After a mission goes south,Shield Heart must learn humility and control with the help of Ponyville's finest women. If he can't he'll be fired ok his job!
Constructive criticism is asked, tell me if you liked it or not and why.
In an alternate Equestria, where technology has progressed faster thanks to magic, Shield Heart is a regular enforcer, tasked with the retrieval of an ancient medallion deep inside Goblin Territory. After things go south he faints near Ponyville, where Fluttershy, Shining Armor and Cadence rush him to a hospital.
Shining Armor and Cadence are surprised that an old friend has come, but they know from experience that where Shield goes, trouble is bound to come. And things don't improve when the commissioner learns that he has been stationed in Ponyville, the peaceful town he really doesn't know much of.
Now, Twilight and company have been tasked with the restoration of Shield Heart's mental health. A task easier said than done.
Author: Commander Iron Hide of the Equestrian Royal Guard. Recipient: Enforcer Shield Heart, code number 42. Subject: Mission Briefing. Date: 21st of May 1002 P.N.M. Location: Mount Horseshoe, fifty kilometers from Canterlot.
Mission Details: The Equestrian Royal Guard has formally issued you a request to help retrieve several important artifacts left inside the mines.
Your primary objective will be the Lunar Medallion, taken from the Ruins south of the capital by a fanatic group during the Post-Banishment Turmoil. Other artifacts include financial records of the mining operations and maps of the mountain proper recuesten by the previos owners of the mine, the Precious Family.
Due to the severe presence of several goblin clans, including the Fire Breathing clan, infamous for its arsonist tendencies, the threat level has been increased to number three and you have been given access to level 2 equipment. The office has requisitioned the following items for your mission: One customized Mana Musket. One sawed-off Mana-Powered Canister Cannon. One Silver-Steel claymore. One steel cutlass. Two customized Mana Pistols. Five Magic Grenades. Ten Smoke Canister. Ten Explosive Canisters. Twelve MRE rations.
The records are presumed to be located inside the archives in the administrative offices. The whereabouts of the medallion are unknown, but it is speculated that it has been taken deep inside goblin territory. As it is custom the Guard asks that you keep diplomacy a priority but because of past records of Goblin dealings reveal the contrary, so exercise caution.
Addendum 1: The Mountain Halls It is known that several caves and tunnels are highly unstable. Various years of tunneling and explosions have made them fragile, and any disturbance will most likely result in a cave-in. It is advised to review the layouts to find the Goblin Territory.
Addendum 2: Ponyville About twenty five kilometers from the main enhance lies the town of Ponyville, it is implored that extreme caution regarding explosions and the use of wild creatures. Several V.I.Ps live in that town, and the Guard would be most grateful if you avoided any harm toward that village. Your extraction will take place there.
Shield Heart read through the note one more time. He wanted to remember the details, not that he would need them. The Goblin clans were very mysterious, no one has been able to live to talk about their customs.
"Requisition, ha! More like returning. Most of this shit was already mine to begin with!" He said as the train stopped in the middle of nowhere. He went for the chest at the back of his car and opened it. He didn't have much time, the stop was on the records as unexpected. He picked up his ebony Mana Musket, his finest tool of work and examined it. He had five minutes to gear up before the train started once again.
The musket had a special power core which used magic as its primary form of ammunition. Each core had about three hundred shots before complete depletion, and in that case the user could pass some of his own magic to the weapon in case he were a Mage.
"Hello Maggie, did you miss me?" He said to his rifle as he set it on he floor
The pistols had the same ammunition type, but they were intended for short range fighting. Also, they had extended magazines, capable of firing five hundred rounds before a reload. The customization was mostly aesthetics, one was called Silver, the other Crimson. Each represented their outer color. They had three levels of lethality, one was harmless, two was stunner, and three was the real deal. This system was very common among magicarms, since it helped avoid unesesary deaths when someone went a little too trigger happy.
The claymore was the regular two handed sword, with a silver winged cross guard, and effective blade. Because of the amount of trouble he had caused with it he had nicknamed it Riot.
His symbol of office was his cutlass, with a golden grip and polished blade. He rarely used it, but it had saved his life more than once when Riot decided to fly off. He had called it Arby.
Blasto was his most peculiar weapon. The cannon was equipped with one-canister capacity, which was reloaded through a break-action mechanism. The weapon allowed for both the use of canisters and spells, meaning that if he ran out of ammo he still has his repertoire to use.
He put on both canister belts crossing over his crimson duster, along with the pistol holsters that let Crimson and Silver rest in his ribs, Blasto had a special holster, resting horizontally above his backside. He put on his leather backpack, where he had all his living supplies and spare clothes. On the right side of the pack was his musket, while Riot rested under it.
Shield opened the back door and jumped off. Three minutes later he heard the horn signaling that the train was heading to Smokey Mountain.
Shield Heart was from Canterlot, he was born amongst the royalty, and his looks marked it. His average build, ice blue eyes covered by steel-framed glasses, golden hair with silver streaks his tall size and fair face marked him as one of the pampered. But he wasn't like the rest, he had decided to do something, like protecting people. That's why he signed up to become a commissioner, they were the right hand of Celestia and Luna. They had little limitations and light morals.
He kept thinking of his extraction location.
"Why is Ponyville so familiar?" He asked himself. "Where have I heard of those V.I.Ps before?" He dismissed the thought, if there was anything important to remember he would think of it later. His, main priority now was getting to the offices, without those maps he might as well kill himself. The mountain was a huge cave fest, so without any sort of guidance he might as well starve.
Five minutes of walking took him to the entrance, where a smaller cave adorned with steel pillars and panels marked the offices. Inside there was no danger, as a matter of fact, there was nothing.
No ridiculous stacks of papers, no telephones, no styrofoam ramen cup, no nothing. Everything was gone, as if the place had organized a spring cleaning session and ditched everything. He searched for a couple of minutes for the safe, and he found it. It was hiding beneath one of the ceramic panels in one of the corners, under a particularly heavy plant.
He used his cutlass to weaken the cement and removed the panel. The safe was more of a chest, protected with several anti-theft enchantments and hexes. He dissolved them carefully and took out every scrap of paper he could find.
Most were merly reports on the stuff that was extracted. The kilos of precious metals, gems, fossils and other mindless thing.
He put the records in his backpack and the maps in his various outside pockets in case of future reference.
"Part 1 of this boring mission is now officially complete." He said aloud. "There sure is jack shit going on here."
He took out a quick look at the map, which reported was roughly fifty klicks in diameter. He chuckled for a moment before losing all sense of emotion. "No way I'm doing this ." The entrance of the mine had various posters, most of them motivational posters made to encourage the miners to continue working for the Precious Family. He went to one of his inside pockets and withdrew a black pen.
He searched for the nearest poster bearing the face of Pearl Lance, the family poster boy looking all noble with his brown hair white teeth and shiny armor, the poster was captioned.
Work for a better tomorrow, today!.
He started painting the poster's teeth out and turning the man into a pirate. After having graffitied the poster he was so pleased with his artwork that he decided to take it down and keep it.
He resumed looking, hoping to avoid any more distractions. And to his luck he managed to find a minecart so rusted he could have swore it was made by an ancient civilization.
He jumped onto the cart and tested its movement. Granted it wasn't a luxurious limo or as fast as a sports car, but it was either traveling in a rusted piece of junk or taking a hike.
He started pushing the cart by using Riot as a makeshift paddle, not the best use for a claymore but he needed to get moving. But there was no possible way that sword was going to provide the speed induced could match the imitation of a worm. He needed a craftier method.
He went for Blasto and put it in his lap. He could try to invoke a spell to turn this cannon into a turbine, but he really didn't have much experience doing so. Disregarding any forms of safety he started focusing.
The cannon sputtered before coming alive. But to his surprise he was rocketed out of the cart due to the sheer force. Recovering from the launch he jumped back into the transport and bound the cannon to the back of he cart. He started the spell once again and this time his breath was taken away from him as he glided through the ancient train tracks.
He had to admit his ride was smoother than what one might expect from an ancient mine cart. "And to think the Precious didn't spend a little money on their investments, what a shame."
It then dawned to him that looking at the maps would have been an excellent idea in hindsight. There were thousands of tunnels and he had no idea which one was the one that lead to the objective and which one sent him off a bottomless pit. But with his speed he would be lucky if he made it to safety at all. He went for Blasto and stopped it, he expected to be launched off a cliff, and if so he would need to grapple himself to something if he wanted to get out alive.
As if his powers of clairvoyance had worked, Shield found himself against the end of the line. Fortunately the railroad was left as a ramp, so it would be easier to jump and then grapple onto something. He readied his cannon and let things take their path.
During the jump Shield had to think quickly, the hundred meter wide gap looked to have no end, while the roof didn't offer much rock to use. He fired at a wall, and a red bolt shot out of Blasto. He used the magic rope to swing himself, even if it was sideways, to safety.
He rolled on the gravel as he landed. "Oh yeah baby, I still got it!" he said as he thanked Celestia he had made it unscarred and continued walking. He unholstered Maggie, knowing that danger was bound to strike.
Fifteen minutes of walking through torch-lit caves made him think if he was in the right place at all. He expected to be already under attack, but things were quieter than a graveyard. He loaded his cannon with a smoke canister and holstered it. He started humming a tune, hoping that either time would fly or the goblins would find him.
He decided to take a look at the maps, but it appears that if there was a map about the goblins, it clearly wasn't with him. The last one marked before the ramp, or at least was what he could deduce. He looked for the tracks, but they had disappeared. Kneeling down and using his basic deduction skills he determined that there once were tracks, but someone managed to remove them.
Before he could stand up the cave started to shake. First a pebble fell down, then another, and then five more, then a fist-sized rock, then five.
"Oh, Luna please no! I'm doing this for your sake! Why would you do this shit!" He started sprinting, but soon realized it wouldn't be enough. If he wanted to avoid being turned into jelly he was going to need magic. Using his entire blood system as a medium, he augmented his speed, making him faster that a hungry cheetah.
He kept running through the collapsing cave, occasionally teleporting (or blinking) forward to avoid a falling rock. He entered a cave that didn't look like collapsing and gave himself a respite.
He felt horrible, using magic on his body didn't happen without a cost. His veins marked themselves, growing so big that he feared they would burst open. The nausea forced him to vomited his last breakfast, a tasty eggs and bacon sandwich, and the bile produced a pungent scent that filled the cave. Recovering himself he noticed that a sharp rock had hit his left shoulder, leaving a bruise that immobilized his entire arm.
"Great." He he said sarcastically as he went for his medkit and removed a small syringe filled with a creamy white substance. Removing the lid he injected it into the bruise. A minute later he felt no pain whatsoever and his arm back to normal. He put his medkit back inside and continued walking. He took out one of his MREs and started chewing. The cold, crunchy and tasteless meal helped him recover from his walk. "They should have given me at least a couple of granola bars."
He heard rumbling again.
"Oh c'mon! Can't I get a break?" He said as he swallowed. This was getting ridiculous, he would never stop running if every single tunnel collapsed.
But he was wrong, as it wasn't a tunnel collapsing. The walls exploded as hundreds of green creatures filled the scenery. Most of them were armed with crude weapons but a couple of them were better armed, using a thin gold breastplate as armory. Others had several red cylinders tied with rope. A small group had bows, with rusted chitin arrows pointed at him.
"Oh goodie." He said without joy. "I don't suppose one of you fine men could point me to your king."
The pale green minions looked at him. One of them stepped forward. The shiny golden sword made him think that this was a leader.
"What business does a Hume have in our realm?" It said with a squeaky voice.
"I came here with a message to your king, I mean no harm." He said, sweat and anxiety pumping his adrenaline. He could take them out in a fight, he was sure, but he would rather not risk it. The paperwork would be worse. "I'm serious. Could you take me to your leader?"
"If you truly have business with the king, then why did you collapse the main tunnel?" The goblin leader said.
"I didn't, I swear! I was in the middle of that tunnel and suddenly there was a large earthquake and rocks were falling down on me!" He responded with an irritated tone. He really wanted to avoid a fight here and it seemed these squishy things were spoiling for one.
Bit he got lucky, for the goblin seemed to believe him, as he nudged with his sword to move toward the light. He obeyed, and soon had the entire army at his back.
The cave where the Goblin King sat was very large. It was at least ten kilometers, if not more, in diameter. The center hall stood in a pillar of chipped rock, and in this unsafe rock stood a giant golden chair atop a pile of skulls. In this chair sat a fat deep green monster wearing a fur coat. His double chin stood out for having several blisters, and his head was covered with an iron circlet.
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here! A human, in these parts!" He spoke with a booming voice. The crude scratched houses surrounded he place, and every single creature was looking at the king. Laughing ensued for no logical reason.
"And what would a human have in my kingdom, I ask." He continued. He looked sternly at Shield Heart.
"I have come on a mission issued by the Princesses of Canterlot." Responded the human.
The king burst with laughter. "Really? And what could those women want? Hmm?"
"They sent me here to retrieve the Lunar Medallion, stolen from the vaults of the castle during a turmoil long ago. I am Shield Heart, Commissioner of Equestria."
"Oh! I believe you mean this medallion?" Said the monarch as he untied something behind his neck.
His objective was hidden behind that mass of a double chin. Stained with fat and sweat, the silver coin was visible to Shield's eyes. His mission was at an end, if he could take it from the Goblin Mass.
"I believe this is what you came for?" Mocked the king.
"Why yes, yes it is. Now if you would be so kind as to return it..." He was interrupted by the booming laugh of the small monsters.
"If you think I will give this to you then I believe that Equestria has sent the dumbest man they could! This is mine, my people took it from that useless child who owned it. Therefore by goblin law it is mine forever!"
"I believe we could come to some sort of an agreement. What can I offer you kind sir in exchange of that medal?"
"How about..." The goblin with the golden sword started muttering to his ear. The king's eyes widened, looked at the Commissioner with fiendish eyes.
"Most interesting." He muttered aloud. "My captain tells me that you are another assassin, sent to exterminate me and my people."
"What? That's ridiculous! Why on earth would Equestria seek to destroy you?" Asked Shield.
"Various people have come after me." Said the king as he picked up a bunch of skulls. "First came a preacher talking about peace." and he placed one skull in a spearhead. "Then came a spelunker, who was supposedly charting the cave." And he placed another skull. "And then a scientist. And after him came an attack!" He spat as he crushed the third skull.
"Fifty guards came, wearing their pearly white armor, and none of them returned! We murdered every single one of them. And now they send a policeman, thinking he could finish the job. Ha! Why should I believe you if you are armed?" He spat.
Shield immediately realized he was doomed to at least a few scars. There was no way in which he could free himself out of this without thinning the population. They were really spoiling for a fight.
"You know what, we are going to kill you, and then we will use your skin as a banner, and tomorrow we teach those monsters what it means to enrage Krenko the Goblin King!" Said the monarch triumphantly. The cave exploded with thunderous cheers as the king looked at Shield. "So farewell Shield Heart, Commissioner of Equestria, your death will be slow and painful so try to enjoy it."
While the king gave his speech, Shield thought of options. He needed to escape with the medallion, but he couldn't think of a way out. Then he thanked the goblin's simplicity as he noticed a sign over a tunnel that was marked: to the forest.
As the monarch ended his speech, Shield blinked in front of the medallion, snatched it from him and blinked once more toward a narrow wooden bridge.
The entire town exploded with shock and rage as they began chasing the poor enforcer. He tied the medallion to his neck and withdrew his pistols.
His storm of crimson bolts helped him get through the bridge. Each hit forced a goblin to drop into the deep chasm below them. He counted at least fifty hits, but it wasn't enough for each downed goblin ten more took its place. One of the arsonist bastards threw a pack of red cylinders, which landed ahead of Shield. The thing was bound to explode any minute.
Using a technique taught to him by an insane soldier, he shielded his boots, jumped and crouched before the explosion. The dynamite exploded, killing at least ten goblins, and launched Shield forward. He was about fifty meters short before the explosion, but now he was just ten short.
With another flash he teleported himself to safety. He landed on his feet, but still skidded off due to the momentum he already acquired. At the moment of the explosion there were at least twenty goblins on it plus the ones caught in the blast, and they all fell down. He was out of the fire, but he was still on the frying pan. Goblins were renowned for their ability to climb, regardless of where gravity would send them.
Shield Heart began his barrage again. Most shots hit the pale green mass, dropping more goblins than a pigeon with diarrhea.
He started running once more, knowing that soon he would be overwhelmed. It was an hour of running that made Shield rethink his life. He holstered his pistols and withdrew Blasto. He ejected the smoke canister and put in an explosive one. He used his magic to delay the explosion. He reloaded and repeated this pattern four times, reducing the timer for each mine he placed.
As soon as the goblins were on him, he changed to Maggie and began taking potshots. He held them off until the canisters exploded. He expelled a smoke canister mutated with mustard gas as soon as the rocks began falling. In seconds, he was staring at a wall of rocks and hearing the screams of agony as the poisonous air.
"Hell yeah! Take that bastards! You never mess with the Shield!" He sang out as he danced around, but ended as soon as he saw the poison seep through the rocks. Ten minutes later, he grabbed another bite from his rations to recovery his strength and looked at the medallion.
It was in horrible condition most of the silver was faded, probably due to the constant rubbing of the skin the moisture and the fat. The chain was rusted so much that it was bound to break in any second. He decided to take it off and put it in one of the inner pockets in his duster. He ventured forward, hoping to see the light of day any second now.
Ten minutes later he came to a fork where the goblin captain, along with forty other monsters, were expecting him.
"What the fuck! How did you guys survivee?!" He asked. The answer was unexpected, as all goblins howled and disappeared behind a tornado of green fire. From the flames emerged forty-one black, not black as in dark brown skin but actually black, men with blank blue eyes and green insect wings. They we clad in goblin armor, and still held the weapons.
"Do you have any idea how long it took us to indoctrinate the entire clan?" Said the captain wielding the golden sword. He was taller than the rest.
"Let me guess, ten minutes?" He mocked. "Goblins are crafty, but are not known for their resistance to magic."
"Fool, it took us two months! We had to kill both the humans and the goblins! It has taken several months of planning, we were already on the final stage!" It screeched.
"And how we're you planning on using photophobic creatures in broad daylight?" He asked smugly.
"None of your business monster! We have heard of you, the Great Chimera Toreador, and we will not let you escape! Your body will stay here forever!" He shouted. Five changelings lept forward, hoping to catch him off-guard. But he was more than ready, he took a step forward and withdrew his pistols in an x formation. He fired at the farthest of the group, hitting both their heads. They fell down like ragdolls.
He increased the intensity, knowing that it was either them or him.
The next three perished behind a hail of crimson, their armor pierced by the magic bullets. Another quartet advanced forward within melee distance, but were vastly outmatched. Shield had already changed his right hand to Arby as he threw Silver high in the air. Using his spare hand he tossed Riot high onto the air and caught Silver as it fell.
He slashed forward, the wide arc of steel managed to hit the two on the right. He third one reacted, using his sword to block the arc. The fourth one didn't even get a chance, as his face exploded with a crimson bullet.
He began sparring, blocking a jab and countering with an over-head strike. The sword was blocked, but the sneer from the insect man was silenced as Riot lowered from the sky and decapitated him. The two remaining swordsman recovered from the attack, and went in for more.
The one to the left was decapitated as Shield used his left arm to lift the weapon and spun around like a tornado. The last one managed to back off, propelling itself with its wings. It dashed back to the front against an unprotected man.
The rusted sword pierced through his duster, leaking blood as it went out. Half a second later he was fighting a monster. Shield had sheathed his cutlass and was wielding Riot with both hands. The first block split the sword, and the following strike split him unevenly in two.
"Fire at will!" Shouted the commander as his soldiers produced some weird weapons that looked like assault rifles. Our hero had minutes to react, he produced a magic tower shield and braced himself. The pain made it even harder to focus on his magic. As soon as he felt the barrage stop he went for Blasto. He loaded an explosive shell and fired, but his shot deviated to the right.
The explosion knocked out fifteen soldiers, but the rest had reloaded and restarted their suppressive fire. Shield had to summon his defense once more, but came five bullets too late. They all buried themselves in his stomach, but they only burned his skin.
He lobbed another canister into the air, hoping to hit anyone. He did, five enemies were caught in the blast, but the enemy retaliated. One of the monsters was sporting a larger weapon with green rods. He flew high and fired a green fireball.
The projectile landed in front of the Enforcer, and it sent him flying backwards. As soon as he landed on his feet another one exploded. This time he was ricocheted backwards toward the expanding mustard gas. He crashed against a wall and fell face-first. Holding his breath he managed to recover. He finally had a plan. He needed to conserve his explosive canisters, so he planted Riot in the ground, loaded Blasto with a smoke canister and charged.
He saw his enemy fire another shot, so he braced his feet, jumped just in time and Explosive-Jumped once more. While in the air he threw three flammable smoke canisters toward the crowd. Dropping Blasto, he slashed the changeling's throat with Arby and pulled the pin on one of his grenades. Not many survived the explosion, with the large amount of flammable gas it was impossible to escape.
The commander and two fellow soldiers emerged, patting down the flames on their skin. The agonizing screams of their fellow warriors could not be dismissed, but they were still not free. Their enemy was landing with two pistols in hand.
He dropped from the sky while firing bolts at an astonishing speed. One of them lost his arms, while the other lost a leg. The commander managed to get off the blast and lost only a finger.
Shield landed with Arby in hand. And ready to end his threat. He dashed forward and initiated combat with a froward slash, but his opponent blocked and retaliated by using the pommel as a club.
Shield backed off, regained himself and pushed onwards. His flurry of swings were deflected, but his enemy was getting winded.
In a desperate attempt Shield was blown away by a shockwave produced from the captain's hand. Five seconds later the man with the golden sword realized why this was a bad move. The force had reunited Shield with his claymore. He charged and began the final assault.
The commander had abandoned all hope and decided to retreat. He began flying as fast as possible, hoping he wouldn't get shot.
Infuriated, Shield chased him, recovering Blasto while at it. Using one hand to wield Maggie, he shot the left wing, which evaporated immediately. His opponent fell down in fromt of a cave labeled: frank and family.
"Any last words?" Said Shield.
"You won't get away with this, my death is nothing compared to the coming storm. The invasion on Canterlot is nothing! Nothing compared to what my dear queen has planned for you!" Spat the commander, dark green blood spewing out of his mouth.
Shield then buried Riot in his opponent's chest and used Arby to behead him. He then pushed the body into the cave.
"There, that was easy." He said. But he then heard a low growl, then five more. They were coming from the cave. Shield managed to peer deep into the cave and saw three eyes in a triangular formation.
Shield Heart was standing in front of the cave where he managed to see at least ten cave trolls. The two-story monsters had three glowing yellow eyes, shiny grey skin and some tufts of grey hair. They began growling, pacing around and one of them was armed with a nailed club.
The man took a step back, hoping to be able to sneak his way out. But this was useless because these trolls began roaring and pounding their chest. Their next meal had come their way.
"Oh, Fuck this Shit!" Shouted Shield with a grenade in his hand. He tossed it inside and started running.
The cave roared with fire, but when Shield looked behind he was surprised. The Trolls had managed to ram through the cave-in and had noticed where their next meal was getting away.
Shield began shooting, hoping he could manage to take down at least one but today really wasn't his day. The bolts ricocheted as soon as they encountered the reflective skin. So using Crimson and Silver were out of the question. He kept running until he started seeing what he hoped was the light. Like most cave-dwellers, trolls were photophobic and therefore turned to stone as soon as sunlight touched their skin.
Even while sprinting, he knew he would be stew if he couldn't manage to slow them. Trolls may not like cross-country, but they loved cross-mountain crossing and had incredible stamina.
He used Blasto to cause another cave-in, which was a great idea in theory but it only caused more problems to Shield than to their intended target.
Some trolls were crushed beneath the falling rocks, but six of them just brushed them off, while the one with the spiky weapon batted them away. Shield was surprised, he expected the thing to crack, but the log was very sturdy.
Shield thanked Luna as soon as he saw part of the entrance, the sunlight was still touching the interior, so he was going to manage it. He used Riot to slide across the gravel and make a ninety-degree turn to safety. The most dangerous of the pack sprinted, swinging his weapon like a golf club.
He was caught in the middle of the wooden plank, next to two rusted spikes. One of the nails managed to scratch his left arm, shredding through his once-white shirt. The club sent him flying into a tree, where he held onto a thick branch.
His battered arm began giving away, and he dropped three meters down. He made a bad landing, twisted his left ankle and heard a crack on his knee. His glasses flew off into the forest, out of his sight. "Great." He grunted. "That couldn't possibly have gone worse."
Groaning in pain his body flushed the last of the adrenaline out of his system, and immediately every single wound he had acquired transmitted pain to his brain. Not coping with the sensation he rushed to his backpack, where while searching for his painkilling Med-X as he dropped most of his food.
Grabbing the small syringe, he uncapped it and stabbed his stomach. The pain subsided almost immediately. Recovering, he saw the entrance of the cave: all trolls were now solid rock.
"Haha! Take that bitches! You can't beat the dude with a magic cannon!" He shouted victoriously. Using Blasto he fired a barrage of mana grenades causing a massive explosion and a huge trail of smoke. He managed to see the stone sculptures exploding into a million pieces. "Yeah! Who's your daddy huh? Who's your daddy? That's right, It's me bitches!"
He began giving screams of delight. After a long battle he managed to complete his primary objective. All that was left now was to pass by Ponyville and get on the next train to Canterlot. Basically he standard procedure.
His vision began to fade, so much blood loss couldn't go without its price. And his mana was pretty much spent. Off in the distance he managed to see a winged creature with rainbow hair. It said something, but he could not comprehend his hearing was pretty much gone. He imagined that it would be a Valkyrie, coming to guide him to heaven after glorious combat. He never found out because he fell onto the soft grass completely unconscious.
.oOo.
Far away, about seventeen kilometers off and some minutes before, six friends were having a picnic on a green hill. They were talking, laughing, and mainly fooling around.
"So, anyone willing to remember my awesome moves? Like when I kicked that changeling right in the gut? Or when I punched that one that turned into me? Or when I used a full Nelson? It couldn't get any better than that! Pure awesomeness right there!" Said a perky tomboy with rainbow hair as she imitated the moves she described. She spread her feathery blue wings, shading her from the bright sun.
"Yes Rainbow, we remember perfectly, we were right next to you. You don't need to remind us every five minutes." Said a sapphire-haired librarian sitting next to her. "Are you alright Shining?"
Behind her was a man, about in his twenties and with tousled dark blue hair, climbing next to a beautiful angel with pink wings. "Don't worry about us Twily, we're doing just fine." They were a right at the bottom of he hill next to a large ATV motorcycle. It was larger than most motorcycles, letting two passengers ride at the back.
"I still can't believe the party was a complete blast! After everything I feared that it would go to waste." Said Pinkie Pie, her cheerful tone matched the state of her hair. "That was really fun! The party I mean, although preparing it was just as fun too! Between rehearsing, getting the decorations and the music was.
"I know! Imagine all the hard work I had to put on those dresses! It would have been dreadful that all of our efforts had gone to waste!" Said an azure-eyed fashionista. Her unique white sundress reflecting every solar ray.
"So you girls do this every week?" Asked Shining. His breathing becoming more staggered as he climbed, but to his luck it was just a couple of steps.
"Of course! That way we don't feel tired after walking all the way." Teased Twilight Sparkle.
"I could climb this any day, it's just that today I didn't warm up!" He defended.
"Oh really?" She said.
"Twilight, stop teasing your brother. I think he deserves a vacation after all he's been through." Intervened Rarity, her indigo hair hidden under a large hat. "You weren't so different when you first started coming."
"Yeah, listen to your friends Twily. It's never good to bother a man who can arrest you." Said Shining as he sat down on the plaid tablecloth. Cadence sat next to him, using her magic to open the basket and take out a wrapped sandwich.
"So not much happens around here, right?" Asked the Princess.
"Not usually, no. We might get a doohickey here an' there, but usually it's quieter than a chicken coop at night." Said a blond lady with a large hat.
"See Shining! I told you! This is the best place to raise a child! We should move here right after our honeymoon. It's away from all the city problems, away from stress and all the locals are friendly!" Cadence was filled with excitement with this idea.
"But I thought we had agreed that Canterlot was the best option! Our families are there and I work there also! If you want to move here I'm going to have to visit you every once in a while." Protested Shining. "It's that or quit my job, and with the trouble brewing with the Houses that won't be happening soon."
The following debate was a mixed bag of opinions. Most women wanted the newlyweds to change residence. The idea of having a newborn baby to care of was somethign every woman wanted and they wanted to take part of it.
Only Rarity sided with Shining and Fluttershy was so paralyzed with fear to consider taking a side. After a couple of minutes of heated discussion they heard rumbling. Everyone looked at the general direction and saw a cloud of smoke.
"What in tarnations? Ah thought that the doohickey was gonna be our debate!" Interrupted Applejack.
"Oh no, I hope no one was there, what if someone got hurt?" Spouted Fluttershy.
"C'mon, let's go investigate!" And Rainbow Dash disappeared, leaving her signature rainbow trail behind. The shy flier looked confused, but regained herself and followed behind her at a slower pace.
Rainbow arrived to the tower of smoke in a minute and a half. She began scanning the ground, and saw a person, clad in crimson on the floor. He seemed to be doing horrible, as he crawled with the last of his strength.
"Hey mister, you alright?" She hollered. But the man merely looked at her for a moment and fell down. She plummeted down, landing right next to him. This man was badly injured, he had a pool of blood surrounding him. Scattered around him were several packets she believed were food, and she also noted a claymore and a musket.
"Rainbow, wait!" Said the veterinarian with yellow wings. It took her two more minutes than her friend and as soon as she saw the body she froze in fright. She sprinted toward the man, examining his multiple cuts and bruises. She turned him around and screamed in terror. The man's face was caked in blood, dirt, scratches and bruises. "Oh my goodness." She said to herself.
Her medical instincts kickd in as she began scanning the cuts.
"Rainbow, please search the backpack and see if you can find a first aid kit. it should be a box with a red cross." She ordered.
"I know what a first-aid kit looks like." Retorted Rainbow as she rushed to the bag and began rummaging. Se pulled out a red box and showed it to Fluttershy.
"Is it this one?" Asked Rainbow.
"Yes, that's got to be it. Now I need you to get me help. This man needs professionals, so try to get a doctor here or maybe an ambulance if they can."
And so Rainbow Dash took off immediately, flying directly to the picnic area with the rest of her friends. They would want to know what was happening. "Guys, we need your help! There's this man spilling blood all over the place!" She babbled.
"Whoa there nelly, whatcha talkin' ' bout Rainbow?" Asked Applejack.
"Back at the tower of smoke is this guy, he's badly injured and I need to get him to a doctor pronto!"
Shining stood up immediately and started plotting silently. He was used to dealing with a crisis, and his could be counted as one.
"Listen Rainbow, here's what we're going to do. You go to the hospital and ask for an ambulance, then get it here. We'll get the man and bring him here, that will be easier than trying to get the ambulance into the woods." She immediately obeyed the man's order. "Cadence and I will go get the body, I'll use my ATV. The rest of you, clean up and meet up at the library. The more people that are here the harder it will be to do things quickly." He snapped his fingers.
Everyone scattered. Cadence immediately took off, while her husband rushed to the four-wheeled motorcycle standing at the bottom of the hill. Twilight and company began cleaning up, folding the tablecloth, collecting plates and so forth.
As Cadence arrived at the scene, she began inspecting the body. "Do you have any idea what happened to him?"
"No, Rainbow found him like this. I've been trying to bandage him, but I can't turn him around." Said Fluttershy.
"Don't worry." Cadence put her hand on the corpse's neck. "There's still pulse, so he isn't dead yet. Get me some alcohol, a patch and some skin tape. Thanks. Now at the count of three we will flip the body gently. Ready. One. Two. Three!" And with four hands they completed their task. Cadence washed the rib-wound with alcohol, afterwards she placed the patch and pressed it with the tape.
Shining arrived shortly, and helped load the body to the flatbed in the motorcycle. "Hey, isn't he Shield?" He asked.
Cadence was looking at the leather backpack, but turned immediately to scan the face. "You're right! Oh Celestia, we need to hurry!"
"Um, sorry to interrupt, but who is he?" Asked Fluttershy meekly.
"He's an old friend of ours, he is also a commissioner. Please pass me his stuff. He'll go berserk if he finds out he lost them." Cadence grabbed all the gear and took off, Fluttershy climbed onto the backseat of the motor vehicle while Shining Armor revved his ATV and took off.
Back at the hill there was a white all-terrain ambulance waiting for them, with only the lights turned on. They unloaded Shield as soon as the ATV stopped, and waited for Shining to climb aboard before turning on the sirens and wailing off.
Shield was rushed into ER the second the ambulance stopped. The paramedic had radioed ahead that they had a patient with several fractures, so they needed a team ready to transport the injured.
After filling in the basic paperwork Shining Armor headed toward his sister's home thinking on what just happened. His honeymoon had begun here, in Ponyville, and while taking time off arresting drunks and spoiled nobles he had been interrupted by someone he hadn't seen in a long time.
Back at the Library everyone was waiting for him. Aside from Cadence, he was the only one who knew what was going on.
In the living room he began explaining. "The guy we just met might be an old friend of mine, his name is Shield Heart. We went to the Academy together, but we stopped seeing him after he went on an expedition all by himself eleven years ago. From that day forward we haven't had time to catch up. He came back four years later and was invited into the Commission. And that's as much as I know of him." A smile formed in his face.
"About a year ago he invited me on a mission in Baltimare. Remember that one honey?" He remembered as he turned to look at his wife.
She sighed. "Of course! That is officially the worst date so far. Even worse than that one time you took me to the lower dungeons."
Shining face palmed himself. "What was I thinking with that one? But Baltimare was partly your fault. Shield tried to stop you, remember?"
"I'm sorry, but after your run-in with Cat Burgular I had to make sure he wasn't taking you on some early stag party! And he totally went out of control."
"He needed me to help organize the army! He made it very clear that he needed my help!"
"I still had doubts. And what right does he have to do what he did? I was sitting in a cafe when suddenly the streets burst open and I saw him riding a chimera. Next thing I know the chimera starts chasing me around."
"He made it clear that you shouldn't have left my side because half of the town was a danger zone. So you had no right to scream in surprise."
"So you're saying that the guy that I saw bleeding out is pretty much a troublemaker?" Asked Rainbow.
"No, not usually at least. He's a commissioner. You obviously know what Commissioners are, right?"
"Erm. Yeah, sure I do! Who doesn't know about those guys?" She said nervously.
"They're the agents in charge of keeping the peace, like policemen. Each city has at least one, which can also serve as a substitute commander for the army or go on special assignments that threaten the peace of the nearby area. But what on earth was he doing in that mountain?" Intervened Twilight. "I'm sure Ponyville is out of Canterlot jurisdiction."
Shining's face dropped as he slumped into a chair. "I don't know, he is the only one. But he isn't the Commissioner from Canterlot, he's actually from Vanhoover."
"So he must have been here on a special mission!" Excailmed Twilight.
"So when will he wake up? I believe we should show him some hospitality, if he has suffered a lot he clearly must be tired!" Said Rarity.
"The doctors have just started making tests, tomorrow Cadence and I will go. But you don't have to worry about him, he has had worse. Trust me."
.oOo.
"I must ask you, how much sugarcoating do you want?" Asked the doctor.
"None preferably. We want the truth." Said Cadence.
"Very well. I have no idea what these results mean."
"What?" Said the spouses unanimously.
"Shield Heart has: a broken knee and ankle, a fractured disk, a brain contusion, a paralyzed lung, tetanus, two fractured ribs and both of his arms are broken. His veins are clogged and swollen. And we are getting some strange brain activity.
"Yet his pulse remains constant and his heart is beating regularly. I can see both a bag of broken bones and the model of health. I just don't know what to make of it. He's in some sort of a coma, but he is still conscious, barely." Said the doctor with a perplexed look.
"Do you know when he will wake up?"
"I can't say. His condition indicates that he should be dead, but he has been responding well to treatment so really it's anyone's guess. Could be tomorrow, right now or in a month or never."
Cadence entered the room where her friend was put to sleep. He shed a single tear. This man had been her older brother in everything but blood. He had saved her from pesky nobles chasing after her heels, saved her from several natural dangers and more than once gotten injured in her stead. But he also gave her his opinion on what he thought was right without caring wether it would hurt or not. That was until he had dissappeared and mutated into something else.
On various occasions he had been there to console her when things went bad. He even introduced her to Shining while they trained at the academy.
He had been so happy before, making jokes of his life, of others around him. He had always helped people, and rarely accepted any help or gifts people shoved at him. He had been the model in which she classified men. Shining was the only one to surpass him.
Now he was in a coma, with no hope of ever waking up. Three more tears swelled up, but Shinning immediately wiped them off. "Don't worry honey, everything's going to be fine. You'll see, in a week he'll be back to his insane self causing chaos and jumping with joy when he finds out we are married. We know he has had worse, remember Canterlot?"
"Of course I do, but what if he never wakes up? He's had a lot of damage and his body can't take in a lot." She started sobbing.
"Hey! I brought you a special package..." And as Pinkie Pie was entering she immediately saw the corpse lying next to the princess and gasped. "Holly moley guacamoley! What's going on?" She launched a large heart-shaped cake with the words get well soon inscribed in red frosting. Shining responded quickly by withdrawing his spruce wand and catching the cake before it crashed. He set it on the nightstand carefully to avoid disasters.
"Hello Pinkie Pie, this is our friend that was wounded. His name is Shield Heart." He said.
"Wow, he looks horrible!"
"Don't worry, he's had worse. This one time they had to pump hydra poison out of his blood, he was whiter than snow." Said Shining casually. Pinkie Pie merely gasped and bolted out of the room.
An awkward silence ensued for three minutes.
"I think we should do something about his clothes." Said Cadence finally. "They're completely ruined. I think we should get them fixed. I think it would be weird if Shield wore these rags after he woke up. By the way, I thought he used glasses."
"He did, they must have fallen off and broken his leg. We should forget about them, I'm sure he has several pairs. I have an idea, why don't you go with Rarity and ask her if she could do anything about those clothes hmm? Try distracting yourself for a bit." Shining kissed his wife and helped her up her seat.
"I don't know, what if he has a fit or something bad happens? I won't be here to calm him down!" She said as she tried to sit down again, but Shining stopped her. "When will you stop babying him? He'll be fine! I'll stay here and watch over him so you don't have to worry. If anything happens I'll call you.
Reluctantly, she left. She remembered the fits Shield usually had after being hospitalized, and with no knowledge of when he will wake up she feared it would be a time bomb. But she decided to relax a bit. She knew that Shield had some sort of self control and that she needn't worry. Her hands were holding a burlap sack with what once were clothes in them.
She managed to get to Carousel Boutique without much inconvenience, mostly due to this being a busy day. After the Royal Wedding a lot of farms and businesses needed time to recover from having sold most of their stock. Also, Harvest Season was coming close so there was also that rush.
Cadence had never before been inside Carousel Boutique, but she felt at home. The place had this weird feel that it was designed to be perfect. The dresses were set chromatically, giving this sense of order. Suits were ordered in a greyscale fashion, with most of them being black. She noticed a lack of casual clothes.
She found Rarity on her sewing machine, carefully putting together the frills on a violet dress. The owner must have sensed her, since she stopped and turned around.
"Why hello princess Cadence, what can I help you with?" She asked in her melodious voice.
"Sorry to interrupt Rarity, it looked like it was important."
"Oh don't fret dear, that dress is for the next Grand Galloping Gala. I thought Twilight's dress could use a little work, most of the others are simple, but Twilight is a complicated customer. But she is also the most important. She's the one that shows everything off. By the way, how is your friend? I hope we can see him soon."
This hit Cadence a little harder than she though it would. "The doctors don't know what is wrong with him."
Rarity showed the most natural look, utter surprise. "Well, what ails your friend?"
"A lot of broken bones, tetanus and other things. The doctors are surprised he's still alive. Anyway, I have a huge favor to ask of you." Interrupted Cadence hoping to drop the subject.
Rarity understood and took a look at the sack. "Am I right to believe that this favor you ask is related to your friend?"
"Yes, I want to know if there is anything you could do to fix these." Various pieces of clothing were dropped on her table.
Rarity began inspecting the crimson duster, feeling the fabric and searching the ruptures. If she was surprised by the various bloodstains, cuts and other deformities, she didn't show it. She continued inspection by touching the white dress shirt. "Your friend has an expensive taste. This is imported wool, and also of the finest quality."
"Yeah, Shield likes luxuries in his life. He has this silver pocket watch a supposed doctor gave him. Also he used these titanium glasses the Great Bridle president gave him after some adventures he never told me of."
"Well, I would have hoped that he took better care of such fine clothes this fabric is not easy to find, nor is it cheap. I can fix the damages, if that is your wish, but I will need time in order to make it good. How much time will you give me?"
"What about the shirt? Can't you do anything about it?"
"I'm afraid not, it's soaked in blood both human and changeling. Not to mention..."
"Wait, did you just say changeling blood? How do you know that?"
"Ugh, I wish I didn't, but some of their blood spilled onto my dress when we had our little rumble before your wedding. I could never take it off and had to burn the dress, it was a shame. Same thing with this shirt. I could give you a replacement, but I have to burn this. Ugh, I can't stand the sight of green blood! I'll be happy to give you a replacement if you want. Free of charge!" Said Rarity with her joyful voice.
"That won't be..." And Cadence was cut off by her singing voice "Shining Armor, I'll be there very sooooon!" Cadence went for her purse and withdrew a small silver cellphone. With a flip she answered: "Yeah, I'm here honey." Her face was shocked. "I'll be there in a minute!" She turned to face Rarity. "I need to go! My friend has started acting weird and I need to see him. Can you do me this favor? Please?"
"Don't you worry princess, your friend will never know that someone fixed his clothes! Just relax and I'm sure everything will turn out alright." Rarity turned around and continued working on her dress.
Cadence ran out of the shop and took off as quickly as she could. She arrived within minutes to the hospital, where they quickly guided her to Shield's bed. As soon as she passed through the door Shining rushed to hug her. "Thank Celestia you're here!" He said.
"What's the problem? What is happening to Shield?" She asked.
"We don't know ma'am, but this is actually good for him!" Said the doctor. A second later Shield gave a exhaling moan, his mouth excreting a yellow foam and his nose exhaling a blue vapor. "What is that?" She asked.
"We don't know yet, but I believe that it is some sort of regeneration system. We conducted another series of tests and found that his disk and arms have completely healed. We also found no trace of tetanus, although his blood is still clogging." The doctor said with enthusiasm.
"You have never seen anything before?" Asked Cadence with shock.
"Well, not really, no. That's why we are excited! This man was supposed to be dead, but he has recovered at an astonishing speed!" The doctor was gleefully touching the foam, sensing its composition and tasting it.
Twilight entered the room, holding a paper bag from the local sandwich shop. "Hey brother! I brought you your favorite, a large BLT!" She saw what was happening and backed out. "Is this a bad time?"
"No, of course not Twily! Why would it be?" Shining said. Shield moaned once more, which scared Twilight. Intrigued, she approached the body and studied the vapor. She took a whiff and grabbed the foam. "Yep, it's mana alright! This man is having a mana leak!" She declared.
The doctor was stunned, giving Twilight the how did you know that surprised look.
"How do you know that Twilight? You're not a doctor." Asked Cadence.
"It's part of the advanced magical medical course, certain people can be trained into placing themselves in a healing coma whenever things get critical. It isn't a popular tactic, using mana in your bloodstream can have its side-effects. But I started reading some Commissioner handbooks and they told of this technique, apparently some of them undergo the dangerous procedures in order to return to active duty faster."
"Oh Celestia! Why didn't I know of this before?" Fumbled the doctor, he placed his hand on his forehead, thinking of what just happened.
"Because as I said, it is not very popular. Mainly because it is dangerous, if one step isn't done correctly then your bloodstream will swell up until it explodes."
"Well, what should we do. There must be some way we can help him recover!" Said the doctor desperately.
"There's really nothing left to do. We could harvest the excess mana into a gem, but it won't help speed it up. For now all we can do it wait for his body to recover." Said Twilight with her air of authority.
With staggered breaths Shield Heart woke up in a hospital bed. His room was spacious, it's no other beds near him and the place being spotless. In front of him sat a stockpile of goodies, including plushies, balloons, chocolates and even a medal.
"What the hell? Where am I?" He asked himself. He heard a weird beeping noise and looked around. He was connected to a breathing machine and a blood dispensing post. He yanked the tubes in his nose and ripped the needle off his arm. "Hello? Anyone there?" He noticed he was wearing a white t-shirt and blue boxers rather than his usual attire.
He got out of bed and began walking. His left leg felt injured, but he felt as I it could still handle him. Still, he decided to use it as little as possible for fear of permanently damaging it. He began taking baby steps, using the white wall as support. Outside of his room was deserted, not one soul was even slightly visible. And if there once were people here, they left in a hurry. Some chairs were turned over, and the reception counter still had stacks of paper.
He scanned the environment and found a convenient yew walking stick. On the front desk he found Silver on top a form with a unique logo printed on the top left corner the logo was an olive green P circled by thirteen silver stars. Worried, he snatched the paper and began reading it. The paper said nothing, it was just hospitals paper work, so he dismissed it, grabbed his blaster and flicked the setting to level two. He felt safer with a gun in his hand, but he also needed intel on this place and dead men can't talk.
He kept walking through various rooms, but they all seemed deserted. Even the break room was devoid of life, with opened candy bars and spilled soda. There were signs of a struggle, various windows had skin marks, but there was no blood or anything that could indicate a problem. Most beds were turned over as if the patients had stumbled and run away.
Two floors up he found his first sign of life, an elderly man was lying in a large sofa eating a bowl of obsidian chuncks. He looked oblivious to anything, fashion, sense, even reality. He had pure white hair, his right fang was long, his goatee was unkempt and had black hairs, his clothes were a horrible patchwork of two colors: red and purple.
Shield knew better than to let his guard down. He grabbed Silver and aimed. "Who are you, what's going on here, why is this place deserted, why are you eating rocks and why shouldn't I shoot you here and now?"
The elder merely looked at him and laughed. "Oh goodie! You're finally awake, I was afraid you had died after I saw your wounds. I believe I saved the right man, you are Shield Heart right? It would be embarrassing if I saved Hield Shard. And before you answer please lower your weapon, you might hurt yourself."
Shield ignored him and the man snapped his fingers. Shield heard his gun shoot, but he never pulled the trigger. A nanosecond later his left knee was in searing pain. He hanged onto his stick, but it disappeared with another snap. Shield screamed in pain as the full weight of his body crashed down on it. "What did you do?"
"Not funny when your guns go off on you, is it? Now listen because I have bad news. Equestria is in danger, and you are the only one who can stop this horrible calamity." Said the elder with a melodramatic tone as he casually floated.
"What... Calamity?" He asked between spasms. He was thankful Silver was set to stun, otherwise he might have lost his leg.
"I'm very sure you know what I speak of. Now please tell me I contacted the Enforcer who took down the mighty Yegua del Sur Cartel in Manehattan."
"Hell yeah that's me!"
"Then stop groaning like a little girl, you're embarrassing yourself."
Shield took deep breaths before he answered. His pain had deceased rapidly. "What calamity, who's causing it?"
"Think about it, who could it be? Who has the power to launch a full scale assault on Equestria and still not get into trouble with the Elder Council?"
"It can't be. No it's not Him, is it?" Said Shield with worry.
"Yes it is Him! Ragnar, the smith lord of Boardor. He has been planing for ages a strike here on Equestria." Hollered The Man, his mockery clear.
Shield sighed in relief.
The man in rags scoffed. "Who else would it be? It surely isn't Deep Sea, she's not even into the whole "conquer the world idea". Ragnar has been preparing an army but first wants to weaken you. He knows Equestria can defeat the changelings, but he doesn't expect you. You have managed to remain unseen for now, but you will attract dangerous folk."
"Why should I believe a word you say?"
"It's quite simple really, you don't have to. I'm merely telling you what I know,what I've seen hoping that you can use it in your favor. I'd hate to see my favorite vacation home destroyed and turned into a forge."
"So, where am I?"
"How should I know! We could be anywhere really. We could be in Canterlot." The old man snapped his fingers and there was an earthquake. After recovering from a fall Shield saw several high white towers. The smell of cinnamon rolls sneaked through a window, filling the lungs of a certain hungry officer.
"Now listen, I need to be sure that you are ready for the task ahead, because this might just cause your little brain to explode."
With another snap of his fingers the man summoned two doors, one was red and the other was shining silver. "Before you stand two doors. One will take you through your worst nightmares, the other through your wildest dreams. Pass through them and you will escape this dream, fail or die and your mind will be stuck here in the Collective Unconscious. Your mind will forever roam free of your body, but you will die on the real world."
"Which one is which?" Asked Shield. He needed to know more of this test, he feared that it was worst than what this madman said.
"I don't know, I just made the doors and connected them to your brain. Your mind will fill it with the rest. It is a journey of resistance."
"Before i take any decisions, what should I call you?"
"Ugh, again with the labels, well if you must know, I have a lot of names. I'm known as Sheogorath Prince of Madness, as Loki God of Mischief, also as the Cheshire Cat. I have no definite name, so choose any of those." He said without meaning, but he also muttered very below his breath "Discord in Equestria."
"Very well Loki. How do I fail?"
"It's rather easy to know, you lose sight of what you need to do. If you get bogged down in marriage and forget that you are just passing by then that becomes your reality. If you get stuck in a heated battle and fall into a coma then, in that case, things are bound to become interesting." Loki chuckled for a moment. "I don't believe I have to explain how you lose if you die." The last sentence came with the stench of sarcasm.
"I'm sure I've figured it out." answered Shield in a smug tone. "Very well, show me what will or might happen if I lose." with a snap of Loki's fingers the doors vanished, leaving only a barren volcanic landscape. He could see masses of people working at steel mills, their faces swollen and hollow. It looked like a combination of exploitation and loss of sleep.
He was taken to what once was Canterlot, the once pearl city was now nothing more than white rubble. The majestic towers were either destroyed, burned or evaporated. The city was filled with charred corpses of the unfortunate souls that couldn't escape. He noticed that the castle was in ruin, with several armored soldiers turned into skeletons, their armor blackened by heat or pierced at various points.
One corpse was hard not to recognize. It was wearing a red suit, a silver sword on his side. The suit was burnt, but he had enough piece of mind to know that it was the formal outfit used by the Captain of the Canterlot Guard.
Next to him was what he had to believe was a woman with the bones of wings. There was a single pink feather on the ground, untouched by the flames.
Shield couldn't bear it anymore, he dropped on his knees and began sobbing. He was facing a problem which had no clear solution, and two of his friends would be dead. He was later taken to the courtyard, where he lost it. Two winged skeletons were hugging, amidst swarms of corpses. He noticed a large crater where they stood, as if there had been an explosion.
There was no way of knowing if they were friends or foes. Some had tusked helmets, so those he knew were enemies. But most were bones and ash.
With a snap of fingers he was taken away from the white city and transported to his home in Vanhoover.
Vanhoover was commonly known for its mirrored skyscrapers and concrete roads. These were ruined, leaving the sense that they were in a post-apocalyptic wasteland rather than the Glass Port. He saw the first sign of human life, his friend Fire Storm. He was wielding his extendable spear, slashing and stabbing several armored men wearing professional combat armor and wielding assault rifles.
Next to him were other friends of his, all fighting the oncoming horde. Hey were badly outnumbered, but they looked determined to fight to the bitter end.
It was too gruesome for Shield, seeing that much misery just couldn't be handled well.
"This is what will happen if you fail to wake up. Your friends became part of the Pony Rebels, the last resistance. But they are badly equipped and therefore destined to die." Broke out Loki with a serious face. He snapped his fingers and the hospital room reassembled itself.
"And how do I pass the test? What is my goal?" Asked Shield.
"How should I know? I'm not your brain. The task is determined by whatever your mind dictates."
Shield thought for a moment. He was about to jump into heaven or hell by chance. If he failed Equestria would become an extension of Boardor, and the world would probably follow.
Shield grabbed Silver, he had a plan, he just needed more information. "What happens if I die here?" He asked. Loki looked at him funny, almost as if the question was unusual.
"I've never tried it myself. But you are welcome to try."
"You said we are on the Collective Unconscious, which is basically a dream, and if you die in a dream you just wake up in real life." He said with gusto. "And you gave me a gun, which is pointless in here because there's no one to use it on!"
"I didn't give you that! Your brain summoned it. I only provided the future and the knowledge of today."
"Why am I the only one who can stop them, clearly the are more people who are better qualified. My friends could hold their ground fairly good."
"Only you possess the knowledge of these events. Everyone will be taken by surprise. And you are the closest thing to a soldier Equestria has."
"What about the ERG? They're very decent soldiers?"
Loki laughed once again. "Stop playing dumb. We have both seen the horrors of the outside, and we know that those soldiers aren't even ready for a single fight. You on the other hand, have lived through the various battlefields. Stalliongrad, Boardor, the Scorching Plains, the Ib'Xian triads, the mobsters in Manehattan. The list goes on, but the point is you know war. This is why you trained, why you ran away."
Shield was surprised, so he responded angrily. "How do you know that? That information is known by very few individuals, most of which are either friends or dead."
"I know a great many things, being here in limbo really makes me learn. I may not be able to move physically, but my mind can wander freely without anyone noticing. I am aware of everything that happens." Loki was floating again, drinking fire from a glass of wine.
Shield walked to the center of the room, flicked Silver to level three and pointed him at the elder.
"You really want to do that?" Asked Loki with a smug grin.
"I've made my decision, there is no possible scenario in which I win so..." He pointed Silver inside his mouth. "I' out!" And he pulled the trigger.
It was a day later that there was any sign of life from Shield Heart in Ponyville General. He groaned for a minute before fading back to limbo. His action had lifted the spirits of Shining Armor, Cadence and Twilight Sparkle, the only ones in his room awaiting his revival. The doctors had expected him to sleep for the rest of the week.
An at nine o'clock, he finally came back to the real world. He sat upright in a violent fashion, thrashing about as if he had been injected with adrenaline. He got out of bed and headed for the door before anyone could stop him. But he didn't anticipate his left knee failing the second he put weight over it.
Screaming, he fell down on the tile floor gripping his knee. He then took a moment to observe his surroundings. He never registered he was amongst humans, he had envisioned that he was either in the hands of changelings or in the wilderness.
Shining rushed to pin him down, but the struggle was difficult, Shield was only slightly weaker. And his weak strength was complimented with agility.
"Shield! It's me, Cadence! Don't you remember me?" Said the princess as she held his head toward hers. "Don't worry, you are fine and more importantly you are safe."
Shield's face was similar to a lost child, innocent and trying to understand the world around him. He knew that his plan must have worked, committing suicide was the best option of getting back to life.
"Am I in heaven?" He asked.
"You're in Ponyville General, we had to rush you into ER when we found you outside Mount Horseshoe." Said Shining as he released his friend.
"Oh good, I fainted after seeing that rainbow Valkyrie and thought that was the end of me. So she brought me here?" Shield got up after he had controlled his pain. He sat on the bed, knowing it was the most sensible thing to do.
"What? No, Shining brought you here on his ATV. Rainbow just found you." Intervened Twilight.
"So there was no Valkyrie nursing me back to health? Shame about that. I've always wanted that to happen. Thanks by the way, not that I don't appreciate the sentiment, I find it better to wake up in a hospital rather than in the woods. I just think it would have been cooler of a Valkyrie had done it, like in the legends of Antguard." Said the enforcer with a cheery tone, completely disregarding that he had just suffered an adrenaline jolt.
Cadence giggled. "How typical of you! After being in a coma the first thing you decide to do is some lame joke!"
"I know, but I needed your smile! It's been far too long. How are you Shining? When's your big wedding?" Said the patient.
All three gave him a wired look. "Shield, the wedding was about a month ago. Didn't you get the invitation?" Broke out Shining.
"You are one lucky bastard that I am crippled, otherwise I would have gone ninja on your ass! Of course I didn't get one! I would have confirmed it! Good Celestia!" He started saying gibberish, most of which struck Twilight as offensive. A nurse burst in, but was too stunned to speak.
"Shy, relax! I'm sure the letter got lost or something! And don't worry about it, we still have the video. We'll watch it with Twilight." Said Cadence quickly.
The nurse bolted out of the door, shouting for a doctor.
Shield calmed down and smiled. "No problem. Sorry, it's just that I wanted to be there. I like the offer but I can't stay, I'll just grab my things and take the next train to Canterlot. I need to deliver something I got from the mines." He got up from bed and began limping. He took a moment to see that he was wearing underwear, a white shirt and boxers.
"Oh, Luna!" Said Twilight while pointing to his arms. Cadence and Shining knew about it, but since Shield revealed his head while in bed everyone could see his true form. His wrists sported a black never ending knot tattoo. His right forearm was marked with a long, thin scar coated in dried blood. His shoulder was tattooed with a red howling wolf. The left forearm had several burn marks and a small scratch joined by stitching.
"Oh you mean this?" Said Shield casually while pointing to his arms. "Yeah, being a Commissioner has its downsides. The scars I got them while on the job. Usually I heal them, but the ones in my body are souvenirs of missions past." He swallowed. "Anyway, I need my clothes, I really have to get going. How long was I out anyways? And where is the nearest pizza place, I'm starving!"
"Three days. It's the twenty third of May." Said Shining.
"And there have been no letters from the Equestrian Guard? I was supposed to finish two days ago! I usually take only one day to do a job, why aren't they worried?"
"Because you are you! No one has had the need to worry about you for months! Your jobs are always done, no matter the time." Shining was calm, despite his friend having anger issues.
"Oh, really? Well then, guess I should just send the medallion via mail and ask for vacations. I think I could use some time exploring Ponyville. Where are my glasses? And where the hell are my clothes? I can't go out like this!" He protested.
"I'm sorry Shield, but your clothes were a mess. I sent your duster and pants to be fixed, but your shirt was a lost cause, put these on and we'll go get you some new ones." Answered Cadence as she showed him a pair of tan trousers, a black t-shirt, and grey shoes. "Also, we couldn't find your glasses, sorry about that."
He looked somewhat unconvinced, but said. "Thanks, I never expected you would have anticipated this. Hell, I never expected this to happen." He grabbed the clothes and headed for the bathroom. Some minutes later he was dressed and ready to go.
"Where's my stuff?" He asked.
"Your backpack is right here but your harnesses, guns, and swords are in our room." Said Shining.
"Okay, so long as they aren't damaged all should be fine. " Said Shield as he went for his backpack and took out a small case, which had a pair of thin-framed silver glasses. He also removed his wallet, black cellphone and a stocky, fifty seven pistol.
He removed the clip "Hello Maria." He said and checked it back in. He cocked the weapon and put it in his back, he later untucked his shirt to hide it.
"What's that for?" Asked Twilight. "You don't need weapons in Ponyville. It's a rather peaceful town."
"Sorry, but when you've had a life like mine, it never hurts to be armed." He said. He started limping out the door but was stopped by the doctor.
"I'm sorry sir, but you can't leave. We want to keep you in check for another day."
"Sorry Doctor Feel Good, but I have to skip check-up. I really got to get going. I've never been to Ponyville before and I want to spend some time relaxing. Don't worry about the paperwork, I'll pay my bills."
"But..." Continued the doctor but was silenced by Shield.
"Don't worry doc, if you want I can later submit myself to tests concerning my healing coma." He said. The doctor seemed to like it, since he stepped aside with a smile.
Once Shield had made a check to the hospital for ten thousand bits, he proceeded outside using Shining as his crutch.
"How did you know the doctor wanted to study you?" Asked Twilight.
"He's not the first one to be impressed by my regeneration."
"You know what?" Asked Shield as they passed through City Hall. "I really should get me a walking stick. This is getting embarrassing."
"How come your coma didn't heal your knee?" Asked Twilight as they passed Sugarcube Corner.
"I cant really control what my healing coma fixes first. Usually it goes for top priorities, like organs, arms and brain. After forty-eight hours my coma ends and any non-essential parts, like my knees, don't regenerate."
"How does your mind prioritize body parts?"
"Usually it depends on what I know. I know that there is a brace that will allow me to walk like regular people, so with that in my memories my legs are left at the bottom."
Inside the Waltz Walker shop, home to all sorts of walking sticks. Shield browsed through several canes, occasionally swinging them like swords. He finally settled for an oak cane with a silver pommel. He also purchased a black cane trimmed with gold for formal occasions and a plastic one as a spare. He also purchased a yew walking staff, indicating that he liked hiking and he needed one.
Their next stop was Casual Corner, their shop for everyday clothes. Twilight left saying she had to continue studying the history of the Commissioners.
Cadence bought her friend a pair of jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt and two t-shirts. He decided to wear the shirt that covered his arms, no need to attract unnecessary attention. For a traveller he was well off, carrying large amounts of cash with him.
Afterwards they went to the Pizza Parlor, after Shield's constant begging. He ordered a large Pepperoni pizza for himself, and a vegetarian for his friends. "You can put me to sleep for as long as you like, but you can never separate me from my pepperoni." He said childishly.
Shining began eating the vegetable-infested dish, but stole a slice the second his wife looked away to see the kids playing in the arcade.
"So where is the nearest hotel?" He asked as he grabbed another slice of pepperoni. "I'll need somewhere to sleep while I buy a house here."
"Sadly, there's only one inn. And it's at full capacity right now. I was thinking of leaving you with one of Twilight's friends." Answered Cadence, which earned her a weird look from her spouse.
"That won't be necessary. I could camp out in the edge of the forest. Last thing I want is to bother some poor stranger."
"Oh, I'm sure they wouldn't mind having you. Anyway, I want you with someone who can watch over you in case you get sick again." Said Cadence.
"Also, why do you want to buy a house? You usually travel around the world." Said Shining.
"That's cuz I like having safe houses all over Equestria. I am only missing Hollow Shades, Tall Tale and here. And this place looks peaceful enough, I might even turn it into a vacation home." Said the soldier with glee.
"So you're just looking for a small home so you can occasionally come here?" Asked the Captain.
"Yeah, pretty much. I always like having a home everywhere I go. What about you two lovebirds? Will you move to raise a family?"
"We were debating just that the moment we saw your tower of smoke." Said Shining.
Shield looked embarrassed. "Really? Sorry about that."
"No! That was actually a good thing! If not for you, we would probably have had our first fight. Thanks to you we have been so busy that we had forgotten about it!" Intervened Cadence. "So what is your opinion?"
"I can't have an opinion yet, I've been conscious for five hours. And most of that time was spent shopping."
"So what would you say if we strolled around town?" Suggested Cadence.
"That's not a bad idea, I could go real estate hunting while I'm at it."
"Perfect! Then come along! There is much to show you and not enough time."
After paying for the pizza they began touring the market. Shield was charmed by the rustic and peaceful ambient that Ponyville gave, although walking with a cane was difficult on this rocky road. Everyone was kind, offering samples of their goods and offering bargains. Most struck Shield as cheap, the usual buy one get one off, the two-for-one special, buy this get that free, the usual discounts.
One offer that made Shield's heart melt was a combo consisting of a dozen maple donuts and a liter of vanilla milkshake. Before he could take out his wallet his sister stopped him.
"No Shield, if you eat all of that you'll get fat!" She explained.
"So what? This is a large beauty we're talking about! You never see this type of offer anywhere and my exercise regime does allow it." He protested as he paid for his dessert.
"Fine, but when you roll on the ground because of the excess fat don't come crying to me."
He ignored her and offered one to Shining who refused politely until his wife went on ahead. Afterwards the captain accepted the offer and ate it before anyone could notice. Shield put the donut box in his backpack, hoping they wouldn't be mashed. He kept his large milkshake on his special beverage holster.
Shield's attention was caught by a beautiful woman clad in a white blouse and a black miniskirt. Her deep blue shiny hair was carefully groomed to look wavy. She turned around and noticed the princess first.
"Why hello princess how is your day going?" She said in a melodious voice.
"Very good actually, might I present you my friend..." Started Cadence.
"Enforcer Shield Heart at your service milady." Quickly followed the officer as he grabbed her hand and kissed it.
"It is a pleasure to meet you, I'm Rarity. So you are the friend that caused such a disaster two days ago?"
Shield felt terrible, but regained himself. "As unfortunate as it is, yes. The life of a commissioner is a harsh one and I cannot control every situation. My mission went on as planned but created... Difficulties afterwards."
"Well, I think no one blames you for what happened."
"I know, but it still feels embarrassing that I need help."
"We all need help in this life."
"I must concede with that."
"But enough about problems, would you like to accompany me to my shop? There are certain things I would like to discus about your attire."
Shield looked at himself, and looked back at her with bewilderment. "What's wrong with these?"
The woman giggled. "No silly, I meant your previous clothes. Your crimson jacket and your black pants, your friend asked me to repair them for you."
Shield sighed. "Oh thank heavens, for a second I thought you were going to fight me about being unfashionable."
Rarity snickered. "Why do people assume I will critique their dress code?"
Shield quickly retracted. "Wait, no sorry I said that. It's just that I am used to people bothering me about not using their dress code and..."
"You do not have to worry, I think I understand. Now if you will follow me?" She extended her hand. And Shield grabbed it.
"You two doves coming?" He asked.
"No, we have to go back to our room and pick up something." Said Shining.
"Very well, we go!" He said in a staccato voice. He and his new friend began walking away.
"So what can you tell me about yourself?" Asked Rarity.
"Really not much to tell, was born and raised in Canterlot. Grew up to be a Guard but quit when I lost the duel against Shining Armor. I still had good fighting abilities, so I joined the Equestrian Commissioners. I travelled abroad for four years, through Great Bridle, Prance, Germaneigh, Gallopfrey, the Hooviet Union, Boardor..." He said.
"I can imagine more than one topic coming from those places."
"They aren't exactly happy trails. Most involve me doing suicidal stuff that endangers everyone."
"So you are more of an active person?"
"You could say that."
"I'm sure you have plenty of exciting adventures to talk about."
They passed in front of the schoolhouse as the bell rang. The grounds we flooded with kids of all ages.
"I hope you don't mind of we pick my sister up from school." said Rarity.
"Of course not! It would be my pleasure to escort both you and your sister."
A girl with a white shirt and denim overalls skipped toward them. Her purple and pink hair bounced like cotton candy as she skipped toward them. Her skips were full of happiness, and her school bag was bursting with books. "Hi Rarity!" She said. She stared at Shield for a while.
"Who's he?" She asked her sister.
"He's a friend of Shining''s."
"The name's Shield Heart." He bowed.
"Is he your date? I thought you were after Fancy Pants." Asked the youth to Rarity, who giggled nervously.
Shield entered the argument. "I'm not your sister's date, I am merely a friend."
"Why do you have a cane?"
"Sweetie Bell! Stop pestering the man!" Scolded Rarity.
"Oh she's not pestering! It's okay for people to ask me about my handicap." He interrupted. "You see Sweetie, I need this cane because my left knee is damaged."
"How did that happen?"
"I fell from a tree three meters high and made a bad landing after I escaped some trolls inside Mount Horseshoe. Now I suggest you come with us if you want to hear the full story." Responded Shield.
Sweetie Bell dropped her jaw for a minute, then urged them to move.
"So..." Said Shield as he broke the silence. "You know Fancy Pants."
"Well of course! A woman in my sort of career must be aquatinted with all sorts of people."
"But you spent all your time talking to him during the wedding party." Said Sweetie Bell.
"I was discussing several business propositions with him, I wanted him to sponsor my new fashion line." Retorted Rarity.
"I suppose you are referring to Shining Armor and Cadence's wedding." Said Shield.
"Why yes, that wedding was just marvelous. I had a splendid time, how about you?"
"I wasn't invited, not that I would have gone if I was. I hate weddings. I may have gone just because it's them, but I don't usually go to weddings."
"Why not?"
"Because I loathe being around nobles. Those stuck-up narcissistic, hedonistic devils. I despise having to be near them, they only talk about superficial stuff. The latest fashion, the newest partnership, the divorce, who looks good, who looks bad, the list goes on. They never bother in finding out about their world." He complained.
"Oh pish posh! I know a lot of nobles that are concerned about the well being of this nation!"
"I wish they would express their concerns when I'm around, because that would make for interesting topics in the Grand Galloping Gala."
"Maybe they feel uncomfortable talking about serious subjects when in a happy environment."
"That didn't stop Fancy Pants from being a worthy opponent. That guy is one of the few nobles that have earned my respect."
"I know, he is one of the few gentlemen left."
"Yeah, that's why there's a fan club just for him."
"Really? I never would have guessed."
"That's because he has asked them to keep it secret, and curiously enough they respect his petition."
"It does make sense, no one wants to be surrounded by noisy teenagers every time you arrive to a new city."
"Yes, but he does spend a day with them. That is rare for a celebrity, most just simply take a photo with one or two and moves on. Is this your store?" Rarity noticed that during their discussion they had arrived to Carousel Boutique. The blue and white store was looking a little dirty, not good for her image, she was going to need help cleaning it.
"Of course it is! This is the bestest store in all of Ponyville!" Burst out Sweetie Bell. Shield quickened his pace and went for the door, he tried opening it but noticed it was locked.
"Hold on just one minute." Said Rarity as she went for her black leather purse. A second later she managed to find the brass key. Fitting it through the slot, she twisted the lock and Shield opened the door.
"Would you be so kind as to give me a minute to tidy up the place?"
"I cannot argue against a lady, but I really don't mind the mess."
"You are so kind, I promise I won't take long."
"No need to worry, it's better to take an hour to create a masterpiece that a second for a decent job."
"Believe me, I never take long." Rarity said as she quickly closed the door.
Shield turned his attention to the girl next to him. Her smile was getting contagious, and for once he was happy about it. It had been weeks since he last had any sort of fun, and children had always brought joy.
"So..." He began. "How was your day at school?"
"It was fine, we started learning basic multiplications but then continued with history."
"You don't like math?"
"Well, no. It's really hard to understand the use of numbers in my life when I want to become a dressmaker like my sister."
"Maybe you're having trouble understanding it. I never thought I would need math as a Commissioner, but truth is numbers are everywhere. So I could help you if you want."
"What's a commissioner?" Asked Sweetie Bell.
"They haven't taught you about Equestrian Security Organizations? How old are you anyways?"
"Ten years old."
"Na, you're too young to..." Shield couldn't finish his sentence because someone landed right in front of him. She was wearing a cyan tank top, black hot pants and white sneakers, her wings were the same color as her shirt.
Shield immediately went for his pistol and pointed it at her head. More than one person had tried this tactic and he wasn't about to low his guard. When the rainbow-haired woman saw the trouble she was in she jumped back.
"What the heck!" She exclaimed.
Shield withdrew his gun when his brain recognized her as he Valkyrie that spotted him. She looked very tomboyish, so he knew that enraging her wouldn't be a good idea.
"Sorry about that, my instincts kicked in when you landed near me. Lots of Seraphs have tried sneaking up on me just like you did." He said.
"I wasn't trying to sneak up on you! I was just coming to visit my friend Rarity." She protested.
"I know, and it was not correct of me to assume it. If you did want to harm me you would have left me to die." He replied as he tucked his weapon behind his back.
"Oh right, you're that guy I found bleeding out in front of the cave. What were you doing there anyways?"
"I was tasked with retrieving the Lunar Medallion, an ancient artifact of great power. At least that's what they said. But I ended up fighting goblins, changelings and ten trolls." He said casually.
"Why?"
"Because it was Monday and I was bored. Commissioners can accept or deny missions outside their city."
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Really? That casual? You go on adventures out of boredom?"
Sweetie Bell raised her hand.
"What is it?" Asked Shield.
"Where are you from?"
"I was born and raised in Canterlot, but I'm stationed at Vanhoover."
"Vanhoover? Really? What do you guys do for fun?" Asked Rainbow.
"Just the usual, chess, reading, snow angels..."
Rainbow puffed in disagreement. "That's egghead fun, I meant real fun, sports and stuff."
Shield looked upset. "I was getting to that. We have snow boarding, hockey, Yetiback riding..."
"You have what?" Rainbow said in amazement.
"Yeah, it's quite poplar. And it is also ridiculously dangerous. One wrong move and you are either stuck on a tree or the yeti has launched you off a cliff. We also have snow horseback riding for regular people."
Rarity opened the door and said in her musical voice: "Come In!"
The three people standing outside obeyed first entered Sweetie Bell, then after a brief debate, Rainbow Dash. Like all Gentlemen, Shield entered last.
The Commissioner was surprised about the sheer beauty of the shop, actually he wasn't sure he was in a commercial building. Every single piece of clothing was ordered in such a fashion that it looked like the racks to the left were spewing every single color in the light spectrum and the right was similar, but in a greyscale rather than the polychromatic spectrum.
I welcome you to Carrousel Boutique, where everything is Chick Fit and Magnifique! Thee shop had several purple pedestals with white walls and gold-framed mirrors.
"Wow, I've been to many stores, but never have I laid eyes upon such a work of art!" He exclaimed.
Rarity blushed. "Oh, I'm sure you say that at every store. I only keep the place looking tidy, but I cannot consider it art."
"I have seen museums that are ugly compared to this."
Rainbow Dash signaled her boredom by groaning loudly as she sat on a scarlet couch, her muddy shoes staining the golden legs.
"What can I help you with Rainbow?" Grunted Rarity with displeasure.
"I need to give you a message." The tomboy turned her head and glared at the cripple.
"So what is it?" He responded.
"Not you, it's for her."
Rarity quickly dragged Rainbow to the back of the store, muttering something Shield decided not to comprehend.
"Do not worry, I'll be back shortly with your coat." She said.
Shield went for his donut box and placed it in one of the pedestals.
"Want one?" He asked the girl. With a smile she accepted.
A couple of second later Rarity exited the back room, but Rainbow Dash was nowhere to be seen. On the seamstress's hands was a folded crimson coat.
"Here is your coat, I just fixed it with magic, but I can fully repair it if you want." She said.
Shield grabbed it and put it on. He noticed that it was clean, but a sprinkled with green changeling blood. The hole on his side was united with magic, no stitching was present. He had to admit it was fine work.
"You did an excellent job, shame about the changeling blood." He said. His hand glowed with crimson as he passed his hand over the green freckles. Instantly they evaporated.
"How did you do that?" Asked the seamstress with surprise.
"It's an old trick a friend showed me, by using a special spell you can grab all the chemicals from blood and burn them. He taught it to me because he liked my coat."
"Very interesting, maybe you could teach me that spell later."
"Of course! I need to repay you somehow for this marvelous job."
"Oh, it was nothing. Really." Responded Rarity.
Shield began searching through his inside pockets. From his right side he pulled put a damaged silver medallion.
"I went to a coma for this baby." Said Shield as he stretched the leather necklace.
"It looks ugly." Answered Sweetie Bell.
"Sweetie! Be polite! This object means a lot to the man." Scolded Rarity.
"Nah, it's alright, it does look bad. You didn't touch it did you?" He said worried.
"Of course not, that is your property. Why would I ever touch it?"
Shield sighed. "Good, because this thing was hidden inside the largest double chin I have ever seen and sweat is not good for silver."
Both women showed how grossed out they were by simultaneously saying "Ewww."
"Yeah, ew." He replied as he put it back in his pocket. "I thank you for your hospitality, but I need to be off."
"You're going away so soon? I thought you said you were going to help me with my math homework?"
That hit home. Shield couldn't resist those eyes, those gigantic, watery green eyes. Every fiber of his mind was punishing him for wanting to refuse, but time was wasting. He needed to find a house before sundown so he could call in the furniture as soon as possible.
"Of course I'll help you! Where can we start?" He exclaimed with enthusiasm.
"Really? Thanks, thanks , thanks!" Cheered on Sweetie.
"But first you must eat. If you would please excuse us sir, we need to speak in private." Intervened Rarity.
"There is no problem, I will show myself out." Shield said as he walked out the door.
He was relieved to be free of tutoring, not that he didn't like it but he needed to find a safe-house as soon as possible. Outside the shop Cadence and Shining were waiting for him, and Shining was wearing his harnesses and weapons.
"Look at me! I'm an irresponsible killing machine!" Joked Shining Armor as he danced around, the weapons dangling with him.
"Haha, real funny Shine, can I have those back now?" Retorted Shield.
With a laugh Shining began undoing the straps. "Of course! I just couldn't resist doing that." He carefully handed over the leather holsters.
"Yeah, I'm sure of it." Shield dropped his backpack and began strapping himself. He felt good with Riot, Maggie and all his weapons with him. He put Maria in a new holster opposite of Arby.
"So have you seen any houses?" Asked Cadence.
"Nope. I spent my time going to school, then debating with the charming woman named Rarity, after that I was almost crushed by a flier with rainbow hair." Shield began walking toward the town center, but Cadence put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come with us." She said with a smile.
Shield obliged, and after some walking they were on front of what Shield could describe as a dream safe house.
It was a Germanic two-story building with a thatched roof, much like the rest of the structures in this town. What made it perfect was that it was at the edge of town, with the dark creepy forest lying in the horizon. This way he could practice shooting or other stuff and not worry about bothering neighbors.
"I love it!" He said as he rushed into the house. The sign that mentioned the sale showed only one telephone number. Shield went for his cell but stopped when an elderly man, about seventy years old with white hair and some blisters, stepped out.
"Excuse me sir, by any chance are you the owner of this adobe?" He asked.
The elder took a couple of seconds to respond. "Yes, this house is mine. What about it?"
"I was hoping to buy this house. And I believe that if I wish to acquire it I should be asking you."
"Well, yes, but I am afraid you are too late. Filthy Rich offered me twenty thousand bits just now." Said the elder coldly.
"And I believe that I cannot make a counteroffer for double, am I right?"
"I am truly sorry, but I already made the deal. And I never back down from a deal."
"Of course not, it is a matter of honor. Where can I meet the man so that I may discuss the property."
"I am here, who is looking for me?" Said a well-dressed man.
Shield stepped forward. "I did sir. I wish to buy this house."
"Well I am sorry to say that I do not plan on selling this property, you see I had planned to build an apartment tower."
"I am willing to give you double of what you paid for."
"I am intrigued, but I will have to refuse. I have been waiting for a long time for this property to become available. There is no way I am willing to sell..." Filthy Rich stopped when he was handed a check for fifty thousand bits. "Is this genuine?"
"Of course sir, I am willing to offer that much money for this house. And I think it would be the wisest." Claimed Shield with a smug grin.
"And why is that?"
"It will take you a month at least to tear down this house, four or five to build a four-apartment complex, six to twelve for an eight-apartment building. The total investment will be about a million bits, at least twice if you want anything worthy of rent. Also, the town has too much of a rustic style for anything larger than four stories. Third of all this property is at the edge of the Everfree Forest, which is known to house several monsters. That right there is bad publicity. I am offering you two point five times more than what you paid." Shield finished with a smile.
The man tousled through his hair, thinking. After two minutes he nodded. "You have convinced me sir, I shall give you the deed tomorrow. First I have to get it. Are you alright with noon?"
"Of course sir. We will meet here at noon. And just to know, does it have a basement?"
The old man responded. "It does have a cellar which is about as large as the house, why?"
"Just curious. Have a good day." Shield left, reaching for his cellphone. With two presses he began calling.
"Hey Gun Nut wazzup? I'm fine how 'bout you? That's awesome, listen I need you to bring me some stuff to Ponyville. Yeah it's the Safe Package, also bring me a Speed Package with Pabu. And one last thing, I need a Knee Care Package. I'll explain later. Think you can that stuff by tomorrow afternoon? Excellent I'll see you later. Bye." And Shield hung up.
"What was that about?" Asked a bewildered Cadence.
"Nothing, I just need some stuff from the Commission in order to have an official safe house."
"Fine, but I hope you don't cause trouble here. It's a peaceful town and the last thing they need is you causing problems."
"If I do anything it will be provide safety for this town."
"How about we forget about that and go stroll around town. Who likes my idea?" Broke out Shining Armor.
Cadence accepted. Shield was reluctant at first, but he gave in.
"Good, now let's climb aboard my ATV and let's get going." Shining said as he rushed to his parked vehicle and started its engine. Much to Shield's surprise, it was outfitted with what he called 'the couch'. It was a fabric seat connected to the back of the motorcycle via a steel frame. It was made to be detachable, in favor of versatility.
"I'll drive, you two lovebirds climb on back and think of this as a romantic cruise." Said Shield as he shoved Shining back. "So where are we going?"
"We're going to Sugarcube Corner. Just keep driving, we'll tell you when to turn." Instructed Cadence as she kissed her knight.
Shield revved the engine and took off. It was afternoon when they arrived at their sweet destination, but Shield was acting weird. He got off the motorbike and quickly glued himself below a window. He stood still for a moment and sneaked to the wall. Cadence opened her mouth, but her friend shot his hand upward to silence her. She lost it as soon as he went for his pistol on his right side.
She jumped out of the seat and dashed against him. "What is wrong with you?" She asked him quietly.
"There are people hiding behind the entrance, and I have been ambushed more than once that way." He responded quietly. He couldn't defend himself from the following blow to his head. "What was that for?"
"Stop being so paranoid. There a kids here and the last they need is to see you threaten them with a gun." She responded with anger.
"But what if it is an ambush? What if some junkie is trying to kill me?" He whispered. He received another slap on his head.
"The only one who wants to kill you is me for acting ridiculous!" Hissed the princess.
Shining got down from the love seat and entered the building. Shield followed close behind him, his senses on edge. He had revised several scenarios, from plausible stick-up to the downright ridiculous spawning of enemies from the couch.
What he got was the surprise from six women and three girls hidden behind the furniture shouting. "Surprise!"
"Oh, he's too stunned to speak!" Said a pink haired girl. Shield was three milliseconds from shooting her with Crimson and Silver. He didn't do this because he managed to recognize Twilight, miss Rarity and Rainbow Dash (or at least that's what he thought her name was) he also saw Sweetie Bell next to two of her friends.
The unknown faces were friendly enough. Next to the pink haired girl was a blonde. Shield deduced she was a farmer based on her clothing, a red plaid shirt and jeans, and her brown hat. Next to the cowgirl was a child about as old as Sweetie bell, her red hair flowing down and her yellow dress making her stand out from the woman next to her. Off in the distance, concealed between the wooden pillars was another woman. It was hard to make out her features, Shield only managed to see her pink hair and relatively small frame. She stuck to the shadows, rarely popping her head out. In front of her was the rainbow crash, and another young girl below her arms.
Both looked like the perfect tomboys, each wearing sporty clothes and letting their hair roam wildly. Only the girl had purple long hair while the multicolored aviator had, well, lots of colors.
He already knew Twilight Sparkle, who was wearing her usual white shirt and checkered violet skirt, it was hard not to. Being the most talked about woman in Canterlot for being the most mysterious, reclusive and rare woman. She was never seen outside the library, and it was rumored that she never slept. At all. And there was also the fact that she was Shining's younger sister.
"What is this..." He said confused.
"Well duh! It's a surprise welcome party for you stranger!" Said the cheery girl in pink.
"A surprise party, huh." huffed Shield. "It's been a long time since anyone threw me one of those, and last party it didn't end well."
"Well then get ready to party Ponyville style!" Said the girl as she turned on the stereo. The classic rock the entire room as all women approached him. He backed away, not because he was scared of them but, because looked more like a harem from his perspective.
Fortunately they were headed for the dance floor. With a sigh he retreated to the nearest chair. When he looked around he noticed Shining and Cadence had left, probably during the commotion. He noticed a tray of delicious muffins laying next to him.
After some minutes of dancing Twilight Sparkle approached him and sat on a chair opposite. "Are you enjoying the party?"
"Yeah, but it's a shame about my leg. If I could walk I would be hitting the dance floor, but alas, I cannot move properly until tomorrow." He exclaimed as he ate a muffin. To his surprise it wasn't just vanilla, it also had a delicious hazelnut cream center.
"Are you going to the doctor tomorrow?" She asked puzzled.
"What? Heck no, I will avoid going to the doctor for as long as possible. I meant that my leg brace will arrive tomorrow. With that I'll be able to walk normally again."
"Really? I believed that you would need to adapt to the cane."
"If it weren't for my healthcare program I would need to. But because I have so much money I can set up a safe house and also manage to buy the brace."
"Did you find any suitable candidate homes?"
"As a matter of fact I already bought one. They'll give me the deed tomorrow."
"Really? And where is it? If you don't mind my asking."
"Not at all, you have every right to know where my safe house will be. It's at the edge of town, near that dark and creepy forest and west of your friend Rarity's dress shop."
"Doesn't it bug you that you live next to the Everfree forest?" She asked worried.
"That's what it's called? Nah, I was once forced to sleep in the middle of a forest with a pack of hungry, rabid manticores closing in on us. I managed to wake up with enough time to place traps and murder every single one of them before they could touch me." He said with glee, earning him a gasp from the librarian. "Probably shouldn't have said that." He mumbled.
"That's horrible! Why would you do that?" She asked.
"The pack had gone feral and was threatening Hollow Shades, I really didn't have a choice. They made nice coats though. I even made a profit from them." He justified.
"How about we change the subject?"
"That is an idea befitting of the princess's student. Ask me anything, I am an open book."
"Alright." Said Twilight as she settled on her chair. She signaled her friends and they stopped dancing, gathering around the soldier. The young girls sat in front of him, while the five women grabbed chairs and stared at him.
"How about you tell us of your mission in Mount Horseshoe?" Said Twilight Sparkle.
"Oh Celestia, you had to ask that? Well, it is obviously the trendy subject. Allow me to begin my tale."
He started explaining his mission, how he entered the offices, how he jumped on the mine cart, and how he escaped from the cave-in. He made sure to emphasize the evilness of the goblins and his escape, otherwise he would have to sneak into town in the future.
The younger girls asked him if he had a hunter Cutie Mark, but he avoided digressing. When he finished telling about his poisonous trap, but left out the part that it destroyed their lungs with mustard gas, he stopped for a moment.
He noticed that the shy woman was terrified of him, but the rest had a slightly stronger stomach. The kids were glued to him, waiting for him to continue as if he were some sort of action film. He started talking about the changelings and that drew even more attention.
After he revealed his fight against him he noticed Twilight was distressed. "Is there a problem?" He asked.
"I don't get it, we defeated the changelings a month ago. How could they have managed to indoctrinate an entire clan in such a short time?" She responded.
"Well, goblins are weak creatures, so it comes to no surprise to hear this. But they must have been planning this for some time. A good general always has a plan B. Where did you fight them anyways?"
"Canterlot, the changeling queen replaced Cadence and drained my brother of power. They nearly succeeded if it weren't for Cadence."
"So that's what the changeling meant. Wow will you look at the time, I need to write my report!" He said as he grabbed his cane and stood up. It was six o'clock, narrating his tale seemed to have taken some time. Fortunately for him, Shining arrived just as he was about to leave.
"Hey man, can I talk to you for a second? In private." Asked the blue-haired knight.
Shield was puzzled, but relieved. He had found the perfect alibi. "Yeah sure, lets take another stroll." Shield stretched his hand and used Telekinesis to grab two more of those delicious muffins. He offered one to his friend, but he declined.
"Sure man? You won't get this offer again." Shield said.
Shining took five seconds to accept the gift. "Thanks, Cadence has gotten paranoid, saying that if I don't keep a diet I'll lose my position."
"Ha! Like that'll ever happen. If not even I could best you, who could?"
"Hey Shield, I need to talk to you about something delicate. Promise me you won't flip out." Said Shining
"I promise, but first tell me when was our last man-talk?"
"Seven years ago. Right before you left Equestria."
"Oh, right. So what did you want to tell me?"
"We lied when we said that there was no letter from commander Iron Hide. He sent one when you didn't arrive on the last train from Ponyville."
Shield was shocked, he always trusted the captain but, this was unexpected. "What did you just say?"
"Iron Hide sent me a letter the next day we found you. It was for me, so that's why I didn't tell you before. Also he explicitly instructed me not to tell you."
"Why?"
"Because he change his mind. He also gave me this envelope with new orders for you." Said Shining Armor as he went to one of his inside pockets in his leather jacket.
He pulled out a beige envelope sealed with a wax stamp. The symbol was not the swords crossed behind a shield bearing the sisters of day circling each other, the Equestrian Royal Guard symbol, instead it was just a half sun half moon shield. This was the Royal Symbol. This meant that the mission was authorized by both princesses.
He tore the envelope without a second thought. The parchment was two pages long.
Esteemed Commissioner Shield Heart.
Your recent exploits in Mount Horseshoe have left a bitter taste in our mouths. The inspection team was forced to tunnel through several meters of rock, including ten petrified trolls. After that they reported having found a beheaded changeling in golden armor in front of what is believed to be the trolls' lair. Some meters ahead we found forty corpses of similarly dressed and brutalized changelings. This has concerned us and we expect your report detailing of your knowledge of their presence
After carving through a wall of rock we nearly lost two commandos when a yellow gas escaped and poisoned them. Further studies found out that it was mustard gas emitted from a smoke canister, which matched the ones you were issued. At the other end we discovered at least fifty corpses.
Autopsies revealed their lungs and throats to have been disintegrated, this does not give a good impression. We have a set of rules of engagement which cannot be omitted and you have violated the most important of all: everyone deserves humane deaths.
Further exploration revealed the gas to have spread to the entire colony, wiping out most goblins.
It has been decided that disciplinary action is required to punish your doings. They do not leave a good view to the press, and it is not the first time you have gone beyond the limits.
After consultation with both princesses it has been decided that you will be stationed in Ponyville indefinitely. Please purchase a new house as soon as possible, the funds will be transferred when we receive word.
Also, as part of your punishment you are hereby suspended on performing any activity related to the Commission for the next month. During this time we invite you to relax and enjoy the beautiful town of Ponyville. It is considered a prime vacation spot and should help you meditate on what you have done.
That was the end of the first page, Shield stood frozen for a minute. His hands almost ripping the paper apart. He calmed down and changed pages
Reports on Commissioners throughout Equestria.
Tall Tale, Trooper Spear: No unusual activity has been reported.
Vanhoover, Enforcer Fire Storm: Replaced previous Commissioner, Shield Heart, no unusual activity.
Las Pegasus, Arbitrator Lady Luck: the Godparents Mob has decreased criminal activity following the fall of the Mare of the South Cartel.
Cloudsdale, Regulator Whiplash: Disturbances in the Weather Factory. Minor injuries on all departments.
Canterlot, Lord Marshall Brave Heart: Unusual activity relating to the Precious Family, small caliber firearms found after a fight against an unknown vigilante.
Ponyville, Enforcer Shield Heart: Suspended for four weeks due to violent behavior. Recently stationed in Ponyville.
Appleoosa, Regulator Braeburn: No unusual activity.
Dodge City, Enforcer Cherry Blossom: No unusual Activity
Hollow Shades, Enforcer Moon Dancer: No unusual Activity.
Manehattan, Regulator Iron Fist: No available Report.
Baltimare, Investigator Night Wing: There has been an increased criminal activity concerning animal-produced poisons.
Auxiliaries: Thunder Storm, Wooden Toaster, Sound Check, Iron Cross and Iron Curtain accounted for and inactive.
Shield read through the report one more time. His face was filled with panic, not because everyone knew he had been suspended, but because there was no report on Manehattan.
"What's wrong?" Asked his friend.
"Sorry, can't talk right now." Said Shield as he went for his phone. He punched a single number and pressed send.
"Iron? You there buddy? Iron, IRON! Dammit." He cursed as he punched another number. "Fire? Hey it's me, Shield. Got any idea where the fuck is Iron?" He paused for a few minutes before cursing again. "Blitznak! You know what? Get your butt to Ponyville ASAP, and bring the Iron bros, along with Thunder. I'm not liking this shit. Yeah I'll call Blossom and Moon, don't worry about it." He hung up and changed callers.
"Hey Blossy, it's me Shield. Listen, did you already get that report? You did? Awesome. Listen, I need you to hitch the next train to Ponyville, pronto. Why? 'Cause I know Iron Fist, and he never misses a deadline. Something's off. Now listen, I gotta hang up because I need to call Moon. Yeah love you too, bye." He pressed end and was about to call someone else when Shining stepped forward.
"What's wrong with you? You were just suspended from duty, you shouldn't be organizing meetings!"
"Sorry Shining, but I can't rest knowing that Iron Fist didn't send in a report. That guy is strict when it comes to punctuality. He would never miss THE deadline. Not even drunk. Trust me, I tried that once."
"So why are you calling all of your colleagues?"
"He's in danger, I just know it. And I need my team if I want to save him..." He recieved a slap on the back of his head. "What the fuck?!"
"Come back to the real world, you have just been suspended HERE in Ponyville. You can't do any sort of jobs and I am here to make sure you do your time." Affirmed Shining.
Shield shot him a weird look and muttered. "What have you done?"
"I did what I had to do to make sure you are still alive by the time my firstborn child comes!"
"You just did the opposite! I know that Equestria is in danger, and you just made it worse. By confining me to this boring old town!" He yelled. And because he knew it should happen, Twilight Sparkle was right behind him, receiving the offense. "Sorry you had to hear it, but it's the truth. My truth anyways."
Twilight did nothing but frown and turn back to where she was before. A second later Shield received yet another slap to the back of his head. "What was that for?"
"That was for acting so mean in front of my sister. She loves this town, and so do I. This town turned my sister into someone happy. She stopped being the anti-social bookworm you used to know. Also Ponyville has everything a person could ask for, peace, quiet, stability and it's far away from all problems of the modern world." Said Shining, his face marked with an angry frown.
"Which is exactly why I hate it. I need action, that's why I joined the Commission. Without any activity I'll become weak, frail and lazy just like my dad."
"Still, you need to relax a little bit. Have faith in your friends, I'm sure Iron Fist can handle himself..."
"No, I'm sure he needs help and no one is going to stop me!" Shield retorted as he went for his phone. Shining lunged at him, but was surprised when his friend jumped out of the way with his phone already dialing.
"Hello Moon, how are you? I'm just you know, suffering from suspension in Ponyville, nothing new. Hey have you tried contacting Iron Fist? You can't get in touch?" He began talking. Shining got up from the muddy ground and shook his shirt. His friend was a little too agile for him, even with a broken knee.
He charged one more time, but was batted out of the way by the black cane. He looked at his friend, who just shook his head as if saying please don't try that again.
"Yeah, I know I fucked up. So anyways, I'm calling a council. Just the usual friends, I'm having a house warming party and I want you guys to be here. Especially you. You'll come? Perfect! I'll see you the day after tomorrow. Love you too, bye." And he hung up.
"What in Celestia's name was that?" Asked Shining as he nursed his bruise.
"That was a phone call, most people use them to contact other people who are too far away to talk to." Answered his friend with a grin.
"I meant you dodging me. I thought you couldn't walk properly."
"I can't, but this isn't the first time I've been incapacitated. I decided to use magic in my leg to jump high into the air. Then I swung you out of the way just for the fun of it."
"Are you done?"
"Yeah, I think I'm done."
"Then come with me, we need to discuss where you will sleep today."
Shield felt some guilt, his friend really didn't deserve to be attacked. But he couldn't be stopped, Loki had given him warnings and he couldn't slow down one bit. Equestria had to be saved and he was going to do everything necessary.
"Sorry about your face, I know it's your main asset and I just ruined it."
Shining rolled his eyes and entered Sugarcube Corner.
"What happened to you dear?" Asked Rarity as soon as she saws he captain.
"I fell down and bumped into a rock, it's nothing serious." He said.
"Did you cut yourself? It could be infected. Do you want me to check it?" Said Fluttershy as she approached Shining.
"I'm fine, no need to worry about me. But I need to ask a favor of you Fluttershy."
"Umm, what do you need from me?"
"I need help in the impossible task of housing Shield for just one night. Please."
She jumped back at the request. "Why me? Shouldn't someone who's better with people have him?"
"Please Fluttershy, he's still weak and I need someone with healing experience to look after him in case he gets sick again." He begged.
"Oh, I feel honored. Really but I just don't have the space. He could never fit in my house."
Twilight stepped forward. "Shining, maybe I should have him. He's your friend and all, so it would make sense that it would be me. If he gets sick again I can use my magic to stabilize him."
"Are you sure about this Twilight?" Asked Shining worried.
"I'm sure of it. Anyway I want to meet him, perhaps interview him."
"Are you absolutely sure about this? He isn't, how do I say it, normal." Said Shining with worry.
"I'm sure. I want to learn what I can from him, he seems to be able to control himself." She said confidently.
"Alright, but have your cellphone in hand. There's really no telling what he'll do. If anything happens, call us. It doesn't matter the time."
"Why are you so worried?"
"Shield isn't your typical guy. He's vicious, sadistic and probably sarcastic. Watch out for whatever he does, he rarely does as expected."
"You don't have to worry about me, I can defend myself."
Shining was very doubtful. The idea of his sister housing his friend didn't sit well with him. But Fluttershy would never accept, her fear for the commissioner was too great.
Shining Armor led his sister outside, still worried of what could happen.
"Don't worry, I'm sure he'll calm down once he gets used to Ponyville."
"I hope so, he's not doing good in his job. That stunt he pulled nearly got him fired."
"You mean the thing with the changelings?"
"Yeah, he broke a lot of rules during that mission and his boss isn't happy about it. He got suspended for a month."
Twilight stopped at the entrance, she now realized why Shining was reclusive.
"You don't have to lodge me in your home if you don't want to." Burst out Shield from her left. "I actually prefer sleeping alone."
The Canterlot brothers were taken by surprise.
"No it's alright, I'll take you in for the night. I want to interview you for my next thesis."
"What's it gonna be about, psychotics? Or will it be about Commissioners? Oh I know! It's going to be about psychotic Commissioners!" He answered with energy.
"It was going to be about government branches, but focusing on the Commission isn't a bad idea. I can't say I remember much about them."
"That's normal, most people don't seem to care about us. Heck, most police groups hate us!"
"Can't imagine why." Said Shining under his breath.
Shield paid no attention. "Are you sure about this idea? Sounds like your brother's not really comfortable with the idea."
"I'm old enough to make my own decisions!" Twilight quickly shot. "And I'm sure that my brother will respect my decisions, right Shining?"
"Of course I trust you! Why would I oppose your horrible idea?" Said the Canterlot Captain with worry.
"C'mon Shiny, relax! What's the worst that could happen? Me blowing up her home?" Interrupted the blond man.
"You did almost blow up Central Station in Manehattan."
"That was an accident!"
"Sure it was."
"Make ONE small miscalculation and you will never hear the end of it!"
"You miscalculated on purpose, I know because you missed the target building by more than a kilometer!"
"Details, details! Lets just accept that I'm not the perfect roommate and let's get on with this." Said Shield as he stormed in between the brothers.
The azure knight just scolded before looking back at Sugarcube Corner. Everyone was staring at them, probably because they heard the whole argument.
"C'mon guys, get to the Bike!" Ordered Shied as he revved the ATV.
Shining gave Twilight a sheepish look before moving towards his friend and climbing on the backseat. She followed only after a brief word with her friends.
"I'll drive and you tell me where to go." Said Shield but before they could give him directions he sped off, almost knocking Twilight off her seat.
"Could you please slow down?" She asked and the enforcer obeyed.
"Sorry, it's just that I'm used to the speed." He said.
"Turn left right now and follow for three streets, after which turn left. We should arrive at the library in five minutes." Said the librarian before losing her balance again when Shield decided to increase their acceleration.
He drove quickly and smoothly, turning savagely at the first bend. He tried to gain his momentum but turned before he could take off.
They arrived at their destination, a simple hollow tree, and Shield drifted to the front door.
"Here we are!" Said the ice-eyed soldier with a smile.
When they arrived at the tree which the locals referred to as the library Shield was surprised. It was a treehouse alright, with several branches forming balconies and various windows expelling light. He began studying the outside, it looked very defendable despite being susceptible to fire. Most balconies offered some sort of sniping point, and some even went as far as being perfect for gunning down unsuspecting foes.
"So why are we at a library? Are you gonna pick up some books?" Asked Shield Heart.
"No silly, I live here." Exclaimed Twilight Sparkle as she climbed down from the ATV's backseat.
Shield stood dumbfounded. He knew that she loved studying, but this was overkill in his book. He wondered how she could live all by herself. Then he thought of himself, a man who could live alone for months and not give a damn, and dropped the complain. She is really well off for being just a student.
"Stop staring, it only makes you look like a stalker." Said Shining as he slapped his friend's back.
"Is it really smart to live inside a tree?" Asked Shield.
"It's no different from living under a thatched roof." Answered Twilight.
Shield thought for a moment, opened his mouth and then closed it. He lacked a proper argument, both structures were just as flammable. And a tree offered the plus of giving free firewood.
Suddenly his mind activated the memories from the Collective Unconcious. He remembered Loki, the attack on Canterlot and the other scenes from a plausible future. A future he had to stop. On a whim, he withdrew Maggie and faced Shining.
"I know it's not much, but take Maggie as a wedding present." He handed the musket.
Shining just stared at him as he grabbed the weapon. "Are you sure Shield? Maggie has been through a lot of stuff with you, it doesn't feel right for me to take it."
"Don't worry about me. Maggie has served her term with me and you need some protection. Things will be going south, and you will need something to keep the monsters at bay. You know what?" Shield began undoing his belt, removed Arby and handed it to the Azure Captain. "Take Arby also, I know you're good with swords and this should help in case something gets too close."
"You know Cadence won't let me keep anything dangerous, so why bother?"
"These are wedding gifts, you can't refuse a gift so you might as well use it."
Shining grabbed the weapons, and slung Maggie to his back. He grabbed the sword and took a good look at it.
"Isn't this your symbol of office?"
"Most people think it is, but actually my symbol is this thing right here." Said Shield as he pulled out a silver watch from inside his coat. It looked very well conserved, with only a few scratches in the front.
"I don't know what to say, besides thank you." Said Shining.
"Don't thank me yet. Wait until those two save your life, then we'll talk."
"I hope I never have to use them."
"Neither do I Shiny, but these are tough times. You never know."
"Alright, now I really must go. Cadence said that she had a surprise waiting and she'll be mad if I keep her waiting." Said the Captain as he turned on his vehicle.
"Then what are you still doing here? Go!"
Without further invitation the azure-haired man disappeared.
Twilight began walking toward the treehouse. "Are you coming?" Se asked.
"Yeah, sure." Responded the commissioner. He felt lighter without his weapons, but he knew Shining needed them more than him. And anyways, Gun Nut would probably bring suitable replacements.
Inside the rosewood door he stumbled upon a quaint library. It certainly didn't boast the size of either Canterlot or Vanhoover, but he was sure the whole point was the ambiance. Being inside a tree meant that the temperature would always be regulated, even without artificial temperature systems.
The library had several sofas, seats and cushions. To the back he saw a door, which he guessed were the living quarters.
"Do you live alone?" He broke out.
"Not really, Spike is usually here. But he left for Canterlot for a special errand. He should be back tomorrow."
"Who's Spike?"
"He's my Drake assistant."
"Why do you have a Drake assistant?"
"I hatched him, so now I take care of him while he helps me."
"So where shall I establish myself?" He digressed.
"I don't know, where do you want to? I would offer you Spike's room, but the bed is probably too small for you."
"It's fine, I'll just take this couch over here." He said as he threw his backpack into the largest couch in the library. He unstrapped the large roll from under his backpack. He unfolded it to reveal a blue sleeping bag.
"So... Will you want that interview now?" He said as he laid his bed next to the couch.
Twilight paused for a moment before answering. "Maybe tomorrow morning, you must be exhausted and I wouldn't want to keep you from resting."
"Yeah, sleep is important. But do you know what's more important? Dinner!" He exclaimed as he led himself to the kitchen.
"You're still hungry?" She asked surprised. She saw him eat several cupcakes, enough to ruin her appetite.
He ignored her and began searching through the pantry, pulling out a box of cereal and a bowl. He gracefully served himself and returned the box back to its place. He went for the refrigerator and pulled put the milk. He helped himself and returned the carton back to its place.
Twilight rushed to grab a spoon, but he rejected it with a wave of his hand.
In the most impolite manner he slurped down the the contents in the bowl, not caring about the noise he was making. When he finished, which was rather quick, he placed his plate in the faucet and washed it.
He sighed "Nothing beats a quick and light dinner of Cadence O's!" He looked at Twilight' s confused face. "Oh, c'mon, don't tell me you've never had Cadence O's before!" She still showed confusion. "The honey oat cereal shaped like Os!" He grunted.
That's when the memory returned to Twilight. It was years since her time under her baby-sitter's care. At various moments when her parents would leave she would be fed the same cereal that the commissioner had. Whenever her five-year old self would refuse, Cadence would pull the trick of giving her the princess's own homemade cereal.
It worked until after she grew old enough to realize she was being fed the same thing. But by then the cereal had lost its original name.
"By the way, thanks for having me for tonight. I feared I would have to invade your shy friend's home. She probably would have had a heart attack by now, I'm not what you could call average." He said as he placed the bowl back in its place.
"I'm sure Fluttershy wouldn't mind having you. She may look delicate, but she can handle herself."
"I'm sure of that. But I know she would have suffered, I could see her terrified face as I told my story. She is one who can't stand much violence."
"Do you tend to profile the people you see?"
"Of course! I need to deduce how likely a person is to cause trouble, what kind of trouble would they cause and what weaknesses do they have. I always assume that people are up to no good, always."
"Everyone? Including Cadence and my brother?" She asked.
"Those two are safe from profiling because I know them. Just like my friends. I meant strangers. More than once have I been proven right when someone looks suspicious. I know your friend is safe, but I'm worried about her shyness. I fear she will freeze under extreme circumstances."
"She has more nerve than you give her credit for. But she is shy in most cases."
"Not someone I would like as an ally." He muttered to himself loud enough for the librarian to hear.
"She is a great friend! She also happens to be a very capable doctor, although she is better with animals than with people." She said defensively.
"I'm not saying she's a bad person, but for me an ally has to be able to cope in any given situation. Whether it be keeping calm in a firefight, a car chase or any other job." He replied. "That doesn't mean all my friends have to be murderous, cold hearted soldiers. Some are very peaceful in fact. Practically pacifists you could say." Twilight was giving him the I'm not believing you look.
"Goodnight, see you tomorrow." He concluded. Twilight simply looked at him and left. Scowling, he undid the straps in his weapon harness and dropped it next to his backpack. He searched inside for his pajamas and changed clothing. He thanked Celestia that he had brought he combat pajamas, the ones with a concealed holster in his back. He holstered Maria and extended his sleeping bag over the green sofa.
As he prepared himself for sleep he began thinking on what had just happened that day.
He had woken up from what he thought was a vision but hoped was a dream. In this projection he had been warned by a mysterious man that Boardor was planning an attack. Of all possible villains it had to be Ragnar, the closest thing the world had to an incarnation of evil.
But something didn't make sense. There was no possible way Boardor could amass an army large enough to plow through the Old Continent and still be able to cross the sea. Not after the Battle of Gallopfrey. It was too early. There must be something else, some hidden agent or organization engineering it.
He started combing through his memories, hoping to find the link. But it was useless, his brain was too tired to remember anything.
When Twilight Sparkle woke up the next day feeling rather relieved. It was a shame that the reason she woke up was because of some very weird and loud noises coming from outside.
She headed downstairs and was surprised to see that although her guest was gone, his weapons were still present. She imagined that he would have left by now. His red coat was neatly folded next to his clothes.
She heard once again what she could deduce were gunshots coming from outside. With severe caution she opened the door leading outside. There was nothing unusual, so she decided to check the backyard.
What she saw could only be described as pure insanity.
Shield Heart was wearing an ultramarine blue great coat with golden shoulder pads. This was, as she had remembered reading, the signature look of any Commisioner. But that was not the insane part. Although it was pretty hot out and that coat looked pretty fuzzy.
No, it wasn't the clothing, it was that he seemed to be practicing his marksmanship skills, his small pistol was drawn and there were several bottles and cans scattered near him.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
Shield merely looked at her and smiled. "Good morning to you too! Y'know I thought that it was common courtesy to wish the person you meet a good morning before inquiring in their activities." He said as he grabbed an empty can of beans and tossed it into the air. As the can flew in the air Shield began discharging the weapon, the crimson bolts juggling the aluminum container.
"I can live without the sarcasm." She replied coldly.
"Yeesh! No need to get upset, just trying to lighten your mood." He said as he lowered his gun. The can fell to the floor, now bent to a ball. "I am practicing my marksmanship skills. With this leg I might want to improve my aim or I will be at the mercy of a broken knee."
"I thought you said your brace would fix that." She refuted.
"But it may not arrive today, or tomorrow, or ever! I need to avoid relying on variables, otherwise I might just get myself into too much trouble for me to handle."
"What's with the coat?"
"Great coat. It's clearly a great coat. Regular coats don't cover thighs, great coats do." He said irritated as he turned around. For some reason he looked worse than last night, with bags forming under his eyes. Probably due to lack of sleep. "I wanted to wash my other coat, and I cannot go outside in pajamas, it is often considered incorrect. Specially for someone of my job."
"Did you sleep well?" She asked.
He merely stared at her before answering. "Yeah, that couch was more comfy than I expected." She couldnt tell wether that was sarcasm or not. He then grabbed another can and began shooting it.
She had to admit that his marksmanship skills were excellent. With every bolt the can was propelled even higher into the air until she could barely see it.
Suddenly, she heard a hissing sound as the pistol barrel retracted, exposing the mana core. The light blue crystal out-shined the opaque gunmetal.
With a curse, the Commissioner dropped his gun. "I guess that's enough training with you." He said as he holstered his gun inside his coat. "C'mon, I'll make breakfast." He darted off to the inside.
Twilight was beginning to sense a pattern, whenever he wanted to avoid discussion Shield would point himself in the direction of food. She decided to follow it, for now. Maybe later she could find a way to corner him.
As she entered her home, a strange smell filled her air. Worried that there might be spoiled food, she dashed toward the kitchen. She stopped the moment she saw her kitchen.
Unlike last night, where he made no mess with just a bowl of cereal, he had really outdone himself today. The cooking area looked as though it had been ravaged by a tornado. There were pots and pans scattered all over, with stains of grease splashed over the counter.
"What are you doing?" She asked. She realized that once more her questions opened her to sarcastic remarks.
"You know, you're not living up to my expectations. Most people would be able to deduce based on the time of day, the smell of bacon, and the sound of my rumbling stomach that I am preparing breakfast." Snorted Shield as he used tongs to flip several strips of bacon.
She ignored himand proceeded with her questions. "Where did you get bacon from?"
"From the market. I went there this morning during my morning power walk. I noticed your pantry lacked protein, so I took on the task of restocking it. Proteins are crucial to one's diet you know, they help develop muscles and fend off diseases." He said.
"But meat tends to contain fat and cholesterol, which is very hazardous to your heart." She said with disgust.
"Only if you eat a kilo a day. There is a reason why we a omnivores, so that we may benefit from all living creatures! And with that lack of meat I deduce that you are a proud vegan." He turned his eyes toward her and scanned the woman in lilac pajamas. "Then again, you really don't need muscles so being vegan is viable."
"Are you implying that I'm weak?" She asked offended.
"I was gonna say you are more of the intellectual type, but that works." He responded as he grabbed a strip of bacon and chewed on it.
Had it not been for the meat Twilight would have eaten those eggs without second thought, because they smelled really good and her stomach was emptier than a barrel of cider.
"You want some of these? They're not covered in meat grease so you can eat them without worrying about your cholesterol levels. C'mon, you'll need to eat something or you won't be able to think properly. And who knows when you will be forced to make impossible decisions." He said as set the table.
Twilight was startled by the sudden pop of her toaster.
"It seems you don't have a clear conscience." Retorted the soldier once again. He grabbed the toast and prepared himself a tasty looking egg sandwich with bacon. He put another pair of slices on the toaster. "Don't worry, it's just toast, it won't bite."
Twilight was starting to get irritated. "I know, I was just startled. You never did mention toast."
"Sorry 'bout that, but I tend to forget stuff when I'm in deep thinking." He answered as he stared out the window.
"So what are you thinking about?" She asked tentatively.
"The future."
"That's a deep thought."
"And dark. Are you familiar by any chance with the name Loki?"
"I think he was regarded as the God of Mischief in Concordian myths. Why?"
"What about Sheogorath?" He asked as he stared into the sun.
Twilight was surprised. She had only heard that name once, as a reference in some obscure text, but she couldn't remember where. "I don't."
He clicked his mouth and the toast popped once more. "Just wondering, I had a weird dream and heard those names. Thought the had some sort of connection. But enough of that. We are ready to eat!" He exclaimed as he used psychokinesis to prepare a bacon-free egg sandwich.
He set the table and sat down. "Don't worry, I haven't poisoned our meal."
Twilight began having doubts, most people would never imagine of poison, so why would he even mention it? Was it some sort of cruel joke? Or was he using some sort of reverse psychology? She dismissed the idea and joined him. She took the first bite and couldn't help herself, it was delicious! But something want right, Shield wasn't eating and he was smiling.
The eggs were sweet and salty, and her glass of milk had a vanilla taste. But something was off, there was a weird taste she couldn't pinpoint. She realized as she finished her breakfast with a burp, it was the unmistakable taste of grease.
"I think I may have spilled some bacon over them, but there's no problem, right? I mean, it's not like you have an allergy. You don't have an allergy do you?" He said as he continued eating, his face containing a grin.
Twilight stormed off, leaving her plate right where she ate.
"C'mon! It was a joke! You can't take a simple prank like a couple of drops of bacon fat?" He shouted before surrendering. He wondered if he had gone too far, but he didn't think so. His fellow commissioners had endured worst pranks, surely she would have similar tolerance parameters.
He cleaned up the kitchen and changed his pajamas. He decided to keep the uniform, just in case there was a surprise inspection. He wanted to look good. As he finished he looked at his watch, which marked half past eleven. This meant that he was about to receive his new house and so he should hurry.
He strapped his tools and grabbed all of his stuff. Before leaving the treehouse he thought of his joke. He might have probably overdone it. But he didn't think so. Who didn't like bacon? Only freaks, that's who.
He travelled through the town, making sure to see every single detail. The buildings, the shops, stalls, even bushes. He needed to memorize every last detail, crevice and anything that he could classify as a vantage point if he was going to be stationed here. He was displeased with the fact that there was no security anywhere, just a lot of people enjoying life.
He wondered about their problems, how they could be so happy without an officer watching out for them. He was reminded of the small time markets of Prance, where people were able to walk around without worries. He remembered the laughs, the chatter, the love in the air, a pair of giant lilac eyes. The scenes began flashing in his mind, taking most of his breath away.
Then the scenes of happiness were corrupted with fire, death and violence. Laughs were replaced by screams, chatter was substituted with war cries and the thundering of guns. And those eyes were filled with tears.
When he finally recovered from his daydream he found himself on the ground surrounded by all sorts of people. He only recognized two, a girl with red hair and a blond woman.
"Are y'all right mister?" Asked the blond woman he had managed to see in his welcome party yesterday, but he didn't have a name.
"Yeah, I'm perfectly fine. Thanks miss..." He responded.
"Applejack's the name. Ya sure 'bout that? You fell down for no reason."
"It was just an anxiety attack, nothing to worry about." He stood up and continued his previous trajectory.
Applejack followed him. "Ya sure? I don't know nuthin' 'bout anxiety attacks, but you should see a doctor. How 'bout I take you there?"
"I appreciate the offer, but no thanks, I got stuff to do. Goodbye!" He said as he picked up his cane and continued walking.
Ten minutes later he had made it to his new home. And to his luck, mister Filthy Rich was standing on the front porch.
"Good morning sir! I believe you are here to get the deeds, am I correct?" Asked the man in an English suit.
"That's right, I want to start remodeling as soon as possible."
"Here is the deed, and the funds have been transferred. I hope you enjoy your new home." Said Filthy as he handed over a roll of parchment.
"You still use these? Awesome!" Responded the soldier as he unrolled the deed and signed the other documents.
"Goodbye sir and may we endeavor in business again." Said Mr. Rich as he shook hands, handed over the key to the house and left. Shield took out his pocket watch and noticed that it was barely fifteen minutes past noon. If his calculations were right, Gun Nut was supposed to arrive in ten minutes. So he took his time to check the interiors.
He pulled out Maria and entered, you could never be too careful. He wished he had a knife to use in his left hand, but he had to make do with a light spell. The foyer was simple, with only a nightstand and a mirror. The walls had lost most of their paint, and all of the furniture showed its age.
"We're gonna need a serious makeover." He said to himself.
He proceeded to the kitchen and found a flight of stairs going down. Intrigued, proceeded downstairs.
The basement was bare, looking a lot like the inside of a box. "Perfect for my shooting gallery."
He started imagining how it would look like once he had brought all of his equipment, and he liked the results. He then heard a knock on the front door. He instinctively withdrew Maria and returned to the kitchen. He looked at the drawers and found a knife, which he grabbed with his left hand.
He slid over the counter and took cover behind a wall looking at the door. There was another knock. "Is there anyone home?" Said a sweet voice.
His mind raced to figure out who the voice belonged to. He knew he heard it yesterday, but he couldn't pin it down with his mind still addled.
He opened the door with Telekinesis and waited for the person to come in. He flicked off the switch and set the weapon on level 2. As soon as the person stepped in he turned to face him. Or her, as the case was.
His brain recognized her as Rarity, the kind dressmaker now looking paler than usual. And next to her was an equally startled Sweetie Bell.
He hosted his gun and threw the knife to the kitchen counter. It buried itself neatly into the wood.
"So sorry you had to see that!" He exclaimed as he tried to do something to cheer them up. "Anyways, if you want to come in, you can do so, but I need to head over to the train station. I am expecting a friend. Toodles!" And he left them.
It took him ten minutes to power walk over to the station. And just in time too, because there was a pearl train pulling over.
As the doors opened a man in his mid twenties stepped out. He was wearing a black t shirt with the captions: Have Nice Day! The youth had dark grey hair, the afore mentioned shirt and jeans.
"Gun Nut! How's it going!"
"Shield! How are you my friend?" He said with his regular accent.
"Very good Gun, and even more happy now that you are here. You did bring everything I told you, right?"
"Yes, but there was slight problem. You see, there was a large price attached to bringing you things."
"Don't worry about money, I'll pay you in full."
"It's not money, it's..." He stopped and nodded behind him.
And so Shield realized. Coming from the car was a tall, well built man donning a white Guard Uniform adorned with medals. His short grey beard matched his hair, and the golden linings in his uniform marked him as top ranking.
Shield tensed himself and saluted. "Commander Iron Hide, Sir!"
"At ease." Responded the elder. Shield relaxed.
"What merits your presence, Sir!?"
"It's just a routine checkup, making sure you're adapting to the town. The usual bureaucratic nonsense."
"Very well, in that case I ask permission to proceed with the offloading of my cargo."
With a salute the Commander allowed it.
Shield went off the platform to the last car, which was a cargo car.
Opening the side doors showed Shield a room full of aluminum cases, wrapped furniture, several wooden chests and two cargo ATVs.
"Hearts Warming Eve has come early!" He shouted with a grin as he dashed to a special red vehicle with flame decals.
"Hello precious! Miss me Pabu?" He said as he kissed the handle. "So where's that brace I ordered?"
"It's right in... This box!" Said the man as he grabbed a box labeled with a Red Cross. He set the box on he floor and unfastened the locks. Inside the foam interior was a metal brace split by the front.
Shield removed it carefully and pulled up his left leg. He took some minutes adjusting the various straps and the diameter.
With a deep breath Shield enclosed his leg in the metal and tightened the straps. Between the freezing aluminum and the spikes Shield felt an unbearable amount of pain for the first seconds. Later, as he got used to it, he set his foot down. He was grateful for the Med-X in the spikes, which helped we the pain.
He started taking baby steps, making sure that his cane was ready to help him back up. To his delight, the brace worked as expected. He felt like he had his leg back.
He began loading as many cases as he could onto the backs of his vehicles.
"So, how will we do it?" Asked Gun.
"We'll do tag race. Once we get on to my home, we'll drop off the stuff on Pabu and you'll leave the bike in front. I'll take you back and you can bring another one."
"What will you do about furniture?"
With a smirk he spat. "Fuck that, we got guns!" He then revved the engine and rushed through the open doors and toward his house.
Gun followed him a bit later, after he managed to recover himself and get the ramp down. As he rode off the train he saw his friend waiting for him. "C'mon dude, I gotta show you my place!" And he continued off.
Gun regretted not taking Pabu. It being Shield's personal off-road vehicle, it was faster than any average motorcycle and very easy to fall behind.
"Shield, Wait! There is no dragon behind you!" Shouted Gun. His efforts worked, since Shield did slow down.
After some minutes they finally arrived to Shield's home. "This is it."
"This dump?"
"Yeah, just got it today, but imagine some new paint, a new door, the porch restored..."
"This place does have potential." Said Gun stroking his chin
"Okay, let's unload the stuff and get back." Said the soldier as he started loosening the straps holding down the cases.
.oOo.
Commander Iron Hide scanned the train platform, making sure there wasn't a soul left. Not even the ticket sellers. He decided things were safe when he saw a red ATV drive off to the distance for a fourth time.
"All clear, bring her majesty." He ordered two guards in white leather armor. From inside the car came a woman hooded in a white and gold dress, her height reaching two point thirty Meters. Her pink hair fell gracefully to her breast.
"Hurry your majesty. There is no telling if he'll come back."
"I appreciate your concern Commander, but I prefer if Dawn took care of my safety. It is her job and I want you to enjoy the town." From behind the winged woman came a shorter woman, clad in leather armor and a steel shoulder pad. Her clothes were white and trimmed with gold. On her back a bow was holstered, but without a quiver.
"Ma'am, I suggest we move on. He still has to unpack the furniture, so we should move if you wish to avoid Shield Heart." She spoke with a calm, almost monotones voice. Her hands on her scimitar holstered to her left.
"Very well, let us go visit my student. I trust you did send Shining Armor a letter requesting his presence."
"Of course I did, I hope this plan of yours works. Otherwise I will have to answer to Brave, or worst, to Shield."
"If my plan worked once, I am confident it will work once more."
"I need to remind you of the dangers that you are placing on this town."
"And for the tenth time I tell you, this town is under no danger. I understand your concerns after the Manehattan Maiming, but I am confident of this town's peaceful and serene environment will help calm him down." Said the escorted.
"Princess Celestia, I know it is not my place, but I agree with he commander. Shield Heart has become too volatile to function. He should have been interned into a mental institute years ago."
Celestia turned to face her bodyguard. "I am surprised to hear you say those things."
"And I look after our safety. He is in no state to be handling guns."
"I still believe he is our best asset." Responded the princess.
"He is too unstable and you know it."
They continued debating their purpose, but the ruler still held her thoughts. Knocking three times on the library doors revealed that her student was still busy.
"Princess! What a surprise!" She exclaimed as she hid her body behind the door. She was still wearing pajamas.
"Sorry to come uninvited, I thought your brother told you of our meeting." Answered the princess with a smile.
Twilight Sparkle looked away and muttered something. "He must have forgotten, if you could give me a minute to change my clothes..."
"Sorry ma'am but no can do. We need to get the princess inside at all costs, we can't take risks."
Twilight gave Dawn a confused look. "And you are?"
"Radiant Dawn Heart, the princess's personal escort, but you can omit the Heart." She answered stoically.
"Please let us in so we can explain." Said Celestia.
Twilight opened the door and ushered them in. "Sorry about the mess, Shield slept on the couch and didn't clean up."
Dawn immediately withdrew her bow and pulled the string, conjuring a magic arrow. She began scanning every corner.
Twilight looked at her in bewilderment, while the commander went for a revolver.
Without notice, the archer released ten arrows in different directions. Each spot where an arrow landed caused a small boom.
"The place is now free of recording runes." She declared.
"What are you talking about?" Asked a confused Twilight.
"I know Shield, he placed several runes to record any sort of conversation that might happen."
"How did you know where to look?"
"Shield is too predictable, he wold make sure they were as invisible as possible. And I'm an expert in sensing runes."
"If safety is no longer our concern then maybe we should begin with why we are here." Said the commander as he holstered his gun.
Twilight had disappeared the moment they stopped looking at her.
She returned moments later wearing her usual skirt and shirt. "Sorry, I just had to change. Why did you come here?"
"Twilight, you know you are my must trusted student and now I fear I may be asking too much from you." Said Celestia in a dark tone.
"Why would you say that? I'm ready for any task you ask of me." She answered confidently.
"Miss Twilight, we aren't doubting your magic skills." Intervened Iron Hide.
"I need to ask, are you confident? You do not even know what the task entitles." Asked the Princess.
"I am, there is no task me and my friends cannot handle." Answered Twilight.
There was a knock on the door and Dawn was the first to react. "Who is it?"
"It's me, Shining Armor." Said someone outside.
Dawn carefully opened the door, only to quicken her pace when she recognized the azure knight and his wife.
"Sorry we are late, we fell asleep."
"There is no need for concern, it was incorrect for us to bother you during your honeymoon."
"Hey Dawn, how's it going?"
"Very well, but maybe we can catch up later. We have important things to talk about."
"I gathered you here because I need Shield Heart to pass his tests." Said Celestia.
"I don't think I follow princess, what tests does Shield have to take?"
"You know that every year the Commission extends psyche and physical evaluations, if they fail either one then they are suspended from active duty. And that is something we cannot allow, especially now." Said Iron Hide.
"Why not? A break could be exactly what Shield needs, especially after what happened." Said Cadence.
"Canterlot is in big trouble. The Precious Family grows in strength each day, but we can't get any evidence on them. If we can't stop them, we will have our first civil war in history. And I swore an oath to die before that happened." The commander knocked on the table four times.
"Which is why I am sad to be forced to cut your honeymoon short Shining, I will need you to return to the castle on Monday. The guard is at their mercy without you." Added Celestia somberly.
Shining looked at his wife and sighed. "Don't worry, we have had a good vacation. I'll be there first thing in the morning."
"But why is Shield so important? There are several commissioners that can do the job." Snapped Cadence. "The last thing Shield needs is to be tempted with more fighting."
"I agree." Said Dawn.
"Shield is needed specifically for his unique abilities. We know that there are commissioners better than him, but our best agents are too busy in their cities." Answered Iron Hide as he tousled his hair. "And if we pull one out we will lose more ground than before."
"What unique abilities? He seems like an average person." Asked Twilight.
"You haven't seen him in action have you?" Asked Dawn.
"Seeing as how i just met him yesterday, I can't say I have."
"He knows how to handle anything with a trigger and he has a way of countering any strategy that our enemies might come up with. If there is anyone cable of fighting a civil war single-handedly, it's him."
"All right. I get that he is a very important, if variable, person. But I don't get the part where I'm supposed to be involved."
"I want you, along with Cadence and your friends, to help him pass the psyche test." Said the princess with a stern face.
"How am I supposed to do that, with magic?" Said Twilight rhetorically.
"I would advise against it, the Mage's Guild already tried it and some of the adepts are still unconscious." Added Dawn.
Twilight stepped back in surprise. "How is that possible?"
"The surviving mages reported that he has several countermeasure spells etched in his mind. Note that he was subdued with drugs and asleep." Said Dawn with reluctance.
"I thought that it would have been better if you tried to show him around town, distracting him from his problems.We need him to return to the real world, because he tends to fantasize too much."
"Okay so he is insane and you're asking me to be the brakes, right?"
"That is correct."
"So why can't you just exempt him from the tests if he's so important?" Asked Shining. The visitors gave him a weird look.
"I find it easier to avoid giving him a test you know he will fail easier to risking my wife, my sister and five of their friends. Or if he has to take the test, why don't you postpone them?" He scoffed.
"The commission has strict rules concerning these tests, no one can skip them and everyone must take them at the specified date. There are no delays and no exceptions. This according to the Equestrian Commission Defense Act. If he took this test as he is now he will undoubtedly fail. And if he decides to act while suspended he will be confided to have gone rogue and will be marked for execution." Said the commander.
"And that is exactly what you want to avoid. Last time we tried to arrest Shield he managed to take down twenty guards before escaping." Said Shining as he had a revelation.
"Exactly, I know that he will intervene at some point. And I would rather have an ally rather than a time bomb."
"I just want to see him like his old self, the merry child who would do anything to help people. I really loathe seeing the monster he has become." Said Celestia.
"But why is he such a good commissioner, shouldn't someone with more experience be considered better?" Asked Twilight.
"Most commissioners don't blow up Manehattan Central Station in a daring plan to stop a ton of illegal guns from escaping." Spat Dawn.
"As we said, Shield Heart has a way of showing creativity when confronted with situations. And he has a weird sense of self-preservation." Iron Hide sighed.
"What if we used the Elements of Harmony to change him? It would definitely be easier and faster." Asked Shining.
"We're not sure the elements would work on him. The magic usually only works if the target is a supernatural threat, and Shield is neither supernatural nor a threat as of the moment."
"Okay, so he is important, I think I get it. Can I invite my friends here? I think they should hear this and give their opinions." Said Twilight. She pulled out her cellphone and flipped it.
"By all means."
.oOo.
Shield and Gun were unloading the last cases from the motorcycles and started carrying them inside. But they received a very welcome surprise.
A dark sapphire-haired woman was cleaning the entire house. A child with pink and purple hair was helping her, dusting the fireplace and passing supplies.
"Hello ladies." Said Shield as he put a crate on the floor. "Watcha doing?"
"Oh, just cleaning up here, I know you were in such a rush and I couldn't just leave knowing this mess existed." Answered Rarity.
"I'm not going to complain about this, but you really shouldn't."
"Oh don't worry dear, it's no trouble whatsoever."
"It's not just that, I still have to take everything out. I brought my own furniture and this one is horrible." He said. "Oh, where are my manners, this is my friend Gun Nut. He's the Commission's requisition officer." And his friend bowed.
"It's pleasure to meet you." Said the gunsmith as he extended a greeting hand.
"A pleasure too, I'm Rarity and this is my sister, Sweetie Bell." Said Rarity as she grabbed his hand. "Where are you from? I can't say I recognize your accent."
"I'm from Canterlot, my mother was from Great Bridle and father was from Stalliongrad. I got his accent."
"What's requisition?" Interrupted Sweetie as she scratched her head.
"Anything the military uses: weapons, munitions, armor, clothing, vehicles, food, tools. That sort of stuff." Answered Shield.
"And what's in those boxes?"
"These aren't boxes, they're specially hardened steel-aluminum alloy used for the storage of dangerous..." Started Gun.
"They're boxes of guns." Interrupted Shield.
"Why did you interrupt me?" Said the officer with disappointment. "I've been preparing that speech for weeks!"
"You were giving unnecessary details! Poor girl was being bored out of her mind!" He answered. "We'll be moving these cases to the basement."
"I suggest you don't go to basement. We will be using very dangerous and unreliable weapons and I wouldn't like to see someone get hurt."
"Hmm... I don't suppose any one of you would be willing to give me and a couple of my friends some basic firearms safety rules, would you?"
Shield and Gun gave each other the puzzled look.
"Why would you be interested in something so boring?" Asked Shield, his tone implied he didn't want her idea to proceed.
"Well, after the incident during the wedding I find it fit to learn about alternative defenses. Don't you agree mister Gun?" Said the seamstress with a half-flirty tone. Shield couldn't argue against her logic.
"I would love to, but unfortunately it's illegal for civilians to use firearms. So unless you can convince Celestia to give you permission for a crash course, I can't help you." Answered Gun.
.oOo.
She opened her mouth, but didn't speak when a buzz was heard through the room. She went for her pocket and extracted her cellphone.
Rarity looked at the screen. it was a text message from Twilight sent to all five of her friends.
Secret emergency meeting. Was all it said.
She took a quick look and stood up quickly. "I'm sorry, but I need to go. I'm late for a meeting." She rushed to the door before looking at her sister. "Would you kindly take everything back home? I promise I won't take long."
The girl scowled. "You promised we were gonna have a Sister Day!"
"We will, I'll just be gone for a few minutes and then we can have the entire day to ourselves."
"Only under one condition!"
"And what could that be?"
"Tell Twilight to send a letter to the princess so we BOTH can have training in guns." Declared the little girl. "I'm sick of you always bailing out on me!"
Rarity stared at her sister, hoping she would say she was joking. But her sister stood there, her face looking serious.
Gun Nut was chocking on a breath mint he had put in his mouth just seconds before that peculiar sentence. The blond man rushed and slapped his friend to help ease the chocking.
"Are you insane? You're too young to handle a dummy gun, so there's no way we are gonna let you handle the real deal!" Said the Commissioner.
"I'll talk to Twilight about it." Said Rarity as she dashed off.
.oOo.
Shield just stood there, dumbfounded. He really didn't know how to act, that girl looked so sad.
"Do you want some help?" He asked her. His friend proceeded with his previous task.
The girl looked angry above all, but there was a hint of sadness. "Nah, I'm fine. This usually happens."
"Anything I can do to erase that frown?" He said in a light voice.
She stared at him, expanding her pupils as much as possible. "Can you teach me how to use a gun?"
Shield was tempted to say yes, those cute mesmerizing eyes were causing diabetes, but he knew better than to train a little girl in firearms. "Now why would a little girl want to use a gun? They're not lady-like! You should think of more appropriate things, like dolls, tea parties, anything that's not violence!"
"Because maybe I'll get my cutie mark in shooting!"
Gun Nut was pushing a very large case, but he stopped and added. "Or you could have a talent in gun smithing."
"What's gun..." She started.
"It's making and maintaining guns. It's actually pretty fun." Said Gun before continuing. "If you could help me this case would be great." Shield rushed to help his friend.
"How about you think of something more legal, huh? I'll be right back." Said the commissioner as they went to the basement.
"Something more legal? You're lucky she doesn't know who you are." Said Gun. "By the way, this basement has fucking potential!"
"Yeah, I know. All we need to do is set up the cases and maybe you can turn this place into a bunker."
"Yes, that is the best idea. I suppose you want me to take charge of the modifications."
"If that pleases you."
"Of course it does my friend! You take that little girl out for ice cream, I need time to think about modifications."
"Can you set up a weapons demo? I fear we will have to give basic drill to some women."
His friend scoffed. "You really believe that woman will get permission?"
"She's friends with Twilight Sparkle."
Gun focused on him. "The?"
"The. And if I know the princess, she'll look for ways to give me a hard time. And that idea sounded like the perfect opportunity."
"All right, don't worry about me. Go make a child happy." Said Gun Nut before going back for more cases.
Shield just smiled and left with Sweetie Bell, next stop, sugar!
"So let me get this straight, you think Equestria is in danger, and the best hope of saving it lies in that awkward dude? Am I the only one that feels insulted by this?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she slumped on one of the beanbag cushions in the Library. All five friends had come, And they had been told of the plan.
Naturally, they all had mixed feelings.
"Why would you be insulted? The princess is tasking you with a very crucial assignment!" Spat Dawn Heart.
"Because we have saved Equestria before, twice! And you seriously can't think of us first!"
"I am grateful for everything you have done in the past, but I am afraid that there are worse dangers than what you have encountered." Said Princess Celestia.
"Worse than Discord?"
"Discord's just a mad dog, there are people out there who are waiting for an opportunity to do us harm. And Shield Heart is one of the few people in Equestria with the skills required to fight." Intervened the archer.
"We can fight too you know? We took down a whole platoon of changelings!"
"Can you bullfight five chimeras at once? Can you wage war against a cartel? Can you fight a hydra after it has bitten you? Can you condemn a goblin clan to extinction by using poisonous gas? Can you hold your ground whilst bullets bury themselves deep into your body?" Retorted Dawn.
Needless to say, everyone fell silent.
"I know you can fight Rainbow Dash, that is not put into doubt, but there is no way you could survive through the dangers that haunt our shadows."
"But why can't we the Elements of Harmony?" Asked Applejack.
"Because the Elements only work on supernatural problems. These have nothing to do with godlike entities. These problems come from greedy men and women who believe the world to be theirs just because of their existence."
"Ah meant on him."
"I would rather not try that, the elements do what they think is correct. So there is no telling whether they would turn him to stone, cure his illnesses or supercharge him. It's too risky."
"I know this sounds like an unnecessary task, but I wouldn't dare leave it to anyone else. I know you are very able and loyal, and would defend Equestria with all your heart if need be." Said the Princess. "But we want to help him. His family has been under my service for a long time, so I feel inclined to help him."
There was a long, awkward pause.
"Ah'm in." Said Applejack as she raised her hand.
"Just for you princess." Said Rainbow Dash.
Pinkie Pie raised her hand and said. "Of course we'll do it! I bet it'll be fun!"
He only ones to not speak were Rarity and Fluttershy. The veterinarian was scared stiff, and the seamstress just stood there.
"Is there anything you two want to say? You don't have to agree." Added the Princess.
"I am willing to do it, but under one simple condition." Said Rarity.
"And what condition might that be?"
"I want you to order him to teach us defense techniques and basic usage in firearms."
The room fell silent once mored.
"Done, I'll send a letter right now." Said the Princess.
"What, have you both gone mad?" Intervened Cadence. "Rarity, why would you want to learn about self defense? And why would you." She diverted her attention to the tall woman. "Even allow something like this! Shield Heart was supposed to be here so that he may be able to relax!"
"But it's the best way to befriend him. How can we interact with someone if we can't show interest in his job? Also, after the incident with those changelings it would be smart to stop relying on the Elements. You can never be sure that they will be available whenever we need them."
"She does have a point." Stated Dawn. "The Elements have to stay in Canterlot, but anyone could attack this town.
"Very well Rarity, I will send the letter now. But I want to know if Fluttershy is in with the plan."
Fluttershy was just frozen, blinking and wishing she hasn't gotten out of bed.
"Oh, I'm sure she's just dying to get started!" Exclaimed Pinkie. Her friend didn't show the same amount of enthusiasm.
"I am not forcing you to agree, if you want you can refuse." Said Celestia
Fluttershy finally responded with reluctance. "I'll help in any way I can."
"Very well, now that that is settled I believe that we are done here." Said Celestia. "It is now time to return to Canterlot."
"By the way, where's Spike? He should have been back by now." Interrupted Twilight.
"I'm sorry Twilight, but I had to send him on a special mission. He should be back next week.
"I wished you could have told me before, but it's all right."
"Sorry ta interrupt, bu' I thought now would be a good time ta tell y'all that Ah met him a while ago, an' he had what he called an anxiety attack."
Cadence met her Gaze. "He said that?"
"Yup, din't understand him. But Ah heard him yell a name, Lily. Mean anythin' to any of you?"
"Thank you for this information Applejack, I can't thank you enough. Now Twilight, I need a quill and a roll of parchment."
.oOo.
Shield was sitting in a table outside the local ice cream parlor. In front of him, a large sundae. And next to the sundae, another one. And next to it? A ten year old girl with pink and purple hair and a spoon on her right hand.
"You sure you want to challenge me to a sundae eating contest? I've never lost a challenge, and today will not be the day my record is broken!" He said as he grabbed his spoon.
Sweetie Bell dismissed his rant. "Ready? Three. Two. One. Begin!" She shouted as she started sticking her spoon with s much ice cream as possible.
Shield was off to a bad start, delaying himself a second before grabbing the plate and imitating a dog. He ravaged the treat, spilling drops in every direction.
He was three-quarters through his bowl when he suddenly froze. His face stopped consuming and he snapped his head back. "Brain Freeze!" He held his head as if he feared it would snap off.
Sweetie Bell saw her chance to recover her lost ground. Preparing her hand she accelerated her pace. She finished a couple of minutes later, and her opponent was still frozen.
"I win!" She exclaimed gloriously.
Ashamed, Shield used a spoon to finish. "How do you do it to avoid brain freezes?"
"No idea, probably it's because my dad takes me out for ice cream at least once a week." She said with a smug grin.
Shied began suspecting something, but was mesmerized by her green eyes. That, with her laughter blurred his vision, until he recovered. But he didn't see Sweetie Bell. Instead she saw a cute girl, about twelve years old and dressed in green. Her grey eyes and white hair made her look rather innocent.
"Minnie." He whispered as he began losing his breath. His dizziness returned for a moment before fully recovering.
"Are you all right?" Asked a bewildered Sweetie Bell.
"Yeah, I'm just a little dazed. Probably just the medicine acting."
"Where's your cane? I though you had a broken knee."
"I left it at home, I just got my brace and now I'm as good as new." He said as he stretched his leg to reveal his brace and a bruised leg.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, the bruise is necessary. You see, my leg is numb so that it can start healing. And this brace uses tiny spikes so I can control it with my nervous system. It's like having a metal leg."
She just exclaimed in amazement.
Shield set his foot down and got up. "C'mon, let's take you home before your sister gets worried."
"You don't need to worry about that, I'm sure my sister hasn't even finished her meeting." She said as she refused to move.
"Why so grumpy? All brothers care for each other. Your sister has problems, but I'm sure she's like my older brothers. They may have difficulty from time to time, but we are always together when we need it. Or when I'm off to another mission and I have to leave my younger sister behind. So no matter what happens, you always have to have your sister's back."
"But what about her? Ever since the wedding she's been busy. Either there's a meeting with her friends, some fashion designer or some celebrity. Sometimes she has to stay all day working on some stupid project. It's really been ruining our Sister Time and its not fair!"
Shield could only feel bad for her. He knew what it felt like. Being left behind was something he had suffered and done several times.
"I'm sure she's just trying to continue her career. She'll be with you at some point."
"I doubt it."
Shield stooped down to see her face to face. "Anything I can do to add some cheer up for your paincakes?"
She just shook her head.
"C'mon, I think I might sneak you in some basic training." He whispered.
Shield Heart was walking through the town plaza, drawing eerie gazes from the people around him. He wondered if it was his blue coat or his holster of death tools. He believed it was the former, had to be. Guns always made everyone in Vanhoover feel safe, so there is no way this town would panic.
After a while he started walking at Sweetie Belle's pace, and later joining her in a silly way involving mirroring their pace.
They were near the dressing shop when they were cut off by a woman with grey hair wearing a suit.
"Can I help you ma'am?" Asked Shield. He looked around, hoping to see someone hiding in the shadows so it could break into an alley fight.
"Hello good sir. I am Mayor Mare, mayor of Ponyville. I was hoping on welcoming you to our lovely town earlier, but I couldn't find you. It wasn't until Filthy Rich came to me with the deeds to your new home." Her face showing political joy. But she was alone.
"Yeah, sorry about that, I like to be on the move. But I promise to remain slightly more stationary. I must admire the peace, quiet and friendliness of this town."
She chuckled. "That tends to be our specialty. And I have been told that you have been assigned to be our Town Commissioner."
"Yes, in one month I'll be in charge of all matters concerning security."
"Yes, speaking of which. Because of the peace people a used to, I'm going to have to ask you to leave your weapons at home. Their presence has an unnerving effect on the townsfolk."
"I'm sorry, but in order to do my job I need to be armed at all times. There is no telling when danger might come, and I will need to be ready always."
"And in order to maintain order in my town I cannot allow you to brandish swords and firearms. I am afraid of the amount of complaints I'll be receiving from the retirement home after I promised there would be no trouble, yet there you were walking with your arsenal."
"In that case I believe we are at a stalemate."
"I'm sorry, but you cannot walk around with weapons. One of the few laws we have here is the prohibition of weapons." She smacked her lips. "I believe that I'm waisting my breath."
"Yeah, I'm not gonna walk around unarmed just because it could inconvenience some old folks. The safety of this town is far more important than the comfort of a few people."
The mayor sighed. "Isn't there some sort of middle ground? I have heard that you have concealed holsters. I am willing to accept those if there is no other option."
Shield thought for a moment. He didn't want to make enemies with the town mayor, that is always considered a stupid move. That and he needed people to trust him. "I suppose that's logical. Very well, but my sword cannot be concealed."
"Then you cannot carry your sword. I will not allow you to endanger the peace of this town. At least not for the moment. Maybe after your Presentation Ceremony people will be able to rest easily, but for now I need you to blend in."
Shield was thrown off guard. "I'm sorry, Presentation Ceremony?"
"Well, yes, you are the First Commissioner to have been stationed here. I want to formally introduce you and to have you explain that your presence is no threat to my town. Most people here don't even know what a commissioner is and seeing you armed has already frightened them."
Shield couldn't help but snigger.
Her face was void of emotion. "Is something funny?"
"I'm sorry, it's just that I'm used to this. Most towns tend to give me mean looks, but I must admit that your town has given me the kindest one given the circumstances. It's a Commissioner joke." He said. "Don't worry, I'll head on home and prepare myself. But I must ask."
"What is it?"
"Is the Ceremony really necessary? I'd prefer, if it were just a speech marking my beginning. I'm really not a fan of parties."
She chuckled. "That is unexpected to hear from a human, but that isn't my decision. The townsfolk love celebrating, and there really aren't that many occasions. Not to mention it will help you meet everyone, after all, a shepherd should know his flock."
Great, a party town. He thought. Just what I needed. But he couldn't argue against her logic. It was hard to know everyone in Vanhoover, in fact he didn't know everyone but in this small town it would be actually plausible.
"I think I have taken enough of your time. If you ever need anything please stop by town hall and we'll help you out." The mayor grabbed his hand and with a firm shake she headed back to the town center.
"Then I guess we should go home. Your sister is probably ending her meeting so we don't have much time." Shield grabbed Sweetie Belle and carried her on his back.
He imitated a horse all the way to the basement, even neighing whenever he stopped and imitating the clopping sounds whenever he walked. After setting up a wooden bench he dropped her in one of the extremes.
He was impressed by Gun's redecorating abilities, granted his skills didn't make the place look pretty, but it made it very functional. The once grey basement was now covered in white tiles. There were fence dividing three quarters of the room into five lanes.
On the short side of the room stood at least ten large cases opened. These cases should have been called crates, due to their really large size.
Gun Nut was opening another one, preparing the contents to display the toys. He turned his gaze when he sensed someone enter.
"Shield! How are you my friend?" He looked at the girl. "I don't think she should be here."
"Don't worry, I'm sure of what I'm doing!" Shield said Confidently.
"Like that one time you pissed off Pearl Lance?"
"Hey! That guy was totally out of control and asking for it!"
"And so you resorted to throwing a pie in his face?"
"Not just any pie, a banana pie. And he started with the insults!" Retorted Shield. "He's lucky I couldn't find something that really hurt." He murmured to himself.
"What was that last thing?" Asked Gun.
"None of your business. Where's Dum-Dum?"
The gunsmith looked around the opened cases. "You sure about this? If the princess gets wind of this we will have our backsides mounted on a wall."
"Pfft! Like she will ever find out! She never found out about the ARs so I doubt she'll find out that have been secretly been training child soldiers. It's not like its the first time I've done it!" Said Shield with ego. "You did bring the AR prototypes right?"
"Of course i did!" Gun tossed the Commissioner a stocky pistol. "I'll set the firing range."
"Good."
Gun withdrew a yew wand and summoned a grey bolt toward a pile of mannequins in the corner opposite to the flight of stairs.
Five dolls burst to life and shuffled over the lanes, standing with their arms slightly apart. After a second, they froze.
"Okay, first rule of guns. Never use them unless you absolutely have to. That means never point it at people unless they are in your hit list." Said Shield as he pointed it at his friend.
Incidentally, the gun fired off a crimson bolt at the target. Gun Nut managed to duck, making the bullet singe his hair.
"Because you never know when it will misfire!" Said the Commissioner.
There was a sudden knock on the door. "Bollocks." Cursed the blond silently as he tossed the stocky weapon to his friend.
He pulled a blanket over Sweetie Belle and rushed to the door, hoping to make her disappear. "Just stay quiet and try not to move."
"Who is it?" He asked, alarmed.
"It's us Shy!" Said a sweet voice belonging to Cadence.
"Damn." He whispered. The time had come.
He immediately opened the door and saw eight people standing in front of him.
"Well hello! What brings you to my humble and crumbling abode?"
Rarity stepped forward. "You said you would give us basic training if we got a letter from Princess Celestia and..." She went for her purse and withdrew a small envelope.
Shield grabbed it and took a good look. It was quality paper and the back had the Celestial Seal.
He broke it and read the contents.
26/05/1002 P.N.M Enforcer Shield Heart.
I hereby order you to instruct Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Princess Cadence in basic, intermediate and advanced self-defense techniques. This means both in use of firearms and martial arts.
The instructions are effective immediately and without exception.
Princess Celestia
Shield Heart sighed and swore for a second. Celestia had been smart enough to avoid giving him a loophole. She was definitely getting smarter.
"I shall impart the lessons in my basement, so if you'll follow me." He said in a defeated tone as he walked toward the kitchen.
"Man this place is a dump!" Exclaimed Pinkie.
"I just bought it yesterday, give me a chance to renovate it!" He snapped.
Shining walked faster, so that he could slap his friend on the back. "Cheer up man! You're gonna shoot a gun!"
Shield stared at him. "But I need context! Why the heck am I shooting stuff in my basement in the first place! I could be in Canterlot hunting drunkards, but instead I'm in party town waiting for a rabbit to snarl so that I can call that entertainment!"
From the group of women, Fluttershy immediately panicked.
"I'm only joking ma'am, I would never harm a bunny. That is unless it was infected with a rare disease that made it act like a total jerk. But no such bunny exists so there is no problem." He said with humor.
The veterinarian merely retreated back to the shadows.
"And what do you plan on doing with the place?" Asked Rainbow Dash as she went down the stairs.
"No clue, but I'll try to make it look like a high-end loft maybe Miss Rarity could help in that particular dilemma." Responded the soldier.
"I would be delighted to help you in your endeavor, just tell me how you want it to look and I'll make sure it looks presentable." Answered the dressmaker.
"I hope you're not joking because I will ask you. I don't have much of an eye for decoration, unless it involves weapons."
"Now without further ado, let me present to you my requisition officer, friend and gunsmith, Gun Nut." He said as eight jaws dropped as they noticed the white room full of
Eleven souls stood in Shield Heart's basement, and only one was the center of attention.
"Very well, I'm Gun Nut, and I will be your instructor on this Beginner's guide to firearms. Now first thing is first, does anyone possess a firearm?" Asked the gunmetal haired man. He removed a pair of aviator sunglasses from his back pocket and put them on.
Applejack was the Only one to raise her hand.
"I'm impressed! So what do you have? A shotgun, assault rifle, pistol, air soft gun, potato launcher..."
"All ah have is Ol' Betsy. An' we ain't used her fer a long time!"
"Have you ever fired it before?"
"Sorry, no ah haven't. Granpa' was the last one."
"All right, so is it safe to assume that no one here has fired a gun before?"
Shining Armor was raising his hand before Shield exclaimed. "Put your hand down Shining! You are Captain of The Royal Guard! If you didn't know how to fire a gun you shouldn't even be alive!" That got the azure knight to back down, but it also made his face show annoyance
"Very well then, first lesson. never point the gun at someone unless you plan on shooting them. Even with years of research guns can still misfire at the slightest provocation." From a plastic table set with various tools he grabbed one of the various training pistols
"This is a training pistol modeled after the P 911. It will not kill, stun or maim anyone because it doesn't have the power of a real gun, therefore it is perfect for training. The purpose is to help you hold a gun and get a hold of the recoil. Will anyone volunteer to try it?"
The Weather girl stepped forward. "I'll give it a shot." She said.
Gun gave her the pistol and guided her to the first lane. She grabbed the gun with one hand and pointed sideways, making sure to look as cool as possible. She was impressed that the gun was lighter than she expected. She aimed down the sights toward the dummy's chest and took a deep breath. The moment she pulled the trigger a navy blue bullet shot out and hit the dummy right in the shoulder.
But Rainbow Dash hadn't considered the recoil, which jerked the gun backwards only to be stopped by her face. In shock she dropped the weapon and nursed her bruise.
"Lesson number two, never try to imitate what you see in movies. That is generally bullcrap and very dangerous." The officer said as he went to one of the cases and walked over with an ice pack.
He handed the injured the cold bag and said. "That was recoil, the reaction force of a gun. Every time you pull the trigger a mechanism hammers the crystal which bounces back and jerks the gun. Although for your first shot you were pretty accurate."
Rainbow took a look at the dummy. "I was aiming for his chest!" She burst out.
"I know, but still is a very impressive shot. Had your target been holding a gun, he would have dropped it. That would have given you a chance at another shot."
"Twilight, ya sure 'bout this? Ah don't think it's worth gettin' bruised for." Asked Applejack with worry
"Your friend wouldn't have been bruised if she had waited for my instructions." Snapped Gun Nut.
"What are you talking about? You're the one who set me up in the firing range!" Protested the polychromatic woman.
"I never said you should start shooting." He retorted with a grin. "Maybe I started wrong. I'm used to training recruits, not civilians."
"Maybe Shining and I should properly demonstrate." Said Shield as he unholstered Maria and Silver. He handed the smaller pistol to his friend.
The blond occupied the center lane, while the knight took care of the right lane. Shield was about to pull the trigger but saw his friend.
"Did your wedding give you amnesia?" He asked with mockery.
Shining looked at him. "I'm sorry?"
"Ladies, third lesson of the day. Whenever you are using anything that is not a practice model make sure you have the gun on the correct setting." He yanked the gun from Shining's hand.
"As you can clearly see here." He pointed to the switch above the trigger. "The dial is in the red zone. That means that this thing can maim. Unless you have a pack of dire wolves after you, a group of mobsters or something that wants to use your innards as a source of nourishment, you shouldn't keep it in red.
"Yellow is for stunning, in case the local hobo gets a little too close to you. And green is for practice. Barely consumes mana from the core and can't damage even a nearby fly." Said shield as he moved the dial. "Now, Shining, could you kindly demonstrate how a Captain of the Royal Guard holds a pistol?"
With an irritated look Shining did as instructed. He aimed with his right eye and both hands were on the grip.
"That Miss Rainbow is how an amateur should hold a gun." He said to the weather girl before looking at his friend. "Please fire ten shots. Disable the dummy."
With a grunt, Shining obeyed. He fired eight rounds at the four limbs of his frozen opponent. After which he shot the chest twice.
"Nice! Good to know you still have the basics of the Academy. Let me see Dum-Dum." Shield grabbed the fake gun and looked at the dial.
"Rainbow Dash, just as I told Shining I'll tell you. In the future always check the dials, you just fired the equivalent of a .45 Magnum Revolver." He said as he showed her the dial. "Unless you have the strength of a Minotaur never shoot this type with one hand."
"It's not my fault I shot a hand cannon!"
"I know it's this idiot's fault. But I'm just saying for future reference." Said Shield Heart as he gestured toward the rest. "Now, if you could please come..." "Achoo!" Interrupted a cloaked bench.
Shield froze in fear. Of all the odds and how well it was going he never expected a sneeze to doom him.
Alarmed, Fluttershy pulled over the grey blanket. Gasps of surprise filled the room.
"Sweetie, what on earth are you doing here?" Asked Rarity.
She just gave a sheepish smile. "I wanted to surprise you?"
Shield immediately interrupted. "I'm the one responsible. I took her to the ice cream parlor to try and cheer her up. Then as we came back I wanted to check up on Gun. Then you knocked on the door and I panicked. I thought you would go berserk if you found out I had your sister here so I planned to smuggle her out when you started practicing."
Rarity didn't know how to respond. She wasn't mad, just surprised. She took a few seconds to make an appropriate response. "There is no problem, I was just thrown off. I wished you would have told me."
"Okay, that's... Unexpected. I'm sorry but I'm used to parents freaking out when they see me with their child if its not in Vanhoover. Probably due to my five o'clock shadow, I really don't know."
"Maybe we ought to forget about this issue and move on. Could you please give me one of your pistols?" Declared Rarity with a nervous chuckle. "And don't you think it's a little too early for ice cream?"
"Yeah, maybe. But I think we should follow your advice. So in the lineup we have Miss Rarity, Cadence, Miss Applejack, Miss Twilight and Miss Pink-Haired?" He finished with a nervous tone,
"I'm Pinkie Pie!" She answered.
He clapped his hands and covered his face. "Thank you. I'll make sure to remember it."
They raised their arms and pointed forward. Twilight and Rarity hesitated for a moment, checking the dial.
"Well done, you did remember the third lesson. Turn the dial to the 9mm setting. That's the beginner's road."
All shooters did as instructed.
"Good, now. Get Ready! Take aim!" He shouted. The women aimed down their sights, waiting for the command. "Fire!" And a blue volley was fired in dissonance.
"Not bad. Let's see." Shield studied each of the blast marks left in the dummies.
"Cadence, is this your first time shooting?" He asked the princess. Her dummy was hit in the elbow, which in al life could have disarmed an opponent.
"In a long time." She answered meekly.
"In that case, you did a solid job. Now let's see miss Applejack." He studied the mannequin carefully. The bolt would have immobilized anyone who tried to run away, having scorched the knee.
"Where were you aiming?" He asked confused.
"Ah was tryin' at hit the heart." Answered the farmer.
"Hmmm. You still need practice. But it's still a decent shot." He turned to face the lily-eyed librarian.
He searched for a hit, but there wasn't any on the dummy. "I think you missed." He said flatly.
She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Really? I never would have guessed."
"Yeesh! What an attitude. Anyways, why don't you try it again." He said kindly. "C'mon, practice makes perfect!"
She obliged, taking aim once more. She didn't like the weight, it wasn't the same as holding a wand.
"That's your problem, see? Your hands are not fully gripping the pistol, try doing this." He grabbed her left hand and placed it right over her other hand. "Now tense your arms, when that recoil comes you need the strength to avoid stop it from hitting you."
He let go of her hands, and started moving her face. "Now, you need to align your eyes with the three green dots." He set her eyes to level. "Now, in order to stop the swaying you need to take a deep breath."
She followed his instructions, holding her need to breathe for a while. She noticed her hand was steadier, and more confident.
"Now fire." He said.
Twilight's pistol emitted a raspberry bolt which hit the dummy right in the heart and pushed it back a couple of centimeters. A hit against an unarmored opponent in real life would have caused a trauma that would have sent anyone unconscious.
"Ha ha! See? Bob's your Uncle!" Said the Commissioner with a chuckle.
The room was filled with gasps of surprise.
Gun Nut approached the soldier. "I am leaving in two hours." He whispered.
Enraged, Shield responded equally as loud. "And why didn't you mention this earlier?"
"I forgot."
Rolling his eyes, Shield started thinking. But first he had to finish examining. Rarity seemed to be a promising markswoman. Her pistol had managed to hit right between collarbones. A shot few people managed.
"Very impressive! I thought you had never shot a gun before." He said.
"I haven't but I tried implementing some of my couture techniques, like taking a breathe before shooting. I always do it when I need to use a needle." Said the dressmaker with gusto.
"I never thought of it that way, but very good!" He said as he focused on the last one.
As he stared down the range his brain crashed. His eyes didn't seem to be focusing well, for he saw five shots, perfectly aligned. A shot to the torso, another to the head, another on each arm and a final one to the crotch.
"Miss Pinkie, may I see your gun?" He asked.
"It's not my gun, but sure!" She exclaimed.
He started investigating the piece of equipment but to his bewilderment the settings were on 9mm. It made no sense because he was sure she only took one shot.
"Something wrong Shy?" Asked Shining.
"It's just that I could have sworn that she shot only once, yet there are five perfect marks on the dummy." He said as he sat down. "Actually on second thought, forget it. Today's session is over. Come back tomorrow if you want to keep practicing, but for today I will need to close down the basement."
"Oh, come on!" Exclaimed a very irritated Sweetie Belle. "You promised you were gonna teach me how to shoot!"
And at that very moment fourteen eyes full of rage and confusion turned to face him.
All Shield could manage was a sheepish giggle. "Sweetie Belle, that wasn't very smart. I think I should have told you that this wouldn't be a very good idea."
The room was vacated by everyone except for his neighbors.
"I don't suppose you would like to explain that."
"Erm, I just wanted to make her smile. Honest! She was so down on how you had let her down on your sister day I just wanted to make it up for her."
"Well then, I don't think it's correct to punish you. But in the future please keep my sister away from anything that could be considered unrelated to a regular life."
"Very well, I guess I'll have to concede. And I do have a favor to ask of you."
"And what could that be?"
"I need the help of someone of your eye for design to help me turn this house into a place I can be proud to call home." He said casually.
Rarity stopped for a second. "So long as you give me a budget ill see what I can do." She replied.
"Thank you, now I need to to abandon the basement. My friend and I are going to discuss top secret information and we wouldn't want to endanger you."
The seamstress left with a happy huff, grabbing her sister by the hand.
Shield closed the door to the basement, locked it and placed as many anti-lock picking and eavesdropping hexes he could remember.
With a clasp he turned to his friend. "Let me guess, now's the time for weapon porn?"
"My friend, you know that for me it's always time for weapon porn." He set up another plastic table and set it next to the previous one. "Just sit back, relax and have nice day."
In the basement below a thatched wooden house sat two men. A blond Commissioner and a brunet gunsmith. Around them were several aluminum cases opened and half emptied. The entire room was covered in white tiles, three quarters were separated by a wooden picket fence and five training dummies stood stiff in the various marked lanes.
"So what is the first thing you wanna show me?" Asked Shield Heart as he glared at his friend.
"Let me have Crimson and Silver." Asked the gunsmith with an extended hand.
Shield obliged, taking off the guns from their holsters and spinning them in his fingers. He flipped them so Gun could grab the pistols by the grips.
The brunet walked all the way to the empty tables and started studying the, closely.
"Ah, I remember these two. They're custom made Mane 9 pistols, full steel fittings with leather grips, you had one specially stained in crimson dye and you had the other one fully polished." Gun continued checking them. He clicked the ejection button next to the triggers on both pistols.
With a hiss the clips fell off, revealing a glowing purple light. "Both pistols have non-regenerating amethyst cores. How many killer shots do you get from a full charge?"
"About five hundred."
"A cubic centimeter?" Gun gun asked. His friend nodded. He reinserted the clips and walked over to the firing range.
He put Silver on the floor and gripped the other pistol with both hands. In the blink of an eye he pulled the trigger and released a grey bolt. The bullet hit a dummy in the breastplate, leaving a scorch mark on impact. He then released a torrent, but barely managed to punch through. The wound extruded some red drops.
Gun Nut immediately tossed both guns into a case. The thud produced made Shield cringe a little on the inside.
"My friend, these guns are ancient. Let me see your backup?"
Shield looked around. "I don't have a backup."
"Quit lying, I can clearly see it holstered to your right."
With an irritated grunt Shield went for his side pistol and handed it over in the same fashion as before. "But you'd better give it back. That one is mine."
"Like I would steal this." He started examining it, checking the outside and feeling the grip. "Actually I would steal this. It's a Petal 911, best pistol in you ever need a backup. It looks pretty standard, plastic exterior and steel slide. The barrel has the word Maria etched in steel" He removed the clip and stared at the bright blue core. "A sapphire core? Damn, that has got to be expensive. How many maims do you get per clip?
"Just 20." Said Shield casually. He could really go for a drink right now, the weather was getting hot.
"I guess that means this sapphire is a mana breeder then."
"Yeah, it wasn't easy to get it."
"Self-regenerating cores never are my friend. Anyways, let me give you a good reason as to why you should love your job." The officer said as he handed over the pistol.
"Yeah, that would be best. But could you please return my other pistols?" Protested Shield as he stretched his hand.
"Sorry, but I need to do some work on them. But I got you these." From another case he pulled put two thin, chrome-plated handguns with gel grips one was coated in dark polish and the other was whitened. "I present to you the Stallion 1001s. These are top quality, chrome-plated, interior aluminum fittings, ergonomic gel grip which also allows to give your shots extra juice." The man demonstrated. "Specially stained so you can give them a nickname."
"It has flawless garnet cores, which gives you a thousand maiming shots. It fires 10mm rounds at 255 meters per second. Rate of fire depends on trigger finger but can only fire fifty shots before overheating. Cool down lasts about ten seconds, but you can slide it to open." Gun tossed the pistols toward the blond man.
Shield grabbed them and in one smooth, spinning action he cocked both pistols with his belt and aimed forward.
Within an instant he released a thunderous roar of crimson bullets toward all five dummies. The wave struck all five, passing through their hearts and tearing apart the foam breastplate and released cherry juice all over the field. "Fuck yeah! Man these feel awesome! Thanks Gun!"
"Yeah, now let's move on to something bigger." The officer grabbed a compact black gun sporting a curved magazine and a black finish. "This is the Feline 9mm sub-machine gun. Capable of firing 800 rounds per minute." The gunner removed the magazine to show the purple core. "Amethyst core of 16 cubic millimeters holds 800 rounds, so you can theoretically fire weapon for a full minute."
"Isn't there an issue with overheating?"
"Yes, every 100 rounds."
Shield scolded.
"I said theoretically."
"Gimme that, I wanna try it." Said the commissioner, acting like a child. He yanked the weapon from his friend and inspected it. The barrel was very comfortable, not extremely round, but was definitely made for comfort. The grip was pure plastic, something to be expected when making guns. It had a retractable stock, making mobility the main characteristic of this magicarm.
Shield inserted the core and cocked the weapon. His friend launched a spell which regenerated the dummies before they would be slaughtered again.
Unlike the pistols, this gun had more kick, it being an automatic. He fired in short bursts, always aiming towards the chest. Unlike his musket, which fired very slowly, this machine managed to punch through the foam and spitter put a lot of cherry juice.
"That's awesome."
"Still not done, leave it there on the table next to the Stallions." Ordered the officer. Shield obeyed.
"Now this is a prototype weapon, so I'll have to ask you to keep it quiet until it becomes officially released." He pulled put a curious olive green gun. There was an orange box right below the sights but still above the rest of the weapon. The trigger and trigger guard rested at the front of the gun, with only a small cylinder grip to maintain accuracy.
"This is the Parasprite bullpup SMG specifically commissioned by the Cloudsdale Warhawks. The unique horizontal magazine also has a special bar that tells you how much power there is left in the gun so you don't need to count the shots."
"And I suppose this is your first model." Said Shield with a smug grin.
"No, the first batch is already with the commandos. They even invited me on one of their drills. It works perfectly. But they still need time to authorize it for the droppers." Gun explained. "The core is 36 cubic mills of flawless topaz, giving 900 shots before depletion. Which means it's easy to recharge and the topaz means reduced costs in manufacture."
Shield cocked the weapon and aimed down range. The thunderous roar emitted from the weapon unleashed a storm of bullets, spraying it everywhere like a fireman's hose.
"That's the main problem, unless you have a lot of strength or fire in short bursts the weapon pretty much rebels. But it is easily concealable, fitting behind a Commissioner's coat or can be strapped to a commando's hip." He said as he inserted straps into the weapon and demonstrated.
The black nylon straps could be easily adjusted to either sling the weapon on someone's back or tied around the waist, fixing the gun tightly next to the thighs.
"Got any straps for the Feline?" Asked Shield. "I could really go for concealable weapons."
Gun gave him a confused look.
"This town doesn't like seeing guys with weapons, so it looks like I'll need to be focusing on hold-out weapons, speaking of which. You wouldn't happen to know how to conceal a claymore wouldn't you?" Questioned the commissioner.
Inside the foam interiors were two leather forearm bracers with perfectly round rubies in the center of each.
"These are the first of my experimental hold-outs, try them on." He insisted as he handed them over.
Shield obliged, and was thrown off by the weight and thickness. The leather seemed to cover up a steel interior, what this did he couldn't tell, but he noticed the rubies were charged to full power.
"This my friend is next gen shit. I call them the Mana Bands. Take your hand-to-hand stance." He said. "Don't give me weird look, just do it."
Shield jerked his arms to a defensive position, making sure to cover his face. And half a second later the forearm began assembling a cold steel glove. The back hand extruded a small platform with a single hole above the index finger.
"What the hell?" Shield asked with shock, but his friend didn't answer. Instead he enchanted one of the dummies to take an offensive stance.
"Why don't you see for yourself?" He teased. "Make sure your punches have all of your energy, otherwise you'll miss all the fun."
With a chuckle Shield charged with a jab prepared. The punch resulted in what Shield could describe as the pinnacle of visceral joy. The second his knuckles connected with his opponent's left forearm a loud bang was heard as the hole fired a ball of crimson energy.
He continued his assault with a cross punch to the right liver. And once more the loud bang produced from the bracer produced the most pure form of catharsis he could ever imagine. The mannequin was blasted against a wall, where it fell down on a crate. The body took a few seconds of rest before coming back to life, getting off the crate and getting back into position.
"His name is Buster. He's the greatest training golem you'll ever find. I leave him here so you can have a sparring opponent while you live in hippie town." Said Gun with a sigh. "But enough somber thoughts, I still have toys to show you."
"And how do these work?" Asked a confused blond
"They're linked to your brain. Whenever you take a stance the rubies assemble the glove, and to disarm them all you have to do is stiffen your hands like the dummies over there. And you don't always have to fire the cannon, you just have to think of not discharging and done!" Responded Gun as he pulled out a black plastic rifle from a case. Now to continue my presentation, I give you..."
"Manny!" Exclaimed Shied as he retracted his gloves and dashed forward. He grabbed the gun as soon as it began flying in the air. He immediately hugged it. "I missed you!"
"Yes, because going old school is not cool."
"Maggie is awesome, and served her time with me in Canterlot. But I totally prefer this to the old musket."
"Yes, a carbine capable of firing 700 5.56mm rounds per minute is much better than an old musket. Also, I took the liberty of upgrading it. Now it has a silver receiver which will increase mana output, the fore-end now has a special gel which will allow you to enchant bullets." He pointed out to a bar of dark green at the bottom of the weapon. It started a couple of millimeters from the front and stopped before the magazine assembly. "The grip slows personal mana input."
"Impressive. Let me try it out." Said Shield prepared to fire once more. "So what do you think of these girls? Anyone you think could be a potential Auxiliary?" He fired a shot. The bolt hit directly in the glabella. The concussion caused a splat of red juice to fly to the back wall.
"I can't say much, but Cadence is out of picture." Commented his friend as he rubbed his chin. "Twilight Sparkle and her violet-haired friend seemed very promising. Twilight in particular. I never expected someone to deliver an overcharged shot on their second try, and that was accidental. With a little training she can become a murder machine."
"The other one is different story. If you could teach her how to use a sniper rifle you would have another sharpshooter in your arsenal. Also, you might want to investigate on Miss Pinkie. I know that there was some weird shit going on with her pistol, there's no possible way that she conjured four additional shots out of thin air. And I'm sure those pistols have no scatter option."
"The cowgirl is probably your last option. She looks dependable, but I doubt she can become a half-decent marksman or markswoman as the case should be. She seems to be more focused on using her legs. So if you need her for anything, it should be for delivering kicks to the balls."
"What about Rainbow Dash?"
"You mean the girl who shot the forty-five? Brash potential. That's all I have to say."
"All right, so how about the pink-haired Seraph? What did you see about her?"
"All I could see her do was watch you with horror my friend, something she has in common with any sane person." Responded the chestnut haired officer with a loud chuckle.
"Har dee har har." Shield focused once more on setting his sights on the range than paying any sort of attention to his friend. With a loud pew the blond managed to hit his target right in the neck, but didn't manage to knock the head out.
"Ha! You missed."
"Did I?" Asked Shield as he snapped his fingers. Instantly the dummy exploded into a thousand pieces, dropping several cherry-stained bits of gore all over the fences.
"Explosive shots, totally should have seen it coming." Said gun as he spat out a bloodied foam nose. "I still have four more items for you."
"Aww, really? You totally shouldn't have!"
"I know." Gun Nut produced a pair of falchions. The silver blade was carefully engraved with elegant lines and runes. The grip was dyed ultramarine blue leather with a ring of blue magic gel. The round pommel had the a six-point star inside three circles, with the smallest circle touching all six points of the star. This was the transmutation symbol used by the The weight was ridiculously well managed, as the blade fixed itself in his index finger right next to the pommel. It was also very light, lighter than Arby even.
"What you are holding are specially crafted Mithril falchions. I had the Golden Brothers transmute the swords, and it took them a very long while and a lot of tries. They even took the time to engrave the swords." Pointed out the gunsmith as he removed a pair of sheaths with slings.
"These are special sheaths which allow you to store your weapon in a variety of forms, even upside down, so long as you have a magnetic harness."
"Which I imagine you will kindly provide."
"If had brought them, but I left them in Vanhoover. And speaking of Vanhoover..." Gun Nut produced a pitch black squared rifle, the straight box magazine was also black, but with silver linings, around each groove. The barrel, fore-end and firing mechanisms were lined with silver, while the stock and grip had gold extruding.
"Holy shit! Is that..."
"An early birthday present from the Vanhoover Steel Legion. A custom fitted, semi-automatic Vulcan-Pattern Mana rifle with a fixed stock. The silver is used as an accelerator to fire special 7.62mm rounds with armor piercing capabilities. Rate of fire is based on your finger, it fires as fast as possible. The barrel has a liquid nitrogen cooling pack on the exterior to help prevent overheating." He pressed the magazine release button and showed a glowing gem.
"Flawless Opal delivers 1400 rounds, more than enough for your average skirmish." Explained Gun Nut. "But you will need to cool down every 200 bolts, the nitrogen can only do so much."
"Okay. So are you returning to Van after you're done here?" Asked Shield.
"Yes, I still need to work on Battle Suits. Last tests were not good, Arc nearly died when he engaged the weapons systems." The officer sighed deeply. "I'm sure it has something to do with the energy pack."
"I'll need you to promote Armstrong to Commanding Colonel of the Defence Legion. I'll promote Fire to Brigadier, he's the one who has to control the acting army." This weighed heavily on Shield, but he felt it was the right thing to do. He wasn't going to return to Vanhoover any time soon.
"Are you sure? I don't fully trust Armstrong with this task. Maybe Thunder..."
"Thunder is too rash, if I put him in charge he'll send off the legion at the first sign of attack. No, I plan on keeping him in the STG for now. That's where he belongs."
"I guess that makes sense. But are you going to leave Hawk Eye behind? Nana will not be pleased, she' still angry you left her."
"Actually, I need you to tell Nana to bring her here at the beginning of summer."
His brunet friend coughed a little before speaking. "Are you sure? I doubt Nana will want to leave her home..."
"Oh, I'm not inviting her here. I need her to bring Hawk to me. As of the next school year she will be attending Ponyville Elementary."
"I doubt she will agree..."
"If there's one thing I know about this town is that it's a better place to raise a child than Van." Shield's face was serious, his eyes staring right into his friend's soul. "I need her here, please."
"I won't continue this thread of conversation out of respect." Sighed Gun. "So instead I'll focus on something more important." He opened a new case and showed a scoped bolt-action rifle.
"This a Macintosh hunting rifle chambered in .308 rounds. You can either use a Topaz battery pack or..." He placed a box labeled: Zircon Cells. "You can go really old school."
Shield opened the box and admired the zircon-tipped bullets inside. The dark brass casing contrasted heavily with the light blue gem. He grabbed a single cartridge and held the gun with his left arm.
He quickly chambered the round and prepared to fire. The scope was masterfully set, with no offset as there usually was. The bullet was bound to hit where the crosshairs pointed to. He took a deep breath to steady his aim and pulled the trigger. Unlike the other weapons he had shot today, there really wasn't much recoil in this gun. The gem flew across the range, covered in a crimson haze.
He opened the chamber and the brass case shot itself into the air. The clang was second sound emitted, during which the inside hissed.
"Takes you back, doesn't it?" Asked the gunsmith with a breath of nostalgia.
"Only so much. Shame about these though." Responded the blond as he grabbed the residue. "Now I remember why they discontinued these."
"Yes, they're expensive as hell and weaker than a piss-filled ballon."
Shield was left wondering. "How does piss make a balloon weaker than water? You'd think that they'd have the same strength, urine being just water carrying wastes. Unless it's Seraph piss, no wait, it's their crap that's special. I wonder how many times someone takes a clear piss in the clouds and it arrives to the ground-walkers. Can they tell if it's piss? Or will they think it's rain?"
His thoughts baffled his friend. "It was just an expression."
"I know, but think about it. Imagine if half of Cloudsdale took a clear piss at the same time? Whoever is unlucky enough to be under them will be showered in urine and they'll probably not even notice it."
"I'm both happy and worried to hear that."
"You should be. The drugs are finally being flushed away."
"I think it would be wise to show you the next and last item." Gun Nut pulled out something odd.
"Straight from the Labs for your protection..." The officer paused for a moment. "I give you Dragon scale flak vest!" He announced as he revealed a dark grey bundle with some heavy chest pads.
Shield grabbed the armor and tapped the pads. The sound produced was slightly hollow, so it wasn't Kevlar or flak. "Are these synthetics?"
"No, they're the real deal. I was the one in charge of cleanup after your fight against dragons, remember?"
Shield pointed his index finger to his friend. "Right."
"The zipper is at the back, to ensure maximum frontal protection. And every single pad was specially crafted to your comfort."
He checked the zipper ad noticed that the back pads each had a round, clear opal.
"This thing has barriers?"
"Yes, we finally got them working. The barrier should protect you from most hazards, but once broken requires a ten second recharge. The opals produce their own source fast, so you don't need to input any of your own."
"There's no time limit?"
"No, but you have to invoke the protection yourself, otherwise it'll never activate."
"Good to know, so I guess that'll be all." Sighed Shield.
"I'm afraid yes. I'll try to send you a basic armory package when I get back to base. These were just the specials I had to give you. My father wasn't very happy when he found out about all these gifts."
"C'mon' it's not like this stuff was expensive. I also hold half of the shares of his company, and I fund most projects. Not to mention that I am the owner of half of the factories." Snapped Shield coldly. "And he should consider himself lucky, there aren't many who trust weapon developers. It's not a stable industry. And I mean it in all aspects."
"You don't have to threaten me you know?" Answered his brunet friend.
"I'm reminding you so you can remind your father."
"I know what you meant. But I'm warning you, not everyone knows you they way I do. Make sure you watch your mouth, we wouldn't want to repeat the Gala incident."
"Start a food fight during the Grand Galloping Gala and you'll never hear the end of it!"
"Must I remind you that you etched an explosive rune on that pie you threw at Pearl. He lost his left eyebrow and one of his teeth."
"His face is insured, and its not like anyone else got hurt I that food fight."
"Unless you count your punches as knuckle sandwiches, there was hardly any food in your fight. And you did knock out five of his guards. You even left one hospitalized after you drove a sword to his chest. You could have killed him!"
"He was Lion's Guard. No one gives a shit about those assholes."
"He was a man doing his job, you had no right to try to kill him!"
"He was lucky I missed the organs. And you'd think the Precious would invest a little more in keeping their guards alive. That sword was cheap and horribly off-balance. But yet it still managed to slice through that cheap leather armor."
"They did upgrade to steel plating."
"When was that?"
"After the Gala."
"Really?"
"Yes, it still didn't help when they were humiliated by the Mystery Guitar Man."
"No one has claimed that seventy-thousand bit bounty? Where did they go? World's End?"
"No one knows."
"They must be pros at disappearing. And speaking of disappearing people, have you heard anything from Iron Fist? It's worrying me that he didn't send in his report."
Gun immediately looked around, almost as if he expected to notice someone spying on them. He neared his friend and speaking in a very hushed tone. "I can't say much, but he's been forced underground and sending a report is dangerous."
"Did he tell you this? Why hasn't he warned us?"
"Because I was in Manehattan two weeks ago sealing a deal with the Marines. They wanted Ares Defense to issue a new standard-issue firearm to replace the Bushmaster mark 4. He didn't tell anyone because..."
"Because he knew I would get pissed if I found out that the M.P.D had managed to screw up yet again!" Exclaimed an enraged Shield. "I just cleaned up their mess two months ago, can't they keep it clean at least until December? Celestia!"
"Because the problem still hasn't reached critical levels. The police can still handle it, but the candidates are being idiots. They insist on lowering costs, which is giving the Mare a chance at recovering. But it's not just her, several mobs have formed by the immigrants. And they are getting very bold."
"They should initiate Protocol Exterminatus."
"We both know that the only way in which Celestia will consider allowing Exterminatus would be if she was locked on her room with all of Equestria full of bad guys..."
"Then they should tell cops to kill all criminals they see, no matter how minor their crime actually is. That's the only way in which we will finally get rid of those parasites."
"Are you trying to paraphrase Free Will?"
"No. But I find it easy to relate to him when he seems to be the only one who fully understands the problem and knows the fastest way to with the situation."
"But he is a radical."
"Who got rid of a serious problem. He gets shit done. You can't expect people to give up their evil ways just because you ask them to. Those parasites must die!"
"I strongly suggest you watch your tone, people in Vanhoover may agree with you but here it will probably get you in trouble."
Shield merely sighed as his friend scolded. He gave him a moment to relax before answering. "I think we should stop arguing. Your train is going to be leaving soon and I believe the Commander will want to see me."
His friend scoffed and chuckled. "You really have no idea what trouble you're in."
Shield Heart cocked the black rifle answered. "My friend, if I had even the slightest idea of half of what I was doing I wouldn't be a Commissioner."
Princess Celestia saw as a party of nine people return to the library after about half an hour of their departure. Shining Armor was the one to open the door, letting a bruised Rainbow Dash inside. She was nursing her eye and cheek.
"What happened?" She asked as she approached them
Radiant Dawn was perched up on one of the top windows with her bow on her left hand and turned to look at them.
"Let me guess, he let you fire a forty-five cal without warning?" She asked as she jumped down from her post. A pair of translucent wings swung out from her back and helped cushion her fall.
Rainbow nodded her head.
"Icarus wings, impressive spell casting if I do say so myself." Said Twilight as she saw the wings disappear.
"How did you know the reason behind my friend's bruise?" Asked Rarity.
Dawn slung her bow on her back before answering. "Because you can say it's one of his traditions. Whenever he gives out a class he always forgets to tell people to check the dials. I'm sure he switches the dial on purpose because it usually happens at least to one person."
"I couldn't believe he would dare do something like that, he seemed very friendly!" Protested Rarity.
"He probably does it to test people. He's always checking to see if there are any potential allies. Speaking of which, who is this little woman you brought here along with you Miss Rarity?" Asked the archer as she crouched over to the pink and purple haired girl.
"She's my sister, Sweetie Belle. I was just picking her up from the Commissioner's house, he was kind enough to take care of her while we were here."
Dawn darted her look at Rarity. "Does he know about this meeting?"
"He doesn't know you are here, he just knows that I had to leave my sister behind."
The archer let out a sigh of relief. "Good, we can't let him figure out we're here."
"Why not?" Asked Applejack.
"Because he has a tendency of over thinking things. And he might suspect that my presence is some sort of sinister plot to force him to retire." Answered the princess. "Twilight, I'm going to have to ask you to please sign this form accepting the task of becoming his official handler."
She produced from under her cloak a parchment. The librarian grabbed it and started reading.
"I Twilight Sparkle agree to..." She reduced her volume to a mumble. "Respond to any damage he may cause during emergency assignments like: arson, destruction of private property, slaughter of animals or the misuse of any items the Commissioner may use to subdue the imminent danger that assault 'insert city name here' please refer to paragraph ten for list of acceptable dangers." She read for a couple of minutes before speaking again.
She soon set the document down and grabbed a quill from one of her drawers. After a quick signature she rolled up the agreement and handed it over.
She then noticed Dawn receiving a 50-bit bill from the white-haired militant.
The princess approached and whispered. "They took wagers or whether you would read the document or not."
.oOo.
Shield Heart looked around the train station and tapped his Parasprite gun. He was wearing his blue greatcoat above his guns, scale vest, bracers and tee shirt. He preferred if people stopped seeing him as a threat as soon as possible.
A couple of beads of sweat formed on his brow, which he removed with the sleeve of his coat. Then, his entire body started to sweat.
"How the hell can these locals withstand this heat?" He exclaimed to himself. Gun walked behind him and slapped him on the back.
"Maybe because they don't wear a heavy wool greatcoat."
"But I can't take it off because I need to hide my guns and I seem to have misplaced my other coat."
"Maybe you can ask Iron Hide for a new coat, probably like the ones they use in Appleoosa."
"Maybe I should. Who knows how the winter will be."
"Probably like Canterlot."
"Probably, but I'd rather suppose it will be warmer."
Shield soon looked to the distance and recognized the Commander. Shield rushed over to his superior and saluted him.
"At ease soldier" Shield immediately obeyed. " and unbutton your coat, I can't believe how you can survive with that thing heating you up."
"I'm afraid I can't do that sir." Responded Shield as he accompanied his officer to the station.
"And why is that, did you fuse the buttons shut?" Replied Iron with a chuckle. Shield undid the first three buttons and showed what he was wearing.
"This is why sir. I doubt the town will appreciate me walking around like this."
"Don't be absurd , if you unbutton your coat I doubt people will care you're wearing armor. And I doubt anyone will see your holsters. Just try to avoid jumping a lot."
"Yes sir! I can't even jump sir. Not with this brace at least."
"You have suffered far worse and have continued with your duties. One of the reasons you are here is for your recovery."
"And what are the rest of the reasons if I may know?" Inquired the commissioner with a smug grin.
The old warhorse sighed. "Are you sure you want to know?"
"I already have my theories, but I want to prove them right." Shield said with his ego running high.
"Then follow me." Said the elder. He turned to the gunsmith. "I trust you can handle the rest Gun."
"I hope you realize the trouble you're in. That stunt you pulled in the caves does not sit well with the evaluators back at HQ." said Iron as he sat down.
"But I got the job done!" Exclaimed Shield as he sat down and reclined forward, hoping to not bump onto his gun on his back. "The paper clearly stated that there were no rules of engagement."
"But that doesn't give you permission to slaughter part of the goblin population."
"They were the ones that opened hostilities first! I waited for them to attack! Hell, I even tried to reason with the king!" He replied as he put his feet on the table and leaned back.
"But because they swung a sword first you had to exterminate them? I am so disappointed in you. I thought this job would save you, but instead has forced my hand!" The commander pounded his fist on the table.
"Save me from what? I handled myself pretty good."
"I meant from the Council of Defense. They've been looking for an excuse to kick you out of both the Commission and the Legion. I gave you this particular assignment because I thought you could handle this cleanly and show them that even after your disaster in Manehattan you are still a valuable asset worth keeping."
"The COD has no idea how hard it was to reduce her power under the horrible restrictions they tried to impose. Had they been any lighter she would be three meters underground by now. But NOOO, you must keep the financial district intact, you can't explode the port, you can't attack the train station with police officers you will spread panic..." Said Shield in an insulting voice.
"I know they put limitations, but they did it because they seek Equestria's best interests."
"Equestria's best interests my ass. Vanhoover was worse and all it took was Free Will to command the state, Two Face to lead the police, Major War Machine to control the army, and no Rules of Engagement. And would you look at the result!" He exclaimed as he stood up and threw his hands into the air.
"We eliminated the Triads in two years. Manehattan has been dealing with the Cartel for FIVE years. Those fat cats are too busy thinking of their investments, they couldn't give a shit about safety." He snapped as he paced around his seat before sitting down.
"I would watch my tongue if I were you. I know how you feel, I'm with you, but you have to play it safe. They have the power to take you down and you don't. If you want to make things right we need evidence but most important of all." Said the commander. "I need you to play ball. Iron Fist is already doing what he can to take down the Precious Family, and I'm preparing my own team to clear them out from Canterlot.
"But if we are to get rid of the Armchair Generals we need evidence that they are somehow involved. I don't know anything else, but I can't rely on you if your presence unnerves everyone."
Shield sighed. "Why are you even trusting me? Those guys are your friends, and who am I? A monster with a pitch-black past. Why are you risking your life based on speculations made by me?"
"Because they have given me reasons to trust you and doubt them. Last meeting the Secretary of the Air Fleets was too eager to send off the third and fourth fleets to the San Palomino Desert, as if he's preparing for something. He talks about maneuvers and looking for the Sunken Library, but I fear he's weakening Fillydelphia too much. And don't even get me started on General Spearhead.
"He tried to order one of the Royal Guard Legions to go to the Neighagra falls, saying that the was evidence that a basilisk was nested there. Can you believe him?"
"I sense you didn't allow him to send them."
"Of course not that would be suicide, as if he had no regard for standard protocol."
"So is there any news on the Mystery Guitar Man Pearl is so keen on killing?"
The commander grunted before answering. "Don't even get me started on that. Not a day goes by that he fails to call me, insisting on making it a matter of national security."
"I could always talk to him. You know we are the best of buds."
"Yeah, because nothing says we are Best Friends better than an explosive banana pie to the face."
"Why does everyone keep bringing that up? I swear, I have several incidents. Remember the time he went out hunting and I smuggled meat into his horse's pockets? The dude never knew what hit him when he released the hounds and they attacked him." He chuckled before continuing.
"Then that time I poisoned the bread with laxatives and the Follow-me potion? That was hilarious seeing him run away from the pigeons he was feeding as they shit all over him. I remember he then ordered the pigeon population be trimmed."
"I sometimes worry about you Shield."
"I'd be more worried about this place. It really looks like a place where I could easily get bored." Shield said with an evil chuckle. "Was this plan your idea? Because if it is you've changed your style."
"Grounding you here? No that was Princess Celestia's idea. She took inspiration from her apprentice and thought it would be a good idea to put you here."
"So even she is behind this conspiracy. I wondered just how deep the rabbit hole went." Shield mumbled.
"She's only trying to help you. Ever since you joined the legion she's noticed you haven't been the same."
"That's 'cause shit hasn't been the same. Eleven years ago nobody had to worry about high crime rates or drugs or any of that bullshit."
"No, we've always had to deal with that. You just decided to grow up faster and got scarred."
"Yet I'm someone you need. You need someone who has been scarred by reality, someone who has seen the most horrible corners of this world and has emerged. And there is no one who has been through half of what I have experienced."
"Don't elevate yourself, we want you to work with us and that's it. You are not some crucial piece to our puzzle of greatness or something like that." Snapped the commander. "You are here because of your actions. Also you will direct any concerns to Twilight Sparkle, from today onward she will be your official handler."
The man got up and started walking away. "Please don't make her life difficult, she already has a lot of work being the princess's apprentice."
Shield burst out laughing. "Trust me sir, with me around her last concern should be her studies."
