> Grand Hoof: The Legend Begins
>  by Banshee531
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a stormy night in a small town located in a wooded area between Galloping Gorge and Neighagra Falls. The rain poured over the town, drenching anything that walked out into it in seconds. The streetlamps illuminated sections of the darkness, though it was not enough as a fully hidden figure galloped through the night. They wore a rainproof coat, now trotting through the place with ease.

That is, till they stopped at a large building with a sign over to top.


Careheart Orphanage


The cloaked pony stepped into the light of the building's porch-light, their hoof slowly removing something from beneath their cloak. A bundle of brown blankets, tightly wrapped around a small earth pony baby with gray fur and a tuft of black mane. The foal was fast asleep, shielded from the rain by the cloak. The pony placed the foal down before pulling a letter out of the cloak, placing it down atop the little one as it slept. "I'm sorry," they said before rapidly knocking on the door.

The sound caused the foal to awaken, the little one beginning to cry at the top of its voice. As this happened, the older pony stepped back and took one last look at the child, turning away to run into the rain filled darkness of the night. But as they disappeared, the baby started fussing and rocked back and forth, the envelope on top of him slipping off and falling down the porch, sliding out of the protection of the porch.

And as the rain began to soak up the paper, the door opened and a middle-aged unicorn walked out and saw the foal. The pink mare gasped as she grabbed the foal in her magic along with the letter, then stared at the darkness. Sighing at the night, she glanced down at the foal, which pulled itself free of the bundle and began yanking her yellow mane. "Ow! Please don't do that."

She then turned to the envelope and opened it up, pulling out the letter, now seeing it was smudged beyond recognition. The baby's name was one of those things, the first part slightly smudged, but its last name was gone. "Grand..." she whispered after squinting. Grumbling at the sight, she glanced down at the foal, "Well little one, until we learn the rest of your name, you'll have to use Equestria's stand-in name." She held the foal up as it began to laugh at her. "Welcome, Grand Hoof."





Six years later...

It was a lively day at the Careheart Orphanage, the many colts and fillies that lived there playing out in the garden. The place was like a park, with a swing-set, jungle gym, slide and more that the young ones could enjoy to their heart's content. And atop the jungle gym, Grand Hoof stood supreme.

"Hahaa!" He cheered, standing atop as the other kids stood around, "Hail before your mighty leader! All who appose me will perish!"

"We wanna play!" the filly replied.

"Let us up!" a colt added.

"You can come up," he laughed, "As long as you pledge undying loyalty to me." Some of the kids agreed to climb up, but others refused despite trying to climb up anyway. "I don't think so." He went over and pushed a colt down, the unicorn crying out as he hit the ground. "I'm the one in charge here, and I decide who gets to use it!"

"You bully!" a pegasus filly barked back.

"I'm not a bully," Grand replied before patting his chest, "I'm just trying to make sure there's order here. If anypony could do whatever they wanted, it would be ana...ana...that word I can't say."

"So you're trying to keep the peace?" A colt that swore loyalty to him asked, getting a nod from Grand. "So you're like a Royal Guard?"

"Exactly," Grand nodded. "Maybe that's what I'll be when I'm older."

"Maybe you'll even be a Royal Knight," a filly earth pony added.

"A what?"

"Royal Knight. They're like...super Royal Guards. I heard that only the best of the best guards are made into knights. And only the princess can tell them what to do. They're basically in charge of all of Equestria."

"Really? Awesome! Then that's that!" He looked up to the sky, "Behold Equestria! I am Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight! Nothing will stop me from achieving-"

"Children!"

"WHOA!" Grand yelped as his hoof slipped, having been standing on the top of the slide, and tripped down the ride, "GYAH!" He hit the bottom and kept rolling, letting out a moan as he ate dirt before opening his eyes and seeing himself staring at a pair of dark blue hooves. He looked up and saw a dark blue pegasus colt who was about his age, with a spiky mane and tail that was a mixture of light blue and purple. He stared at Grand, a smirk on his lips.

"What are you looking at?" He asked, picking himself up as he saw Ms. Careheart standing beside the colt.

"Grand, don't be rude." She gestured to the pony as the other children walked up. "Everypony, we have a new member of the family here today. This is Doom Chaser. He'll be staying here for the foreseeable future, so I want you all to do you best to make him feel welcome." She then turned to the colt, "I'll be in the office if you need me. Take some time to get to know everypony, and then we'll start setting up your room."

"Okay," Doom nodded as Ms. Careheart headed back inside. He glanced back at the others, all staring at him as he replied, "Huh...hi."

"What kind of name is Doom?" Grand instantly asked, the others nodding as the colt frowned.

"It's my name," he responded, "And I like it, so don't think you can make fun of it."

"Whatever," Grand rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I'm Grand Hoof." He rubbed his nose, "I'm kinda the one in charge around here."

"I thought Ms. Careheart was in charge?"

"Maybe, but I'm the one whose in charge when she's not around." He looked Doom in the eye, shining a big grin, "The name's Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight of Equestria. So you better start showing me some respect!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Doom replied, moving past him before glancing at the jungle gym, "Cool play-set." He ran up to it, Grand going wide-eyed before running past him.

"Hold it," he held up a hoof. "I'm the one that decides who gets to play on this, and I don't think you've earned it."

"Earned it?" Doom asked with a raised eyebrow, "What gives you the right to decide who can and can't play on it?"

"I told you, I'm the one in charge around here. And anypony that wants to play on this better start showing some respect!"

"My parents always said respect should be earned," Doom replied, waving his hoof. Grand glared at him at this, the rest of the kids going wide as they heard the word 'parents'. That is, till Doom added, "And I don't think you've earned it." With that, Doom spread his wings and began to flap them, flying just barely up to the jungle gym.

"HEY!" Grand yelled before leaping after him, tackling the pegasi. Both hit the dirt, wrestling as they rolled across the ground. The rest just watched them tussle...only to see both barely move, both stuck in a tight brace. And after several minutes, the pair fell over, exhaustion already taking over as they tried to get up.

"Wow...somepony pushed Grand to a draw," a filly gasped.

"Nopony's done that before," a colt continued.

"Come on," another colt began to climb the jungle gym. "Let's go play!"

"Hey!" Grand yelled, trying to get up. "I'm the king of that castle! Don't!" But as he tried to get up, only to hear Doom laugh, "Hey, don't laugh at me!"

"Happily!" Doom chuckled, the two still tired as Doom added, "Or...maybe later."

And as they laid there, all they could do was listen as the others played, completely undisturbed by the two. It was good fifteen minutes before they could move, Grand ready to reclaim his territory, only for Ms. Careheart to appear and tell the children it was time for dinner. They all ran inside and began to set the table, Grand and Doom soon ending up sitting opposite one another. They glared one another down as Careheart brought the food in, the colts and fillies quickly digging into their food while Grand and Doom continued to eye one another down.

After dinner, Grand had to help wash up while Doom was shown his room and started unpacking. Once he was done, Grand and a few other orphans decided to play some games. They played for an hour, and in that time, Grand had won almost every single game. "Yes!" He cheered as the others just glared at him, "Champion! Nopony can stand up to me!"

"Wanna bet?" Grand spun around to see Doom, walking up and staring at the game they were playing, "You're actually bragging about winning that game? I could win with one hoof tied behind my back."

Grand glared at him, "Take a seat." Doom did so, both setting up the board. It wasn't long till they got serious, the others watching as Doom stood up to Grand. The game lasted a full hour, only for Doom to win. That is, till Grand hissed, "Rematch."

"You're on," Doom laughed before they reset the game. They played for another hour, Grand winning this time, making Doom hum, "Huh. Guess its one all now."

"This will end it," Grand told him before they reset the game again. At this point, the ponies watching were all on the edge of their seats, this one lasting an hour and a half.

"I've got you now." Grand growled as he made his next move.

"Are you sure?" Doom asked, "Maybe you're right...or maybe I'm ready and you can't see it." Grand stared at the colt, then glancing down at the board. But as he did this, another voice spoke up.

"Children," Careheart walked into the room, "It's bed time."

"Awwww..." they all moaned.

"Five more minutes," Grand added.

"No, you all have school tomorrow. Put the game away and head to bed." The kids wanted to complain some more, but Ms. Careheart glared back at them, making them nod and shoo away. As they did this, Grand and Doom stared at one another, the other kids asking Doom if he did have a counter, but Doom refused to say anything. Grand did the same when they asked him about his move, both leaving the room in silence.

And when they went to bed, the other children knew this was just the beginning with those two.





Four years later...

The bell rang at the schoolhouse situated in the center of the town, the young ponies of the place now running for it. "Out of the way!" Others heard as they turned to see a ten year old Grand Hoof dashing through the streets, most jumping out of the way while Doom Chaser flew above him.

The two young ponies shot a glare at one another, both picking up speed as they passed by the local carpenter. "HEY!" The unicorn running it yelped as he lifted a barrel he just made, "Will you kids watch where you're going?!"

The colts didn't respond as the schoolhouse came into view. Anypony that saw them leapt away, knowing what this meant as they got a clear shot of the school. And as they got close, Grand charged ahead as Doom zipped down, both closing the gap as they entered the building.

"I WIN!" They yelled at the same time, then glared at one another. "YOU WIN?! I WON!" They slammed their foreheads into each other, growling as they kept yelling at each other.

"Do you two have to be so loud?" The two turned to another voice, now seeing a yellow unicorn colt with a neatly combed red mane and tail and wearing large round glasses along with a cutie mark that was a bunch of math symbols. "Some of us are trying to read here."

"Whatever Cruncher," Grand pulled away from Doom and headed for the desk next to the unicorn. "But do you ever do anything but read? If you spend all your time reading, you'll never do anything cool with your life."

"Don't listen to him Numb," Doom added as he walked up to a desk on the unicorn's other side. "He's just jealous cuz he can only read about five words...and two of them make up his name."

This got Grand to glare at Doom, "Come over here and say that!"

"Make me, muscle-head."

"ENOUGH!" The unicorn between then yelled, "Doom, stop egging Grand on. Grand, I'll do what I like with my free time. If that involved doing equations, then so be it." He glared back down at his book. "Besides, who would wanna go outside with that monster on the loose."

This caused the other two's ears to prick up as other ponies entered the school. "What monster?"

"Where is it?" Grand added.

"It's a manticore. My dad said it's marked out a territory in the woods and that nopony's allowed to go there." This statement made everypony glance at each other, only for the teacher to arrive.

"Morning everypony," he announced, "Now, before we get started, I have an announcement. Until further notice, the woods around town are out of bounds." This made everypony go wide-eyed before turning to Numb as the teacher continued, "A creature has been discovered in the woods, a manticore. The grownups are going to try and figure out how to deal with it, so absolutely nopony is allowed into the woods. Understood?"

The ponies all nodded back, some now knowing they would miss playing in the woods while others wondered how long the manticore would be there. But as the class started, Doom turned to Grand, thinking about what kind of idiot would go and try and find the monster.

And when that thought entered his head, he saw a smirk appear on Grand's lips, making him sigh. "Oh no..."





A little later...

It was now recess, Grand gathering many of the ponies in the school. "Don't you see?" he told them. "This is our chance. We can go into those woods and chase that manticore away." The ponies all went wide-eyed at this, "Aw, come on! If we don't do it, the adults are gonna do it and take all the glory!"

"Are you nuts?!" Grand turned to see Doom and Numb, "The adults told us to stay out of the woods, and there's a reason for that. If we go in there, we'll be killed!"

"Oh please," Grand waved his hoof and rolled his eyes, "We're talking about an overgrown pussy cat. How dangerous can it be? I bet I could deal with it myself, but I'm happy to let others help out and get a cut of the glory."

"You're an idiot," Cruncher replied while shaking his head. "Manticores are four times bigger than the biggest pony. They could probably fit a fully grown one in their closed mouth. You really wanna try and fight against that thing?"

"Of course," Grand nodded. "Because I'm Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight of Equestria. It's my destiny to fight against monsters that threaten the kingdom."

"The manticore isn't threatening anypony," Doom responded, "As long as we stay away from it, it'll stay away from us."

"He's right," Cruncher pushed his glasses up. "They're very solitary creatures."

"Until they get hungry!" Grand barked back, "Then it'll come here in the dead of night and gobble us up in our sleep." The kids all began to shiver at this, only to see Grand raise a hoof, "Not unless we take it out and drive it off! Who's with me?" Fear and thirst for adventure drove the ponies around him to agree, almost everypony from the orphanage and a few that lived with parents agreeing to join him. It was that moment that the bell rang, ending recess as the ponies went back to the building.

But before Grand could get there, Doom stepped in front of him. "I'm not gonna let you do this."

Grand glared back at him, "Hey, just because you're scared of something doesn't mean the rest of us have to be."

"It's not a matter of me being scared," Doom replied, "It's a matter of common sense. How do you even intend to drive this manticore off? You don't even know the first thing about it."

"I'll find a way." Grand pointed to himself, "After all, I'm a future Royal Knight."

"You're the furthest thing from a Royal Knight," Doom instantly responded, "Royal Knights are supposed to selflessly face danger so nopony else has too. Not lead an army of gullible kids into a monster. All you want is bragging rights. That's all you care about. Being a knight so ponies have to do as they're told. Well, it's not gonna happen." He pointed at Grand's empty flank. "If you were meant to be a Royal Knight, you would have gotten a cutie mark the moment you decided to become one."

Grand huffed, glaring at his blank flank before hissing, "My cutie mark's just waiting for the right moment to appear. When I defeat the manticore, it'll show up. I bet it'll show me standing on the manticore's body after I slay it. Now move!"

He pushed Doom away and headed for the schoolhouse, Doom then saying, "I won't let you. If you try to do this, I'll tell Careheart."

Grand growled at this, only for a bulb to go off in his head. "Okay Doom...I'll just figure something else out to show you what a great knight I am."





That night...

Doom watched his fellow orphans around the dinner table, none talking about the woods after recess, making the colt hope that he had gotten through to Grand. He didn't want to tell Ms. Careheart unless he was absolutely sure they were planning something. But as the evening went on, it was just the usual before bed, playing board games and toys or reading books.

"Alright kids," Ms. Careheart said, "Time for bed." They all moaned like normal, but did as they were told and headed upstairs. They did their usual bed routine, brushing their teeth and washing their faces. And as Doom watched this, he slowly did his routine and went to his room. He leaned up to his door, still closed as he kept an ear out for noise.

And two hours after lights out, as Doom was beginning to drift off, he was suddenly awakened by the sound a creaking open door. Sighing at this, he slowly opened his door and was greeted with the image of Grand, dressed with a bandanna and sash with a sling slot that had several different types of ammo in it.

"I had hoped you'd seen sense," Doom growled, Grand just smirking before walking away, Doom then leapt over him, flapping his wings as he added, "I told you, I won't let you do this."

"You can't stop me," Grand told him.

"I can. I'll tell Careheart, and she'll ground you now to eternity!"

"I don't think so." Grand replied, seeing Doom take a deep breath. "NOW!" Before Doom could yell, something suddenly wrapped around his snout. His eyes went wide as he looked down to see duct-tape clamping his jaw shut while keeping his nose clear. He turned to see all the other orphans on the stairs behind him, the unicorns using their magic to hold up rope and a role of duct-tape. Before Doom could do anything, he was quickly tussled up and unable to move anything other then his head.

He tried to let out a cry, but couldn't as he as the rest of the young ponies picked him up and returned him to his room, throwing him in his closet. "Sorry Doom," Grand chuckled, "We'll let you go in the morning...after the adults finish praising us." With that, he slammed the door shut and put a chair under the handle to keep it shut. He then turned to the others and nodded, the group following his lead as they headed out the door and carefully down the stairs to not wake Ms. Careheart.

Once they were out of the orphanage, they started making their way to the houses that had the colts and fillies that agreed to go too. But alas, they had either fallen asleep, couldn't get out of the house without their parents seeing, or had changed their minds about going into the forest at night.

"Aw to heck with them," Grand grumbled before turning to the others. "We're more then enough. Come on." They ran through the darkness of the night, passing the house that Number Cruncher lived in. As it happened, the young colt had been up late studying when he noticed movement outside his window.

He glanced out into the street and spotted the young ponies creeping through the darkness. And as they walked through the light of a street lamp, he saw Grand leading almost all the orphanage ponies toward the forest. The only one he didn't see was Doom, making him raise an eyebrow.





It wasn't long till the ponies arrived at the forest, now making their way inside. They had been in these woods many a time, but this was their first night time excursion. Many were shivering at the sight, the darkness creeping on them so much that even a hoot from an owl made them jump.

"Oh grow up," Grand told them. "There's nothing different about this place then when we've been in her before."

"Aside from-"

"Aside from the manticore," Grand interrupted. "But other than that, it's the exact same forest we've been in a hundred times."

"Except this time we can't see where we're going," a filly added.

"Just stay calm and follow my lead. When have I ever steered you wrong?" He replied as they kept trotting into the darkness. The group had a barrage of makeshift weapons, water balloons, bars of soap and socks filled with rocks and anything else hard and heavy they could find. They knew they were ready.





Back at the orphanage, Doom Chaser continued to squirm against the bindings, but no matter how hard he pulled, the ropes and tape refused to give way. He had never been claustrophobic before, but his current situation was making him begin to suffer from a mild attack. That coupled with knowing what could happen made it worse.

He gave the ropes another good pull, accidently rolling against the door and making it bang against the chair, but they still remained strong. But as they happened, he heard some hoofsteps, turning to the door as it opened. "What the-" He heard, making him look up and see Number Cruncher staring down at him. "How did you-" He stopped as Doom mumbled through the tape, Cruncher grabbing it and ripping it off his mouth.

"AUGH!" He cried as he felt some of his fur yank off with the tape, Cruncher then undoing the ropes with his magic. Once he was freed, he leapt at his friend. "Go wake up Ms. Careheart! Tell her that Grand and the others have gone into the wood. Wake up anypony you can and tell them!" Before Number could say anything else, Doom leapt toward the nearest window and threw it open.

"Wait! Where are you going?!"

"To try and stop them before it's too late!" And with that, he flew out of the place, zipping into the night, "Please don't let me be too late..."





Grand and his team had been wandering through the woods for over an hour now, not finding a thing. "Maybe it's not here anymore," a colt chimed in, "Maybe it decided it didn't like these woods anymore and left."

The others nodded, but Grand shook his head, "It's here," he glanced back at them. "We just have to keep looking for it."

"But I don't even know where we are anymore," a filly added, "Its too dark. We should go home."

"Just relax," Grand responded, "I have a perfect sense of direction. I could walk through these woods with my eyes closed." But as he turned back, he suddenly found himself almost trotting into a large boulder in the middle of the forest. "Whoa!" He staggered back, "Where'd that come from?"

The others laughed at this. "Perfect sense of direction, huh?" A pegasus colt asked, Grand glaring at them.

The colt glanced back at the boulder, only to blink at he noticed something. The rock...was staring back at him. And then it began to grow, expanding for a few seconds before shrinking back down. When it did these motions again, Grand gasped, "The manticore..."

The others all stared at the sleeping beast, now seeing just how massive it was compared to them. Fear gripped them all as their brains told them to run, but their bodies refused to listen.

That is, till Grand walked back and got in line with the others, taking out his slingshot and loading it with a bar of soap. "Everypony, get ready!" he yelled, the manticore's ear twitching as the other ponies prepared their weapons. "Spread out!" They quickly circled the beast as the sounds of snapping twigs filled its ears.

They watched as the manticore began to unfurl its body, slowly getting onto its paws while sniffing the air before opening its eyes and shining a pair of green lights into the darkness. The lights scanned the forest floor, now seeing the young ponies gather around. It let out a growl while Grand pulled the slingshot back and aimed it at its face.

"Manticore!" He roared, "I'm Grand Hoof, future Royal Knight. You have two options. Leave this forest and never return, or face our wrath!" The lion bat scorpion hybrid raised an eyebrow at this, only to growl as it let out a mighty roar that shook many of the trees' leaves loose. "Fine!" With that, he unleashed his soap projectile, hitting it in the left eye.

It roared again as the soap stung, forcing it close the eye while the rest fired their projectiles. The beast kept crying out as the attacks bounced off it's fur, Grand preparing to fire another bar of soap at its other eye. But before he could, the manticore turned and glared through its white and now red eye.

"RAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" It roared again before swinging its tail around, deflecting the projectiles before swiping at the kids. They all cried out as they either leapt or were knocked back, Grand ducking down under the tail as it flew over him.

"Raaaaah!" He yelled, ready to grab onto the beast's mane and...not having an idea of what to do after that. But it didn't matter, for the manticore heard him and swung around to bash him with the back of its paw. "AUGH!" He cried as he was shot flying over the others, slamming into a tree, screaming in pain before falling over.

The other young ponies gasped at the sight of their leader, now slumped out on the ground before turning to the angry eyes of the beast. Only now did they see how foolish they were...but it was too late.

The manticore roared before bouncing at the nearest pony, who was completely frozen in fear as the giant claw came for the colt. All he could do was scream, only to be silenced instantly. As this happened, Grand groaned as he felt himself come around, his entire body hurting as he tried to move. His eyes were closed, but his ears were working...and all he could hear was the sounds of screams and cries. Then when he finally opened his eyes, he was met with a sight no young pony should ever been shown.

Blood was splattered on the grass and trees, the now still forms of his friends all scattered around the clearing. He noticed a body drop down in front of him, its face turning to stare up at him. It was the face of one colt he had known almost his entire life...and now he just laid there, his eyes open and lifeless.

"No..." he whispered before feeling something dampen his hoof. He glanced down and saw blood soaking his hoof and lower leg, which was pouring out of the wound in the colt's stomach. "No!" He screamed before jumping back, trying to wash the blood from his hoof, only to soak the other one. He then looked around at the rest of the clearing, now seeing all the ponies he had led into this massacre. His eyes grew wider, his brain shutting down at the sight. He now was Doom was right. He was no hero...just a colt that doomed a group of children.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, catching the attention of a still very angry manticore. The colt was completely frozen, shock having caused his body to shut down. All he could do was sit there as the manticore slowly walked up to him and raised it tail stinger. He felt his heartbeat double with every step he took, the light of the moon now blocked out by the beast's shadow.

And as the manticore thrust its tail, he closed his eyes.

But as he did this, something else collided with Grand, pushing him out of the way. He hit the ground with a groan, opening his eyes to see the manticore with its tail stuck in the trunk of the tree he had been in front of. He then turned to see what had tackled him.

"Doom?" He barely said, the pegasus glaring at him before turning to stare at the clearing, now gasping at the sight of the remains of his friends.

He then turned to Grand, snarling as the earth pony colt just stare at the colt. "MOVE!" He screamed, Grand suddenly bolting up at this before turning and running away. As this happened, the manticore began to pull its tail free, Doom now following Grand. The pair made their way through the darkness, not daring to slow down as the Manticore freed itself. A loud roar rang out, the pair picking up the pace. But the pair just couldn't keep up the distance, the manticore flying after them and able to pass three times the distance they could in a single wing-beat.

The manticore soon got close enough to swipe at them, managing to take a few hairs off their tails with its claws. And sa the manticore could take another swing, something slamming into it and pushed it back. The pair gasped as they saw it was a broken barrel, then turning to see it had come from the local carpenter with many other townsponies. They were all carrying much better weapons then the kids had been wielding, pitchforks, sledgehammers and even kitchen knives.

"STAY AWAY FROM THEM!" The carpenter yelled as the colts ran up to them, the adults moving aside to allow them to pass by and run for the town. The manticore roared and charged, but the ponies fought back, the beast now having a harder time as the weapons began to stab into the monster.

And as this happened, Grand and Doom leaped out of the trees to see Ms. Careheart, Number Cruncher and many others waiting for them. They ran up before collapsing, the group gathering around them. "Are you okay?" Careheart asked, seeing Grand's injuries and gasping before staring at the trees. When no other colt or filly came out, she turned back to them. "Where are the others?" Doom said nothing and turned to glare at Grand, who simply curled up and started crying. "No..." she whispered, "That's...no. Don't tell me."

She turned back to the forest and watched, waiting for the rest of her charges to return....only they didn't. The adults soon returned, stating they had driven the manticore away, but also said there was no sign of the others foals. They all wondered what happened until Doom closed his eyes before sighing. The adults saw his reaction, the colt sitting down and beginning to explain what had happened.

And as shock, horror and anger begin to fill their expressions, they turned to Grand Hoof...only to see he was just laying there, frozen and crying. He lay motionless, unmoving as the moon shined over the area. They wanted to get angry, tell Grand off and punish him for what he had done, but they knew it was pointless. The colt's punishment had already started.





One Month Later...

The town had changed since then, the tragedy leaving the town's residence depleted, its joy that it once held all but gone. The ponies outside simply did their work, now saying a thing outside of the basics. Even the school was surprisingly empty, many of its students now lost. Doom, Cruncher and two others were the only students left, along with one that refused to come.

"Still locked up in his room?" Cruncher asked Doom, the cold nodding back. Since the incident, Grand Hoof refused to do anything except stay in his room. The only time he came out aside from using the bathroom was for the funerals, and then that had been an effort.

"He refuses to come out and barely eats anything," Doom replied, "All he does is lay on his bed all day."

"I guess you can't blame him," Cruncher sighed. "After what happened, anypony would be traumatized. It doesn't help that he thinks it's all his fault."

"It is all his fault," Doom grumbled, "And he knows it. But this isn't gonna make up for what happened." As he said that, the teacher walked into the room, a long frown on his face as he tried to teach what little students he had.

The school day came and went with nothing special happening, Doom heading back to the orphanage with Cruncher, who split off once they got close to his house. And as he arrived at the building he called home, he found it empty and quiet, only Ms. Careheart and Grand inside there now.

He walked in, heading upstairs and finding Ms. Careheart's door open. Glancing inside, he saw the mare sitting at her desk, working like a zombie with the paperwork. Much like everypony else, she had lost a lot of the spark that made her who she was, her eyes heavy from many sleepless nights, and her mane and tail were a mess. She simply signed a paper and went to the next one, not even noticing Doom.

The colt walked away, now going up to Grand's room. He stared at the door, sighing as he sat down and knocked on it, "Grand." There was no response, making him knock again. "Come on. I know you're in there, and I know you can hear me!" Again, no response. "Fine." He went into his bag and took out a pair of pins, slowly jimmying the lock.

After a few minutes, he pushed the door open...only to find nothing but darkness. He glanced around before noticing movement from the bed in the corner, now seeing Grand staring at a wall with his blanket over him. Doom rolled his eyes before flying over to the window and throwing the curtains open as he yelled, "TIME TO GET UP!"

"Go away," Grand grumbled as he shoved his head into the pillow.

"No way." Doom flew over and yanked the blankets off in one pull, making Grand yelp. "You've been in here long enough! You need to go outside some time."

"Leave me alone!" Grand cried before curling up into the pillow.

"No!" Doom grabbed him by the tail and pulled him, Grand now gripping onto the bed. But as Doom yanked him, Grand tried to kick him away as he added, "You're getting out of this room if I have to drag you out."

"NO!" Grand kicked again, hitting Doom in the face. Flinching at this, Doom let go of Grand's tail and then tackled Grand, wrapping his legs around Grand's neck and stomach. Grand cried out as Doom managed to roll the two off his bed, both crashing into the floor.

This made Grand start to get serious, spinning and throwing Doom off him and rolling onto his back. "RRRAAAHHH!" He heard the pegasus cry before tackling him again, knocking Grand over, "I'm sick and tired of you feeling sorry for yourself! Stop acting like you're the one that got hurt that day!"

"SHUT UP!" Grand pushed Doom off him and pinned him down, "I'M NOT FEELING SORRY FOR MYSELF!"

"THEN WHY ARE YOU CONSTANTLY UP HERE WALLOWING AWAY?!" Before Grand could say anything, Ms. Careheart appeared at the door.

"BOYS!" She yelled before grabbing them in her magic, pulling them apart, "What is going on in here?!"

"IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!" Grand screamed before she or Doom could say anything, the pair staring at him as poured down his face, "It's all my fault." He closed his eyes, "Its not fair...its not fair." Careheart placed them both down and watched as Grand curled himself up. "It should have been me...it should have been me."

"Grand..." she whispered.

"I don't deserve to be here," Grand continued to cry. "I was the one that lead them into the forest. I was the one that convinced them to go after the manticore. I was the one that threw the first rock. So why am I the only one still alive?" Careheart covered her mouth as Doom just glared at him, watching him continue to cry into his legs. "Why won't somepony punish me?! I don't deserve to be here. I should be thrown in prison. I don't deserve to have any kind of life."

"Oh Grand..." Careheart started crying as well, placing her hoof on him.

But Grand just pulled away, trying to go back to his bed, "Just...just leave me alone. Let me rot in peace."

Careheart opened her mouth, but no words came out. She just stared at Grand as he got into his bed, about to grab the blankets again. That is, till Doom walked up and hopped onto the bed. He pulled a hoof back and threw it right into Grand's face, "DOOM!" Careheart gasped as she saw Grand get knocked off the bed, catching him in her magic. She turned him over at this, now seeing he had a black eye.

"YOU IDIOT!" Doom yelled, making both turn to him, "You think torturing yourself will make up for what you did? It's the furthest thing from it!"

"Doom-" Careheart tried to say, only for the colt to fly up and yank Grand out of her magic.

He slammed him into the floor as he continued, "You're right Grand, you don't deserve to be here. And if I could trade your life for any of the lives you cost, I would have."

"Doom!" Careheart screeched with wide eyes, "What are you-"

"But I can't, so we have to live with things as they are. And that means you're not gonna just waste away in here!"

"Then what do I do?" Grand barked back.

"ANYTHING!" Doom screamed, "You're alive, and that means you need to keep living!" Grand looked away, but Doom grabbed his shoulders and yanked his head, making him stare at each other in the eyes, "You're gonna leave this room and go to the graveyard, and you're gonna count every single grave you filled. Each of those graves is a sin, and you're gonna spend every day making up for what you did. If you wanna punish yourself, then do it by doing something good! Become somepony that can stop what happened from happening again!"

Careheart just blinked at the colt, surprised at the words he was saying. She couldn't believe how grown up it sounded, only to stare at Grand as he just sat there. Doom let out a sigh at this, glaring at Grand before walking away, Careheart opening her mouth...only for nothing to come out again.

She glanced back at Grand, seeing him just stare at Doom as the colt left. Her mind told her that no word would reach him right now, making her walk away. And as the room became empty for the colt, Grand pulled himself back into his bed. He laid there, staring at the ceiling as Doom's words repeated in his head.

'I always thought I deserved to be a knight, but I'm the last pony that should ever become that...' he thought, only to sigh, 'So...what do I do? What...can I become that's like that?'

Hours soon passed, the sun setting as he just stared at the ceiling. Despite the time still going, he remained wide awake, only to suddenly get up. He got out of the bed, tiphoofing through the house as he made sure Doom and Careheart were asleep before heading for the doorway.





The next morning...

Doom didn't have a great night's sleep, his anger from the last day causing him to have trouble drifting off. But his troubled sleep was then shattered by the sound of Careheart's screams, "GRAND!"

His eyes shot open and he leapt out of bed, soon racing through the building. However, as he got to Grand's building, he saw it was empty aside from a screaming Careheart pointing at an open window. The mare was screeching about Grand going to find the manticore again, Doom then leaping out the window at this. He flew through the air, zooming across the town...but not to the forest.

Instead, he went to the town's graveyard, now spotting a single pony standing there. He glided down and landed behind Grand, the pony staring at the headstones in silence.

"I hope this means you decided to follow my advice," Doom said as he walked up to Grand's side.

"Yeah," Grand nodded. "I...I wanted to count them. Each of the graves I filled." He stared down at the ground, "There's so many..."

"Too many," Doom sighed.

"And I'll remember each of them," Grand instantly replied, "And for each one, I'm gonna save a hundred lives to make up for them."

"And how are you gonna do that?" Doom asked, "Become a Royal Knight?"

Grand shook his head, "No...I don't deserve that."

"No arguments from me," Doom replied while sitting down, "Then what are you gonna do?"

"I'll become a Royal Guard," Grand responded, "I'll work my flank off. I'll follow every order I'm given and do whatever it takes to protect the kingdom."

"Really?" Doom raised an eyebrow at this, only to see Grand slowly nod. "And you're serious about this."

"Yeah...I am."

"Hmph." Doom huffed, "So just a guard...no becoming or captain or anything?"

Grand shook his head again, "No. I don't deserve that. I don't deserve any kind of special rank. I'm no leader. I realize that now."

Doom raised both eyebrows at this, leaning down to see a low, calm stare in Grand's eyes, "You're actually serious..." He leaned back, "You saying you're gonna stay as a bog standard guard for the rest of your life?"

"You said yourself that I can't just waste my life," Grand replied. "But that doesn't mean I also deserve any special treatment. So I'll live my life protecting ponies and doing nothing but that, with no reward or chance of improving my state of life. That's what I've decided."

Doom opened his mouth at this, about to reply...but no words came out. His mind was split, half still stemming in anger while the other felt nothing but sympathy. But as his brain juggled the options, a light filled the graveyard, making them turn to see Celestia's sun rise above the horizon.

As it flew upward, Grand took a deep breath before taking one final look at all the names. He now knew what he would have to do. He would spend the rest of his life making up for the mistake he made. He had counted up his sins, and now,his quest to make up for them began. He would protect as many ponies as he could, no matter what it cost him. As that thought entered his head, a flash of light caught the two's attention, making him look back at his flank. And as the light faded, it revealed the image of a black shield with a smaller white shield inside of it.

"My cutie mark," he whispered.

"I guess that proves you're meant to be a guard," Doom added, Grand nodding before staring back up at the sky. He got up at this, both walking away as they went back to the orphanage, ready to start the next chapter of their lives.





Eight years later...

The sun floated high above the capital city of Canterlot, the noble ponies walking around the place with their heads held high. Inside the city's castle, Celestia was hard at work, solely running a kingdom as she was signing a ton of paperwork. But in front of the castle's entrance, a young county pony was now staring up at the building, sighing at the massive sight before him.

Grand Hoof, with everything he owned in the saddlebags on his back, stared at the place with sweat pouring down his face. This was what he had spent so many years training for, dawn from dusk spent preparing for this moment. And now, he was frozen in place.

"Ready?" He turned to see Doom Chaser, who now sported a cutie mark that showed an arrow flying through a cloud. "Kinda intimidating, ain't it?"

"Yeah," Grand looked back at the castle, "Real intimidating." He took a deep breath, closing his eyes before saying, "But I can't let that stop me from what I have to do." Doom nodded and both marched inside, the pair passing through the gates and into a life of guard service.

This was only the first chapter in a great tale, one that would go over the life and legacy of one of Equestria's greatest heroes. Only time would tell how that tale would end.
> A New Threat Looms
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It had been seven years since the day Grand and Doom entered the Royal Guard. When they did this, Canterlot had been undergoing an expansion. As such, the city was covered in cranes, bulldozers and other magically powered vehicles to build the city even further. On the surface, it appeared like Canterlot was the ever growing regal city of nobility it always seemed to be.

But things were not what they always seem. In one of the less public streets of the city, a lone cyan unicorn with a purple mane and tail was calmly trotting through the town with a saddlebag on his back. He turned to one of the alleyways between two large buildings being worked on. At the end was a single doorway, the pony walking up and knocking on the door, waiting a moment before the door opened to reveal a bulky grey earth pony with a blue mane. The earth pony stepped aside, allowing the pony in as the unicorn walked in and up to a bronze colored pegasus with a yellow mane and tail standing against a wall. He then saw a green colored unicorn with a lavender mane, beard and tail, sitting behind a desk, counting his bits before looking up at his client.

"Big Score," the first unicorn walked over to the desk. "Nice to see business is booming." Score opened a draw and magicked the bits into it, "How's the family?"

"Good," he nodded. "The wife and I just had a baby filly. She has my coat and her mother's mane."

"She must be adorable," the unicorn replied, "But raising a child is expensive."

"Well hopefully, our transaction today will help with that." Score looked back up, "You bring the bits?"

"Maybe," the unicorn chuckled, "You have the merchandise?" Big Score smiled before gesturing to the other ponies, the pair walking away. Once they were gone, Score magically lifted a suitcase up from behind the desk, undoing the clips that soon opened to reveal a load of differently colored gems that unleashed a brilliant glow. "Beautiful."

"And very illegal," Score added, "Place one of these gems on the tip of your horn and it'll unleash a magic backlash that'll have you feeling great for a couple hours. Very addictive stuff. Wasn't easy to get. Even harder to get them into Canterlot without any of the guards noticing." The unicorn reached out to take one, but Score shut the case before he could. "Which is why they're so expensive."

The unicorn sighed before taking out a pair of money bags from his saddlebag and placed them down on the desk. Score used his magic to lift the bags, his magic spreading to every coin the bag contained. "Nice." He took both bags and pushed the case up to him, "Pleasure doing business with you."

The unicorn smiled and took the case in his magic, looking forward to selling these crystals for twice what he had spent on them. But as he neared the door, the piece of wood suddenly shattered. The unicorn gasped at this, now seeing the pegasus pony from earlier fly through the door, splintering wood flying over him as the pegasi crashed into the floor. Swirls appeared in the pegasus's eyes as the client pony turned back to the door.

"Big Score," a pony decked out in golden armor and helmet with a blue vest walked through the destroyed door, "You're under arrest."

The unicorn glared back at him, the client slowly tiphoofing around the guard before a spear suddenly shot out of the wall, inches from his face. "Going somewhere?" his eyes slowly turned to see another pony in golden armor with an apple in his hoof. "I've got this one Grand."

"I'll take the rest Doom." the first guard pony replied as Doom pointed his spear at the client pony.

"Drop the case and come out slowly." The unicorn gulped, slowly putting the case down as Doom then slapped an anti-magic-ring on his horn, two more guards appearing and pulling the unicorn away. While this happened, more guards came to tie up the knocked out pegasi. "That's two down," Doom chuckled, crossing his hooves, "You gonna come quietly?"

"Here's my answer," Score yelled before pointing at the earth pony from earlier, "Get them!" The bruiser charged, but Grand met him halfway. The crook threw a punch, Grand easily ducking before hitting the earth pony in the back of the knee, making him buckle. Doom then swung a kick into his face, knocking him flying into a wall before slumping over. Several more guards filed into the room, some grabbing the earth pony while the others turned Big Score along with Grand and Doom.

"Last chance," Grand added, "Come quietly and nopony gets hurt." A groan of pain made their gaze flick over to the pony they had just knocked out, "Anymore that is."

Big Score growled back, "You might have taken them, but you won't get me."

"Oh please," Doom laughed, "You're outnumbered and outgunned." He saw the unicorn's cutie mark, a pile of money, and smirked. "I doubt you'll be able to put up much of a fight. If you did, you wouldn't have needed those two suckers."

"Oh, I can put up quite a fight alright." In that moment, his horn glowed as the guards got into a fighting stance. "I just need my medicine!"

Something then flew out of the desk and went up to Score's neck, Doom the first to react and leap forward. But before he could reach him, whatever he had grabbed let out a small hissing sound.

"Kung-Fu!"

"RAAAH!" He roared as he swung his leg around, kicking the object out of Score's grasp and shattering it.

"Too late," Score laughed.

"What did you-" Doom stopped when he saw Score take a fighting stance, the pile of money cutie mark adorning his flank beginning to blur and change...into a black belt. "His cutie mark changed?" Before he could say anything else, Big Score spun like a top, swinging his hoof right up to Doom's face. The pony flapped his wings, hopping back just as the hoof almost nicked his chin, "WHOA!"

Grand went wide-eyed at this, only for the other guards to charge at Score, "Wait!" he yelled, but it was too late. Big Score laid out the guards with a fury of blows, single punches causing them to fly across the building.

"No way..." Doom gasped at the sight before glancing down at the broken object, seeing it was some kind of tube with words written on the side along with the image that now adorned the criminal's flank. "It didn't just change his cutie mark."

"It changed his talent," Grand grumbled as he ducked under a flying guard. Big Score then took this moment to run for the door, Doom quickly zipping ahead of him, blocking him just as two guards pulled the tied up pegasus criminal out of the building.

Score skidded to a stop, only to turn to Grand as he ran up to the unicorn. He threw a punch right at Grand's face, but the guard just swatted it away, Score trying to do two more punches, but Grand also easily countered them. "What?!" Score yelped before having to duck under a punch from Grand, only to feel a kick in his side from Doom. "Blaugh!"

The unicorn was knocked back, now finding himself facing both guard ponies. Grand glanced down at Score's legs, seeing them slightly shake. "Whatever you did doesn't work a unicorn body well, does it?" Score snarled back at him as he continued, "Just give up."

"Never!" Score roared as he charged at them, Grand meeting him alone. Score threw five instant punches, but Grand just put his hooves in a blocking position, taking every punch without even flinching. The sight made Score go wide-eyed, seeing his new strength not work on the pony. Grand then side-stepped at this, Doom appearing to kick Score in the gut. Feeling the blow knock him back, Score saw Grand was going to hit him next, causing him to leap back just in the nick of time.

But as he did this, his back hit a wall, making him realize he was now stuck. However, two of the guards from before recovered and the charged at him with their spears, Score smirking at the sight as he ducked under both and then slammed both into the face with his hooves. He grabbed a spear next, swinging it to make Grand and Doom jump back before running for the door again and managing to get outside. They followed him out and found Score blocked by more guards, Only for the unicorn to run towards the fence. Using the spear as a pole-vault, Score shot over the fence and into the construction site next door.

Doom flew over the fence while Grand parkoured over as well, Grand landing beside one of the guard's spears from the earlier outside fight. "I have an idea. Can you keep him in place?"

"No problem!" Doom shot ahead, flying past Score and landing to once again block his escape. "You're not going anywhere."

"Oh yeah?" Score leapt at Doom, the guard easily dodging his punches before the unicorn grabbed a bunch of concrete slabs in his magic and threw it at the pegasus. Doom ducked under the rocks, only for Score to sock Doom in the jaw, knocking him back. Score laughed as he punched Doom again, only to hear a battle cry, making him turn to see Grand charging with a spear to a long piece of rope around the bottom end. The earth pony slashed at Score, the unicorn jumping back, only for Grand to swing the rope and swung it around the unicorn.

"Raaah!" He leapt at Score, knocking him down, getting on top of him and pushing the spear's staff down. But as they did this, Score managed to roll them around so he was on top, allowing Grand to see something above Score before he rolled them around again, now on top again.

However, Score just hissed at him, "You think you can take me?! Please! I have way to much to live for to be caught now! Why do you even bother trying?!"

"Because I have a duty to the princess," Grand grunted before Score laughed.

"HA! Don't make me laugh. She may call herself a princess, but she doesn't know half the stuff that's going on in this city." He then kicked Grand off, the earth pony skidding on the ground as Score pushed the spear off himself, "Knowledge is power and I make it my business to know everything, meaning the true ruler of this city is me, King Big Score!"

In that moment, Grand grabbed the spear and threw it. It sailed passed Score's shoulder and stuck itself into the top of a cement mixer slide. "Your majesty," Grand wrapped his hooves around the rope connected to the spear and pulled it. "Allow me to make a statue in your honor!" Score heard a sound, making him turn and gasp as he saw the cement inside fell free and hit him before he could escape.

"Aaaaaah!" He screamed as the cement fell on him, Grand quickly working to keep the liquid from covering his face. Once enough of the stuff covered his body, he used the spear and rope to pull the slide away from him while Doom moved over to switch it off. At this point, the slimy substance had hardened and Score's entire body was trapped. "LET ME GO!"

"We will," Doom laughed, "Once you're safely locked in a holding cell."

Grand nodded as the other guards arrived at the site. They quickly worked to transport the unicorn to where the other criminals were waiting in a transportable prison cell, the group lifting the statue up into it while placing an anti-magic-ring on his horn. Once that was done, the criminals were transported off to prison to await trial, Grand and Doom sticking around to investigate the building.

"We need to make sure all the crystals are accounted for," Grand said to a few more guards who were carrying the case. "And make sure the bits are safely secured until Celestia can decide what to do with them."

"Yes sir!" The guards replied before running off, Grand rolling his eyes while Doom chuckled.

"Not bad boss," Grand glared at him, the pegasi giving him a big grin, "I told you accepting that promotion was a good idea."

"I still can't believe I let you talk me into it," Grand sighed. "I don't deserve it and you know it."

"I'd say today's outcome would beg to differ," Doom then held up the remains of the tube Big Score had used. "Though I gotta admit, this bust was a lot harder than it should of been...all because of this little thing."

Grand nodded back, "Any idea what it is?"

"Never seen it before," Doom looked at a piece, seeing a kind of pump. "But whatever was in this thing, it somehow changed Big Score's natural talent."

Grand hummed at this, "Princess Celestia will definitely wanna know about this." Doom nodded, the pair heading out before making their way to the castle.

It wasn't long till they got there, the guards at the entrance telling them to halt, "Sergeant Grand Hoof, lieutenant Doom Chaser. The Princess has asked for you to be sent to her when you arrive."

"That's convenient," Doom chuckled, "We needed to talk to her as well." The pair nodded before making a beeline to the throne room, the doors opening up for them as they approached.

Inside, Celestia was surrounded by her assistants and reading through several pieces of paper floating around her. When she noticed the pair approaching, she quickly put the papers down and ushered the assistants out, "Sergeant," she smiled at Grand before turning to Doom, "Lieutenant. I understand the capture of the criminals you were after went well."

"It was successful," Grand replied while they both bowed, "But there were...complications." Celestia raised an eyebrow as he continued, "One of the criminals had some kind of device that he used to transform his cutie mark and grant him incredible fighting skills."

"We barely managed to stop him," Doom added before taking out the remains of the item.

Celestia took the device in her magic and looked it over, sighing at the sight, "This isn't good. I had hoped these were just rumors."

"You know what this is?" Grand asked, Celestia not answering as she took out a scroll and quill. She wrote something down and rolled it up before zapping it with her magic, the scroll vanishing before she took another look at the item.

"Yes, I think so, but I want a second opinion before I can to be certain." As she said that, the throne room doors opened and they turned to see a pale blue unicorn mare with a red mane and tail that was about their age. Her cutie mark was that of a soldering iron with a spark of lightning shooting out of it. "Live Wire. Good to see that you could make it so quickly."

"Of course your highness," the mare nodded while bowing, "How could I ignore a summons from our great leader?" She then glanced at Grand and Doom, all raising eyebrows at each other.

"Gentlecolts, may I introduce Live Wire. She's one of my best scientific minds. She's also in charge of the Royal Knight's Celestic Gear forging."

"Really?!" Doom asked, "Wow. You can actually turn alicorn magic into a weapon?"

"Not exactly. There's a few more steps to it than that." She turned to Celestia, "Your letter sounded urgent. Is something wrong?" Celestia levitated the item over to the unicorn, who took it in her magic, "This is..."

"Can somepony please tell us what that is?!" Grand barked, Live turning to him and rolling her eyes.

"It's a Cutie Marker," Live Wire replied, "A dangerous device that has the power to change a pony's special talent." She tried to put the pieces back together as she said this, "I'm guessing whoever used this suddenly gained fighting abilities?"

"Yeah," Doom nodded, "He was unicorn and yet he could fight like a fully trained earth pony. I had no idea that could happen."

"We had only heard rumors about them before," Celestia sighed, "I had hoped they were just something somepony made up, but it appears they're more than just fairy tales."

"Is it okay if I study this?" Live Wire asked next, "I might be able to figure out how it works and determine what effects it has on the body."

"Of course," Celestia nodded. "We need to know as much about these things as possible. For all we know, there could be hundreds of them out there. And these ones could be much more powerful than this one. Grand, Doom." The pair turned to her, "I want you both in reserve starting tomorrow. If it turns out these devices pose a serious threat, I'd like you to deal with it."

"Yes, your highness," the stallions replied while standing to attention. Celestia nodded and dismissed them, telling the pair to enjoy the rest of the day for themselves.

And as they left, Live Wire watch with a low stare, "So that's Grand Hoof and Doom Chaser," she commented as they disappeared, "Do they live up to the reputations they have?"

"Doom isn't as serious as he's believed to be," Celestia responded, "But Grand certainly lives up to the legend. His service record is impeccable. If I had my way, he'd be a commander and next in line to be captain of the guard."

"Your way?" Live turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "You're the princess. Isn't it always your way?"

"Not with Grand," Celestia sighed, "It took him three years to get from private to corporal, even though he was offered the rank six months into service. It took another two years to convince him to accept the lieutenant rank...and he basically deserved it in just a month there. It was only recently that he agreed to accept the rank of sergeant, but stated that's the last promotion he'll accept."

"Sounds like a slacker to me," Live replied, "Isn't it every guard's dream to rank up as fast as possible?"

"He's hardly a slacker. Like I said, his record is impeccable. It's more of the fact that he doesn't trust himself with a higher position...but I don't know why. He constantly looks down on himself, and Doom...well, Doom could also be higher rank, but insists on sticking with Grand everywhere, but refuses to tell anypony why Grand is like that."

"Huh. Still sounds slacking to me." Live Wire just chuckled at this, "Maybe he wants a lower rank so he has less responsibilities."

"I understand your point...but I don't think its that." Celestia responded while shaking her head, "Anyways, how goes the project?"

This made Live Wire smirk. "Finished it a few hours ago. it's ready when you are."

"Good," Celestia nodded before staring down at the Cutie Marker Live was still holding. "If these things are as dangerous as we think they are, then we're gonna need as much power on our side as possible."





As soon as Celestia dismissed them, Doom grabbed Grand and led him out of the castle to enjoy their night off. They soon found themselves in one of Canterlot's best establishments, sitting in a booth with Doom drinking cider together. They were discussing the Cutie Markers, Doom chuckling at the idea, "I imagine there isn't a Cutie Marker to give you exceptional green hooves. Think about that...instant farmer pony."

"Eh, probably not." Grand replied as he took a sip of his drink. "I'm betting whoever made 'em probably want rare talents or...special magic. I mean, if you could skip years of practice to master something like that kung-fu one we fought, you probably would want to make one. That and it was a unicorn we fought. I don't think you give that marker to an earth pony cuz it would be easier for 'em."

"I guess so. Think there would be ones that grant talents only pegasi can have to like an earth pony?"

"Probably." Grand grumbled, "Sounds like we're about to get into a full mess."

"It sounds insane." Doom sighed, "I just hope this doesn't go out of control. I mean, what if its just for unicorns and they get some kind of super magic?"

"Then we'll handle it." Grand remarked, making Doom raise an eyebrow as Grand took another sip, "You know we can. The unicorn we fought didn't have the body for that thing. Changing his Cutie Mark didn't change his body, which made his punches relatively weaker than an earth pony. All that thing does is change talents."

"Its messing with nature." Doom added, "Sounds really crazy..." He gave Grand a big smirk, "You know, maybe this would be a good time to accept a higher rank. Give us some more resources and-"

"Not this again." Grand interrupted.

"Come on Grand," Doom snapped, "You're way too good to be just a sergeant. If you were a commander-"

"You know why I can't," Grand waved his hoof, "What I did-"

"Was a long time ago," Doom chimed in, "You were a kid. You've grown up a lot since then, and you've done a lot to make up for what you've done."

"Still doesn't mean I deserve any special rank," Grand replied while glancing away, "You used to agree with me on that. You know what I did."

"Well...I've grown up a lot too. And I think you've payed for everything you've done."

"No...not yet," Grand sighed, "Possibly not ever. I don't deserve anything."

Doom groaned at this, "Grand, you can't just-" He stopped as he saw a pony behind Grand. "Cruncher?" Grand glanced up at this, turning around as both saw their old friend walk inside, the unicorn now older but looked almost exactly the same as when he was a colt. His mane was still neatly combed, still wearing the glasses on his face. The only differences were the few spots on his face, along with the white shirt and brown tie vest combo he wore.

The unicorn trotted over and sat down, "Gentlecolts."

"Glad you could make it," Doom replied while Grand just nodded.

"Glad I could make it too. Just as long as you two don't stick me with the bill...again."

Grand and Doom chuckled before both taking a sip of their cider. "Come on. For a big shot accountant like you, one little bar tap ain't gonna bankrupt you. You just turned twenty-five and you're already making more in a month then either of us will make in a year combined. You're set for life."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do with myself?" Cruncher asked, "My talent is math. How else are you supposed to make a living with that? I might be financially secure, but I'm also bored as heck at work." He let out a sigh and put his chin on the table. "I wish I had a cooler job, like the two of you. Who wouldn't want to spend their days fighting villains all day?"

"Don't be silly," Doom told him. "You don't want our job. It's no place for a guy with something to live for. After all, you have somepony to have a future with." Cruncher's eyes went wide while Grand raised an eyebrow.

"I don't-"

"I saw you the other day," Doom chuckled, "You were having lunch with a cute looking unicorn mare. Ring any bells?" Cruncher began to blush, Doom and Grand both laughing. "Come on, fess up. Who is she and how long have you two been together?" Cruncher looked up Doom, then to Grand. However, the stallion gave him no gesture, making him sigh.

"Her name's Remarie. She's a stage-hoof at the local theatre. We met when I was helping with the budget for a production. I was a little nervous about asking her out, but I managed to get up the courage to do it and she accepted. That lunch you saw us on was our fourth date."

"You dog," Doom punched him in the shoulder. "Way to go my colt."

"I hope we get to meet her soon," Grand added as he finished off his cider. "Which theater is she working at?"

"That one that just opened a few blocks away. They're putting on a production of The Three Unicorns." He replied, "The show doesn't start until next week, but I bet I could get us in to see the place, then introduce you to Remarie."

The guards nodded, then looked down at the bill they had racked up. Doom and Grand turned to Cruncher, giving him a smirk as he sighed, "Fine." He pulled out a bag of bits and put it out, then took out a pen and signed his name.

"Another reason you shouldn't be a guard," Doom added as he stared at the cursive signature. "Your hornmanship talents would be wasting filing reports."

Cruncher rolled his eyes and the three got up, leaving the bar as Number Cruncher guided them to the theater. Ironically, it was the same theater that would one day be demolished by a particular knight's apprentice, but right now it was brand new and waiting for the day the first product would be put on.

"Here it is," Cruncher commented as they headed inside. There they saw a pink unicorn with a black mane and tail while wearing a white jumper, and her cutie mark was a slice of pie. She almost ran into them, only to step aside and allowed the three in as she walked off. But as she did this, Grand glanced back at her, feeling a slight shiver down his spine.

That is, till Doom said, "Hey, this place is pretty cool." Grand glanced back and blinked at the place, seeing a large stage with multiple ponies on it while the rest were behind a counter.

"Sure is," Cruncher nodded, "Its top of the line."

But before they could reply, a loud cry rang out: "You idiots!" They turned to the stage and saw a bulky red unicorn stallion chewing out a pegasus stallion with a mop and bucket. "Are you trying to kill me?! I could have broken my neck!"

"I-I-I'm sorry," the unicorn replied, "I-I-I was just cleaning up the jam."

"When I want your excuses, I'll ask for it! Now get this water cleaned up!" With that, the stallion ran off the stage, the three walking up next.

"Spick, are you okay?" Cruncher asked as the unicorn turned to him and nodded, Grand seeing his cutie mark was a mop.

"I'm alright," he sighed, "That's just...Center Stage being himself." Cruncher shook his head at this, Grand raising an eyebrow before seeing Doom move onto the stage and sniff a puddle of water.

"Is this...lemon curd water?" He asked, taking another sniff.

"It's part of a prop," Spick replied, "In the play, Center's character throws a jam jar on the floor. He was just practicing."

"And you have to clean it up?" Grand added, Spick nodding back before getting back to work.

It was here Cruncher asked, "Have you seen Remarie anywhere?" Spick pointed to where Center had gone, saying she was busy checking all the outfits for damage. "Thanks." Cruncher ran off at this, his friends laughing when they saw him move with an actual skip in his step.

They headed offstage, the trio hearing a female voice while coming from around the corner. And as they turned the corner, Cruncher showed a big grin...only for it to vanish, making a giant frown.

"Cruncher?" Grand asked as they reached him, "What's-" He didn't get to finish, Cruncher suddenly running past them both. They glanced back at him, blinking before looking around the corner.

"Remarie..." Doom whispered as Grand took in the sight of an olive green unicorn mare with a lime green mane and tail. She was pinned against the wall with Center Stage, pushing her while locking lips. They then saw her trying to push him off, her hooves beating into Center's chest.

She gave one last shove, making Center stagger back as she yelled, "How dare you!"

"Oh please," Center laughed, "You loved it."

"No!" she barked back, "I love Cruncher, not you!"

"That nerd?! Please! What could he give you that I couldn't?"

"Respect," she replied before Center rolled his eyes.

"Overrated. I could give you a great time and you know it. Now come here," he grabbed her chin, trying to kiss her again, but Remarie pushed him away again. "Hey! Come here you little-"

His words came to a stop as something grabbed him by the shoulder. "Huh?" He said before suddenly finding himself being thrown across the floor. "Blaugh!" He let out a yelp before scrambling onto his hooves and turning to see Grand next to Remarie. "Big mistake, pal! I'm gonna call the guards on you-"

"We are the guards," Doom interrupted, "And we just caught you assaulting this young lady. Now unless you want to get arrested, leave."

Center growled back, only to see Doom crick his hooves. He let out a hiss, turning to Remarie. "You'll pay for this. You'll regret not becoming mine."

He then ran off, Remarie sighing in relief before turning to the pair, "Thank you. That could have gone a lot worst if you weren't here."

Grand turned to her with a deadpan stare, "Just to be clear, you didn't want to kiss him, right?"

"Of course not," she shook her head, "There's somepony else I like, but that slob seems to think any good looking mare belongs to him."

"Good," Grand nodded, "But you have a new problem."

"What you do you mean?"

"We're friends of Number Cruncher." Doom replied, "And when he kissed you, Cruncher saw." Her eyes went wide at this, "He ran off and...he probably thinks you're cheating on him."

"Oh no," she whispered, "I have to find him." She then sprinted off, the stallions following her to the stage. She began to glance around, only to slump over, "No...Cruncher."

They caught up to her at this, about to tell her to go outside to see if she could catch him, only for Grand to notice something in the corner of his eye, "Look out!" He tackled Remarie seconds before a blast of purple magic shot down from the rafters and hit the stand, causing part of the wooden floor to glow before-

KABOOM!

The stage exploded, knocking Grand, Doom and Remarie off while causing several ponies standing in the audience to duck down to avoid flying debris. Grand swiveled himself and Remarie around so that he landed first, cushioning her fall, the three groaning before a voice called out to them.

"DO NOT INTERFERE!" They glanced up to where the spell had come from, now seeing somepony standing in the rafters, "I WILL HAVE MY REVENGE, SO JUST STEP ASIDE!"

"Not happening!" Doom yelled as he got up, then turned to a nearby knocked over stage lamp and pointed it to the rafters, illuminating the place and revealing the attacker. It was a unicorn pony who was dressed from head to hoof in a black leather body suit with red and green lines wrapped around it. The back hooves had boots with metal knee-pads and his front hooves had gauntlets that were in the shape of grenades. Around their neck was a metal U-shaped collar and the head was covered in a black gas-mask with red eyes and a hole in the top that a black material covered horn poked out of. On the back of their head was a long black chord with a design on the end of it that made it look like a lit fuse, and the suit's flank was a patch of red that had a black bomb symbol on it.

"Who are you!?" Grand yelled as he stared at the figure, "ANSWER ME!"

"I am Bomber!" The pony replied, "And I will destroy all those that cross me." With that, his horn glowed purple before it fired a spell down at Grand, the guard grabbing Remarie before leaping back, the spell hitting the ground and causing it to explode. Bomber then fired a barrage, striking anything between him and his target. The seats, ground, props, everything, all struck by light before exploding.

Remarie's eyes went wide at the sight of her workplaces destruction while her co-workers all tried to hide behind chairs or anything else they hoped would protect them. As this happened, Doom flared his wings before zipping straight up at Bomber. But as he did this, Grand yelled, "Look out!"

Doom blinked at this, only for a sudden metal ball to appear to his side, flying at him before glowing and splitting in half into a long metal chord, grabbing the pegasi, "Augh!" he yelped as the chord threw him across the building, the pony landing into the bar.

"Doom!" Grand exclaimed before glancing back at where the ball had come from, only to see a figure standing in the darkness of the stage. It had what appeared to be a pair of bat wings before shooting out of the shadows. At first, Grand thought he was looking at an alicorn, as the pony had a horn, only to see the wings were mechanical.

It was a mare, wearing an all purple spandex suit that was covered in a vast array of gadgets. The most noticeable one was the metal vest around her chest that was connected to the mechanical wings, while her waist and fronts legs were wrapped in metal bands that had a series of different pieces of equipment connected to them. Her head was covered in a mask with a horn hole in it like Bomber's, only that her mask was shaped like the head of a bat. The flank of her suit was emblazoned with a remote device with a single red button in the center along with several circuit boards around it.

"Who the heck are you?" Grand asked as Doom got the chords off himself. The mare then flew over to the rafters and landed beside Bomber, the mare letting out an amused cackle as she stared down at them.

"Greetings. The name's Technica."

"What are you doing here?" Bomber hissed, "This is my show!"

"Oh please. I'm just making sure my best customer gets to show off all our product's perks," the mare giggled while Bomber growled at her.

"Product?" Grand asked, "What are you talking about?" As he said that, the mare just ignored him and gestured to the other ponies all hiding from their attacker.

"Hear me ponies, as today is your lucky day." She pointed to Bomber, "This pony has incredible power. But that power is not one he was born with. Instead, he was able to achieve it using one amazing device."

Grand and Doom's eyes went wide as she took out a suitcase out from somewhere, holding it out to be seen before opening it up. Inside were a bunch of differently colored tubes with different words and symbols. "Behold!" She exclaimed, "Equestria's future...Cutie Markers!"
> Cutie Markers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Grand Hoof and Doom Chaser couldn't believe their eyes. One minute they had been meeting their friend's love interest at a theatre, and in the next they were now fighting against a pair of bizarrely dressed unicorns talking about the same devices Princess Celestia had asked them to look into. Cutie Markers.

Now, the ponies calling themselves Bomber and Technica were in the rafters, Technica holding a briefcase in her magic as she showed the Cutie Markers to the ponies inside the theatre. "Imagine it...no longer will you be restrained to the one talent you posses. Fancy a change? Simply use these Cutie Markers and enjoy whatever ability you wish to enjoy."

"Does that include terrorising ponies?" Doom asked as he spread his wings, "You suddenly have that power and what do yo do?! Attack an innocent mare!"

"Innocent?!" Bomber barked back before pointing at Remarie, "She's anything but innocent." He then fired another spell, Grand grabbing a piece of shattered wood off the stage and throwing it in front of her. It struck the spell, only for the wood to harmlessly explode in midair. "Quit interfering!" Bomber roared before leaping down from the rafters, firing a blast at the ground that made it explode and create a wind cushion for him.

Technica also flew down, her mechanical wings keeping her from breaking her legs as she landed. She began to open up the pockets in her many belts with her magic, taking out small orbs the size of ping-pong balls, which had a pair of razor blades on each side. They began to float and spin around her at high speed, turning into a pair of buzz-saws that she shot straight for Grand.

The earth pony quickly leapt to the side, dodging the first before backflipping to avoid the other. As this happened, Bomber charged at Remarie as Grand yelled, "Doom!"

"On it!" The pegasus replied as he flew down and grabbed a chair, swinging it at the psychopath. "Back off nut-job!" He then threw the furniture at the unicorn, who just fired a blast at the chair, making it explode. Doom then slammed his hoof into the floor, knocking a piece of broken floor wood upward before smacking it into Bomber, the unicorn getting whacked by the debris.

"You little..." Bomber hissed as he fired another spell, Doom grabbing another piece of wood to block it.

"Hot potato!" He threw the wood back at Bomber, the unicorn backpedalling as the piece exploded between them.

And as this happened, Grand was now running around the theatre, dodging the blades as Technica kept trying to hit him. "Blast it...if only I had a something I could use." He grunted before one of the razor disks swung at his head, Grand ducking as it cut a few strands of his mane before grabbing a piece of broken wood and smacking the orb like a bat.

The blade pierced the wood and got stuck, allowing him to crush it into the ground. But as he did this, Technica thrust her front hoof out, unleashing a metal cable that shot out and wrapped around his back hoof. "Gyah!" He yelped as he suddenly yanked, his body now thrown into the wall and then a column. "Argh!"

He let out a groan as he was dragged across the ground next as Technica laughed, "I hope you realize now just how outclassed you are." He glanced up at Technica as she flew up into the rafters and down again, looping the cord around one of the beams, letting her lift Grand up until they were on eye to eye level, "A mere earth pony like you can not hope to beat one who wields power like ours."

"So you're the one behind these things?" Grand asked as he pulled at the cord, "How did you make something like this?"

"I didn't," she cackled, "I'm merely one of many distribution experts charged with getting our product to the masses."

"So you're just a dealer?" Grand growled.

"I'm more than that. I'm the pony that's helping all Equestrians embrace the next stage of their evolution. If you think these abilities are impressive, just wait until he develops them further. Ponies with the ability to heal any injury or disease. Ponies that can travel through time or go beyond magical physics. Nothing will be beyond our limits!" She then leaned up with a smile hidden inside her mask, "Maybe if you're good, I'd be willing to sell one to you."

"No thanks. I prefer to gain my skills the proper way!" With that, he threw one of her buzz-saws at her, which he had gotten while being dragged on the floor. The mare's reflexes kicked in, raising her hooves to protect her face, causing the blade to hit the device on her hoof and cut the cable. The stallion spun as he fell, landing perfectly before grabbing some debris and throwing them up at Technica.

And as the pieces knocked her back, Doom continued dodging the mini-explosions Bomber kept trying to make. "You're good at long range fighting," Doom commented as he spun around another blast, "But I bet you suck in close quarters." With that, he shot forward as Bomber fired another spell...only for Doom to vanish.

"What?!"

"Peekaboo." Bomber spun around, now seeing Doom as he bucked both backhooves into Bomber's mask.

"Blaugh!" the unicorn cried, trying to keep his balance before punching Doom in the chest. But the pegasi barely felt it, making Doom just kick him again. And as he did this, a light caught Doom's eye, making him look down. Bomber's punch had attached a piece of debris to Doom's chest.

"GYAH!" He screamed, a tiny explosion now bursting off his chest. His body went flying into the side of the stage, making both Grand and Technica turn to him just as Bomber got over to where Remarie was hiding.

"Go away!" She screeched, Bomber's horn now surging, only for him to also let out a scream.

"Augh!" He yelped, clutching his head as his magic cut out. "No! Not now!"

Technica gasped at this, her wings suddenly flaring as she dove down at him. "Your Cutie Marker is wearing off?" Bomber nodded. "We need to leave, now." She reached into her belt and took out some pellets, then turned to Grand and Doom. "You got off lucky. Make sure you don't run into us again." With that, she threw the pellets down, exploding and creating a large cloud of smoke.

Everypony began to cough at this, Grand swiping at the fog, "No!" He ran into the smoke next, only to find nothing. "No...they got away!" He turned to Doom, walking up and giving him a hoof.

Doom let out a long moan as he grabbed the hoof, "That's not good. Who were those nut-jobs?"

"I don't know," Grand growled before turning to Remarie. "But she appeared to be their target." Doom nodded in agreement before the pair ordered everypony outside. As the ponies filled out of the theatre, the rest of the royal guard showed up and the two gave a report about what had happened. The guard then took statements from everypony and found it correlated with what Grand and Doom had told them. And as they did this, a certain pony showed up.

"What the heck happened?" Everypony turned to see Center Stage push his way through the crowd, "I step out for ten minutes and you idiots destroy the entire theatre!"

"It wasn't us," Slick replied, only for Center to grab his neck.

"You be quiet, or else!" He then threw Slick to the side before yelling at the staff, telling them there were be serious consequences if the play had to be cancelled. And as he ranted, Grand and Doom shook their heads before Doom turned to back to the crowd and gasped.

"Numb!" Grand turned to see their friend standing there, staring at Remarie with a huge frown, "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Cruncher barely replied, "What the heck happened here?"

"You wouldn't believe it if I told you," Doom responded, "Some crazy ponies showed up and attacked. They were using this super weird device that gave them a different cutie mark."

This made Cruncher raise an eyebrow, "Yeah...that does sound crazy and hard to believe." As he said that, Grand saw his eyes were just staring at Remarie.

"You should probably know, one of them seemed to have it out for Remarie."

"Remarie?" Cruncher looked away at this, "Why should I care? She betrayed me."

"No, she didn't." He turned to Grand, "You ran off before seeing her push Center away and chew him out."

"What are you-"

"He just forced himself on her when you saw them. She even said she really liked you and was horrified when we told her you saw that." Doom added, making Cruncher go wide-eyed.

That is, till Center Stage yelled, "You did this!" They turned to see him yelling at Remarie, "You're the reason my big break has been ruined!"

"But-"

"You said it yourself! One of those ponies was trying to get you! They destroyed the theatre because of you!"

"Leave her alone!" Cruncher yelled as he leapt between him and Remarie, "She didn't ask to get attacked, so just leave her alone." Grand and Doom went wide-eyed at this, seeing Cruncher now glaring up at a pony almost twice his size.

"Stay out of this, nerd!" Center barked back before cocking a hoof back, only for it to be grabbed by another hoof. He glanced back to see Grand gripping his hoof with a glare that could kill.

"I think you should leave," Grand hissed, leaning up at this, "Now."

Center swatted Grand's hoof away at this, growling before spinning around. He stomped away from the destroyed theatre, making Grand shake his head before Cruncher spoke up, "I didn't need your help."

"Of course you did," Doom chuckled, "You're the brains and we're the brawn. That's how we do things. Anyways, I think you two have a lot to talk about, so why don't we leave you both alone?" Cruncher and Remarie glanced at each other, blushing as Doom whispered to Grand, "We need to report this to Celestia."

"Agreed. Let's go." Grand replied before the two began to leave the building. As they did this, they glanced back to see both talking, only to share a kiss. But as they did this, Grand let out a sigh as he turned to Doom, "I want to be happy for them, but we need to get her some protection. At least until we know who's under that costume."

"Yeah..." Doom added as they double-timed it back to the castle. But when they went to see Celestia, they discovered she had already gone to bed. Knowing what that meant, they headed to their barracks and got their own good night's sleep, ready to tell her in the morning.





Later that night...

In a place hidden within the city, Technica was now in a dark room, using her magic on a Cutie Marker. This one was black with the same image Bomber had worn on his suit's flank. The device glowed for a second before falling into her hoof, "There." she sighed before turning to another pony, "That should do it." She threw the Cutie Marker, the other catching it in their magic. "Now the effects should last at least an hour, maybe longer. But be warned, the side-effects may accelerate."

"That doesn't matter," the pony replied before holding the device to his neck and pushing down the syringe.

"Bomber!" The device exclaimed as the pony was consumed by a bright flash. And when the light died down, the figure walked out to reveal itself as Bomber.

"I only need it long enough to settle the score."

Technica nodded back, "Just remember, you promised to show up to my function tomorrow. I need to show this off to as many ponies as possible. And if those two guards should show up again-"

"I'll deal with them." The unicorn interrupted while staring at his Cutie Marker. "With my power...nopony will be able to stop me. Not even those two."





The next morning...

"You ran into more Cutie Markers?!" Live Wire yelped, Grand and Doom now standing in the throne room with Celestia on her throne listening to them, "Why didn't you come and tell me?!"

"It was late at night and the princess was asleep," Grand replied.

"And we have no idea where you live." Doom added with a cheeky grin, making Live growl at them.

"Now hold on," Celestia chimed in, "So you're saying there were two ponies using them? Did one appear to be the one responsible for them?"

"She said she was just a dealer," Grand sighed, "She acted like our fight was one big sales pitch."

"But it's the other one we need to worry about," Doom grumbled, "He seemed to have it out for our friend's girlfriend. He was determined to kill her. I could hear it in his voice."

"And you have no idea what they really look like?" Live asked, the stallions shaking their heads.

"They were wearing some weird full body suits, which seemed to be based on the powers the Cutie Markers gave them." Grand replied, while crossing his hooves, "One looked like a living explosive and the other was like something out of a foal's superhero action comic."

"So they had strange looking costumes designed around the Cutie Marker's powers?" Live blinked at this, "Interesting. Is it a special feature the Markers have? The one you gave me didn't seem to have anything like that."

The stallions just shrugged, only for Celestia to turn to Live, "What did you learn from your examination of the device? I know you only had a night, but-"

"I actually managed to discover quite a bit," Live Wire interrupted, "I'll save the complicated information for later and keep it simple for now. The markers work by affecting the pony at the cellular level, affecting how their magic is produced and sending signals into their brain that allow them to understand how their abilities work. In other words, it rapidly affects your body, but its not designed for long term use."

"That makes sense." Grand responded, "The mare calling herself Technica said Bomber's was wearing off after just a bit of that fight."

"And it doesn't sound healthy." Doom added.

Live nodded back, "Indeed. The pony body will begin to override the Cutie Marker's effects almost instantly once they're injected. But the more powerful the dosage, the longer the transformations will last. However, the higher the dosage taken...the faster the side-effects will kick in."

"Side-effects?" Celestia asked with a raised eyebrow.

Live sighed at this, "Yes. I've been able to determine at least two long term effects these things have. The first affects the user's mind. Since the Cutie Markers target the brain, it's likely the users will begin to suffer severe psychological effects. They'll started growing less reasonable and eventually devolve into maniacs. It'll likely be a slow process if you use a low dosage, but high doses could cause irreparable damage to somepony after just one or two uses."

"What if the pony is careful with it?" Doom asked, "What if they use it once, then don't use it again for like...a week or so?"

"I wondered that myself, and I think its possible...to an extent." Live replied, "However, that won't happen because its second effect...addiction."

"Addiction?! Are you saying this is a drug?!"

"As close to one as possible," Live sighed again, "The more a pony uses this, the more reliant they'll become on it. The power it gives them will overwhelm them and they'll only be satisfied once they use it again. Heck, the pony you got this from may be suffering withdrawal because he doesn't have it anymore."

"What?! Why the heck would somepony want something like this then?!" Doom yelped, only to see Live shake her head.

"The dealer is probably not being honest with their clients. After all, addiction is an easy way to make ponies keep spending money on something."

"Err...yeah, I guess that's true." Doom responded before turning to Celestia, "We need to make this public. Then nopony will want this stuff."

"Maybe...or maybe not." Grand chimed in, making the three turn to him, "There are a lot of ponies out there that think power is worth any price. I doubt they'll let such trivial side-effects stop them from using the Cutie Markers." He turned to one of the windows, "They could either believe we're lying and making an excuse to ban these things, or believe what we say but think they're strong enough to fight against the side-effects. And then there's the normal ponies whose hooves these things fall into."

"Normal ponies?" Live asked, Grand turning to her.

"Think about it. Say you're a single parent working a low paying job. Then, your kid suddenly falls ill and you use all your bits on medicine, which means you can't pay your bills. Even if the child gets better, you're still behind and then another unexpected bill appears. Eventually, things get so bad and you're at your lowest point, panicking that you'll be homeless with your kid...and then somepony shows up and tells you everything will be fine by buying a Cutie Marker. What would you do?"

The trio grimaced as Doom replied, "They'd take it. Things are already bad, so why not take a risk and try and fix things using a Cutie Marker."

"Exactly," Grand sighed, "The most normal pony in the world could be transformed into an all powerful mad-pony just because they were having a bad day and saw no way out."

"I guess you're right," Live hummed, "It could be possible anypony would be willing to use one if they felt they had no other choice." She crossed her hooves at this, closing her eyes, "And it's likely the dealers would target ponies like that with these Cutie Markers."

Doom turned to her, "What do you mean by that?"

"From what I could gather, the Cutie Marker you gave me isn't what's considered a final product. It's more like a...prototype."

"Prototype?" Doom asked, "Why would they sell something they haven't fully figured out yet? Sounds like bad marketing."

Live shook her head at this, "It would make sense if they're trying to master creating them. In order for them to figure out how to perfect the Cutie Markers, they need test subjects. Pony test subjects. But with the Cutie Markers clearly such a dangerous device, they can't openly advertise for subjects."

"They'd catch our attention and be forced to have the Cutie Markers evaluated," Celestia chimed in.

"Which would lead to us shutting them down once we discovered the side-effects," Live nodded. "And finding subjects willing to do illegal tests would require them to pay outstanding amounts. So it's clear that to get around those issues, they chose to sell the prototypes and see their clients' reactions."

"They're using their clients as guinea pig," Grand growled, Doom grimacing at his words. "If this gets out through the city..."

"It'll be a disaster." Celestia finished, the room now dropping a few degrees. The ponies all shivered for a moment before turning to the cause of the sudden chill, the princess now gazing at the ground with a dark glare. "I can't believe such a thing is being sold in my city without me knowing until now."

Grand stepped up to the throne, Celestia lifting her head to look at him. "Until last night, they were likely working on the sly. Contacting ponies in secret, or appearing to them when they're at their lowest point."

Doom nodded before continuing. "And as weird as those outfits were, they did make it impossible to know who the one selling the Cutie Markers are. Even if somepony not interested in buying one refused, they couldn't tell the guards. What are they gonna say? A strange unicorn wearing a bat mask came up to me and offered to sell me a device that could change my cutie mark."

"Hardly anypony would believe them," Live muttered while shaking her head, "But now that the Cutie Markers have been discovered, they're not gonna bother with stealth anymore."

"Like last night's little display," Grand grumbled as he turned to the window, "She's probably sold hundreds of those things in Canterlot alone. We need to do something about them and fast."

"Agreed," Celestia nodded. "I'll begin making plans to have these Cutie Markers outlawed and getting the word out. I will address the public soon. In the meantime, the three of you will be in charge of finding the ponies that attacked the theatre last night. I want both of them captured before they can do any more damage."

"Yes, your majesty," they all bowed before turning to leave.

"Grand Hoof." They stopped and glanced back at the princess. "If last night is any indication, it's gonna require more than just fighting skills to take them down."

"Maybe," Grand nodded, "But what else could I use against them?"

Celestia turned to Live Wire, nodding to the mare. Live nodded back and took out at a wooden box from her saddlebag. "Princess Celestia asked for this. I hope you understand how hard it was to make."

Grand raised an eyebrow as he looked down at the box, Live then opening it up. As the lid swung away, it unleashed a bright light that almost blinded Grand and Doom. The pair flinched, only for their eyes to go wide.

"That's..." Grand couldn't finish the sentence as he stared at the crystal inside the box.

"A Celestic Gear?!" Doom gasped.

"It's yours," Live replied as she floated the box closer to the earth pony. "With this, you'll be able to stand against anypony. Even the Cutie Markers."

Grand stared at the crystal in the box, the crystal shining in his eyes. He could feel his hoof shiver at the sight before turning to Celestia, "Why are you showing me this? This weapon is meant to only be used by a Royal Knight." Celestia just smiled back, making him go wide-eyed, "No..."

"I had hoped we could have a more ceremonious Celestic Gearing, but our current situation requires more haste." Celestia stood up from her throne and stared down at the earth pony. "Sergeant Grand Hoof, I hereby grant you the rank of Royal Knight, with all the powers earned by said position."

"Congrats," Live added as she patted his side. But as she did this, she saw Grand's eyes shrink and glance back at the box with a cold dead stare, "What? What's wrong-"

Her words came to a stop as he slammed the lid on the box. His whole body was shaking, his eyes twitching as he looked away from the box. "No."

"Huh?"

"No," he repeated, pushing the box away with a quick push, "I...I don't accept this." He turned to Celestia, "You've picked the wrong pony."

Celestia sighed at this, "Grand Hoof, you've proven again and again how capable you are. You've trained hard, followed the commands given to you to the best of your ability and have always gotten the job done within acceptable perimeters."

"I'm a solider," Grand instantly responded, "I'm just doing my job. That doesn't mean I deserve to be a Royal Knight."

Celestia shook her head at this, "Grand Hoof, you have deserved this for a long time. I have watched you over these years under the guard, and you deserve-"

"I don't!" Grand barked, making everypony flinch for a second. "You're wrong...I don't deserve this."

Doom shook his head at this, only for Live to yell, "You have some nerve!" They all turned to her as she glared at Grand, "The princess is giving you the title of Royal Knight and you don't deserve it?! What, are you too good for the rest of us?!"

But as she said this, she almost flinched again as she saw Grand turn to her, his eyes making her tense up. What she saw was a look of pure despair, lifelessness within those pupils as he glanced back at Celestia, "I'm sorry your highness, but I can't accept this." He spun around at this, "I'll find these Cutie Marker criminals and bring them in, but I'll do it without a Celestic Gear or an undeserved title."

With that, he left the room, Live shaking her head as she barked, "I can't believe him!" She turned to Celestia, "You offer him the ultimate reward and he turns it down?!"

Celestia just shook her head again, "I'm sorry to say Live Wire, but this is normal for him." She let out a long sigh, "Grand seems determined to reject anything that would benefit him." And as she said this, her eyes shifted to Doom, the stallion shrinking back as he saw both mares staring at him, "Doom..."

"You majesty-" he tried to say, but Celestia raised a hoof.

"Doom, I know that you've known Grand longer than any of us," Celestia said as she slowly descended from her throne, "When you two enlisted, the guard respected you both when you didn't put down where you both came from, as we respect all ponies to their privacy in these lands. I have also respected your privacy, as you've told me before that Grand should be the one to tell me why he rejects any praise or promotion he's clearly earned."

Doom felt himself backpedaling as she said that, "Well..."

"Doom." She interrupted again before pointing at him, "I am sorry, but I believe he is more than worthy of being a Royal Knight. As such, I must know why Grand is like this. And I will order you to tell me if need be."

Doom felt himself shrink in front of her, his eyes darting away as his mind went back to that night so many years ago. He flinched at the thought, remembering the image of that nightmare. And as he glanced back up at Celestia, he saw a strong stare from her, "It's...a long story. Its because he made a mistake a long time ago..." The mares raised an eyebrow at this, only for their faces to slowly change as he began to tell the tale.





An hour or so later...

Grand was now sitting in the Royal Gardens, his body shaking as he stared blankly into the area. His imagination went over the Celestic Gear, feeling his mind going to when he was a colt, thinking about how he wanted to make some super weapon Celestic Gear. That is, till his mind went back to that night, making him shake his head. "No...I don't deserve it. If I got a Celestic Gear, I'd probably just end up hurting somepony with it."

"That is the risk you have with incredible power." He turned to the voice, now seeing Live and Doom walking up. The mare's face no longer showed the anger from before, a stare of compassion in her expression as she continued, "And that's why Celestia only gives Celestic Gears to knights she can absolutely trust with it."

"Well, she made a mistake in trusting me with it," Grand replied before glaring at Doom, "You told them, didn't you?"

"Yeah...sorry." Doom sighed as they sat down beside him. "Princess Celestia kinda...ordered me too. That and it was the only way to get them to understand."

Grand stared at Doom for a second, only to look away, "Well, now you know. I can't be a Royal Knight. I don't deserve such an honor."

Live shook her head at this, "Grand...I'm sorry for yelling at you before, and I understand you made a mistake and caused a lot of pain. But I also understand you were just a kid back then." She tilted her head at this, "Princess Celestia showed me your record as I made the Celestic Gear crystal, and she showed me that you deserve it. Surely you've grown a lot since then. You won't make that kind of mistake again, will you?"

"Never again."

"So then there's no reason you can't be a knight now-"

"No."

"But-"

"You don't get it," Grand stood up. "I'm not worried about making that mistake again. I'm saying that the mistake I made before is why I don't deserve it." He turned to her, a long glare in his eyes, "I cost those young ponies their lives, their futures. I deserve no happiness when I stole away the happy futures of so many." He looked down at his hooves, his mind once again going back to that night, "My hooves are stained with the sins of my past. And until I have washed them away, I can't allow myself any kind of comfort."

"Now hang on!" Live responded as she stood up as well, "Just because you think that doesn't mean you're not worthy of being a Royal Knight! You-"

"I'm not worthy." Grand replied before Doom held out his wing between them.

"Alright, let's stop right there." Doom chimed in, "What matters right now is we need to figure out what do about the Cutie Markers." He turned to Live, "Just uh...table the gear for now." He glanced back at Grand, "And Celestia thinks you deserve to be a knight, and so do I Grand. You need to realize that you deserve it."

"I remember you telling me I don't deserve anything back in the day." Grand hissed back, glaring at the pegasi.

Doom bit his lip at this, only to sigh, "I know. And I'm sorry." He then shook his head, "I was wrong. I thought you deserved it, but you've changed Grand." Doom put his hoof on Grand's shoulder, "You got serious when I thought you wouldn't...and I was wrong. You deserve more. You've been given the position, and Live has made a Celestic Gear for you. You should take it."

Grand stared back at him, only to shrug Doom's hoof off, "No. I won't be a knight. And I won't change my mind."

Doom let out a sigh at this, Live then spinning around to walk off as she said, "We'll see." She glanced back at him, "But you know, I've met some Royal Knights and many of them...well, they think the position sometimes feels more like a punishment than a blessing. The pressure to protect all of Equestria, no matter what threat faces it, has driven many to have mental breakdowns."

With that, she walked off as Grand stared at her, her words going through his head. Doom blinked at his friend, seeing Grand's face slowly morph to his work mode as he turned to Doom, "Let's get to work."

Doom sighed again, "Fine. But I have a feeling we'll need her." Grand nodded back at this, "Where do we start?"

"Simple. We'll go for one of the buyers."





A few hours later...

Big Score huffed as he sat in the interrogation room, Grand, Doom and Live staring down at him. He had been freed from the concrete, though they could still see a few specks stuck to his coat and mane while his Cutie Mark had returned to normal.

"Alright Score," Doom growled as he pointed at him from the other side of the table, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Score just stared back, not responding. Seeing this, Live summoned a chair and sat down beside him, "Come on. All we want is for you to tell us where you got your Cutie Marker."

"What's in it for me?" Score asked, "Why should I help the ponies that put me away?" He turned to hiss at the stallions, "Because of you, my little girl's gonna grow up without a father."

"You did that when you smuggled psychedelic gems into Canterlot," Doom barked back, "Now, unless you wanna add aiding and abetting dangerous criminals to your sentence, tell us who and where you got that Cutie Marker."

Score didn't respond, making Doom and Live growl. He just sat back in his chair, crossing his hooves as the three just stared at each other. But as this happened, Grand had been leaning against the back wall, his eyes on the door. A second later, a unicorn opened the door and gave him a file, Grand thanking him before going to Doom, "You mind?" His partner nodded and got up, Grand now sitting down so he could sit opposite of the criminal.

He then opened the file, taking out a bunch of pictures that he placed on the table. Score's eyes slowly drifted down at this, only to go wide as he saw images of a unicorn mare holding a unicorn filly.

"She's a very cute filly," Grand commented, "A shame she has to grow up without a father. I know what that's like. Heck, I don't even know who my father is. All I know about him is that he had a red coat and brown mane because it was written in a letter that was left at an orphanage with me."

"What's your point?" Score asked as he glared back at Grand, "Are you trying to threaten me or something?!"

Grand raised an eyebrow at this, "What part of that sounded like a threat? All I said is that I'm guessing you don't want that little filly to grow up without her father. Even if that father is a hardened criminal, she still needs him. And if you agree to help us, I promise she'll get to grow up with her daddy in her life."

"How? I doubt you'll be willing to let me go."

"No, but I can arrange for you to be put under house arrest. You'll get to spend your sentence at home, with your family, monitored by Canterlot Guards. But I can't do anything if you refuse to cooperate."

Score looked down at the pictures, taking the one of his daughter in his hooves. "I'll really get to see her grow up?"

"You won't be able to see her first day of school or go watch her hoof-ball games, but you'll be there to tuck her in and read her a bedtime story." Grand then grabbed the picture in Score's hooves, making Score glare back at him as he put the pictures in the file, "But if you refuse to give us what we want..." He slammed the file shut, pushing the chair back as he started to stand up.

"Wait!" Grand stopped mid-standing up, slowly glancing back at Score, "I can't give you what you want." Grand continued to move, only for Score to add, "I don't know who the mare was that gave me the Cutie Marker."

"So it was a mare," Grand sat back down. "Was she wearing a purple suit and a bat mask?"

"Yes," Score nodded. "She showed up out of nowhere and offered to sell me the Cutie Marker. As soon as I bought it, she vanished." Grand growled at this, only for Score to say, "But...a few days ago, she showed up again."

"Why?" Live asked.

"She asked how I was enjoying her product, though she was a little upset when I told her I hadn't used it. But then she invited me to a party."

This made the three's eyes go wide, Doom adding, "When?! And where?!"

"I don't know." The trio glared at him again, "But...she left an invitation. It was in the desk you destroyed when you showed up." And as he said that, Grand ran out of the interrogation room, Live and Doom quickly following as Score yelled, "You better keep up your end of the bargain!"

Grand rushed to the city's jailhouse, quickly getting into the evidence room. Barging inside, they went to the box they had filed with everything they confiscated from Big Score. Live stepped in and used her magic to open the box, floating everything out before they saw it: A white envelope with a heart on the seal. Live returned everything else as Grand took the envelope and opened it up, finding a pair of cards inside with an address, time and even a bar-code of some kind.

"This is it," he told the others before turning the card over.



You are cordially invited to Technica's Cutie Marker symposium. Discover the amazing abilities of this unbelievable item and see performances from trained Cutie Marker users. You can even buy your own Cutie Marker, becoming one of the first to join the next evolution of ponykind.



"That's not good." Grand grumbled, "Sounds like she plans to sale these things in mass."

"Eh, its fine." Doom added, "If we bust this party, we'll be way closer to catching whoever made the Cutie Markers."

"But it looks like there are only two invitations," Live chimed in, "So only two of use will be able to go."

"You two can do that," Doom said before either could respond, "I'll stay outside with a squad of guards and be ready to pounce when you give the signal."

Live nodded back while Grand shook his head, "I don't think so. Technica's bound to have security. She probably gave our description to her guards. She'll see us coming a mile away."

But as he said that, Live put a hoof on his shoulder, "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that. Just leave everything to me."
> A Booming Party
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day passed as the two guards prepared a raiding party while Live worked on a way to keep them from getting caught. And the party drew near, they found the event was taking place in a newer area of the city, with the building itself being only a few weeks old. In one of the buildings across the street, Doom and Grand were watching from a window.

"That's the place," Grand whispered.

"Doesn't look much like a villain's secret headquarters," Doom pointed out. "Though I guess that's kind of the point. Maybe they just want to do another Cutie Marker advertising spree." He then squinted into the binoculars, "Wonder who's on the guest list for this?"

"We'll have to wait and find out," Grand replied, "But we'll have to wait until later to show up. Being one of the first arrivals will draw to much attention." Doom nodded back as Grand moved over to a radio. "All squads, check in."

"Squad one, check."

"Squad two, check."

"Squad three, check."

"Squad four, check."

"Good. Be ready to act once the signal's been given." He then returned to the window, staring through the binoculars as he saw somepony walk out of the building to talk to the bouncers. Grand readjusted the lens as he saw the pony, now seeing it was the pink unicorn he had seen at the theater the previous night. "No way."

"What?"

Grand gave him the binoculars, "The mare talking to the bouncer. She was at the theater last night."

"Really?" Doom's eyes narrowed at this. "Doesn't look familiar..."

"She was leaving when we got there, but it's definitely her." He watched her give some commands to the bouncers before heading inside, "It can't be a coincidence."

"I think you're right. She's about the same body size."

"For what?"

"To fit in Technica's suit."

Grand's eyes went wide at this, now noticing her body shape before saying, "You're right. I know I'm jumping to conclusions, but it makes too much sense. She has to be Technica."

Doom nodded and moved away from the window, opening a metal case and taking out a bunch of camera equipment, "If she shows up again, I'll snap a picture of her and we'll be able to figure out who she is."

Grand nodded and continued to stare through the binoculars. Ten minutes after the time on the invite, the first guest arrived. It was an earth pony stallion and pegasus mare, dressed up in impressive clothing as they made their way toward the door. Doom took a picture of them as the earth pony took out a pair of invites, the bouncer hitting it with magic before nodding. The pair walked inside right as a quartet of ponies arrived and did the same thing.

This went on for an hour or so, with pony after pony arriving, flashing their invites, and being let in. Doom made sure to take pictures of each pony that headed into the building while Grand kept in contact with the squads, asking them if any spotted anything out of the ordinary. That is, till something caught Doom's attention.

"Grand!" The earth pony turned to him, "I just saw something you're not gonna believe."

"What?" He gave Grand a photo, the earth pony blinking at it before going wide-eyed, "That's...Center Stage?"

The pony on the photo was the obnoxious unicorn, dressed up like all the other guests and waving an invite in front of the bouncers. "You don't think..." Doom didn't finish the sentence as Grand gave him back the photo.

"Center...is Bomber," Grand finished for him. "It makes sense. Bomber was after Remarie, meaning he had a bone to pick with her. And who did Remarie insult the moment before he showed up?"

"Center Stage," Doom replied.

"Exactly," Grand nodded. "It all fits."

"What all fits?" They turned to the voice, now seeing Live Wire as she trotted up to the pile of photos next to them. "Are these all the ponies in there?"

"Yup. And look who we just spotted." He passed her the picture, Live looking it over before raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know who this is." The stallions anime fell at hearing this as she added, "But I'm assuming you know them."

"It's Center Stage," Grand replied as he took back the photo. "And we're positive he's Bomber, and we think we know who Technica is behind that mask."

"So then let's get in there and arrest them," Live responded.

"Not yet," Doom added as he returned to taking photos. "Even if we catch them, we still have no idea who the mastermind behind the Cutie Markers are. It's possible they might reveal themselves at the party."

"Which is why we need to be in there," Grand sighed, "So I hope you got those disguises ready." Live just smirked before taking two objects out of her saddlebag. It was a black tie and a necklace with a gem on the front. "Put this on." She threw the tie to him, Grand catching it and putting it around his neck. Live put the necklace on and when she did, the pair were suddenly consumed by light.

"Whoa!" Doom yelped, flinching for a second until the light vanished. When he opened his eyes, he was now looking at two entirely different ponies. Grand was now green with a blue mane and tail while Live was rouge colored with a yellow mane and tail. Grand's cutie mark was now a pair of tap shoes while Live's was a flower pot. Grand was also wearing a suit and vest that went with his black tie while Live was wearing a silver sequin dress. "Whoa," Doom let out a whisper, "You two look great."

Grand glanced down at himself, "What in the...how'd you do this?"

Live chuckled back as she held up her necklace, "Rune magic. A few ancient symbols charged with magic can do just about anything. Including putting a glamour charge on us."

"Huh." Grand responded while clapping his hooves, "Talk about a useful type of magic. They shouldn't recognise either of us now."

"Exactly," Live nodded before turning to Doom and giving him a walkie talkie. "This is connected to a one way radio in the tie. When you hear Grand give the signal, you and your units go in." Doom nodded and took it before she pulled out their invites, "Now let's get going."

Doom then held up a hoof. "Isn't it gonna look suspicious if you two step outside and cross the street in full view. This building isn't supposed to be inhabited." Live smiled at this and grabbed Grand in her magic, pulling him close.

"Later." With that, they vanished in a flash of light. Doom blinked at this, only to look back out at the window.

"Good luck you two..."





In an alleyway two streets over, the pair suddenly appeared, Grand then heeling over as he put his hoof over his mouth. Live giggled as she patted his back, "Sorry about that. Teleportation takes some getting used to." Grand took a few deep breath at this, shaking his head before getting back up. A minute later, the pair headed out of the alleyway, glancing around before going up to the building.

They got behind a group of ponies giving tickets to the bouncers, walking up next as they held up their tickets. The bouncers fired a blast from their horns, hitting the bar-code on the ticket, which vanished before they nodded at the duo, "Alright, you're clear."

"Thank you," Live replied before slinging her hoof into Grand's. "Come along, dear." Grand nodded back, both slowly walking in as Live winked at the bouncer. But as they entered, the bouncer took out a walkie talkie.

"Boss, I just scanned the tickets you told me to be on the look out for. They were in the possession of a green earth pony stallion and a red unicorn mare."

"Understood. Keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary. I doubt they came alone."

"You got it boss."





Grand and Live walked through the building, following the arrows posted to the walls. "We need to be careful," Grand whispered, "If most of these ponies have Cutie Markers, this could violent very quickly."

Live nodded. "I still have the Celestic Gear on me. You know, in case you suddenly find yourself needing a helping hoof."

But as those words entered Grand's ears, he let out a huff, "I don't need that. I don't-"

"Deserve it?" Live interrupted, making Grand glare at her, "You know, Princess Celestia told me she wanted to give you the title a long time before this."

"I still don't need it." Grand grumbled as he looked away, "You should give that thing to Doom. He's more worthy of being a knight than I am."

Live giggled at that, "Celestia's in agreement with you there." He turned back to her with wide eyes, "The both of you have been selected to become knights. But Doom is gonna have to wait a little while."

"What?! Why?!"

"Do you have any idea how much magic is required to make a Celestic Gear?" Live asked as they arrived at a doorway leading into the party, a muffled beat coming from it. "If Celestia tried to generate all the magic needed, she would be completely drained and unable to accomplish her duties in raising the sun and moon. The process to safely make a Celestia Gear requires a month of charging a specially made conduit with the required alicorn magic."

Grand's brain slowly caught up to the information, "So...when this conduit thing is charged, you'll be able to make the Celestic Gear for Doom?" Live nodded back. "Well like I said, I'll save you time and tell you to give Doom the gear when this is over."

Live opened her mouth at this, only for Grand to push the door open, music now blasting into their eardrums. Live's next words were muffled by the sound, the two stepping in to see the was more like a club than a fancy Centerlot party. It was dimly lit, yet packed with well-dressed ponies along with others who were carrying trays of food. There was a stage at the back of the room, several windows several feet up that were different stained colors.

"So many ponies," Live whispered before taking a pair of drinks of a tray, "To think so many of these ponies would want a different cutie mark."

"It's possible they're not planning to buy anything," Grand pointed out. "Many are probably curious about whether or not Cutie Markers even exist. But we need to be ready to act if any want to escape." As he said that, he spotted a certain pony, "There he is."

"Who?"

"Center Stage," Grand pointed at the pony, who was leaning against a back wall near the stage, sipping his drink and glaring at anypony that got too close. "I bet he was invited to show off his bomber powers."

"We don't know that for sure," Live chimed in, "But you're right that it's weird for him to be here. If he's supposed to be a well known actor, then being seen at a secret party selling illegal merchandise wouldn't be a good idea. Even if we weren't here, if one of these ponies gets arrested, they could easily state that he was here under interrogation."

"I just wanna catch him red hoofed," Grand added, "If I can catch him using the Cutie Marker, or grab him while he's dressed up and pull off his mask, I'll have him dead to rights."

"Well just be careful," Live sighed. "From what I was told, the only reason he didn't kill you last night was because the effects of his Cutie Marker ran out. You might not get so lucky this time."

Grand glared at her for a second, only to growl as he glanced away, looking around at the place. He found very quickly that most around them seemed to be more the average pony, no Canterlot nobles in the audience. Live commented on it as well, stating it was probably why they were invited.

"Guess having a new cutie mark could change your standing." Grand grumbled as the two sat down at a table.

"Perhaps." Live replied, only for the room to suddenly go dark. They glanced up at this, seeing that lights were going through the stained windows and onto a stage that was now dazzled with colors.

It was here that Grand saw the unicorn mare he had spotted at the theater and talking to the bouncers. "Welcome!" She exclaimed through a microphone headset. "I hope you're all enjoying this wonderful party." Many of the crowd cheered, most having had a few to many drinks since arriving. "I'm glad. But of course, simply having a good time isn't why you all came here, is it? No, you came because you want to change your destiny."

Again, the crowd cheered as Live whispered, "Here we go. The big speech about the world being unfair and locking us into a single destiny."

"The world is unfair," the mare on stage announced, "It forces us on a single route in life at an age where we don't truly know who we are or what we want in life. It locks us into a single destiny before we have a chance to realize if that destiny is what we truly want." She turned to show off her cutie mark. "My mother always had me help make the pies she sold at a bakery. Every day I would help her bake them, putting the right amount of flower and sugar into the mixture. Eventually, I got so good at it that I could magically do it on my own without even looking."

Her words drifted into Grand's ears before turning back to where Center was. But when his eyes locked onto the wall, they went wide as he saw Center Stage had vanished. "What?" He whispered as he glanced around as the mare on stage continued.

"Then I got my cutie mark and thought working at the bakery was my destiny. But when I became a teenager, I discovered the amazing world of technology. I became intrigued by how these miracles of science worked. I could have spent my whole life playing with them and trying to make my own...only to realize...I couldn't." She showed them her cutie mark again, "Because of this!"





Back in the building across the street, Doom was listening through the radio in the tie.

"Come on," he grumbled while tapping his hoof, "Give Grand a reason to say the signal." Despite the gripping danger his friends might be in, he was also shaking with excitement as he remembered what he had heard about his future knighting. "To think I'm also ready for knighting...I wonder what weapon I'll get." He then smacked his forehead, "Augh! Stop it! Focus!"

"Lieutenant," the other radio spoke, "Waiting for progress report."

Doom grabbed the radio, "All squads, remain on alert. The targets are just about to make their move. Get ready."

"ROGER!" Multiple voices replied before switching off, making Doom stare back at the building.

"Come on...make your move."





"I thought my whole life would be spent making pies and pastries all because I was forced to help my parents when I was younger. But then, I discovered that there was a way to change my destiny."

"This is it..." Live whispered to Grand.

The mare took out a familiar looking tube, the same markings on it that were on the purple suit. "Behold, the future of pony kind! The Cutie Marker!" With that, she placed the tube against her neck and pushed the plunger down.

"Technology!" It hissed out as the mare's entire body was consumed by a bright light that wrapped around the mare and solidified into the purple suit with metal gadgets and bat mask.

Technica then spread her mechanical bat-wings. "The Cutie Marker! This extraordinary device allows anypony that uses it to change their cutie mark and grant them powers beyond their wildest dreams!" Several ponies came out holding metal cases and opened them up, showing the tubes inside to the audience. "Ever wanted to be able to swim faster than the fastest fish? Ever wanted to be able to create fabulous clothes out of nothing but random pieces of fabric and your own imagination? Heck, you might even want my natural cutie mark. Well with these, you can."

The ponies shut the cases and headed off stage, Live's eyes following them. "Maybe I should follow them and see where they're keeping those things."

"Can you do it without being spotted?" Grand asked, Live about to answer before Technica began to speak up again.

"As you've obviously noticed," Technica gestured to her own suit. "The Cutie Markers even deck you out in special suits that allow you to use your new cutie marks to their best ability. This is an additional extra that can be added for a slight charge. But if you don't want to go around wearing something like this, you can simply get the base model and enjoy all its amazing privileges. But I know what you're asking? Why should you take my word for it?" The crowd nodded, as more ponies stepped onto the stage. "Well, you don't have to. Instead, take the word of ponies that have actually used them and see their amazing abilities for yourself."

The ponies walked up and took out a Cutie Marker, pushing them against their necks before pressing down the plungers.

"Kung-Fu!"

"Shift!"

"Kung-Fu!"

"Gemini!"

"Kung-Fu!"

"Kinetic!"

"Kung-Fu!"

The crowd watched as those on stage began to change. The ones that used the Kung-Fu Markers were enveloped by light and suddenly transformed into black ninja style gi while the others turned to show off their newly transformed cutie marks.

"What's with all the kung-fu users?" Grand asked, remembering Big Score didn't have such a get-up when he used his.

"I'm guessing that's a commonly sold Marker...or just really easy to make compared to the others." Live commented, "Though I don't think I've met a single stallion who didn't want to be a ninja when they were young. My brothers certainly used to play it a lot."

Grand nodded back as the Cutie Marker users began to show off their skills. The ninja ponies started fighting one another, showing incredible fighting skills. As for the others, one pony suddenly phased through the floor of the stage like a ghost, while another suddenly split in two. Another moved over to one of the ninja ponies and asked them to punch him, the ninja throwing a punch into his chest...only for the spot on his chest to glow. Technica then threw a disk at this, the light now moving from the pony's chest into his hoof before thrusting it, allowing the light to stream out and shatter the disk. A moment later, the pony that had phased through the floor flew out of the ground. They did several flips through the air before diving back into the ground, phasing through it and disappearing again.

The crowd were gasping at the sight, now watching the gemini user do several tricks with their clones like making different shapes and structures out of themselves. However, Grand and Live just frowned at the sight, Grand turning to Live, "Moving through walls...which could mean bank vaults. Having the ability to become an entire army as a single pony and making you able to counter anything..." He crossed his hooves at this, "Just one of these could cause serious havoc if they fell into the wrong hooves."

"Agreed." Live sighed while nodding, "We need to stop this before it gets too out of hoof. Ready to send the signal?"

Grand reached for his tie, only to remember Center still hadn't shown up. He bit his lip as he said, "Not yet. We need to catch them all and Center hasn't shown himself off yet."

"Oh yeah." Live replied, "Where is he?"

As she asked this, Technica gestured to the audience, "Let's give our performers a big round of applause!" The ponies all gave a bow, the crowd clapping as Technica continued, "But we still have one performer left to show off his skills. The first pony to ever buy a Cutie Marker in Canterlot and a most talented user."

The ponies all jumped off stage as someone leapt down from above. Grand's eyes went wide as he watched a familiar figure fly down before firing a blast of purple magic, a small explosion appearing as it caused a shockwave. The blow almost knocked everypony off their hooves as he created an air cushion that allowed him to safely land. Bomber had now took center stage.

Grand growled before taking one final look around the room, "He's not here. It has to be him." Grand then watched as the costumed pony glanced around the room, the mask making it impossible to tell what kind of face they were making, but Grand could tell from his body-language that he seemed annoyed at something.

Bomber and Technica shared a glance with one another before Technica nodded, Bomber then turning to the crowd and pulling a jar of glitter out and taking off the cap. He threw clouds of it upward before firing his magic at it, causing the glitter to explode and create sparkly fireworks. Technica then threw several disks, the pony raising his gauntlets and pointing at the disks as his horn began to glow. The gauntlets did the same, holes opening up on the L-shaped handles. Light escaped from those holes and suddenly shot concentrated beams of explosion magic out of them, hitting the disks and completely destroying them.

The crowd cheered at the sight, Technica then saying, "At this point, we would offer to allow you to taste the power of the Cutie Markers yourself. But alas, that part will have to wait. Because certain ignorant ponies believe that we shouldn't have a choice in what our destinies should be." As she said that, her horn glowed as her eyes shot a glare at Grand and Live's direction. "They're unjustly attempting to stop progress and make these miraculous devices illegal."

It was here that the pair noticed a light below them, making them look down and see the tie and necklace glowing the same color as her magic. Before either of them could do anything, she ripped them off the pair and they were both reverted back to normal.

"YOU!" Bomber roared as he got into a battle stance.

Grand and Live stood back to back as the ponies around them backpedaled, the pair soon surrounded by a circle of ponies staring at them, Grand then whispering, "You know how to fight, right?"

"A little," she replied, "I'm pretty good with electrical magic."

"Look at the poor fools!" Technica exclaimed, "Underlings of Celestia, ordered to squash anypony that attempts to improve their standing in life! Just another example of the higher ups trying to put the common pony down."

"She's lying to you!" Live yelled at the ponies glaring at them, "Those Cutie Markers aren't what they seem! They'll turn whoever uses them into psychotic addicts!"

"She's right!" Grand continued, "Use it just once and you'll start to lose everything. All you'll care about is the power it gives you."

He turned to Technica as she growled at them, only to see some ponies now staring at her, "Now hang on there," she raised a hoof, "There may be a few...side-effects, but those are only temporary. With enough backing and research, we'll be able to create Cutie Markers with absolutely no drawbacks."

Live glared back at her, "But until then, you're happy selling those incomplete disasters to anypony that's naive enough to fall into your trap."

"Eh, that's just business," Technica shrugged.

"Well your business is shut down," Grand replied, "Everypony here in possession of a Cutie Marker is under arrest!"

But as he said this, Bomber pointed one of his gauntlets at him while the ninjas leap over the crowd. The pair stared at the ponies, only for the stain glass windows above them to shatter, several pegasi and a few earth ponies and unicorns flew into the room. "Royal Guards!" Doom's voice echoed as he flew in and landed while the doors opened as more guards ran in. "You're all under arrest!"

The ponies in the crowd began to scream as Technica and Bomber hissed at the sight, "I don't think so!" Bomber then fired several magic blasts at the ground, causing a series of mini-explosions. Dust filled the air, causing the crowd to break out into a frenzy, trying to escape while the guards were all pushed back by the sudden panic.

"Attack!" Technica screeched, the ninjas charging at the guards with a series of spin-kicks and punches. But as one tried to strike Grand, he just grabbed the pony's hoof before slamming his into the pony's stomach, instantly knocking the pony out. This was followed by tackling another ninja pony before throwing him at Grand, the earth pony clotheslining the pony into submission. A third pony then leapt from behind Grand, only for a surge of lightning to zap the pony, making him fly over the earth pony.

Grand turned to see Live tazing two more ponies, only to glance back at where Bomber was...only to see nothing. "Center's getting away!" Grand yelled, only to duck under to two ninja punches before grabbing their heads and slamming them together.

Doom began to spin on the spot, morning into a tiny tornado that he used to knock some ninjas down like bowling pins. "That's right!" He cheered, "Now you know not to mess with us!" He turned to the still panicking crowd, seeing several trying to escape. "Anypony that flees without making a statement will be prosecuted! And we have photos of everypony that's here, so we will find you and bring you in!" This statement caused many of the ponies to stop, the guards at the door now stopping the rest.

Meanwhile, Technica watched as several guards tried to grab her. But before they could, her suit's chest piece opened up and several long metal cords extended out, all with metal prongs on the ends that were sparking with lightning. She thrust them and stabbed the guards, electrocuting them just as Grand turned to her.

"That's it! This show is over!" He roared before charging at her, "You're telling us who's supplying these Cutie Markers!" But just as he leapt at her, Technica's metal wings extended as she took to the air before firing a cable. This one snagged onto Grand's front hoof, grabbing him instantly, "WHOA!" He yelped as the cord yanked him upward, only to spin him around.

"Grand!" Live gasped as the guard was swung through the area, the guards now looking up at this as some tried to hit the cable with magic.

But as they did this, Technica then turned to one of the windows. "Gyah!" Grand yelled as he felt himself being pulled through the glass, the pair crashing through it.

"Oh nuts!" Doom yelped as he flared his wings to fly after him, only for Live to suddenly tackle him. Before he could ask what she was doing, the pair vanished in a flash of light. The next thing Doom knew, they were back outside the building. "Err..." he groaned and put his hoof on his mouth.

"Come on!" Live exclaimed as he sucked his stomach back in, Doom pushing himself up as he unsteadily followed after her.





Grand grunted as he found himself now just being pulled rather than spun, his hoof grabbing the cable as he had got some balance back. But as he did this, Technica saw a nearby construction site and released the cable, making Grand fall into a pile of sand. "Oof!" he moaned as he rolled along the ground, only to stop as Technica landed on the arm of an excavator.

"You made a mistake trying to get in the way of my business," she hissed, "Now you'll suffer a terrible fate."

"You're not taking me down," Grand told her as he pushed himself up. "I won't let you get away with this. Selling these dangerous devices to ponies that don't know any better...you're just a filthy criminal drug dealer!"

"All I'm doing is helping them become the ponies they were always meant to be," Technica replied. "Right, Bomber?!"

Grand raised an eyebrow at this, only for several magic beams to hit the ground around him. He quickly leapt back just as explosions consumed the area, getting just out of the range as he looked up and saw the costumed unicorn step out of the darkness. "Center..."

Bomber didn't seem to hear this, instead walking up to the excavator Technica stood on. "You should have stayed out of this."

As he said this, Technica's horn glowed before the sound of engines filled the air. Grand turned to see multiple types of heavy machinery now activate, their lights switching on as the vehicles began to roll toward him. A backhoe loader pointed its scoop at him and tried to run him over, Grand sidestepping before having to leap to the side just as a bulldozer charge at him. He found himself landing in its scoop, the bulldozer picking up speed before instantly stopping, Grand being thrown from the device next. As this happened, Grand spins in the air before landing on his hooves, skidding on the ground just as a skid-steer loader rolls up and tries to impale him with its drill. Seeing this, Grand rolls out of the way, only for an explosion to set off under him.

"Augh!" he yelped as explosions covered him, his body getting flung over to the excavator.

Technica hysterically laughed at this, "Good job Bomber." Her horn flared again as the machine turned on, "Now, time to end this!"

She took to the air as the machine rolled forward, Grand seeing this as he lifted both his hooves as the machine's arm slammed the shovel down on him. "AUGH!" he yelped as the shovel pressed into him, gritting his teeth as he tried to push it back.

"Ahahaha!" Technica guffawed, "Now, you will suffer for-"

"Grand!" a sudden voice yelled, making the three turn to the entrance of the site, now seeing Live and Doom, "Hang on!" Doom then body checked Technica off the machine, only for Bomber to fire a spell at his side, knocking him back. "Gyah!"

"Grand!" Live gasped as she saw the vehicle still crushing Grand, only for Technica's magic to take it over again. Two vehicles rolled in front of her, blocking her as she heard Grand groan under the machine's weight. "Um..." she stammered, her eyes glancing between the vehicles and the criminals.

"AUGH!" Grand cried again, his body giving out as his head fell back.

She watched the shovel lift itself up, preparing to slam down on him, only for her to take out a wooden box in her magic, "GRAND!" The earth pony turned to her, just in time to see her throw something, "CATCH!"

Grand's vision was blurry, unable to see it as the object fell beside him. Reaching out his hoof, his skin making contact with it...only to go wide-eyed. The entire building site was then filled with a super bright light, blinding everypony.

And when the light dimmed, they turned to Grand and saw the shovel being held in place as Grand held up a new weapon. It was a rectangular hammer with a thirty centimeter handle that had a strap on the end of it. He was holding it up in both hooves, blocking the shovel as the weapon's energy flowed through him.

Grand stared at the weapon he had just bonded with, sighing before pulling his hooves back and then thrusting them forward, "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He smashed the shovel as hard as he could, the whole excavator sent hurtling into the air before crashing down and exploding.

Everypony flinched at this, but kept their eyes on the fireball as Grand calmly walked through the flames without a care in the world. Technica quickly got the machines to turn their attention on him, only for Grand to wrap his hoof around the hammer's strap and swung it around. It picked up speed, and once it did, he swung it down.

BOOM!

The ground shook at this, unleashing a tremor so powerful that it threw everything not nailed down into the air. This included the vehicles, all falling over as Grand stood back up while spinning the hammer in his hoof.

"Alright..." Doom muttered as he glanced down at the weapon.

"That's it!" Technica exclaimed, making him look back up at her, "No more holding back! GET HIM!"

Grand raised an eyebrow at this, only for a sound to ring out. "Kung-Fu!" One of the ninja looking ponies leapt out of the darkness, this one appearing to be an earth pony. "Kung-Fu!" Another one did the same, this one being a pegasus. "Kung-Fu/Kung-Fu/Kung-Fu/Kung-Fu/Kung-Fu/Kung-Fu/Kung-Fu!" Again and again the sound filled the air, more than twenty ninja ponies of different species now appearing.

"You've gotta be kidding me," Grand sighed as the ninjas surrounded him. "This is how you're gonna take us down?"

"You were barely able to defeat one pony with this cutie mark," Technica cackled, "How do you intend to beat this many?"

"You obviously weren't watching in your little club. I beat these without even trying." And as he said that, one pony charged behind him, only for Grand to slam his hoof into the pony's face without even looking at him. The pony fell over instantly, the others then leaping at him. He swung the hammer horizontally, knocking away three while another ninja ducked under the weapon before trying to kick Grand in the face. The solider blocked it with the staff of the hammer, only for two more ninjas to charge at him, which he spun around and knocked them back with the end of his new weapon.

But as he did this, a stray beam from a unicorn hit his face, knocking him back. "Augh!" Grand yelped before another ninja tackled him, both rolling on the ground before Grand kicked him away. And as he did this, three more ninjas leapt at him, Grand blocking their jabs and kicks.

As this happened, Doom and Live began to charge in, only for Technica to fly in with Bomber. Explosions covered the area as Bomber's horn flared, making Doom do several back flips as Technica shot several buzzsaw-spheres at Live Wire. But before they could hit her, the unicorn's horn expelled several bolts of lightning, zapping them all out.

"Not bad," she chuckled before running up and throwing a punch at the blue unicorn. "But you're not good enough either." Live ducked under the jab, only to throw her own before Technica blocked it with her robo-wing.

While this happened, Grand continued to find himself blocking more blows of the ninjas, only for his back to feel something. He had been pushed to a nearby wall, making him snarl as he yelled, "That's it!" He swung his hammer into one of the ponies, slamming it into the pony's stomach. The pony went flying before Grand slammed the hammer into the ground, causing several small rocks to fly out before he hit them, knocking them into the remaining ninjas with seemingly impossible accuracy.

The other four ponies saw this, Bomber and Technica glaring at him under their masks before turning and charging at Grand. Bomber raised his gauntlets before the holes appeared, all of them glowing, "DIE!" He screamed as the force of an explosion blasted out of them. The earth pony responded by slamming the hammer into the ground, creating a ten foot stone wall, blocking the explosion as it shattered the rocks while leaving Grand unharmed.

"Wow..." Doom gasped as Technica unleashed several buzzsaw spheres at Grand, "Talk about power."

Live shook her head at this, "No, it's not powerful enough." Doom glanced at her as Grand smashed the devices with ease. "I've seen other Celestic Gears in action and this one can't compare to them. I'd say it only has about...twenty five percent the normal power."

"Why?" Doom turned back to the fight as Grand charged at Bomber.

"The weapon knows Grand doesn't want it. It won't be able to unleash its full power until he accept its and what it stands for." Grand continued to swing the weapon, Technica and Bomber dodging each blow. "Come on!" Live yelled, "We have to help him!" Doom followed and they charged at the two criminals, both glancing at them as Bomber raised his gauntlet.

"Look out!" Grand exclaimed before slamming the hammer into the ground, causing a stone wall to explode out of the ground in front of the two. Seconds later, Bomber's gauntlet fired an super explosion that struck the wall, making the wall shatter.

But as this happened, Technica thrusted a taser cord from her suit, stabbing Grand's back and electrifying him. "RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as he was shocked.

"GRAND!" They yelled, running out from behind the crumbling wall, Doom taking his spear off his back while Live fired several lightning bolts at the pair.

Bomber and Technica leapt back at this, only for Grand to stand up as the criminal duo now found their backs hitting a wall. "Enough of this!" Bomber roared as his horn began to glow, "I have more important ponies to deal with."

Technica saw this and gasped, "Wait! If you use that much power, the explosion-"

"I KNOW!" Bomber barked back, "But at least these three will be taken care off!" A blinding light shot off the horn at this, a beam coming next as it headed for Doom and Live.

"GET DOWN!" Grand yelled, tackling the pair to the ground. The purple magic shot over the three and struck a stone slab that sat atop a large pile. The trio glanced back and saw the slab begin to glow the same purple color, the light pulsing off of it.

"You idiot!" Technica cried before taking to the air and using a metal chord to wrap around Bomber. "That explosion is gonna take out a mile of the city! I don't know if I can get away in time!"

"Who cares?! It'll get rid of them!"

"WHAT!" The three screamed as Technica pulled Bomber into the air, the two flying away as Grand and Live turned to the explosive stone.

"They're getting away!" Doom exclaimed, but Grand shook his head at him.

"No time for that. We have to stop this thing!" Grand replied before turning to Live, "Can you defuse it?"

"It's not a real bomb!" Live cried back, "I don't know how this magic works!"

"What if Grand just breaks it apart?" Doom asked, pointing to his friend's new weapon. But as Grand gripped it, Live shook her head.

"No! If you do that, it'll probably just explode instantly. We need to think of something else!"

"But we don't know when this thing is gonna blow!" Doom screamed.

"I know!" Live barked back.

"Wait..." Grand chimed in, "If we can't stop it, we gotta move it out of the city. What if you teleport it away?"

Live shook her head again, "I can only teleport about a half-mile. No matter where I send it, part of the city's gonna be destroyed."

The duo grimaced at this, only to see the pulsing on the rock began to beat faster. "It's getting closer to blowing!" Doom cried before looking straight up, "What if we moved it into the air? Once it's high enough, the explosion shouldn't cause to much damage."

"That...would work," Live responded, "But like I said, I can only teleport half a mile away. It wouldn't be high enough and probably fall back down before blowing."

As she said this, the pulsing increased, making the three grimace at the rock. But as it did this, Doom stared at the rock...only to show a huge frown on his lips. He glanced back at the city, only to gulp before turning back to his friends with a determined glare. "I know how we can save the city."

"How?" Grand asked, Doom turning to him with the deep frown from before. "Doom? What's wrong?"

"Sorry Grand." Doom replied before suddenly punching Grand straight in the face. The earth pony fell back, letting out a yelp of pain.

"Grand!" Live gasped before glaring at Doom, "Why would you-" She stopped when she saw Doom pick up the slab and spread his wings. "Wait...no. You're not-"

But before she could say anything else, Doom shot up with the pulsing slab in hoof. As this happened, Grand got up and yelled, "Doom! What are you doing?!" Doom stopped and glanced down at his oldest friend and brother in arms.

"The only thing that'll save countless lives."

Grand went wide-eyed at this, his lips quivering as he replied, "Doom...don't. Don't do this!"

Doom smiled and shook his head, "Sometimes we have to do the things we don't want to do for the good of those around us. Remember that."

With that, Doom shot into the air.

"DOOOOOOOOOOM!" Grand yelled as the pegasus flew straight up, soon flying above the city.

"Come on," Doom whispered as he beat his wings as hard as he could. "Faster....higher....all the way! I...I can do this!" The light from the slab practically became a constant shine as the speed of the pulse grew more rapid. "Just a little bit further! Just a little more!" He strained at the force of the wind pushed against him, the Gs slamming into him as gravity tried to push him back to the ground. "Almost!" And in that moment, the pulsing completely stopped before the slab unleashed a radiant burst of light. "Grand..." he whispered, "It's up to you now. Good luck...Royal Knight." With that, the energy stored within the slab hit critical mass and-

KABOOOOOM!

The night's sky filled with light, a mighty shockwaves shooting down and rocking the city. Every plane of glass a half-mile around the sight of the explosion shattered while the taller of the surrounding buildings were buffeted. The light from the explosion continued to burn in the darkness of the night, as every eye in the city turned to look at it. The younger members of Canterlot were staring in awe at the firework they thought had gone off, while the older civilians wondered what it really meant.

Ad at the castle, Celestia and her guards saw the explosion, the princess knowing the area the explosion was above was the same area Grand and the others were. "Grand...Doom...Live...please be alright." she whispered, but in her heart, she knew something terrible had just happened.





Back at the building site, Grand and Live stared at the explosion with wide eyes.

They watched as the light began to fade away, hoping that by some miracle Doom had survived. But as they continued to wait...nothing came down. Live knew, but didn't say, that a blast of that magnitude would likely vaporize anything next to the source of the explosion. There was no way Doom could have survived.

And as this realization happened to Grand, he fell to his knees, tears filling his eyes. "No...Doom..." he whispered as his entire body shook. He glanced back down at his hooves at this, his mind shaking as he slammed his hooves into the ground and let out a scream, "RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
> Bombastic Reveal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The city was abuzz as the ponies of Canterlot and anypony near the city had witnessed the giant explosion that occurred above the city. Back at the building where the crashed party had happened, the guards were currently carting away anypony that had been there. So far, fifty four ponies had been arrested, others being searched or made to wait to get a statement taken.

As this happened, Grand and Live marched into view. The look on Grand's face was one not many ponies had seen him wear before, a look a despair and anger mixed into furious fire. He walked up to multiple mobile prison cells, "Where are they?!" He roared at the ponies inside, "Technica and Bomber! Where would they go?!"

However, silence came out of the cells, making Grand growl before Live walked up and teleported all the kung-fu ponies from before into an empty cell. "What about you all?" She asked the ones that were still conscious. "Tell us where your boss is and we can make this a whole lot easier."

But those ponies all remained quiet as well, making Grand grab one by the neck, "Last chance! You better tell me something, because if you don't, then I'll make sure you rot in prison for the rest of your lives. You think the charges you're facing now are bad?! Wait until I add aiding and abiding a murder to them!"

The guards all gasped at this, turning back to where the explosion had occurred, only to go wide-eyed as they now noticed one pony was missing. And as this happened, not a single pony responded. Grand then threw the pony back into the cell, hissing, "Get them out of my sight."

The guards all nodded and began to cart off the full cells while filling up the rest. As this happened, Grand just walked away, Live watching him as she whispered, "Grand..."

She thought back to Doom, only to sigh. The mare tried to think of anything to say, only for a sudden banging noise to ring out. She turned to see a trash can fall over, only to go wide-eyed, "Center?"

Grand heard this and spun around, now seeing the unicorn in question trying to hide. "YOU!" he roared, the unicorn's eyes shrinking as he saw Grand slam his hooves down, cracking the earth beneath him. He instantly turned and ran, making Grand screech, "Get back here!"

And as Grand chased after him, Live blinked at the sight, "This doesn't make any sense. Why would he come back here?"





Grand chased after the unicorn ran as fast, the unicorn taking a corner, only to find it was a fenced off dead end alleyway. Center scrambled up the tiny wall, getting over it after a few seconds, only for Grand to leap right over the fence. The unicorn gasped as he glanced back and saw this, grabbing a nearby trash can in his magic.

"Get away!" He cried as he threw the can, only for Grand to swat it away with a single hoof. Center then took another corner, Grand sighing as he reached for the hammer weapon Live had given him.

"ENOUGH!" He roared before slamming it into the ground, causing it to shake as a stone wall appeared in front of Center, the unicorn running into it.

"Augh!" He yelped, staggering back as the wall retracted. He stumbled back before Grand grabbed him and pinned him to the ground. "Aaah!" He felt Grand's hoof push him into the street, "Help! Get off me!"

"No!" Grand growled as the wall retracted into the ground, "I'm gonna make sure you never harm anypony ever again. Now where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Where's the Cutie Marker, Bomber!"

Center went wide-eyed at this, "What?! You think I'm that psychopath that destroyed the theatre?"

"I know you are!" Grand yelled, "Now where is it?!"

"I don't have one of those Cutie Marker things! I only came because I got an invite to a party. I thought it was a normal party. I didn't know it had anything to do with those things!" Grand then pushed his hoof down, "Aaah! It's the truth!"

"You expect me to believe that?! That you just happened to be at the same party Bomber showed up at. That you just happened to disappear right before he showed up?!"

"I needed the bathroom!"

"STOP LYING!" Grand screamed.

"Grand!" His eyes spun around, now seeing Live walk up the alley, "I think he's telling the truth."

"What?!" Grand barked back, "What are you saying?! It has to be him! He attacked Remarie. Who else would want to do that? He killed DOOM!"

"I know you're angry, but just think about it. Technica grabbed him and flew him far away. Why would he come back to the scene of the crime when he knew he'd likely be arrested."

Grand blinked at her words, only to roll his eyes, "Oh please. Criminals make mistakes all the time. And you said it yourself, using Cutie Markers makes a pony less rational." He turned back to Center, "He probably came to see how many ponies his big explosion killed."

"I didn't kill anypony!" Center cried, "Now let me go! You're ruining my suit!"

"You're not going anywhere except to jail." Grand hissed, only for Center's horn to spark. He shot out a beam that Grand leaned back to dodge, just enough for Center to push himself away.

The unicorn rolled back to his hooves, only for Live to exclaim, "Wait!" He stopped and stared at her, "Just listen. If you run now, it'll only make us think you're Bomber more." Center glared at her before glancing back at Grand, the solider ready to tackle him again as Live continued, "But if you come with us, answer our questions and not try to fight, then you will be set free."

"Are you insane?!" He screamed, "I didn't do anything!"

"Then you have nothing to lose by coming with us and proving that." She held a hoof, "Nothing bad will happen to you. I promise." Center hissed at her, only to stare at her hoof before sighing.

"Fine," he took her hoof, "I'll come in. But I'll want a formal apology after this." He then swatted his hoof away from Live, "And this better not take long. I'm hoping the theatre will be fixed in time for another rehearse-AAAH!"

The other two flinched as he suddenly fell over, both going wide-eyed as they saw something now glowing on his back. His clothes were now glowing purple, the light pulsing as it spread around the rest of the suit. Center picked himself up and looked down at his jacket, seeing the light appearing on the front. "What's happening?" He asked, turning to the others. "What is this?!"

"I don't-"

"TAKE IT OFF! NOW!" Live screamed, Center flinching at her before trying to unbutton his jacket, only to start pulling at it, trying to rip the jacket off. But the suit refused to come off as the light completely enveloped it. Seeing this, Grand tackled Live just as the light reached its peak, Center letting out a horrified scream as-

KABOOM!

The street shook as the ponies were blasted away by the shockwave, both rolling along the streets. Their ears rang out as they got up, Live dusting herself off as Grand asked, "You okay?"

"I'll be fine." Live muttered before they turned back to the spot Center was. However, all that was there was cinders and flames, and a burn mark from where he had been.

"It...it can't be," Grand whispered.

"He wasn't Bomber." Live added, only to squint at the area. Her gaze slowly went up, gasping as she pointed at a building across the street, "But he is!"

Grand followed her hoof and saw the suited pony, a beam coming for them next. Both leapt out of the way, the laser then hitting the wall of the building behind them. They twirled as they did this, just as the wall let out a small explosion. However, unlike the last blast, it didn't rock the street. All it did was blow off some of the concrete that made up the wall, leaving several marks in the wall without damaging it. The pair looked back at the wall, the dust fading as it revealed a message in the wall itself.


Grand Hoof, I have no real qualm with you. Stop your investigation into me and you'll never have to see me again. But if you persist in finding me, then I can't be held responsible for my actions.


They simply stared at the words for a few seconds before Live glanced back at the where Bomber was, only to gasp, "He's gone!" She then glanced back at Grand, only to see him staring at the wall, "Grand!"

But he didn't respond, instead just starting at the wall. "No...it couldn't be..." He turned back to the blast zone that had killed Center, "It has to be." Tears filled his eyes as he looked down at the hammer, then back at the wall.

Live's horn sparked as she teleported up to the building Bomber had been, only to come back to Grand a minute later as she yelled, "There's no sign of him! I hate to say it, but I think we should-" She stopped when she saw Grand was gone, "Grand? What the...first you freeze up and now you vanish?! Grand!"

She glanced back at the wall Bomber had written into, now seeing the Celestic Gear sitting under it. The sight made her sigh, taking the hammer in her hooves as she found she could barely lift it. And as she dragged it out of the alleyway, she let out another long sigh, "Grand..."





Many hours had passed since that moment, Live returning to the castle in order to give a report to Celestia. The princess had been horrified to learn the fate of Doom Chaser, only to now call her captain of the guard and order him to have every guard out on the hunt for the Cutie Marker users. Once that was done, Live went to where the ponies they had arrested were being kept.

She had hoped that Grand would be there, questioning the criminals...but he wasn't. The prisoners weren't saying anything, Live soon finding that Grand hadn't been there to question them. "Where is he?" She asked as she left the dungeons, only to spot a bunch of anti-magic-rings on a nearby desk. "Hmm...could be useful."

The unicorn took them and exited the Grand, remembering where she found him last time as she went to the royal gardens. She ran as fast as she could, soon finding her prey sitting on the same bench she and Doom had found him on earlier that day.

The earth pony simply stared at the plants that made up the many colors filling the garden. "There you are!" He heard Live exclaim, "Do you have any idea how long I've been searching for you?! We're never gonna find Bomber if you run off to go look at some pretty flowers!" She walked up and came to a stop, only for Grand to not reply, "Grand?"

"Wind Phantom." Live raised an eyebrow at this as he said the random name, "Snow Drift. Slipstream. Parsley Pinch...Doom Chaser."

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

"Those are the names of the ponies I've gotten killed. The ones whose lives were lost because of me." Grand said as he closed his eyes, "I memorized them all long ago. I didn't want there to be any chance I'd forget even one of them."

Live blinked at this, her mouth slowly moving, "But it wasn't your fault with what happened to Doom."

"Yes, it is."

"Grand-"

"I failed to stop Bomber!" He almost yelled, making Live flinch as he turned and glared at her, only to glance down, "If I had just...if I had stopped him before he fired that spell-"

"You can't think like that!" Live interrupted, already recovered from the outburst, "We have no idea how different things could have been. Maybe they'd have been better, or maybe they'd have been worse."

"How could things be worse if I had stopped Bomber back there?!" He barked back, "If I had been able to take him down, then Doom would still be alive and Center Stage wouldn't have been murdered!" He glanced away as he let out a hiss, "I was right. I shouldn't be a Royal Knight. Even with the Celestic Gear, I wasn't strong enough to stop him."

"That's because the Celestic Gear was holding back." He turned to her as she took out the hammer and placed it on the bench beside him. "It hasn't fully awakened it true potential because it can sense you don't want it."

"I don't deserve it," Grand repeated.

Live took a deep breath, about to yell at him before shaking her head, "Grand...even if you're right, that doesn't change the fact that the weapon is bonded to you now." She tapped the hammer with her hoof, "I've made plenty of Celestic Gear, and every one of them will stay that way until the bonded user's dies. If you don't accept it and awaken its full power, then it'll just be a wasted piece of alicorn magic."

"It is a waste." Grand replied, making Live snarl at him as he added, "I didn't ask you to throw me the crystal."

She then leaned down in front of his face, hissing, "If I hadn't, you would have died!"

"Well maybe that would have been a good thing!" Grand screamed back, making Live flinch again. He began to pant as he yelled this, looking away as he continued, "If I had died...maybe Doom would still be alive." He stared down at his hooves, "Everything would have been better if I was gone..."

"Grand-"

"Everything I do just ends with ponies getting hurt!" Grand interrupted, putting his hooves to his face, "Whenever I try and help, all I do is cause pain."

Live watched him just look away, taking a deep breath as she formed her next words, "Grand...what happened to Doom wasn't your fault. Bomber was the one that cast the spell."

"Because I was trying to stop him."

"Maybe," Live replied, "But you weren't the only one there. I was trying to stop him too. You could just as easily say it's my fault. The same with Doom. Bomber wasn't just trying to take you out. I hate to tell you this, but the whole world doesn't revolve around you, you know. With all the self-pity you're giving yourself, you're starting to make me wonder if you apologize to everypony that sneezes next to you."

Grand didn't respond, Live seeing this as her moment to continue, "You didn't make Doom do what he did. He chose to do it because it was the only way to save Canterlot. He was a hero. And if you cared about him at all, you wouldn't let his sacrifice be in vain." Grand turned to her as she took the Celestic Gear in her magic, "Bomber's still out there. And even if you think you're not worthy, you're one of the only ponies in the city with the power to stop him." She put the hammer on the ground in front of him. "Are you gonna let him get away with everything he's done?"

Grand didn't respond, staring at the hammer as he saw his reflection in the weapon. In there, he saw Doom's face, making him tense up. However, Live decided to continue to speak, "Grand, if we don't do something, Bomber'll only get more violent. It's clear the Cutie Marker's affected his mind to the point logic and reason no longer applies to him. He was willing to destroy half the city to get rid of us."

Grand let out a long sigh as she said this, making him glance up at her, "You're right. But stopping him isn't gonna be enough. We need to take both down."

Live nodded back, "I know. That's why you need to let go of your doubt and accept the Celestic Gear. If you hesitate, even for a moment, you'll give Bomber the opening he needs to take you down." She sat down beside him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "You might have made mistakes in the past, but you've also done many incredible things. I read your folder and you've saved more than triple the lives you've caused the loss of. And even if you think that doesn't make up for them, it proves you're a pony that can save lives." With that, she hopped off the bench, "I can't make you do this, but think about it. Equestria needs ponies like you because the ponies that don't want power are the ones most trusted with it."

With that, she walked off as Grand stared at her fleeing figure before looking down at the hammer. He stared at the weapon, sighing as a certain memory rang out in his head. It was a time when he and Doom had been sent with a bunch of guards to a large mountain in the frozen north.





The Past...

It was snowing heavily on the mountain as Grand, Doom and four other guards worked to scale up the mountain. "Just a little further!" Their commander yelled from up front as he pulled himself upward before hammering a nail into place so the guards below him could latch onto it. The six guards had been dispatched to collect a special flower that was needed to create a potion that could cure a sickness that was spreading through a small town that had been magically quarantined. Unfortunately, the flower only grew atop certain mountains and were very rare.

"This is insane!" One of the unicorn guards screamed before looking back at Doom and Grand, who were the last two of the group. "Why aren't you jut flying up?!" Before Doom could replied, a powerful gust of wind blew past them, making them all cry out at the chill.

Once the wind died down, Doom looked back up at the unicorn. "That's why! No pegasus alive could survive getting hit by those winds! I'd like to survive this expedition, thank you very much."

"Just keep going!" The commander roared as he continued to pull himself up the mountain, hammering the hooks as he continued, "The sooner we do this, the sooner we'll be able to get off this blasted mountain!" The others nodded as they continued, stopping every now and then as a powerful gust of wind blew past them.

An hour or so later, the Commander spotted a section above them that flattened out. "We're almost there!" He cried as he took out another hook and hammered it into the ice covered rock. But as he did this, the wall suddenly began to crack, "What?" He watched as the cracks began to flow out in every direction, even heading straight down for the hooks the soldiers were using...and going up and splitting into a V-shape that reached the top. And when it did. the whole section of the mountain broke off. "LOOK OUT!"

The guards saw this and gasped, the rock holding their hooks now breaking off as gravity took hold. The all screamed as the rocks split and fell, slamming into the group. Every head was hit by the mini-boulders, knocking him all out...except for one.

"Whoa!" Grand yelped as he held onto his hook, the only one not coming loose as the others began to fall. He quickly swung to the side and pulled out a pickaxe to dig into the wall as they flew past him. The hook holding Grand to the wall was pulled out by the five other ponies, meaning the only thing keeping Grand from falling was the wall. "Augh!" He cried as the rope pulled on him, making him almost lose his grip. But as he tried to move, he saw his commander's axe about to fall out of the rock.

And a second later, it fell, Grand grabbing it in his free hoof. As he did this, another powerful gust of wind flew past them, the pony barely able to hold on by sticking the second axe into the wall. The others were blown around, Grand crying out as he felt the rope yank him. But as it kept pulling on him, he kept his grip on the axes.

The wind then came to a stop, the squad swinging back under him. Feeling the weight of all his comrades and their gear felt like the world was pulling him down...but he took a deep breath and began to climb. Inch by inch, he used the pickaxes to slowly dig his way up the mountain, his body screaming at him to give up. But he refused, fighting the mountain every step of the way.





A few hours later...

Doom let out a long groan, his lips smacking as his eyes twitched open. His body went straight up like a board next, blinking as he glanced around. "Uhhh…" he moaned as his eyes began to focus.

And when he could fully see, he saw he was in a cave with the rest of his squad. He turned to the mouth of the cave and saw it was still snowing outside, then turned back to the other guards, now finding them all bandaged up. He checked his head and also found he was wearing a bandage as the guards began to walk up.

"What happened?" The commander asked.

"I don't know," a unicorn replied, "The last thing I remember is...getting hit in the head with a rock."

"Same..." Doom groaned, only to notice something, "Hey...where's Grand?" They heard this and everypony awake glanced around...only to find no sign of the earth pony. That is, till they heard the sound of crunching snow, making them turn to the cave's mouth and see somepony step inside. "Grand!"

"You're up!" The guard smiled, "That's good."

"What happened?" The commander asked, "Where were you?" Grand replied by turning to show something balanced on his back: The plant they had come for. "How'd you get that?"

"I found it on a ridge a half-mile above us," he replied, "After you all were knocked out, I pulled you up and found this cave." He gave the plant to his commander, "Then I tended to your wounds and went out to find the plant."

The commander went wide-eyed at this, the others doing the same as he slowly asked, "Wait...you were able to carry us all up the mountain side...at the same time?"

"Just doing my duty," Grand replied before sitting down, the group now seeing ice in his fur along with some minor wounds. His voice was low and heavy, his eyes darkened with exhaustion.

"Grand..." the unicorn added, "You're a hero."

"What?" Grand responded before shaking his head, "No, I'm not that. I was just doing my job."

Doom sighed and shook his head, "Grand, he's right. You're a hero." Grand opened his mouth to respond, only for Doom to say, "And don't say you're not. If it was anypony else, they might have been tempted to cut us loose." The guards all nodded, Grand remaining silent and the commander sat opposite him.

"You should be proud." He held up the plant, "You didn't just save us, you've also secured the lives of the ponies that are sick."

Grand just raised an eyebrow at this, "I was just doing my duty."

"Maybe," Doom added, "But anypony would be willing to call this mission off if they ran into complications like that. But you managed to pull us all to safety, tend to our wounds and then carry on alone while knowing it could be suicide."

"He's right," the commander finished, "Be proud. And remember this: A hero isn't just somepony that does heroic deeds. They're also the ones who push on, overcoming any doubt and any mistake made. Remember that the next time you feel like you can't go on any longer."

Grand just blinked at him, the words barely reaching his ears as the memory of those words tried to etch themselves into his mind.





The Present...

The memory sank back into Grand's mind, along with the image of Doom flying to his death also there. Grand stared back down at the hammer, gripping it in his hooves before Live's words rang out in his head.

"I...I won't let your sacrifice be in vain," Grand whispered, his eyes drilling themselves into the hammer...only to loosen his grip. That night so long ago came back into his head, telling him he wasn't worthy of anything. But as this happened, he tightened his grip again, "No...I'll stop him. I'll...do it. I'm the only one who can."

With that, he began to stand up, feeling an immense weight as he tried to lift the weapon onto his back, and he knew what it was. It was all his sins, the feeling pouring down on him as he placed the hammer on his back. And as he did this, a light caught his attention and made him look to the horizon. Celestia had raised the sun, its light illuminating the kingdom and washing away the darkness...and Grand felt his own start to fade away. "I know what I need to do."

At the same time, Live was waiting outside the garden, letting out a long sigh as she got off another bench. "Guess he gave up. Figures."

But as she said that, the sound of hooves made her glance back and see Grand with the Celestic Gear with him. "So?" She asked, "You gonna give up?"

Grand shook his head, "Never."

"Oh?" Live replied with a cocked eyebrow, "Aren't you not worthy of anything and wasting my work on that Celestic Gear?"

"I am not worthy of anything." Grand responded as he stopped in front of her, "But I know what I have to do now. I'm going to go stop Bomber and end this." Both of Live's eyebrows went up at that, only for Grand to walk past her before stopping, "And...thanks. For helping me see straight."

Live started to giggle as she heard those words, walking up to his side, "About time you got it together." She put her hoof on his shoulder, "You know, we might have just met, but you can trust me. I'll be here to help you, no matter what." Grand looked back at her, a small smile forming. "See? There you go. Nice to see a smile from you."

"Don't push me." Grand replied, rolling his eyes while still showing his smile.

"Good." Live chuckled, "Now, let's get to work. With Center dead, we don't have any clue who Bomber really is."

"I wouldn't say that," Grand responded, "Follow me."





Thundering Calculations was Canterlot's number one accounting company, first created by the mathematical genius Thunder Counter. The accountants there were the best in Equestria, some working for the richest ponies in the kingdom, with even Celestia hiring them to help with her yearly budgets. There was even a rumor that the company had a wolf that worked for them on the side.

And in its primary location was Number Cruncher, working at his desk while letting out a yawn. His space was cluttered with papers, his eyes twitching as he scribbled on one of the pieces.

"Tired?" He glanced up to see a smiling Remarie with a basket in hoof. "You must be exhausted after that all-nighter." She held up the basket, "I brought you some breakfast."

"Thank you," he replied before taking the container, "But you shouldn't be here. Not with that Bomber pony out to get you."

Remarie smiled as she reached up and straightened his tie. "I'm not gonna stop living my life just because some nut-job is threatening me. If I let him ruin my life, I'll just be playing right into his plans." She gave him a kiss on the cheek and stepped back. "Besides, I have a bunch of guards around to help me. They're waiting outside and said they would make sure nopony suspicious enters. Now," she picked up the basket and glanced around, "Who wants bagels?"

The other accountants in the room all raised their hooves, all licking their lips as she went to a nearby table and took out the bagels. Jars of different James came next, everypony walking over to the table as the office's selection of teas and coffees were gathered as well.

But just as Number Crunched finished his bagel and sipped the last of his coffee, he heard the door open and Remarie's voice, "Oh, hello again." He turned to see Grand and Live, both showing large frowns on their faces. "I didn't get the chance to tell you yesterday, but thank you for saving me. I owe you and your friend my life." She raised an eyebrow at this, "Though...is he here?"

"No," Live shook her head, "I'm afraid he isn't." It was then that she turned to Grand as Number Cruncher got up.

"Grand?" He asked, "What's going on? Where's Doom?"

Live sighed, "I'm afraid...there was an incident. Doom, he's..."

She was about to say it, but Grand raised a hoof. The mare nodded back as Grand marched up to Cruncher, the stallion blinking at him, "Grand, tell me. What happened to Doom?"

It was here that Grand's face twisted, his eyes narrowing as the frown morphed into a look of seething rage. "You already know what happened." Before anypony could say anything, Grand's hoof slammed itself into Cruncher's face, knocking him over his desk with a mighty thud.

Everypony gasped at the sight, Live exclaiming, "Grand! What are you-"

But her words suddenly came to a stop. The sound of a metal ting rang out, only for her eyes to glance down and saw a tiny device roll across the floor. A Cutie Marker, which had the name and fake cutie mark as the pony that they had fought last night.

She then glanced back up and saw Grand grab Cruncher's shirt's neck, pulling him up till they were face to face, "You have a lot of explaining to do."
> Chaos in Canterlot
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everypony in the accounting office stood there in shock, having just seen a member of the Royal Guard punch out one of their employees. Many were about to yell, only to see something fall out of Cruncher's pocket. The unicorn moaned as he pushed himself up, only to see the syringe now on the floor. He gasped before leaping at it, but Live's magic grabbed it, yanking it up to her. Everypony stared at the device she was holding, only for Grand to walk up and grab Cruncher's neck.

"Did you really think I wouldn't notice?!" Grand roared, spit flying out of his mouth and hitting Cruncher's face, "I spent over ten years staring at your horn-writing! Working with you and Doom on projects where you insisted on doing all the writing...if numbers weren't your special talent, calligraphy would be it!"

Live blinked at Grand, only to remember back to the wall that Bomber had blasted a warning into last night. The way it was written, joined up with impressive skill and perfect equal distance between the words. "So that's how that he figured it out..." She whispered as Remarie walked up to Grand, trying to push him away from Cruncher.

"Can somepony tell me what's going on? Why did you punch Cruncher?!" She then turned to Live, "And isn't that one of those items that strange mare was showing off the other night?"

"Yes, it is." Live replied, "A Cutie Marker." She showed the device to Remarie, only for her to notice it was the same marking that the pony that had attacked her was wearing on his clothes, making her turn to Cruncher with a long frown.

"Honey...why do you have this?" Cruncher just looked away in response.

"Because he's the pony that's been using it," Grand growled, "He's the one who attacked you and destroyed the theater." Remarie gasped at this as he continued, "He's the one who attacked me at the construction site last night and tried to blow up half of Canterlot." The ponies around them all went wide-eyed, "He's the one who caused Doom to sacrifice his life to stop that explosion, and then murdered Center Stage in cold blood." He then shoved Cruncher to the floor, "He's the pony known as Bomber."

Remarie's eyes went more and more wide at the sound of this, turning to Cruncher as he continued to remain silent. "Please...tell me this isn't true." But Cruncher said nothing, Remarie now tearing up before running away.

"Remarie!" Cruncher finally cried out, only for Live to stand in front of him. But as she did this, he suddenly sidestepped around her, getting past her before running out of the office, Live and Grand following him as they reached the stairway, "Please!" He screamed, making her stop. "Please...just let me explain."

"I think we'd all like to hear your excuses for everything you've done," Live chimed in, "So go on, try and worm your way out of all the horrible things you've done with that Cutie Marker."

They all stood there, sweat now going down Cruncher's face as he let out a sigh, glancing away as he responded, "I just...I needed it. I needed the Cutie Marker. It was the only way I could feel special enough to even achieve what I wanted."

"What did you want?!" Grand barked, only for Cruncher's gaze to slowly turn back to the mare he loved. "Remarie?! What does taking a dangerous drug and terrorizing Canterlot have to do about her?!"

Cruncher glared back at the solider, a look of resentment blazing in his eyes, "Of course you wouldn't understand! Why would you ever doubt yourself?! You're mister hero. Mister Royal Guard, who protects everypony and is admired by anypony you meet despite the horrors you've caused!" Cruncher yelled back, Remarie and Live's eyes both darting back and forth between the two as Grand began to growl at Cruncher.

"Don't you dare bring that up. That has nothing to do-"

"It does!" Cruncher screamed, "After all, you're a monster too, and yet your cutie mark and special talent makes it easy for you to be a hero anyways!" He glanced back at his flank, at the numbers and math symbols emblazoned on it. "But what do I have that makes me special?! My talent is math, the same special talent a thousand other ponies have! How the heck am I supposed to stand out with a talent like that?!"

"That's your excuse?!" Grand countered, "You did all that because of you didn't like your talent?!"

"YES!" Cruncher exclaimed, only to look away from all three, "It...it didn't matter to me at first. I was happy with not standing out and being part of the crowd. Sure, I wished I could have a talent that wasn't as boring, but I was willing to live with it." He then turned to Remarie, "But that all changed when I saw you."





Weeks ago...

Cruncher had just helped the theater's owner with some accounting problems and was hearing out of the theater, but as he passed by the stage, he saw somepony on it, helping another mare with her dress. Remarie stood there, looking like the most beautiful pony he had ever seen.

He then heard her laugh, the most angelic sound now going into his ears.

And once she was done with the unicorn's dress, she turned and smiled at him, "Hello there. Are you here to help with the play?" Cruncher said nothing, his voice suddenly going AWOL. He tried to speak, but the only sounds he could make were a bunch of unintelligent sounds. "What?"

Cruncher tired to talk again, but still his vocal chords were paralysed.

"Remarie!" They turned to see Spick on the edge of the stage. "Center's looking for you. He said his tuxedo legs are too short."

"Be right there," Remarie sighed before turning back to Cruncher. "Sorry, I have to go. Hope to see you again."

With that, she left as Cruncher just stared at her. But as she left his sight, his voice returned, "Hello, goodbye. I'm Number Cruncher...oh."

He then sat down on the floor, unable to move for a second. And as he got back up, he walked out of the building, his body shaking as he muttered, "I'm such a loser..."





"I couldn't talk. I was completely frozen. It was as if my body was telling me I wasn't meant to talk to her." He put his hoof to his face, tears going down his face as he continued, "And I began to believe it. Why would such an amazing and beautiful pony have anything to do with me?"

"Cruncher..." Remarie barely replied, remembering that meeting and having thought Cruncher was cute and the way he couldn't talk to her was adorable. If only she had put off helping Center with his pants, then she could have talked some more and he might have loosened up around her. She then remembered seeing Cruncher around the theater a few more times, each time staying as far away from her as possible.

That is, till Cruncher continued, "I kept finding excuses to go back to the theater. But every time I came, my body froze up. My mind kept telling me that she wouldn't want anything to do with me. Why would she? I'm not some super cool pony that can slay a tatzlwurm or capture an entire gang of criminals single-hoofedly. I wasn't Grand or Doom." He then stared down at hooves, Grand's anger slightly fading as he saw Cruncher slump down as he added, "It got so bad that simply being around her was torture. I...I knew I could never be a part of her life....and it scared me."

But as he said this, he let out a low chuckle, "And then it happened."





Cruncher ran out of the theater and into the alleyway beside it, panting as he felt a wave of self-loathing wash over him. "RAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He roared as he punched the wall, only to flinch and clutch the hoof in pain as he turned to lean against the wall and slide down it.

"Problem?" He looked up and saw a pink mare walking up to him, a briefcase hovering in her magic. "You seem rather...frustrated."

"You wouldn't understand," Cruncher spat back, glancing away.

"Try me," she replied, putting the briefcase down, "I think you'll find I understand better than you think."

Looking up as though she was nuts, he did a small shrug and told her about the amazing mare he wished he had the courage to talk too, but knew he didn't stand a chance with her.

"I see," she giggled, "Seems your pain is from your talent, isn't it? Such a boring mark won't help you there."

"You think my pain is amusing?!" Cruncher growled.

"Of course not," she replied, "I'm chuckling at your good fortune. You see, I have just the thing that can help you get the girl you want." Cruncher raised an eyebrow at this, only for the mare to open the case. He then saw a bunch of different tubes with multiple images on them. "With this, the power to do anything will be yours."





The Present...

"And she was right!" Cruncher laughed, staring down at his hooves, "I...I used the Cutie Marker and I got power that I had never felt before! It was amazing!"

"Its also dangerous." Live chimed in, "Power that if used wrongly, could have killed you. Did you not think of what might happen if the Cutie Marker was defective or got damaged without you noticing? It could have caused your magic to backfire and cause you to explode, killing you and anypony around you!"

"It was worth the risk," Cruncher replied, waving his hoof, "With that power, I finally had something I never felt in myself before: Confidence. I no longer felt like I was just another nameless face in the crowd. I now had the strength to talk to the mare I had been pinning for. If I could make anything I want explode, talking to one mare was a cakewalk." He turned to Remarie, "Don't you see? It's thanks to the Cutie Marker that we're together. I never would have been courageous enough to talk to you if I hadn't gotten it."

However, Remarie began to backpedal at this, a look of horror now on her face, "But...but you attacked me." Cruncher blinked at this, grimacing as she continued, "You destroyed my place of work and terrified me."

"It...it wasn't my fault," he replied, "I thought...I thought you were cheating on me. When I saw you and Center kissing...I just felt an overwhelming sense of anger overcome me."

"So you attacked me?!" Remarie almost screamed.

"It's the Cutie Marker," Live chimed in again, Cruncher and Remarie turning to her. "The more a pony uses it, the less rational they become. How many times did you use it before the other night?"

"A few times," Cruncher responded, "Before I first talked to Remarie and every time before we went on a date. I would use it and go to the junkyard outside of town, destroy a bunch of stuff to calm my nerves and help me remember I was worthy of her. Then...then I just kept going back whenever I had free time." Live and Grand shared a glance as he continued, "I just...the power. It was such a rush that...that I couldn't get enough. I started going there everyday."

"Multiple uses in rapid succession," Live sighed, "No doubt about it. The Cutie Marker's started affecting him. He stopped thinking rationally."

But her words didn't reach Cruncher, the stallion instead turning to Remarie. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to hurt you. I was just in so much pain and...I hated myself when I realized what had happened." He then gave her a big grin, "But I made things right. I made Center pay."

Her eyes shrunk at these words, "Cruncher...what did you do?"

He opened his mouth to reply, only for Grand to speak up, "You had Technica invite Center to the party last night, didn't you? You planned on making him pay."

"He deserved it!" Cruncher yelled as he spun back and pointed at Grand, "He's the reason I almost killed the mare I loved! He attacked her and made me think she was cheating on me! He had to pay! That's why I did what I did!" He let out a long low hiss, "But you got in my way. Thanks to you, I barely managed to get my revenge, and because of you, Doom is gone! You just couldn't help yourself, could you?! You just had to cross off the final name on that list! Now you're the last surviving pony of Ms. Careheart. You just couldn't live with failing to finish of that last pony, could you?!"

"Cruncher..." Grand barely replied, now hearing his old friend say that he thinks Grand was happy about that night. His mind told him only one thing: The Cutie Marker had done some serious damage to his brain.

Cruncher turned to Remarie at this, Grand unable to respond as Cruncher tried to walk over to her, "Everything's alright now. I've taken care of Center, so he'll never trouble you again. Now we can be happy, together." He reached out his hoof, but Remarie pulled back.

"No...no!" She yelped, shaking her head, "You...you tried to kill me! And you killed Center!"

"But I fixed that!" Cruncher responded, "It was all a misunderstanding, and I've fixed it!"

"No..." Remarie shook her head again. "Cruncher, don't you understand? You're ill." She glanced over at the Cutie Marker, "Using that thing has made you into somepony you're not."

"It's made me powerful," Cruncher countered, flexing his hoof, "With it, nopony will be able to stop me! We can live a life of luxury, with nopony getting in our way."

"No Cruncher," Grand chimed in, "You need to pay for what you've done." The unicorn turned to glare at him. "Even if he was a jerk, Center didn't deserve what you did to him. And you were willing to blow up half the city, killing somepony who called you a friend in return."

"Only because you got in my way!" Cruncher screamed as he pointed at Grand again, "I won't let you villainize me! I'm the hero of this story!"

Live shook her head at this, "It's over Cruncher."

"IT'S NOT OVER!" He yelled, turning back to Remarie. "Don't worry. I won't let them split us up!" He glanced back at Grand, "I know you. You came to try and talk me down before you told Celestia or anypony else who the one behind all this is, didn't you?" Grand didn't respond at this, making Cruncher laugh, "I knew it. You're so stupid Grand. All I have to do is get rid of you, then nopony will get in my way ever again!"

"Cruncher..." Remarie whispered, "What are you saying?" He turned back to her, a look of deranged excitement on his face.

"I made a mistake before, letting him figure out who I am. But I can make it right. Then we can be together."

He then reached out his hoof at her, only for the mare to smack his hoof away. "No."

"Remarie…"

"I don't want anything to do with you," Cruncher's eyes went wide at this. "Not this you. The version of you that I liked died the moment you used that thing for the first time."

"You never even knew that version of me!" Cruncher hissed, "If it wasn't for the Cutie Marker, I never would have had the courage to even talk to you!"

"Maybe..." Remarie replied, only to sigh, "But maybe that would have been for the best." Cruncher's face looked like it was about to crack at this, "If us being together meant you had to become this murderer...it would have been better that you never met me." Cruncher's hoof went down, his body shaking as Remarie gave him a look of pity. "But it's not too late. If you turn yourself in, serve your time, then maybe there's still a chance."

But as her words hit Cruncher's ears...they went in one ear and out the other. Instead, he turned to glare at Grand, "You..." He gritted his teeth as he growled, "You did this! You couldn't leave well enough alone! You had to make everypony around you miserable!"

"This isn't my fault," Grand responded.

"YOU TURNED HER AGAINST ME!" Cruncher screamed, his face turning red.

"You did that yourself," Grand calmly replied, shaking his head. "Now it's time to give it up." Cruncher shook his head as he began to backpedal, slowly go up the stairs that lead up to the roof. "We can help you. You've done terrible things, but you're just as much a victim as you are a criminal. If you give yourself up...we'll find a way to help you. But if you try and fight, I'll have no choice but to stop you."

"No," Cruncher whispered, his tone slowly getting louder. "No...no..." Grand and Live got closer, his voice shaking as he began to pant, "No...I won't let you take me." His horn began to spark, "STAY AWAY!" With that, his horn exploded and unleashed a bright light that blinded everypony. Cruncher used this distraction to grab the Cutie Marker in Live's magic and pull it free, making her gasp as the light faded to show him placing it up to his neck. "I win." He pressed the plunger down.

"Bomber!" It exclaimed before he was consumed by light and revealed his Bomber outfit. Remarie gasped at this, now seeing the undeniable proof that the stallion she loved was the maniac that attacked her.

Grand charged at Bomber, but he raised his gauntlet and fired a blast. "AUGH!" He cried as it hit flying back, slamming through a wall, the whole thing collapsing and burying everything but his back legs.

"GRAND!" Live screamed before hearing movement behind her, she and Remarie turning to see Bomber making a break for it up the stairs. "Stay here!" Live told Remarie before running after the criminal while Remarie went over to Grand and tried to pull the debris off of him. But she barely got three pieces off before the pile exploded, Grand ascending out of the rubble.

"Are you alright?" She asked as he sat up, Remarie only gasping as she saw his face.





Bomber finally reached the roof and rushed over to the side, finding no way to go down before a bolt of lightning flew past him. He glanced back and saw Live teleporting over to him, an anti-magic-ring in her possession. "I'm taking you in!" She yelled as she unleashed a barrage of bolts, only for Bomber to raise his gauntlets, an explosion firing out and hitting the lightning. The following collision covered the roof in an explosion, smoke pouring out as Live coughed at the fog consuming her.

And before she could react, the smoke faded to show Bomber right in front of her. "Good night!" His gauntlet was pointing right at her chest, an explosive blast coming next.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" She screamed as she was blasted back, slamming into a metal fencing that circled around the roof. She then slumped over, falling unconscious from the sudden blow.

Bomber laughed at this before taking the ring and putting it on her horn, "That'll keep you out of my hair."

"CRUNCHER!" He turned to the voice, only to see the Grand suddenly on the roof, a large gash running down his left eye. "Stop this!"

"Never!" Bomber screeched, "You took everything from me, so now I'm going to take everything from you!"

Grand sighed and shook his head, only to charge with a hammer in his hoof. Bomber fired his gauntlets in response, but Grand darted around the roof, dodging both blast before swinging his hammer into one of the gauntlets. This made the device shatter, causing the Cutie Marker user to growl.

He then dodged Grand's second swing and managed to grab the hammer, the pair pulling at the weapon until Bomber spun the two, pushing Grand back into the fence. He then leapt back as his horn began to glow. "You wanna play hero?! Well it's time the world saw the truth! That you're a villain, and this will forever be on your conscience!"

With that, he fired the spell straight up, flying high above the city. Grand glanced up to see the spell continue to fly, only to explode into hundreds of smaller purple lights, which began to rain down on the city. Grand's eyes went wide at this, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

All over the city, ponies were living their every day lives, only for the purple lights to fall down and collide with things all over the city. The walls of buildings, the pavement, street lamps, the outside chairs and tables of restaurants...and even clothes that some ponies were wearing. The ponies that saw this only had seconds to wonder what was happening before they got the answer, as the energy from the spell caused everything glowing purple to explode.

Grand's heart stopped when he saw multiple columns of smoke and fire fly into the sky, the screams of ponies filling the air. He knew then and there that this would be a day that would forever go down in Equestria's history a day of terror. Only to hear Bomber scream at the top of his lungs as he put Live on his back.

"Let despair fall upon all citizens of Canterlot!" Grand turned to see Bomber yelling to the heavens before pointing at Grand, "And let it be known that the reason this devastation happened is because you failed to do what was needed!"

With that, he fired a blast at the fence and created a hole in it that he leapt through. "CRUNCHER!" Grand screamed, running to the edge as he saw Bomber fired a blast of magic at the ground, causing it explode and the shockwave cushioned his fall, allowing him to land perfectly on the ground. Grand quickly leapt off as well, slamming his hammer into the wall beside him. The hammer dug into the concrete, Grand slowly sliding down the wall before landing as well.

He began his chase at Bomber at this, both running to another building just a few streets over. And as Grand ran after him, they went into an alleyway that was a large descending staircase. As he got there, Bomber was already on the bottom of the stairs, only for somepony to walk out in the middle of the staircase. She wore a huge grin as she said, "It's no use following him."

Grand slid to a stop and glared at the mare, "You..."

Technica giggled before pointing at the still smoking city, "Quite a spectacle, isn't it?"

"Do you realize what you've helped do?!" He gestured to the city, "Monstrous damage to the city and to who knows how many ponies!" He then pointed at her, "What you've done has only sealed your fate! If your Cutie Markers weren't gonna be illegal before, they will be now! And Princess Celestia will make sure you and everypony involved with those devices will end up rotting in jail forever!"

"I doubt that," Technica laughed, waving her hoof, "This little event will boost our finances ten times over. When word gets out that a single everyday pony was able to acquire this level of power, ponies far and wide will flock to us like sheep! We'll be rich!" She then rubbed her chin, her tongue slightly coming out as her eyes somewhat rolled back, "As the first user of the Cutie Marker, Number Cruncher has created a real sensation. I'm sure everypony will want..." She held up her Cutie Marker, "This devilish little device."

As she said this, Grand looked back at the destroyed city, more and more cries filling the air. He then stared down at his weapon, still incomplete due to his own stubbornness. Death had happened due to this, untold pain and suffering now falling upon the city. All because he chose to not take the power he had been offered. Because he hesitated to defend others with it, all out of pride and self-loathing.

And it was here that a piece of Grand's soul died as the words of his friends echoed in his mind.

"Sometimes we have to do the things we don't want to do, for the good of those around us."

"I've met some Royal Knights and many of them...well, they think the position sometimes feels more like a punishment than a blessing."

The words entered his head, making him clench his hooves in the hammer. "I understand now..." he whispered, now realizing that a Royal Knight's destiny was not just one of respect and control. It was a destiny of responsibility and sacrifice. And even if he didn't want the title, he knew one thing: He would not hesitate anymore.

"Do yourself a favor," Technica suddenly chimed in, "Go home. Run away. Leave the city if you have to. If you do that, I won't be forced to removed you. Because one way or another, your little adventure is finished. This is what happens to Celestia's pawns." She then pulled out a second Cutie Marker, "Unless this event has changed your view. Maybe you would like a taste of the future."

"No," Grand replied, his eyes slowly looking back up at her. However, there was a new fire in his eyes, one that made her raise an eyebrow, "I won't run away. I won't run away from anything, including my destiny. Now...I'm taking you in."

Technica let out a sigh and swapped markers, "I tried to give you an out. Remember that." She placed the Cutie Marker to her neck and pushed the plunger down, causing the device to let out a noise.

"Technology!" With that, the device unleashed a bright flash of light that wrapped around the pony. It solidified to reveal the bat-themed costume that clung to the mare's body.

She spread her wings as her horn began to glow. "Prepare yourself. Because you're facing a pony that is the next stage of Equestrian evolution."

"No...you prepare yourself." Grand replied, "Because I might not be part of the next stage of Equestrian evolution, but I am something special."

"What's that?" She asked, only for a light to catch her attention, making her now see the hammer beginning to glow.

The light exploded off of it and filled the street, blinding her as the hammer began to morph and change. No longer was it a hoof-held hammer, now becoming a giant war-hammer that was almost as large as Grand was long. It was mostly made of silver metal, with a large rectangular head that had Grand's cutie mark on the longer sides of it while near the bottom was a bronze ring followed by a handle wrapped in a brown leather and a bronze orb at the very bottom.

Grand spun the hammer, barely feeling any weight coming from it. He then stood up, his form now showing a full standing solider as he answered her question, "A Royal Knight."

Technica rolled her eyes at this, "How disappointing. Figures you would-blugh!" she yelped as Grand used the hammer to pole vault him right at her, slamming his hooves in her face. She tumbled down the stairs, only to spin and regain her footing before firing a swarm of flying buzz-saws back at him.

"Grand Impact!" Grand yelled as he slammed his hammer into the ground, causing the pavement to break apart. Rocks ascended from this, swinging his hammer at them next as they were swatted into the buzz-saws.

Rock on metal created a number of explosions, all the buzz-saws smashed into short-circuiting and overloading. Several rocks flew through this, all about to hit Technica as she tried to take to the air. As she did this, her chest-armor opened and fired several electro-cords, Grand knocking them back with another hammer swing. And as she tried to hit him again with the cords, Grand just grabbed the incoming cords, electricity surging through him before slamming his hammer down, breaking the cords.

He glared back up at her, the mare now feeling a small shiver go down her spin before he exclaimed, "Grand Impact!" The ground ripped apart again, Grand firing the rocks at blinding speed. The mare's wings flared as she took to the air, only to see the rocks still follow her.

"Raugh! So annoying!" She hissed as she reached into her utility belt. She then threw a series of beeping shuriken-like devices, all of them exploding as they hit the rocks. But as she did this, she saw Grand about to summon more rubble, making her whisper, "I can't fight him here..."

Grand watched as Technica turned to fly away, the earth pony growling. "Not this time!" He placed his hammer on his back, cutting into a sprint as both began to wind through the streets of Canterlot as fast as they could move. But despite Technica having the advantage of flight, Grand had no trouble keeping up with her as she swerved around corners and alleyways. 'She's not trying to outrun me. She must be trying to find a place that better suits her.'

And after about five minutes of running, the pair arrived at a construction site, filled with multiple pieces of heavy machinery, electronic tools and even a large fuel tank in the middle. She flew into the site, laughing as she landed on the half built building's girder structure. "Gotta love this city's desire to improve itself!" She cheered as Grand ran in, "So many playgrounds for me to use to my heart's content!"

"Being in one of these didn't help you last night!" Grand barked back.

Under her mask, Technica smiled, "Last night, I had to worry about my clients getting hit. But this time-" The machines all began to rev up, all turning toward Grand as she continued to laugh.

A bunch of cords came first, Grand swatting them away with her hammer before hitting a charging forklift, knocking it over. As he did this, a dump-truck came next, making Grand yell, "Grand Wall!" He slammed his hammer down, causing a large thick wall to fly out, the truck smashing and bouncing back.

Grand then noticed a power-saw slithering up, but Grand blocked it with the head of his hammer, the saw unable to cut into the material. It pulled back, then swung around to whip him with its cord. He leapt back at this, only for an excavator to charge at him, trying to crush him with its scoop.

"Not this time!" He pulled his hammer back, "Grand Slam!" He swung the hammer like a golf club, smashing the excavator's shovel with enough force that its arm was ripped clean off. It went flying before landing on the power-saw, crushing it as well. Grand then leapt onto the excavator, hopping up as Technica flew back, landing on another girder as Grand got to her level.

"I'll admit you're strong," Technica commented as she dusted herself, "If a little hypocritical." Grand raised an eyebrow as she continued, "You condemn me for selling devices that make ponies stronger, but isn't your hammer just like a Cutie Marker? It grants you powers and abilities you wouldn't normally have otherwise. Yet its considered something for the greater good while my product is hated. And why? Because the princess says so. Tell me, where's the fairness in that?"

Grand shook his head at this, "You don't understand. There's two differences between my Celestic Gear and your Cutie Markers."

"Which is?"

"The first is that my Celestic Gear doesn't turn me into a psychopathic addict that can't go ten minutes without using it."

"A mild side-effect. I'm sure we'll be able to fix with enough time and backing," Technica replied while waving her hoof, "I bet you'll get addicted to that hammer if you use it enough."

"I won't. That's the other point. Unlike you, Celestic Gears aren't handed out like candy to anypony that can scrap enough bits together." He held up the weapon, "This device isn't a toy. It's a gift that shows Celestia trusts me enough not to ever use this power for wrongdoing. I still might not think I'm worthy, but I accept this gift and all the trust Celestia put in me when she gave the magic to make it." He lowered the weapon and glared at her, "But you're willing to grant unbelievable power to anypony as long as they can afford it."

"What's so wrong about that?!" Technica spat, "Anypony should be allowed to have power! Why be stuck on the bottom of the barrel because your mark told you so when you can be at the top with just a few bits?"

Grand shook his head, "Just because they can buy it doesn't mean they can handle it. Power corrupts. And with how your Cutie Markers effect the users, it'll make them go insane...all because you wanted to make a quick bit! That's what makes you and the rest of your dealer friends monsters, because you don't care how many lives you destroy as long as it benefits you!"

"That's just your opinion," Technica shrugged, "My opinion is that I'm doing Equestria a service. This is the future of the kingdom, and I'm simply getting on the bandwagon before it takes off." She summoned one of her electric cords and pointed it at him. "Even if you somehow stop me, you'll never stop the Cutie Markers. They're everywhere. In every major city of Equestria. Manehatten, Fillydelphia, Applewood and so many more, each having at least one pony selling Cutie Markers. This is happening, and nothing you do will stop it!"

"Don't count me out." Grand hissed, "I'll find and stop every last one of them." The air shifted as his body tensed up, a grim, deadly look in his eyes, "I swear it!"

"I doubt that!" Technica cackled as she took to the air and thrust an electro cord into the girder below her, sending a jolt through the whole structure. Grand leapt from the girder, hooking his hammer on another as the Celestic Gear's material wasn't conductive. With this, he spun around once before flinging off the girder, flying straight up at Technica and slamming both hooves into her stomach. She cried out as she was sent flying before firing a cable from her hoof, wrapping it around a girder that yanked her back down.

While this happened, Grand hooked another girder and swung up, landing on top of this one as Technica began firing blasts from her horn. Grand started spinning his hammer to deflect them, the spells now striking the site instead. And as this happened, Technica fired a buzz-saw at a crane cable above the earth pony, making Grand jump away as the girders fell and smashed into the site. Now buckling under the strain, the half-finished building began to collapse.

Technica flew up higher at this as Grand began to maneuver around the falling structure, only for Technica to throw explosive shuriken she had. The barrage of projectiles hit just about every piece of the building, explosions now consuming the stallion. "AUGH!" He cried as he was consumed by the explosion, a pillar of smoke now appearing as Technia began to laugh.

"HA! I told you this would happen!" she cackled, "I told you it was pointless! This is true power! The power of the Cutie Markers, the power of the future-"

"RAAAAAAHHH!" roared a voice from within the black fog. A second later, Grand's hammer shot out of the smoke, instantly slamming into Technica's left wing, shredding into pieces.

"AAAAAHHH!" She screamed, her body now beginning to flail as she lost her ability to fly. And as she tried to balance herself, Grand leapt out of the smoke, hopping onto a fuel tank before leaping off and rolling over to his hammer.

But as he grabbed it, he looked up and saw Technica falling straight down. "NO!" She cried as Grand pointed his weapon at her.

"Grand Force!" From the hammer's head, a tornado of rocks and sand exploded out.

"AUGH!" She screamed as the tornado slammed into her, destroying her other wing and shredding up most of her suit and mask. The force of the tornado sent her flying right into the side of the oil tank, her body hitting it before she slumped over, only for the tank to rock and fall over the edge of the holsters. The round object rolled over next, making her scream as it smashed her lower body, "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Pain surged through her body, now feeling every bone in her back legs shatter. And as this happened, fuel started to leak out and spread around her...and began to go for the many electrical tools Grand had smashed earlier that were laying on the ground.

But despite the pain, Technica began to try and pull herself free, only for a quartet of hooves to walk up to her. She looked up and saw a pair of cold, rage-filled eyes, only for her laugh at the sight, "Oh, hello there. You're gonna save me, right? It's what you ponies do." But as she said that, Grand just stood there, not responding. He just glared at her, making her raise an eyebrow, "Uh, hello? Aren't you a goody-two-shoes? HELP ME!"

"Who's the one behind the Cutie Markers?" Grand hissed as he leaned down.

"What?! You're asking me this now?" As she said this, the fuel began to inch their ways into the tools, "Aren't you supposed to do that after you save me?!"

"If I wait until then, you won't have an incentive to tell me." As he said that, one of the tools short-circuited, a small flame beginning to ignite. And as it began to grow, Grand smacked his hammer into the dirt, making the ground around the flame to flip over and extinguish before saying, "Last chance. Tell me, or I'll let the next flame reach you."

"You...you're bluffing!"

"Am I?" Grand hissed, the mare now seeing the coldness in his eyes turn into a raging fire, "You tried to cause chaos in this city! You show nothing but delight in hurting others! And most importantly, you helped kill my best friend and turned my other friend into a monster!"

"So?! Why does that matter?!" Technica spat as a new flame appeared from another tool touching the fuel. "Save me already, you stupid pawn of Celestia!"

"Who's the mastermind?!" Grand roared, spit flying into Technica's face, "TELL ME!"

"Save. Me." She repeated, a sickening smile slowly appearing on her face.

But as she said that, Grand leaned back and sighed, "So be it." With that, he spun around, his hooves moving as he began to walk away.

And as he saw him move, Technica's eyes glanced between him and the fire, her body trying to move...but her destroyed legs wouldn't work. It was here she realize he wasn't bluffing. "NO!" She screamed, "PLEASE SAVE ME! I...I DON'T WANNA DIE!"

But as she said these words, Grand stopped for a moment and spoke without turning to her. "How many of your victims said that to you?"

And with that moment, the flames reached the tanker.

KABOOOOOOOOOOM!

The city shook as the building site was filled with another explosion, Grand just walking away as a massive ball of fire turned into a giant pillar of smoke. The was no remorse or doubts on his face right now, as he knew he had to do one thing, and one thing alone. He had to save Live and stop Cruncher, once and for all.
> An Explosive Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The screams that had filled the air of Canterlot had now settled down, but it was far from over. The city's hospital was soon jam packed with injured ponies now, others not so lucky being stashed in Canterlot Cathedral. Peace was trying to come to the city as they huddled inside.

And as they sat there, buildings around them kept falling apart. Structures and sites had been destroyed by the explosions, builder ponies trying to use every spell, support and quick repair they could possibly do. But despite all this, there was nothing they could do to prepare themselves if something worse happened.

It was no doubt that this day would go do in Canterlot's history as one of its darkest ones. And nopony would remember it better than Celestia. The alicorn was now flying over the city, looking over the destruction caused by this unknown assailant.

She sighed at the sight, only to hear a loud booming sound in the distance. They turned to see the sight of another smoke cloud flying up from behind several buildings. The princess shifted in the skies, flying toward it, only to see a large number of her guards along with many civilians standing at the two entrances of the street. The places had been cornered off with tape, while the rest of the street was filled with her guards, laid out with injuries that went from barely a scratch to life threatening.

She swooped down and used her magic to grab and teleport them over to the other guards. This action caught their attention and made them look up, seeing the princess before bowing, "Your majesty."

"No time for pleasantries," she replied as she landed, "Get these ponies medical attention. Now." They nodded and quickly began administering first aid while another ran off to try and find a doctor. "What's happening?"

"We've discovered the pony responsible for the destruction that's occurring around the city," the highest ranking guard responded before pointing to the middle of the street. Celestia turned to the smoke cloud, only for it to fade and reveal Bomber staring them down.

She glared back, only to gasp as she saw a pony tied to a street lamp beside him. "Live!" She exclaimed.

"I'm afraid none of us can save her," the guard replied, "The criminal threatened to blow up every building and object on the street if we tried. A few of our newest guards decided to play hero and...you saw what happened." Celestia's eyes narrowed at this, her horn starting to spark as she thought about what to do. But before she could make a proper plan, the guard continued, "There is one pony he said was allowed to get closer."

"Who?" Celestia asked.

"Grand Hoof."

Celestia raised an eyebrow at this, "Grand? Why him?"

But as she asked this, heavy footsteps rang out behind them. They turned to see Grand Hoof marching up with his Celestic Gear on his back. "Grand!" She called out, the ponies of the crowd moving aside to allow Grand pass. As he got closer, she noticed the large gash running over his left eye, "Grand, what's going on?" She gestured to Bomber, "That lunatic is threatening to destroy the whole street if anypony except you gets near him. Why?!"

"It's...complicated," Grand replied, "But don't worry. I'll deal with him." Grand walked up to the tape, only for a pony to run up to him, pushing through the group.

"Grand, wait!" He glanced back, seeing the voice was Remarie, "Please...help him." Grand blankly stared at her, only to do a small nod.

"I'll do what I can," he responded, "But no matter what, I'm stopping his reign of terror here and now." With that, Grand pushed the tape away, calmly strolling down the road. And as he did this, Bomber turned to him and sparked his horn, only to see it was Grand. His horn's magic cut as Live squinted her eyes at the sight of Grand before going wide-eyed, now seeing Grand's hammer now evolved into a true Celestic Gear.

"I had a feeling you'd show up." Bomber laughed as he put his Cutie Marker and placed it up to his neck, his suit suddenly vanishing to reveal the pony Grand had once called his friend, "I assume this means Technica was defeated. I figured she would fail. Let me guess, she kept ranting when she should have just beat you. Looks like I'll just have to-"

But as he kept talking, Grand turned to Live, "You okay?"

"I've been better," she replied, "I'm starting to regret carrying this thing on my horn now." Grand glanced up and saw the magic suppression ring on her horn.

"Don't worry," he responded, "I'll get you out of there. Just-"

"HEY!" Cruncher screamed, making Grand turn back to him, "Don't ignore me! I'm not somepony that can be ignored anymore!" He held up his Cutie Marker, "I'm more powerful than you are." Grand didn't respond, instead just staring at the ground, "HEY! What did I just say?!"

"One." He replied, Cruncher stopping before seeing Grand lift his eyes up, a stoic expression plastered on his face. "I failed to see the darkness of a friend who was always by my side. Two," his gaze shifted to Live, "I refused legitimate power offered by those I knew cared about me and hesitated to use it, despite knowing I needed it to fight." He stared back at the ground, "Three. Because I hesitated, the city and its ponies have shed tears."

Cruncher raised an eyebrow at this, only for Grand to say nothing else. "Uh...what was that all about?" Grand looked back up at him, his stoic expression now replaced with a fiery look of determination.

"I was counting up my sins," he replied, "And until the day i die, I'll do everything in my power to make up for them." Live smiled at this, hearing those words now making her see something new in his expression. There was no loathing or self hate, just simple facts. Something Grand accepted, but didn't allow to weigh him down. "And now my friend, it's your turn." He removed the hammer off his back and pointed it at Cruncher, "Now, count up your sins."

Cruncher's eyes went wide before they narrowed, letting out a hiss as he roared, "I have no sins! Everything I've done, I've had to do!" With that, he yanked his glasses off his face and threw them away before slamming his Cutie Marker back into his neck.

"Bomber!" In a flash of light, he was decked out in his costume again.

"My conscious in clear! It's you who's committed the sins...and you'll die with them unpaid for!" With that, he pointed his last remaining gauntlet at Grand as the hole in the device began to glow. "NOW DIE!" The gauntlet fired a blast of energy, only for Grand to swing his hammer, smacking the blast up into the air.

He then charged and swiped the hammer, Bomber ducking under it before firing a shot at Grand, only for Grand to side-step. The blast hit a nearby building, causing a chunk to blow off it. Bomber then leapt back and fired several blasts at the ground around Grand, but the knight slammed his hammer down. Chunks of the street went flying at this, only for Grand to smack the rocks at Bomber.

The pony gasped at this and raised his gauntlet to shield his head, the rocks exploding around him, buffeting his body with debris and shockwaves. And as this happened, Grand leapt and swung his weapon at Bomber's last gauntlet. But as he did this, Bomber fired a spell at the ground, making it explode that created a cloud of dust. "Augh!" Grand yelped as he the fog got into his eyes, allowing Bomber to slam his armoured knee-pads into Grand's chest. "Gyah!" Grand staggered back at this, only for Bomber to point his gauntlet at him.

"Grand Force!" Grand roared as he pointed his hammer back at Bomber, a tornado of sand and rock coming next.

Bomber cried out as the tornado struck him, pushing him down the street. As this happened, Live yelled, "Get me out of here!" Grand turned to her as she added, "Or at least get this thing off my horn!" Grand nodded and reached for the magic suppressor, only to hop back as a blast of magic flew past him and made the ground beside Live explode. "Ahhh!" She cried as she looked away, feeling the heat of the explosion singe her fur.

"Live!" Grand gasped before turning to Bomber, the pony now firing a barrage of blasts. Grand began side-stepping at this, dodging the first volley before one hit the ground under him, blasting the pony a second later, "Augh!" His hammer slipped from his hooves, the pony skidding across the street as Bomber raised his gauntlet. It began to hum, charging energy as he pointed it right at Grand.

Hearing this, Grand rolled over to his Celestic Gear, lifting the weapon high before slamming it into the ground. This caused three stone walls to fly up between him and a laser that shot out of Bomber's gauntlet. The laser struck the first wall and burned through it, making it crack and shatter. The second wall was then struck with a similar effect, though it took a little bit longer to destroy it, but the third barely took any damage. Instead, it just fell over as the laser lost all its energy, fading before it could hit Grand.

As the dust from the destroyed walls cleared, Grand marched up to Bomber with his hammer slung over his shoulder. "Not bad," the unicorn told him. "But it's only a matter of time before you go down."

"Wrong. Time is on my side. Your Cutie Marker's effects will eventually run out, and when that happens, you'll be wide open."

"I'll turn this city to rubble before that happens!" Bomber yelled, "Nopony can stop me!"

"Wrong again," Grand replied, "Even if you defeat me, Celestia will find a way to stop you. Her or any of the other Royal Knights. As long as you pose a threat to Equestria and its citizens, you'll always have somepony trying to take you down. You will never win!"

Bomber growled beneath his mask, "Even if you're right, which you're not, there's still one thing I can do!" He pointed his gauntlet at the sky as the device began to charge again, "I CAN BE RID OF YOU!" The gauntlet charged up to its absolute maximum, cracks beginning to appear along the grenade-shaped shell. "You can't possibly stand against my full power!" The energy began to spark out of the cracks as he screeched, "GOODBYE AND GOOD RIDDANCE!" With that, the energy exploded out of the device as he pointed it at Grand.

Grand's eyes went wide as he gripped his hammer, swinging it at the laser. The beam struck the hammer's head, the earth pony flinching as he felt the heat this energy start to burn the air around him. He pushed against the laser as much as he could, only for it hit critical mass and-

KABOOOOOM!

The street shook as the explosion unleashed a powerful shockwave. "GRAND!" Live screamed as she and those watching covered their faces, trying to keep themselves from getting knocked over as the force buffeted them.

Bomber laughed at the sight, only to hear a cracking sound. He glanced down and saw his gauntlet fall apart, the pieces falling onto his leg. He let out a sigh, brushing the piece away, his mind now telling him it was a worthy sacrifice to make Grand pay.

However, as the smoke from the explosion cleared, Grand Hoof was still standing. His fur was burned everywhere, multiple scratches and cuts all over him, but was he still alive. The knight was leaning against his hammer to keep upright, only to see Bomber start laughing again.

"Still standing? I'm impressed." Bomber chuckled, only to shake his head, "But still, all this is starting to bore me." He let out a loud cackle, "Where's the fun in defeating you if you don't care if you lose. I mean, your little speech made that quite clear. Although I guess I should have been expecting as much. You've wanted to die since the day you got everypony else killed....though you totally deserved it." Grand's eyes narrowed at this, growling at him as Bomber continued, "I bet you only joined the guard so you could get yourself killed, but still be consider yourself a hero. How pathetic."

"You really have become twisted," Grand grunted, "The Cruncher I knew would never say something like that." He pushed himself upright and gripped his hammer, "You really are far gone."

"Oh please, the Cruncher you knew wasn't even the real Cruncher. It was just some fool who never had the guts to say what he really felt. But now, that pony is gone, and a new, better pony has taken his place. A true stallion, one with the power to do and say whatever he wants."

And as he continued to rant, Grand felt his consciousness beginning to fade, his grip on his weapon beginning to slip. His eyes twitched at this, slowly closing next as Bomber pointed at him.

"If you refuse to entertain me, I guess I have no choice. Once I've made sure you've given up your life, I'll do the same to each and every one of the ponies left that you care about. Live Wire. Celestia. The guards. Even the ponies back home. I'll make them all pay because you tried to stop me!" Hearing this, Grand's eyes went wide before a fire began to burn within them, his grip tightening as Bomber let out a cackle, "Now that'll be fun." With that, he charged up his horn, laughing as he continued, "If only you were still around to stop me..." Grand closed his eyes. "But no!" The magic shot out of the horn, "YOU'LL BE IN PIECES!"

But as the blast drew close, Grand's eyes shot open and he swung his hammer at the magic. He then twisted the hammer's swing upward, smacking the blast into the sky, the magic harmlessly flying into the air and exploding, doing absolutely no damage.

"What?! No!" Bomber gasped before glancing back at Grand, the earth pony charging at him while letting out a roar.

"I'm just getting warmed up!" He leapt as he threw his hammer at him, "YOU JUST MADE A BIG MISTAKE!" Bomber yelped as the hammer struck his chest, the blow knocking him back as Grand kept charging at him as he yelled, "You just reminded me of what I have to fight for, and why I'll never stop fighting!"

"Pathetic!" Bomber's horn sparked, but Grand's hoof reached his face first, punching him straight out. As he did this, the magic from the horn sparked and caught onto his mask. Bomber saw this, quickly leaping back and using his magic to pull his mask off to reveal his true face. He threw it at Grand, but the earth pony just grabbed his hammer and smacked it away, making it explode half way between them.

Both let out grunts as the explosion pushed them back, but both managed to stay upright. "Give it up!" Grand yelled, "Surrender and we can put an end to this pointless battle!"

"Never!" Cruncher screamed, his eyes going red as spit flew out of his mouth, "I won't stop until one of us is left standing! And trust me!" He grinded his hooves into the street, "It isn't going to be you!" He charged at this, firing several blasts, only for Grand to deflect every one of them as he spun his hammer like a baton.

"You can't win!" He told the unicorn, only for Cruncher to somehow leap and land on his hammer before spinning and kicking Grand in the face.

"You're so weak!" He roared as Grand staggered back, "You can barely fend me off!"

He then fired a blast next, but Grand just blocked it with his hammer, "Oh yeah?" He asked before lifting his hammer up, "How's this for weak?!" He slammed the hammer down, causing the ground to break apart as rocks went flying at Cruncher.

"Pathetic!" Cruncher screeched, using his explosions to make the rocks blow up before they got to him. He then fired another blast right through the remaining rocks, Grand barely managing to hold up his hammer in time to block it. Grand flinched as he felt himself being blown back, the earth pony digging his hammer into the ground to slow himself. But as he did this, he felt his body slow down, his strength not there thanks to everything that had happened over the last two days.

"Ahh!" He flinched, feeling the hammer start to pull him down as a dust cloud formed around him from the explosion. But despite this, Grand could see through the fog, glancing back up at Cruncher. He now saw the madness in the pony's eyes, making a line of thought enter his mind, 'No...I can't give up. Not now. I can't let everything what happened carry on. I can't let everypony's sacrifices be in vain.' As he thought that, he suddenly felt the hammer stop before it hit the ground. It was as if somepony had grabbed it.

And when he looked down, he was suddenly greeted by a pair of blue hooves gripping the handle as well. He followed them up to the body and when he did, he saw a face he never thought he would see again. "Doom?" His friend nodded back at him, showing a big smile as he helped him lift the hammer up. "Doom...thank you." Doom nodded back before he suddenly disappeared, but it still felt like he was holding the hammer. And as the dust faded, Grand dug his back hooves into the ground as a circular crack appeared around him. The ground suddenly lifted up and began to move forward, sliding across the untouched ground toward Cruncher.

The unicorn's eyes went wide at this, firing multiple magic blasts, only to miss each one as Grand began to charge at him. "What the-why can't I hit you?!"

"Its over Cruncher!" Grand roared as he pulled his hammer back, only for its head to suddenly find itself into Cruncher's chest. He let out a scream of pain as the hammer began to fling him back, but Grand kept moving, the hammer remaining in the unicorn's chest.Then, the slab of earth he was on stopped and began rotating, causing Grand to pull Crunch around with him.

Everypony watched as the pair spun around, spinning like a top until the slab stopped and Cruncher was thrown through the air. He continued to scream as he was sent flying, his legs flailing as he shot past Live before hitting the ground. He bounced off it before hitting the dirt again and again. And as he did this, something fell off his body, Live gasping as she saw it was his Cutie Marker, the unicorn turning to Grand and gesturing to it the best she could with her head.

Grand went wide-eyed at this, dropping his hammer as he ran for the marker. As he did this, Cruncher let out a moan as he picked himself up, only to see his precious device on the floor. He tried to grab it with his magic, but Grand was faster. He leapt and grabbed it before tackling Cruncher to the ground. "Get off me!" He yelped, his horn sparking to summon another blast, only for Grand to stab him with the Cutie Marker, "NO!"

Everypony watched as his suit exploded into light before being sucked back into the device. Grand then pulled away, now revealing Number Cruncher laying on the ground with his natural cutie mark adorning his flank. Cruncher glanced down at himself, only to turn back to Grand, his mouth foaming in rage as he yelled, "GIVE IT BACK!"

He leapt at Grand, tackling him back as the Cutie Marker flew out of his grasp. And as Cruncher pushed him down, a sickening crack filled the air as the Cutie Marker hit the ground, the device's shell cracking in this moment. While this happened, Grand threw a punch into Cruncher's face, then grabbed him by the hoof and kicked him off. Cruncher let out a cry of pain at this, only to quickly roll over and let out a mighty scream.

"RAAAAAAHHHHH!" Cruncher leapt at Grand again, only for the knight to side-step, dodging the stallion before grabbing Cruncher's tail in his mouth. He then yanked his neck, swinging Cruncher upward before slamming him into the dirt. "AUGH!" Cruncher yelled as he hit the ground, his body going limp at this blow.

Grand spat out his tail at this, now seeing Cruncher just squirm in pain. He let out a sigh before turning to Live, walking over and taking the ring from around her horn. As soon as he did this, she teleported out of her restraints and hugged him. "You did it!"

Grand smiled and hugged her back, "Yeah...I did-"

"GRAND!" Celestia suddenly screamed, the alicorn's voice suddenly calling out to them.

Grand in response, glanced back at Cruncher. The stallion had got up with the damaged Cutie Marker from before in his hoof. "DON'T!" Live cried as Cruncher pushed the plunger down, only for sparks of magic to explode out of the cracks in the device.

"B-b-b-bomb-b!" It stuttered.

Live quickly fired a blast of lightning at this, hitting the Cutie Marker and blasting it out of his grasp. It fell to the ground and shattered, but the damage was already done. "AUGH!" Cruncher screeched, holding his hoof to his neck as the veins around the spot he injected began to glow purple. "What's...happening?!"

"Cruncher!" Grand was about to charge at the pony, only for another voice to call out.

"Stay back!" Celestia yelled as she, Remarie and the guards ran in. As they did this, the purple glow spread to more of Cruncher's veins.

"What's happening to me?" Cruncher asked as he held his neck, Remarie gasping and covering her mouth as tears formed in her eyes.

"The Cutie Marker was damaged," Live replied, "It couldn't properly affect you the way it should." Cruncher looked down at his hooves and saw the purple light glowing from under his skin. "It's turned your magic into explosive energy." She turned to Grand, "He's gonna detonate." Grand's eyes went wide at this, the earth pony's gaze not leaving Cruncher as his eyes began to glow as well.

"HELP ME!" He screamed, only for a golden dome of energy to appear around him. Everypony turned to Celestia, her horn glowing as a look of shame, pity and sorrow appeared on his face. The shield then morphed into a sphere, Cruncher tapping his other hoof into the shield as the light from his veins kept getting brighter.

"Please," he whispered as his entire body began to glow, "Please help me."

"We tried," Grand replied, "But you refused to accept our help, and now...now it's too late." Cruncher's eyes filled with tears as he turned to Remarie, who was crying back.

"I'm...I'm sorry," was all he could say before the light consumed his entire form and exploded. The shield expanded slightly, the light threatening to break free, but Celestia managed to keep it stable and lift it upward. Nopony could look away as the orb continued to shake for almost a full minute. But then, the light began to die down and Celestia made the orb shrink. Smaller and smaller until it was the size of a marble, only for it to vanish...and nothing was left. Cruncher and everything he was wearing...was gone. Not even a speck of dust.

Remarie fell to the ground and started bawling her eyes out, Live leaning over and hugging her. As she did this, Grand moved over to the remains of Cruncher's Cutie Marker laid and picked it up, Celestia shaking her head at the sight.

"It's hard to believe, such a little thing could cause so much pain and destruction." She commented, Grand nodding as he dropped the machine and stomped on it. The device was crushed into dust, Grand twisting his hoof back and forth before letting up.

"There's still a lot of them out there. And not just in Canterlot." He growled before turning to her, "I won't stop until I've found and destroyed every last one. And I'll find the one responsible for creating them and make sure to take them down. I give you my world...as a Royal Knight."

Celestia went wide-eyed at this, only to see Grand move over and pick up his Celestic Gear. The princess could only smile as she saw him walk back up to her, "Then there's only one thing left to do."





"Arise," he felt the ceremonial sword tap him on the shoulder, "Sir. Grand Hoof, Royal Knight of Equestria." With that, the hall exploded into applause as Grand picked himself up. He was dressed in the blue uniform of a Royal Knight, his left eye having been tended too and healed despite the scar that had formed over it. Guards filled the room and were all saluting him while a few ponies of high stature were also there. Even ponies from his old village, including Ms. Careheart, were all there to congratulate him.

Grand turned to them, the ponies quieting down. Clearly, they were expecting him to say a few words. He took a deep breath and began, "When I was younger, this was all I ever wanted. To be a Royal Knight. But I wanted it for all the wrong reasons. All I cared about back then was becoming a knight so that I could boss ponies around. I was the furthest thing from a Royal Knight as possible. I bullied and scared ponies into doing whatever I wanted...and it caused a lot of pain for those I treated like that."

The night of the manticore incident flashed through the minds of everypony that had been there at this, Grand included as he continued, "Eventually, I started to believe I didn't deserve to be a knight. That my life wasn't worth being given any special treatment. But I know now that being a knight isn't just a cushy job where you're adored by ponies. It's the greatest responsibility that can be asked of a pony. It's not a role that just anypony can be given, but for those considered worthy of that title. And...and it's not something that can be turned down." He looked down at his hoof. "I've seen with my own eyes, what happens when a Royal Knight refuses to accept the role. This kingdom needs ponies to protect it. Heroes that can be trusted to save those who cannot save themselves. And until the day comes when heroes more worthy than me arrive, I'll fight to my very last breath to protect this kingdom." He raised his hoof, "THIS I SWEAR TO YOU!"

The crowd cheered at this, Celestia smiling as she walked up to him, "Well said Grand. You've been through a lot, but those trials have only made you stronger. They are but rocks being thrown against a great mountain. They strike it, then lay against it and become part of the mountain, adding to its strength. And thus, to honor the many challenges you have faced and overcome, I hereby grant you the title of Grand Hoof, the Great Mountain."

Grand nodded at this as the crowd began to cheer again, all chanting his name and title over and over again. Everything after that was like a blur, the ponies present moving to the reception hall that the celebratory feast was being held. With everything that had happened to the city as of late, it was agreed that this party wouldn't be a big event, but just a small banquet with light conversation and music.

Despite this however, the ponies filling the hall made if difficult to keep track of everypony, including Grand. Careheart was actually talking to Celestia, the princess wishing to hear more about him as a young pony. "And when he was seven, he and Doom were having a race through the forest and accidently ran into a patch of poison ivy. The pair were itching for a week. One of the first times I ever saw them working together was when they scratched one another's backs."

Celestia laughed at this as she commented, "You raised a pair of amazing ponies. Both heroes in their own right."

"Yes," Careheart replied before sighing, "I just wish Doom could be here to enjoy this moment."

Celestia nodded at this, "In a way, he is here." Her eyes glanced up at the moon, focusing on the craters that made a particular equine shape. "Even if a pony isn't physically with us, they still exist. As long as we remember them, they live on within us." She turned to Careheart, "Doom survives because he lives within you, and he lives within Grand as well."

Careheart smiled and nodded, only to ask, "Speaking of Grand, where is he?" Celestia glanced around at the room, only to also notice he was gone.

"I'm...not sure."





Outside the reception hall, the door cracked open as a particular pony walked out. Grand's eyes darted around, only to let out a sigh as he tried to silently close the door until-

"Going somewhere?" Grand jumped and spun around, only to see Live standing behind him in a shiny yet simple dress.

Grand glanced away at this, "I've got work to do."

"You're gonna cut out on a party that has you as the guest of honor?" Live giggled, "Ballsy."

"I'm just...not really in the partying mood right now." He walked off and Live quickly followed after him, trotting beside him as he headed for the exit. "There are a lot of Cutie Markers out there, and the sooner I start hunting them, the quicker I can stop the spread of 'em."

"What's all this I stuff?" Live asked as they continued down the corridor, "You might be a knight, but you can't do this alone. Besides, I wanna stop whoever's behind this from using science and magic to harm ponies." Grand turned to her, only for find her hoof grab his as she showed him a big grin, "You know, when I first met you, I thought you a some arrogant slacker who didn't deserve any title."

"And what do you think now?"

"Well..." Her eyes darted away for a second, "I don't think you're a slacker..." she chuckled before tapping his side, "But I still think you need some help. So I guess you're stuck with me."

Grand stared at her for a second before letting out a laugh, the first true laughter from the pony in years. Both were soon laughing as they exited the castle and stepped out into the night as a true adventure about to begin for the pair. Over the next few years, Grand and Live would travel around Equestria to hunt down the makers of the Cutie Markers, finding that sometimes they were able to save the pony using them, while others...well, they would be beyond reason, just like Cruncher.

Eventually, they were joined by another: a Royal Knight by the name of Skybreaker, who helped them in their quest. And during this time, Live and Grand's relationship slowly began to evolve. Constantly fighting alongside one another, they formed a bond that very few can honestly state they share. From partners, to friends...to lovers.

And eventually, they discovered the ponies responsible for them. It was a mighty battle, but they were victorious, shutting down the Cutie Marker operation. Though there would be the occasional rogue Cutie Marker that would show up every now and then, the epidemic was mostly over.

This allowed the trio to move on with their lives, Grand and Live soon getting married. This union resulted in the birth of their son, who they named after the pony that saved their lives and all of Canterlot. The happy family lived together for many years, until the accident that changed everything.

Despite the loss resulting from it and the issues it caused Grand and his son, they continued on with their lives, Doom finding his own love and marrying her, resulting in a child of his own while Grand continued to go on with his knightly duties. He trained the next generation of guards, keeping his eye out for ponies worthy of the rank of Royal Knight.

Over the years, he found many ponies: Noble Banner, Heather Bloom, First Aid and even Tidal Wave. But one day, he met a pony that would grow into the greatest Royal Knight Equestria had ever seen. A pony he would personally train himself, teaching him everything he needed to know to protect the kingdom and the ponies that live there.

But that's a story you already know. And hopefully, this story will help you know it a little better. A story, that will one day become a legend. The legend...of Grand Hoof.