Next, Exo-Stim." Gideon said while drawing out his large serrated black-tinted combat knife.

"W-what's that k-knife for? if you don't mind me asking of course." Fluttershy asked to Ilona, still hiding behind her mane.

"He is going to make a cut on his arm. Don't worry the stim will do the work." Ilona said reassuringly. With that, Gideon sliced his right arm with a pained grunt. His knife immediately tore through his skin and drawing some blood; causing the civilians to gasp with horror. After sheathing his knife, he pressed his exo-pad stim control, deploying a small injector from his arm guard and injecting a healing substance to his wound. Moments later, the wound healed and closed; only leaving a small mark behind.

"Wha-- how?" Twilight inquired with an immense amount of curiosity.

"A combination of stimulants, disinfectants, and our world's latest healing serum." Gideon said, wiping away the blood flowing in his hand "Use it once a day and you are good, use more than once; you are going to feel euphoric and well, can't stop moving. But after the effects are gone, you are going to fall asleep for the next twenty four hours." he explained.

"Brr, I am not going to use it. Ever." Rainbow said, rubbing her hoofs together. 

"Not so tough to needles ain't ya?" Applejack smirked.

"Wha-no I am not. Just, allergic." Rainbow said, still puffing her chest despite her secret fear of needles. 

"Next, exo-cloak. Ramirez, you are up." Gideon said, with that Ramirez activated his exo-cloak; turning invisible in mere seconds.

"Whoa!" The ponies gasped in unison. 

"Boo!" Ramirez said in a heavy, menacing voice; de-cloaking beside Rainbow with his Atlas 45 pointed at her head. Rainbow was intimidated beyond words at that moment; after witnessing what human weaponry can do back at the castle's throne room yesterday she did not intend to serve as a target. Unaware to Rainbow herself, she was as pale as a ghost and sweating crazy; this caused the others to laugh.

"Relax--" Before Ramirez could finish his sentence, Rainbow kicked the gun away, roundhouse-kicked his face, and pined him to the ground. Pulling his arms backwards with her wings.

"Whoa! easy there kid." Joker said while trying to separate the two; to no avail. 

"Not until he say the word!" Rainbow replied with a hint of anger in her voice.

"Agh! Okay, okay I am sorry!" Ramirez said while tapping the ground repeatedly. With that Rainbow let him go. 

"The last time I am in that kind of situation, I got beat up and nearly have a crossbow bolt going through my skull." Rainbow said as she adjusted her breath "Just don't do it again." 

Ramirez nodded "I am going to feel that in the morning." he said while wiping away some blood from his mouth. "So we are good?" 

"We are good." Rainbow said.

"Right, if we may please continue; do you have a slab of solid concrete around here? or any form of rocks will do. If you have metal, that would be even better." Gideon asked.

"Oh, and some spare glass panels." Mitchell added.

"Sure, those workers should have some spares. Why?" Iron Sword asked.

"We want to show you solid proof what these suits are capable of, we don't do nonsense." he replied.

Iron Sword gestured at two unicorn royal guards nearby, they nodded and took off to the barracks. Moments later, the two returned with five slabs of large concrete,  a large steel plate, and two panels of glass in their telekinesis grips.

"Nice." Joker said as the guards laid the concretes before them one by one. With solid blows; Joker, Gideon, Ilona, Mitchell, and Ramirez reduced the solid concretes into rubles. The ponies gasped in astonishment as they saw what happened.

"Solid tempered steel...nice." Ilona commented as she inspected the steel plate in front of her. 

"Need a hoof with that?" Shining said as he walked towards the steel plate.

"Sure." Ilona replied, with that Shining levitated the steel plate using his telekinesis grip in front of Ilona. Getting his meaning, Ilona kicked the steel plate in front of her; resulting in a loud clank. Her augmented strength and speed dented the steel's surface. Once again, the ponies were astonished by the spectacle. 

"Hmm, just a dented steel. Not good enough for me. Big Easy, you wanna finish the job for us?" Gideon asked, staring at a certain Goliath operator.

"Sure Ah am, Sir." James Grayson a.k.a Big Easy stood up from his seat and adjusted his trademark cap. His accent also caught the attention of a certain cowpony who immediately stared at him, her eyes revealing great curiosity. 

"Hey AJ, you got a crush on him already?" Rainbow snickered as she playfully nudged her friend as James entered an AST suit.

"You two would be a great couple. I don't know anything about him, but I do know he suits you perfectly." Cadance added with a smirk on her face.

"No Ah'm not." She quickly retorted. That being said, Big Easy lifted the steel plate using his suits' giant arms and with little effort, broke them into two pieces. Seeing this, James put the broken scrap metal down on the grass.

"Alright, now I am going to use the sonics; best put up a sound barrier spell."Mitchell said while moving both panels to his position; positioning himself between the panels. Shining cast the spell and adjusted it's power; having witnessed the power of the high-pitched-high-frequency sound waves he knew it's best not to hear it with his own ears. Once he was done, he signaled Mitchell to start.

"Alright, here goes." With that, Mitchell activated the sonics. Shattering the glass panels.

"And there goes the finest steel and glass in Equestria." Gleaming Shield commented as Shining lowered his sound barrier spell.

"Breaking solid steel with ease. " Gideon replied. With that, the audience cheered loudly.

"Thank you James Grayson a.k.a Big Easy. Next we are going to show you how the exos works in hand-to-hand combat." Gideon said.

"Before that, can you demonstrate what the suit's weaponry can do?" Gleaming asked. The others nodded in acknowledgement.

"Captain Mitchell, would you share the fun with us?" James asked again.

"Well, I don't see why I should say no." Mitchell smirked as he stepped in to another AST suit. "I think you might want to resupply all of those mannequins after we are done." with that, the two walked towards the shooting range. As they got into firing positions, the two unfolded their huge miniguns and aimed them at the mannequins, causing the ponies to once again express their amazement towards human technology.

"Whoa! Look at the size of that thing!"Rainbow exclaimed, an expression she wanted to say after the conference room incident.

"That's what she said!" Joker exclaimed, not making any effort to suppress his amusement; cracking up the crowd. But then he received a slap to the back from an exo-clad Ilona. After a while the crowd calmed down.

"Alright, this huge gun is known as the GAU-3/A chaingun. It shoots out 50 millimeter military grade depleted uranium rounds at 500 rounds per minute, nasty stuff." James explained " Ah do recommend to put that sound barrier up, it's going to be really noisy here." Hearing this, Twilight quickly put up a sound barrier among the ponies; her barrier dampened the noise significantly but not entirely. With that James and Mitchell pressed their triggers and unleashed a devastating storm of bullets as thundering noise spat from their rotary cannons followed by a thick smokescreen; destroying a lot of mannequins in the bullet storm. 

"Woo-hoo! Never gets old eh Captain?" James said loudly through his comms in the midst of firing his chain gun.

"Hell yeah!" Mitchell replied with an equally loud voice.

As their guns overheated and the smoke cleared out, they saw the destruction the suits' weaponry caused; all mannequins in the area were eradicated by the chainguns alone. Reducing the mannequins into mangled pieces of armor and scattered straws; with gaping holes in the walls.

"Shit,I think we are going to need more mannequins." James said.

"I got you covered." Celestia said with a smile and got up from her seat, she charged her horn with a golden aura and suddenly the aura encased the mannequins' remains and levitated them to the air. Miraculously, Twilight's magic rebuilt the broken pieces and before they knew it; all of the destroyed mannequins were repaired and ready to be fired upon again.

"Let me collect the top of my skull for a moment..." Joker said with a brain-dead tone, scratching the back of his head to process the event.

"I have one word for you. Magic." Celestia smirked.

"The fact that magic exist, still blows my mind away." Gideon chuckled. 

"Please, continue." Celestia said with a smile.

"Oh, right. Next up, the MK4 Rocket. Nothing special about this one, just a good old high explosive rocket." Mitchell said. With that, he and Big Easy aimed their underbarrel rocket launchers and launched their payloads into a large group of clustered mannequins; blowing them to bits.

"And finally, the AT6 Missiles. Also known as S.W.A.R.M Missiles, these babies locks on to multiple targets and firing at them simultaneously making it very suitable for crowd control.However, not all missiles will always impact the target, as they may be impeded by obstacles, making it possible that one burst will not kill." James explained "But if even one missile hits you directly, you are screwed." with that, the two locked onto as many mannequins as they can and fired the missiles. Completely destroying their designated targets. Turning the repaired mannequins into their original, destroyed state.

Seeing they have demonstrated all of the suits' weaponry the two stepped out from their respective suits, covered in a thick scent of gunpowder.

"Sir, what do you think?" James asked.

"I give you eleven out of ten. You bested my expectations beyond limits." Gleaming said. Smiling.

"Ramirez, Ilona, Joker, James, take off your exos. Mitchell you are with me." Gideon said as he and Mitchell stepped into the sparring area while the four do as the were told.

"Don't you think this is a bit dangerous? I mean, not that I dislike spars like these but seeing how your exo is capable of shattering concrete and denting steel..." Iron Sword said.

"Easy, sir. We do this a lot and of course we have our safety measures too." Gideon said "Besides, this sparring area has rubber flooring. Should be safe enough." 

"Don't go easy on me." Ilona said with a devilish grin. As she said that, the four surrounded them in all directions and readied their combat stance. Almost immediately when they did this, the four attacked Mitchell and Gideon simultaneously. Ramirez and Ilona was the first to make contact. Ilona immediately delivered a roundhouse kick to Mitchell's ribcage. Seeing this, Mitchell caught Ilona's leg with one hand and quickly executed a sweeping kick to Ilona's other supporting leg causing her to fall with a dull thud. But despite his successful attempt to counter Ilona's strike, Ramirez landed a solid hook punch on Mitchell's face, only winding him a bit thanks to his Assault exo. Seizing the opportunity, the former NSA agent executed a jumping roundhouse kick towards Mitchell's head but Mitchell grabbed Ramirez's foot in mid-air before grabbing both of his legs and slamming him to the ground like a basketball. Ilona and Ramirez quickly got up on their respective butts and started battling Mitchell again.

On the other side, Joker and James were fighting against Gideon with his Specialist exo. Joker delivered a kick to Gideon's stomach which he easily side-stepped and countered with a solid palm-thrust to the chest causing him to fell backwards with a roll quickly getting up on his feet. James did a series of quick punches and kicks landing some lucky strikes in the process, but Gideon managed to stun him and executed a shoulder throw, sending him rolling away. Just as he thought he'd won, he was knocked down by a falling Mitchell who just received a series of strikes from both Ramiez and Ilona. As the two fell to the ground, the four seized the opportunity and held them in submission locks. But Gideon and Mitchell easily threw them away and got up on their feet, ready to fight. With that, the crowd gave them a brilliant applause. They bowed and went to help Ilona, Ramirez, Joker, and James.

"Whoa! you guys knew Karate too?" Rainbow said with a wide smile.

"Sort of." Joker said, adjusting his breath.

"That's awesome! you guys should teach me your moves sometimes." Rainbow said "I am a black belt in Karate." 

"Oh really? Sick." Mitchell smirked as he sat next to her.

"Yeah, maybe you should--Wait, are those?!" Twilight exclaimed with utter surprise, staring at the entrance of the arena. On the entrance, stood two large unicorn stallion; fully clad in Royal Guard armor. Both stallions were almost as tall as Princess Luna, their bodies were built in a muscular but proportional manner. One stallion has a black tail, and coat with red as a secondary and hints of orange in mane and tail,red eyes, and Changeling like muzzle. While the other one has  a short, spiky, electric yellow tail with a dark yellow outline. An orange coat, blue eyes, and muzzle reminiscent to that of Shining Armor's. The black stallion was armed with dual katana blades while the yellow one was armed with a spear and a longsword. 

"Oh. My. FAUST!" Twilight exclaimed with utter joy "It's them!" 

"Who?" Gideon asked.

"Two of Equestria's most skilled Royal Guard Captains." Iron Sword replied.

"And one of them is my cousin!" Twilight replied proudly.

"Our cousin." Shining added.

With that, the two stallions trotted towards the group. Everypony and everybody got up from their seats as the two arrived before them. The stallions snapped firm salutes to their superiors before turning to the humans; which they returned.

"Sentinels, meet Captain Lightning Spear..." Iron Sword said, gesturing at the orange stallion "And Captain Lone Shadow." He said, gesturing at the black stallion.

"It's an honor to meet you personally Sentinels." Lone said politely.

"And please, call us by our names. Formality is not really our thing." Lightning replied, receiving a bro-hoof from Lone.

"And please do the same for us." Gideon replied with a hearty chuckle.

"Cousin!" Twilight said with utter joy as she and her brother got up from their seats and gave Lightning a bear sized group hug; which he returned. Careful not to touch the bandaged section of Twilight's body. After a moment, they let go.

"It's been way too long. We missed you so much." Shining said patting his cousin on the shoulder. "When was it? The last time we met?"

"We have a lot of catching up to do." Twilight said with a cheery smile.

Lightning chuckled "I don't remember. You have no idea how much I've been missing you guys." He smiled "How's your ribs, Twi? I heard you got it pretty bad." He said while poking at the bandages gently.

"Still hurts, but way better." Twilight smiled.

"Alright, don't move." Lightning said, charging his horn with a bright yellow aura. A couple of seconds later, the same yellow aura covered Twilight's bandages before quickly disappearing.

"What did you do?" Ilona asked.

"Just a simple healing spell." Lightning replied "better?"

"Much better, thank you Lightning." Twilight replied with a smile.

"What brings you two here?" Mitchell asked.

"As soon as we heard about the Ponyville attack, we immediately asked Commander Iron Sword for our transfer to Ponyville; all the way from Vanhoover." Lone explained.

"Sounds like Vancouver to me." James added "Ah see words travels fast 'round here." 

"True, the royal guards at Vanhoover keep talking about you Sentinels endlessly." Lone said with a chuckle.

"By the way, which one of you is Sergeant Ramirez?" Lightning asked.

"That would be me, sir." Ramirez said, stepping forward.

"Thank you, for saving my cousin's life." Lightning said as the two shook each others' respective hand and hoof.

"Just doing my job, which reminds me..." Ramirez said while taking Twilight's repaired tablet from his pocket and handing it to her.

"You did this, for me?" Twilight asked with glittery eyes.

Ramirez chuckled "It was nothing Princess." 

"Seems like we missed a hell of a show." Lone said looking at the scattered remains of the mannequins in the firing range.

"Yep, but we are not done yet." Joker said. 

After shaking hands with the rest of the Sentinels and exchanging small talks with the Princesses and the rest of the civilians  Lightning and Lone took their seats.

"Before we step in to our firearms, I want to show you a bit of our drones." Mitchell said while picking up the WASP drone " this is known as the WASP or assault drone." Then, he activated the drone with his tablet; flying it in front of the ponies "this one is armed with a machine gun  and a cloaking technology. Perfect for a surprise attack. We can also change the machine gun with a suppressed sniper rifle for covert operations. " With that, he flew the drone to the shooting range and scanned the area for the remaining mannequins; it's threat scanner displayed there were eight targets remaining. Mitchell activated the drone's cloaking system and proceeded to destroy the remaining mannequins with ease.

"Just like a ghost..." Lone commented.

"A wasp to be exact..." Lightning added while walking towards the firing range and repairing the all of destroyed mannequins in the range. "So, your fire-arms?" 

"Captain Mcknight, you are up." Gideon said "Oh, and take your team when you start the shooting." 

With that, Mcknight slung out his HBRa3 assault rifle ,and held it in his right arm, while holding a 7.62 mm round in his left hand. "See this little baby? this is a 7.62 millimeter NATO round. This, goes into this..." With that, he took out a 35 round STANAG magazine "This is known as a magazine, it carries thirty five rounds. Now, this is a special type of ammo; it is armor-piercing. Which means, this round is designed to punch through armored targets. In fact, our weapons are armed with armor piercing rounds and other types of ammunition." he explained.

"Our weapons vary in accessories." Mitchell added.

Then, Mcknight aimed at one of the mannequins, switched the safety off and switched into single-shot mode, aiming down with his ACOG scope and pressed the trigger. The round hit the mannequin with a loud pang right in between the eyes. The AP round went smoothly through the skull and hitting the wall behind it. 

Then, he quickly drew his laser sight equipped Atlas 45 pistol and shot the entire 10 rounds as fast as his finger could press on whatever was left of the mannequin; tumbling it over.

"That's how you do it..." He turned around and saw the faces of awe from the ponies, he smirked. With that, he turned back to the mannequins and switched his rifle into fully-automatic, aimed at the one he just shot, and pressed the trigger; unleashing a deadly storm of armor piercing rounds into the mannequin, destroying every piece of armor on it's body and tearing the straws apart. Then a click came from the weapon, signaling it's lack of bullets. With that, Mcknight took out the empty magazines for both weapons and inserted the new ones and flicked the safeties on.

"That was the HBRa3 assault rifle and the Atlas 45 pistol. Both are very stable and accurate." he said with a proud smile "Next up, is another assault rifle in our disposal. John Markusen, you're up!" 

With that, John Markusen slung out his IMR assault rifle, and switched the safety off "This is the IMR assault rifle. IMR stands for the Integrated Munitions Rifle; which like you've already heard, prints ammo using a small 3D printer in the stock, called the Formcaster 3D; hence the name. This beast holds thirty 7.62 millimeter 3D printed caseless round." he explained. With that, he aimed at the mannequin next Captain Mcknight's destroyed target practice mannequin and unloaded the entire 30 rounds on the mannequins head, destroying it completely.

He dropped his assault rifle, and swiftly drew his dual MP433 Grachs and unloaded the entire twelve rounds with six-two-round-bursts directly at the mannequin's body armor; creating a lot of small holes in it.

"That was the IMR assault rifle and the MP433 Grach pistols. Both are powerful and very versatile."then he reloaded both weapons. 

"Whoa! let's not forget the minorities here." Ramirez said while hoisting his MK14 on his shoulder with his right arm. "This, is the MK14 EBR or the Mark 14 Enhanced Battle Rifle." he said "This is a thirty round 7.62 millimeter selective fire designated marksman rifle which is very effective for ranged and close quarters combat. Like most of our assault rifles,mine is armed with armor-piercing rounds." with that he turned around towards the mannequins, switched the rifle's firing mode to single shot and shot a round to the mannequin's skull; creating a large hole in it. Then he switched to semi-auto and fired a three round burst to the mannequin's torso; creating three holes in it's armor. He switched to fully automatic and emptied his mag on the mannequin; destroying it.

"Aegis, fall in!" Mcknight said, with that the entire Aegis team fell in line and aimed their HBRa3s and IMRs at the mannequins "Pick a target and fire on my mark!" 

"All set!" James said.

"Fire!" with that, Aegis fired their assault rifles at their designated targets; unloading their magazines entirely. Shredding of armors and tearing straws apart in the process, after their magazines were emptied they dropped the empty ones and reloaded simultaneously. The ponies were greatly astonished by the destruction the assault rifles caused.

"Next up, is something for close quarters combat. Phantom, you are up!"

"This is the KF5 sub-machine gun." John menendez said as he held his black and white KF5 with both hands for all to see "this bad boy fires 9mm round. Smaller than the 7.62 millimeter round but deadly in close quarters combat. The magazine holds 40 of these bad boys; although mine holds 60 since I am using the extended magazine." He explained. With that, he turned around, flicked the safety off, and shot the entire magazine in full auto mode; sending pieces of gold metal into the air as each bullet impacted the mannequin's body.

"And there you have it..." Menendez smirked, satisfied by his work "Next up, the shotguns..." he said while reloading his KF5 and putting on the ground and taking his S-12 "This is the S-12 shotgun, extremely effective for close quarters combat, and instead of conical projectiles; it shoots out shells like these." he said while showing them a 12 gauge shell "You insert the shells in this magazine. It can hold up to eight shells. This weapon has a bullpup configuration and is fully-automatic." then, he inserted the magazine below the stock, and aimed it to the targets.

"Don't get me wrong, spears and swords are deadly weapons and has some advantage compared to our weapons; but when you can shoot a lot of small metal pellets with a single shot; you might want to reconsider your choice." Menendez said with a shit-eating grin. With that, he walked closer to a mannequin and shot a single round at the mannequin's head at nearly point blank range, making it wobble back and forth  ,blowing a half of it's head and sending the remains of the helmet flying. Next, he stepped backwards and unloaded the entire magazine to the mannequin; reducing it into piles of scrap metal and maimed straws.

With a twirl of his hand, Phantom fell in line, picked their targets, and started unloading their SMGs and shotguns. Busting armors and tearing straws in their wake.

"Next, heavy and directed energy weaponry. Hunter, you are up." Gideon said. 

Then, Captain Summers stood up and held out his red-dot and laser sight equipped Pytaek machine gun for all to see. "This, my quadruped friends is the Pytaek machine gun. It fires 5.56 millimeter caseless round, one of the most accurate machine gun in our world. Machine guns are designed to lay down heavy suppressing fire to support troops on the battlefield. This large extended magazine holds 150 rounds of these babies. The uniqueness about this gun is it reduces recoil over time if you shoot it subsequently. So, the point is; just keep pumping them lead to your targets." he smirked. Then, he aimed his machine gun at the mannequins and started brutally pumping lead into the mannequins; eradicating twenty mannequins. After realizing he was out of ammo, he dropped the empty one and readied the new one. "And that, ladies and gentlemen was the Pytaek."

"Next up, the EM1 directed energy weapon." with that, one of his men handed him an EM-1. Then he held it with both hands and showed it to the ponies.

"What the hay is that? it doesn't look like any weapons you showed us before." Rainbow commented.

"Because this, my prismatic compatriot is an energy directed weapon which fires super-heated laser beam instead of lead. The EM1 uses battery-powered technology, essentially providing an infinite amount of ammunition. Under prolonged fire, it can be overheated and cause a depletion of the battery, rendering it unusable for a short amount of time. Wait a few seconds and you are ready to go. Our EM-1s are equipped with a modified heat sink so it may fire for a longer period of time compared to the standard EM1." he explained "now, enough talking and lets have some barbecue!" 

With that, he aimed his weapon to the mannequins and fired into a mannequin in front of him. As soon as the laser beam hit the armor, the laser cooked the mannequin from inside out in a matter of seconds. Turning the straw body to ash and the golden armor into a melting heap of butter-like metal.

"Next up, the Tac-19 shotgun." Summers said as he drew the Tac-19 from his back "This monster here is not your ordinary shotgun; because instead of metal pellets this shotgun fires shells of highly dangerous energy particles which is capable of obliterating any target." with that, he walked towards a mannequin, pumped the shotgun, and fired it; obliterating the mannequin and sending it's remains flying across the field. "And that, was our energy weaponry. It's a shame we can't show more energy weapons since we were supposed to go on a covert ops mission; not a direct assault." receiving acknowledgements from the others.

Mcknight signaled for his team to fall in, picked their targets, and unloaded their magazines on their designated targets; destroying them completely. Leaving ten mannequins left in the far distance; perfect for sniping targets.

"Next up, the last weapon category of the show; the sniper rifles. Ilona, Bolt. Take the snipers with you." Gideon said. 

Hearing this, Bolt,Ilona, and three Sentinel snipers grabbed their rifles respectively and jogged from their seats to the shooting range; setting up their sniping positions.

"Alright, all set." Ilona said as the snipers finished their set-ups; lifting her MORS rifle to her shoulder. 

"You wanna go first or should I ?" Bolt asked; adjusting his glasses. 

"You go ahead." she said with a friendly tone.

Surprised by her friendliness, Bolt took his Lynx rifle from the ground and held it with both hands for all to see. "This, is a Lynx sniper rifle also known as the GM6 Gepard." he said "This is a bullpup semi-automatic 50 cal. anti-materiel sniper rifle, designed to destroy unarmored or lightly armored targets." then he took off the magazine, removing a NATO .50 BMG round from the magazine and showing it the large round to the ponies, the size of the bullet sent shivers down their spines; very noticeable for the humans. 

'Just wait when they lay their eyes on the VTOLs' 25 millimeter round.' Bolt mused to himself. "Very good for hunting." he said with a smirk.

With that, he walked towards his sniping spot; got into prone position, unfolded his rifle's bipod, and aimed for one of the remaining mannequins and pulled the trigger. The .50 BMG round tore through the mannequin's neck, decapitated it, while the round hit the wall behind it. 

"That was against an unarmored target, now against an armored target." Bolt said. With that, he set his scope's reticle on the mannequin's chestplate and pulled the trigger one more time; this time the bullet created a large hole on it's surface, wobbling it back and forth. Then, he emptied his entire clip with six successive shots; reducing it into a pile of scrap metal and scattered straws. "And that, was the Lynx." he said with a smile "Ilona, you are up." 

Ilona nodded to him with a smile and hoisted her rifle to her shoulder. "This is the MORS sniper rifle." she stated while holding out the rifle with both hands "The MORS is a single-shot bolt-action rail-gun that uses electromagnetism to fire a projectile at blistering speeds, making it very accurate and powerful. An energy directed sniper rifle." she explained. With that, she got into prone position, unfolded the bipod, aimed at a mannequin and took her shot; bursting the mannequin into flames and practically destroying it into nothingness. Startling the ponies.

As fast as lightning, the snipers started to pick their targets one by one; either creating a huge hole on the mannequins' bodies or destroying it into nothingness. But as all scopes were pointed at the last mannequin, a large bang followed by instant obliteration of the mannequin startled everyone and everypony. As the group looked at the sound's source; Joker was standing with his Atlas 20mm sniper rifle with smoke still pouring out of the barrel.

"What the hell man?!" Bolt exclaimed "you stole our kill!" this received supports from his fellow snipers.

"I thought you left that thing back at HQ." Mitchell commented.

"After this thing saved my life when I was hauling my ass to you guys? I think I am gonna keep it." Joker said with a smug smile; holding the huge rifle like his own child.

"Do you mind if we try to fire those things?" Lightning asked. "Just us, the Captains." 

"Sure, why not?" Gideon said "go on, pick whatever you like."

With that, Shining Armor picked an IMR, Lightning picked the MORS, and Lone picked up the S-12 shotgun. Then, their horns glowed; creating three mannequins from the scraps. Then the trio levitated their weapons with their magics, aiming them just like the Sentinels did and took their shots with perfect accuracy; despite some small errors here and there, they quickly mastered the weapons as if they have been using it for a long time.

"Fast learning." Ilona commented.

"Ma'am, we are not captains for nothing." Lightning smirked as he returned the rifle to Ilona. Then, a royal chariot landed in the middle of the large field.

"That's our ride, come on Cadance." Shining said as he returned the IMR to Markusen. After saying their goodbyes, Shining Armor and Princess Cadance made their way to the awaiting chariot bound for the Crystal Empire.

"Shining!" Gideon said while jogging towards the two with Mitchell following suit.

"Yes?" Shining replied.

Gideon took his Atlas 45 from his holster with an extra clip and handed it to Shining Armor "As a precaution, but let's just hope you don't have to use this." 

Shining took the pistol with his telekinesis and stored it in his red-jacket "Thank you." he smiled.

"Just keep it with you, we don't want our techs to fall into the wrong hands." Gideon said. Shining nodded.

"Take care of them, Gideon. I wish all of you may find peace and harmony here in Equestria." Cadance said with a smile.

"You have my word...our word."





Somewhere in the Everfree Forest, a figure known for his combat skills and battle-hardened experience; an Apex predator, woke up with a grunt. "Where am I?" He asked to no one in particular. 

"Is this the afterlife?" He mused as he got up and checked his surroundings, still not convinced of his senses he hit a tree next to him and felt pain on his fist "okay, not the afterlife. But this is obviously not Europe." He concluded. He got up from the ground and examined his weapons scattered around him; which to his surprise, were fully supplied and loaded. Including his signature Werewolf LMG/Shotgun hybrid and RW-1 railgun pistol.Then he brought his hand to his helmet; activating the helmet's built-in comms.

"Squad, this is Apex. Do you read?" 
> Biographies 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Sergeant Grant "Bolt" Hatch 

This is  Doctor Whovian's  OC, one of my advisers and friend. A cool OC, in my opinion.

A. Name: Grant "Bolt" Hatch

B. Rank: Sergeant

C. MOS: Sniper/Marksman (Aegis team's sniper)

D. Hair: Thick and Brown

E. Eyes: Brown

F. Skin: Fair

G. Height: 6 ft 5 in

F. Body: thin

G. Combat Overview:

He normally wields the Ae4 Widowmaker and HBRa3 during multi-role situations and the MK14 with an ACOG scope for mobile sharpshooting. As a sniper, he mostly uses the Lynx and MORS. However, during rare occasions; he will use heavier sniper rifles. For close quarters combat, he usually uses the PDW sidearm and the S-12. Despite his skills in open CQC, he prefers stealthy engagements; this is also due to his training as a marine scout sniper in the MSOR, and thus preferring to use his exo-cloak among all other available abilities. 

He also needs glasses. When he doesn't wear glasses, the further away an object is from his eyes the more blurry it is. But luckily, he passes the 20/20 vision test. Not colorblind, nor having any depth problems.

H. Mental Description: 

Bolt is a very soft spoken person, he is friendly, but just doesn't talk much unless spoken to. This has given him plenty of time to think, and this has blessed him with the ability to think very quickly and very thoroughly in the deadliest of combat situations. 

Other Information: He has a crush on Ilona. 

2. John Markusen

This is Mkchief34's OC. One of my friends and advisers.Click the link and check out his stories!

A. Name: John Markusen

B. Age: 26

C. Hair: Brown

D. Eyes: Blue

E. Appearance: 

John has an average build with brown hair and blue eyes. His face is carved with numerous scars as a result of past battles.

F. Background:

Born in a small Indiana town, John served the United States Marine Corps while his father served ATLAS, who was secretly a Sentinel double agent. John's skills and abilities caused him to be transferred to the MSOR. His father's identity was discovered, and he got killed in a subsequent operation. John joined applied to Sentinel in response, and has been fighting ATLAS since as a Sentinel operative.

G. Combat Overview: 

John often joins the front-line of an attack which makes him an assault type of soldier. He normally wields the IMR with a red-dot sight as his assault rifle and dual MP443 Grachs as his sidearms. Due to his spearheading style of combat, he normally uses the assault exo and preferred exo-stims among all other exo abilities. He is also a good tactician.

H. Personality: 
Despite what most people believe, John is a very caring person; especially to his squad. Since he lost his father, he practically has no family and his squad is his family. He also likes animals. 

3. Captain Lone Shadow

This is LoneShadow's , an adviser and a friend of mine. (Check out his fict When Worlds Collide it's awesome!)

A. Name: Lone Shadow

B. Pony Species: Unicorn

C. Gender: Male

D. Rank: Captain

E. Occupation: Royal Guard

F. Cutie Mark: Crossed katanas (white and orange) over a red octagon.

G. Appearance: 

Stallion approaching Luna's height, including horn. Black for primary mane, tail, and coat color with red as a secondary and hints of orange in mane and tail. Red eyes. Changeling like muzzle.

H. Abilities: Skilled in close quarters combat and combat focused magic.

I. Background: 

Grew up as an orphan who enlisted for the guard once he became of age. He speaks little, if anything, about his past. Though his comrades say that he is slightly intimidating, he's always willing to put himself in harm's way for them, and even complete strangers. Rumors say that he knows how to use dark magic; a fact compounded by him saying that, "All magic is just a tool, like a spear. Is the spear evil, or is it the wielder who is evil? It's the wielder. It's the same with magic. Ponies are afraid of what they don't know, and they know almost nothing of Dark magic. No, I don't practice dark magic. Just magic." This had lead to some to worry about his mental state.

4. Captain Lightning Spear

This one's mine ;p 

A. Name: Lightning Spear

B. Pony Species: Unicorn

C. Occupation: Royal Guard

D. Rank: Captain

E. Cutie Mark: A spear imbued with lightning.

F. Appearance: 

Stallion approaching Luna's height, proportional muscular build. A short, spiky, electric yellow mane and tail with a dark yellow outline. An orange coat. Blue eyes. Shining Armor-like muzzle.

G. Abilities: 

Excellent in swordplay and CQC. And as his name suggests, he is capable of manipulating lightning and electricity. He is capable of conjuring a large and powerful spear made of lightning from his horn and firing it with a deadly speed and accuracy, which is capable of melting through steel, shattering rocks, frying organic matters to crisps, and disabling electronic devices. Aside from regular spells, He is also proficient at healing spells and capable of learning very quickly.

H. Background:

Born and raised in a military family, and cousin to Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor,Lightning Spear's parents served in the Royal Guards for a long time as commanders. And of course, Lightning Spear dreams of becoming a royal guard himself, just like his parents. He discovered his special talents in the age of 10 and orphaned at the same time when he was cornered by a Manticore while following his parents and their guards in command into the Everfree Forest. And needless to say, the Manticore was burned until nothing was left but charred bones, and an organic husk of burning flesh.Since then, he trained himself intensively to master his new powers and to keep his anguish at bay; once he became of age and considered himself ready, he enlisted into the Royal Guards and has proven himself to be one of the most skilled of guards.

I. Personality: 

Lightning Spear is generally very friendly and has a tendency to do some brave (often crazy) things both in and out of missions. Very protective to those he cared for and even complete strangers. Possessing a will of steel, Lightning would overcome any obstacle and fight to his last breath. He would throw himself in harm's way to avoid losing them, just like his parents did. And if needed, giving his life for them. His comrades and superiors admires him greatly due to his personality and sharp mind.
> Biographies (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. LCDR. Marcus "Apex" Antonio Solis

This OC belongs to The Loyal Patriot , one of my friends and advisers. L.P's a great guy and you should definitely check out his stories, especially From Humans, to Cryptids, to...Ponies?.

A. Name: Marcus Antonio Solis

B. Call-sign: Apex

C. Rank: Lieutenant Commander

D. Age: 27

E. Height: 6'2

F. MOS: Direct Action/Reconnaissance/Black Operations

G. Hair: Short and black

H. Eyes: Dark brown

I. Skin: Well-tanned

J. Body: Average muscle built

K. Combat Overview: 

He is armed with an experimental weapon named the 'Ohm' (Or 'Werewolf' as he called it, due to the yellow and blue finish along with a werewolf on the barrel), which is a shotgun/light machine gun hybrid that shoots heated bolts of concentrated tungsten that can be transformed into super-hot pellets of metal with the push of a button.

He can also work smoothly with a Tac-19 shotgun, along with an RW1 Railgun pistol, and the highly controversial XMG dual machine miniguns. Despite him excelling in close and mid range, he is highly skilled with the Atlas 20mm.

Despite the big and noisy guns he wields in combat, he could be very stealthy and silent when the situation calls for it. A master of blending into the shadows.

For hand to hand combat, Marcus is proficient at Krav Maga and wields a Karambit which he uses with deadly proficiency. 

L. Exo Suit and Abilities: Built-In Cloaking system, along with additional abilities: Exo Overclock and Exo Hover.

K. Training History: 

Marcus was formerly enlisted in the United States Marine Corps 'Force Recon', where after the Invasion of Seoul, he was given permission to join the C.I.A's Special Activities Division (SAD), which he accepted. After training, he went on to become a part of the highly secretive Special Operations Group (SOG), where he led numerous and infamous secretive black operations and reconnaissance.
When he and his team worked alongside the newly formed Sentinel Task Force to uncover the secrets of the Atlas Corporation, Cormack saw his worth and offered him a spot in the S.T.F, to which he accepted.

Mental Description: Very outgoing and overall friendly, but has a bit of a temper. Quick-witted and down-to-earth when the time calls for it. Acts immature whenever he wants to, but when the time calls to be serious, he will be serious. Overall tough as nails on the outside, but soft and warm on the inside.

2. James Grayson

This OC belongs to Dusty_Roads, check out his page! A creative OC, in my opinion.

A. Name: James Grayson

B. Age: 22

C. Nickname: "Big Easy"

D. MOS: Goliath Operator

E. Primary Weapon (when not in Goliath): HBRa3 with Hybrid Sight, Forgrip, and Laser Sight. MultiCam Black camo.

F. Secondary Weapon: MP443 Grach with Barrel Extension and Advanced Rifling. Same Camo. M1 Irons.

G. Loadout and Exo: Sentinel Recon 

H. Other info: Right handed.

I. Background: 

James Grayson, Call sign "Big Easy", former Atlas Operative who defected when he caught wind of what they were planning. Former U.S. Marine. He was the man in the Goliath that brought down the KVA helicopter in Detroit while the door was closing, shortly after Gideon, Mitchell, Joker, and Torres arrived on the bikes. Born and raised in a small town called Abbs Valley, Virginia, he has a deep, thick southern accent. Due to a battle, his entire right arm and part of his shoulder had to be replaced with a prosthetic similar to Mitchell's.

J. Personality: 

James puts others before himself, especially in combat, as he once used is Goliath armor to shield a fellow Sentinel Soldier from enemy fire. He looks up to Mitchell and Gideon. He is rarely seen without his hat.

http://web.iwebcenters.com/lasvegasspeedracers/images/MGCapFlame.jpg

He doesn't really care what others think of him, he thinks the only opinion about himself that matters is his and his special somepony. His temper may become a problem if someone messes with something, or someone/somepony he cares about. He can be slightly shy when meeting someone/somepony new. He also tends to get a little pissy if he doesn't have his Snuff.

http://media.northerner.com/media/catalog/product/cache/80/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/s/k/skoal_wintergreen_lc_200824_april_2015.jpg

K. Appearance: 

Short brown hair, Brown eyes, he also has a mustache and goatee, which he strokes when he is thinking. White. 5 foot, 7 inches tall. Has a Cross with tribal wings tattoo on his back.

http://www.ethekwinibanner.co.za/image/cache/data/tribal_wings_cross_design_by_twz-1-500x500.jpg

Combat Overview: Despite mainly being a Goliath operator, James is a crackshot with anything since he was raised in the back woods. He also carries a large hunting knife with him at all times, and is extremely effective with it, whether in hand-to-hand combat or using it as a throwing knife. He affectionately calls it his "Hog Sticker".
> The Rescue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Apex's First Person P.O.V

"Squad do you copy?" I asked over my radio for God knows how many times already. And yet...

*static*

I wonder how many hours has passed since my awakening and walking through this seemingly endless large-ass forest, with no signs of my squad or any form of civilization. And a severe-ass headache didn't make things any better.

But at least no ATLAS either.  

As I continued my trek through the massive forest, I felt countless eyes watching my footsteps. 

'Predators...' I thought as I continued my journey. 

 'But I am the Apex predator.'  I smirked as I knew I could handle everything that this forest could throw at me. Especially with my ammo and supplies completely stocked; a stroll through the forest.

During the journey, I couldn't help but to think as a lot of questions started brewing inside of my mind. 

When suddenly they all hit me like a bullet train, the events that led me here...

 "Fucking traitors..."  I thought as I clenched my fist.

Then, I decided to try again. This time, I switched my radio channel from my squad's to the global Sentinel comms network.

"To all Sentinels in the area, please respond; over?" 

*static* 

I was about to mow down every tree in my sights with my LMG/Shotgun hybrid when suddenly my brain told me something I should have done like hours before. 

I strapped my Werewolf on my exo's magnetic holster,aimed my grappling hook at the top of a tall tree and fired it. Once I got to the top of the tree, I tried again.

"To all Sentinels in the area, please respond; over?" 





Sentinel Task Force Team's P.O.V

"Major Gideon, I trust you and your team can handle things perfectly around here." Gleaming Shield said as he, Princesses Luna and Celestia, and the rest of his comrades were being escorted out from the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom castle by the Sentinels, the guards, and the Main Six as they were returning to Canterlot.

"Don't worry sir, this is what we do after all." Gideon said confidently.

"Well, if you need us...contact us through the tablets we gave you." Mitchell added. 

"And we will be right there in a flash." Joker added.

"It's good to know you and the guards will watch our backs." Iron Sword said as he got up to one of the three royal chariots on the courtyard.

"To all Sentinels in the area, please respond; over?"  a masculine voice echoed in every Sentinel comms in the area.

"Identify yourself, over." Gideon said sternly.

"This is Lieutenant Commander Marcus Antonio Solis, call sign Apex."   Apex replied "To whom am I speaking?" 

"Major Gideon." 

"Oh well, I'll be damned."  Apex replied with an excited tone "Listen Major, we have a lot to talk about; but first, can you pick me up? I am a little lost here."

"Where is your location? over?" 

"I am at a huge ass forest and--"

When suddenly, a large explosion interrupted the conversation. Followed by a monstrous roar.

"OH SH*static* I *static* go! *static*"

"Boss we lost the signal." Joker said.

"Well find and triangulate his position damn it! this guy is one of us and I'll be damned if he is dead!" Gideon barked. 

"Hold on, did your friend mention his location?" Lone asked.

"Huge forest, you know where to find a forest like that?" Mitchell said.

"Oh, we all know exactly where that forest is." Lightning said.





Apex's First Person P.O.V

So here I was, having a nice conversation with the guy I was supposed to find; when suddenly a huge fireball streaked through my side, missing me by only mere inches before it hit the ground and exploded, kicking a shit ton of dirt and dust to the air. 

I could still felt the searing heat on my body despite the fact that the fireball was gone, wondering what could have shot such a fireball, I quickly turned around and saw a massive green-scaled, two-horned dragon flying towards me with it's mouth wide open. Exposing it's combat knife sized fangs.

I was expecting a heavily modified ATLAS Warbird or a Titan Tank or something else, but a fucking dragon? Man I must be high as fuck.

The Dragon charged another fireball from it's mouth and shot it directly at my position, knowing I will be turned into a well-done human barbecue; I took a leap of faith.

"OH SHIT I GOTTA GO!" I yelled at my comms before jumping down the tree and using a burst of my land assist to control my fall. Only mere seconds after I jumped, the fireball impacted the tree, sending splinters of charred wood everywhere and setting the tree on fire.

Once I touched the ground, I immediately sprinted through the thick trees; luckily the thick forest canopy also provided aerial cover so the dragon won't have an easy meal.

As I sprinted past the dense vegetation, dodging various obstacles and evading the dragon's fireball; I realized the otherworldly elements of the forest. I saw a pack of wolves seemingly made of wood and glowing tree sap trying to escape the black dragon only to be incinerated while trying to do so.

I didn't have the time to unload my Werewolf into that dragon; because for a dragon, this one got the aim and accuracy of a sniper. It's fireballs only missed me because I was lucky enough not to get hit, leaving fiery trail on its wake. 

But my luck nearly ran out when a fireball exploded by my side, sending me flying and hitting a tree with my back before falling back to the ground with a dull thud.

Before I could recover, the dragon landed in front of me. Placing one of its claws on top of me, I could feel some of my ribs cracking due to the intense pressure.

Looking at me like its next meal. 

"You will make a fine meal, hairless ape." The dragon chuckled in a heavy menacing dark toned voice. 

The word 'Mindblown' would be an understatement. Seeing a real life dragon was and still is something unimaginable, but a real life talking dragon?! Jesus H Christ.

Suddenly, the dragon's red eyes started glowing and I was levitated to the air. I tried to reach my exo wrist pad to activate my sonics but I wasn't able to move my body in the dragon's telekinesis grip. 

The dragon brought me face to face with it before opening it's mouth with smoke fumes coming out from it. My suit's AI immediately auto-scanned the smoke; apparently; the fumes mostly consisted of huge amounts of hydrogen and methane, extremely combustible gases. The AI immediately activated my helmet's air filter/gas mask, so thankfully the gases won't get into my respiratory system.

Although that should be the least of my worries now.

"Any last words?" The dragon said sarcastically.

"Heh, I am sure your breath smells very nice." I retorted as I stared at the dragon's eyes. Unflinching.

But before me or the dragon could do anything, familiar hums of a Razorback's jet engines approached. The humming of the engines were soon replaced by the humming of the Razorback's rotary auto-cannons which impacted the dragon's back, tearing off it's scales, and punching through its flesh. 

The dragon roared in pain and maybe due to the immense pain, the dragon dropped me and flew away; leaving a red bloody trail on the ground and trees.

Seconds later, the Razorback landed on a nearby field and four Sentinel operatives jumped off from the VTOL. Two of them formed a defensive perimeter while the other two rushed to my position. 

"I've got you mate, I've got you." A familiar voice greeted my ears. Although I can't see any of the operatives' faces because they were all concealed by their helmets, I knew who that was.

"Major Gideon." I said as he and one of his men helped me up from the ground, carrying me with them.

"Welcome to Equestria! we are gonna get you out of here!" The Sentinel operative beside me spoke up as the two carried me back to the VTOL.

"All set?" One of the guarding operative asked.

"All set." The Sentinel operative beside me replied as the two followed us inside the VTOL.

As the two set me down on the VTOL's seats, I was greeted by another peculiar sight. There were two...armored Unicorn pony stallions on board.

One has a short, spiky, electric yellow mane and tail with a dark yellow outline. Proportionally muscled, blue eyes, and what seemed to be a spear imbued with lightning on its...flank. Armed with a spear and longsword.

While the other one has a black tail, and coat with red as a secondary and hints of orange in mane and tail, red eyes, also proportionally muscled and what seemed to be crossed white and orange katana swords over a red octagon on its flank. Armed with dual katana swords.

"Ilona, Apex secured; we are RTB." The Major said over the VTOL's comms. 

"Copy that."  Ilona's voice replied. With that, the VTOL's sliding doors closed and we took off.

Then, Gideon returned from the cockpit and all operatives opened their helmets. Revealing familiar faces. Captain Jack Mitchell; the one who helped Major Gideon to carry me, Lieutenant Joker; the ATLAS defector, and Sergeant Grant "Bolt" Hatch; the sniper.

"Even the legendary former Spetsnaz sniper is here, I think I found the guys Kingpin asked us to find..."  I thought as I adjusted my position, only resulting of the searing pain from my injuries to course through my body. 

"Are you alright Lieutenant Commander?" Major Gideon asked while inspecting me for injuries. "Several broken ribs, and fractures."

"P-please, call me Marcus." I replied with a smile.

"Just call me Gideon." he replied with a smile as he offered his hand; which I gladly shook "Marcus, this is Captain--"

"Jack Mitchell." I said spontaneously "That over there is Lieutenant Joker, and Sergeant Grant "Bolt" Hatch." 

"How do you know about us?" Sergeant Grant "Bolt" Hatch asked.

"That's part of why I am here, sergeant." I replied.

"Dude, forget the ranks just call us by our names." Joker said.

"Alright, but mind telling me who these two are?" I asked while pointing towards the two unicorns.

Before anybody could react, a heavy turbulence shook the VTOL violently.

"Oh SHIT! dragon's back!" The pilot exclaimed as he dodged another fireball from the dragon.

"Dragons won't back down from a hunt unless it sees it's prey dead." The katana wielding unicorn spoke up "Or the other way around." 

" I can deal with this." The other unicorn said with great certainty.

A talking dragon and now talking unicorns? man I must have lost my sanity. 

"Open the doors!" the unicorn yelled.

"Are you fucking insane?! that thing will kill us!" the pilot yelled back.

"If you let that dragon chase us into Ponyville there will be more casualties." the katana wielding unicorn retorted.

"Trust me! I can stop this thing here and now!" The yellow unicorn yelled.

"Open it!" Gideon said, as soon as he said that the sliding doors slide open; giving a perfect view of the approaching dragon.

" I hope you are right Lightning." Mitchell said while pointing his IMR at the dragon. 

"Lightning huh? Nice name." I thought.

"Align us with that dragon!" Lightning said again. The pilot complied, and aligned us into broadside firing trajectory. With that Lightning stood up from his seat and stood near the opened door "You guys might want to back off a bit."

The dragon once again charged a massive fireball from it's mouth; ready to blow us to kingdom come.

Suddenly, Lightning conjured a large spear which seemed to be made of lightning from his horn. He focused his sights on the dragon, and fired the lightning spear from his horn at blistering speed; the lightning spear went through the dragons mouth, the massive dragon exploded into pieces of charred flesh raining down from the sky into the forest below for the scavengers to eat.

Threat terminated, we were once again speeding to Gideon's base of operations; this...Ponyville.

"Holly Shit!" Joker exclaimed "That was fucking awesome! How did you do that?!" 

"Thanks, see this cutie mark? that's how. How did I get it? long story." Lightning replied.

"Now I can see why you are named Lightning Spear." Gideon said with astonishment.

"But you should see Lone Shadow when you have the chance." Lightning said while giving the katana wielding unicorn a bro-fist...or bro-hoof maybe?

"Two names acquired, Lightning Spear and Lone Shadow."  I thought.

"Now lets see those wounds." Gideon said.

I opened my exo suit before removing my body armor and the rest of my torso-latched tactical gear. Leaving me bare-chested.

"Oh shit." Bolt said as he inspected my wounds "Looks like that dragon really wrecked you up." 

"Oh no shit." I grunted as he checked on my rib-cage. 

"Don't worry I got you covered." Lightning said as he walked up to me "Now be still." 

Suddenly his horn glowed with an electric yellow aura. I assume it was magic because, you know...magical creatures.As the same aura engulfed my body, I felt ticklish sensation but also a far lesser amount of pain. Five minutes later, he was done. I observed my body, and with great surprise; saw all of my bruises and cuts completely gone, save for the pain in my rib-cage although the pain itself was greatly reduced.

"Okay that should do it." he said while wiping off beads of sweat from his forehead. "Do you have any bandage?" 

"Sure." Bolt said while tossing Lightning a a first aid bandage from his tactical vest. Lightning caught it with his magic and swiftly opened the bandage's wrapping. He unfurled the bandage and wrapped it around my rib-cage.

"Aaand we are done." He said "You are good, but you should rest for at least three weeks before performing any heavy physical things."

"Remind me to buy you a drink man." I said while giving a pat on his shoulder before putting my gear back on.

"Oh you better have a lot of bits my friend, as a royal guard I am quite a strong drinker." Lightning chuckled before sitting back down on his seat.

"Thank you guys, for coming to get me." I said " Thought I was done for."

"We don't leave anyone behind." Gideon said with a smile.

"By the way, what's up with that piece on your back? I know the RW1, but I never seen anything like it before." Joker asked.

"This baby is experimental." I said "I will explain everything after we get back to..."

"Ponyville." Lone replied.

"Okay, thanks." I said, honestly I didn't expect him to answer.

Shortly, we entered the airspace of a small peaceful town. I looked out from the opened sliding doors and observed the town from bird's eye view.

The town has a medieval European architecture as the houses and buildings were designed in a similar manner and made out of wood with straw roofs. 

Along the way I also noticed a windmill and a large building in the center of the town; probably the town hall.

I also noticed that the streets were filled with ponies, doing their daily activities. There were regular ponies, Unicorns, and Pegasi; thank God I remembered my childhood bedtime stories. Most of them smiled and waved at us, while some just stared with a look of disbelief on their faces.

I waved back before turning to the rest of my new allies. 

"Yo Marcus." Joker said before tossing me a canteen which I caught "Take a sip man, it's water. Unfortunately. You look like you need to drink." 

I unscrewed the bottle cap and drank half of it's content. I thanked him, and returned the canteen.

"Guys, is that where we are heading?" I asked while pointing at a crystal tree-like castle which seemed to grow bigger as we fly closer.

Gideon chuckled "Son, welcome to the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle." 

I was speechless by the time I laid my eyes on the castle and its surrounding scenery, I never saw anything so beautiful and magnificent back on Earth.

"Heh, you should see your own face." the pilot commented while setting down the Razorback beside another Razorback and two Warbirds on a large field nearby from what I assumed; the barracks.

As we landed, at least a platoon of Sentinels and royal guards converged near the landing zone.

"Thank you for flying with Equestrian Airlines." the pilot said while turning off the engines and stepping out of the cockpit.

"Dude, I never got your name." I said to the pilot.

"Reeves, Sergeant John Reeves." he said while offering his hand which I gladly shook.

I stood up from my seat with Bolt's help since I was freshly treated from my injuries; plus, my cracked ribs won't do me any good.

Suddenly, the crowd formed a parallel line as if opening a way for someone important. And sure enough, two tall female alicorn ponies walked towards us. 

One has a pristine white coat, and a multicolored mane similar to that of a rainbow which swayed majestically in the air despite for the lack of wind or any gush of air in the field. She also has a Sun marking in her flank.

While the other one has a dark blue coat, and a dark blue starry mane; resembling the moonlit night sky itself which also swayed majestically in the air. She also has a Crescent Moon marking in her flank.

For the record, they were the largest of these ponies I've seen so far; in fact, the white one stood as high as me, while the dark blue one standing as high as my chest. 

They were all wearing crowns and other royal regalia, which led to my conclusion that they are royalty of some sort.

"Guys, who are they?" I whispered.

"Those are Princesses Celestia and Luna." Lone replied "The white one is Princess Celestia, the dark blue one is Princess Luna." 

"Welcome back Sentinels." Princess Celestia greeted us, as we saluted her "I am glad to see all of you save and sound." 

"Actually if it wasn't for Lightning, we won't be here right now." Gideon said.

"Oh come on, it was nothing." Lightning replied with a chuckle.

"Ah, you must be the one that contacted us." Princess Luna said. "Are you alright?" 

"Just some cracked rib cage, other than that; yes ma'am I am alright." I confirmed confidently "I am Lieutenant Commander Marcus Antonio Solis. But I also go by my call sign 'Apex'. It's an honor Your Majesties. But please, outside of formal situations; just call me Marcus."

"The honor is ours, Marcus. Assuming this is an informal situation." Celestia replied with a smile.

"It is ma'am, outside of missions and special events; everything is informal for me." I replied with a smile "But I also have an urgent matter to speak of." 

"Come, lets get inside." Celestia said while gesturing towards the castle.

"Lead the way Princess." I said.





"So, Marcus. Right?" James Grayson said while holstering his custom HBRa3 as the group entered the throne room and Twilight sat on the throne with the princesses by her side; and of course her friends also sat on their respective chairs. Remembering the convention room was out of service what better place could there be than a throne room? "How are you holding up?" 

"I am fine, but having a dragon on top of you is really something to experience." Marcus said with a shit eating grin.

"Man you nasty, Ah'm James Grayson by the way." James said while holding out his hand; which Marcus shook. "Nice ta meet ya, partner." 

"Nice piece by the way." John Markusen said while gesturing at Marcus' holstered RW1.

"Which one? mine or his?" James said while also flashing his M1 Irons single-action revolver.

"Whoa, would you look at that! Mind if I hold your piece?" Marcus asked, but before either of them could react...

"Guys, you know that sounds homosexual right?" Lightning interrupted with a shit eating grin.  

As he said that, the group erupted into a full-scale laughter. Even the princesses themselves.

"Lightning!" Twilight said with an embarrassed tone; face palming.

"Sorry, Twi; I am sorry please, continue." Lightning said while wiping off tears from his face

"Now Marcus." Twilight said "What is it that you want to talk about?"

"Oh how do I explain this..." Marcus sighed. "Hold on, you unicorns are good at magic; right?"

"We do, darling." Rarity said "What do you want us to do?"

"Um, do you have some sort of memory projecting spell or something like that?" Marcus asked.

"Well, technically yes." Rarity replied.

"Alright then, who is willing to be the projectionist?" Marcus asked.

"I do." Lone said. 

"But before I start, I should warn about the scene you are about to watch; is not for the weak stomached. If any of you want out, now is the time." Marcus said. The room fell silent as nobody and nopony reacted to Marcus' statement.

"You sure?" Marcus asked one last time, with that he nodded towards Lone who stepped towards Marcus. "Alright, so how do we do this?" 

"Easy, just think of what you want to show us." Lone said.

"Okay, hey is it gonna hurt?" Marcus asked.

"Only if you resist, just think of good and fun stuffs." Lone said with a small smile.

"Unfortunately, I can't."  Marcus thought.

With that, Marcus sat on the floor with his legs crossed and Lone put his horn to Marcus' forehead; projecting his memory for all to see.
> Operation White Rose
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere over Europe
1700 hours
Operation White Rose 

Marcus and his squad were flying in a Razorback VTOL to a designated location not too far from Switzerland, where they were instructed to recon and retrieve the remains of the fallen Sentinel platoon in Operation Subtle Dagger. With them, was another Razorback VTOL; carrying four operatives from the famed 22 SAS Regiment, Call-sign: Hellhounds, who agreed to assist them in their mission. They planned to rendezvous on site.

Marcus and his squad was one of Sentinel Task Force's top tier assets. Call-sign: Hammer, his squad underwent tougher training regime, and possessed an array of high-tech weapons and gears the planet can offer. They went into numerous high-risk clandestine missions and completed them with brutal efficiency, whereas most soldiers have failed. 

So a clandestine search and rescue mission will be a walk in the park for them.

Marcus couldn't help but to feel bad about the whole thing; not saying he was feeling guilty, but it was quite strange for SAS operatives to volunteer themselves in these days, especially when their own country needed them the most and the whole operation was only a recovery op. But the Sentinels needed all the help they can get.

"So, Marcus." Lieutenant Thomas Stenz, one of his squad-mates and second in command asked; snapping him from his trance "What are you gonna do when the war is over? I mean, ATLAS forces are collapsing around the world; MANTICORE's down, and well...you might be planning for your life ahead." 

"I don't know...maybe retire from all this...start a family." Marcus replied "What about you?" 

"Same thing...have a girl waiting for me back home." Stenz replied. "What about you Natasha?" 

"Well, marriage isn't something I am gonna do soon..." Sergeant Natasha Keller replied "But maybe...I'll come back to my parents at Los Angeles. From there, I am gonna plan things out." she replied with a smile "What about you Cassie?" 

"I don't know Nat...still thinking as we speak." Corporal Cassie Nightingale replied while adjusting her combat knife.

"Or, you can be my girlfriend instead."  Sergeant Charlie Wallcroft's voice echoed in their comms. The SAS squad's second in command.

"Knock it off Wallcroft." Cassie replied "We've just met." 

"Do you believe in love at first sight, my dear?" Wallcroft asked flirtatiously.

"Jesus Christ, Wallcroft. Knock it off!" Captain David Cook, the SAS squad leader intervened "Focus on the mission damn it." 

"Oh right, the mission."  Wallcroft said with an ominous chuckle.

"Sorry Corporal, the influence of his cock gets to his head when he lay his eyes on pretty ladies like you."  Cook said in an apologetic tone "No offense." 

"None taken, lieutenant." Cassie replied.

"Guys, we are gonna have to go into a pretty bad storm ahead of us." Corporal Martin Burns, Marcus' squad pilot said.

"How bad is it?" Marcus asked.

"Nothing bad, probably just some comms interference." Martin replied. 

"Any other alternatives?" Natasha asked "I've got a bad feeling about this." 

"We can't stray from our route, remember? ATLAS' air defense system is gonna tear us apart. Since that crazy ass Excalibur cannon is back online, our forces must be having a very lovely field trip." Cassie explained loud and clear.

"Copy that." Natasha replied simply. 

"Four minutes from target." 

"Alright people, lock and load." Marcus ordered.

With that, his squad checked and readied their weapons and gears. Marcus himself checked his Werewolf, switching it to LMG and Shotgun mode and inserted the ammo belt.

Suddenly, Lieutenant Cook's Razorback signal signature disappeared from the radar.

"Lieutenant do you copy?" Burns asked.

*Static*

"Lieutenant do you copy?" Burns asked once again.

*static*

Suddenly, the Razorback's missile defense warning system activated; telling them that they were being locked. They've got an integrated trophy system on board so the chances of survival were higher.

"Sir, we are locked!" Martin yelled.

"Shit! who is targeting us?" Marcus asked.

"I don't know, scanners can't see a thing!" Martin replied, suddenly eight heat-seeking missiles were fired towards them.

"That heat seeker? SHIT spark the flares spark the flares!" Marcus commanded.

Martin immediately deployed the VTOL's flare reserves while performing a 360 degree turn to avoid the missiles. The missiles exploded when they came into contact with the flares, and the VTOL's armor and trophy system added an extra layer of protection as one missile exploded near the engines. But nevertheless, the trophy system didn't stop the immense force of the blast; rupturing the engines internally.

"Everybody okay?" Marcus asked as he wiped a few beads of sweat from his forehead. 

"Please tell me if we are going to do that again."Thomas said "I am feeling sick."

"But other than that, we are fine." Natasha replied.

"But hold it guys, we are not out of the woods yet." Martin said "Our engines are heavily damaged, I need to take this bird down." 

"Copy that." Marcus said. With that, Martin began to descend towards an open field in the woods.

"Hammer do you copy? over!"  Cook's voice echoed in the radio.

"Holly fuck! Where have you been?!" Marcus asked with an agitated tone "We lost you and we nearly got our asses fragged out here!" 

"I will tell you later when I get to you." Cook replied.

"Just get your ass over here." Marcus said.

"Cook, out." 

As they went out to check the damage on their VTOL, another Razorback approached them from the distance.

"Well, that's fast." Natasha said while glancing up to the approaching VTOL, standing near the door.

When suddenly, Cook's VTOL fired two anti armor missiles towards their VTOL. Seeing the incoming projectiles, Marcus and his squad immediately scattered and dove to the ground; saving them from instant doom.

The missiles impacted the VTOL and blowing it to pieces. Killing Martin who was still inside.

Marcus and his squad immediately got up and dashed to the forest as Cook's men and  VTOL were shooting at them.

"Wait!" Cook halted his squad before jumping off the VTOL. "Pilot, land here and wait for our return." he said.

"As for you boys, enjoy the hunt. But Apex...is mine."  





"Blast this damn forest! I can't see a bloody thing." Wallcroft cursed as the fading sun and the thick forest began to obscure his view as the rogue SAS troops pushed through the forest in efforts to pursue their preys and pay checks. "Why are we doing this again?" 

"Because ATLAS will have billions of dollars transferred to us when we bag these guys up." Cook said "And use your night vision you bloody fool!" 

As soon as Cook said that, a flashbang grenade landed in front of him. But before he could react, the grenade exploded in front of the whole team and frying their night visions.

The tide had turned for the seemingly superior SAS troopers. 

Heavily disoriented, the SAS troopers blind fired all over the area while making a hasty retreat to a fallen tree for cover; making it very easy for Marcus and his squad to shoot them one by one. Shortly, Cook was the last man standing with a gunshot wound to his leg.

"Hold your fire squad." Marcus said as he and his squad approached an incapacitated Cook with their guns pointed at him.

"Okay, no more games Lieutenant Commander." Cook said while dropping his Bal-27 to the ground with a metallic clank.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Stenz exclaimed while delivering a powerful upercut to Cook's chin, causing him to spit out a few pieces of broken teeth along with blood to the ground.

"Control yourself Lieutenant!" Marcus said sternly "You are coming with us. Sergeant, FlexiCuffs." 

As Natasha took out a pair of FlexiCuffs from her vest and handed it to Marcus, Cook let out an ominous chuckle.

"I am afraid, that..." He said while subtly reaching for behind his back "is impossible."

As fast as lightning, he threw a smart grenade towards Natasha. Seeing the grenade flying towards his squad mate, Marcus pushed Natasha out of the way and then Marcus could felt his body getting absorbed by the massive energy from the blast, and then...

All was black.
> A Very Important Announcement
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey guys this is Lightning Spear, checking in .

First of all, I am sorry for the lack of updates and bringing your hopes up for a new chapter.

I've been very busy lately and I haven't got the chance to work on the new chapter. I can't say when the new chapter will be out, since I still have a lot of tasks to deal with. 

But nevertheless, I have a very important announcement for you guys.

No, I am not canceling this story if that's what you are worried about.

However, I must told you that I've stopped accepting OC submission.

Those who sent their OCs and have not heard from me, your OC is still in consideration and I will tell you whether I accept your OC or not ASAP.

I know this may sound blunt as hell, but I have to get this thing off my chest before I start working on the new chapter.

That's right guys, the new chapter! 

Once again, I am really sorry if this brought your hopes up of reading a new chapter. 

Maybe I will accept more of your OCs in future stories.

That's all from me for now, Lightning Spear out.
> Biographies (Part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.Shadow Specter

Another OC from LoneShadow. Mind control, telekinetic combat, and summoning creatures from Tartarus?! Oh shit just got real!

A. Name: Shadow Specter

B. Gender: male

C. Species: Unicorn

D. Appearance: Emerald green coat and tree bark brown mane and tail, with river blue eyes.

E. Cutie mark: a justice scale.

F. Skills: Mind control, telekinetic combat, and summoning.

G. Background: 

Brother to Lone Shadow, He was raised by his parents until the age of six, when he harmed another colt for no reason. He said he was simply giving justice, as the colt in question was known to bully others. He believes that Celestia is the reason for many of his problems, as well as the planet's. He has been known to use his mind control to worm his way into multiple government positions. He has also been known to be able to summon creatures from Tartarus, as well as ethereal blades. As far as can be told, he believes what he is doing is right, and will stop at nothing to accomplish it.

2. Crack Shot 

This OC belongs to Darath. One of my friends.

A. Name: Crack Shot

B. Race: Pegasus

C. Gender: male

D. Appearance: Dark gray nearly black, neon green mane with neon blue streaks, blue eyes.

E.Cutie mark: neon green crosshair.

F.Ocupation: royal guard sharpshooter.

G. Background:

Ever since foalhood did he dream of becoming a Royal Guard. This dream encouraged him to train hard, he found his love in ranged weaponry. On one fateful training session he fired a crossbow. He hit the bull's eye and it was at that moment his cutie mark appeared. After honing his skills with every ranged weaponry known to ponykind, he enlisted into the Royal Guard and proved himself to be one of the Guards' greatest sharpshooter.

H. Personality: 

He is very quiet to newcomers but warms up to them eventually. Especially if he is challenged in the shooting range.

3. Raptor

This OC belongs to ColvaMoon5, one of my friends. Spotted the reference dude!

A. Name: RAPTOR

B. Race: Griffon hybrid (bio-engineered modifications)

C. Gender: Male

D. Appearance: Grey head fur, black body fur, green claws, golden eyes. Approximately six feet tall.

E. Background ,Combat Overview, and Personality:

The sole survivor of a brutal experimentation conducted by the highest echelon of the Griffon Empire, RAPTOR was a veteran assassin working for the empire until he got too good.  The leaders of the griffins worried he would be too powerful to stop, so they attempted to kill him with 20 of the griffin elite soldiers.  However, he wiped them out before they could even scratch him. 

He is a master of stealth, claw-to-claw , ranged conflicts, as well as a quick learner of unfamiliar situations. He wields a greatsword, two combat knifes, and a longbow as his weapons. He's also great at disguising himself, somehow having the ability to change his appearance as his DNA was fused with a Changeling's. This didn't change his normal appearance, but granted him the ability to shape-shift into anything he sees. Animate or inanimate.

He's cold, calculating, will use anyone to accomplish his mission. Gone rogue, he won't stop until he complete's the last mission he was given before his superiors wanted him dead:  kill Celestia.
> Adventure Time!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Marcus' memory sequence ended, the whole room fell silent. Neither the Humans nor the Ponies uttered a single word, until...

"That, was the bravest and the coolest thing I've ever seen in my whole life." Rainbow said out loud. Then she began clapping her hooves which were followed by a salvo of applause which permeated on the throne room.

Even Fluttershy managed to break free from her restraint of fear and clapped with the rest of the throne room's occupants.

Marcus unexpectedly bowed to them as if he just performed a grand orchestra on the Opera House.

"I always protect my family, whatever the cost." Marcus said solemnly as the applause died down.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say: thank you Marcus, for coming to get us." Ilona smiled as she offered her hand which Marcus gladly shook.

"It's nothing ma'am, really." he replied with a smile.

"Lucky prick."  Sergeant Grant "Bolt" Hatch mused to himself, but he quickly shook his scornful thoughts away.

"But look at the bright side, you didn't end up in Hell where Satan himself would attack your ass- *OW!* why did you do that?!" Joker yelled as Gideon slapped the back of his head "I am just joking around you know." he smiled sheepishly as he realized the answer for his question.

"We are sorry Twilight, please...continue." Gideon said as he fell back in line.

The Princesses smiled and Twilight looked outside of the balcony and realized that it was already at dusk.

"Wow, look at the time! Say, how about dinner?" Twilight suggested.

The humans realized they have not eaten anything since morning and tummies started rumbling in the throne room.

"Yes, that would be awesome. Lead the way Princess." Mitchell smiled.





"Oh. My. God! That was the best meal I've ever had!" Marcus commented as the waiters took away the last plate in the royal dining room. With that, subtle burps filled the whole chamber.

"All of you must be really hungry." Celestia chuckled before sipping the last drip of red wine from her cup. Their meals was mostly vegetarian, although eggs were also available. Twilight had ordered the chefs to cook a lot fish for the humans because she knew that a sudden change the humans' diets could have a bad effect for them. 

"Oh we are as hungry as horses!" Joker exclaimed. The ponies frowned upon hearing this. "What did I do?" he asked.

"That was kinda rude you know." Lightning said, but Joker gave him a questioning look "You know the horse part? Horses are our lesser evolved kin which- well, you get the idea." Lightning explained.

"Oh...I see. Well, I am sorry." Joker apologized. 

"That's okay, you didn't even know that darling." Rarity said "But, it does sound like an idiom. Is it an idiom?"

"Yes, ma'am." Joker confirmed "It means, to be very hungry." With that, the ponies expressed their acknowledgements.

"Speaking of which, where did you get the fishes? I thought ponies are supposed to be vegetarians." Marcus said.

"Well, we are vegetarians Marcus. But we are not the only sentient beings in Equestria you know." Twilight said "The fishes you just ate are from the coastal regions of Manehattan." 

"Sounds like Manhattan to me." Marcus said. 

"Yeah, parallelism and all that shit." John Markusen commented.

"Ookay..." Marcus said as he did not know what to say anymore "So, where are we crashing tonight?" He asked. 

"Well, since the barracks are still unusable; you are sleeping in the castle." Twilight smiled. Then they began to discuss about where they will be sleeping; Ilona requested a private chamber because she can't withstand the snores of Gideon and Mitchell, which she was immediately given, the shift guard hours, and of course good warm baths for everybody; as suggested by Rarity, which they gladly accepted.

After that, they left the dining hall. 





"Gideon, I trust you and your team could handle things perfectly." Celestia said a they once again escorted her out of the castle as she and Luna were returning to Canterlot.

"Of course, princess. You can count on us." Gideon replied as the Princesses Luna and Celestia boarded their charriot.

"Captains Lightning Spear and Lone Shadow, I am granting you command over Ponyville Royal Guard garrison. Coordinate with the Sentinels accordingly if something happens." Celestia declared. 

"Of course, Princess Celestia. We won't let you down." Lightning and Lone saluted. As they did this, Celestia subtly but seductively winked at Lightning which made him slightly unnerved but also surprised.

"If that's all, we must take our leave. We shall see you later." Luna said "I will also watch over you through the night." She said before looking towards Lone before smiling at him, which he returned.

"Thank you Your Majesties, for everything." Marcus said respectfully. The Princesses nodded and with a nod, the Pegasi guards pulled the charriot away and headed straight to the Canterlot Castle in the distance.

"And that was that." Twilight said "As we have nothing to do tomorrow, how about a tour in Ponyville?" 

"Good idea, Twi. Ah'm sure the rest of our friends would love to see them." Applejack said "Besides, Ah'm sure they would like to know more about their new home."

"Good point, Applejack." Rarity replied "I have to check on Sweetiebelle too."

"U-um I am sure my animal friends are very hungry too." Fluttershy said "I-I think we should c-check our homes, if that's okay of course." She said.

"That settles it then." Gideon said "Tomorrow, we are going to Ponyville." He declared.

"But tonight, we still have work to do." Mitchell said "Remember your shift hours and patrol routes, wash yourselves up and get some sleep when you are done."

"The first shift's on me, Mitchell, Joker, Ilona." Gideon declared "the second shift's on Phantom, followed by Aegis, and finally Hunter. We are going with the guards so this could greatly boost our relations." He added before looking at Marcus who was checking his Werewolf hybrid weapon system "Not you Marcus, you just head to the showers and get some sleep."

"B-but my ribs won't be a problem, I can-" Marcus tried to retort.

"That's an order." Gideon said, silencing him.

"Roger that." He responded.

"We can do the catch ups tomorrow." Ilona said while slinging her MORS behind her back.

"In the meantime, why don't you wash yourselves up and get some rest." Mitchell suggested "You are going to need it."

"Okay then." Gideon said, with that the group dispersed and walked straight towards the castle, with the Mane Six and some guards behind them. Leaving the officers alone.

"So, shall we?" Lone said while gesturing at the castle grounds.

"Lets go." They said in union.





"Damn, that was the best shower in my life!" James Grayson commented as the Sentinels stepped out of the large showers of the castle and into the changing room. So large, that it could fit a platoon of guards in there.

"You got me there brother." John Markusen added.

"estas bien, amigos?" Ramirez asked while looking towards a bare chested Marcus who was being bandaged by a guard medic.

"Estoy bien." Marcus responded as the guard finished up his work.

"Okay, all set." The guard set as he packed up his medical bags.

"Thank you." Marcus smiled and saluted him.

Surprised, the guard returned the salute and left the changing room. One by one, the Sentinels left the changing room and went to bed; awaiting their shifts later that night. Before they knew it, there were only James, Marcus, Ramirez, and John in the room.

Suddenly, Ramirez's exo wrist pad started beeping. 

"Sorry guys, I've gotta take this call." He said while walking towards the exit "If you need me, just give me a holler." with that, he exited the room.

"Who called him? his wive or some shit?" Bolt asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, that was kinda weird." James said as he put on his exo suit "If Gideon or Mitchell called him, Ah'm sure there is no need for him to go away."

"Well, unless his communication device is equipped with some interstellar-technology-kinda-shit he won't be talking to anyone outside of this dimension." John concluded.

"How about pizza delivery? I could use some good ol' cheezy pizza right now." Marcus said as he adjusted his exo suit before picking up his weapons and holstering them.

"Dude don't even talk about that, Ah could use some Taco Bell myself." James commented as he exited the changing room and into the hallways with his friends in tow; resulting in chuckles from them.

"By the way, what's the story behind that prosthetic arm and shoulder?" Marcus asked.

"Well, if you wanna treat me for a beer or two Ah might tell ya." James smirked.

"But first, we gotta find a tavern." Marcus said "I am sure there is one in Ponyville." 

"And some cash to pay for the drinks." Bolt added "I am sure they ain't using dollars as currency here."

"We can think about that tomorrow." John said "We still have our jobs tonight." 

After he said that, the team went to their own quarters to get some rest; awaiting orders. That night went by without incident, things were normal as always, the Sentinels and the Royal Guards co-operate together during their night shifts and they did it very well.





The next day, after preparing themselves; the Sentinels and some Royal Guards; including Lone and Lightning were assembling in the castle's front courtyard; awaiting the Mane Six as they agreed to be their tour guides. Despite of the very peaceful nature of the trip, the Sentinels and Royal Guards were completely armed in case something happens; a risk they did not want to take. 

However, they decided not to bring the ASTs or any heavy duty weapons to look more friendly to the civilians. Much to James' displeasure.

"Hey, what's up guys?" Bolt asked as he approached Lightning and Lone who were tending to their swords and suits of armor. 

"Nothing, just cleaning our stuffs before going to Ponyville." Lone said as he levitated his golden armor and strapping his belt; holding his signature dual Katanas to his waist. 

"It's our standards, besides hot mares love it." Lightning added while sheathing his longsword and parrying dagger. 

Bolt nodded while adjusting his Ae4 Widowmaker energy directed assault rifle.

"Whoa! What's that?" Lightning asked while pointing at the weapon "you didn't show us that yesterday." 

"It looks like one of those directed energy weapons." Lone added.

"Yup, the Widowmaker. When I am not looking on my sniper scope, I use this baby to get things done." Bolt said.

"That's why we are giving them a show today." Marcus said as he joined the chat.

"May I?" Lightning asked in a begging tone.

Getting his meaning, Bolt handed him the assault rifle "Be careful it's nasty sh--AH FUCK!"

Bolt yelled as Lightning accidentally fired the weapon. The super-heated energy bolt impacted a dead tree and setting it on fire. Everybody and everypony instantaneously looked at him.

"My bad." Lightning smiled sheepishly while giving Bolt his weapon back.

"Well look at the bright side." Bolt said sarcastically "At least we have one less dead tree to worry about." 

"Nice steels you got there." Marcus intervened as he approached the three with Gideon, Joker, Mitchell, and Ilona in tow.

"Indeed, these are some of Equestria's finest swords." Lone said. 

"Dual katanas, a longsword, and a parrying dagger." Mitchell said as he observed the weapons "May we see them?" 

"Sure!" Lightning said with a cheery tone and unsheathing his longsword and dagger. Lone also did the same with his katanas.

As the nearby Sentinels picked up the weapons, they were quite surprised when they realized the swords were nearly human-sized. Only shorter and lighter than that of a human's.

"Holy shit, we can still totally use these." Joker commented "But don't you think these are too large for you."

"Nope." Lightning immediately responded "These swords are large in size; yes. But are very useful when you are fighting larger foes." 

"Besides, we love it." Lone added "Hey Marcus, what's that knife on your chest?" He asked while pointing at Marcus' karambit knife.

"This..." Marcus said while unsheathing his modern black tinted karambit from it's sheath, placing it on his index finger before grasping it, and gave it some practice swings. "Is a karambit knife." He told them "Originally from Indonesia, and used in the martial art of Silat, this is one of the world's deadliest fighting knives." 

"It's a beautiful knife Marcus." Ilona commented "What does it do?" 

"Don't worry, I am getting there." Marcus smiled "Shaped like a tiger's claw and crafted with a combination of traditional and modern techniques, this blade is very sharp, durable, and weigh like almost nothing. You can perform deep and deadly cuts to your opponent at such a speed that they will not realize what happened until you deliver the final blow." He said with a small hint of pride "arteries,flesh sinews,...anything." 

"Sounds like a helluva knife." James said as he approached the group with his customized HBRa3 slung on his shoulder and taking off his cap before dusting it off and putting it on again "How are we not issued something like yours?" 

"Well, this one is quite unconventional." Marcus told him "I received this from one of my superiors in the Special Operations Group when I passed training as a gift." 

"Well that's...a definitely cool gift." Lightning said.

"Hey, since our guides are not out yet; how about a little spar Lightning?" Lone suggested.

"Yeah! We definitely want to see that." Bolt said. That being said, the ponies amd humans began to converge on their location.

"Come on, we want to see what you guards are made of." Gideon said.

"Okay, you and me Lone." Lightning said as he took his combat stance, unsheathed his sword and dagger; held them with his telekinetic grip and moved to face his friend. The Sentinels converged around them, giving the Guard Captains some space for the spar. Lone unshethed his dual katanas and did the same; but just before the steels could clash against each other...

"Come on you two, you can have the spar after today's trip." Twilight called out from the castle's entrance.

"Alright Lone, you heard her." Lightning said as he and Lone rallied some guards to escort the group.

"So, are we ready?" Twilight asked, receiving acknowledgements in return.

"Alright then, let's go!" Rainbow exclaimed "Hey, how about a race to Ponyville?"

"Well, we'd love to but we don't really know our way around. " Matthew Reeves said.

"Don't wory, I got it covered." Ramirez said as he uploaded a complete map of Ponyville to everybody's databank.

"Well I'll be damned." James said "When did you do this?" 

"Surveillance drones, it's an old habit." Ramirez smirked "Now everybody will know their way around."

"Well, as long as you do no collateral damage; I am cool with it." Mitchell said "Gideon?"

"Well, I am with Mitchell." he said "Twilight? your call." 

"Of course! that would be great." she approved "It's about time we see how those wing-packs work." 

"Alright! who's in and who's out?" Reeves asked. Marcus, John, Mitchell, Joker, Reeves and his fellow pilots stepped forward.

"James, you're not coming?" Mitchell asked.

"Nah, I am good. I prefer walking." The AST operator said.

"Alright, so where are we gonna rendezvous?" Joker asked.

"Well, today's pretty hot..." Rainbow said while wiping beads of sweat from her forehead "Hey! What about Sugarcube Corner? I know Pinkie's not around, but I am sure Mr & Mrs Cake can give us something cold and sweet there in a jiffy." 

"Yeah, that sounds good!" Twilight approved "How about everypony else?" 

The ponies agreed.

"Is Sugarcube Corner this gingerbread house?" Mitchell asked as he gave Twilight a bird's eye view of the building. Twilight confirmed.

"Aaand, marked." Reeves said. As soon as that, the Sentinel's helmets closed;their wing-packs deployed and ready to use.

Then, Rainbow and some Pegasi guards fell into position "On your marks. Get set. GO!" In mere seconds, the humans and Pegasi streaked towards the sky at a blistering speed and headed towards Ponyville before going for some laps as the race began. Doing various aerobatic maneuvers in the process.

"Damn! For flightless creatures you humans sure can fly!" Silent Wing commented. 

"Technology, my friend." Gideon said "So, shall we?" 

"Oh, I have a better idea..." Lightning smirked.





As the humans and Pegasi raced each other, they realized it was their final lap to determine the winner. Rainbow was on the first place, followed closely by Marcus, Reeves, Mitchell, Joker, and the Pegasi guards.

As they spotted their destination, the humans sped up to the maximum. However, Rainbow saw this and like a bullet fired from a gun she dashed and landed in the front yard of Sugarcube Corner. Followed by the humans and guards only mere seconds later. 

"Impossible!" Marcus remarked as he folded his wing-pack into his exo's back compartment. This received serious approvals from the humans.

"No pain, no gain!" Rainbow said with pride.

"Um, is this okay?" Reeves asked as he pointed at a large crowd of ponies gathering nearby.

"It's okay, they are with me!" Rainbow assured them. The ponies shrugged and went on with their tasks; although some were still looking at them with awe.

"Good game tho--MY EYES!" Joker yelled as a burst of bright yellow light exploded in front of him; revealing Lightning, Lone, the rest of the Main Six and the rest of the Sentinels. Some of the humans puked on the ground due to the extreme nausea they felt after the teleportation trip.

"Teleportation side effect." Lone said "Get used to it."

"Well, you could've warned us!" James protested. This was agreed by pretty much every Sentinels who participated in the trip.

"Well I thought you humans are trained for this." Lightning said nonchalantly "You alright there Jokes?" 

"I don't know, I am seeing doubles now." Joker responded with a brain-dead tone.

After the humans gathered themselves the human officers entered the Sugarcube Corner with the Main Six, Lone, and Lightning while the guards and the rest of the Sentinels stayed outside.





"Welcome!" Mrs Cup Cake greeted them "Oh my Celestia!" 

"It's Princess Twilight, the Element Bearers, and the Sentinels!" Mr Carrot Cake added "Oh how rude, we haven't thank you for saving our lives back then."

"We thought we were goners for sure." Mrs Cup Cake added "But thanks to you, we are safe and sound." 

"We were just doing our jobs, sir. ma'am." Gideon smiled "No need to thank us."

"Yes, but how can we ever repay you?" Mrs Cupcake asked with a pleading tone "Please, we insist."

"Well, since you said that..." Rainbow said with a naughty smile; putting her right hoof on her chin "How about, ice-creams and cupcakes for everybody and everypony?" she immediately received a nudge from Twilight.

"*Ahem* Mr and Mrs Cake, we are taking our new friends on a tour today. But we decided to stop by your shop to get some snacks." Twilight said.

"Oh no problem Your Majesty, in fact they are all free!" Mr Carrot Cake said. Mrs Cup Cake nodded in agreement.

"Oh no no, I must pay for them. That's a royal dec--" Twilight was cut off as the two rushed to the kitchen.

"ree..."

"I think we should really start to have our own jobs..." Marcus said.

"Yeah, we can't have these folks to give us free stuffs forever." Mitchell added.

"That can be arranged later." Twilight smiled "We are always hiring." 

"The Royal Guards could use elite soldiers such as you guys." Lightning said.

"My farm could always use more helping hoofs." Applejack said "Or claws, in your case." 

"If any of you are interested in fashion, my boutique is always hiring." Rarity said, flicking her mane.

"I am sure Mr and Mrs Cake could use more help." Lone said "And from what I've heard, they give a good pay."

"Thanks a lot guys, we really appreciate the offer but for today; let's just enjoy the ride." Marcus said.

"Damn straight!" Lone said "But now, we have to play the waiting game."

"Then let's wait." Ilona said as she took a seat on a nearby couch. The rest of the room's occupants did the same.





An hour later, forty one paper bags filled with muffins and forty one cups of ice-creams were served on the table. 

"Thanks a lot Mr and Mrs Cake." Twilight smiled "are you sure all of these are free?" 

"Oh no problem dearie, of course I am sure!" Mrs Cake smiled.

With that, Twilight, Lone, Lightning, and Rarity picked up the snacks in their telekinesis grip. 

"Need some help?" Gideon asked.

"Nope we are good." Lightning said. 

"Well Mr and Mrs Cake, we will be on our way now. Thank you, for everything." Mitchell thanked them. With that, they exited the store and distributed the snacks to the rest of the group.

"About damn time!" James said as he took his share of the snacks and going straight for his ice-cream "Whoa! This shit is fuckin' tasty!" he said.

"PRAISE THE LORD!" Joker exclaimed dramatically as he started eating his ice cream. Fast.

"Careful, don't wanna get yourself a brain-freeze." Lone warned him.

"You better listen to him." Lightning suggested.

"Ha! brain-freeze is a term for pussies." He said as he took a big bite on his ice-cream. Only to feel a stinging-cold-painful sensation directly on his brain.

"AW SHIT!" He exclaimed as he rolled on the ground as if he was on fire, clutching his head. This caused the ponies nearby to watch at the scene. Lone,Lightning, some Sentinels, and Royal Guards tried to help him out while laughing their rears off.

Marcus observed the fiasco before shrugging and turning his back and ate his muffin with some members of the group. Despite the ice cream temptation, the wonderful smell of his chocolate chips muffin was too good for him to handle.

"It's been a while since we ate ice-cream." Gideon said.

"We planned to stop by at McDonald's before going back to base. But well, duty called. But eh, who cares; this is better." Mitchell said.

"The last time I ate ice-cream was ten years ago." Ilona added "When my--" suddenly Ilona stopped.

"What is it Ilona?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's nothing, sestra." she replied.

"Sestra?" Fluttershy thought to herself "She is calling me with that these last few days. What does that mean? and why there is this certain aura coming out of her everytime she says that? I must look deeper into this." 

Marcus listened to the conversation while finishing his muffin until he felt something hard bumped into his right leg. 

When he investigated, the first thing he saw was an overturned scooter, a dazed helmeted orange Pegasus filly with a tomboyish purple mane similar to Rainbow Dash and a spilled vanilla ice-cream. 

"Ah, I am sorry I-I didn't see where I was going." The filly apologized, cowering a bit. This took the attention of the group.

"Scootaloo, next time watch where you are going!" Rainbow Dash scolded Scootaloo but at the same time checked the little filly for injuries "Are you okay? you are not hurt are you?" 

"N-no I am fine Rainbow Dash." Scootaloo replied weakly.

"So, what do you have to say for yourself?" Rainbow Dash asked sternly.

"I-I am sorry mister...er...um...." she stuttered.

Marcus, always has a soft spot for children in his heart. So he carefully knelt to avoid hurting himself due to his injuries and spoke with a calm voice.

"Marcus, my name is Marcus. Accidents happen all the time, it's alright. But be careful next time." he said while patting Scootaloo's head "And please don't call me mister." Marcus chuckled, this also caused the little filly to smile herself. 

"By the way, where are you heading?" he asked again.

"I am heading to Sweet Apple Acres to meet my friends; Sweetiebelle and Applebloom!" Scootaloo said.

"How's my sister and the rest of my family?" Applejack asked "I...haven't seen her since the attack." 

"Yes darling, tell me...how is Sweetiebelle doing?" Rarity added.

"Don't worry they are all save and sound." Scotaloo said "When Iron Bull and his friends arrived, they just caught those in town. They didn't go anywhere near Sweet Apple Acres, where we all were." she explained "We were very scared, but now we are just fine." 

"Whew, that's a relief to hear." Applejack stated. The rest of the ponies agreed.

"Well, I better get going then." Scootaloo said while getting on her scooter. But before she can leave, Marcus held her back. Scootaloo turned around only to see Marcus holding his uneaten slightly melting vanilla ice cream in front of her with an offering manner.

"Here, take it." Marcus smiled. 

"B-but but but..." she stuttered.

"No buts, kiddo." Marcus said. Eagerly, Scootaloo reached for the ice-cream, gave Marcus a hug before saying her farewells and heading towards the Sweet Apple Acres with her scooter and ice cream.  

"You sure got your ways with fillies Marcus." Applejack said.

"You are one of the coolest guys I've ever met!" Rainbow added; hovering beside him.

"It's nothing girls." Marcus smiled.

"Well done mate." Gideon patted Marcus' shoulder "Gather round lady and gents!" 

"So, are we going now?" Ilona asked as the whole group converged on their position. Gideon nodded with a smile on his face.

"Adventure time!" Marcus, Lightning, and Joker exclaimed simultaneously as they began their tour of Ponyville.
> Biographies (Part 4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATLAS Tactical Security Service Unit Alpha Team ("Wolfpack")

Okay! so this one is a combination of my own imagination, references from other video games, my own OCs and my friends' ideas and OCs! ATLAS forces are here and they are ready to do some damage!

The ATLAS Tactical Security Service (abbreviated A.T.S.S.) is ATLAS Corporation's elite special forces task force. Specifically trained as a black operations unit, the ATLAS Tactical Security Service. conducted numerous and infamous secretive black operations behind enemy lines. Only a handful of people knew of the unit's existence, going so far that most of ATLAS' employees considered the unit as an urban legend.Before the war with the rest of the world, they are usually tasked to deal with situations that may put ATLAS' reputation in jeopardy; such as assassinations and destroying evidences of ATLAS' "morally questionable" activities.

After Jonathan Irons, the CEO of ATLAS Corporation himself declared war with the rest of the world; ATLAS Tactical Security Service Unit sky-rocketed into a whole new level. Their operations were so covert that it was rumored they have agents operating inside the legendary Sentinel Task Force. Best operatives are assigned to the unit's Alpha Team, call-sign "Wolfpack".They have the best gear ATLAS could offer (which they are free to customize) and triple the paycheck.

Their team members are:  

A. Major Alexandra "Wolf Mother" Pearce

a. Name: Alexandra Pearce

b. Age: 35 years old

c. Rank: major 

d. MOS: Squad Leader / Medic

e. Appearance: 
5 feet 7 inches tall, slim build, long brown wavy hair which she always kept in a ponytail, green eyes, fair skin, has a scar on her left cheek.

f. Combat Overview:
Although proficient at using almost any weapons known to mankind, she normally wields the Ae4 Widowmaker directed energy assault rifle and akimbo suppressed Atlas 45s with a red dot sights, laser sights, extended mags, and armor piercing rounds for silent and quick engagements. She could also take off the suppressor when full firepower is necessary. She uses the Assault Exo with stims and sonics as her preferred abilities, despite the heavy modifications on her exo suit which enables her to use any exo ability. 

She wears a black military body suit, complete with a grey modified ATSS body armor and other tactical clothing.

For hand-to-hand combat, she is proficient at Krav Maga which she combined with numerous deadly techniques she received during her military training. She wields a double edged black tinted serrated combat knife which also has a function of a taser as her melee weapon and is greatly skilled with it. Her strikes are incredibly precise, powerful, and of course; deadly.

She is also an expert medic, which is why she is the squad's team leader / medic; suiting her caring nature. Although this particular skill is sometimes used for some more morbid activities.

A deadly tactician, she is capable of exploiting even the slightest of her enemies' mistakes or weaknesses to her own advantages. 

g. Background:

Hailing from London, England; Alexandra Pearce was formerly an operative working for the SAS since she was twenty years old. After ten years of service, she retired to focus on building a civilian life and starting her own family. She eventually married and has three children but her husband was killed in a car crash shortly after their third child was born.

Although greatly saddened by her husband's death, Alexandra steeled herself up to care for her children by relying on her training and discipline as a former soldier. She also raised her children in a strict, disciplined, but loving environment. Despite her efforts to return into a civilian life, her instincts as a soldier remained strong. So, she worked as a mercenary and selling her services to the highest bidder in order to provide for her children.

Sometime later, ATLAS Corporation found and recruited her, after seeing her exceptional skills in the field. Seeing her strong leadership, ATLAS Tactical Security Service assigned her to be the leader of the best team they got in their arsenal. Wolfpack.

Although she expects the same level of discipline and obedience from her teammates as she does from her own children, she cares and looks out for them; which created a strong emotional bond with the rest of her teammates which led them to affectionately call her their "Wolf Mother". 

h. Personality:
She may seem cold and distant-even sadistic at times- a way she maintains to hide her soft side. But once known...her soft side is revealed. She cares for her teammates so much that she consider them as her own family and would give her life for them if necessary; the same thing her teammates does and will do for her. Outside of combat, her soldier instincts subside and her motherly nature takes over and; thus, revealing her vulnerabilities and emotional pain. 

B. Lieutenant Victor "Warhammer" Craig

a. Name: Victor Craig

b. Age: 30 years old

c. Rank: lieutenant

d. MOS: Demolition / Support

e. Appearance:  
6 feet 6 inches tall, heavy build, black short-trimmed hair, fair skin, brown eyes, and prosthetic hands.

f. Combat overview:	

He wields a fully automatic experimental directed energy shotgun known as the CEL-3 Cauterizer which fires super-heated bolts of red plasma in quick successions and the highly controversial XMG dual miniguns with laser sights, extended mags, and tracker.He uses the Assault exo with exo cloak and stims as his preferred exo  despite the heavy modifications on his exo suit which enables him to use any exo ability. He also wears a modified version of ATLAS' Juggernaut heavy combat armor.

But aside from his shotgun and miniguns, he prefers using his modified MDL multi-shot grenade launcher with modified ammo. It shoots out high explosive rounds, incendiary rounds, acid rounds, and even nitrogen rounds. As the squad’s demolition expert he carries a LOT of explosives.

For hand-to-hand combat, he is proficient at Karate and could still move fairly quick despite his large size. Almost no opponent could withstand his powerful brute force in combat, he wields a battle ax as his melee weapon and use swift yet powerful blows to cut down barricades...or an opponent unlucky enough to get in his way.

His brute strength, combined with the augmentations from his exo suit, made him a formidable threat in combat. His uppercut was so powerful that it knocked a Sentinel AST operator to his back before blowing his head off with his energy shotgun.
As a demolition expert, his capability to blow things up is exceptional. His field-crafting skills are also remarkable, especially in producing IEDs.

g. Background:

Born in the poor districts of Chicago and orphaned at an early age with only his little sister by his side, Victor Craig had a rough childhood and often fought for his and his sister’s own survival.  His skills in combat caught the attention of Chicago’s underground forces where he was often hired as a bodyguard/enforcer/assassin by some of Chicago’s most notorious criminal organization.

However, as time went on; Victor realized his wrong actions and turned himself in to the Police in exchange for protection to himself and his sister. However, things did not go as planned.

After weeks of grueling court battle, testimonies, and evidence reviews, the judge offered Victor two choices -prison or military service- Victor immediately chose military service and left home to join the U.S. Army the next day after tearfully parting with his sister.

During his service in the U.S. Army, Victor discovered that explosives could play a key role in his unique sense of humor –blowing shit up- and thus, he became a very good demolition expert. However, when he was trying to defuse a bomb when the KVA attacked a nuclear reactor in Japan; things went awry and he lost both of his arms and was honorably discharged from the military.

Sometime later, Victor was approached by an ATLAS representative who promised to give his life back. Seeing nothing else to do in his life, Victor agreed. Gaining a pair of advanced prosthetic arms, and his love for blowing things up was rekindled. Seeing his abilities, ATLAS recruited him into the unit and assigned him to serve as the team's demolition expert where he proved himself to be one of Wolfpack's most effective operators.

h. Personality: 

Generally the most comedic member of Wolfpack who often pokes fun at the situation they're in, though his morbid sense of humor hasn't faded away from him either.

He is constantly looking after the squad and ready to give his life is necessary to protect them or to complete his mission. As a result,  he is a close friend of Major Alexandra.

Despite his brutal way of killing his enemies, he is quickly angered by the slaughtering of innocent civilians or unarmed military personnel.

C. Sergeant Caroline "Ice" Wong

a. Name: Caroline Wong

b. Age: 20 years old

c. Rank: sergeant

d. MOS: Sniper / Hacker

e. Appearance: 
5 feet 3 inches tall, slim build, long black hair which she always kept in a ponytail, black eyes, fair skin, has a scar on her abdomen.

f. Combat overview: 

Trained as a sniper, she usually wields a heavily modified Lynx sniper rifle equipped with the legendary Raufoss Mk 211 multipurpose anti-matériel projectiles. Her rifle is also equipped with a variable zoom scope, perfect for long range engagements; she also carries a thermal scope for engaging targets at night operations and a suppressor for stealth ops. 

She wears the Specialist exo with exo overclock and mute device, like the rest of her teammates; her exosuit is heavily modified so she can use all exo abilities.

As her outfit, she wears a dark navy blue military body suit complete with a black reinforced ATSS body armor and other tactical clothing.

As her secondary weapon, she wields the SAC3 dual submachine guns equipped with laser sights and target enhancer sights which suits her outstanding speed and agility in combat. Her speed and agility only being matched by MAMBA, she is one of Wolfpack's fastest.

For hand-to-hand combat, she is skilled in Jiujitsu and wields twin wakizashi swords which suits her speed, dexterity, and agility in combat.

She is also an extremely skilled hacker and could bypass almost any cyber security systems known to mankind in a short time. Her great curiosity caused her to be the team's "field scientist" and always like to know more about the situation they are in.

g. Background: 

Born in San Francisco of Chinese descent, Caroline Wong developed fondness of technology and possesses a habit of disassembling and re-assembling electronics to see how they work since she was ten years old.This particular fondness turned into an obsession when she was introduced to the world of hacking and cyber warfare when she was seventeen years old. Having lost both of her parents when their plane was shot down by a KVA missile over Ukraine during a business trip, she used her hacking skills to provide for her younger brother and sister.
To test her skills, Caroline hacked the entire power grid of San Francisco and cut the city's power for two weeks straight.

However, she was a little bit 'messy' in the process and the FBI tracked her signal. After a month of grueling manhunt, Caroline was captured and was sentenced twenty years in prison; but the FBI noticed her potentials and realized it would be a waste to see her in jail. So, the FBI recruited her. Seeing a window to destroy the KVA once and for all, she gladly accepted.

During her training, she found love in the world of sniping and became very good at it. After she got past the grueling training, she proved herself to be one of FBI's most effective assets. When ATLAS Corporation rose to fame after the KVA attacks, an ATLAS representative approached her and offered her a job at ATLAS. Lured by money for her siblings, she resigned from the FBI and stepped into the gates of ATLAS Corporation. 

Seeing her skills during initial training, ATLAS upper echelon assigned her to Wolfpack; where she proved herself to be the pack's excellent sniper / hacker / field scientist.

g. Personality:

Being a hacker / sniper / field scientist, she is very calculative and accurate to the last detail. She always likes to know more about the situation the squad are in. She tends to brush away her teammates’ feelings, but looks out for them in the field. 

Outside of combat, she spends her time reading through her e-books which she stored in her tablet and listening to music. She also likes to learn about new things as well as doing researches.  Despite her cold and distant tendencies, she could be quite sociable if necessary.

D. MAMBA

This OC belongs to Shadowgamer12.

a. Name, Rank: Classified

b. MOS: recon

c. Gender: male

d. Age: 21-26

e. Height: 6,2

f. Hair: Black and Shaggy

g. Eyes: Eyes dilate on emotions

h. Appearance: Black hoodie, black jeans, black futuristic gas mask, hidden body armor, very lean and fast, light tan.

i. Background: 

MAMBA's files are highly confidential, his true identity hidden. Having developed a highly lethal proficiency in martial artistry- especially in ax combat, MAMBA's fighting prowess was ultimately noticed by Gideon. After MAMBA fought Gideon in single hand-to-hand combat to a draw, Gideon personally oversaw MAMBA's progress. During a mission, MAMBA faked his death to be able to get away from Gideon's watch and to be recruited to the special forces unit.

j. Combat Overview: 

Armed with dual combat hatchets, triple reinforced titanium, uses Assault exo-suit, highly mobile, very stealthy, always takes advantage of surroundings, ledges, roofs, anything. Only guns seen using are a highly modified RW-1 and Crossbow, no major attachments besides a suppressor on the RW-1.

E. Monsoon 

This OC belongs to ramsesechosquad99sp one of my friends and advisers. Check out his stories, they are awesome!

a. Name: He keeps it to himself,  his squad just calls him: "Monsoon"

b. Age: 42

c. Originates from: South Africa

d. Rank: Corporal

e. MOS: surveillance  

f. Appearance:
Six feet tall, average muscular build, long white hair, and fair skin.

h. Background and personality: 

Father was killed during a civil war, mother was raped in front of his eyes, and died later on. He was the only child. Used to be a cop, but after a shoot-out that cost him his entire team, he reigned and joined the army, and eventually, ended up in ATLAS corp. Monsoon is very skilled with the weapons called: Sai's. He constantly carries a pair of them with him (with permission of course). He doesn't talk much, but when he does, it's deep. He talks about; how "the strong prey upon the weak", how the word is (in his eyes) diseased, rotten to the core. He joined the army, to get rid of old habits. Tends to have a liking to cruelty and violence. In his eyes, " the wind blows, the rain falls, and the strong prey upon the weak. All is as it should be". He usually sits and eats alone, when someone gets near, he'll give them a stare that says enough. 

F. Captain Heinrich "Herr Mauser" Heiddleburg 

This OC belongs to Maschinepistole40

a. Name: Heinrich Heiddleburg

b. Originally: Hauptmann (captain) in the Kommando Spezialkräfte and ATLAS.

c. MOS: second in command / assault

d. Weapons: Ameli LMG with a red dot sight, and as a secondary fire arm he has a vintage Mauser C96 ;modified to shoot NATO rounds.

e. Appearance:

6 feet and 3 inches tall and has dirty blonde hair, with blue eyes, he also has a handle bar mustache, which is also dirty blonde like his hair.

f. Background:

Heinrich was born in Berlin Germany, June 6th 2016, in his young years he was a quiet and reserved young man but he had a love for the military especially when it came to the 1910s and 40s, he went to officer training school at age 18 and joined the army as a lieutenant at age 21. 

Later he was selected to join the Kommando Spezialkräfte at the age of 30 and earned the rank of Hauptmann, he was very good marks man and tactician, he also did what it took to keep his comrades alive, even risking his life sometimes, though he's been lucky enough that it hasn't come to that yet. At the age of 35 he was once again selected to join a corporation, this corporation being known as ATLAS, he kept his rank as captain by ATLAS' permission, and he earned the title "Herr Mauser" as he was known for his use of old weapons he'd personally modify, his most noted one being the Mauser C96 thus earning the name, he'd pick off enemies with his LMG until they got to close and then he'd use the mauser's full-auto setting to spray any who gets too close. He also wears a grey futuristic body armor based on old design.

Seeing his great potential, ATLAS recruited Heinrich to its special forces unit, precisely, Wolfpack to serve as their second in command.

g. Personality: 

He is usually quiet and reserved, but when he goes into a fight he is a deadly beast. He usually keeps his background to himself and tends to be disregarding to his team's safety when spraying enemies with his LMG; often getting scolded by Wolf Mother. Despite this, he respects her greatly.

After the successful firing of ATLAS' Excalibur Cannon, rumors began to circulate that the Sentinels did not perish but instead transported into another dimension since there were no wreckage or human remains whatsoever were found at the site. ATLAS, losing the war; realized that they are going to need some kind of information from this other dimension to turn the tide of war.

ATLAS' theory was confirmed when they received a message sent by a spy who managed to infiltrate Gideon's team. Telling them of powerful artifacts known as the Elements of Harmony; bestowed upon six mares which could unleash unlimited power if it's potential is to be harnessed. Despite the fairytale-like information, ATLAS upper echelon knew they must move quickly; after promising Wolfpack with paychecks they could spend for a life time and arming them with the state of the art weaponry, supplies, and equipment; including a massive hover-tank based on the T740 Hover-Tank nicknamed the “Storm Fortress” to serve as their mobile home base and their way to return home if they complete their mission - to retrieve the Elements and the necessary components successfully back to Earth- Wolfpack stepped into the fray.

> And so, the Hunt Begins 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

ATLAS Subterranean HQ, Switzerland High Alps
1800 hours 
17 April 2062




"A 'snatch and grab' mission huh? What a fuckin' joke." Lieutenant Victor "Warhammer" Craig commented as he and the rest of Wolfpack walked through the futuristic hallways of the subterranean facility, fully armed and equipped. 

"Yeah, I personally prefer to fight here." Major Alexandra "Wolf Mother" Pearce replied "But at least, the pay's worth it and this is our last job." 

"Right, ve vill be schtuck there for God knows how long. Verdammt." Captain Heinrich "Herr Mauser" Heiddleburg retorted as two AST units walked pass them followed by a platoon of soldiers. 

"But at least we will have more things to explore. Probably not just war, death, and destruction." Sergeant Caroline "Ice" Wong added.

"We will see about that later." Monsoon said with a dark tone. MAMBA nodded in approval. His expression remained unreadable as his face was always concealed by his black futuristic gas mask.

"Alright, we are here." Alexandra said as they arrived at one of the facility's Rapid Rail Transport System's entrance. 

A pair of ATLAS juggernaut guards saluted them as they stepped into the transport's car. After scanning their IDs and taking their seats, the transport accelerated at high speed through the underground network of rails; taking them to their destination. The car kept switching tracks from one to another, until eventually it stayed on a single rail; speeding through a long tunnel. 

Not long after, the car stopped at a massive hangar filled with a lot of military hardware and some ATLAS Tactical Security Service high-ranking personnel. So large, that even four Paladin orbital gunships were stationed there. But the main feature of the room was not the large amount of hardware and gadgetry, but instead it was a scaled down modified version of the Excalibur cannon and its various massive launch pads to transport anything and anyone to the brave new world.

Wolfpack stepped out of the transport and into the concrete platform and walked to the entrance door, guarded by two AST units and a squad of ATLAS Tactical Security Service troops. 

"Halt." An AST operator said with a deep robotic voice "Your IDs please." 

"You should've known your superiors." Alexandra said as she scanned her bio-metric ID followed suit by her team. After everything checks out, the guards let them in.

"Damn, this place is huge!" Victor commented as they observed pretty much everything in the large, futuristic room "I guess they ain't kidding about the Exodus project." 

"ATLAS don't fool around lieutenant, we make things happen." said a male voice coming from behind them.

The group turned around and saw a squad of A.T.S.S. troops escorting a man in his early thirties. The man had a proportional-average build, neatly styled brown hair, brown eyes, and fair skin. He was wearing a black suit, a white dress shirt, a red tie, with an ATLAS pin on his suit's collar. That man was Mark Irons, a distant cousin to Jonathan Irons.

"Major. Welcome to the Exodus Chamber." He said politely, shaking Alexandra's hand.

"Mr. Irons." she replied "My team is set and ready."

"Good, lets get to it then." Mark said before walking side by side with Wolfpack. 

"I started this project during the glory days of ATLAS, as a safeguard should anything happens." He said as they walked pass some technicians and soldiers tending to the multitude of gadgets equipment.

"But my cousin, denied this idea. Telling me that my idea will bring ATLAS to bankruptcy; 'no such weapon system could possibly work.' he would say. Putting more faith to MANTICORE. I am not saying that's a bad thing, in fact he designed one of the corporation's most valuable asset. But he refused to see the bigger picture. But now...not only we have the ultimate weapon, but also a potential gateway to start again." he said while gesturing to the entire room "I'm not crazy, I am a visionary." 

"He would've been very proud of you now Mr. Irons." Alexandra said. Mark smiled to her comment.

"Alright we are here." Mark said as they arrived in front of the Storm Fortress; clamped in its launch pad. 

Reaching up a whopping size of 100 feet in length (guns forward), 46 feet in width, and 36 feet in height; the Storm Fortress would be an excellent mobile command base as well as a super-heavy tank. A series of heavy-lift repulsor engines kept the massive vehicle afloat, allowing for much more mobility as well as strafing and tactical options; and for a massive tank, the Storm Fortress could reach up to 37 mph -surprisingly fast for a super heavy tank, thanks to its improved heavy-lift repulsor engines- an integrated particle warp generator had also been added as their primary means of going home and for quick long distance travels. In addition, an active camouflage generator; code-named CHAMELEON, was also installed in case they need to lay low by blending in with its surroundings. 

The tank was powered by an internal fusion energy reactor that could last for years, thus eliminating their need for external fuel source. Despite this, a series of solar panels were also installed.

The cabin was much more spacious than even the T-740 due to it's larger turret. It had six seats, comfortably spread apart. The commander would seat at the controls of the tank in the middle of the turret, while other crew members would seat beside him/her. The tank had numerous facilities including a living quarters, 3D printers, an armory,a medical chamber, a cargo bay with containment cells and three hover-bike stations, a kitchen,  two bedrooms with a capacity for six in each room, plus showers and lavatories.

As for weaponry, the Storm Fortress had been equipped with eight rocket pods mounted on either sides of the cockpit which launched homing rockets capable of targeting multiple groups of ground and aerial targets. Eight grenade pods were also installed which shot out different types of grenade such as smoke, incendiary, and etc. Like it's prototype; the Storm Fortress primary weapon consisted of a high-caliber smoothbore main gun and an EMP cannon separated from the main gun capable of taking down any targets with electronic components with a single shot. Also, an advanced Trophy System provided defense from incoming projectiles such as missiles and cannon fire. Giving it an omnipotent firepower. 

Due to the tank's massive size, an advanced AI system; codenamed IRENE, had been installed to help operate the tank automatically should Alexandra issue a command. Particularly, commands that could effect dead or alive situations. However, any Wolfpack member could give basic orders and communicate with IRENE.

"She is all set and ready to go." 

"Thank you, sir." Alexandra said as the two shook hands and parted ways. They quickly boarded the tank as they saw Mark Irons watching through the control room glass nearby. Directing the staff for start-ups.

Inside the tank,the team stored most of their weapons and equipment on the tank's armory while taking their personal weapons with them. They took their seats on their stations and setting their weapons beside them. 

Alexandra as the tank commander, Victor as the gunner, Heinrich as the driver, Caroline as the spotter and technician, with MAMBA and Monsoon as recon and surveillance. The team was solid, but should things go wrong; Alexandra would be granted complete control over the vehicle.

"Wolfpack, comms check. Do you read? Over." Prophet's voice spoke from the tank's comms system.

"Copy that Prophet, we are reading you loud and clear. Over." Alexandra said.

"Good, power up and head to launch pad Saturn. Over."  

"Copy that. Disengaging locks and powering up." Alexandra said before disengaging the clamps and powering up the tank. Moments later, the tank's repulsor engines came to life; emitting a steady humming sound and lifting the tank from the ground.

"All systems check green. Trophy and weapon system online. IRENE online." Caroline said as the main screen came to life, indicators showing an excellent status of the tank. Then, the tank moved towards its designated location.

"In position." Alexandra said.

"Copy that, stand by." Prophet replied. As soon as he said that warning alarms were heard throughout the room and everybody cleared out from the area.

"Initiating molecule transportation sequence." The facility's AI spoke as the lights dimmed. Moments later, the energy projector were pointed to them and yellowish energy particle surrounded the tank. Spinning around it like a swarm of fireflies at high speed.

"Good luck, Wolfpack." Mark's voice was the last thing Wolfpack heard before being whisked away from Earth and into the unknown.





 Unknown place
Unknown time
Unknown date
Operation Invisible Hands




Alexandra woke up with an aching head and blurred vision. Brushing the sensation aside, she realized that she was still alive and made it to the other side in one piece with the Storm Fortress and her team all in prime conditions. The tank's power was out, as no lights were on, all computers were off, and no engine vibrations were felt.

"Shit, this beats the hell out of any roller coaster rides I've ever been in." Victor commented while trying not to puke in his Juggernaut helm "You guys are good?" he asked the rest of his team who gave him thumbs up.

"A bit dizzy, but we are ready for action Wolf Mother." Victor said to his commanding officer. 

"All systems should be back online in thirty seconds." MAMBA replied with a slow and heavy menacing tone. 

And true, thirty seconds later the tank came online.

"All systems check green." Caroline said as she fiddled through the tank's computer system "IRENE? What's your status?" 

"Fully functional."  the AI replied with a feminine voice "Incoming transmission."

"Wolfpack, report! Over." Mark said as his face appeared on the main monitor.

"Wolf Mother, reporting." 

"Herr Mauser, reporting."

"Warhammer, reporting."

"Ice, reporting."

"MAMBA, reporting."

"Monsoon, reporting." 

Said each team member one by one.

"What's your status? Over." 

"Wolfpack and Storm Fortress are good to go, sir." Alexandra said.

"Listen up! We have a situation on our hands. A malfunction happened during the transportation; that caused us to miss your intended coordinates; a large forest in the outskirts of Ponyville. Check your location and report immediately."

"We might have a problem with that." Ice said as she switched the main monitor from communication to navigation "This is sure as hell not a forest." 

Instead of thick forest vegetation, the monitor displayed a large Victorian-style courtyard surrounded with sturdy walls of a massive fortress with a far massive castle located not far from there with the full moon night sky hanging above their heads.

"Prophet, are you receiving this?" Alexandra asked.

"Affirmative, Wolfpack. This not your destination--be advised! Multiple signatures inbound to your position!" 

As soon as those words were said, multiple half-eagle-half-lion creatures entered the courtyard in a coordinated military manner; at least three platoons strong, they were all wearing full sets of armor and equipment and brandishing their huge melee weapons at the Storm Fortress with archers, ballistas, and large ancient cannons as fire support.

"Are these...griffons?!" Caroline wondered as they watched the growing numbers of the griffon army from inside the safety of their tank.

"It looks like it." Heinrich replied.

"Prophet, Wolfpack requesting advice." Alexandra said.

"It appears they are communicating in some sort of language. Try to communicate and cooperate with them, do not engage unless you are attacked. We do not need anymore obstacles to our main objective. However, should things go wrong; you are cleared to take them out." 

"Understood." Alexandra said "MAMBA, Monsoon, you two are up. Activate the parabolic microphone and find out what kind of language they are using."  she ordered.

With a slight nod, the two sat on their stations,putting on their headsets before turning on their short-range optical microphone. 

"Zoom and focus over there. That big griffon with red heavy armor and a greatsword slung on its back. It looks like the commander." Alexandra said while pointing at the griffon in the monitor. MAMBA zoomed in on the aforementioned griffon and then...

"Stay on guard, troops! Do not attack that metal beast but be ready for anything!" The commander barked his orders while brandishing his greatsword on the Storm Fortress. 

"They are speaking English! Wolfpack, your current orders are to establish a diplomatic relation with these griffons. Gather as many intel as you can and if possible, cooperate with them for your mission. Remember, we don't need more obstacles in our mission. Prophet, out."

"You heard the man. Remember, only engage if you are attacked." Alexandra said before putting on her helmet and grabbing her widowmaker. Taking the initiative, Caroline opened the tank's entrance hatch and Wolfpack stepped out to confront the griffons.

"Herr Mauser, put that LMG into good use. Do not endanger any of us. " Alexandra  instructed her second in command before turning to Caroline "Ice, eyes on the scope. Stay here, if things go wrong you two have the higher ground."

"Yes, ma'am." the two replied while deploying their weapons into support position.

"Warhammer, Monsoon, MAMBA; come with me." Alexandra said before turning on her comms with IRENE "IRENE, should things go wrong you are cleared to engage."

"Roger that, and be careful." the AI replied.

Without delay, the four descended from the tank with their exo fall control and straight into the firing trajectories of the archers.

"You! Creatures! That's far enough!" The griffon commander bellowed with a powerful masculine voice while brandishing his greatsword. The four did as they were told.

"We are here to talk." Alexandra said boldly. 

As the griffon commander and his troops approached them, they realized how big the griffons were. The griffon commander raised his right talon to signal his troops to stop, before continuing on his own. The griffon commander towered from any Wolfpack personnel, but only a foot taller than Victor. His armor and the size of his over-sized greatsword slung on his back only caused him to appear even bigger...eyeing the newcomers with eyes of mixed curiosity and intimidation. Sensing no fear or hesitation, the griffon continued.

"You, state your name and business." the commander said sternly while glaring at Alexandra.

"My name is Wolf Mother, leader of this group." Alexandra said with an equally unflinching tone "We are on an errand, but we believe that we are lost." 

"Is that so? Where are you supposed to be right now?" the griffon inquired with a tone of sarcasm.

"That's classified." she snapped back. 

The griffon chuckled with a dark tone, staring in a sinister way at the A.T.S.S commander. 

"So be it..." the griffon commander said before drawing his sword and swinging the massive sword with both talons at lightning speed. Before anything else could happen, Victor dropped his CEL-3 Cauterizer, drew his large battle ax from his back and blocked the incoming strike; creating a loud metallic clang echoing throughout courtyard.

Everyone was astonished. Thanks to a combination of his steel physique, armor, and exo-suit the heavy impact of the strike was significantly decreased.

"Easy pal! Just like she said before! We are here to talk!" Victor exclaimed while still locking weapons with the massive griffon.

"Impressive. No other being at your size could block my strike. Now, this is how we talk!" The griffon bellowed before unleashing a fury of strikes against the demolitions expert who continued to block and evade his attacks. The griffon soldiers cheered at the fight.

"Threat detected. Activating countermeasure." IRENE said while activating one grenade pod, arming a stunt grenade.

"Hold that order!" Alexandra exclaimed.

"Wolf Mother, I have a clear shot." 

"Hold that order!" Alexandra said.

"Fuck! At this rate, I can't keep blocking and dodging forever!"Victor mentally cursed as he dodged an overhead strike from the griffon "Gotta push him back!"

Suddenly, with a burst of strength; Victor dashed and struck the greatsword wielding griffon repeatedly with his titanium battle ax. Despite not dealing any damage, Victor managed to force the griffon back. Much to the astonishment of Wolfpack and the rest of the griffon soldiers. 

"He is good!" A griffon soldier said in astonishment.

"He is forcing Commander Red Wing back! What is this creature?!" Another bellowed.

"You've had your fun, creature!" Commander Red Wing roared before parrying the ax away and commenced a slicing counterattack, only to be dodged by Victor and the two clashed their weapons again. Seeing an opportunity, Victor mustered all of his strength on a single overhead strike. Red Wing blocked the strike, but Victor managed to crack and broke a small section of the greatsword with his battle ax.

"You insolent scum!" the griffon bellowed before slamming his weapon in a diagonal strike. For Victor, this was his opportunity he had been waiting for. Everything seemed to go in a slow motion rate as Victor pivoted underneath the impact trajectory of the incoming attack. The greatsword narrowly swung passed Victor's head, so close that Red Wing actually managed to hit Victor's helmet; throwing the helmet from his head. And a split second later, Victor slammed his ax's large blade into the right side of Red Wing's torso.

The momentum, the well crafted state-of-the-art large battle ax, and Victor's immense strength; pierced through the armor and created a powerful stream of gushing blood from the wound. With a pained roar, the griffon fell on his knees.

"Wait! Please have mercy on me! I yield to the better sword! I am really amazed by your skills and--"

*crack!* 

Red Wing received a powerful kick to his face from Victor with his steel tipped combat boot, breaking the griffon's beak in the process.

Not even spending a second to talk, Victor raised his battle ax above his head; ready to split Red Wing's skull in half. The griffon saw his life flashing before his eyes as his unknown foe brought the ax down to his cranium.

"Wait!" A masculine charismatic voice could be heard from the courtyard's entrance. Stopping Victor's ax just mere inches away from its target.

There, descending from the castle's grand stairway were three large griffons wearing royal attires escorted with an additional three platoon of griffon troops. The three griffons stood up from the others because they were much larger than any griffons in the area. They quickly marched to the field; making way for the three large royal griffons.

"What's this?" Monsoon inquired with a dark chuckle "More poultry to slaughter perhaps?" 

"And they've got royal dressings for that matter." MAMBA added.

"I could use some Brathaenchen right now." Heinrich said while aiming his LMG at the griffons.

As the three griffons moved in, the other two stayed with the soldiers while the largest one; standing three feet higher than Victor, wearing a royal crown and robe, matching his golden feather walked pass the dying Red Wing, only sparing a glance of disgust at the fallen commander. Victor stepped away from his fallen foe as an anticipation.

"M-my E-emperor! b-be careful t-that t-thing i-is d-dangerous!" Red Wing stuttered as cold and numbness took over his body. Trying with every last strength he could muster to stand back up.

"Silence!" The griffon emperor roared while slamming his subordinate's head to the ground with his massive talon  "Do not soil me any longer with your tongue!"  he said before turning his sights on Victor.

"Great warrior, you are allowed to finish your fight." he said with a cold tone "Kill him. Make his blood rain on this very courtyard!" 

"Yes, sir!" Victor smiled sadistically before taking a lethal grenade from his grenade belt and setting it to fragmentation mode.

"M-my Emperor please spare me!" Red Wing yelled weakly before Victor punched the griffon in his throat and shoving the grenade into his mouth.

"You might want to get back for a bit. This is going to be very messy." Victor replied while running back to his teammates and collecting his helmet along the way.

"You have failed me for the last time, commander." The emperor said before rejoining the other two griffons in the soldier lines.

Only mere seconds later, a loud explosion was heard followed by a heavy rain of blood mixed with pieces of flesh and organs in the courtyard.

"Now that...is a vork of art!" Heinrich complemented and smiled morbidly at the spectacle.

"Oh, I think I am beginning to like this emperor." Monsoon mumbled.

As the bloody fiasco subsided, the emperor stepped forward and stared at the remains of his former commander with satisfaction. He turned towards his soldiers...

"Insubordination is an intolerable mistake, punishable by death." he said out loud "I gave clear orders to Commander Red Wing, but he disgraced me with his ego. For those of you who remained in line, you have my gratitude." 

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" The troops replied simultaneously.

He whispered something to a pair of his adjutants and they carried the mangled remains away from view. 

"Come forth, do not be afraid!" The emperor said while gesturing Wolfpack to meet him in the middle of the field.

"IRENE, keep monitoring the situation and be on guard." Alexandra said quietly on her gauntlet comms as she and the rest of Wolfpack advanced to meet the emperor.

"Yes, Major."  the AI replied.

"Greetings!" The emperor greeted them "Welcome to the Empire of Gryphonia, I am Emperor Nofus. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I am terribly sorry for the rough introduction. The late commander could be a nuisance sometimes." 

"The pleasure is ours your majesty." Wolfpack replied.

"And I thought I'd never use this word again after that royal escort in London." Alexandra mentally sighed.

"Don't worry your highness, we have been through worse." Alexandra replied. 

"Pardon me, but before we continue this conversation; can you please tell me what you are?" The emperor inquired. 

"We are called humans your majesty. We are sentient, civilized, and omnivorous." Ice stated "If you want to know more, you only need to ask."

"I believe you are yet to introduce yourselves. It would be better for me to call you by your names." the emperor stated "I assume you are all soldiers?" Emperor Arcturus inquired while looking at Victor "Do not be afraid to tell the truth, even if you are all soldiers; you are all gladly welcomed here." 

"Major Alexandra Pearce. Call-sign Wolf Mother."

"Captain Heinrich Heiddleburg. Call-sign Herr Mauser." 

"Lieutenant Victor Craig. Call-sign Warhammer." 

"Sergeant Caroline Wong. Call-sign Ice."

"MAMBA"

"Monsoon." 

"Ah, call-signs. Only elite soldiers usually use them." A voice from the soldier lines said. Two large griffons from earlier stepped out. The larger one had golden feathers with a royal red robe covering his body with a golden symbol of a griffon and two crossed swords in the background. While the smaller one had dark grey feathers with a royal white robe adorned by the same symbol.

"These are my sons, Prince Solarwing." he said while gesturing at the large gold-feathered griffon who bowed his head in respect "And General Stormcrest." while gesturing at the dark grey griffon who simply nodded his head.

"I am sorry for our apparent rudeness, but father told us to stay back. Can't question his orders." Solarwing said. Stormcrest remained silent, observing the newcomers.

"Very good my son." The emperor stated "We are about to have dinner. Care to join us?" 

Wolfpack looked at each other before coming with a conclusion "Of course your majesty. We feel honored." Alexandra said.

"Very well." With a simple twirl of his talon, his soldiers got into formation and started marching with the group to the castle.





During their trip through the large and majestic castle of Gryphonia, Wolfpack observed pretty much everything. The endless hallways and corridors, windows, doors; quickly making a visual map to the fastest exit in case anything goes wrong. 

"Relax." Stormcrest said "You humans are looking very tense." 

"Fear of the unknown, I presume?" Nofus inquired "If you are worried about being harmed, put those thoughts aside." 

"Why? All I know you can cut our heads off any second now." Heinrich said.

"What hogwash." Stormcrest said "That would be very dishonorable of us. If our honor's lost, everything is lost. Besides, you have done us a favor." he said while sneaking a peek at Victor who was fiddling with his cracked helmet. 

"The commander really put all of his strength to it didn't he?" Solarwing asked while walking beside Victor "Maybe you should let our blacksmiths to repair it."

"Yeah, the dude whacked me real hard." Victor said "But it's nothing. Just a small crack, nothing I can't handle." 

"Where did you learn to fight like that?" Stormcrest asked "It's not usual for a creature at your size to be able to take down a griffon captain with one blow." 

"Rough childhood." Victor simply replied.

"I see." Stormcrest replied "By the way, I believe you did not get here by your own will; yes?" he asked as they entered the royal dining hall and took their seats. 

"Yes, this is not our intended destination in the first place." Alexandra said.

"If I may know, where is your destination exactly?" Nofus asked "Maybe we can help you to reach it."

"Firstly, my apologies your majesty. I can't tell you the details yet, because our mission is classified. But I am sure our high command will allow us to disclose our mission to you for the sake of diplomatic relations. But we are supposed to be in Equestria, specifically on a small town called Ponyville." Alexandra explained.

The griffons looked at each other as if they received a blessing from the gods. But before anything else could be discussed, one of Nofus' adjutants approached him and whispered something. 

"Good, let him in." The emperor declared.

Soon, the large luxurious double-doors swung open. With that, a well-built unicorn stallion and a platoon of griffon troops escorting a wheeled steel cage containing an incapacitated griffon stepped into the room.

The unicorn had an emerald green coat and tree bark brown mane and tail, with river blue eyes with a justice scale tattoo; on Wolfpack's perspective on his flank. While the griffon had a grey head fur, black body fur, green claws, golden eyes and approximately six feet tall.

The unicorn scanned the room of it's occupants and noticed the humans. He observed them for a bit before bowing in respect.

"Shadow Specter, I see you've accomplished your mission once again." Nofus said with a smile of satisfaction. 

"As always your majesty, as always." Shadow smiled ominously.
> So Much for a Good Dinner
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nofus nodded to the platoon's commander and the griffons towed the steel cage and its occupant out of the room. And moments later, the castle's chefs and servants started to enter the room with lots of food on their carts while musicians started to play their tunes.

"Shadow Specter, would you join us please?" Nofus addressed the unicorn stallion, gesturing him to sit with the royal family and the newcomers. 

"Of course, your majesty." Shadow replied politely before doing what he was told. Soon, the servants arrived and started to serve a combination of carnivorous and herbivorous meals at a massive amount of quantity. Shadow also noticed strange, elongated sticks leaning on the side of the newcomers' chairs.

"Before we begin our feast, I want to introduce some...pony." Nofus said.

"This is Shadow Specter. Our top field agent." Nofus said while pointing at the aforementioned pony "Shadow Specter, these are our guests. Formally known as..."

"Wolfpack." Alexandra said.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Shadow said respectfully.

"They are to be treated with respect since they helped rid us of an asset liability on their very first second here." Nofus added while again sneaking a glance at Victor who nodded in respect.

"Specifically, Commander Red Wing." Stormcrest said.

"Ah, I see. I saw his mangled remains being put away to the mausoleum when I entered." Shadow sighed "Despite the problems he caused us, he served as a commander after all. He will be missed." 

"I will arrange a tribute for his family." Solarwing said.

"Very well. Now eat up, consider yourselves at home." Nofus said as he took a large plate containing a big chunk of rare grilled meat.

Knowing Monsoon's tendency to leave during occasions like these, Alexandra immediately shot a sharp glance at him who was sitting two chairs away from her. Feeling the piercing gaze, Monsoon stared back at her...the sharpness of his gaze was equally matched by his commanding officer. So, he relented...for now.

"So, what and who are you...hyoomans, really are?" Solarwing asked.

"As you know, we are soldiers. But not just ordinary soldiers." Alexandra said.

"Oh? Can you explain further?" Stormcrest asked. 

"You can consider us special, for a lot of reasons..." Heinrich said before taking out a tablet from his armor's chest pocket and projecting ATLAS' signature logo. 

"ATLAS Corporation?" Nofus inquired "Are you...mercenaries?"

"Not quite, your majesty." Heinrich "The corporation ve are vorking for is the largest, most powerful, independent military force in our world; ve do not answer to any country. Our main force provide services should they got hired, but ve are on a different branch from our corporation's main force...specifically, our corporation's special operations branch."

With that, multiple recordings of their previous missions started to play from the tablet's hologram projector.

"We are known as the A.T.S.S. or ATLAS Tactical Security Service." Caroline explained "We are specifically trained as a black operations unit and are tasked with conducting clandestine operations to secure our corporation's reputation by any means necessary." she said "And thus, we are different from our main force. Having  a more powerful connection  to the company, three times the pay than regular ATLAS soldiers, and finally the leeway to access and customize the most advanced weaponry and gadgetry ATLAS could offer."

"That...is who and what we really are." Alexandra concluded the explanation.

The unicorn and griffons just sat there with their mouths agape trying to process the shitload of information right there and right then.

But before any of them spoke, the windows sprung open and gusts of wind doused out the magic crystal lights and torches.

"All troopers assume guard formation! Protect the royal family with your lives!" Shadow ordered while materializing two dark purple scimitars with his magic. In a matter of seconds, every griffon trooper in the dining room formed up near the emperor and two princes in a protective tight formation. With some guards guarding the doors if anything was trying to get in or out.

"Wolfpack, your objective is the same. Prophet out." 

"Activate night visions!" Alexandra ordered. Wolfpack activated their night visions and in an instant the room lit up in an array of yellow spectrum. The previously tagged allies were tagged with green and anything else alive with red.

"Warhammer, is your helm good enough to see?" Alexandra asked.

"This will hold, for now." Victor replied as he readied his shotgun.

Suddenly, red griffon apparitions emerged at high speeds; emitting sounds similar to speeding arrows and soon, all guards guarding the doors were lying on the floor with blood gushing out from their decapitated heads. 

"Its too dark! We cant see them!" One guard yelled before being decapitated.

"Concentrate and focus! They are using speed spells!" Shadow barked as he easily dodged an attack while decapitating his attacker with his energy scimitars. One attacker commenced a diving attack from above, only to be cut in half and spilling his organs on the floor after Shadow hurled one of his scimitars; turning the sword into a deadly boomerang.

Some soldiers stood their ground while most of them remained in an disoriented state.

Behind him, the royals commenced a deadly claw-to-claw combat. Smashing skulls and breaking bones with ease due to their immense power, topping that of any griffon. 

"Use overdrive and open fire!" the major ordered again. With that, time seemed to slow down around them and thunder spat from Wolfpack's weapons. One by one, hostiles began dropping to the floor like flies.

Alexandra continuously fired streams of superheated blue plasma with her Ae4 Widowmaker into more and more hostiles with deadly accuracy. Hitting them in critical parts such as the head or chest, melting through their metal armor like butter and killing them instantly. One griffon dropped in front of her swinging his large steel mace to crush her head. 

As fast as lightning, she evaded the blow before jumping on the griffon's back and burying her combat knife on the back of his unprotected neck and activating the knife's tasser; sending millions of volt down to the griffon's body. Killing it instantly. 

"You okay there Wolf Mother?" Victor asked in the midst of splitting his opponent's skull with his battle ax, already firing the last round of his shotgun clip with no time to reload it "Nice kill!" 

"I am okay." She replied briefly "Thanks, stay focused!" Alexandra replied before engaging more hostiles.

Confronted by two griffon attackers, Victor knew he had to act fast. One griffon commenced an overhead strike with his steel greatsword, seeing the incoming attack Victor rolled diagonally to the griffon's side, dismembering his weapon's talon and decapitating the griffon's head with his ax. Before throwing it at the other one's head. A direct hit. 

Just as Victor drew his breath of satisfaction, a large griffon appeared behind him with a battle ax ready to claim Victor's life. But before both of them could react, Caroline back-flipped from the griffon's rear side and unloaded her dual SAC3 SMGs on the griffon's face. Killing it. 

"Not bad not bad." Victor said while pulling his battle ax from the griffon he previously killed "You stole my kill, again." 

"Consider that a kill assist." Caroline smirked while reloading both weapons "And, you owe me one." 

Suddenly, Victor tackled Caroline to the ground as multiple machine gun fire nearly ripped them to shreds. But the shots were not intended for them, they were intended towards four griffon attackers behind them. 

"Whoops! Did I get you both?" Heinrich asked sarcastically as he continued to unload his ameli LMG at even more griffons.

"Almost! Dick!" Victor cursed as he helped Caroline up "Now we're even." he said before reloading his CEL-3 Cauterizer and engaging more hostiles.

Suddenly Caroline felt something warm and wet on her stomach. A liquid she knew too well.

Blood. 

But due to absence of pain in her body, it must had came from an external source. 

"Could it be? Victor..." she shrugged those thoughts aside aside as she engaged a griffon in melee combat with her twin wakizashi blades. Slicing its throat open.

"Nice kill, mädchen!" Heinrich praised her with a mixed tone of sarcasm and admiration while shooting a griffon with his signature Mauser right in the head "How's it going over there Monsoon?"

The latter did not respond as one attacker got too close to him, only to receive a roundhouse kick to the face and pierced by his sai blades on the neck after Monsoon somersaulted to his back.

"Sweet dreams..." he chuckled with a dark tone. Before continuing to engage more attackers at close quarters combat.

MAMBA aimed at the head of an attacking griffon with his RW-1 railgun and took his shot. The hypervelocity bullet pierced through his armored helm like it was a sheet of paper, blowing it clean off with a fountain of blood. Seeing more attackers, he reloaded his gun before placing it on its sheath and drawing his modified crossbow.

Utilizing his free-running skill and crossbow, he picked them off one by one by placing carbon-impact bolts squarely on their skulls. The heavy impact pierced through their helmets and killed them where they stood.

Soon, the lights came back on and revealed a gruesome sight. Both friend and foe, dead and or dismembered griffons were scattered everywhere; not to mention the putrid smell of blood and spilled organs.

Alexandra twirled her hand, signaling for everybody to fall in "Everybody okay?" she asked. Getting responds of confirmation from the others. Except...

"Damn, so much for a good dinner." Victor chuckled while putting his left hand on his stomach with blood oozing out from it. Taking a seat on a nearby bench with Caroline's help. 

"That...is on me." Heinrich chuckled nervously while holstering his LMG "armor piercing rou-" he was cut off when Alexandra punched him in his epigastrium. Causing him to fall to his knees.

"Next time, be more careful." She said with a cold tone before walking towards Victor who was taking off his helmet.

"Yes ma'am." Heinrich squeaked.

"Vic, take off your armor." Alexandra said followed by a nod of concern from Caroline.

"Nah, it's just a flesh wound." He said while reaching his exo's control panel to use his stims "Besides, we are still in the combat zone." 

"Fine, but when things are settled..." she trailed off "that's an order." 

"Yes ma'am." Victor smiled.

"Damned rebels!" Nofus scoffed while walking towards Wolfpack "they are getting bolder as each day passes."

"Pardon your majesty?" Alexandra asked, but before the griffon could answer...Solarwing stepped in.

"Is your team okay?" Solarwing asked after instructing his soldiers to clean up the bloody mess.

"We are in good shape your highness." Alexandra said. Despite her statement, Alexandra noticed that Solarwing was looking at Victor. Specifically at his bloodied hand and abdomen section of his armor.

"It is all taken care of your majesty." Victor said.

"Very well then." 

"General Stormcrest, we got a live one here!" one griffon soldier alerted them.

"Good, make sure he stays alive for interrogation." Stormcrest replied assertively and the soldiers lifted the surviving attacker off the ground and carried him away. 

"Wolfpack, once again you've done us a great service. If it weren't for you, maybe we wont be standing here right now." Nofus said respectfully. The other griffons bowed their heads in respect.

"You flatter us your majesty." Alexandra said "But I am sure your majesty could fare well even without us." 

"Impressive major, I am sure ATLAS is more than pleased to have a soldier like you and your team on its ranks." Nofus praised them "Do you all care to join me for a walk at the castle's Great Porch? There we will talk about getting you to your destination." 

"Your majesty, with your permission I am taking a platoon of troops with me to sweep the castle grounds in case there are more of them." Shadow Specter said.

"Permission granted." Nofus said. And with no words spoken, the unicorn took off with a platoon of griffon troops following him.

All of them responded positively and off they went to the castle's Great Porch.

The walk to the Great Porch was filled with conversation. Wolfpack explained a bit about their gadgets and weaponry; especially the Storm Fortress which the griffons dubbed as the "Massive Metal Beast." 

Due to Wolfpack's general friendliness and Victor's jokes; save for MAMBA and Monsoon who remained quiet and enigmatic, the griffons began to grow on them as friends.

As soon as they arrived at the Great Porch, Wolfpack was astonished by the beautiful scenery. The entire city of Gryphonia and the natural mountainous landscape surrounding it, were stretched out as far as their eyes can see. Great canals, roads, bridges, and other public facilities coursed through the city, providing access of commerce and transportation. Massive ivory towers climbed high into the sky, and added by the city's lights; they were indeed in paradise.

"Go on, enjoy the view! This is the capital city of Gryphonia after all." Nofus chuckled.

"Fantastisch." Heinrich mused. They admired the scenery for a few moments before finally sitting down with the griffons.

"Now, about getting you to your destination." Nofus stated "Perhaps, we can smuggle you in to the country. You and your giant war beast. Why smuggling? Because we are not exactly allies with them." 

"More like enemies. When the time is right, perhaps we will invade them." Stormcrest added.

Hearing this, Wolfpack sensed an opportunity.

"Patch us through." Mark said "I am going to have a little chat with Nofus." 

"Your majesty, perhaps we can come to an agreement." Alexandra smiled as she placed her tablet on the table.

"Oh?" Nofus inquired again "Tell me more."

"Lets just say ve are not exactly their friends either." Heinrich said as Mark's transmission came through.

"Greetings, your majesty." Mark's hologram spoke, astonishing the griffons "My name is CEO Mark Irons, Wolfpack's high command. It's an honor." 

"Greetings Mr. Irons, I have to say your soldiers performed extremely well. You must be proud to have them serving your ranks." Nofus said "Now, your soldiers mentioned we can come to an agreement. Care to enlighten us? We'd love to work together with you." 

"Oh your majesty, I think you are going to be more than satisfied." Mark smirked ominously.
> Baptism of Fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the night of negotiations between Wolfpack, ATLAS, and the griffons; a conclusion was reached: The griffons agreed to help Wolfpack and ATLAS on their mission against the Equestrians plus covering their needs and amenities while they were there, and in return ATLAS agreed to lend Wolfpack to the griffons' ranks to quell griffon rebels known as the Firehawk Rebellion as they may interfere with their plans in the future.

The Firehawk Rebellion first sparked to life when one of Emperor Nofus' generals, General Eurythius Firehawk defected with a large portion of troops from the Griffon Imperial Army in order to create a new nation in an opposing move against Nofus' reign which they deemed filled with tyranny and corruption. 

Wolfpack was tasked with joining the Griffon Imperial Army in their war efforts against the Firehawks by attacking headquarters around Gryphonia including a massive mountain fortress known as the Havengard Citadel. The Firehawks' main headquarters. According to Nofus, none of his generals  (excluding his son Stormcrest, since he was deemed to be too young and inexperienced so he was never placed in charge) could scratch that fortress yet; which was why Wolfpack was brought into their ranks. 

After a good night's rest and a hearty breakfast that morning, Wolfpack gathered on the castle's entrance hall with two platoons of Griffon soldiers and Prince Solarwing himself; fully armed and equipped. He had offered them a 'look-around' tour last night which Wolfpack accepted for the sake of "tactical advantage" and frankly they were eager to explore the castle grounds and the city. The Storm Fortress had been moved from the castle''s courtyard to be stored with other griffon war machines and of course nobody complained on that since they all agreed that the massive mobile base was destroying the courtyard's aesthetics.

They also learned that the castle's name was Skyhall Keep. 

Solarwing showed them around in the castle grounds, showing and explaining every detail along the way. At the end of the castle tour, Wolfpack mentioned their favorite locations; Alexandra seemed to have taken interest in the great gardens, Caroline was very interested in the castle's huge library, Victor and Heinrich have taken interest in the castle forges and armory, while Monsoon and MAMBA have taken their interests in probably the most morbid place of all: the torture chambers.

As Wolfpack strode through the city's streets, they realized the city was much more lively from ground point of view. Colorful flags and banners afluttered from the city's great buildings, well-maintained hanging gardens grew all over the city; seemingly integrating with the buildings they were grown from. 

Although the Skyhall Keep was of Victorian architecture, the city was a mix of architectures from around the world with European architecture being the most prominent.

Griffons of all ages crowded the streets with merchants hawking their wares, griffon younglings chased each other in the skies, and so on. Most griffons they encountered castes curious glances at the newcomers but seeing one of their leaders walking with them, they knew there was nothing to worry about. 

They learned that the city was separated into three districts; the Sky district, where Skyhall Keep and other governmental buildings were situated and the highest district in terms of altitude. The Cloud district where the markets and major rivers were situated,where they were currently positioned. And finally, the Wind district where residential areas and minor rivers were located. After exploring Cloud and Wind districts respectfully, they headed out from the city. It was in the afternoon and the sun was high in the sky, but due to the cool-breezy mountain air of Gryphonia; that didn't cause much problem." 

"Where are we heading?" Alexandra asked "I thought we finished exploring the whole city."

"Really now?" Solarwing smirked "Its just not about the city, there's something else I want to show you." 

Just before Alexandra could ask, they arrived on the city's battlements. Massive and sturdy walls surrounded the city with defense towers and in addition,large catapults, balisters, and even ancient cannons were stationed there; ready to defend the great city. 

"Impressive is it not?" Solarwing asked as a platoon of soldiers passed by and saluted him which he returned. Wolfpack nodded. 

"But as elite soldiers, I am sure you are very familiar with these things. But this is not what I meant to show you." Solarwing said while stretching out his wings before flying up the wall with his troops. But just as Solarwing recalled that the humans were flightless , Wolfpack raced them up with their own wings; their exo flight gear. Seeing this, the prince rolled his eyes.

As soon as they reached the top, Wolfpack was astonished by what they saw- an endless sea of towering healthy green trees with its natural scenery and biodiversity- were laid out before their eyes. 

"Absolutely...breath-taking." Caroline said.

"What you are seeing here is the largest forest in all of Gryphonia, the Emerald Woods. Would you like to take a walk?" Solarwing smiled "I can use a walk there myself." no responses were needed as the look in Wolfpack's eyes and faces told everything. Without further delay, both humans and griffons glided from the wall and into the forest below.





After hours of strolling through the charted parts of the forest, Wolfpack and the griffons returned from Emerald Woods to the city; talking about their trip that day. Solarwing had dismissed his escorts, he told them to go back to their homes and rest; but two griffon soldiers insisted on staying by his side. Thundertail, A large grey-feathered male griffon captain and Rhea, a medium-sized scarlet-feathered female griffon mage. Despite not the largest of griffons, but they were still larger than any member of Wolfpack.

"Man that was awesome! That forest looks very much like Kashyyyk." Victor said merrily.

"A what now?" Solarwing inquired.

"It's a fictional planet in one of Earth's most famous films- er, motion picture." Victor said.

"What's it called? I love motion pictures very much!" 

"It's called Star Wars." Victor said as they finally entered the Cloud District and see merchants packing up for the day as evening was upon them "When we are not so busy with this damn conflict, I'll show you." 

Solarwing smiled but his attention was soon caught by a couple of frail-looking elderly griffon merchants trying to stack large boxes before closing their stall. Seeing this, he excused himself and quickly made his way towards them and started helping. Although the merchants seemed to be very reluctant due to  Solarwing's royal status, they finally relented to let the prince help them. Wolfpack watched with admiration before a voice interrupted them.

"You carry such trivialities with you to the battlefield?" Thundertail asked with a tone of disbelief "I thought you 'elites' are supposed to stay focused." 

"And let your mind being pounded by your mission?" Victor retorted "Relax, live a little." 

"I hope your way of relaxing will help us on our cause." Thundertail scoffed while walking ahead of them, catching up to Solarwing who had finished in helping the old griffons and was receiving a basket from them although he did some chit chat at first before finally accepting the gift. Victor was about to retort again, but he felt a talon on his shoulder.

"Don't mind Thundertail, he's just a bit old-fashioned." Rhea said "He could be a pain your rear at first, but you'll get along once you know him well." she told Victor who nodded at her in return, his expression was unreadable due to his juggernaut helm; but Rhea was sure he had taken it positively.

"Hey, if you want I can help you with that." the mage said while looking at Caroline and her small collection of plants and small animals she had collected in small specimen tubes while they were on the forest. 

"No thanks, I can carry them by myself." Caroline said nonchalantly.

"I know you could." Rhea chuckled "But I am offering help in your studies. That's why you are collecting them, right?" 

"Well--" Before the field scientist could say another word, Alexandra stared at her. Knowing her meaning very well she said yes to Rhea, and the griffon cheered.

"Mind if I tag along?" Monsoon asked "I want to know more about the poisons you use here." Caroline was dumbfounded by this as Monsoon rarely if not never expressed his interest in anything. But the two accepted.

"Wolfpack, Rhea." Solarwing called them with Thundertail by his side, holding a basket filled with red apples in his right talon. They quickly jogged towards the prince to answer his call, as soon as they got in place Thundertail gave them one apple each. For the humans, the apples were at least twice the size from Earth apples and were glistening red in color.

"These are called honey-apples." Solarwing  told them "honey-apples are native here in Gryphonia, and very sweet in taste. Although it's save to eat for us gryphons, you should do precautionary steps before eating them." He said while taking a bite of the apple.

"Don't worry, I'll do it." Alexandra said while taking out her knife and sliced a piece of the apple before she chewed some off. Despite the blissful sweet taste, she held her appetite for a moment and felt no side effects had occurred "Dig in! This is so good!" and the group did what their CO instructed them.

"Eat up!" Solarwing chuckled "Remembering the situation, I am sure father will have tasks for you soon."

As they were eating up the treats, the orange sky above them slowly turned into indigo as the sun were setting down behind the mountains. In amidst of chatting, the sound of galloping hoofs could be heard approaching them. And soon, a familiar unicorn appeared from the market's entrance and trotted up to them.

"Your Majesty." Shadow Specter bowed before scanning the others as well "all of you need to come with me." Before they could ask why, Shadow's horn glowed with magic and moments later they were standing in the war room of Skyhall Keep in an extremely nauseous condition.

"A bit of varning next time?" Heinrich asked with an aggravated tone though Shadow did not reply.

"Forgive me for the suddenness but we have a situation." Stormcrest said as he saw Wolfpack, his brother, and two griffon soldiers still recovering from their trip; so he gave them some time. After they recovered, the general continued "A messenger came through just now and he reported that the rebels have captured one of our towns called Falconhamn due to it's large silver mines. If they get their talons on those resources for too long, this rebellion will be much more difficult to quell. Not to mention they are giving hell to our citizens there." He said while marking a forested spot on the map of Gryphonia "Go and recapture the town, destroy the rebels and recover anything of use there. Any questions?"

Heinrich raised his hand to which Stormcrest nodded.

"Since ve are not familiar with the terrain here, can ve perhaps get some assistance? Like coordinates or such?" He asked.

"We are going to give you more than that." Solarwing said with Rhea and Thundertail by his side "We are coming with you." 





Falconhamn, Gryphonia
1900 hours
Operation Silver Salvation

The forests of Falconhamn, tranquil and quiet under the dark of night. Nothing else were heard other than the singing of crickets and the howling winds. 

But suddenly, a burst of yellow light followed by loud cracklings shattered the darkness and tranquility of the night.

"All systems online." Caroline said as the Storm Fortress' systems recovered from the teleportation "thank God no malfunctions this time." 

"Yeah, I fuckin' hate those." Victor said as he took off his now repaired helmet. 

"Prince Solarwing?" Alexandra asked through the comms "how are you and your troops?"

"For creatures who couldn't handle the effects of teleportation...you sure are strange ones." The prince replied from the hangar comms as he and eight of his troops were in the hangar including Thundertail and Rhea. Shadow Specter was also there. One hundred elite griffon troops were already en route by flight but due to the necessity of quick response, Wolfpack and Solarwing went ahead of the main force in order to conduct a clandestine operation against the enemy.

"That means ve are good." Heinrich said "so, ve move out or vhat?" 

They disembarked the Storm Fortress after instructing IRENE to keep the vehicle on cloak and to be on guard, they walked through the forest under the cover of darkness. The walk was silent and uneventful, nothing but fluttering glowing insects and the thick vegetation were in their sights. After what felt like hours of walking, they arrived at the edge of the forest; overlooking Falconhamn. The large trees gave them natural cover, concealing them from any prying eyes.

Wolfpack quickly scouted the area with their optics in night-vision mode and saw a moderately large town with wooden walls, four watchtowers in the direction of the points on the compass, and of course a lot of guards with flickering torches on their talons.

"That's a lot of guards." MAMBA stated.

"Quite unusual for night patrol." Monsoon said "But there's nothing we can't kill." 

"Wolf Mother?" Caroline asked while still looking down her thermal scope.

"We have the element of surprise, but that could be ruined if those watchtowers are still operational." She stated while eyeing the town "which is why we need to kill the guards up there; Ice, that's you."

"Roger that." She said while fitting a suppressor to her heavily modified Lynx rifle.

"Stay here, cover us and keep it down, but go loud when things went to shite. So don't use that special ammo just yet." She said before turning to the rest of her subordinates.

"We are going in silently, suppressed weapons only." She said before looking at Victor "I think you'd better stay here." The major decided due to Victor's tendency to blow things up including their cover.

"And let you hug all the fun?" He smirked while taking a suppressed Bal-27 from his back complete with CQC attachments.

"And here I thought you are some ignorant explosive brute." Monsoon taunted him, but Victor responded not.

"Well if that's all settled..." Solarwing said while walking towards them; fully clad in black steel heavy armor, the prince looked even bigger. He drew a greatbow from his back. Wolfpack marveled at the size of the bow as it was five times as high from a normal human, even for Solarwing himself which was bigger than any gryphons they encountered this far (save from Nofus and Stormcrest) the weapon still seemed cumbersome. Even the arrows were as large as steel spears which could skewer it's targets like pigs. Thundertail and several other large griffon soldiers also carried the bows; albeit, a slightly toned-down version of it.

"What?" Solarwing asked nonchalantly as Wolfpack was staring at his greatbow "oh this? This is called a Dragonslayer Greatbow. Based on its name, this is used to...well, slay dragons." He said while taking one of the massive arrows "I got it when I was-- that's a story for another time. We got a mission on our talons." He said "As I was saying, my troops and Shadow Specter will secure the guards outside of the wall. Rhea will mask our approach." And then he nodded to his battlemage. 

Rhea closed her eyes, seemingly in deep meditation. Suddenly, clouds of thick mist crept out from the trees and into Falconhamn.

"A thick mist? It's no problem for us but how about your troops?" Heinrich asked.

"This is no ordinary mist, it's filled with magic which allows us to see through the fog but our enemies cannot." Thundertail explained "you better learn fast about magic, humans." 

The Hauptmann was about to retort but he caged his ego in. And true, as soon as Thundertail said so; they peered clearly through the mist.

"Before you go." Shadow Specter approached them "see that manor in the center of town?" He said while pointing at said structure "Get in there first and secure any information you can find. And after that, give us the signal so we can proceed to our next move."

"Which is?" Alexandra inquired.

"Securing the town with as little collateral damage as possible." Solarwing stated "It's not about the structures or properties, but it's about the lives of our citizens there. So whatever you do, do NOT get them killed." 

"Wolfpack, comms check. Over?" Victor asked through his comms to make sure everything was going in order. The team nodded in confirmation.

"The spell is in full effect, my prince." Rhea said.

"Ice, your turn." Alexandra said. 

As soon as instructed, the sniper fired at the watchtowers' guards. The illusory mist did not reduce Caroline's accuracy as each bullet found their place perfectly on the guards' skulls. Killing them where they stood guard and alerting none of the guards in town.

"Excellent shooting, sergeant." Solarwing praised her. 

After seeing that the coast was clear, Alexandra handed Ice a tablet in case they need to communicate with the griffons. She nodded to her comrades and Wolfpack fired their grappling hooks into the nearest building; entering the fray.





"Damn fog, I can't see a thing." a Firehawk guard muttered as he and another of his comrade patrolled the streets of Falconhamn "How did this fog get here? It was all a clear night sky and suddenly...this!" 

"This place is haunted Bleak! I told you so!" said the other one in a hushed tone.

"Damn it Quill! you superstitious bastard." the guard replied harshly "Haunted or not, I don't like the looks of this." 

The two resumed their conversations, unaware that they were being watched by invisible entities lurking within the mist...worse than ghosts.

Suddenly, two *pops* were heard and the guards crashed into the ground. Dead, with blood gushing out from their heads.  

"Tangos down." Victor said as he and Alexandra quickly dragged the bodies off the street; hiding them behind a small house.  

Regrouping, they quickly made their way through a small alley towards their destination. Arriving at an intersection on the main road, Alexandra held up her fist; signaling them to stop. And true, only mere seconds later; a platoon of Firehawk guards marched pass them. After they were gone and a short walk later, they arrived at their destination. Closing in to the walls, Wolfpack saw some guards patrolling the walls and rooftops.

Using their grappling hooks, Wolfpack quickly made their way up to the walls and rooftop with Alexandra, Victor and Heinrich sweeping the walls while Monsoon and MAMBA sweeping the rooftops; dispatching multiple guards along the way and securing the location of any remaining guards.

At last, the team rendezvoused at an entrance door on the left side of the manor, not the main entrance but this was even better for them for there could be a large amount of resistance waiting for them on the main gate.

Victor activated a mute charge followed swiftly by a breaching charge to the door and mere seconds later, the team had entered the manor.





Two more guards slumped dead on the ground with bullet holes carved on their heads, streams of red blood flowing out from them.

"All clear." Monsoon said after he snapped the neck of a lesser Firehawk guard with a sickening *snap* and blasting the head of a downed griffon with his suppressed pistol.

"Zis must be it." Heinrich said as they arrived in front of a large elaborately carved door "ze intel place."

"Only one way to find out." Victor said as he activated yet another mute charge and a breaching charge to the door; shattering it to pieces. 

"What a shame." Alexandra remarked at the destroyed door as they finally entered the room. The room was a medium sized reading room with lots of large bookshelf lined with multiple books for all to read, a circular exquisitely crafted wooden table was also present in the center of the room.

"Vell, ve better start searching." Heinrich mused while walking towards the table. But the table was not empty at all as there were three items laying on it. A thick account book, a map of Gryphonia with troop movement charts all over it, and a map of Falconhamn.

"Vell, vhat do ve have here?" Heinrich mused yet again while flipping a page of the account book "Now this...is a lot of silver flowing through. Flocken." 

"I am scanning the maps. Standby for transmission." Alexandra instructed while scanning the maps with her HUD before distributing the digital version of the maps to her team "Ice, patch me through to Prince Solarwing."

"Alright." 

"Greetings, Wolfpack." Solarwing said as his visage appeared on the team's HUD "I see you've made it inside the manor. Have you found something?" 

"Indeed, your majesty." Alexandra said before sending a digital copy of the maps and account book to the tablet.

"I see, you have been most helpful. Take the original pieces with you as well, just in case." the prince said "Now wipe out the stragglers from the inside, leave the rest of the guards outside to us." 





As Solarwing ended the conversation, he took out his greatbow, anchored it on the ground, before fitting a great-arrow on it's long-sturdy string. He held the massive bow with his left talon while his right talon drew the bow string to it's maximum capacity; the rest of the great-archers did the same.Seeing this, Caroline walked away from their firing trajectories.

The great-archers took aim at the patrolling guards nearby and unleashed volleys of dragon-slaying arrows upon them. Impaling and ripping apart the Firehawks with screams of pain. Some of the smaller griffons were shredded in half while the larger ones were impaled to the walls of Falconhamn. 

Possessing eagle-sharp eyesight and the light from the full moon, the great-archers made short work of the Firehawks who were blinded by the illusory mist.

The enemy's defense soften, Solarwing told Thundertail to led the griffon troops to aid Wolfpack in securing the town while Rhea stayed behind with the prince and Caroline. But just as Thundertail and his troops took flight to the town... 

"Prince Solarwing, we've got a surprise for you."  Alexandra said "Come over to the gates." 

"Oh well, might as well join them." Solarwing mused while slinging his greatbow on his back and closing his helmet's visor before turning to Caroline and Rhea "Come, we are heading to the gates." Rhea and Caroline nodded and the three flew to the gates. 

Just as they were approaching the gates, they saw the rest of Wolfpack, Thundertail and his cohort, with twenty Gryphonian guards standing in line. Evident as they wore the imperial's signature leather armor and iron helms with Gryphonia's coat of arms engraved on the pauldrons: a golden griffon spreading its wings with two golden crossed crossed short-swords in the background with links of golden chain circling the outline. 

As Solarwing, Caroline, and Rhea landed in front of them, the griffons saluted the prince in a Roman fashion, the prince returned the salute. Just then, Alexandra and the rest of Wolfpack came forth.

"Wolfpack, I see you've acquired some help! Well done." Solarwing smiled "I assume there are no civilian casualty whatsoever?" 

"Negative, prince." Alexandra replied "As for the guards here, it took some time to convince them that we are friendly." Solarwing acknowledged her and turned to the guards.

"Where is your captain?" Solarwing asked them.

"He is dead, prince." a guard spoke up "Killed in action when he defended some escaping younglings and grifonesses." 

"Then he died honorably." Solarwing stated "Is his body still here? I want to give him final respects." 

"No sir, those rebels burned him." the guard scoffed "But soon we will have a memorial build in his name." 

"And for your fallen comrades as well." Solarwing added. This caused Wolfpack to respect the prince even more. 

"It was an ambush! Their forces caught us off-guard at night and it was a slaughter--" the guard was silenced as the prince held up his talon.

"What happened, happened. But heed my words, guards of Falconhamn. Should anything like this happen ever again, then you can consider yourselves permanently removed." Solarwing said sternly. 

"Sir yes sir!" The guards replied in unison.

"Return to your homes and families, rest for tonight. Tomorrow we will send out a patrol to find the younglings and grifonesses and repair the damages here. We are save, for now." Solarwing said out loud "Me and my troops will watch over the night." 

"With all due respect sir." the guard from before spoke up "I think we've rested enough." 

"But you still have your wounded." Thundertail intervened before turning to Solarwing "They are not going to fight well in battle, nor it is wise to strain them any further."

"Very well." Solarwing said "My medics will tend to the wounded, and for those of you who are still able bodied, have to guard the night in scheduled watch shifts. My troops and I will take the first watch." the prince declared. The guards saluted and dispersed to carry out their orders.

"Sir, we can bring in the Storm Fortress if you want to. To patrol the walls for the night." Victor suggested.

"Bring it in but keep it invisible. I don't think these folks are ready for what you have in store." Solarwing whispered "I think they need time to warm up to you."

"IRENE, get the Storm Fortress over here." Alexandra instructed through her comms "We have a long night ahead of us."





The night passed by with a few small events. The 100 elite soldiers who were on their way before arrived at Falconhamn when dawn broke. A small detachment of guards had also been sent to look for the missing citizens of Falconhamn, although it had been at least eight hours since they left; there were no signs of them. Shadow Specter teleported back home that night to Skyhall Keep in order to report the successful mission directly to Emperor Nofus and General Stormcrest.

That morning, the griffon soldiers and some members of Wolfpack were working on some extra fortifications of Falconhamn, unarmored and unarmed. But they didn't need to worry since half of the soldiers were watching over them from the walls, fully armed and armored. And should an attack occur, they could retreat inside the walls and gear up quickly to fight back. Not to mention, they have Wolfpack and the Storm Fortress with them.

Solarwing was coordinating the fortifications, Rhea and Alexandra were tending to the wounded in the guard barracks, Caroline was studying the specimens she found on the forest trip in her small lab in the Storm Fortress despite Rhea saying to "not begin without her" . Thundertail, Victor and Heinrich were helping with the construction, Monsoon was up alone in a watchtower nearby, scanning the horizon while also musing to various thoughts. And MAMBA was scouting a small hill nearby.

The fortifications went smoothly as they repaired the stone walls by replacing the damaged ones with new stones and strengthened them with mortar, set new protruding palisades as extra defense, and finally they dug a trench around the walls and filled it with sharp wooden stakes and oil. 

As they called the day off, most of the working soldiers returned to the barracks due to exhaustion. But Prince Solarwing, Thundertail, and Rhea had a different idea in their minds. After putting on their gears and collecting Wolfpack (minus Monsoon who returned to the Storm Fortress to rest) along the way who were making a good progress with mingling with the citizens there, they headed to the most famous tavern in Falconhamn: the Hobbling Falcon.

The group sat on one of the large tables in the tavern. Seeing a member of the Royal Family, the barkeeper immediately told his waitress to serve the best food and drink for them. And true, eight tankards of ale and eight plates of large steaks and vegetables were served before them. Solarwing handed the waitress some gold coins, but the bartender intervened and declared the meals were free; thanking the griffons and Wolfpack for saving them. 

As they began to eat, Victor asked a question.

"What's up with the armor and sword? You heading out again?" he inquired while looking at Solarwing.

"Call him with 'sir' or pr-" Thundertail retorted only to be stopped by Solarwing.

"Listen, from now on just call me by my name! Calling me by 'sir' or 'prince' and et cetera all the time is really stressing me out! So cut the formality crap and call me 'sir' in only certain situations!" Solarwing said with an irritated tone, causing all of them to look at him.

"Forgive me, I am just...concerned about the patrol I sent earlier today." Solarwing said while rubbing his head and taking a swig of ale.

"Don't worry, my love. They will be alright, maybe they are still looking." Rhea said comfortingly while placing her right talon on Solarwing's shoulder, this caused Thundertail, Victor, and Heinrich to choke on their food while Alexandra and Caroline stared at them with their mouths agape. Luckily, the rest of the tavern didn't seem to hear.

"Say what?" Victor said after taking a swig from his tankard.

"I know, a big surprise isn't it?" Solarwing said while putting his talon on Rhea's "My father wont approve of this, a royal blood having an affair with a common is forbidden to him. But love isn't about blood, race, prestige, honor, riches, or rank. It's simply because you feel happy and comfortable being with he or she who you love." he said solemnly while staring tenderly at Rhea's eyes which she returned "So, please don't tell my father." Wolfpack and Thundertail nodded with smiles on their faces (save for MAMBA whose expression remained unreadable beneath his gas mask, but his dilating eyes suggested that he was emotionally affected).

"Well damn Solar! I don't know you--" Victor was cut off by the long sound of a trumpet. Moments later, a guard barged through the door and saluted him in a Roman style trying to catch up his breath.

"What is it soldier?" Solarwing asked rising from his seat, knowing something urgent was happening.

"Sir, you must come to the entrance battlement at once! It's the patrol!" the guard replied.

With no more words, the group took off at once to their destination and five minutes, later they arrived. As they stepped up to the battlement, they were greeted by an unwelcoming sight. A large Firehawk force, outnumbering their numbers by 3 : 1 gathered in front of the city's heavily fortified walls and gate. Among them, eight griffon patrol soldiers and four griffonesses and six younglings were held with their talons and wings bound together.

The apparent leader of the Firehawks, dragged the leading patrol officer and secured his head in a field-stock. The griffonesses cowered in terror, covering their younglings' eyes as they knew what was coming. 

"The gods will give us victory today!" the leader shouted. His soldiers cheered loudly. 

"You tyrants have stolen our lands! Killed our brothers and sisters! And dishonoring griffon-kind! I curse you! " The leader shouted at the Falconhamn griffons. He unsheathed his sword and held it high in the air, the griffonesses cowered in terror, covering their younglings' eyes as they knew what was coming. And with a loud shout, he brought it down upon the officer's neck; severing his head from the body with blood gushing out from his neck. The Firehawks cheered loudly.

"I am not leaving them to die." Solarwing said as he and the rest of the group walked down from the battlement "Muster fifty troops and meet me at the gates." 

"Sir, let me lead them." Thundertail said.

"It's my order to send them out there and now it's my responsibility to get them back safely." Solarwing said as he received his helmet from a passing soldier "Muster the troops and tell them to bring their wing-shields with them, fetch mine too."  

Thundertail saluted and went on to do as he was instructed. Then, Solarwing turned to Rhea and Wolfpack.

"Rhea, you and Wolfpack are to defend the city at all costs." Solarwing said. 

"Bullshit!" Victor said "We belong in the front lines!"

"And as I 'd like to fight beside you, but this one is mine. It's because of me those troops are out there, not to mention the civilians." He said as he saw his troops were fitting themselves with their wing-shields: armor for their wings which could also function like shields; a pair of large blades had also been fixed into the outer edges so they could also be used offensively . Solarwing also did the same as he received his from Thundertail.

The wing-shields protected their wings against even the most powerful blows but the only drawback was a great decrease on their flight speeds. But Solarwing had another idea in mind, and he wasn't thinking about flying. As they fell in line Solarwing whispered his prayers...

"Repthar, Father of Victories and Soldiers. Do not bring misfortune to my legion. I accept what must be sacrificed and done. But I beg thee, do not bring misfortune to my legion." he said as he drew his breath and turned to his troops "Do not be afraid for Repthar stands with us! Will it be victory or Cloud Sanctuary!" the troops cheered loudly.

"On my command! We form the Tortoise formation! Ready?! Open the gate!" As the large steel gate slid open the griffon doubled their marching speed towards the enemy forces. The Firehawks let out their cries of battle and charged towards Solarwing and his forces. As the prince led his legion to battle; his defending comrades wished him well.

"Tortoise formation! form!" Solarwing ordered. As if they were synchronized together, Solarwing and the griffons in the front used their left wings as shields while the rest of the forces lifted their wings up to protect against attacks from above. And mere seconds later, the two forces clashed. Despite the fierce blows inflicted by the Firehawks and their sheer numbers, the battle-hardened elite griffons swatted them aside; thrusting from behind their shields with swords or slicing their enemies with their shield's bladed edge.

"Advance!" Solarwing shouted as he decapitated a Firehawk with a single thrust from his sword. When they were only steps away from the hostages, Solarwing shouted again...

"Defensive circle! form!" 

At this point, the griffons formed a sturdy defensive circle around the hostages, circling them and Solarwing.

"Here! cut the others free!" Solarwing said while handing his dagger after he cut loose a patrol soldier. "Hold the circle!" he shouted again.

The two quickly freed the hostages and once they were all freed, they were preparing to retreat until a long trumpet call stopped the Firehawks from attacking but Solarwing's legion held their ground. 

"Hold the circle!" Solarwing ordered again. But as soon as he said that, he saw two large dragons closing in from the distance. At this point, the remaining Firehawks were already retreating.

"Fall back! Fall back!" Solarwing shouted and his legion followed suit. Solarwing snatched three of the younglings with his beak and placed them on his back and took off by flight back towards the wall, ignoring the weight of his wing-shields while the remaining three were carried by the griffonesses who were flying beside him. Solarwing and the griffonesses quickly reached the gate, and after handing the younglings over to them and commanding his great-archers to ready their great-bows; he quickly returned to the field to help the rest of his legionnaires who were still out in the field with two large spears in his talons.

"Quickly retreat back to the walls!" He shouted as some legionnaires ran pass him and made it back into Falconhamn. But not all were so lucky. Ten griffons were incinerated by the dragons' fiery breath and two were half-eaten. Enraged, Solarwing threw one of his spears at one of the dragons with such force that a vapor cone formed around the spear and directly pierced the dragon's heart at a blistering speed and force. As the large beast crashed down to earth, another one was making its attack run.

As Solarwing took his aim, a loud boom was heard and half of the dragon's body was obliterated in one large explosion; sending it down to earth with a shower of gore. Solarwing turned to the source of the sound and saw the Storm Fortress with Victor standing over the turret with his thumbs up, which he returned with a salute.

As Falconhamn exploded into cheers of victory, Thundertail, Rhea, and Wolfpack flew towards Solarwing who was kneeling over the remains of his fallen legionnaires. 

"May the winds carry you up to the clouds, brothers." the prince whispered solemnly before turning to his newly arrived comrades "We are winning this pointless war. One way or another." 
> Another Day in Paradise
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

A month had passed and the humans were starting to live out their lives in Ponyville. After some arrangements with the higher pony command echelon, the Sentinel Task Force received permission to stand up as an independent military division separated from the Royal Guard. But they were also supposed to cooperate with the guards should they were needed and supervised directly by Equestria's highest chain of command: the Royals themselves.

It was a regular day at the Friendship Rainbow Kingdom Castle, the Sentinels and Royal Guards were training under the afternoon sun; their regular activity. With recent events keeping them busy, such as the cremation of the minotaur attackers three weeks ago and the potential of another attack; being caught off guard again wasn't a choice they were willing to take.

Captains Lightning Spear and Lone Shadow bolstered with a platoon of royal guard officers were supervising a company of 150 fully equipped guards in their training that day.

"You! use your shield to block! If this stallion is your enemy you'd be dead already!" Lightning Spear scolded a unicorn guard as he carelessly let his guard down which caused his sparring partner's sword -an earth pony- to be only mere inches away from his throat. The unicorn nodded and Lightning gave a nod of approval to the unicorn's sparring partner before continuing on. 

"Remember! You must strike with speed, strength and accuracy!" Lightning boomed using his voice amplification spell before continuing his supervision. 

Some Sentinels were also practicing their melee combat. Marcus and Joker were sparring in a hand-to-hand combat session; heavily emphasizing on ground fighting. John Markusen, Ramirez, and James Grayson got locked in a push-up competition , while most of the Sentinels were practicing their swordplay with practice swords after a crash-course with Lightning and Lone a couple of days ago. Gideon and Mitchell were watching nearby, only wearing their basic Sentinel uniforms.

"It feels good isn't it?" Mitchell said "To be out from the war and all." 

"Yeah, it does." Gideon replied "By the way, where's Ilona?" 

"Oh, she joined that animal control party. Left, minutes ago." Mitchell said "And that Grant kid, he seems...interested in her. He left with her this morning." 

"You jealous, mate?" Gideon said with a nasty grin.

"No!" Mitchell retorted "Going out with Ilona? she will eat you alive." 

Gideon laughed "Come on, lets check our boys at the shooting range." completely unaware that a certain electric yellow unicorn captain was listening to their conversation.





"Aim! Fire!" Lone Shadow's voice boomed. His voice was then followed swiftly by a hail of arrows, energy, and crossbow bolts which impacted straw pony targets on the other side of the range. Not only bows, crossbows, and magic, from the ponies; the Sentinels also fired their weapons, both energy and bullets impacted the straw ponies, obliterating them.

"Remember! The more you concentrate, the better your shots will be." as he said that, Mitchell and Gideon entered the area.

"Major, captain." Lone said with a salute, the two humans returned the salute.

"How are your troops doing?" Gideon asked.

"They are doing just fine, their shots are getting more and more accurate. They will be ready should there be another attack." the captain replied.

"And how are our troops doing?" Mitchell asked.

"They have the best aims I've ever seen. They are surely combat-ready." Lone said before looking at the orange sky, noticing the sun had lowered to the west. "Time goes so fast. I have to call them off." 

Both parties called off their respective troops and told them to relax for the rest of day. At that moment,the others arrived at the area.

"Alright! Lets go and grab a beer!" Lightning said, already shedding off his armor with only his leather tunic and longsword on him only to receive sharp looks from every human and pony there "Oh right, the animal control party. They've been gone for too long. Gideon, can you contact them?" 

Gideon sighed and patched through his comms "Ilona, where are you?" 

And then, a thundering roar was heard. A roar Lightning was all too familiar with. 

"Manticore!" Lightning shouted before galloping towards the source of the roar, with others following suit.





"That sure was a helluva hunt." Sergeant Grant "Bolt" Hatch said while holstering his AE4 as he, Ilona, Silent Wing, and Crack Shot were trekking through the dense vegetation of the Everfree Forest back to Ponyville "Nice shots back there." 

"Twenty infected Timberwolves for a day, that will keep the ecosystem healthy." Silent Wing said while adjusting his crossbow strapped to his back.

"Isn't Fluttershy going to be upset about us doing this?" Ilona asked.

"Not to worry, ma'am. We talked to her about this, and she seemed to understand."  Crack Shot said. Ilona nodded before something caught her attention: a bunch of white lilies growing nearby. She quickly picked some of them, much to the wonder of others.

"I don't know you are a flower lover." Bolt said.

"You don't know anything about me." Ilona said with an icy tone before putting the flowers on her tactical field sample container. As unpleasant as this seemed, Bolt expected this response. Although he managed to hold a conversation with her about other things, she seemed to be an introvert if the conversation got into personal matters.

"I *static* ere *static* you *static*." Gideon's garbled voice said through their comms. 

"Gideon? We are coming back! Do you read?" Ilona said, only to receive *static* in response "We should get back. I can see Ponyville up ahead." she said before adjusting her MORS rifle; looking frustrated due to the fact that she had ran out of ammo  and picked up her pace.

But before any of them could move, a thundering roar was heard and a massive lion with a fiery red mane, the tail of a scorpion, and bat-like wings sprung from the trees; blocking their path and brandishing its large fangs and claws. Approaching menacingly towards the small group.

"Back up, slowly. This is not a timberwolf, it won't go down with one shot. Even with your weapons." Crack Shot said. As the group slowly inched backwards with weapons pointed at the massive beast, another manticore showed up behind them.

"Shit, we are trapped." Bolt said as he turned to face the other manticore behind them, pointing his AE4. 

"Hey, I am going to clear a path for us." Crack Shot said in a hushed tone while using his right wing to pat Silent Wing next to him, as if signaling something "When I do, make a run for it." 

The pegasus guards drew their breaths and focused their sights on the manticore in front of them. They spread their wings and with swift whipping moves, eight sharp throwing knives flew through the air and landed squarely on the manticore's face; hitting it's nose and one of its eyes.

"Now! Go!" Crack Shot exclaimed as the manticore roared in pain, running and smashing into the trees randomly. The team dashed towards the opening with the other manticore in close pursuit. But as the team thought they got away from it, the injured manticore blindly swung it's venomous tail at one of its potential prey: Ilona.

Seeing the imminent danger, Bolt tackled her to the ground but the sting tore through his back armor and venom seeped in to his body; severely wounding and incapacitating him and pinning Ilona to the ground. The pegasi guards were rushing back to protect the incapacitated Sentinel, but the other manticore held them at bay.

Seeing this, Ilona quickly crawled, grabbed Bolt's assault rifle, and fired it at both manticores. The injured manticore was the closest one, and Ilona's deadly accuracy caused the plasma bolts to burn through the creature's skull, killing it instantly. But the gun overheated before it can do any serious damage to the other one. Before the weapon could cool down, the other manticore swatted Ilona with its massive paw, throwing her into a nearby tree and knocking her gun away.

Crack Shot and Silent Wing immediately rushed in to help. But as if having another set of eyes behind its head, the manticore swung its tail at the incoming attackers with such force that it hurled them towards the trees and knocking them out cold. The manticore turned its attention back on Ilona and prepared to feast on its prey.

However before the manticore could tear Ilona's head away with it's massive jaws, a loud *boom* was heard and the manticore's head exploded into pieces with a shower of blood and brain matter, sending it crashing to the ground. And soon, rushes of footsteps and galloping hooves were heard. 

"Ilona! Are you alright?" Mitchell asked he and Mitchell helped her up, she nodded and quickly made her way towards the incapacitated Bolt who was being inspected by Lightning and Marcus. Bolt was unconscious and barely breathing.

"Nicely done, Joker." Gideon said as he tapped Joker's shoulder.

"It's nothing boss." Joker said while shouldering his 20mm sniper rifle before securing the perimeter with, Lone, and Ramirez. James and John were checking on Silent Wing and Crack Shot who had just recovered.

"How many are these?" James asked while gesturing the amount of three with his fingers.

"Three." Both of them responded, still heavily dazed after being slammed by the manticore's tail.

Meanwhile, Lightning, Ilona and Marcus were applying first aid treatment towards the wounded and incapacitated Bolt. Lightning ran diagnosis with his magic on Bolt's body.

"Manticore venom. Very lethal. If we don't get help soon, he is finished." Lightning said as he and Marcus applied first aid to the huge gash on Bolt's back.

"I-is there any way to save him?" Ilona stuttered. 

"For now, I can only weaken the venom and stop the bleeding. But we need anti-venom from Ponyville Hospital." Lightning said as his horn glowed with his signature electric yellow aura with the same aura enveloping Bolt's wound. After a few moments Lightning finished his work.

"Quickly, we must take him right away. Gather round!" Lone said as his horn glowed with a dark purple aura and with a bright flash, they vanished from the forest.





Ponyville Hospital
1800 hours

"Okay Tenderheart, I am going home." Nurse Redheart said after she finished her shift and validated it on an absent machine at the receptionist table.

"Okay, be careful. See you tomorrow!" Tenderheart said as he put on her nurse cap on.

But just as she was going to leave, a bright flash exploded behind her. After the flash subsided only seconds later, four pony guards and nine humans appeared in the lobby; with one of them incapacitated and soaked in red blood.

"Quickly! we need a phial of manticore anti-venom!" Lightning exclaimed as he lifted Bolt in his telekinesis "Where is Doctor Red Cross?!" 

"He is in the emergency room! This way!" Nurse Redheart said before galloping with Lightning towards the emergency room before disappearing around a corridor leading there. Ilona and the rest of the Sentinels were about to chase after him but Nurse Tenderheart stopped them.

"All of you please stay here." Nurse Tenderheart said "Lets not interrupt them." 

"But you need someone who understand about human anatomy! I have to go with them!" Ilona said with a nearly shouting tone, causing Redheart to flinch.

"She is right." Gideon said, standing beside Ilona "You have to let one of us to go with them. We all could function as combat medics after all." 

"Alright, this way ma'am." Nurse Redheart said before they both jogged towards the emergency room.

Half an hour later, Lightning nor Ilona or any of the nurses or even Doctor Red Cross haven't came out from the emergency room. This caused the team to be more restless. They contacted Twilight about what happened and was going to be there ASAP with the rest of the element bearers and Bolt's Aegis squad.

Suddenly, galloping hooves were heard and the entrance doors swung open. 

"We came here as fast as we could." Twilight said as she and the rest of the element bearers arrived on the lobby along with Aegis operators "How is his condition?" 

"Lightning managed to weaken the venom and stopped the bleeding." Marcus said "They are working on him now. Ilona's in there with them." 

"Bolt's a hard son of a bitch, trust me he will make it." Captain Mcknight said.

"I-is he g-going to be alright, Applejack?" Fluttershy stuttered while inching closer to the farm mare.

"He's goin' ta be alright sugarcube." Applejack said while embracing the timid pegasus.

"Those brutes!" Rarity exclaimed "They will pay for what they've done!" 

"Don't worry ma'am, they already did." Joker said while patting his massive sniper rifle. This caused Fluttershy to shudder a bit.

But before any of them could say anything, Lightning walked out from the emergency room; causing everybody and everypony to shut their mouths.

Lightning inhaled and took off his surgical mask, smiling.

"Bolt is awake now." 





After what felt like eons for him, Bolt opened his eyes only to be greeted with a severe headache and blurry vision. He felt himself lying on a soft bed and on a room which seemed like a hospital recovery room. He turned his body around and came face to face with Ilona who was sitting next to his bed with a smile adorning her face.

"Don't get up." She said "You are still too weak." 

"Oh man, where am I? what happened?" Bolt asked while sitting up on the edge of his bed. He noticed his exo-suit, weapons, armor, and operator's jacket had been removed from him, instead; white bandages covered his torso with an IV in his arm. He also noticed that Ilona was wearing none of her combat gear.

"You are in Ponyville Hospital. You got sliced by the manticore's sting after you tackled me to the ground, to make things worse you also...got poisoned by the venom." Ilona said while turning around to get him some water which he happily drank up.

"Well, that explains the IV." Bolt said while examining his IV bag which contained an orange liquid: the anti-venom. But in the middle of his examination, Bolt heard soft sobs next to him and before he could react, Ilona wrapped her arms around Bolt's torso; careful not to touch his wounded back and cried into his chest. This took Bolt's soul into a roller-coaster ride.

"Hey, it's okay now." Bolt said softly when he managed to regain himself, returning the embrace. Bolt never expected Ilona's touch to be soft and caring. At that time, he couldn't let her go nor did he want to. After a few moments, Ilona managed to collect herself and separated from the embrace.

"I am sorry, I am just glad that you are fine. Thank you, for saving me." Ilona said while wiping her tears away. Smiling. 

"Don't mention it." Bolt simply replied "I can't let one of my CO get hurt, no?" 

Silence filled the room as the two stared into each other's eyes, leaning closer and closer. Ilona closed her eyes, and braced for what's coming...Bolt himself was filled with uncertainty of what's going to happen next as they keep leaning their faces closer to each other. But then, they heard footsteps and hoofsteps approaching the room.

"Hey, make sure to thank Lightning and Lone later. If it were not for them, maybe you'd be dead by now." she said after backing away with a blushing face and was walking towards the exit with her head lowered down. At that moment the door swung open and the others showed up. 

"Ilona where are you going?" Lightning asked with a confused tone. The others also gave her that stare of confusion.

"Excuse me, I need some time." she said before slipping away from the group, walking with a fast pace before disappearing around the corridor.





As the ponies and humans were conversing and throwing jokes with the newly recovered Bolt, Ilona was sitting alone by a small pond near the hospital as the sun was setting. Seemingly in a phase of deep thought.

"Vladimir...Irina...why must you two leave so soon?" she said as a droplet of tear slide down her cheek.

Suddenly, Ilona's muse was interrupted when she heard a rustle in the grass. She quickly wiped her tear away and turned her head, only to be met with Lightning with her gear in his levitation.

"I brought your gear, mind if I join you?" Lightning asked. Ilona nodded and Lightning placed her gear beside her.

"Lightning, may I ask you something?" Ilona asked.

"Sure." The unicorn said as he lied down on the grass beside her. 

"You handled that situation well back there, and you seemed to be very concerned about Bolt's safety." Ilona asked "How and why did you do it?"  this caused Lightning to stare at her questioningly.

"He is my friend and I am proficient at healing magic." Lightning said.

"No, I meant what's your story behind it? It seems that you have a certain...trauma." Ilona said as she stood up and began putting her gear back on. Only minutes later, she was done.

"I was going to share it with you guys over some beers tonight, but since the plan got whacked..." He said "Lets just say, I lost both of my parents because of those manticores." 

"I am sorry." Ilona said. 

"That's alright, I got over it. It's a life-changing event to be honest." Lightning said "It's the day where my cutie mark showed up, and...basically a whole new life for me." 

"You and I...actually have some similarities." Ilona said "I lost..." she stopped abruptly and inhaled to keep herself from crying again "I am sorry, I can't. Not yet." 

"I understand." Lightning said while getting up "I am not an expert like my cousin, but I know very well that carrying a burden like that alone is like having a festering wound." Lightning then placed a hoof on her shoulder and stared into her watery eyes "Talk to Gideon, Mitchell, Bolt...hay even us ponies if you want to. We are all with you until the end of the line." Ilona nodded slowly and Lightning walked back to the way he came from.

"Lightning?" Ilona asked and he turned around "Thank you." 

"No problem. Oh, one more thing...if you really have feelings for him, don't deny them will you?" Lightning winked and walked away, leaving Ilona with a beet red face.





"Our sources have confirmed that the attack on Ponyville a month ago was executed by the Firehawk Rebellion." Hurricane began as all of Equestria's highest military command echelon were attending a meeting at Canterlot Castle.

"The Firehawk Rebellion?! What resentment do they have with us?!" Commander Iron Sword spoke up.

"That we don't know, but if they are trying to take out the Elements...then we should consider there are no more motives other than destroying us." Hurricane said "We don't have enough resources to go that far into Gryphonia, even with the Sentinels on our side. Plus, we are going to break the peace treaty with the Empire! We can only hope Emperor Nofus is quelling the Rebellion as we speak."

"On the matter about Gryphonia and the peace treaty, our sources stated that apparently the griffons have acquired human aid as well." General Gleaming Shield stated, this left the room on a silent state with hushed whispers echoing on the room.

"Please do enlighten us, general." Princess Luna said.

"There are only six of them but our sources stated they are very well trained and armed. Possibly exceeding the Sentinels. They even managed to re-capture Falconhamn, one of Gryphonia's largest mining town in just one night." the general explained.

"And what are these soldiers are known as?" Princess Celestia asked.

"They are known as 'Wolfpack' your majesty." Gleaming Shield stated "Your Majesty if I may, Gryphonia is not exactly our enemy but we cannot ignore the possibility that they will try to invade us in the future!" The rest of the room mumbled their support for him. Hearing this Celestia raised her hoof and the room fell into silence once more.

After the moment of silence, Celestia finally spoke up.

"Notify the rest of our military, we cannot afford to be caught off guard again and I will contact the Sentinels as well to see if they know something about this 'Wolfpack' soldiers. Ladies and gentlecolts, this meeting is adjourned." 





"One...two...three! Pull!" James yelled as he and Joker yanked a stump of dead apple tree at Sweet Apple Acres with all their might, clad in their AST suits. Punching down the tree was more than just easy as it only took a kick from James to knock the tree down. But removing the stump, was another story.

"Put yer back into it boys!" Applejack said as she and some Sentinels passed by with two baskets of red apples on their backs and arms.

"Damn this is hard!" James cursed underneath his breath.

"That's what she said!" Joker snickered.

As the two continued to tangle with the stump, Mitchell, Gideon, Marcus, some Royal Guards, and most of the Sentinels (in exception for Bolt and Ilona) were harvesting apples on the large farm.  Loud cracks were heard as they bucked the trees over and over again with hails of apples falling down on them. 

"Alright everyone! Collect the scattered apples and gather 'round. We're goin' to have a break!" Applejack said.

"Don't worry we got it covered!" Lightning said as he, Twilight, Lone, Rarity, and every unicorn guard on the area levitated the scattered apples and placed them in buckets under the trees with their brethren. Seeing the work was done, they gathered on a shady spot nearby to escape the scorching sun.

"That was a lot of work." Gideon said as he sipped a glass of Sweet Apple Acre's signature apple juice.

"No shit." Joker said, already exited his AST suit and was munching on a slice of apple pie.

"Language!" Applejack said "We got fillies here mister!"

Before Joker could say anything, their exo wrist-pad communication HUDs switched on and soon, Princess Celestia's face appeared.

"Good afternoon, Sentinels. I can see that you have been busy."  the princess smiled.

"Good afternoon, Your Majesty." Gideon replied "Is there anything that you need?" 

"Just a simple question, Major." Celestia said with a serious tone "Do you know anything about 'Wolfpack'?" 

The word 'Wolfpack' instantly rendered Gideon, Mitchell, and Joker speechless. Knowing if what Celestia's reference was correct, things will never be the same again.
> Connecting the Dots
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After hearing the word "Wolfpack," the Sentinels fell silent.

"Is there a problem, Major?" Celestia asked, jerking Gideon from his trance.

"Um, forgive me Your Majesty." Gideon shook his head a bit. "Your Majesty, if it’s possible, I would like to request a meeting with you and your most trusted advisers. I know I sound very presumptuous, but this is highly sensitive information to talk about remotely. At what time will you be available?"

Although Gideon's request was a very abrupt one, Celestia sensed his seriousness and concern. Besides, her schedule for the day was signing more and more paperwork. So, she made up her mind to clear her schedule for the day.

"Very well, but it would not be necessary Major. I shall come to Ponyville with my advisers," she stated. "I will see you soon." With that, her visage disappeared from the Sentinels' HUDs.

"Looks like we have more work on our hands," Marcus said as mumbles surged among them.

"A hell lotta work, kid," Joker responded.

"Excuse me ta interrupt, but what the hay is goin' on here?" Applejack asked with a confused stare.

"Lets just say this is a matter of national security," Mitchell said. "We have to return to the castle ASAP."

"Then let’s wrap this all up and RTB," Gideon declared before switching to his comms. "You too Ilona."

"Copy."





Celestia and her advisers arrived at Twilight's castle via teleportation shortly after the Sentinels' returned from Applejacks', and they quickly set up a war council in the castle’s newly finished war room. A room nopony never hoped to use. The war council consisted of human and pony officers with Celestia representing the ponies and Gideon representing the humans. They were all seated around a massive war table with the map of Equus engraved on the surface.

"Before we begin, I would like to explain the background of the situation," Celestia declared and she stood up from her seat. "Recently, our neighboring country, an empire known as Gryphonia, is embroiled in conflict due to an uprising known as the Firehawk Rebellion led by General Eurythius Firehawk who defected from the empire with a large portion of the Griffon Imperial Army in order to create a new nation in an opposing move against Emperor Nofus, current emperor of the empire, whose reign they deemed filled with tyranny and corruption. Which is why their motive on the Ponyville attack is still unknown as we have nothing to do against them."

The Sun Princess stopped a bit to let the attendants process the information. After a while, she continued.

"Both sides have been fighting for so long that they are now currently at a stalemate. However, it seems that the Empire has obtained human aid as well. According to our sources in the Gryphonian ranks, there are only six of them, but they seem to be very well trained as they re-captured Falconhamn from the rebels, one of Gryphonia's largest mining town in just one night. In addition, they also have a giant armored contraption as their transportation. As for our diplomatic ties with Gryphonia, we are currently on neutral terms. However, there are words spreading among our informants about the empire's impending attack on Equestria and it’s very likely that these soldiers will join the attack as well."

She stopped again to let the information to sink in to the attendants of the war room. Seeing there were no confusion whatsoever, she continued.

"Our sources stated that they are busy quelling the rebellion, so it is not likely that they will attack us soon. Despite that, we are going to put defensive protocols in effect as soon as possible to prepare ourselves from the potentially upcoming war. Finally, it is imperative that we make the civilians' safety, and moreover, the safety of the Element Bearers our top priority as our informants also stated that they will be going after the Elements of Harmony. That is what we know for now, perhaps you know something about these 'Wolfpack' soldiers, Major?"

"Fuck...” Gideon muttered under his breath.

"I beg your pardon, Major?" Celestia asked.

Gideon sighed. "Your Majesty, Wolfpack is the best asset of ATLAS Corporation's special forces task force, known as ATLAS Tactical Security Service, or abbreviated as A.T.S.S. Specifically trained as a black operations unit, they conducted numerous and infamous black operations behind enemy lines. Only a handful of people knew of their existence, going so far that most of ATLAS' employees considered the unit as an urban legend...most of them."

"Can you tell us more, Major?" General Gleaming Shield inquired.

"Before the war with the rest of the world, they are usually tasked to deal with situations that may put ATLAS' reputation in jeopardy, such as assassinations and destroying evidences of ATLAS' ‘morally questionable’ activities. After Jonathan Irons, the CEO of ATLAS Corporation himself declared war with the rest of the world, ATLAS Tactical Security Service Unit sky-rocketed into a whole new level. Their operations were so covert that it was rumored they have agents operating inside our task force. The best of the A.T.S.S. operatives are assigned to the Alpha Team, call-sign 'Wolfpack.' They have the best gear ATLAS could offer which they are free to customize and triple the paycheck. After Jonathan Irons' death, his distant cousin, Mark Irons, seized all of ATLAS remaining military assets including the A.T.S.S. and Wolfpack along with it."

"I see. What do you think of the odds, Major?" Commander Iron Sword inquired.

"It would be very difficult to predict, Commander. Unfortunately, our intel is very scarce at the moment, which is why I recommend to execute preventive steps, gather more intel about them before we can pinpoint their next move. And for security, I recommend you to double the guards on your castle and borders. I will also send Phantom and Hunter teams alternately to back you up," Gideon said.

"I believe that would not be necessary, Major. I’m sure my guards are more than capable of dealing with infiltrators in the castle. The borders too are patrolled every day."

"Commander, please. We are talking about the most lethal of ATLAS' ranks, they could strike like thunder and disappear like smoke. If we are not careful, they could cause damages so severe that not even us could do anything about it," Gideon said sternly.

The ponies were quite taken aback by his tone, going from his usually calm and collected demeanor to a very distressed one. But nonetheless, they nodded in acknowledgement.

"Major Gideon is right, Commander. I believe the Major and his soldiers are more well versed in this matter than any of us here. I suggest you listen to what he has to say," Celestia said sternly.

"Yes Your Majesty," Iron Sword replied with a bowed head, realizing his overconfidence.

"Do we know anything else about them?" General Gleaming Shield asked. "Such as who their members are, perhaps?"  

"I do," Ramirez, the former NSA agent said while getting up from his seat and accessing his tablet. "I am sending the data to your HUDs and tablets...it should be up right about...now."

The data was distributed through their HUDs and tablets quickly, and every attendant in the room began to scan through the newly received information. Ramirez had everything they need to know on their potential adversaries...from the members, the Storm Fortress, Mark Irons...everything. But for Gideon, he found something else...

"They can't be...t-they can't be," Gideon stuttered as he saw the images of Major Alexandra Pearce and MAMBA. His estranged sister and presumed-dead protégé. Normally, if he discovered someone holding a vital information away from him, he would probably break that person's nose. But this time, he was too shocked to do any form of violence.

"I... need some time. Excuse me everypony," Gideon said before quickly walking out from the room and into the castle's hallways. Following him, were Mitchell, Joker, and Ilona. They quickly walked to a nearby balcony where Gideon collected himself and calmed down.

"You were there...we buried him ourselves," said Gideon.

"I know..." Mitchell said. "We carried his casket ourselves."  

"Yet here he is, now a member of Wolfpack." Joker shook his head.

"I guess life is not always what it seems," Ilona added. "Speaking of which, what are you going to do with her?"

"I don't know...yet." Gideon sighed. "But what I know is this, we still have a lot of work to do and hopefully, we won't run into them anytime soon."

The rest nodded, and they walked back to the war room.





"Welcome back." Celestia greeted them as the group returned "May I ask what was that all about?"

"It is not every day that you see your dead protégé coming back to life," Gideon said while projecting MAMBA's image from his tablet. "And, having your sister coming up on opposite sides with you in a war," he said again and did the same with Alexandra's.

Again, mumbles surged among those present in the room.

Celestia raised her hoof and all voices went out. She gave herself a moment of silence to let Gideon's claim to sink into her head. The Sun Princess knew very well what it was like to have a sibling to be on the opposite side of a war, moreover she banished her's into the moon for a thousand years. But she did not end her sister's life. However, Celestia knew that Gideon's case may and potentially differ from her's.

"I completely understand the situation, Major," Celestia said after contemplating for a moment. "However, what course of action would you suggest should they attack?"

He internally frowned after hearing the same question, but in his conscience, he knew the answer - uncertainty. But nevertheless, he decided to answer the question.

"Our best assumption is that they will not cooperate with us, as A.T.S.S. operatives are not known to negotiate with words. Which is why we will act with extreme prejudice should any signs of danger appear. However, if there is a chance for negotiation...a peaceful negotiation...we will talk with them. Both the A.T.S.S. and Gryphonians. For as much as possible, we should try to avoid any unneeded fights with them," Gideon said. "But if they insist, we give them hell. Si vis pacem, para bellum!"  

Series of applause rang throughout the room. Although all negotiation attempts with ATLAS have died before the attack of New Baghdad, the Sentinels wanted peace after so many years of fighting ATLAS forces who probably after many years of fighting the Sentinels also wanted the same. However, there were no guarantees that diplomatic channels will work.

"Very well, Major. General Gleaming Shield, Commanders Iron Sword and Hurricane, I want all of you to put our soldiers at full alert. Double the guards and patrols at our borders, the castle, and any other vital sites throughout Equestria, effective immediately. Is that understood?" Princess Celestia declared.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" they replied altogether.

"Are there any questions before we conclude this meeting?"

"Your Majesty." Mitchell raised his hand.

"Yes, Captain Mitchell?"

"You kept mentioning you have your 'sources' in Gryphonia, correct?"

Celestia nodded.

"How trustworthy and secure are they?"

"I have complete faith in them, Captain." Celestia smiled. "I believe they will not betray us whatsoever. They will not be easily compromised as their positions in Gryphonian ranks would be the last to be suspected."

"And who are they if I may know?" Gideon added.

"For security reasons, that is classified. But I am sure that you will meet them someday, Major Gideon." Celestia smiled again. "Now, I have a question for you, major."

"Go ahead, princess."

"I am wondering about the meaning of that phrase you said earlier. Could you perhaps enlighten us?"

"If you want peace, prepare for war."





That evening in Ponyville Hospital...

Bolt woke up from his afternoon nap, with a slightly throbbing head and aching body. Last night, his doctor told him that he was making some progress but his body still needed time to recover from the venom effects and injuries. The first thing that popped into his mind was Ilona...he began to think about her since yesterday. Plus, they nearly kissed.

"So that's gotta mean something, right?" Bolt thought as he lay on his bed. "Come on Grant, she is your commanding officer for Christ's sake!"
His mind was caught in a crossfire between pros and cons until his door swung open, causing him to sit on his bed. For a moment, Bolt was hoping it was Ilona since he hasn't seen her all day long, but it was just Nurse Tenderheart.

"Good afternoon," she greeted him with a warm smile. "How are you feeling today?"

"I am fine, thanks." Bolt smiled. "And you?"

"As fine as I could ever be." Tenderheart smiled as she moved closer to his bedside. "Don't mind me, sir. I’m just going to change your IV bag and I will be out of here in no time."

"Take your time ma'am," Bolt said while changing his position to face her. "Hey, do you have any idea where Ilona is?"

"Oh, Miss Ilona left early this morning with Miss Fluttershy. My apologies, sir. I don't know when she will return," Tenderheart said while replacing Bolt's empty IV bag with a new one.

"And it is getting dark..." Bolt sighed. "Where could they be?"

And then, the door swung open with Ilona on the other side.

"Speak of the Devil," Bolt muttered "Hey."

"Hey." Ilona smiled.

Bolt always loved her smile.

That, and the fact that she was not wearing any combat gear made her look more feminine and less threatening.
Seeing this, Tenderheart excused herself and left the room, giving the two some privacy.

"How are you feeling?" Ilona asked as she took a chair and sat in front of Bolt.

"I’m good, I guess," he replied. "My body's in hella pain right now, but nothing I can't handle."

Ilona smiled.

"So, what did I miss today?" Bolt asked.

"Oh, you won't believe what happened today. This will be a long story," Ilona replied.

"Um, I think we have time for that." Bolt smirked.

And then Ilona talked about the things she went through that day in detail, from her morning activities with Fluttershy, which were mostly searching for flowers and taking care of her pets until the sudden meeting with Princess Celestia in Twilight's castle. An hour had passed; the talk went surprisingly well and relaxed. Ilona wasn't in her usual aloofness and seriousness, complemented by Bolt who had his full attention on her during their chat which they both seemed to notice.

"So that's what happened today," Ilona concluded before taking two glasses of water for her and Bolt to drink. He thanked her, and they both drank from their glasses.

"I still can't believe on what hit Gideon today. Although from what you told me he handled it well, this is not something that you can just get over with in five seconds," Bolt said.

"Yeah, but he better get over this quick. We may find ourselves fighting in another war if shit hits the fan."

"Oh dear God, I hope not, or my plan of making a sandwich shop would be for naught," Bolt said dramatically. "That's my plan after the war with ATLAS is over."

Ilona couldn't help but to laugh at his statement. "You're joking, right?"

"Nope, I’m dead serious." Bolt smirked. "Oh, you haven't got a taste of my specials?"

Ilona shook her head in response. This surprised her, truly.

"After I get myself off this hospital, I'll make as many as I can for everybody and pony. Speaking of which, what's your plan after the war is over?"

"I want to be a florist, I think. I don't know...I can't really think of life outside the war."

"I think that will suit you just fine, Ilona." Bolt smiled.

Ilona blushed at his compliment and smile. Frankly, Bolt's got a cute smile...just like Vladimir's, her late fiancée.

"Ilona? You okay?" Bolt asked, snapping Ilona from her trance.

"Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you, by the way." she smiled.

But then, the door swung open with Nurse Tenderheart on the other side.

"I am sorry ma'am, but visiting hours are over now," Nurse Tenderheart said. However, Ilona wasn't planning to leave.

"Is it okay if I stay here? to look out for him just in case." Ilona said nonchalantly. This caused Bolt's heart to burst like wildfire.

"I think that would be fine since there is nopony else here," Tenderheart concluded. "But he is not allowed to stay up late."

"I understand," Ilona replied.

"Good night," Tenderheart said before closing the door.

And then the chat continued late into the night before Ilona eventually fell asleep on a sofa they were chatting on. Seeing this, Bolt got up and slowly walked while wheeling the IV stand with him to a nearby cupboard to grab a spare blanket and pillow for Ilona. He put the blanket on her and gently lift her head to put the pillow underneath.

"Good night, Ilona," Bolt whispered while gently brushing some locks of hair from her face.





Rockfeather Canyons, Gryphonia

During their stay with the Gryphonian ranks, Wolfpack crushed every Firehawk rebels in their path with ease. What could take years for Gryphonia Empire to accomplish, Wolfpack did in nearly two months. This caused them to be the spearheading force of the empire's army, alongside Prince Solarwing's personal army.

That day as Solarwing's army commenced a diversionary assault at the last of the Rebellion's field headquarters, Wolfpack was tasked with infiltrating the castle to capture or kill a rebel field marshal known as Blacktalon.

According to Solarwing, Blacktalon is General Firehawks' number two. Aside from an abundance of scars, massive build, and blood-red feathers, the field marshal has a set of large black talons as his name implied. Blacktalon's reputation was so legendary that it was said that the color of his talons came from the blood of his victims who lost their heads to him from an unspeakable amount of killing he committed. 

But aside from their reputation, the talons were also very poisonous. The field marshal possessed a deep knowledge on toxicology which he also applied in combat, specifically his claws to ensure that if his blow did not kill his opponent, the poisoning will. So, it was imperative to not come into contact with his claws at all costs.

"Go go go!" Alexandra ordered as she and her team breached the ceiling of the field HQ war room.

Wolfpack eliminated the room's resistance with little effort.

"Clear!" Victor shouted as he scanned the room with his Tac-19 pointed out front, his suit's overdrive subsiding
.
"Now it's clear," Monsoon said as he stabbed a dying rebel on the throat with his sai. "But no Blacktalon."

"Target must've bailed," Caroline said, wiping off some sweat from her forehead.

"We'll get him later," MAMBA said while loading a round into his RW-1.

"Solarwing, we have arrived on site. There is no sign of Blacktalon, I repeat, there is no sign of Blacktalon," Alexandra said.

"Understood Wolfpack, collect any information you can. If he is not there, find out where he’s going."

"Copy that."

Suddenly, thick clouds of smoke exploded among the team. In the ensuing confusion, a blood red blur zipped past the operators...knocking them swiftly to the ground. They quickly recovered from their disorientation and reached for their fallen weapons - only to find a horrifying sight.

"Ah shit! Twelve o'clock!" Victor said while drawing his sidearm and pointing it at...Blacktalon - with Caroline pinned under his left claw. Regardless of any escape attempts she made, the grasp was very strong and firm. Instantly, the rest of the team pointed their sidearms as well.

"Impressive." Blacktalon chuckled darkly as he grazed Caroline's face with his talon, causing her to grimace in pain. "You killed my soldiers as if they were nothing more than walking meat-pockets. You must be the new soldiers Nofus enlisted into his dying ranks."

"Let her go! Or I will blow your brain out from your skull!" Alexandra said sternly while having her sidearm pointed towards the field marshal's head.

"Oh no need for such threats, creature." Blacktalon smirked. "Catch!"

With one fluid move, the rebel field marshal threw Caroline across the room like a rag doll. Victor instinctively leaped and caught her mid-air.
But this, distracted the team.

With a powerful flap from his wings, Blacktalon streaked out from the war room and into the sky above. Seeing this, Heinrich dove for his machine gun and opened fire, but none of his rounds hit Blacktalon.

"Scheisse!" the former German special forces captain cursed. "Now ve lost him!"

"No," Monsoon said. "In fact, he left us a big fuckin' clue."

A message was carved into the stone walls and written in blood.



HAVENGARD CITADEL



Alexandra quickly took a picture of the message with her suit's camera before walking over to Victor who was tending over to a barely conscious Caroline.

"How is she?" she asked.

"Not good, her body temperature's burning. This must've got something to do with this fuckin' scratch," Victor said while sterilizing and dressing the graze on her left cheek, before picking Caroline up in his arms. "We have to get her back to the camp, ASAP."
Alexandra nodded and activated her comms.

"Solarwing, we have the intel. But Ice is incapacitated, Blacktalon grazed her face."

"Understood, return at once for her life is at stake!"





Wolfpack ran like they never did before. They covered the distance back to their encampment in minutes before rushing to the Storm Fortress. Solarwing, Thundertail, his second in command, and Rhea, his adviser, followed them.

Victor put an unconscious Caroline at the Storm Fortress' infirmary hi-tech operating table dubbed as PANACEA. It, and alongside all of the advanced medical equipment the room has to over could cure any injury, disease, and other medical ailments known to mankind using the principles of radiation therapy. The PANACEA however, was isolated on a separate lead-lined room within the infirmary to prevent any unwanted radiation-related accident from happening.

Victor quickly left the room and joined Alexandra at the controls.

"IRENE, scan and sterilize!" Alexandra said.

"Scanning..." IRENE said as a medical scanner vertically scanned Caroline's body from head-to-toe with its blue rays. "Warning, severe blood contamination detected...immediate decontamination recommended."

Alexandra quickly fiddled with the controls and pressed the decontamination button.

A low hum was heard from the overhead linear particle accelerator and a few seconds later, a bright blue light zapped from the optic and enveloped Caroline's body. The graze on her face quickly disappeared as PANACEA repaired the damage on her body...a few moments later, the process was done.

"Decontamination procedure complete, vital signs stable."

"Now she's sleeping," Alexandra said as they entered the PANACEA chamber again. "Vic, could you please take her to her room?"
Victor lifted Caroline to his arms again and carried her to her room with Alexandra in tow.





"How is she?" Rhea asked as Victor and Alexandra walked down from the Storm Fortress' hover-bike hangar ramps. Heinrich, MAMBA, and Monsoon were also there, cleaning their weapons.

"She is fine, sleeping as we speak," Victor replied.

"Thank the clouds." Rhea smiled.

"Do not worry, we will get him at Havengard. This is the last field headquarters the rebellion has, after this we will go straight to the citadel," Solarwing said.

"Good," Alexandra said. "The faster we get over this, the better. Do we have any plans?"

"We do. But we will discuss about that later, right now, I need all of you to rest. You've earned it, well done." said the griffon prince.

But suddenly their comms came to life.

"Wolfpack, this is Prophet. Do you read me, over?"

"Reading you loud and clear Prophet."

"It's good to hear from you again Wolf Mother. What's your mission status, over?"

"Primary mission is nearing completion, over."

"Complete it ASAP. A year and a half has gone by since you left, the Sentinels are making a slow progression here but we need you to hurry, over?"

"Understood, we will keep you posted."

"Prophet out."

"Slow progress? His tone veren't that convincing," Heinrich said.

"He sounded...afraid," Monsoon added.

"Knock it off lads," Alexandra intervened. "We must focus for the mission ahead, not making wild arse interpretations." And then, Alexandra turned her head to the griffons once again.

"We will move out at daybreak," said Solarwing.

Wolfpack saluted the prince and returned to the Storm Fortress, calling the day off.

It was then when Solarwing took flight away from the camp with Rhea and Thundertail flanking him. A few moments later, the trio landed on a plateau overlooking the former rebellion field headquarters and their camp. They stared at the scenery before them, contemplating their next move.

"We should warn them, yes?" Rhea asked.

"I agree with Rhea," Thundertail said, voicing his agreemen.t "The winds know they will need the time to prepare."

"Very well..." Solarwing said, turning to his friends. "Alert Princess Celestia and her allies.”
> The Battle for Havengard 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Havengard Citadel, Gryphonia

Gryphonian trebuchets and other siege engines continuously lobbed hails of massive munitions in their attempt to destroy the solid walls of Havengard Citadel. Even after an entire week of siege, the defenses were yet to be weakened. They cannot attack from the sky as a powerful magic barrier was already cast upon the Citadel grounds, which according to Emperor Nofus' battlemage commander; cannot be broken by even the strongest of battlemages as the barrier was energized by an internal power source deep within the Citadel's complex. And thus, leaving them only one route: ground attack. On the ground however, the Royal Army were pinned down by the Firehawk Rebellion's most feared troops: the Steel Horns Berserkers which consisted of minotaurs and Black Talon Knights, elite griffon knights personally trained by the infamous Field Marshal Blacktalon. The Royal Army are the Gryphonian Empire's strongest fighting force, fierce in attacking and persistent in defending. However the Berserkers' sheer blood-lust and brutality combined with speed and precision from the Knights caused mounting casualty among the Royal Army's ranks. 

Prince Solarwing, his army, and Wolfpack have so far been excluded from the attack since the generals think that Solarwing is too inexperienced and Wolfpack is not part of Gryphonia's forces but mostly their thoughts were centered on who's going to scratch the fortress first and win all the perks of honor and glory.

However when Emperor Nofus paid them an unexpected visit by teleporting with Shadow Specter, they quickly changed their minds and thus equalizing the ground of command once more. 

On the same day, they convened to plan their next attack. The massive amount of Gryphonia's troops meant they were not going to run out of forces soon, but Solarwing had another idea. A swift attack that could crush the Firehawk Rebellion with one swift stroke. 

"I will not need a large force, my Solar Knights and Wolfpack will suffice." said Solarwing to his father and all generals in the room. 

"Forgive my impertinence, but I highly doubt such strategy will work my prince." said one of the generals, receiving a lot of approving nods from his comrades. 

"A lot of experienced generals have tried to scratch Havengard Citadel, but none have succeeded. You have seen your fair share of battle, true. However, you are *ahem* if I may, too inexperienced at a battle of this scale." said the general.

"True, I am but a young prince and haven't commanded armies as you esteemed generals do every day. However, this strategy have never been tried before. The way I see this, our soldiers' morale are already low on the very moment they step into the battlefield as they always have the option to retreat. My point is, to close  any options of retreating. Even if I do fail, your losses will not be much." said Solarwing again, this even gained him more disapproval. But Nofus, raised his talon and the tent went quiet.

"A very bold yet dangerous strategy, my son. Major Pearce, as Wolfpack is used to such high-risk strategy of warfare, what is your opinion on this?"

Major Alexandra "Wolf Mother" Pearce, the leader of Wolfpack who have been listening intently to Solarwing finally voiced her opinion. 

"Your Majesty, in our world there is a saying from a legendary general. Sun Tzu was his name. He wrote in his book, 'when your army has crossed the border, you should burn your boats and bridges, in order to make it clear to everybody that you have no hankering after home.' and thus his army swept like wildfire in nearly every battle he fought, decimating his enemies. Prince Solarwing's strategy is very similar to General Tzu's saying and Wolfpack have fought against odds bigger than us, yet we always prevail. In conclusion, I am very approving of this strategy." she said.

"In addition, General Eurythius Firehawk himself will be there as I will be leading the charge myself. He was my mentor and an excellent strategist, however he has one weakness: that griffon is too proud to miss a personal challenge from the firstborn of Emperor Nofus as I also blinded his left eye. And I am sure Wolfpack also has a score to settle with Field Marshal Blacktalon who will also be there. Two birds with one stone." said Solarwing again. 

Once again, the room fell into a deep silence. The generals with stunned reaction on their faces and Emperor Nofus in deep thought. Alexandra and Solarwing glanced to each other, wondering what Nofus' reaction will be. 

Moments later, the griffon emperor lifted his head and said "It is my order for the Solar Knights and Wolfpack to capture Havengard." 





"Hmph, so Solarwing himself will be leading the charge against us." said Field Marshall Blacktalon as he sipped on a goblet of wine in Havengard's war room. Next to him, General Eurythius Firehawk gave a silent nod. 

"Let him come then, I will tear his throat out myself!" Blacktalon snarled as he threw the goblet against a wall. 

"Watch that your tone does not get you killed. He may be young, but he is an excellent strategist and even a better fighter. He was the one who took my left eye." Firehawk said while removing his eye-patch, revealing a deep gash on his now blind left eye. 

Despite showing calmness in his voice, he knew the fire in him started to rage again...matching his flame colored feathers. Despite being about the same age as Nofus, he was still very capable of fighting and even better at killing. In fact, he mentored a young Solarwing for a long time before his rebellion came to play.

"I have a score to settle with him. So I will be leading the charge against him tomorrow. No artillery strikes, no arrow barrages, only the clash of steels." 

"Hmm, but what does he expect to accomplish with only 5.000 knights on his side against our 120.000 knights? And those human creatures with their massive cumbersome steel beast which as far as we know only serve as transportation?" Blacktalon mused. 

"Whatever his reason is, Solarwing must have some sort of plan going in his head. You and half of your knights are to stay here and guard the citadel. That's an order." 





The next day, five thousand golden plated Solar Knights under Solarwing's command formed up just outside of the Havengard's defenses firing range. 

"This is what I would call madness...I hope you know what you are doing." said Solarwing's second-in-command Captain Thundertail. 

"Yes, as do I. But sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith to progress in your life. Like our first flight, throwing ourselves from a cliff and all that." replied Solarwing. 

"I guess you are right. By the by, where is Rhea and our battle-mages?" as soon as Thundertail asked, a gigantic wall of black clouds followed by strong winds, and continuous thunder strikes formed all-over the battlefield, encasing both Gryphonian and Firehawk forces in a massive storm-sphere.

"I guess they are up in the mountains, conjuring this storm." said Thundertail before speaking again to Solarwing "shall we?"

The prince responded by flaring his wings and unsheathing his greatsword, turning to his knights "To arms!"

The sound of unsheathing blades and war-cries thundered on the battlefield, Solarwing put his helmet on and drew his greatsword 

"First wave, charge!" 

With his command, the vanguards flared their wings and weapons and flew towards their enemies.





On the other side of the battlefield, General Firehawk's Steel Horns Berserkers and most of Black Talon Knights were also itching for the battle. They were fighting a force much smaller in numbers and in their minds, a good old-fashioned frontal assault will certainly finish the job.   But as the general saw the storm sphere, he knew this would be a fight to the death as no one will leave the battlefield until the massive storm subsided. 

"Hmm, a good way to dampen the morale of those fighting in the battle. But why would he close his own way of retreating?" Firehawk thought.

"Sir! the enemy has diverted their forces into a smaller force, about 2000 attackers." said a scout knight flying back to his line. 

"What? he is diverting his already small force into a smaller group? Very well. Vanguards, commence a frontal assault. Crush their first wave to dust!" ordered the general, brandishing his halberd.

With deafening roars, a combination of both griffon and minotaur knights charged at their adversaries. 

Within moments, the two forces collided with one another. Several knights from both sides were killed instantly in the moment of collision and soon the fight started to rage. However, Solarwing's forces were only hitting their enemies with hit-and-run tactics, commencing swift attacks without getting themselves too involved in the fight while quickly advancing to the main enemy forces. As the first wave were composed of light-armored attackers, they have all the speed and agility with them.

"Follow your Prince! Rrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaarrrrgghhh!" the Solar Knights roared.

"Ancestors! we are being pushed back!" said a Black Talon knight before getting cut in half by Solarwing's greatsword.

"Sir! the enemy is advancing towards our position!" said Firehawk's bodyguard.

"Do not panic, they are merely utilizing the speed of their light cavalry to harass us. Assault knights, commence attack from both flanks; Pincer Formation! What will you do now, Solarwing?" he smiled. With that, the assault knights began their attacks on Solarwing's flanks, closing on them fast.

However, Solarwing saw the Pincer Formation coming and ordered his knights to fall back to the main force. 

"Move it! go straight through them!" Thundertail ordered. The stragglers in their retreat route were quickly eliminated by the withdrawing wave of knights.

"Heh! They are retreating! This storm will not disappear in time! All knights, charge! Slaughter them like swine!" And thus, Firehawk and his forces moved in to pursue the fleeing forces.

As the vanguards returned to their lines, Solarwing took off his helmet and faced his troops. 

"This is it! Today is one of the greatest battles Gryphonia will remember in her history! The storm will not subside until the battle has ended, retreat is NOT an option! Repthar and our ancestors are watching our courageous deeds today! Victory or Cloud Sanctuary!"

Their spirits ignited, the knights let out an ear splitting war-cry yet again, ready to charge at their opponents. 

The prince put on his helmet and roared"Charge!" 

Solarwing brandished his greatsword and dashed forward, followed by his knights. 

The prince swiftly annihilated numerous foes in his path, making his way to General Firehawk's position. 

The general, seeing the prince blazing towards him, readied his halberd's axe in a cleaving motion. But, Solarwing saw this and blocked the strike, locking their weapons in place. 

"Prince Solarwing himself leading a charge into battle, I am honored." said General Firehawk.

"It has been a long time, mentor. How fares your left eye?" Solarwing smirked underneath his helmet.

"Never let your arrogance get ahead of yourself, bastard." 

Saying nothing further, the two released their weapons from the lock and swung them at each other again.





Meanwhile, Havengard Citadel's Entrance

Although most of the occupants have gone fighting, the citadel was still heavily guarded by half of Black Talon Knights who were ordered to stay and defend the castle against possible attacks.  

"By Repthar's quills, this is dull." said a guarding Black Talon Knight to his companion beside him. 

"Agreed. We should be out there fighting with our brothers." 

However, their vision was cut to black as the Storm Fortress teleported on top of them; crushing the guards to death instantly. 

"All systems stable and ready to go." IRENE said. 

"Wonderful, lets get this over with. Forward!" commanded Alexandra. 

As the Storm Fortress advanced to the castle's complex, a large number of Black Talon Knights began to converge on them from the battlements. Either firing their massive dragonslayer arrows, setting them on fire with tar, or raining them with large stones - to no effect at all. Instead, the bows and stones dropped like flies while the fire made the tank even more monstrous.  

"Wolf Mother, permission to fire?" Victor asked from his gunner seat. 

"Negative Warhammer, we wait until we reach the main courtyard." replied Alexandra "However, those three massive portcullises are expandable." 

"Roger fuckin' that." Victor smirked.

Within moments, a thundering sound was heard and the portcullises were reduced to scrap metal. Panic was starting to ignite among the knights' ranks. 

"I-I cannot believe this! E-even a dragon would be dead by now!" stuttered one of the knights on the battlements. 

"Nonsense you fool! We will destroy this beast in the main courtyard!" said a higher ranking knight next to him.

Having destroyed their obstructions, Wolfpack arrived on the main courtyard with an endless wave of knights swarming on them. 

"Warhammer, you are cleared to engage." 

"Target saturation complete, firing anti-personnel missiles!"

Moments later, a barrage of anti-personnel homing missiles were fired from the Storm Fortress; reducing the griffons to chunks of bloody flesh and metal. 

With most of the knights decimated, the minuscule fragments were cowering in fear. Have they seen their fair share of combat? true. Battle-hardened? true. Swore an oath in which they are never to retreat come hell or high water? true. But they have never, ever, seen anything like that before. Nor were they prepared. They dropped to the ground, weapons dropped, eyes filled with terror, covering their ears and heads - wishing none of this were happening.

"All targets eliminated. The survivors are...shitting themselves. Orders?" MAMBA spoke up.

Alexandra analyzed the situation, and seeing their opponents mentally incapacitated, she decided to spare them. 

"Stand down Warhammer, they are...incapacitated." 

"Roger." 

"IRENE, scan this rock for any signs of Blacktalon. I want him found ASAP."

"You don't need to look far, he is right over there." MAMBA said. True, Blacktalon stood in front of the keep's entrance. Brandishing his great-sword at them. 

"IF you have honor with you, fight me directly!" he bellowed.

"We have no time for this. Ice, you got a bead on him?" Alexandra asked.

"That I do." Caroline said while aiming her Raufoss Mk 211 loaded Lynx anti-material sniper rifle at Blacktalon's chest from one of the super-heavy tank's gunner hatch. 

"Pop him." 

Caroline's rifle thundered, and a split second later, the bullet have pierced the field marshal's breastplate. Combine an armor-piercing tungsten core with incendiary and explosive components, the result: overkill. 

His head was blown clean off from his neck and his torso mangled. The lifeless heap of meat collapsed to the ground, spilling what's left of the former field marshal. 

"That hurts doesn't it?" Caroline said in a low tone. 

"Kill confirmed. You should have saved him for later though. Poke him with hot iron, tear his skin from the flesh, and all the fun." said Monsoon.

"Save your morbid fantasies for later Monsoon, now grab those flags and banners! We have a fortress to claim! IRENE, keep an eye out." ordered Alexandra. 





Meanwhile, the clash of steels in battlefield outside have intensified. The berserkers have entered their blood-lust trance, causing hindrance to Solarwing and his knights. As both forces engaged each other in combat of the masses, their leaders engaged each other in one-on-one combat with some spectating knights from both sides unable to fight each other due to the amazing spectacle.

"What is the matter general? getting exhausted?" Solarwing taunted as he pivoted away from Firehawk's swing. 

Despite their heavy armors, both griffons are capable of moving nimbly without any hindrance. While Firehawk preferred a more frontal combat style, Solarwing favored a nimbler one; pirouetting and dodging before exploiting weak-spots. However, both griffons have not landed a blow on each other just yet. 

Strikes after strikes flowed swiftly, and it was not long before Solarwing and Firehawk began to slip. Solarwing managed to bash away his opponents helmet, and smashed Firehawk's pauldron while the general had pierced the prince's shoulder with his halberd's spear and also dented Solarwing's helmet; forcing the prince to discard it. 

"Bastard. I slipped." Solarwing mentally scorned while adjusting grip on his greatsword, preparing to face another strike from the rebel general. 

However, before Firehawk could execute his attack, five Solar Knights managed to break through the line and charged at the general. 

"NO STOP! HE IS TOO STRONG FOR YOU!" Solarwing shouted to warn his knights. 

"RRRRAAAAGHH! UNDISCIPLINED FOOLS!" Firehawk roared while whirling his halberd and readied it. 

Despite their prince's warning, all five knights were cleaved as if they were made of butter. Enraged, Solarwing decided it was time to end this battle. And he acquired one tactical advantage he didn't have before: distraction. 

As the general regained his focus on the prince, Firehawk  charged at him with full force. 

"DIE! WINGS OF THE SUN!" 

Solarwing used his wings to spew a cloud of dust to the general's face, obstructing his vision. He side-stepped from Firehawk's spear trajectory and slammed his greatsword  with all his strength into the general's breastplate. Severely denting the steel armor and crushing his chest, much to the astonishment of both friendly and hostile forces.

Coughing blood and gasping for air, the general saw Solarwing standing over him with greatsword raised over his head. 

"Never let your arrogance get ahead of yourself, bastard." quoted Solarwing before swiftly bringing down his blade to the general's neck.

As Firehawk's head rolled down on the ground, the morale of his troops shattered instantly. Even the berserkers were getting overwhelemed by their own blood-lust trance as the Solar Knights were toying with them and not easily slain like a regular griffon infantry. 

Panicked mumblings began to spread among the rebels.

"We still outnumber them! Fight on!" said a rebel officer to his troops. 

However before anything could be done, volleys of fireworks streaked from the citadel's battlements. On the walls, Emperial flags and banners were hoisted with Wolfpack and some of Solarwing's knights proudly stood. 

"CRY OUT! LET THEM HEAR OUR VICTORY!" Solarwing shouted. 

Instantaneously, cries of victory erupted throughout the battlefield. Reducing the rebels into a panicked mob of soldiers. 

Rhea and the battle mages dispelled their storm sphere and so the way of retreat was cleared. Seeing an exit, the rebels began to withdrew from the region. 

"AFTER THEM! NO MERCY TO ANY WHO SHOW RESISTANCE!" 





In the aftermath, around half of the rebels escaped. But that, was no longer Solarwing's concern. The rest were killed or captured. However, Solarwing offered them an alternative. Instead of going straight to the head-griffon's ax, they could choose to serve in his army for as long as he needs them to. The captured rebels gladly accepted his offer. Much to the upset of some generals. 

That night, a moment of respite finally washed down upon Wolfpack and their griffon allies. Moments such as these were rare, and thus cherished by all. Despite Emperor Nofus offering his son an immediate lavish victory celebration, Solarwing refused and said that he'd rather go drinking with his friends. Remembering that he was needed back at the keep, Nofus teleported back home. Besides, Solarwing knew that there would be another parade and banquet when they return to Gryphonia. 

They sat in the prince's tent which for the most part, were covered with fancy rugs and cushions. Except for Thundertail, MAMBA, and Monsoon all members of Wolfpack were present. Fatigue was their reason.

"Oh man that was awesome! Shame we can't be there though." Victor said while gulping down his tankard of ale as they discussed Firehawk's decapitation. Not exactly your drinking conversation material.

"Ve have our own parts mind you." Heinrich added.

"Heinrich is right, Vic. Speaking of which however, I did not know that the rebels had fireworks on the citadel." Solarwing said while draping his wing over Rhea who was leaning by his side.

"Well, lets just say that my pyrotechnics aren't only limited to warfare. Sure the rebels don't have fireworks, but they had a shit ton of gunpowder just sitting there, combine that with some other stuffs and voila!" 

"By the way, how's that shoulder?" Alexandra asked "Spear wound's pretty deep." 

"Do not worry, I have been through worse. Side note, I have also tended to it."  replied Solarwing.

"You better." said Rhea before playfully poking her lover's shoulder with her beak, causing him to flinch a little.

"All jests aside, I would like to convey my deepest gratitude to everyone here. Without your aid it would be impossible for me to finish my task. You are all excellent warriors, and even better friends. To friendship and glory!" Solarwing said while lifting his tankard. 

"Friendship and glory!" 





Canterlot Royal Palace, Canterlot, Equestria

It was another day for Princess Celestia in her daily court. More letters to sign, listening to more citizen complaints, and so on. For her, the word "dull" sumarizes her daily activities. Except the moment where something such as an Equestria-threatening matter is afoot that is. She hoped something more exciting will come up today. 

At that moment, a pegasi scribe flew into the room and gave her a quick bow. A letter was poking out from his satchel. 

"Your Majesty! *pant* *pant* I-I h-have *pant*." 

"Please catch your breath Quillscribe, take your time." 

"Faust, more letters..." 

A couple of minutes later, Quillscribe collected himself.

"Forgive me for the interruption Your Majesty, I have an important letter for you."

"Really now, my dear? Who is it from?" the princess nonchalantly said while signing another letter before placing it together with the signed letters with her telekinesis. 

"Um *ahem* I can't rightly say, Your Majesty. Your eyes only." the scribe said while taking out the letter from his satchel. 

Celestia levitated the letter and noticed there was a nightingale crest on the seal. A symbol for Solarwing's secret espionage corps. Her eyes widened, and she quickly read the letter...

"The Eclipse, has begun." 

"Be careful what you wish for Celestia."