The Beginning of the Endby CyclicStoryWriterChaptersOne Hell of a DayMore Questions than AnswersUnexpected GuestsOld MemoriesSmoke on the HorizonFulfilling a PromiseThings are ChangingElement of SurprisePreparing for WarCalm before the StormOnce more into the FrayInto the Last Good Fight I'll ever know.Live and Die on This DayGhost of Ages PastThe Past Catches UpOne Hell of a DayBeginning of the End One Hell of a Day Twilight raced up the stairs of the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. Who knew that a simple research expedition would end up like this? She paused for a moment to catch her breath, only to continue her sprint again when the roar of a hungry manticore climbing up the stairs behind her. reaching the end of the steps she ran halfway into the new room only to be hit with the fact that she was now trapped in the throne room where Nightmare Moon was destroyed with the help of her friends who stood by her side in the warm summer. The seasons have changed and she was by herself now and snow blew in from windows where stained glass windows used to gleam gloriously. If anything she was glad that Spike was not here to add more fuel to her stress. He stayed back at the library to keep things in order. Twilight's thoughts were soon disrupted again by the roar from the manticore, who had finally caught up to his prey. Taking one big swipe, the manticore's paw grazed the side of Twilight. Stumbling back further into the room, Twilight felt pain all across her body. Her vision was dimming slightly and things started to blur. In one final attempt to survive she attempted to do a spell. The magic flowed through her and into her horn. Building up for the spell. Barely holding conscience twilight had to release the spell undone, producing only a spark. She thought all was lost but suddenly a white light started to create lines in the floor. The lines crossed over each other many times. Before Twilight blacked out, she saw three figures standing in front of her. It reminded her of a story she was told as a little filly. The Guardians of the Equestria. ===================== Seeing the metal canister hit the floor. I turned around to grab Anderson but saw that he was unconscious on the floor. Seeing no need to revise my plan of protecting myself I sprawled on what I thought was a stone floor. I landed on top of something soft and with the appearance of a second thought of seeing what I landed on the metal canister made a soft click as it stood tall on its rounded end. Springing up into the air it went halting for a split of a second and then releasing its deadly cargo of nearly one hundred strengthen drill bits. The bits fly in every direction, only stopping their deadly path when they hit stone or metal. The roar of the lion thing could be heard deafening everything out. I felt a few of the bits drive themselves into my body, but the armor I wore stopped their flight before they reached anything important. As a silence filled the room my body protested against my actions as I stood up to see the results of the bouncing betty. It looked like the night sky in the large room. With lights shimmering off the drill bits that embedded themselves into the masonry of this room. What, room? Large ceiling? No funny sounding English Templar? This train of thought was cut short by the sound of a very pissed of creature. Standing there as the only human that was awake with a creature that had something explode in its face was not something I wanted to do today. I also didn't want nukes to be launched off and destroying everything I knew that wasn't already dead yet but I guess that wasn't going to happen. My PPSH was dry and I didn't think this thing would give me time to reload it. So I lightly tossed aside and went for my knife. Staring into the one good eye left on this creature, I slowly pulled out my Kukri, which was given to me when I was brought into the Cossacks, out of its sheathe on my shoulder, and slowly stared to circle this creature. I could tell that even though he sounded and looked tough. The Bouncing Betty did a good number on it. "Come on you pussy cat. Lets play a game of cat and mouse." I shouted out to give myself encouragement rather than for anything else. The Lion thing made the first move swiping with its right paw. I slide just around the strike and stabbed it right near where I believed its shoulder joint would be. Outraged by my hidden skill, it shoved me away from itself and attempted another swing. This one connected and lifted me off the ground and slammed me against a stone pillar. I could feel the screws that were previously embedded into my body slowly inch further in. The HUD in my helmet alerted me of multiple broken ribs and some possible internal bleeding. Landing back on the ground I found my knife about ten yards away, lying in a pile of snow that blew in from one of the broken windows. As I crawled, the sound of a predator who is sure of victory savoring the moment before enjoying his meal. Now I was a yard away when I could feel the warm breathe of it on my neck. In one quick motion I lunge for the blade and drove the knife deep into the jaw of the beast and partially into its skull. Twisting the blade, I ensure its death by pulling the blade across its throat as I pulled the knife out. Lying there I waited to regain my breath from the battle. Footsteps neared me as I lied there. I was surprised when I saw the ghost from before, but in flesh and bone. Kneeling down and offering his hand, he assisted me up from underneath the corpse that was quickly turning the once white snow into a bloody slop. Wiping the blood of my knife I considered this the best time to get some questions answered. "How are you alive again? Before you were just a shimmer." Was the first thing that came to my mind. "In this world, I have powers unlike ones in the other world. Unlike in the one we just came from, I have a very much longer lifespan here." He calmly replied in his British accent as he pulled out his blade to polish it. "Wait, this world? Other world? Where the hell did you take us?" I piped once he finished answering my first question. "This is earth of a different Universe. Here things are very different. Unlike yours, this one is still alive and breathing. I also believe you have already acquainted yourself with one of the dominant species here." The knight calmly replied as he finished working on his sword. Questionable I turned to look at the dead corpse. Looking back at him he shook his head and nodded over in the other direction, it was the thing I landed on before. Moving over for a closer inspection, I could see it was something equine. With the horn I would say a unicorn and the size would mark it a pony. Strangely it had a purple colored coat and a darker colored purple mane with a strip of dark pink running through it. Noticing that it hasn't really moved at all, I checked for a pulse. There was one but still very feint. There were cuts on its side, probably from that thing I just killed. On its flank was what appeared to be a tattoo or brand in the shape of a star. I turned to see if Anderson had woken up yet. He was still on the ground lying there. "Hey Sir Henry. Can you do me a favor and wake up that poor excuse for a soldier there?" I asked as a started to check for any other injuries on the unicorn. Out of the corner of my I watched as the knight walked over by the unconscious private and lift up the body. He then proceeded to walk over by one of the snow piles and toss the body into it, face first. Once the private’s face hit the snow, his body flinched and made an attempt to quickly stand up. With the sudden shift in weight, the snow slipped from under his feet and sent Anderson flying backwards onto the floor. Looking around confused, He could see me and the knight chuckling at his misfortune. Getting up again, he tried to brush off the snow that stuck to him. Once he started to look around, I would have sworn his eyes almost popped out of his head. "Anderson, you said you were a vet before you came here. Correct?" I asked in a none chalant fashion. "Yeah, but death is still past my area of expertise." He replied looking at the dead corpse. "You really fucked up that manticore." "You don't say; now bring your expertise over here." He stepped over to where and knelt right next to me. He stared at the unicorn for a long time as if in disbelief. With a quick slap to the back of the head he snapped back into focus. "While you’re still focused, can you tell me if you can fix it up? I'll try to get a camp up and going, hopefully with the help of the knight here." "Sir, it’s a she." "What do you mean?" "It’s a she and her name is Twilight Sparkle." Taking another look at the unicorn. It reminded me of a friend I used to know back in the army. She used to carry these little pony figurines with her everywhere. Before she died from a sniper bullet through his lungs, she handed me them to me saying "Take these. If not for luck or anything special, keep them to remember me by.". Reaching into a pocket on the heavy jacket I wore over my armor. I pulled out the six figurines and found the one that matched the one lying right in front of me. "Twilight Sparkle you say, huh." I mumbled to myself. Placing the figurines safely back into my pocket. "Sir, if it’s alright for me to ask. Are you a Brony too?" Anderson sheepishly asked in a quiet voice. "What, I don't know what you’re talking about." I responded. Of all the things he could be asking, why that most random of all questions? "Well, I just guessed you were because of you having the mane 6 with you in your pocket." he quietly mumbled out. "No, those were from a friend of mine. Now they help me relax." thinking of my past experiences with that friend. "Hell, sometimes I think their right there next to me. Ready to charge into battle with me like the many times before..." After a few moments of silence, the private finally made the connection and started to focus on the job on hand. "Other than the cuts on her side. There are a couple of broken ribs with a possibility of internal bleeding. She might not make it." The private said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "In one of the duffel bags that we brought, there is a large medic bag with supplies." I stated as a got up. "She is only unconscious at the moment. Keep her alive as long as possible. I'm going out to try to find some help." continuing as I walked over to the stairs. "Sir Henry, You’re in charge now while I'm gone. Set up the camp, the supplies for that are in the bag with the eagle printed on the side." "Yes, but you are not seriously thinking of going out in this storm, you can barely see anything." The knight motioned with his hand out to one of the windows. "Don't worry; I can easily navigate through this stuff. I was trained to do this since I can remember." I replied, about to disappear down the flight of stairs. "Wait, you might need this if you meet another manticore." Replied the knight as he threw a war hammer my way. "Thanks, this might come in handy out there." placing it on my back where my PPSH used to be. "Sir, there are drill bits in your back. Do you want me to take them out before you leave." questioned Anderson who saw my back was bloodied from the bouncing betty. "No, I've had worse than this. Focus on our friend over there first." I ordered as I disappeared down the stairs. I exited out into a large open ruin which appeared to be a lobby some time ago. Seeing that the storm was thickening, I pulled out a tripod and threw it out. Once it touch the ground. I could see a beam of light burst up into the sky above. Looking at my wrist I could see a map being made of the surrounding area on the screen of my TACPAD. About three miles from my location there was a town. Setting the destination on my TACPAD. A waypoint appeared in my vision pointing me straight into the woods. Before leaving I pressed an icon on my TACPAD, My once dark green jacket and armor turned into pure white. I sprinted into the white nothingness and disappeared from sight of the ruins. When the ruins disappeared, instincts kicked in. As I sprinted through the woods I marked key landmarks along the way. When the 2 mile marker was passed the trees started to thin out and open to a field. Bursting out of the woods I noticed that the snow had suddenly shifted to a light dusting. Puzzled, I stared up into the sky. Right at the tree line the blizzard was raging on, but right next to it the snow was lightly falling from up above. Shaking my head I continued my jog towards the town distance. Before entering the town I receive a hail from the Private. "Sir, I have patched up Twilight! When you can switch to video feed!" He said through the radio like a little school girl. "That’s good, but I know that is not why you sound like a little girl know, what happened." I inquired "Switch and you will know!" Excitement could be heard brimming over in the private's voice. Switching over to the video feed on my TACPAD I could see Sir Henry and the unicorn on the screen having what appeared as a conversation. Damn! She was already up after the encounter with the 'manticore' as the private mentioned before. She layed next to a fire with a blanket over her body and white bandages could be seen on the front part of her torso. From what he saw in the background, Sir Henry did his job and set up the command tent and had started a fire. I felt proud in my quick judgment of this knight. "Anderson, I am getting the video feed and I'm impressed. Can you get any Information on where I can begin searching for someone who is specialized with in her type of injuries?" ==================== Hearing a new voice in the room, Twilight temporarily stopped her conversation with Sir Henry and turned to where the voice was coming from. This voice sounded familiar, maybe it was the other voice she heard when she was unconscious. All that was there was the man called Thomas Anderson who helped her after the manticore attack. Puzzled, she started to get up to investigate until a searing pain ran across her side. Forcing her to lay back down. Seeing the pain she was going through, Anderson sprung forward to assist her. "You should try to move around. Even though I was able to patch you up, I wasn't able to stitch the cuts close." Anderson said in a calm voice. "Where is that voice coming from? Is there someone else here?" She inquired "Oh yeah, give me just a minute!" said Anderson as he scrambled to the bags in search of something. "If you’re looking for the display to enlarge your video feed. It would be in the bag that held the other camp supplies." said the mysterious voice." "Sir, the bag is empty. There is nothing else... Here it is; I got it!" Anderson chimed as he pulled out a long slender pole. "I would swear you would forget your own head if it wasn't attached." piped the mysterious voice. Twilight watched in confusion as Anderson struggled with the pole and required assistance from the mystery voice. From what she heard. The voice was of another male, and it seemed to sound like Anderson was below him. Like a relationship between a young colt and his father. Stern but filled with knowledge. After a while the slender pole snapped open and a white sheet rolled down and tightened. Once this was done, Anderson removed his helmet and attached a line to the back of the helmet. Immediately a picture came up of what appeared as a head with a red star in the middle of where the forehead should be and no real facial features could be made out with the exceptions of what appeared as two unusually shaped rubies that had no edges, and a round object at about where the chin should be that shot out puffs of white clouds every few seconds. "AAHHHHH, WHAT IS THAT!" Twilight shrieked as she did her best to shuffle back without causing serious pain. "Um, sir... your mask." Anderson mumbled towards the screen as he moved back towards Twilight to reassure her some bit. At that moment a hand appeared over the strange 'face' and a hissing noise could be heard. After a second the hand removed what she saw before and revealed a normal face similar to Anderson's and Sir Henry's face. By Normal, she meant it had the same general features. Unlike the other to faces, this one bore scar of some unknown incidents. One laid across his left side of his face and ran right over his eye. His eye's, they looked like none she had seen before. They were blue, but like the blue of frozen ice. So light that it could be mistaken for a light grey but the speckles of a brilliant blue corrected the first idea. Like Sir Henry, he had fur around his mouth, but just enough to make it look a shadow was being cast just around his mouth. "So it appears our new friend is awake. Good to see that your awake now." said the new voice from the picture. "Yes, thank you for protecting me from that manticore." Twilight Sparkle said as she blushed lightly. "I was an honor. A Cossack is always proud to help those in need." The voice replied with pride. The eyes in the picture moved slightly to address Anderson. "How well did you patch her up?" the voice continued in a steady tone that showed none of the emotions it just showed before. "I was able to clean the wounds and place bandages on them. She will make a better recovery if she could get stiches." Anderson responded. "Good, now..." the voice began again, addressing Twilight. “I am on the outskirts of a town by the edge of the forest. Are you familiar with it?" the voice questioned Twilight Sparkle. "Yes, are you already by Ponyville already? Sir Henry said you only left about twenty minutes ago." Twilight questioned. 'How in Equestria could he go through half of the Everfree Forest in that amount of time? It took me and my friends about two hours to reach the Castle.' Twilight thought to herself. Breaking her train of thought the picture switched from the face to a new picture. "Yes I did leave just a little while ago, and is this the town you call Ponyville?" the voice said. Taking a closer look at the picture. It was indeed Ponyville. Few ponies could be seen walking the streets in the light dusting of snow. Most of the ponies would probably be inside watching the snow falling down. Taking a closer look at the library she could make shapes out of multiple ponies jumping around. It looked like it was a... "It looks like someone’s is setting up for a party......Inside that tree? The voice finished her thought in a statement that also sounded like a question. "Maybe Pinkie Pie is planning some type of party at my house." Twilight sounding slightly annoyed. Last time there was a party at her house. She was cleaning it up for two days straight! "I'm guessing that I would be able to find some type of medical professional over ther... Wait, you live in a tree? Replied the voice in a skeptical reply. "Yes I do and yes there my friends should be there. They will all want to put a hoof in if I'm injured." Answered Twilight Sparkle. A click could be heard and the picture disappeared. Anderson got up to go retrieve his helmet and returned when he saw the confused look on her face. "What do you need?" Anderson asked in a gentle voice. "What just happened? Who was that? Where did he get that scar? What was that thing that I saw before" Twilight quickly asked as if she had to ask them all before some time limit would finish. "Okay, just slow down." Anderson replied. “That was our other friend. We talked to him from a screen connected to a signal feed that he set up. When I was helping you out, he was racing out to Ponyville to find someone... er... somepony that could fix you up better than I could. As for those other questions, you’re going to have to ask him in person when he comes back with help." Anderson continued. Twilight couldn't stand having to wait for answers. It just irritated her, but like a pony said once. 'Patience is a virtue.' Today would be the testing point for Twilight Sparkle on this virtue. ==================== I had made my way through town up to the tree. Surprisingly none of the few ponies that were walking around the town notice his approach. I had to avoid being run into by a few. Twilight Sparkles assumption was right, anyone who was close to the tree could hear the excited voices inside for the future festivities and silhouettes could be seen through the windows. Rushing from one place to another. Remembering Twilights reaction to my gas mask. I removed it and placed it in its pouch on my left forearm. I also decided to shut down my natural camouflage system built and perfected by the Russians. Approaching the door after doing those things I knocked on the door. All the voices on the inside turned hushed and all the lights flickered out. After a while the door opened and a yellow pegasus about the same size as Twilight poked her head out. Her mane was long and a light pink. She stood there in shock as she looked up at me. I knelt down to her level to try to comfort her. She just continued to stare at me. The fear in her eyes could be easily seen. "Fluttershy, who's here? ur lett'n in a cold draft." a someone else said from behind the yellow pegasus called Fluttershy. It sounded like someone who came from down south in the United States. "It's alright; I'm not here to harm you." I said in the best calm and pleasant voice I could muster up. "MONSTER!" The yellow pegasus shouted out and darted inside, leaving the door wide open. A light flashed on in the house to show the rest of the occupants. From the open door I could see four other ponies and what appeared as a dragon in the tree. Before I could get any more details from the scene, a cyan pegasus with a mane that looked like the rainbow bolted forward towards me. Getting back up I was launched backwards out into the snow filled streets. The drill bits still embedded in my back dug in even more with the extra lying on my chest. I could feel a warm heat on my back as blood began to seep out of my back. A groan slipped from my mouth as I could feel my broken ribs moving with the new pressure on my chest. "I HOPE THAT HURT. NO PONY HURTS MY FRIENDS!" Shouted the pegasus on my chest shouted with her face just mire centimeters away from mine. I heard the others approaching and saw four more faces appear when the cyan pegasus pulled back her head. "What is that and what horrible attire is it wearing?" A white Unicorn with a purple mane in light curls questioned. "Whatever it is, it scar'd Fluttershy here so badly." An orange pony wearing a cowboy hat stated. "I wonder if it likes cupcakes?" Asked a pink pony who had a mane of darker pink in bouncy curls. "Pinkie!" The three ponies shouted out in unison turning their attentions to the pink pony. "What’s that underneath it? Questioned the dragon who appeared very young. All the faces turned back in my general direction to see the white snow I laid on slowly turn a dark red. "It's bleed‘in! How hard did you hit that thing Rainbow?" The Orange pony exclaimed. "I didn't hit it that hard! At least I don't think I did." The cyan pegasus replied. "Get off my chest." I barely mumbled out. The yellow pegasus came back into view and was startled by the image of blood underneath me. She disappeared off again and the rest of the group started arguing what to do about me. The Cyan pegasus had the idea that I was trying to do something bad. The orange pony thought that I might be something good and just didn't mean to startle Fluttershy. The white unicorn criticized what I wore. While the dragon was taking a closer look at me. "Get off my chest." I muttered out louder as before. "I think he's trying to talk." Stated the dragon as he stared into my face. "I'm watching you. If you try anything, you’re gonna get it." Threaten the cyan pegasus as she leaned up close to my face. Making the broken ribs just tear up my insides even more. Struggling to get fresh air into my lungs from the broken ribs scratching the front of my lungs and the drill bits touching the back of my lungs. I grabbed the pegasus and tossed her off to the side. Once the weight lifted off my chest. I lunged up into a sitting position and took a deep breath of air as the broken ribs moved away from my lungs. I started to get up onto my knees when the Cyan pegasus got back into my face. "What did you do that for?!" She shouted into my face. "After fighting a manticore, one does not simply walk away without broken ribs." I replied in a voice with no emotions "So what does that have to do with throwing me? Huh, answer me!" She exclaimed in frustration. "I couldn't breathe with you lying on top of me because I have broken ribs and I didn't want to kill myself trying to breath." I again replied with a bit of irritation in my voice. "Whoa there! Simmer down you two. We don't want a fight breaking out." The orange pony said as she tried to separate the cyan pegasus and me. "Now what did you need before?" she continued as she looked towards me. "I came here to try to find the friends of Twilight Sparkle. She is injured and she said that her friends would be able to help." I answered to the orange pony. "Now if you’re her friends I need you to follow me. She is back in a ruin in that forest over there." I continued as I pointed back the way I came. "What if you try to kill us out there!" The cyan pegasus pony questioned as she pushed the orange pony out of the way to make eye contact with me again. "If I was trying to kill you, we wouldn't even be talking. Now if you’re done interrogating me, I think we need to get going now." I replied as got up to my full height. "Fine, but don't try to pull anything." The cyan pegasus submitted. "Why would I try anything if I promised on my Cossack's Honor to retrieve you ponies?" I stated as I turned to head off. "Um... excuse me... can I help you, if it’s alright..." A voice from behind me asked lightly. I turned around to see the yellow pegasus from before with medical bags on her back, like saddle bags. "No, but thank you for asking. Save those supplies for your friend. I believe she will need them more than I do." I said in a voice that I made as gentle and as calm as possible. "Twilight's hurt! Where is she?" She said in an assertive voice. "Follow me and I'll show you." I responded. As we made our way up to the forest, the storm in the woods had subsided majorly and one could easily see a good distance. Wanting to make sure where we were heading. I attached my gas mask back onto my helmet. I could see the infrared light from the machine I set up before and all of the checkpoints that I placed down before. I turned on the channel from before and sent out a message. "I have found the girls and heading back. I'll report back in when something else happens." I said into the receiver in my helmet. "Oh yeah, get that corpse out of there. I doubt that will help them trust us." Once we past a majority of the checkpoints. We came up to a canyon with a rope bridge, the very last checkpoint. I waved everyone across as I heard new noises from behind us. These new noises had been following us since we crossed the frozen river. All the ponies mad it across except for the yellow pegasus. Who looked to have heard the noises too and stood there in shock. Not wanting to wait and see when she would come out of her stat. I grabbed her up into my arms and sprinted across the bridge. Crossing the bridge I heard the noises from behind us grow louder. Turning around, I saw what looked like a pack of huge wolfs mad out of wood. Needing no more instructions the rest of the ponies followed behind me. Once we got inside the ruins, I set the pony I was carrying down. "Okay now head up those stairs over there. Your friend will be up there along with my companions. Now get going, were about to get some company." I yelled. Everyone went up the stairs except the orange pony "No can do. If you’re going to hold of those Timberwolves. Then I'm gonna help you out." The Orange pony stated as she stood there by the stairs. "I thank you for your honesty and your will to help but your friend needs you up there more than I do. Also if I fail and die down here, you can be prepared for what I didn't take down with me, now get up those stairs!" I shouted out through my mask. My point was punctuated by the howling of the wolfs behind me. She seemed to be struggling with the decision. With the second howl, she wished me luck and headed up the stairs. Turning around I could see the silhouettes of the timber wolfs appear out of the storm. As if god saw this, the storm began to increase back to its furiousity that I experienced before. This was good for me because I grew up and trained in weather like this. Giving me some chance against this pack in my wounded state. I pulled out the war hammer that Sir Henry gave me before. As the timberwolves came closer I inspected the war hammer closer now. It had a 6 inch rectangle on top with a spike jutting out on the very top. On the face of the hammer a series of spikes jutted out like something you would see on a meat tenderizer. On the other end was a spike that curved down. Looking up I could see the Timberwolves were closing in on me. There were five in the group; I spotted the Alpha right in front of me. We stared each other down for some time. I was surprised when I didn't have to stare down at these creatures. They fanned out around me and tried to surround me. A small one in the group tried to take a bit at my left leg. Only to meet the full force of the War hammer, which snapped his wooden head off. 'One down, four to go' I thought in my head. Another one went for my back as he saw what happened to his comrade. I swung around to just grab the back of his head with the curved spike. Feeling that the spike was dug in deep, I went up and placed my right foot on its back and ripped the War hammer out along with most of his head. 'Two down, three more to go' I thought. If it kept going this easily, I might actually be able to walk away from this fight. Hearing a howl behind me, I turned to see another Timberwolf jumping at me. Being too close to evade or take another swing I went down to a knee and jabbed the spike on top of the war hammer into the beast's chest. Using its momentum from the lunge the creature was lifted over my body and I finished the job by thrusting the hammer even deeper into its chest. 'Only two more to go.' Turning around I was tackled to the ground by a timberwolf. I grabbed into one of my outer pockets and grabbed a packet of C4. Grabbing hold of this I rammed my fist into the creature's chest and kicked it back with my legs. It stumbled backwards from the unexpected resistance as I stood back up. I pushed the released the detonation charge and saw the creature blow up into a thousand pieces. If only I had thought about the shrapnel from the resulting explosion before. Thousands of pieces flew towards me and tore up anything that wasn't harder than itself which happened anything not my jacket. Struggling to get back up I forced myself to my knees. Seeing one last Timberwolf standing there as if he was gloating over how victory would be his. Grabbing my Kukri knife off my shoulder I attempted to stand up. The female voice in my head set was stating off how multiple armor failures have been detected, how one of my lungs was punctured, and how my right leg was fractured. Basically this would be my last battle if I made any mistakes. I thought of the all the other Cossacks that I knew who were pitted against similar odds. Knowing the end might be near I started to mutter the poem that was the main idea of the entire Cossack ideals. "Once more into the fray I go. Into the last good battle I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day." Staring back at the Timberwolf I felt no fear. I taunted the Alpha male into combat. "COME ON YOU BIG PANSY, I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU. ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU THEIR GOING TO HAVE TO GLUE YOU BACK TOGETHER IN HELL!" The Timberwolf took up the challenge and charged right towards me. I dodge out of the way of the first charge and stabbed my blade into his side. Howling in pain, the Alpha turned around and made a lunge to bite my crippled leg. Stumbling back I avoided the attack and landed a blow with my knife across his head. Outraged, the Alpha threw its entire body at me. I felt the everything in my body, all the broken ribs, my fractured leg, and all of those damned screws in my back. As I released out a cry of pain I felt my entire body being filled with adrenaline. My pain disappeared and new energy flowed into my body. I got a new grip on my knife and started stabbing the Alpha as many times as possible. "Why...Won't...You ...Just...FUCKING...DIE!?" I cried out in my rush of adrenaline. From out of nowhere, a large ax blade came down and embedded itself into the alpha wolf. Quickly following the ax a sword came down and looped of the head and just stopping short of my chest which was ripped and bloodied to hell. Staring up I saw Sir Henry standing over the dead corpse. After grabbing his weapons including his war hammer, He lifted me up by grabbing my shoulders. I felt another pair of hands move the corpse off my body and grab my legs. The world slowly turned dark. We entered the stairs and headed up for what seemed like an eternity. The world slowly blurred and I could just make out general things. The hands that held me up placed me down on my side. I saw the brightly colored legs come over stand by me. Voice danced around my ears but I couldn't place a finger on any of the names. Before I blacked out there was a voice I heard that seemed directed towards me. "Please don't die! I have so many questions that I want to ask!" The female voice said as I felt something touch my shoulder. "Sir! You have to try to stick with us! Don't leave us!" Anderson shouted into my helmet. Removing the visor from my face. I pulled Anderson in close. “My name is Sergi Zolnerowich and I WILL NOT DIE! Then the world went black. More Questions than AnswersThe Beginning of the End More Questions than Answers Twilight Sparkle's waiting was over when she heard the sound of some ponies racing up the stairs. To her disappointment, Applejack was not with the group and the human was also not present. Before she could ask any questions, she noticed the look of suspicion her friends had when they saw Sir Henry and Tom Anderson. Out of all her friends, she was worried about Rainbow Dash and how she sometimes takes things too far. "Girls, don't worry. These creatures helped me when I was hurt and the only reason I'm still alive." Twilight said trying to relax her friends. It worked for mostly everyone. Rainbow Dash still had a skeptical look in her eyes. "Oh Twilight, your hurt! Let me take a closer look." Fluttershy said in an assertive voice that Twilight Sparkle has only heard from Fluttershy when she saw something was hurt. "Geez Twilight! When I heard you were in trouble I didn't expect this." Spike said as he jumped off Rarity's back to check to see what happened with her. "My, this outfit fits you just smashingly dear! I've never seen such brute force and elegance mix together so well!" Rarity said as she approached Sir Henry who was a little nervous about the new guests. "I'm not completely sure about your attire though. It seems so bland and is that a rip I see there?" she critiqued as she looked over towards Anderson. All eyes flashed back towards the staircase. The sound of a Timberwolf could be heard outside. A conversation could be briefly heard between the howls. The sound of another pony racing up the stairs overpowered the noise from outside. "You’ve got to go help your friend! He's got some crazy idea of taking on a pack of Timberwolves." She shouted out in a desperation rarely seen in Applejack. Anderson seemed to hesitate and Sir Henry seemed slightly confused until a challenge bellowed from out of the staircase. "COME ON YOU BIG PANSY, I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU! ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU THEIR GOING TO HAVE TO GLUE YOU BACK TOGETHER IN HELL!" In a flash Sir Henry grabbed an ax and threw it at Anderson as he reached for his sword. Mere moments later they disappeared down the stairs. Everyone that was left up in the room could hear the angered howls of the Timberwolves and the breaking of wood. Seconds passed in silence only to be broken when another howl was let out and moments later a cry of pain was heard, followed by a shout filled rage and desperation. "Why...Won't...You ...Just...FUCKING...DIE!?" Silence began to fill the chamber again. This time no shout broke it, only the sound of boots racing up the staircase. Anderson emerged with Sir Henry carefully carrying a bloody bundle out into the open. Everypony raced over to look at the bloody bundle that used to be the human that guided them here. Twilight managed to control her gag reflexes when she saw the damage. There were so many cuts across his chest that she could easily see his ribs. The left arm appeared to be longer than the right, hinting at a dislocated shoulder. His right leg was bent in an interesting way below the knee. The floor that he laid on was quickly pooling with blood. Seeing how the body was not moving much. Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder and said in a desperate voice. "Please don't die! I have so many questions that I want to ask!" "Sir! You have to try to stick with us! Don't leave us!" Anderson shouted at the metal face as he knelt down by his body. His trembling right hand slowly moved toward his face and a small hissing noise could be heard. The hand instantly dropped the mask and revealed a human face that was almost as pale as the snow by the windows. Drips of blood could also be seen rolling out of his mouth. The hand moved towards Anderson and pulled himself closer to field medic. "My name is Sergi Zolnerowich and I WILL NOT DIE!" The bloodied body said in a voice that could barely be heard by everypony there. He lost his grip and his body went limp. See looked in disbelief as she watched him die right in front of her. She barely noticed Anderson moved to look at his friend's back. As she came back to her senses, she got an idea. "Anderson, I know a spell that can fix him up. Can I help heal him?" She asked as her plan unfurled in her mind. "What does the spell do?" He asked as his head still hid behind the body. "It closes every wound and places everything back where it’s supposed to go. Here let me show you!" She replied as her horn began to glow. "NO NO NO! NOT YET!" Anderson said in frighten panic, waving his newly bloodied hands at Twilight. "We just can't let him die, it's just not right!" Applejack countered. "I didn't even find out if he liked cupcakes." Pinkie Pie said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Let me show you what the problem is." Anderson says as he sees Twilights horn dim down. Walking around the body and the slowly growing pool of blood, the girls and Spike see what the problem is. "What are those things, they don't look natural." stated Applejack looking at the stubs of the deeply embedded drill bits. "Oh my... those look painful." quietly mumbled Fluttershy. "Yes they are. These would heal right into the body if you used your spell Twilight. Since they would still be there they would just rip open the wounds right back up." Anderson explained to them. This was different than anything that she had ever seen. "I guess you didn't hit him so hard then Rainbow Dash." Applejack said as she looked over at the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Wait, what happened?" Twilight Sparkle inquired. "Fluttershy went to open the door and then shouted 'MONSTER' and ran back inside and Rainbow Dash flew out and BAM knock the thing flat on its back. Then we went outside to look at what Rainbow Dash had tackled and started talking about whether it was good or bad and then we noticed it was bleeding. As we stood there talking, it threw Rainbow Dash off of its chest to the side. After that Rainbow dash and it almost got into a fight if Applejack didn't break it up!" Pinkie Pie explained in her usual hyper attitude. "Where did these things come from?" Twilight asked as her curiosity began to rise again. "I'm not so sure about that. I just noticed these were in his back before he left." Anderson simply replied "He would probably know, but first let’s remove these things before any healing happens. Twilight Sparkle and the others watched as Anderson pulled the shrapnel out of his body. Each one varied in length, some were just small pieces while others were about 4 inches in length. As the final pieces were being pulled out Twilight began to focus her energy into the spell she was going to use before. Her horn started to glow brighter and brighter. Soon she wasn't able to see anything other than the light of the magic. She felt a hand tap her on the shoulder and she released the spell. The room was filled with a purple light. Her mind was soon filled with images, none of them her own. Images flashed by of snow, blood and fire. She saw other humans that stood by and helped a small child out of the snow. The images flashed by so fast there was no time to absorb any details. The images stopped suddenly and a different human stood in her mind and looked towards her. "Twilight Sparkle. Yes, I know your name. That is not important now. I am here to tell you I am in your debt." The figure said as he faded from her mind. Twilight opened her eyes to see what had happened. His body still laid there in the pool of blood. She ran around the body to check the front. It worked! The large chest wound was gone and the clothing he wore had also repaired. Standing there for what seemed like forever, his chest slowly began to rise and fall. Feeling good that the spell had worked, she relaxed. She had a new set of questions lined up in her head that needed answering. 'What did I just see, who communicated with me in my head, how did they know my name?' Taking time now to look outside to attempt to quiet the questions in her head, she saw the sun setting over the horizon as the storm still raged outside. 'Good, this has been a long day.' Twilight Sparkle thought to herself. 'I need to relax from everything that just happened. I doubt that he will wake up any time soon.' "Wow, the day just flew past. I better start making some room." Anderson said in an amazed voice. "Why do you need to make more room?" Spike inquired as Anderson began to move things from around the fire. "With this storm going on and the sun setting, I doubt anyone would be able to navigate through it." answered Sir Henry as he lifted his companion out of the pool of his own blood. "Well anyone that is awake at the moment." The knight dragged the body away from the pool of blood and inside one of the tents that were set up. Emerging from the tent, he assisted Anderson in making room for the new guests. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash hovering near the rest of her friends, watching the humans move things around. Anderson stopped for a moment and looked over at the ponies. "I cleared out a spot over hear by the fire. You can come over here and warm up." He offered waving towards an area that had cushions placed down. Twilight didn't really notice it at first, but she was kinda cold. She walked over to the fire and sat down. Her friends followed suit with Rainbow Dash still keeping an eye out on the two humans. As they were sitting there trying to get the idea of a creature they had never seen nearly dying for their safety. Spike quickly got bored and started to rummage through some of the bags and boxes that were still full. She heard some clamps being opened and turned to look at what Spike found. A polished wooden instrument lay inside of the case. It looked similar to the one that Octavia plays but very much smaller. "Spike, I don't think it’s such a great idea to look through their stuff. They might let you if you ask them." She advised. "It is alright with me. All I have is what I wore on my back." Sir Henry stated as he removed a large majority of his armor. "That's alright with me. Just stay away from that pile there. It's Sergi's." added Anderson. She was happy at the humans’ willingness to let them explore their belongings, but slightly disappointed that one pile would be left unsearched. Hearing the clamps of the box shut once more, Twilight Sparkle turned back to the fire she decided to join the conversation the group was having. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking about the intents of the humans. Rarity was commenting on what they wore. Pinkie Pie was deep in conversations with the humans on what types of parties and treats they liked. Fluttershy was just sitting there staring into the fire. Fluttershy was bought into some conversations to break a tie or see her opinion, but was then left to herself after that. She looked like she was frightened out of her mind. "Have you heard about or know of anything like these humans Fluttershy?" Twilight Sparkle asked to try and help her relax. "No, I’ve never had an idea that something like them existed. They seem pretty nice though." Fluttershy said after a moment of thought. "I think I have an idea but the book I need is back at the library." Twilight Sparkle said more to herself than to Fluttershy. "Oh, what book? I have a couple of books with me in my bag... I mean if you want to check." Fluttershy mumbled out. "Could you read me the titles?" Twilight asked. "Supernaturals, How Equestria was made, Daring Do and the Griffon's Chalice, General History of Equestria: From Ancient to Modern..." "That last one would be great! Could you pass it over?" Twilight said as her interest grew. Opening her bag and tossing the book over Twilight Sparkle grabbed the book with her magic and started flipping through the pages. As she skimmed through, she saw multiple references to mysterious creatures that came in and out of history to either cause chaos or restore peace. The last reference to these mysterious creatures showed a picture of a human clad in metal facing off against Discord as the Princesses cast their spell during the battle. Looking at the subtext below it read 'And the last member of one of the ancient races sacrificed his life to help defeat the Lord of Chaos, Discord. A statue dedicated to the bravery and courage of this dead race can be seen in the Hall of Fallen Heroes.' Something about the creature seemed familiar. Flipping back a few pages she found what she was looking for, The Guardians of Equestria: The Last of an Ancient Race. Reading through the section she looked up every once and awhile at Sir Henry. From what she was reading in the book, this creature was as old as Celestia and Luna. Even with this explanation, where did Anderson and Sergi come from if not from here in Equestria? "Sir Henry, Anderson, can you answer a few questions of mine?" Twilight Sparkle asked the humans. Sir Henry got up from the pile of debris from a fallen pillar that he was sitting on. Anderson was broken out a trance from watching the weather outside. The storm was breaking down and showed glimpses of the sky beyond. Anderson sprang right up and sat himself right across the fire from Twilight, as Sir Henry walked up slowly behind Anderson. "Fire away. I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities." said Anderson in the calm manor that she has come to know him for when they spoke. "Before we start with the questions, let’s start with introductions. My name is Twilight Sparkle." "My name is Applejack, pleasure to meet yah both." Applejack cheerily said as she offered her hoof. Anderson never saw the intensity of the shake until it happened. Sir Henry just nodded as she turned towards him. "My name is Rarity. I must make you some new clothing when we get back to Ponyville." Rarity stated as she still looked at Anderson's beaten-up attire. "My name is Pinkie Pie! I work at a sweet shop in Ponyville. Do you guys like cupcakes? I know! When we get back to Ponyville, I'll make a big huge party for both of you as a 'Welcome to Ponyville!' OH! I can't forget about the guy in there too." Pinkie Pie rambled on, the suspense of being here when she could be out planning a party for these new creatures was killing her. "My name is Fluttershy..." Fluttershy mumbled as the attention switches to her. "My name is Rainbow Dash and if you try anything, I'll have you on the ground before you even knew what happened!" Rainbow said as she kept her eyes on the two humans, watching for any movement. "First off you both are humans, correct?" Twilight prodded before asking her real question. Sir Henry could see where this simple question was going and shifted uneasily in his spot. "Yes, we are both humans. Next question." Anderson replied oblivious to what it was leading to. Twilight Sparkle could see out of the corner of her eyes that her friends had stopped their conversations to watch this one. "From what I know, Sir Henry was here during the first rule of Discord. So where did you and Sergi come from?" Twilight asked, dropping the big question. "Well first off, I don't know how we got here. But Sergi and I come from a different place that has no other intelligent life other than us, called Earth." Anderson replied as he was perplexed by what she said. "Wait, what do you mean 'Only intelligent life'? What about ponies or griffons?" Applejack asked as she joined the conversation. "We humans are the only ones that can do things like read and write. Ponies live like the creatures out here in the Everfree Forest and griffons are only creatures from ancient myths." Anderson answered with a small quiver in his voice. "Now darling, I must ask. Is what you’re wearing the style back where you come from?" Rarity cut in, not wanting to drop the idea that these creatures were uncultured in fashion. "No this is... something we wear to...to protect me when I'm in battle....See, Sergi and I were soldiers in a war... Everyone was at each other's throats... All hell was breaking loose..." Anderson answered as he started to break down. He bent his head down; covering whatever emotion was on his face, even though it was obvious. "Is everything alright? What's wrong?" Twilight began to ask as she saw this human break down. Sir Henry knelt down beside his comrade and placed his hand on Anderson's shoulder. "Oh dear...are you alright?" Fluttershy asked Anderson as he continued to cry and mumble cryptic things. "He reminds me of when I went to Manehattan when I was only a little filly." said Applejack. "I know what can help!" Pinkie pie shouted as she pulled a cupcake out of nowhere. Looking up at the outstretched hoof with the offering on it. Anderson took the cupcake and carefully looked at it. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was a bright red. As he took a few bites, he thanked Pinkie Pie for her kindness. Composing himself, he prepared himself for the next volley of questions. "Is it alright to ask what you’re upset about?" Spike asked Anderson. "Was it my question on your fashion? I am dreadfully sorry for that then. I didn't know you were that attached to that style." Rarity said. Twilight looked around at her friends to see that they had removed the wall that they had place between them and the humans. Even Rainbow Dash seemed to soften up. Hearing a rustling behind her, she maneuvered as best she could with her injuries to see the tent flap opening and Sergi appearing. "What Anderson is upset about is that our world no longer exists. Before we left, the war had brought out the worst in everyone. The two major players in the war decided that if they lost, then they were taking everyone else with them." Sergi told them. "He knows that he will never see his family again. That we are the only survivors of our world's final war." He added. "If you escaped with Anderson, why are you not depressed?" Twilight asked, confused at the glaring differences in their respective reactions. "My family is already dead and I never felt attached to the world afterwards." He simply replied "How can anyone become as stone cold as you? Nothing seems to faze you." Rainbow Dash blurted out. "I had to watch my closest friends die right in front of me and see people I held dear die in my arms." Sergi replied in a voice that cut like a knife. Silence filled the room as that news was revealed. The information slowly filled the minds of the ponies. 'A whole planet destroyed? That can't be right. Why would there be a conflict so immense that it killed everything?' Twilight pondered, the silence hanging over everypony like a heavy blanket. "It's getting pretty late. I suggest that everyone get some sleep. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us." Sergi said to break the silence. Looking outside, he was right. The storm had stopped and Luna's clear night dazzled the land with its bright stars. Sleep sounded like a good idea. Getting herself more comfortable on the padded ground, Twilight could see that she was not the only one with the idea. Twilight watched as Sergi went over to his companions and tell them that they could have the cots inside the tent. Anderson looked up at Sergi and took the hand that he offered and they spoke to each other in voices low enough not to be heard by wandering ears. Looking happier than he did before, Anderson finished his cupcake and headed for the tent. Falling asleep quickly, she did not have time to go over all of the questions floating around her head. The only thing she knew was that she now had more questions than answers. ===================================================================== So everything has gone off pretty well. I want to thank frieD195 for helping me with proofreading.Thank you all so much for the support, It is going to help me throughout the story. Any ideas on a schedule for upcoming chapters will be taken into consideration. Unexpected GuestsThe Beginning of the End Unexpected Guests Before Spike went to sleep, he decided that what happened today should be made known to the Princesses. Pulling out a piece of paper he began to write: Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Twilight was injured today in her studies at the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. She was saved by some unknown creatures called humans. Everything seems fine here and we are camped out in the throne room of the castle. Tomorrow we should be heading back to town. Your faithful student's assistant. Spike The fact that he had done something that Twilight would’ve asked for before she actually asked it felt good. He sent the message out and fell asleep next to the fire. ==================== Sergi opened his eyes. 'Damn, I feel asleep during the night. Good thing none of those creatures came up here looking for a fight.' He thought as he cleared his head and looked around. Everyone was still asleep and the sun had not risen yet. Noticing something odd, he walked over to the purple unicorn that was called Twilight Sparkle. All the others he had vaguely remembered as well. As he got closer to Twilight Sparkle he noticed that the bandages were damp. Quickly thinking this was from the weather outside he noticed it had a tint of red. 'She must’ve reopened the wound sometime last night.' Quietly jogging over to the medical bag, Sergi rummaged through the bag and did not see anything left that could be of use. Remembering that one of the ponies had a medical bag as well, he went over to the group of ponies and one dragon. There it lay next to the yellow pegasus. 'What was her name? I think it was Fluttershy.' Pushing the thought aside he opened the bag and rummaged through. Most of these things would work great for smaller cuts but not for the ones that graced her friends’ side. It looked like another supply run would be needed. He quickly chiseled out a message out on a pillar. Feeling that it might be passed along, Sergi embedded his Kukrhi into the pillar. Checking over the message, he felt that it would suffice. Before doing anything else, he wanted to be able to take down anything that would come at him this time. Picking up his PPSH, he unclipped the empty drum and placed a fresh drum with a piece of red tape across one side into the slot. From the inside of the large backpack he pulled out two more drums and a special box magazine made for this World War II legend. Also from out of the bag he took out a black box that fit into a compartment on his upper leg. Walking over to a duffle bag he opened up the bag and pulled out a model 1887 shotgun and a FAL rifle. After grabbing some ammo and placing them on various parts of his person, mostly his legs, Sergi walked back over to the purple unicorn, 'Twilight Sparkle I think that was her name. I bet Anderson would know.' Sergi thought to himself. Looking out a window he saw that the snow had stopped and it was just about dawn. Checking his TACPAD, he was surprised that the temperature was about 19 degrees. Seeing that another trip would be needed, Sergi found that his tactical mask was missing. Not wanting to waste any more time, he removed the helmet he wore and was about to toss it over to his pile. Thinking for a second, he recorded a message on his helmet in the hopes that Anderson would find it. Sergi took another look at the pony. Unless this unicorn had a really thick skin, which she didn't, she would be in worse shape later than she was right now. Taking off the thick jacket he was wearing, he wrapped it around the unicorn. The jacket was Russian-made with metal plates sewn in between the three different cloth layers. Sergi stood there in just a green T-shirt and multiple straps holding onto three other knifes. Multiple scars marked previous battles from times past. Up on his right shoulder was a tattoo of the red star of the Cossacks. In the middle of the star was a skull wearing a crown and a dagger plunged into the skull. On the left was a tattoo of a pair of crossed guns. One was an AK-47 and the other was a Mosin-Nagat with a scope. Above the guns was a skull with the words Mortis Personalis Donum printed on the forehead of the skull. He lifted the creature off the ground and cradled it in his arms. As he raced down the stairs, he flipped the hood of the jacket over the pony's face to block it from the chilling air. When the sun started to rise over the horizon, the black shape charged into the white of its surroundings. This movement was noted as a shadow by one of Celestia's Royal Guard. =================== Anderson had a harsh wake up call. Hearing movement outside the tent, he thought that some of the ponies were awakening. 'This will be so exciting! The one thing that I care for, I'm now a part of their world! There is so much to do and learn here!' He thought in his head. As he got up, Anderson moved towards the tent flap and heard something else other than hoof steps. It sounded like.... metal clanking? Backing away from the tent flap he took a mirror and pulled up the bottom of one of the corners. Looking at the reflection he could see a platoon of Royal Guards and Princess Celsetia. 'Oh shit! Why is she here? She only comes when something big happens or something bad occurs. Usually it was the same things. I better get Sir Henry up.' Anderson rushed through his head. Racing across the tent over to where the knight slept, Anderson violently shook the knight trying to keep quiet as long as possible. Sir Henry had removed most of his armor last night except for a leather chest piece, his metal gauntlets, and his metal boots. "Hey! Get up! We have a problem!" Anderson whispered. "What is it? It's barely morning." Sir Henry mumbled as he slowly awoke. "We got guards and Princess Celestia outside the tent!" "What do you...." The sound of a tent flap opening made them both look over. Princess Celestia and several guards stood in the opening and Celestia did not have a happy look on her face. Before Anderson or Sir Henry could react, they were thrown to the ground and dragged out into the open. Having two guards standing next to both of them, they stared at their surroundings. Anderson noticed that both Sergi and Twilight Sparkle were gone. The other ponies were just moving around and getting up. Confusion could also be seen in their faces. His vision was forced up into the eyes of Princess Celestia. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?" Celestia interogated. "I...I don't know.... She was fine and well last night." Anderson mumbled out through everything he was trying to process in a short time. "When I received the message that Spike sent to me, I thought this would be a simple investigation. It has now turned into a kidnapping!" Celestia exclaimed to Anderson. "Also, why do I have the feeling that I have seen you before? Have we met before?" She added as she looked over to Sir Henry. "Yes you have ma'am. I am Sir..." Sir Henry was beginning as a guard shouted out "Princess! I found something!" Walking over to a pillar near the stairwell, a message could be seen chiseled into the stonework. 'I have taken the purple unicorn. Gone out to find help. Do not panic.' Seeing the color change in the face of Celestia, Anderson prepared for the worst. "WHO ELSE ARE YOU IN LEAGUE WITH? IS IT THE GRIFFONS?!" She shouted out at the two humans kneeling under her magic. "Nevermind. Commander, leave eight of your men here and take the rest out to find this third creature. If you can, don't kill it. I have some questions for it." "Yes ma'am, can we get Princess Luna's forces to assist? They have a better understanding of the surrounding area." "Yes, that is fine. Just get the third creature before anything bad happens." Turning her attention back to the two humans, she decided to start from the top. "Names, what are your names?" she questioned as she applied a little pressure with her magic. "Anderson! Oh god please make it stop!" Anderson shouted out as he slowly crumpled into a ball from the pressure. "My name is Sir Henry Longworth, Paladin of the Knights Templar. How quickly do you forget your old friends Princess?" Sir Henry as the magic flared up around him and flickered out. "How are you doing that? No creature alive can do anything like this unless...." Celestia drifted off as she remembered centuries past, removing the pressure from the other human. "Yes, this is cold steel armor, one of the only substances that can nullify magic." "I only know of a few creatures that could forge this metal. May I?" As she moved forward and tilted her head down a bit. "Certainly, I remember the first time you worked this spell." Sir Henry answered as he knelt down onto one knee and tilted his head forward. Celestia's horn glowed again. Anderson just lied there and watched as everyone went still. seconds passed, it seemed more like minutes or hours passing by. The magic began to dim and Sir Henry raised his head and looked at Princess Celestia. With a look of disbelief on her face, a smile slowly grew on her face and she embraced him in what looked like a hug. As she pulled herself away tears could be seen sliding down her face. "My good friend, it is good to know that you are alive. So many were lost in the uprising." She said as all earlier hostility disappeared. "Now are you going to explain how you crossed dimensions and brought back two other humans?" "Certainly, but to answer your question, I think we need to consult the Prophecy of Man." Sir Henry replied. "Isn't that just something from Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "I'm not sure but I do know that many have tried to decipher the cryptic message and have failed. But I believe that I have cracked it wide open.” ===================== Without any trouble going through the forest, Sergi burst out of the woods with his package. Looking over the town again, he noted a building with the red cross on it. 'Good thing some things are still the same in this place.' Taking a look behind him he could see golden specks flying over the forest with black dots. Racing over towards the building, ponies in the street either stood in shock of what was racing through town or bolted into their homes. With this the streets were slightly easier to move through. As the hospital grew rapidly in size, Sergi didn't slow down and rammed his shoulder right into the doors. Bursting wide open he found himself in a lobby, everyone in the room was staring, startled at the sudden commotion. "I got an injured pony here that needs a doctor! Can anyone help?" He shouted out to the others there as he scanned the lobby for exits he might have to use later in case of hostiles. A pony wearing a white cap with a red cross exited a door behind the counter and came back out with a unicorn in a white jacket and a black tie. Seeing that there was help here he pulled off the hood from Twilight Sparkles head. She was muttering things in her sleep; oblivious to what was happening around her. "Follow me, I can help her." said the unicorn with the white jacket and tie. Following behind the two other ponies, they came to a room with a bed and some monitors around it. Placing his jacket down on the bed, Sergi removed the sleeping unicorn from his jacket. Seeing the red bandages, the 'doctor' and the 'nurse' carefully removed them and took a look at the damage. A glowing light appeared from the ' doctors' horn and the wounds stitched themselves back together. In only a few seconds the wound was completely healed. The once large cuts on the side were covered in a purple coat. About to run out of the room, the nurse yelled out. "Excuse me. What about your jacket?" "Leave it with her; it will help her find out how she got here." Sergi shouted out as he bolted back out the doors. Being back outside the specks were getting closer to the town, following his exact trail through the forest. Swearing under his breath, Sergi bolted back towards the woods. 'If they’re looking for me, then I'm going to give them a run for their money'. Back into the woods he went, not knowing where he was going or what would happen. He knew he was being followed; he had to distract them from the hospital. Pulling the shotgun from his holster on his hip Sergi shot one round into the air. The air cracked from the gun shot, bringing the specks over to Sergi's position. They swooped down from the skies, intent on capturing their target. They followed a man without a plan into unknown territory. ==================== Commander Dawn Treader heard the blast from down below. Knowing that this was possibly the creature he was looking for, he sent all of his men except for one to follow. He took the newest member of the Celestia's Royal Guard to follow the tracks leading into the town of Ponyville. He had a gut feeling that there was a reason for the creature going into the town. "Commander Dawn Treader, why are we following these tracks here if the creature was going into the forest?" Private Lucky Clover asked. "If you took a good look at him, you’d have seen he was not burdened. That means that Celestia's student, Twilight Sparkle, has to be somewhere along his path through town. I need a new set of eyes, and you’re just the ticket." The commander replied. As they followed the trail, they ended up at the hospital. Perplexed as to why it came here they ventured inside. There was already a group of ponies talking together in a panicked frenzy. As they saw the two royal guards step in, they clamored over and all started speaking at once. unable to decipher anything, Commander Dawn Treader held up a hoof and everything went quiet. "Ladies and Gentlecolts, I am unsure of what happened and everything will work out if we all keep calm. Now can someone tell me what happened?" "I can. This tall creature was carrying Twilight Sparkle in a jacket. It barged into the hospital, waited for Twilight Sparkle to be healed and just took off again. Very strange behavior if you ask me." said Doctor Stable as he broke through the crowd. "Is Twilight Sparkle conscious?" Commander Dawn Treader asked. "Yes, she is stable and conscious. She's just a little woozy from the effects of magic healing." Doctor Stable replied. "Which way doctor?" "Follow me." The trio disappeared down a hallway and left the other ponies to their imagination. Entering the room they found Twilight Sparkle lying in the bed and a dark green jacket lying next to a coat stand. On closer inspection a peg was broken off when the jacket was placed on it. 'This thing just keeps on getting weirder and weirder.' the commander thought in his mind. Slightly shaking his head to clear out the stray thoughts, he approached Twilight Sparkle. "Twilight Sparkle, I wish we could have seen each other in a different situation, but it is what it is. Now do you know anything about your kidnapper?" "Kidnapper? No, you’ve got this all wrong. He helped me, he saved me!" "Hold on, I know that after some time in a situation like yours, you might develop feelings..." "NO NO NO! I was not kidnapped. I was saved from a manticore by him. He went out into a blizzard to get my friends for help. He killed an entire pack of Timberwolves to protect me and my friends. There was no kidnapping!" Silence filled the room. Twilight Sparkle was fuming from the last question. Commander Dawn Treader took this time to take his leave. As he motioned to Lucky Clover that it was time to move, Twilight Sparkle shouted out. "Commander! Please don't hurt him, he has a good heart!" "We will see but..." Before he could finish his statement a scroll appeared out of a sudden flare of fire. Opening the scroll, he browsed through the contents. On the paper in front of him it read, Dear Commander Dawn Treader, I have gathered information from the two other creatures and the other ponies there. These creatures are dangerous but came here in peace. If you find the third creature, do not kill it. It is very important concerning a new breakthrough with a secret from an ancient artifact. This creature is to be marked as dangerous, but hard to anger. The two other creatures, and the other Elements of Harmony will help in the search and recovery. From Princess Celestia Passing the scroll to Lucky Clover to look over. Commander Dawn Treader walked back over to Twilight Sparkle. "Come on kid, we got ourselves a creature to catch." Delight could be seen washing over Twilight Sparkle as she heard this. Jumping out of the bead she nearly fell flat on her face. Catching her before the floor, Commander Dawn Treader supported her as she regained balance. "Easy there kid, we haven't even left the room yet. Let’s just try to take it slow and steady." Dawn Treader calmly said, relaxing Twilight Sparkle, adding "I bet he is still giving my men a run for their money." Why did he have a strange feeling that this was actually happening. ==================== Sergi burst into an opening in the forest as he was closely followed by crossbow bolts. Flying past him, the bolts hit the trees on the other side of the clearing and engulfed them in ice. Turning around to see how close his pursuers were to him. Rustling from the foliage told him that they were still pretty close. Running back into the forest he became aware that he was in an over grown ruin. Tapping a series of buttons on his TACPAD, Sergei jumped over to the side and hid behind a wall. A holographic double now ran in the same direction that he was going before. As the double disappeared from sight, the sounds of hoofs could be heard charging down through the ruins. A wave of gold, white, silver and dark blue stormed past the wall that Sergi used as cover and continued to follow the double deeper into the woods. The sky darken as the sky was filled with pegasi following in the chase They continued to fire crossbow bolts at the double as they slowly disappeared back into the forest. Looking around his surroundings more closely, this appeared to be a fort of some type. A lone figure could be seen in a courtyard off to the side. Walking up to the figure, it soon became apparent that it was a human knight with both of his hands on the hilt of his two handed sword. Sergi slowly moved toward the FAL on his back as he felt like he was not alone. Turning around quickly, Sergi whipped the rifle off his back and looked down the sights at what appeared to be a unicorn and a pegasus mixed together. It had a flowing mane that looked like the night sky and had a dark blue coat. "These are the ruins of my personal retreat. This was a place I used to visit any time I could before I became envious of my sister. No one knows why, but everyone has their ideas." She began as she slowly stepped towards Sergi. "I had friends that were like you, being human I mean. Now, if you can tell me where Twilight Sparkle is I will not harm you." "She saved my life and now I'm saving hers." Sergi responded, he still felt that something else was watching. "I am not here to hurt her, just to better understand what the situation is." She said as she continued her advancement. "GET DOWN NOW!" Sergi shouted as he pointed his rifle above her. With a crack a shot rang out through the ruins and a snake the size of the new pony fell out of a tree. Darting his head around he spotted what was watching them, an entire horde of snakes. "Aren't snakes inactive during the winter or are they fully seasonal creatures here?" Sergi shouted out to his new companion. "No, they shouldn't even be moving this time of year unless..." Her sentence fading off into thought. "Unless what!?" Sergi shouted out as he tried to keep his eyes on all of the snakes. "Unless the Basilisk is awake." she finished her sentence as she moved closer to Sergi. At the mention of the name a bone chilling hiss broke out of the forest and a snake the size of a four story building rose above the surrounding forest. Taking another look around he could see that the snakes where slowly closing in. "How well do you remember the layout of this place miss?" Sergi shouted out as he prepared for the worst. "Pretty good, why is that important now?" The pony asked "Is there a building we can enter close to here?" Sergi explained "There was a tower built behind this statue, but it's not much now." She answered with a quiver of fear in her voice. "That will be good enough" Sergi's said as he turned his head to look. It was a good distance away, but it would have to do. "Here's the plan! When I tell you to, you need to run as fast as you can toward the tower. I will follow you soon after. If anything, you will be able to get to safety. Any questions?" Sergi said as he continued to follow the movements of the snakes. "No." She replied "Go now, I'll follow!" Sergi ordered. Without any hesitation she sprinted toward the ruins. Seeing a brief opportunity to strike the pony, a few snakes lunged forward. Sergi turned to each one and released burst of bullets at them. The bodies withered around in the snow and quickly came to a stop. The other snakes lunged in vengeance for their fallen comrades and were met with a similar fate. Even though they failed to reach Sergi, they slowly pushed the line closer and closer to him. Hearing the dreaded click of an empty clip, Sergi grabbed his 1887 shotgun and began to fire into the swarm again. This time he began his way back to the ruins. The Basilisk noticed the killing field that appeared before its eyes and let out another deafening hiss, throwing itself into the battle. Sergi had finished the last of the snakes when he heard the deafening hiss of the Basilisk. Looking up he saw the world quickly turn dark as the Basilisk flung itself onto the battlefield. Aiming the shotgun up at the monstrosity, Sergi fired off the last of the shells in the shotgun and watched in astonishment as the shots only made dents on the scales of the creature. "What the hell is this thing made of?" Sergi said to himself as he attempted to jump out of the way. ==================== Princess Luna had just entered into the ruins when she noticed that no one was following her. Turning around she could see him fending off the snakes and the sound of his strange magic continued to echo throughout the ruins. 'I shouldn't be here running to safety, I should be up there with him.' She thought in her head. Running back out, Princess Luna noticed a different sound. It still sounded like the humans' magic, but louder and more resounding. Reaching halfway between location of the human and the ruins, she cringed in agony as the hiss of the Basilisk filled the air. Fear welled up within Luna as she saw the colossal Basilisk lunge toward the human. As the human attempted to evade the strike, the Basilisk snatched the human up with its tail and brought it up to its head for closer inspection. 'What now? Only the combined powers of my sister and I could we challenge the Basilisk. Even then we only contained it with the powers of the Elements of Harmony. Now the spell is broken because we are no longer attached to the Elements.' Princess Luna hurriedly panicked as the tail slowly began crushing the human. The strange magic of the human could be heard again as pain and anger quickly washed over the Basilisk as it whipped its head about. As its head thrashed around, red began to paint itself on the face of the Basilisk. As it fell to the ground, it abandoned its curiosity and started flailing its entire body around. The corpse of the Basilisk soon came to a stop and laid there as the fresh new blood joined the blood of the other snakes and covered the pure white snow and took away any signs of innocence of this place. An eerie stillness filled the ruins. Nothing could be heard except for Luna's own breathing. She began walking toward where the human had fallen. Her walk quickly turned into a jog, and then a sprint. Luna found the human lying on the ground, barely holding onto life. His midsection was torn up from the scales of the Basilisk. A strange thing on his wrist was stating how every one of his ribs had been broken and how multiple lacerations were detected in his midsection. In his right hand he held a strange object; it was made out of wood and metal along with a red line across a wide cylinder near where he held it. A low groan slipped from his lips as it looked like he was attempting to move. Luna used her magic to lift him up and carry him over to a safer area of the ruins. Inside there were small reminders of what this place used to be. A fireplace stayed unlit in a corner of the room. A few chairs surrounded a large table. Spreading against a wall was an upside down crescent moon with wings flared out. Below the moon was a star touching the moon only by two tips. Forcing the bad memories from her mind, Luna placed the bloodied body onto the table. Seeing how this human would not last long, she flipped through her mental book of spells. After flipping through enough pages she landed on something that would fit the bill. Powering up her horn she aimed it at the human lying there and released the spell. Images flipped through her mind: a burning village in the middle of winter, other humans taking in a child, his only family dying all around him, a seemingly endless period of time in a building full of white walls and machines, a war that was spelling the end to the world's existence. All of these images... No, memories flashed through her mind all at once and suddenly stopped as she saw a human standing, staring back at her in her mind. It walked closer so a light showed the human in detail. He still wore a green shirt and a thick pair of pants that was similar to the human she was healing, but something looked familiar. Something of this human reminded her of centuries past, but what was it. This was the same clothing that the human she was healing wore but the man was someone else. "Dear Princess Luna, it has been so long. I have missed this world so much." The man said as he noticed her taking interest. "Who are you? You look so familiar." Luna replied. "How could you forget me dear Princess? I was your bodyguard during the uprising; your noble warrior from the north, your royal guardian Cossack. Do you not remember those times?" The man said as other images began to appear around him. "Is...Is that you Alexander?" Luna asked in wonder. "Yes. It is I, Princess. The man you are saving is the answer to the Prophecy of Man. He will be the deciding factor of the fate of Equestria." "He holds that much power? So where are the rest of the humans hiding?" Luna asked in curiosity. "He is not of this dimension. He is from where I escaped to when I disappeared during the fight against Discord. He has powers beyond anything you have learned. Be careful with him, he has seen things and has had things done to him that not even you could possibly imagine." Alexander said as he slowly vanished from her head and she reopened her eyes. The human was lying there, healthier than when she brought him down. His chest was back to its normal position and his body showed no signs of the damage from the Basilisk. A few seconds later, his chest began to slowly raise and lower with his breathing. Smiling she decided to start the fire. This has been a very interesting day. Her thoughts trailed off to the times back when she was a little filly. Back when Discord had overthrown her parents. Back when she and Celestia were alone in the world. Back to the times she spent with Alexander... =========================================================== Well there you go folks, the next chapter of story. Thank you all again for your support, it pushes me to continue the story. Credits for proofreading go out to frieD195. The next chapter should be off to proofreading in about a week, so hang tight. Old MemoriesThe Beginning of the End Old Memories Sergi slowly opened his eyes. This had been the second time he was saved from death by this weird world. Slowly getting up he took stock of his surroundings. It was a room that consisted mostly of stone, but there were hints of rare metals as accents on the furniture. Everything seemed normal in the room, except for the back wall. It stood there with only one thing on the wall, a large flag with an upside down crescent moon with unfurled wings. The emblem was in a bright red on a black background. Moving into a sitting position, he found that it was already night outside. Pushing himself off the table, he found a note attached to the table’s edge. Sergi picked up the paper and started reading it. He quickly stopped and pulled a SAS combat knife from a sheath on his upper arm. Turning around he found the pony he had saved from the snakes standing in the doorway to the outside. "Can I help you?" Sergi asked as she approached even closer. "Yes, but let’s start out with introductions first. My name is Princess Luna, and yours would be?" She asked as she moved inside. Light began stream in from the doorway and multiple cracks in the wall "My name is Sergi Zolnerowich." Sergi flatly replied. "Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to business. You saved me from the Basilisk, but earlier I was informed that you were a kidnapper and held my sisters star pupil. Where is Twilight Sparkle?" "Why should I trust you? I have dealt with many people before you and when I started to trust them, they just stabbed me in the back." Sergi replied as he readjusted his hold on the knife. "Because I trust her." A familiar voice said from outside the conversation. Looking beyond Luna, there stood Twilight Sparkle with a guard. Hesitantly, Sergi lowered his knife and relaxed. He placed the knife back in its sheathe. From behind Twilight Sparkle stood a pony clad in golden armor that looked like something the Roman's wore. The fringes of the armor and some type of emblem were highlighted with black and silver. Sergi's jacket soon floated in the air as it moved into the room. Sergi took a step back as it got closer. "Stop fidgeting, I'm trying to give you your jacket back." Twilight Sparkle said with a little irritation. "You’re making my jacket do that?" Sergi asked as he switched his attention between the jacket and her. "Of course, it's just magic." She replied Sergi let the jacket come closer and rest itself on his shoulders. He noted that the purple outline disappeared as the weight of the jacket met his shoulders. Sliding his arms into the jacket, he picked up his PPSH-41 that was on the floor. Sergi realized that he had left his shotgun and his rifle outside during the slaughter. He walked past the three ponies in the room to step right into a situation. The multiple bodies of the snakes and the Large Basilisk were gone, only to be remembered by the field of bloody snow. Out in the courtyard were two entire platoons of ponies in golden armor. He counted at least 50 crossbows aimed at him. From up above, a pegasus dived down at him. Sergi waited until the pegasus was closer before he stepped out of the way. As the pegasus flew past him and into the ground Sergi brought up his gun. The pegasus turned around to find himself staring down the barrel of the gun. This pegasus wore similar armor to the one he saw before but his armor was all black with gold and silver highlights. Making sure the pegasus knew what was going to happen, Sergi pulled the trigger. An uneventful click was all that happened. He threw the gun aside and grabbed the pegasus by the collar of his armor. Sergi lifted up so that his gaze bored straight into the pegasus's eyes. All around him he heard the sound of others surrounding him and locking him in a circle. Seeing a grin spread across the pegasus's face, Sergi pulled him closer and said. "This is not over yet. You’re lucky I didn't have any bullets left." With this said, Sergi tossed the pegasus off to the side and looked upon the other unicorns and pegasi surrounding him. All had an emotionless expression on their face. Sergi slowly turned around to see the golden guard and Twilight Sparkle coming out of the ruins. Twilight Sparkle saw the situation and began running toward the circle of gold and black. As she reached the circle, she tried to persuade her way into the inside with Sergi. "He's not dangerous, has he not saved enough ponies yet?" She shouted out in desperation. "He is dangerous by my account, he killed off a Basilisk and all of his minions. Anyone who can do that should always be marked as extremely dangerous." The pegasus in black armor replied as he got back into the air, just high enough so that Sergi had to look up to him. "Isn't that right? Monsters don't get privileges." The pegasus continued with a voice you would use with a small child. "He's not a monster! He saved my life twice!" Twilight Sparkle shouted out with a voice filled with rage. "Don't call it a 'he', 'it' just wants to get you when you get close." The pegasus shot back as he turned his head to look a Twilight Sparkle. Sergi had enough of taunting from the pegasus and took his chances when he looked away. With one swift movement, He had the pegasus on the ground and had pulled a 8" knife out of his boot. Pressing the blade against the pegasus's neck, Sergi stared coldly at the pegasus. His eyes widened with fear as he realized his mistake. The surrounding guards murmured with anxiety as they did not know what to do with this situation. "Never talk down to me! I have respected everyone I have met here that hasn’t tried to kill me yet. All that I'm asking for is to be seen as an equal. Your Princess would not be alive right now if I had not killed off all of those over grown snakes. Trust me when I say I have more combat experience than you." Sergi said coldly to the pegasus. "You?! Have more experience than ME?! I am Commander Nightshade, Leader of Luna's Royal Guard. What experience, may I ask, do you have?" "I have had 20 years of killing tyrants, toppling governments, crushing nations, fighting in a global war, and watching almost everyone close to me die." Sergi said with a voice so cold that it seemed to freeze the bloody slush. "20 years, you don't even look that old yet. How old are you anyway?" Commander Nightshade interogated. "I am 26 years old. Ever since I can remember, I have been trained to face anything that gets in my way." Sergi replied as he stared right into the eyes of the pegasus. "So you have been brought up to be a cold-blooded killer? Well then finish the job, kill me right now!" The pegasus bellowed, trying to push Sergi over the edge. "That will be enough Commander, this human saved my life when I thought nothing could be done. I have never seen such courage and bravery for many centuries." Luna said from off to the side. "Sergi, I think you have gotten your point across." She continued. Sergi stared at the pegasus for a little bit longer before he released his grip and stood back up. He placed his blade back into its sheath in his boot. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see the pegasus getting back up and rubbing his neck. Twilight Sparkle made her way over to Sergi, but half way, she looked off to the side and bowed down toward the rising sun. Sergi looked over and saw another pony slightly larger than Luna. This one though, had a pure white coat and her mane looked like one of the Northern lights. Sergi turned his attention to the newcomer and waited to be questioned. Ever since he arrived in Equestria, everyone wanted to know about him. He just wished that the attention would go somewhere else. All this attention made him feel uneasy. The new arrival walked up to him with a smile on her face. "Hello Sergi, it seems like you have been busy. It seems like you’re not a normal human." She started off with. "No ma'am." Sergi replied, assuming that she wasn't wearing that crown for no reason. "You can just call me Celestia, ma'am just seems to...'Starchy'... Can I ask you some questions?" She responded to his stiff reply. "Yes, you may." Sergi said, still as stiff as a board with his hands behind his back. "What did you do in the other world?" Celestia inquired. "I was a soldier fighting a war." Sergi simply answered. "You weren't meant for regular situations, what was your purpose in this war?" Celestia asked as she probed deeper for more answers. "Protect the weak and destroy the powerful. I have trained ever since I could remember." Sergi replied as his childhood quickly flashed into his mind. "I have been around humans before, but you have surpassed the physical limits of your species. What is your secret?" Celestia asked as she started to walk closer. "I would rather not discuss that in public Celestia." Sergi answered trying to hold the flood gate of memories. "Let me try something. It will allow me to see what I need to see and no one else will know." She said as she continued to walk closer. "What might this be?" Sergi asked as he saw her horn began to shine more than it did before. "Oh, just a little magic trick I learned." Celestia simply answered with a grin on her face. Celestia flared up her horn and approached Sergi. He felt a presence in his mind, rummaging through his thoughts. She flipped through his training and quickly decided that wasn't the answer. Digging deeper into his memories, she found what she needed, his time as a lab subject. Those dreaded three years being pumped full of drugs and pushed to the breaking point. Curious on how he became a lab subject, Sergi felt her dig back up to earlier events. She stopped when she found the reason. Within seconds, he felt the presence disappear and to see Celestia jerk her head back from the harsh information she found. "Find what you needed?" Sergi asked already knowing what she had seen. The Princess stepped back and tried to process what had just happened. She looked back up at Sergi and regained her composure. "I think that will be enough questions for today. I have to think over everything I’ve just learned." She said to him "Oh, and Sergi? Next time we need to talk, you don't have to run." With this both of the Princesses flew up into the sky with their pegasus guards. All of the Unicorn guards disappeared in personal bubbles of color. This left Sergi standing in the middle of the blood soaked courtyard with Twilight and the first guard he met. Twilight Sparkle had raised herself off the ground and was looking towards him. The guard walked up and approached Sergi. "My name is Commander Dawn Treader, Leader of Celestia's Royal Guards. My job now is to escort Twilight Sparkle and you back to Ponyville, where you will meet up with your friends." The guard said as he stepped forward. "Yes sir." Sergi replied more willingly. "I think I like this ‘sir’ stuff from you." Commander Dawn Treader said with a smirk. "Before we head off, I need to grab some things." Sergi said as he remembered why he came out here originally. Sergi stepped away from the two and proceeded toward where he made his last stand. He found his weapons on the ground. It was easy to find his weapons. They were on the ground next to piles of shell casings. Sergi picked up his weapons back up and placed them in their respective places. Walking back toward the group, he picked up his PPSH. "I assume that is what you needed." The Commander said staring at the unique items. "Yes sir." Sergi replied as he straightened up a bit and gave a small salute. "You seem to take a lot of joy from this. Why is that Dawn Treader?" Twilight Sparkle inquired Commander Dawn Treader. "Once a guard knows your name, you almost forget what rank you are again until the Grand Galloping Gala." He said with a sigh. "Grand Galloping Gala?" Sergi asked when he heard the strange name. "I'll explain to you on the way. It's a very fun time!" Twilight Sparkle said, brimming over with excitement. With that, the group walked off into the forest as Twilight Sparkle tried to explain the Grand Galloping Gala to Sergi. ==================== Back at Canterlot, Celestia and Luna stood looking over Canterlot. It was very easy to see that Celestia was deeply troubled. "What's the matter? I haven't seen you like this in a long time." Luna probed. "The things in that human's head...It’s just...Everything we have done in our lives doesn’t even approach to what he’s seen in just twenty years." Celestia replied trying to hold her strong demeanor. "I’ve only just scratched the surface of his memories too." "What so you mean Sister? Let me try to help." Luna said as she stepped closer to her sister. "Okay, first off he has been trained since he was young to fight the good fight. Similar to when we were left for dead by Discord." Celestia began as she stared down at the statue garden. "Growing up, he had to deal with death almost every single day. On one day he had to watch everyone he had known as family die when a traitor led them into a trap." "That sounds horrible! It sounds so familiar to the fate of the Humans of Equestria back during the uprising. Are you sure of what you saw?" Luna replied as she tried to process these descriptions with what see saw earlier. "I am very sure. He would’ve lived peacefully for the rest of his life after that." Celestia answered as she ceased trying to hide her true feelings from her sister. "What happened then 'Tia?" Luna asked in a calm voice. "As he lay wounded in the middle of the slaughter, he was taken to labs and tested on. They treated him so cruelly. How could they treat their own species so cruelly?" Celestia said as she started to break into tears. "Can you elaborate on that?" Luna asked, desperately trying to find out if her version matched her sister's discovery. "They pumped him full of special potions and placed him in situations where he would fail. Everything he did killed those he held dear....For three straight years he went through this... How?" Celestia said as she began sob uncontrollably. "Dear sister, even though he has been through all of that, he has clearly held onto the beliefs of his early life. Do you feel any better getting that off your mind?" Luna tried to cheer up her sister after verifying that they saw the same things. "Yes. Yes I do. Thank you for your support. You always seem to be able to make things better." Celestia said after wiping a tear away with her hoof. "I learned it a very long time ago from a close friend of mine." Luna replied as her thoughts drifted back to her foalhood. ==================== The trio of Twilight Sparkle, Commander Dawn Treader, and Sergi emerged from the forest to look upon the small town he has already seen twice in the short time he has been here. During the walk he was enlightened by Twilight Sparkle about the Grand Galloping Gala, the general description of the area around both Ponyville and Canterlot, and a detailed description of all of her friends. Closer to the town were her six friends and his two companions. As Twilight ran up to her friends, Sergi slowly walked up as he checked the surroundings for any sniper spots, ambush positions, etc. "You don't have to worry about any ambushes here. This is too far in for any bad guys to be lurking. Also Celestia’s student lives here, so we have guards undercover here." Commander Dawn Treader said as he knew what Sergi was doing. "I once thought that way too when I was younger." Sergi replied blandly. "Ease up there; we're both soldiers to different degrees. Consider this a vacation." The Commander said as they neared the group. "I guess there's a first for everything..." Sergi said as he approached the others. The Commander stopped in his tracks and stared at Sergi for a few seconds before rejoining with the group. "Sergi, I'm glad you got back. With how badly you freaked out Princess Celestia, I thought you would be watching from the moon right about now." Sir Henry said as he offered a handshake. "The moon? Why would I end up there?" Sergi questioned, this day seemed to get weirder every minute. "Um...Sir Henry. I don't think he exactly know about things work around here." Anderson said trying not to embarrass Sergi or Sir Henry. "Oh, how could I forget! You’ve never been here before. This world is filled with all types of things from our myths, such as magic and flying. Don't worry though; I am sure you will get used to it after a while." Sir Henry said as he nodded to Twilight Sparkle and Commander Dawn Treader. "Why is all of our equipment out here?" Sergi asked as he couldn't help looking at the duffle bags. "Princess Celestia said that we were to live here in Ponyville so that Twilight can begin doing research on our world." At that moment, Sergi's eyes dilated and the winter landscape was quickly changed to the dreaded halls of the Research lab he was tested at for three years before he broke out. The hallways were dark, but when a light flashed on for a few seconds, the smears and messages written in blood. The voices of those around him were quickly muffled out by the screams. Those damned screams from other subjects in the lab. They echoed throughout his head, they gave him more agony than any battle wound he received. Sergi fell down to his knees and reached up and placed his hands over his ears. This did nothing as the screams could still be heard in his head. Everything flashed back to normal when he felt something pushing on his shoulder. Sergi raised his head to see the yellow pegasus looking back at him "Are you alright?" She asked in a calm, soft voice. "Yes...Yes I'm alright. Just dealing with some old memories." Sergi said in a voice that was softer than normal. "What just happened to you? I have never seen anyone react that way." Twilight Sparkle said as she looked concerned. "It was just remembering some old memories. I will be fine now." Sergi replied as he stood back up. "Well, can I do some research on your world?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she still looked concerned. "Yes, ma'am." Sergi replied as he strongly held his cold demeanor as the screams began again in his head. "If anything, I think that this would be a good time to talk about where we're going to live." Anderson said as he was still trying to figure out what happened to Sergi. "I could house Anderson in my basement, but not everyone." Twilight Sparkle said. "I could house Sergi and Sir Henry in my barn, if they aren't afraid to do some of the chores around the farm." Applejack said. "Don't worry about me, I can handle myself." Sergi said as he walked over to the pile of supplies. "You can't be seriously thinking of sleeping outside. In case you haven't noticed, it’s winter right now." The cyan pegasus said to him. "I am seriously going to do it. The tent in one of these duffle bags can easily keep out the cold and snow. Also I don't want to hassle any of you with myself. I am more than capable of handling myself." Sergi answered as he began to pick up supplies. The others watched in amazement as they watched this human easily carry three of the duffle bags, one on his back and two in both of his hands. He turned his attention to Anderson. "I am taking the weapons with me. I doubt anyone would want you to be dragging a bag full of weapons into town." Sergi said. "Where are you going to set up? I doubt that you’re going to pitch your tent right here." Anderson said as he was befuddled by Sergi's actions. "From what I have seen from maps and what Twilight has told me. A small forest lies close to town on the Northeastern side. From inside there I will set up camp." Sergi answered as if he had already seen everyplace in and around the town. "Don't worry, I will stay in touch. I just don't want anyone or pony to walk into my camp without me knowing." Sergi said as he saw the faces of everyone else in the group. Sergi started off on his own way. He could feel the eyes of the others on his back and hear the questioning voices. An old tune from his younger years played in his head. Unable to resist, Sergi began hum the song to himself as he made his way across the open field. Along the trip, Sergi saw little to no ponies. Right about when he crossed a road on the outside of town, he took notice of three little fillies near the side of the road. As he made his way into the forest, they still followed him. Sergi placed the thought of his followers off to the side while he dropped the duffle bags in a clearing and began to set up camp. While working on setting up the tent, he spied on who his observers were. One was a small light yellow foal with red hair and a big red bow, one was a small orange pegasus with purple hair, and the last one was a small white unicorn with a mane with three variations of purple. Once Sergi had put up the support poles on the inside of the tent, he went outside and looked toward where they were hiding. On this movement, they bolted out from their hiding spots and ran out into the woods. Sergi chuckled to himself as he went to throw the camouflage cover over the tent. After the tent was completely set up, he moved inside to work on the living quarters. The desk, furnace, and bed were the first things to get taken care of. Next was getting rid of what snow was in there. Lastly was the setting up the gun rack. Sergi placed his PPSH on the desk for cleaning latter along with the FAL. The 1887 shotgun went into a secret pocket under his cot, since it would be too short for the rack since the barrel had been sawed off. Sergi walked over to the two duffle bags full of weapons and began sorting them out. The floor of the tent space was soon enveloped by piles of old and new tech guns. Several AK-47's and AK-74's laid next to the desk. Three Beowulf-46's were on the ground between the desk and the cot. A Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle, a Woodson '67 anti-material rifle, and a Russian rail rifle leaned against the cot. Several variants of the SPAS shotgun were placer near the entrance of the tent. An American rail gun laid on the cot, taking up most of the space. A box of fragmentation grenades and incendiary grenades were placed on top of the desk. A Mittelstedt light machine gun laid over by the furnace along with a Mc'Alpine Light machine gun. Other than the guns, multiple types of combat blades and hatchets were sorted into piles, including an officer’s sword. With the small armory finally organized in piles, Sergi started to place them on the racks he had put together. Everything fit into the racks, except for the rail gun. A quick solution was made and the rail gun was placed leaning against the end of one of the two racks. After the guns were in place, he placed all of the ammunition in one of the duffle bags and placed it underneath the desk. Satisfied that everything was almost in order, Sergi placed his personal bag at the foot of the cot and walked over to the tent entrance while placing his helmet on. On the right side of the entrance was a screen with various buttons below it. After pressing some buttons and heading through some menus, a low hum could be heard. The metal poles holding up the walls glowed white. "Command post activated. No networks detected. Create new network?" A monotone male voice said from the screen. After pressing another button, the now white metal poles sent a pulse up to the connector piece at the top of the tent. Walking outside, Sergi could see a beam of light shining up into the sky above from the top of his tent. "Network created, uploading images of surrounding area..." The male voice said through his helmet. "Uploading complete, uploading information from helmet systems..." The voice continued. "Welcome Commander of the Cossacks. Would you like to connect to other helmet systems in the area?" The computer asked in his headset. "Yes." Sergi simply answered. Seeing everything up and running, Sergi walked back inside and began cleaning his PPSH and the FAL. Once done, Sergi removed his helmet and placed it on the recently cleared desk and walked over to the cot. He took off his jacket and placed it next to the cot. Lying down on, Sergi turned over and reached into a pocket in his jacket. He pulled his hand out of one of the many pockets and looked at the handful of dog tags in his hand. He flipped through all of them, remembering every single one in great detail. The last pair of tags left he held longer than the others and memories of her flashed through his head. She was the first good thing that happened to him after the fall of the Cossacks and his imprisonment in the labs from hell. As Sergi placed the dog tags back into their respective pockets, he could hear her voice talking to him. "My, my, my. What a situation you’ve landed in. Going from the doorstep of hell to almost paradise. Just remember to show me to everyone at some point." She said from his helmet. "I will, don't you worry your pretty little head. I will..." Sergi replied back to his helmet before he laid down and fell asleep. ================================================================ Well, that's the chapter for you. I must again give thanks to frieD195 for proofreading this piece. I am very thankful for all of the input on the story, even the interesting discussion about the 1887 shotgun I only mentioned twice in the last chapter. Hopefully the small armory of weapons will interest you. Smoke on the HorizonThe Beginning of the End Smoke on the Horizon Anderson stood there brimming with fury. He was having a great start of a day. He was in his paradise, he had friends he always wanted, and everything was fine. That is until these griffons decided to come storming into town looking for a fight. "I won't ask you again. You give us the elements and we will release the other prisoners and be on our way." The Griffon Leader said to Anderson and Sir Henry. "I would never trade my friends for anything! I'm surprised Sergi hasn't already beaten you down into a bloody pulp!" Anderson shouted back with all of his fury. "OH and where is this friend of yours now!? No one could possibly take on the might of the Griffon Empire's Best!" The Leader replied with the same intesity. "Since you are unwilling to act on my deal, maybe some 'persuasion' is needed. Guards!" At the call, two guards went to the prisoners and pulled out an unlucky pony. When they turned around with their prize, the unlucky pony turned out to be Applebloom. "NO! Shouted Applejack toward Anderson as she began to charge out to get her sister. "Applejack, you can't just charge in there!" Shouted out Twilight Sparkle as she held back Applejack with her magic. "But they have my sister!" Applejack shouted back trying to get out of Twilight's magical grasp. "My, my, my...What a turn of events. This will be interesting to watch." The Leader said with an evil grin spreading across his face. The two guards stopped while they changed their positions. One held Applebloom by her shoulders while the other one stood off to the side. He raised his right claw into the air to begin the onslaught. Anderson watched as the blow was about to be delivered when all of sudden, a screech pierced the afternoon sky. A smile spread across Anderson's face as he knew what was about to happen. Within seconds, the griffon holding Applebloom fell backwards with a knife plunged into one of his eyes while the other griffon found himself staring at Sergi behind him after a wet snap of his neck. Sergi slowly stood up and looked around at the every griffon that was not dead yet. Applebloom ran back toward her sister after the adrenaline began pumping through her. The griffons recognized Sergi as a threat and began encircling him. Anderson took the distraction as time to help the other ponies. He dashed to one far side of the road and go to the prisoners. He persuaded them to either head back to their homes or at least keep their distance from the faceoff. When he turned to check on the others he had just left, he witnessed how good Sergi actually was. ==================== Sergi stood there standing as still as a statue while the griffons closed in around him. He began to circle around once they had surrounded him. After making a quick head count and general profiling, Sergi readied himself for the attacks. There were 9 griffons in total, the leader stood outside the circle shouting out threats and encouragement for his men. The leader had a very elegant metal breastplate and a large black roman centurion commander helmet. The entire color scheme of the armor consisted of black, gold, and blood red. The rest of the griffons were not as armored. All they wore was simple leather armor. A brilliant idea jumped into Sergi's mind and he set up a timer in his helmet. Similar to the Timberwolves, they attacked one at a time. The first lunge came from behind, beginning the timer. Sergi quickly knelt down to grab his boot knife and pivoted around to hear the satisfying sound of a knife chrushing through the first griffons’ skull. He then swiftly pulled the knife out and quickly threw the knife at another griffon trying to use their wings to get a height advantage. The knife punctured right through the leather pads and right past the ribs. The officers’ sword quickly came out to meet another griffon on the side, saving the wounded griffon for later. Sergi pulled the sword into an upward slice to open the throat of a pouncing griffon. He then turned back around to finish the previous wounded griffon by impaling the sword through its head. With no time to pull out the sword, Sergi whipped around to punch the throat of the fifth griffon. Sergi fell to the ground and disabled the legs of the sixth griffon. At the same time he reached into his jacket and pulled a 10" knife. He placed all of his strength into placing the knife through the thick leather armor. Getting back up he saw a pure, primal fear in the griffons that were still alive. The two still-conscious griffons grabbed their comrade who was clutching his throat and flew off into the horizon. The Leader still stood off to the side shouting out threats. "YOU COWARDS ARE WORTHLESS! DO I HAVE TO do everything..." The Leader began before finding himself being stared down by Sergi. The griffon leader slowly backed up a few steps before launching himself into the air. Sergi marked the leader as a target on his HUD. If he is running away from a town in the middle of the country, there must be a camp set up somewhere. He grabbed his equipment from the small battlefield and started off toward his camp to prepare for his assault. The ponies that stood around all stared at him in fear and awe. Sergi took note of the timer on his HUD and wasn't surprised by their reaction. He had just taken down six, poorly, armored griffons in almost ten seconds. Sergi made his way out of the town toward his camp, forming up a list of things that would be needed for his new mission. "Commander, Private First Class Anderson is trying to connect. Should I patch him through?" The AI piped into his helmet "Might as well." Sergi replied as he knew what was going to be asked. "Sergi, what are you doing? You just killed six griffons in ten seconds and left them in the street! Where did you disappear to?!" Anderson shouted into the helmet over the sound of confusion in the backround. "Those griffons started a fight and I plan on finishing it." Sergi said flatly into the speaker. "You can’t just leave things where they are! Fluttershy is still unconscious from seeing all of that blood and Rainbow Dash just up and left to who-knows-where. Not to mention that other ponies are unaccounted for too!" Anderson tried to reason knowing what Sergi meant. "A small price to pay for insuring their safety. I will keep an eye out for Rainbow Dash." Sergi replied as he heard some interference from the other side. "Hello...Sergi, are you there? If you can hear me, don't go after the griffons. It is just not right to go killing everything. I can understand the creatures in the Everfree forest but the griffons are another thing all together." Twilight spoke through the helmet with apparent difficulty. "There is no difference. They are the aggressors, deeming them enemies. If you don't deal with them properly, they will give you more trouble in the future." Sergi answered from his years of experience. "We can find a way, I'm sure of it! Please don't touch them Sergi, we can talk things out...Please." She begged through the helmet. "I promise I will not touch any of them Twilight Sparkle." Sergi said as he chose his words wisely before cutting the link. He quickly went inside the tent and grabbed the empty duffle bag and began grabbing supplies. The Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle went into the bag with 2 eight-bullet magazines. The Mittelstedt light machine gun followed suit with one magizine of white phosphorus rounds. An AK-47 went into the bag only because of the gun having more available ammo. Sergi got up and moved over to the desk that still had his PPSH and FAL lying on it. He took the time to clean both guns before he decided to leave. He picked up a drum for the PPSH since he would be out of his mind not to take it. It was the one thing that tied him to his past and to the training that made who he partially was today. After everything was accounted for the mission, Sergi took a step outside. It seemed like those ponies actually cleaned up winter. There was no hint that this morning was filled with snow. He chuckled to himself because they had just helped him hide his tracks. Sergi jogged off deeper into the forest to follow the marker on his HUD. He was going to make his mark in this world, one that no one will be able to forget. ==================== Twilight paced around the book stand in the middle of the library. She was trying to think through all of the possible outcomes of what had just happened. They had just buried six dead griffons from the incident earlier today. Rainbow Dash was missing along with other ponies that lived near where the griffons were searching. Not to mention that Sergi had left after killing the griffons to do something that she sincerely hoped he didn't do. Her friends also stood in the room except for Sir Henry who was trying to find any leads on where the griffons could be staying. Anderson was still wearing what he wore he they had first met. He had placed his helmet down on an empty table, showing his short brown mane. Outside, Celestia's sun could be seen sinking down below the horizon. Luna's night was soon to appear in the sky. "Ah'm sure Sergi will do the right thing. He hasn't done wrong yet." Applejack said trying to calm her down. "That's the problem right there! Since he is not from here, there might be a different set of rights and wrongs! How do we know what is going to happen?!" Twilight Sparkle said as she began to panic again, adding "Anderson, you know Sergi the best here. What do you think he’s going to do?" "I have known him for only two days before we met you. I don't have the slightest clue to what he could be doing." Anderson said after taking a second to think. "Calm down dear, you are not doing any favors for yourself or your floor in the mindset your in." Rarity said as she nodded toward the wooden floor that showed the rut that Twilight was making. "How are you holding up Fluttershy?" She asked to try easing her mind. "I'm okay. I was just very surprised at what Sergi did." Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice. "What was the count of the missing ponies again?" Twilight asked Anderson. "We have a total of six ponies missing at the moment including Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle." Anderson replied running his fingers through what hair he had. "This count is not including Rainbow Dash because she was there when the fight happened." "I know what would make this better. A PARTY!" Shouted out Pinkie Pie. After receiving many disapproving looks she amended "Maybe just cupcakes would be good." "That sounds fine by me. The action of today has made me hungry again." Anderson commented as he rubbed his belly. "Now dear, this might be a little bit off topic but it is of utmost importance. After this affair is dealt with, I need you to come down to my shop so I can make you some new clothes. If I am correct, you have left your world and also that nasty war you were in. So there will be no further need to wear that retched thing." Rarity said as she looked disapprovingly at Anderson's attire. A burp from an adjacent room made everyone turn to look. Spike came out of the room with a letter in his hand. "Letter from Princess Celestia!" He said as Twilight Sparkle ripped the letter out of his hand. She quickly opened up the letter with her magic, Twilight read the contents. Dear Twilight Sparkle. I have read through your most recent report and have sent out Royal Guard from both Luna's and My own guard to find the Griffon camp. I will also make sure that the guards know about Sergi's current status. I hope for the best possible outcome to happen. From: Princess Celestia Twilight Sparkle read and reread through the letter to reassure her mind of what is happening. Why did she even doubt for a minute that something bad would happen? With the help of the Princesses and her friends, nothing bad would happen! ==================== Sergi lay silently on a hill about 3/4 of a mile from the griffon camp. His rifle lie on the corpse of a griffon he found near the perimeter as a watch. Through the scope on the Barret, he could clearly make out each individual feather on every griffon down there. The camp was large enough to hold a small army. Forty tents were set up in a rough circle around a commander tent and a tall flag bearing the emblem of a griffon holding a sword and an olive branch. Other tents could be seen through the branches and foliage. The camp was tightly packed into a clearing in the woods. The canopy of a few trees throughout the camp was probably the only reason it has not been found yet. Most of the griffons were chatting and relaxing around small fires, six were stationed outside of a wooden cage off to the side that held six ponies. He spotted the two fillies from earlier huddled together next to each other in a corner of the cage. Sergi had been up on the hill for about an hour, watching guard patrols going through the camp and tracking their paths. The heads of the griffons stationed at the caged snapped to some event happening over near the tents. Sergi scanned back over to the tents to find Rainbow Dash held down by two griffons and a griffon that was probably a lower officer, compared to the one he saw before, grinning over what he had just caught. He flipped a little switch near the scope and audio of the situation flooded into his helmet. "What do we have here? One of the Elements of Harmony standing right here. I can just see the promotion now!" The Griffon gloating in front Rainbow Dash. "YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS!" She shouted back. "We'll see about that... Any last words before we put you with the rest?" The officer asked with a look of indifference on his face. Sergi checked the chamber to find a bullet still chambered since the last time he checked an hour ago. A flick of the switch and Rainbow Dash's comment never came. He tightened his grip on the Barret and narrowed his aim down to the griffon leader. The crosshairs laided on a tuft of feathers near the back of the head. Slowly he pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet sped off toward the griffons head as it pulled to the right to make impact right behind the left eye. Where once was a head disappeared in a splash of red. Sergi quickly took out the two griffons holding Rainbow Dash down and the two stationed outside the cage. He finished off the clip and the world slowed around him. The empty clip was pulled out and quickly replaced with a fresh clip. Sergi waited a few seconds for his next set of targets to come out. As he expected, well armored griffons came out of tents deeper in along with the leader to give out orders. The air cracked as eight more bullets flew out of the barrel and made their marks on the officers. Before stashing the Barret away, he took another look at the hostages. They still were in the cage, frightened but unharmed. Sergi stashed the Barret into the duffle bag and out came the Mittelstedt LMG and the AK-47. Sergi dashed down to the camp with the same stone cold resolve that he had during any battle. The world still ran at half of normal speed as he lifted the machine gun up to his shoulder and aimed toward the swarm of vengeance-hungry griffons. Seeing Rainbow Dash just standing there, Sergi waved her off to the cages. She snapped out of her trance and headed for the cage with the others. He refocused on the oncoming wave of flesh and armor, falling completely into his training. "Ignis et ruinam sequi Angelus mors" Sergi mumbled to himself as he tightened his finger on the trigger. The wave of griffons came to a complete halt as round after round punched right through any and all armor. Anything in the way of the bullets caught on fire. Tents went up in flames and griffons flew into the night sky as they tried to run from the fire. The trees that once hid them from curious eyes now blocked a clean passage into the air. The screams pierced the night sky along with the sound of gunfire. Nothing existed in this world other than the gun rhythmically pushing against his shoulder and the assortment of moving indicators on his HUD. Once the clicking of an empty magazine came, Sergi tossed aside the gun and pulled out the AK-47. He noted that this was no ordinary AK-47, it looked like someone tampered with it before he took it. The difference was quickly found when the kick of the gun felt like it wasn't even firing and there was almost no recoil when the gun fired. Griffons flew for their lives as Sergi slowly proceeded his way through the burning ruins of the camp. With the eminent counter-attack vanquished. Sergi took the time to release the prisoners. He found they were just being released by Rainbow Dash. They sprinted into the darkness and away from the chaos. Seeing the wooden cage, He thought up an idea to spread a warning to others. Sergi walked back to the center of the camp to do one final thing. With a cross section from the cage and a piece of fabric burned at the bottom, he made his own symbol. Sergi placed the seal of the Cossacks with a small addition; he added wings to both sides of the star. Underneath the emblem he wrote the words Obliviónis Exercitus. He took the new masterpiece and speared it into the ground so it stood fine among the burning ruins it stood. A loud crack resonated from the burning griffon flag pole. Another snap crack sounded out before making its slow decent. Underneath its large bulk stood the orange pegasus filly, staring up at what might be her own end. Sergi made no second thought and sprinted toward the filly. The burning wooden pole continued its decent until it stopped with the soft crunching sound. Sergi felt the snapping of his ribs and the burning embers on his back. He had just barely pushed the filly out of the way at the last seconds. His mind began to drift off to his past, back to his time in the labs. He could see the two silhouettes standing over him again. "Now tell me doctor why the test subject is not responding to the upgrades?" One voice said in irritation. "The upgrades are installed properly and are ready to activate...But we have reached a small problem." The other voice said in a slight German accent. "What is this problem then, Doctor." The first voice asked in the same irritated tone. "For the system programs to start working, we need to jump start the system. In the movies they never showed how the hybrid unit worked, so we have nothing to base our assumptions on. Any form of power we have now would just kill him where he is, ending the project." The Doctor explained. "Why can't we just power him up? If he clinically dies then he would just run off of the system then, correct?" The first voice said as the irritation turned into confusion. "For the system to work at its highest capabilities, we integrated the machine system to his organic system. If the organic system dies before the other system is activated, then we have just wasted 3 trillion euros on this one project." The doctor tried to explain. "So you’re saying our best bet is to do nothing?" The first voice said trying to wrap his head around the concept. "If anything, the metal in his body would attract a lightning bolt that might start up the systems he has. Nature has always had an interesting way of making things work." The doctor simply said as his silhouette shrugged his shoulders. A scream made the two silhouettes turn to look behind them and pull Sergi back into the world. Slowly raising his head he saw what the matter was. Rainbow Dash was being held down to the ground by two griffons and the leader he had seen earlier staring down at her. The fillies were off at the edge of the camp, hidden in the shadows. "It looks like your back to where my lesser officer started out before except there is no monster from the deep abyss to save you now." The leader said with a look of indifference on his face. "I CAN TAKE YOU ON, JUST LET ME GO AND I'LL SHOW YOU!" Rainbow Dash said with her words dripping with fury. "I don't think I will, your worth more to me alive than dead. So stop with that nasty little attitude." The leader replied as he grabbed her mane and pulled it up, forcing her to let out a yelp. Sergi was forcing his body to make some type of movement to help, but to no avail. He kept on persisting against the pain coursing through his body and the immense, burning weight on his back. A sound began to float around Sergi's head, slowly increasing in volume and clearance. "Why are you just lying there on the ground?! You’re a Cossack for Christ’s sake! Cossacks never give up and they most certainly never lie on the ground when there are tortured civilians right in front of you!” The voice said "I'm trying but no..." Sergi began to say before getting cut off. "YOUR NOT EVEN TRYING YOU WORTHLESS 3 TRILLION EURO SCIENCE PROJECT!" The voice continued, adding "What is the code you live by every nanosecond of your life!?" "Proctect the Weak, Destroy the Powerful." Sergi mumbled out. "What did you say you piece of flesh and metal?!" "PROTECT THE WEAK AND DESTROY THE POWERFUL!" Sergi shouted out. The voice disappeared and one of the griffons holding down Rainbow Dash looked back at Sergi with concern. "Uh...Sir, I think it's still alive." He cautiously said. "Don't worry about that thing; it's probably just going through its last moments." The leader said as he still held the mane of Rainbow Dash. The griffon hesitantly turned his gaze away from Sergi to focus on holding down an angry pegasus. Sergi felt a surge of energy through him. Where there was pain, it was gone. He used this new energy to slowly push himself off the ground. The burning pole that lay on top of him slowly creaked under the new strain raising it off the ground. The groans made the heads of the three griffons to slowly turn their head towards him. Even Rainbow Dash turned to look at what had distracted her captors. Sergi stood up to his full height and stared down upon the griffons. Silence fell on the scene, even the roar of the inferno around them seemed to quiet down because of the tension. The silence was broken when Sergi whipped out his Kukri knife and took down the first two griffons with quick simple strokes. The leader realized what was happening and attempted to fly away to live another day. Sergi saw the leader unfurling his wings and quickly changed his grip on the kukri. With a strength that he did not know, Sergi threw the knife towards the griffon leader. The knife flew accurately through the air and pierced right through the metal armor. The griffon fell to the ground with a hard thud. Sergi walked up to the griffon, who was still trying to hold on to what little life he had. "Who are you?" The griffon leader barely mumbled out. "I am a Cossack." Sergi flatly replied before pulling the knife out of the griffons chest. With the knife out, the griffon quickly bled out. Sergi removed the leaders’ helmet and closed the eyelids of the griffon. With the new trophy in hand, Sergi turned around to face Rainbow Dash. She still laid on the ground where she was forced down. He removed his visor and placed it into a pocket in his jacket. Sergi walked up to Rainbow Dash and knelt down in front of her. Fear was clearly seen in her eyes and she attempted to make a run for it when he held out his hand. "Don't be afraid, I'm here to help. I never hurt my friends." Sergi said in a soothing voice. She looked at the hand for a second before placing her right hoof in the palm. He smiled at her as she stood up; the fear in her eyes was soon replaced by something else. She quickly wrapped her hoofs around his neck and started to sob. The two fillies that were hiding now came out and approached him. They soon joined in the hug that Rainbow Dash started, ending it with a very confused Sergi. Rainbow Dash stepped back with red eyes and rosy cheeks. "Pinkie Promise that you will never tell anypony what just happened." She said in a soft voice. "I promise on my Cossacks' honor that I will not tell anypony." Sergi replied with a smile. With the group together and well, they traveled away from the burning ruins of the camp and back home. As they headed away, the sun rose to warm their faces. ==================== Celestia looked out over Equestria. A plume of thick smoke could easily be seen in the distance. The sounds of hooves alerted her to someone else coming out on the balcony. Turning her head she saw her sister approach. "Good morning 'Tia. I'm guessing you also felt the surge of power last night?" Luna asked as she walked up next to her sister. "Yes, I felt it right before I raised the sun today. This amount of power is easily equal to the Elements of Harmony. It worries me what could possibly have that much power." She replied to her sister's inquiry. "I might have an idea, but it is a little bit sketchy." Luna said as she stared off into the distance. Celestia chuckled at the statement. 'My sister and all of her little cryptic messages.' She thought in her head as she looked back at the plume of black smoke in the distance. Fulfilling a PromiseBeginning of the End Fulfilling a Promise Rainbow Dash looked over Ponyville from a cloud in the sky. Relaxing on a cloud had always helped her think. She had so many things on her mind. Like how Sergi was able to take down an entire camp full of griffons. Also why does he keep on mentioning Cossacks, they were just something from one of the Daring Do books. She just couldn't get over the fact that she felt alright around him. There was some type of coolness he had that she had never seen before. Like he had already seen everything and done all there is to do. They had arrived earlier that day about lunchtime and surprised everypony in town. Twilight asked about the plume of smoke on the horizon, if it was a forest fire. He said that it started from a lighting storm last night before heading into a string of questions about how ponies could control the weather. 'Why would he lie about something he did? He was just saving his friends from some griffon punks.' Rainbow Dash thought in her head. She pushed the thoughts aside and looked down on Ponyville. Small blobs moved around the town in the slow evening hours. The sound of her stomach grumbling reminded her that she didn't have breakfast this morning and shouldn't miss dinner too. Rainbow jumped off the cloud and headed into town to find someplace to eat. She had almost forgotten that Pinkie Pie was setting up a party today for the three humans. Waiting for a few minutes to eat wouldn't do any harm. Rainbow Dash came to a complete stop when she rounded a corner and almost collided with Twilight Sparkle and Anderson. "Easy there Rainbow Dash, I'm sure that you won't be late for anything." Anderson said to her as he was only six inches away from her face. "Sorry about that guys, I've just been thinking about a lot of about recent things. I guess I got carried away in my thoughts." Rainbow Dash replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's alright Rainbow Dash; you’re not the only one." Anderson said as he discreetly nodded his head toward Twilight Sparkle. "Are you guys heading over to Sugarcube Corner?" Rainbow Dash asked as she back up a little bit. "Yeah, how did you guess?" Anderson replied as she saw Twilight Sparkle making signs to remind her that this was a surprise party. "I was just heading over there to grab something to eat, it is getting late and I didn't have breakfast this morning." Rainbow Dash said while Twilight relaxed a little. "By the way, what do you know about Sergi?" "Like I said earlier to the others, I don't really know him that well." Anderson answered as the group began their trip again. "Well there has to be stories about him. I mean seriously, he has to be one of the coolest things out there other than a few exceptions!" Rainbow Dash probed, Anderson was going to give her some information even if she had to get a little rough. "Well...There are some stories about him, but I'm not sure if any of them are true. So I don't usually trust that gossip since it gets so stretched and exaggerated once you actually hear about it." Anderson said as looked for some help from Twilight Sparkle. "Let's hear them; I personally want to hear about how your people tell tales. It's always good to find out how different cultures entertain themselves." Twilight said as her interest piqued with the possible idea of getting some form of information for her research on humans. "Fine, I will give the brief summaries of the popular ones, but don't take any of the information for granted." Anderson said as he broke in from the peer pressure. "One story says how when he was a child, only about four years old, his family and town was burned to the ground during the beginning of the war to be latter saved by a group of mercenaries that raised him in place of his parents. Another story places him in Paris where he hunted down the one responsible for killing his mercenary family just after he joined the American forces. The most popular one is where his mercenary family gets killed in an ambush and he goes through 3 long years as a science project. No one really knows what exactly happened in the labs, but he latter broke out, destroyed anything in a mile radius of the labs, and stumbled into an American camp coated in blood wearing the outfit he still wears today." "Wow...All of those stories sound..." Twilight began before getting interrupted. "AWSOME! Can you tell one of the stories some time?!" Rainbow Dash shouted out in excitement. Not only did Sergi do amazing things, but he has so many cool stories surrounding him! "Later I can, but not when he is around. I don't know how he reacts to people telling these stories. He seems to like keeping his past...secret." Anderson replied as he thought what would be the best word to fit his earlier attempts to get information from him. "He does seem to just stick with the present events." Twilight Sparkle said. "Hey look, there’s Sir Henry and Applejack." Anderson stated to take the topic off Sergi and his own lack of information on the subject. "Howdy there, y'all heading over to Sugarcube Corner?" Applejack said as she tilted her hat. "Yeah, it seems like we all have the same idea." Anderson said to make sure they don't go back to the last topic. "It seems so my friend. I am famished from getting back into manual labor." Sir Henry said as he held the door open for the others. As they entered the room the lights flickered on and ponies jumped out of every possible spot. "SURPRISE!" They all shouted out Pinkie Pie was in the middle of the room that was decorated with all types of confetti and streamers. Two tables were filled with a giant punch bowl and various bakery goods. Even though she had been to enough of these parties, it always surprised Rainbow Dash how Pinkie Pie is able to do things like this in a mere few hours. Pinkie Pie sped right up to the group and started to go into her greeting of the honored guests. Rainbow Dash took a look around the room and found a certain ‘someone’ missing. "Where's Sergi, wasn't somepony in charge of getting him?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I think Rarity was supposed to get him." Twilight answered "Good evening everypony. I tried to find Sergi with the help of Sweetie Bell but I couldn't find him anywhere." Rarity said as she joined into the conversation. "Excuse me Pinkie Pie, I just had one of the muffins and they are the best ones I have ever had." A voice from outside the group asked. Rainbow Dash looked up to see Sergi standing there in his big pants and an olive green T-shirt. Everyone stared in shock at how no one noticed him arrive. In his right hand was a muffin as large as his hand with a bite already in it. His face showed a look of contentment behind his large scar over his eye. "How did you get here?" Twilight Sparkle asked not quite out of the shock. “I walked here. Everyone seemed busy when I came here so I went into the kitchen to see If I could help somewhat. When I came back out, the lights were out and everyone hiding. I didn’t really think about it and headed back into the kitchen to see if the next time I came by to eat, I could finally have something." He replied as went for another bite of the muffin. "Derpy made the muffins for the party; she is the one with the yellow mane and the grey coat." Pinkie Pie said in her cheery attitude and pointed out a certain mare by the punch bowl. "Pinkie Pie, did you know he was here the whole time?" Twilight Sparkle asked "Sort of, I knew someone was in the kitchen. Now that I know it was Sergi, it makes sense now!" She replied with a smile before directing her attention back to the two humans beside her. Rainbow Dash hovered where she was and watched Sergi walk over to the punch table and started talking to Derpy and shacked her hoof. Then he took a glass of punch and went over to a wall and began watching the party proceed. She had to find out more about him. 'He saved your life by almost giving his own. You have to find out who he is other than simply a name and a face!' Her inner voice told her. Rainbow Dash wanted to but didn't want to go straight at it because he seemed to avoid topics that were directly about him. She waited for the group to move around and slowly pull in Sergi from the wall. He had refilled his glass and had a kringle in his other hand to replace the muffin he finished. "How do you like the kringle? I made it myself!" Pinkie Pie asked "It is delicious, this is the first time in a long while that I had something like this." Sergi said with a smile on his face. "A kringle?" Twilight Sparkle asked to clarify what he meant. "A bakery good in general other than bread." Sergi replied not taking interest in the stunned faces that surrounded him. "That is very interesting darling, but I must ask. Is that the only outfit you have?" Rarity asked as she was eyeing him from head to toe. "Yes, except for some formal attire I have.” Sergi answered as he looked back a Rarity trying to figure out what she was looking at. "It is alright, but you’re going to need more than just that if you’re going to be staying here." She replied in a simple tone. "Tomorrow morning, meet me at the Carousel Boutique. I will measure all three of you and get you gentlecolts something else to wear.” Small talk followed suit and slowly the group began to disperse to other parts of the party and talk to other ponies there. Rainbow Dash stayed there by Sergi talking about casual things like how every different type of pony had different types of magic. He seemed really interested in the topic. "So Unicorns are the only ones that can do active magic. Pegasi have passive magic for controlling the weather and can reduce wind resistance. While the Earth ponies have greater strength and are good with plants. Am I right so far?" Sergi said trying to summarize the information of magic. "Basically yeah, if you don't mind, can I ask you some questions?" Rainbow Dash asked as she began her trek into what she wanted. "Sounds fair enough, answers for answers. What would you like to know?" Sergi said as he finished the last of his punch. "So how did you get so cool?" She inquired starting in shallower waters. "Um, I'm not really sure how to answer that." Sergi replied with confusion. "Never mind then, I'll find out later. Next question, what do you like to do as a hobby?" Rainbow Dash asked as she scolded herself for asking such a weird question. "I like to either workout, make stuff with my hands, or play my violin." He replied as if he was waiting for this question. "What do you like to make?" She probed "Anything really, given the time I could probably make an entire castle by myself." He replied getting happier by the second. "Can you show me something that you have made?" Rainbow Dash asked "You know what; I'll make something for you when I get back to my camp. It would be a Cossack's Honor." Sergi replied as he was given the challenge. "You can just show me something you've already made. I don't want to trouble you." She said as she realized that she had accidently challenged his ability. "No, no, I will not mind at all. I like you because you’re different than everyone else I’ve met so far. You actually want to know about who I am rather than what I did when I was younger like your friend Twilight Sparkle. Even though she wants to learn about humans, she could as easily ask Anderson or Sir Henry. From what I know right now, your friend is more interested in how I got my skills." Sergi said with a large smile on his face. "I think I'll head back soon so I can go work on that project. You can go and talk with your friends now." Rainbow Dash stayed there for a second before heading over to converse with her friends. A question popped into her mind as she was halfway to her friends. She turned around to ask Sergi only to find that that he was already gone. As if he was never even there. The disturbing thought stayed only for a moment before she joined in conversation with her friends. 'Nothing bad is going to happen to him. I mean he is Sergi after all, he won't get into any trouble." ==================== Sergi found himself in a sparsely decorated room looking down at a social event down on a roof a few skyscrapers away from him. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with black dress pants and a tie that was loosened up from around his neck. The event was a big one. Most of the officers from the American army and French politicians were in attendance. Sergi lifted his head a little bit to check to wind direction again. It was still a very calm night; a small wind could be felt coming in from the west. Sergi lowered his head once again and looked through the scope to continue checking over the party list. He was there for one man, the one that had not arrived yet. The elevator doors on the floor opened and attracted the attention of the entire crowd. Sergi scanned his rifle over to the doors to find a five-star general stepping through the doors with his advisors. He wore the usual American officer's uniform with the tan uniform and an olive green jacket. Sergi checked the barrel of the Mosin-Nagat for a bullet, and shutting the chamber again when he saw the familiar shine of brass. His Cossack Honor demanded justice for the extermination of his family. The guns of the first fathers demand blood and retribution. Sergi tapped a button on a device lying on the table with him as he placed his crosshairs above the general’s head. The advisor on the generals left moved his left hand up to his ear. "Hello, this is Michael..." The advisor began to say through the machine on the table "Is that your new name now Gavriil?" Sergi said into a headset he wore. "Who is this; no one knows that name except for..." The advisor said as he turned away from the general who was in deep conversation with some military commanders. "The two other traitors that helped with destroying the family." Sergi replied as he kept an eye on the advisor. "Can you hold on a minute? I have an incoming call." Gavrill said before reaching into his pocket. "Don't worry about your friends; I have already taken care of them. Their funds are cleared and they won't have to worry about anything anymore." Sergi said as he predicted what Gavrill was going to do. "Just who exactly are you? You’re messing with powers beyond anything you could possibly dream of." Gavrill threaten into the mic. "Don't worry about me Gavrill, I already have 3 trillion euros invested in me. Too bad that all the research was destroyed when I left." Sergi calmly said back as he watched with delight. "Sergi...Where are you! I doubt that dead men can talk." Gavriil said as he began to look around the party for him. "Let’s just say you’re making a scene with this phone call and I absolutely did not alert American forces to a mole in their system." Sergi said as the calm demeanor of Gavriil disappeared in mere seconds. "Also, your tie is crooked. You might want to fix that." Sergi watched as Gavriil placed his right hand in his jacket and pulled out a large pistol with golden engravings across the side. He walked up to a female officer that was in conversation with the general and pulled her close as he raised up the gun up to face the crowd. "Come out now Sergi you damned traitor!" Gavriil shouted out into the crowd. "Michael, what are you doing?" The General said in confusion as the gun pointed at him. "You hired that little bastard didn't you!? If you want to take me down, then I'm going to take as many people here as possible. Starting with this young captain right here." Gavriil shouted out as he turned the gun to the head of the woman. "I must say Gavriil; I never thought that you would freak out that easily. Too bad I can't stay in your suite any longer." Sergi said as he moved the crosshairs over the head of the female hostage. As if on cue, Gavriil looked right at Sergi's position. Through the scope Sergi watched as the bullet left the rifle and flew out to the party. The bullet pulled to the right as the wind caught hold of the bullet and dragged the bullet toward Gavriil's head. His head snapped back as the bullet landed right between the eyes. The party was thrown into chaos as the body hit the ground. The woman stood there for a second before pulling the device out of Gavriil's ear. "Hello, who is this?" She spoke into the device. "It's good to hear your voice again Ashlyn. You can thank me latter for taking care of your mole problem." "Is that you Sergi? I thought you were still locked up in the POW camp?" She responded to his voice. "OH and one more thing before you go. Can you take the pistol and save it for me when you get back to camp. Thanks, much appreciated." Sergi said as he turned off the headset. As Segri got off the table and grabbed a duffle bag full of Cossacks funds and some weapons the door burst open followed by three French police officers. He brought up the rifle and aimed for the heart of the first officer. The recoil of the gun pushed Sergi back into the real world. He bolted up from his cot and took a look around the tent. Everything was still the same, nothing was out of place. His helmet and came alive and the AI spoke through the speakers. "Commander, Royal Guards are approaching the area. I suggest that we pack up camp and move if you want to stay on whatever good side you are already on... They have already found the ashes." The female voice piped up "What is the size of the force and is there any royalty with them?" Sergi asked as he quickly began disassembling the camp. "Both of the Royal sisters are here. From the Anderson's helmet feed; it appears that the one named Celestia is not happy." The AI answered. "This is going to be fun." Sergi said more to himself than to anyone else. The campsite was all packed away within minutes. He slipped his mask on to his helmet as he did whenever he was going on a mission. Sergi tossed the one of the duffle bags over his shoulder and tapped some buttons on his TACPAD. Where he once stood he disappeared from site as well as the bags. He was thankful for the electronic built-in systems of the bags because Sergi could see gold flashing between branches of the forest. Sergi sprinted through the forest as quiet as a soft breeze. As he exited the forest and into the open field a plan formed in his head. A near mountain peak could easily be seen from this general position. If he could get up there, it would be a lot easier to hide from the guards and he would still be able to keep an eye on those ponies and his comrades in town. Up the mountain base he ran with all of his strength. The surrounding area blurred out as he only focused on his objective. The mountain base came speeding up to him before he noticed an unusual clanking coming from his pants. Sergi stopped and dropped the bags by some bushes as he dug his pockets to find the cause of the clanking sound. His right hand passed over the origin of the noise and he pulled it out. In his hand was a pair of dog tags that hit him like a bullet. This was his gift for Rainbow Dash he made last night. One held her general information while the second one held both the sign of the Cossacks and a small message. 'I have seen how loyal you are to your friends back at the griffon camp. It would be my honor to accept you into the Cossack Family.' Sergi swore under his breath and looked back at the path he came from. He could easily get up the mountain and disappear from the world for a while or he could complete his promise to Rainbow Dash even if it meant going straight into a hornets nest. He had to think about the decision. What would be the best way to get back inside the town that is crawling with guards. His camo would have to be powered down in order to give her the gift so she wouldn't freak out. When that happened there had to be no guards or snitches in the vicinity. Sergi decided on a plan and headed back out. When he got back out in the field, the town looked like someone spilled liquid gold in the streets. Shining gold armor reflected the sunlight. Sergi only noted this and kept on going with his plan. He reached a small hill that layed before the town with a tall old tree going on top of it. Sergi made sure that no one could see him where he was and then proceeded to press some buttons on his TACPAD. When he was done, a hologram of himself ran uncamoflauged across the field and headed toward the woods. Commotion could be heard from the town as guards saw the sight and raced off toward the dummy. 'So far so good, now for the tricky part.' Sergi thought to himself as he checked to see if his camo was still on. It was but the battery life was getting very low. Sergi frowned at this and proceed into town carefully. Sergi quickly scouted what part of town he entered and found exactly what he was looking for. Guards were stationed outside of Twilight's tree as well as silhouettes in the windows. Sergi walked around the guards and leaned up close to a window. He could barely make out a conversation. "How is Sergi be marked as a criminal? He only killed when it concerned the safety of any one of us!" Applejack asked. "That smoke plume on the horizon did not start from a lightning bolt but rather something Anderson here calls a bullet. We are not sure what exactly was caught in the fire but that much must be contained." Celestia replied in a measured tone. "Like a prison cell!? I'm sorry Princesses but I don't think he deserves that." Rainbow Dash shouted out. "Don't tie me to this as well. Even though I am here with my sister, I hope to get an alternative solution." Luna said. That was all Sergi needed to hear, Sergi rifled through his jacket until he found what he was looking for. A small pad that was used for signaling. He typed up a quick message on it and looked over at the guards. One looked like a new recruit while the other one was relaxed at his post. 'It looks like these guards need to be taught a lesson.' Sergi thought to himself. He walked over silently to the guards and prepared to unleash non-lethal hell. In one swift movement he stuck the throat of the relaxed guard and wrapped his right arm around the new guard's neck and tensed his arm muscles. The guard struggled at first and then slowly fell limp. Sergi released his victim and felt for a pulse on both of the guards. Each guard still had one. Sergi typed something more onto the note and slide the device under the door and leaned up close to the side of the tree. A few seconds passed with no sound until the door bursted open and ponies burst out of the doorway as well as Anderson and Sir Henry. They saw the guards and checked for a pulse themselves. They seemed slightly satisfied in them still being alive and then began searching around the town close to the tree. Rainbow Dash was about to be the last one out of the tree until Sergi grabbed her and pulled her back inside with a hand over her mouth. She began panicking until Sergi successfully turned off his camouflage and revealed himself. With the sight of him she relaxed. As he removed his hand from her mouth, he made a gesture to keep quiet. He pulled out the dog tags and placed them in one of her hooves. He patted the hoof and began to leave when he was stopped by Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. He was temporarily trapped in the tree if she kept quiet, which didn't work out so well. "Stop right where you are Sergi! I don't know what you did but I must keep you here until the others get back." She demanded as she took up an offensive stance. "дерьмо" Sergi swore inside his helmet as he realized that his only quiet exit was blocked. Sergi made a desperate run for a window. He stepped on top of a table and jumped right through the glass window. As he was reaching the ground he turned his camouflage back on. With a roll on impact of the ground, he was off at full speed out of town. The dust cloud didn't help him much with being hidden, but all he was worried about was getting out of town before they knew what happened. Sergi reached the outskirts of town and risked a look behind him. He was being quickly followed by the Royal Sisters and five out of six of the elements. Turning back around, he heard the dreadful beeping of his TACPAD systems shutting down. He ran with even more purpose towards the edge of the woods that promised his safety. He was almost there when something hit him in the back and threw him to the very edge of the forest. The pain burned through his entire body and made his muscles unresponsive. He tried to slowly drag himself into the forest only to stop just on the boundary. His vison began to black out and he thought he was heading into another memory. He heard the sound of voices speaking Russian and footsteps nearing him. Two sets of arms grabbed onto him as he heard the click of a pin being pulled out of a gernade. Before he blacked out he heard one sentence directed at him. "Don't worry Comrade, you’re in safe hands now." Said a voice that he thought was gone long ago, the voice of Dimitri. Things are ChangingThe Beginning of the End Things are Changing Sergi slowly opened his eyes. He slowly pushed himself up of the ground. Suddenly all the memories flashed back into his head at once. Immediately he stood up to search his surroundings. He stood inside a large cave that could easily fit a small armored unit in there. His tent was already set up and a fire crackling off to the side with one figure watching him. "Who are you?" Sergi flatly asked as he started to reach for one of his knifes. "My name is Alexander. I helped you get out of the forest. "You...You were with Dimitri." "I only used the power you held to pull one of your memories out to save you. Once you are fully healed, I would suggest going back to town." The figure said as he slowly stood up. "What do you mean? I am just flesh and blood." Sergi said as his right hand slowly grasped for where a knife should have been. "You are not just flesh and blood. I can clearly see you’re also built with metal, but you also hold powers in this world. Like back at the griffon camp, you used that power to save your friends. It also seems that when Celestia hit you with that burst of magic, the mechanical device inside of you started up. See for yourself if you don't believe me." The Figure answered as he began walking out of the cave. “Oh Sergi, I got you another jacket and shirt to replace your old one, courtesy of your friend Dimitri." He walked out into the sunlight of the day and began dissolving into the air. Sergi stared out the cave for a few seconds before going to brush himself off. Looking down he saw something that stunned him, part of his right side was no longer muscles but shining metal. Any skin near the site was burnt to a crisp while the metal seemed almost natural where it was. "Commander, I see that you are awake. Would you like me to fill you in on what happened?" The AI said through his helmet. "Just any messages I received would be enough. Can you explain to me why I am not in total pain right now?" Sergi said as he continued to study the new area. "Project WAR-ANGEL, an idea to create super soldiers out of regular men and women. Most experiments dealt with drugs and medicines to do things such as accelerated healing speeds and other such things. Your part of Project WAR-ANGEL, was to replace your skeletal structure with a metal mainframe. With this, it combines with your organic systems to create something that cannot be created through messing with genes. It seems like that bolt of power from Celestia started up the systems." The AI replied. "What was the magic that Alexander mentioned before?" Sergi asked as he began checking the rest of his body. "I am unsure about what he meant by that but you seem to have regained power to your TACPAD and also have an unknown power source emitting from your right hand." The AI responded. Sergi had taken off his jacket and looked at the large hole in the back of the jacket. It was about two feet wide and all the metal plates in the near vicinity were melted into mangled forms. He frowned at the ruined jacket and took out everything he had in the pockets before tossing the jacket to the ground. A glimmer of gold caught his eye as he released the jacket. On his right hand was a gauntlet that bore the emblem of the Cossacks on the back. This he definitely knew he had never seen before. He carefully unstrapped the golden gauntlet and proceeded inside his tent. As he looked around the inside he found a new jacket and olive shirt lying on the cot. He replaced his attire and went outside the cave. The sun warmed his skin but still left him cold. There had to be information on what happened and why he was attacked. "Patch me up to Anderson's helmet. I want to see what happened right when I got hit." Sergi said as he walked back inside to set up the display set. With his helmet connected to the device, the screen lit up with colors. He saw himself running across the fields. He heard Celestia trying to call out to him to stop running and to pay for the crimes he committed. At the corner of the screen Celestia's head appeared and her horn was dripping magic. With a bright flash, a solid beam of light shot out of her horn. It flew all the way out and made impact with his back. The force of the impact blasted him almost to the forest. Even from the distance that Anderson was at, the gaping wound could easily be seen. The video continued to show a four man group in tactical black attire poured out of the woods. Two of the men grabbed Sergi and started to drag him inside the forest while the other two pulled out something and tossed it towards Anderson and the group. In mid-flight the devices exploded, blinded and temporarily deafening all who were watching the scene. The sound of other came from somewhere off the screen. "Princesses, I have been sent to give you the report on what we found at the burn spot. Other than the metal objects lining the forest floor, we also found other weapons there such as swords, maces, and spears. It seems like the human single handedly taken an entire small army of griffons. We know that for a fact after finding bodies that were in different states of immolation farther away from the scene." Said a Pegasus in golden armor with smudges of black all over him. Sergi chuckled at the faces of everyone in the view of the helmet cam. Looks of disbelief were clearly printed onto the faces of every single creature there, except for Rainbow Dash who was just hovering in the air looking at the dog tags that were still in her hoof. "Princess Celestia, are you sick? I hope not because the Grand Galloping Gala is only a week away." The Pegasus asked when he took a closer look at the tired out Celestia. Sergi had seen all that he needed and stopped the playback. He walked back into the sunlight and looked down at the small town that he had left. It was a long time before he stepped back into the cave to prepare. Not only did he have to figure out how to use his new abilities, but he also had to prepare for something called the Grand Galloping Gala. A question came into his mind and he looked back through the confrontation again. Watching the beam hitting him in the back raised a question he never thought of before: "How much energy did that blast have?" He asked the AI "From my calculations, it was about 120 kilo-amps." The AI responded. Sergi chuckled to himself as he remembered his time in the labs a voice seemed to come out of nowhere and remind him of the irony. "If anything, the metal in his body would attract a lightning bolt that might start up the systems he has. Nature has always had an interesting way of making things work." ==================== Anderson stood by the stove as he expertly cooked pancakes. So much happened yesterday that he had to keep his mind off of what had happened to avoid getting a certain pony re-worked up. He had to force her to go to bed and get some sleep. He didn't get to sleep until 2:03 that morning. He placed a new batch of pancakes on top of a large pile on the table. Spike had gotten up earlier and was scarfing down his own pile. Anderson looked up at the clock on the wall and groaned when he saw it was only 6:05. He turned his head when he heard another groan, Twilight Sparkle was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with her mane all roughed up. "Good morning Twilight. Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" Anderson asked as he turned off the top burner of the stove and moved to grab his own plate of food. "I barely got any sleep last night. Sergi risked his life to save us from the griffons and all we do in return is treat him like a criminal. If only I could’ve known or have delayed what was happening for only a few seconds!" Twilight Sparkle answered as she began to go into the paranoid state she was for remainder the day yesterday. "No one could’ve known what had happened there and you wouldn't have been able to know any sooner. Have some pancakes, they’ll help you relax." He replied patting a spot at the table. "I guess that your right. That still does not explain why he did not tell us what he did when he got back." Twilight said as she placed some pancakes on her plate. "I think that he knew that you and your friends were already on edge for what he did in town with the substantially smaller group of griffons. If he would have come straight out with what he did, you might’ve just pushed him away and considered him a monster." He answered before he placed some of his own home cooking into his mouth. "He seems to be able to read anypony like a book. How is it possible for him to do that?" Twilight inquired as she poured syrup onto her pancake stack. "I don't really know. He seems like a shadow-lurker whenever he does stuff like that." Anderson replied before realizing that he used a term that nobody used here. "A shadow-lurker is a phrase that we used back where I come from. It is the name for when we feel that something is there in the shadows when there is actually nothing at all." Anderson finished the rest of his pancakes and headed off to work. Even though he did not have to work till 7:00am, he did not want to get wrapped up in the string of questions that Twilight Sparkle would inevitably throw at him. He did like to answer her questions and have a good conversation, but when he got caught up in one, he can never pull away from the conversation. When he reached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres he ran across the Cutiemark Crusaders. "Good morning Anderson!" They all chimed as they rushed past him. Up at the farm it appeared he was not the only one that decided to work early today. Applejack and Sir Henry were already up and working on general things around the farm. He waved at the two as he approached the two. "Morning Anderson, how’s Twilight holdin' up?" Applejack asked as he approached. "Better than yesterday but still thinking that she could have done something to prevent what had happened." Anderson said as he remembered how long it took just to get her to get some sleep. "Well some progress is better than none. I think she will be her old self again before the Gala." Sir Henry said trying to calm their minds. They started out with tending the new crops that were planted recently and prepping the apple trees for a new growing season. Things were going at a good speed in the quiet atmosphere. All three of them were caught up in their own thoughts and jobs. The silence was broken when a blur of cyan shot across the sky and came back around to the farm. Rainbow Dash looked as though she didn't even get any sleep last night. "What happened Rainbow Dash? You look worse than Twilight this morning." Anderson asked as the bags under her eyes could clearly be seen. "I've been trying to find Sergi...Since he isn't in trouble with the law anymore I thought I could find him and try to help him out." Rainbow Dash said with a yawn halfway through her sentence. "You should get some sleep Sugarcube. Last time I tried to do things when I was plum tuckered out, things didn’t go so well." Applejack replied. "What is that medallion you’re wearing; I have never seen anything like that before." Sir Henry said as he saw the new accessory around her neck. "Oh this, Sergi gave me this before he ran off out of town." She replied as she looked down at the dog tags. "You mean yesterday morning before the guards came?" Anderson asked to try to clarify when. "No, before he got hit with whatever Celestia used." She answered after thinking for a moment. "I still can't believe that even after he got hit with that blast, he was still moving. He is just one stubborn little bast..." Anderson began "Well I'll leave you guys to get back to your work; I'll try to find Sergi again." Rainbow Dash interrupted Anderson's statement. "Hold on there, you are beyond tired and won't do any good out there. You’re most likely to make things worse if you continue." Applejack said as she quickly grabbed onto her tail. "But..." Rainbow Dash tried to counter. "NO! I will not let you go to ah-don't-know-where and get hurt or lost. WE are done with our work here and were headin' down to Rarity's to get things ready for the Gala. Ah suggest that you should come with us and enjoy our company. All we want is to help out as friends." Applejack answered as she let go of Rainbow Dash's tail. "Like I said before, Sergi is one of the most stubborn things out there. He isn't going to die that easily." Anderson said to support Applejack in this discussion. "Okay, I guess you’re right. I'll tag along with you guys for the time being. Hey Anderson, can I take up that offer you gave before the party?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked over at Anderson. "I guess that since Sergi isn’t around I can tell one of the stories, but like I said before: Do not take any of the information as actual fact." Anderson said as he made sure his last sentence came through for everyone listening. "Now is there any type you would like to listen to?" "I want to hear one that’s filled with action!" Rainbow Dash replied with excitement after yawning. "I know just the one you’d like, I was even in this one so it is the most un-altered story." Anderson replied with a smile. ==================== Sergi's dreams took him to the outskirts of Berlin, only mere days before he was brought over here and the end of his own world. He was sitting in an APC heading up to the front lines. The sounds of the war could be heard through the heavily armored walls. He sat there with his mask on staring at the vacant seat across from him. He could easily hear the gossiping of the other soldiers in the same APC. "Who's the Russian over there? Shouldn’t he be back in one of the POW camps?" One of the soldiers said. "His name is Sergi; he's a 100 percent pure Russian killing machine. Don't piss him off; it usually ends up with a seriously wounded soldier and the top brass yelling in my ear." The Captain answered in a plain voice. "So why don't they deal with him? He can't be that dangerous." The soldier inquired. "Lets just say this; his entry application was destroying a small army all by himself and taking down multiple HVTs including a mole acting as an advisor for General McBride. Now shut your trap and get ready to go." The Captain replied ten seconds before a green light filled the interior. The back hatch opened and everyone streamed outside. Sergi took a look around and quickly drew up the situation. "What do we have here Sergi?" The Captain asked. "An Anti-Armor team positioned in that parking garage is keeping our armor from getting any closer to the city and our infantry are having trouble making forward progress because of two sniper teams positioned on the seventh floor of that apartment complex and the roof of that office building. There is a blind spot in their lines of sight off to the right side starting by that tank wreckage over there. It seems to be tipping into a deep trench which you could use to infiltrate the enemy fortification and take out the Anti-Armor team." Sergi answered through the squad radio frequency. "Uh...Sir, how does he know that before us, Sir?" The soldier asked. "You know how the Captain mentioned that he was a killing machine. Well, his training started when you were how old Sergi?" Snake asked with a grin on his face. "Since I was six years old, raised by the best mercenary group you could ever find." Sergi replied keeping his voice flat and cold. "Now you guys can advance toward the fortification while I deal with the snipers." The Captain nodded and waved the rest of the squad forward. Sergi checked the chamber of his American Mass Accelerated rifle. The shine of an aluminum round answered his question and he went out to eliminate the snipers. On the way he pressed a few buttons on his TACPAD and he disappeared from sight. The killing zone could easily be seen by the number of bodies lying out in unnatural positions. A medic could be seen being pinned down in the middle of the killing field hiding behind a small hill with the remains of a fence post. Sergi crawled up to the medic and tapped into his channel. "Soldier where is your squad?" He simply asked. "Sir, they are all dead Sir. Are you the support that was promised?" He replied with fear in his voice. "You could say that. Now keep your head down and don't you worry." Sergi said simply as he placed the sights on the sniper team on top of the office building. All of the noise that surrounded him was muted and Sergi focused on the shot. Slowly he pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet streamlined straight toward the gunner. Quickly he disposed of the spotter and dropped down to the ground to avoid the other sniper team seeing where he was sniping from. He placed the rifle on top of the fence post and spotted out the second sniper team. They were feverously searching for who had just taken out their other team. Sergi looked through the scope and chuckled to himself. As the scope began looking through the walls of the apartment complex, a multitude of different ammunition could be seen lying around the room. He turned the rifle until the crosshairs placed on top of a container filled with HE rounds for any heavy armor. The bullet sped off when the trigger was pulled and drove right into the target. The box erupted into a ball of flame that tossed the sniper team out of the window down to the ground. Sergi checked the rest of the area for enemy teams and reappeared into the world. "Go do your job now." He said as he tapped the back of the medic's helmet. The medic ran out into the field and stationed himself next to a wounded soldier. He started going to work on the soldier as Sergi walked up and continued to look around for any hints of an enemy. The wounded soldier looked up and saw Sergi standing there. "Glad you’re on our side sir." The soldier said as he made an attempt to give a salute. "All systems running beyond standard limits, remote connection is online." A voice said pulling Sergi out of his unnatural sleep. He pushed himself off the ground and looked at the bulking object in front of him. A laugh escaped his as he stared at the object. 'Equestria is in for one hell of a surprise.' He thought to himself as he began looking around at the other various things that surrounded him. Element of SurpriseThe Beginning of the End Element of Surprise Tonight was the Grand Galloping Gala and Anderson was done preparing for the social event. Rarity had made him a suit to wear to the gala along with a new set of clothes as a welcoming gift. The suit fit perfectly on him and reminded him of back before he had joined the army. He was wearing a navy blue jacket with silver and gold highlights around his shoulders and also the edges. Underneath was a green vest that supposedly brought out the color of his eyes. Sir Henry walked into the room from somewhere in the back of the carousel boutique with a completely different attire. His outfit consisted of a ceremonial chest plate, gauntlets, and boots as well as a cape that was a dark purple with gold and silver highlights. "Did Rarity make that outfit?" Anderson asked looking over the integrate designs of the silver and gold flourishes. "Why yes, she seems to know exactly what styles are good and what we are accustomed with." Sir Henry replied as he looked over Anderson's outfit. "That does seem a little bit odd since we have barely been here for almost two weeks." Anderson commented. “That reminds me, how are we all going to get to the Gala? I don't think one carriage is going to cut it." "Don't worry Anderson; I have a plan for that." Twilight Sparkle stated from Anderson. Turning around Anderson saw Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. She had gotten into her dress earlier that day before Sir Henry and he got changed. “I have devised a new spell that will make an extra-large carriage so all of us can fit in there." Twilight said with an air of confidence "That's great so I'm guessing everyone else is ready to go?" Anderson asked. "Yep, we'll be the last ones to get in the carriage. I just have this feeling that this is going to be one of the best nights ever!" Twilight replied as she moved out of the doorway. Anderson and Sir Henry followed Twilight Sparkle out the doorway and were amazed at the carriage. It looked like the one he saw them use in the season finale of the first season but if they mixed it together with a stretch limo. This carriage could easily hold all of them with no problem. A flash on the horizon caught Anderson's eye but as he turned to look he could see nothing except the setting sun. He pushed the thought from his mind and proceeded to get into the carriage after Sir Henry. Anderson took the last seat and looked at all the wonderful dresses he had seen many times before. "Rarity, how did you know exactly what formal wear matches where we came from?" Anderson asked as the carriage made its way to Canterlot "I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to do for your attire until a voice came out of nowhere and gave me the ideas. After it told me a little about you two it disappeared. It was odd that it came from your strange hat you like to wear." Rarity said as she pondered over what happened. "Are you alright dear? You look as if you have seen a ghost." ==================== Sergi stood in the storage area of the Valkyrie Gunship holding onto one of the overhead hand grips. Only 3 of these gunships were made back in the other world, but the ones that were active defiantly were well worth the high cost. Unlike most gunships that still worked off a light helicopter frame. This gunship used state of the art technology to replace the rotors with jet engines and wings that made the gunship look more like an aircraft. He didn't mind because the Valkyrie has saved his life more than once. The new engines also allowed for a heavier load. The armor on the craft was 8 inches thick and carried enough armaments to level an entire small country. With just one of these, the Russian base in Luxembourg is just a pile of dust now. He wore his Cossack's formal attire, a uniform similar to most everyday military uniforms but with a few changes. The color scheme was a pure black with highlights of gold and red. His chest was filled with all the ribbons he has collected throughout the years. The emblem of the Cossacks was shining proudly on his hat. He also had knives hidden everywhere. There was a belt buckle knife, a pair of knifes hidden on the back of his belt, a boot knife, and his Kukri hidden in the small of his back. On his right hand was the Golden gauntlet. Even though he had taken it off multiple times it seemed to just appear in his hand whenever he attempted his new magic. "One minute until destination, opening rear hatch." The AI said through the speakers. "How are the Night Watchmen?" Sergi asked as he walked forward towards the growing opening. "Night Watchmen 1-6 are in position and ready. 7-10 are in reserve at the base camp." The AI answered through the rushing wind. "Keep me updated on any changes." Sergi replied as he casually stepped off the Valkyrie and onto the Canterlot city wall. He pulled his hat down just enough that his eyes were hidden along with the majority of his scar. Sergi sighed as he headed towards one of the guard towers. Ever since he came to this world he’s had to act nice and normal. He’s killed more than enough people to last a lifetime and that was completely fine by him. The deaths of the enemy and his old companions had dulled his emotions towards his actions. When the time came for action he stopped at nothing to complete the objective. The only moral keeping him going was that of Cossacks Honor, protect the weak and kill the powerful. A simple code by itself; outsiders don't usually see eye to eye with the ideal. So for the time being, he’s had to wear a ‘mask’ in order to not startle them. Sergi pushed the thought aside and opened the door leading into a tower. Sergi descended the stairs and back out into the open air. A patrol of three Royal Guards were making their way through the streets checking for something. He stepped into the shadows and watched as the group passed. "What did Dawn Treader want us to look for again? There is absolutely nothing out here." The pegasus guard whined. "He said that something was approaching the wall on this side. We will pass by and check for anything out of place. After that we can head back to the Gala." The earth guard said. "I don't really mind heading out for this, the Gala is just one big security headache." The unicorn guard stated as the continued their way past Sergi. He waited in the shadows until the guards disappeared into the tower he had left earlier. The path was clear for now and Sergi didn't want to take any chances by waiting for the patrol to come back around. He hugged to the shadows and proceeded past party guests and more guards. He then approached a large building made out of huge blocks of marble. It was heavily decorated with precious gems and gold. He slid in after the patrol team he had first passed came back from their patrol. Sergi crept over to a dark corner and watched the party go along with high regality. The walls started to change and the ponies were replaced with humans. This was one of the royal parties in Northern Ireland. The walls were filled with books from the ages past. All British military leaders and advisors were in attendance. Other than the important military leaders of the British forces there were also about five undercover British agents. A server came up with a plate of appetizers came up next to him. "Good to meet you Sergi. My name is..." The server began. "Daniel, I have already done my research on the Celtics." Sergi answered as he scanned the party attendees. "Did you do any research on the party?" Daniel asked obviously irritated. "Mostly, but this is your territory. You know this place better than I ever could hope to. Also I am only going to be here for a little bit and then I'll be out of your hair." Sergi answered keeping a monotone voice. "The one you’re looking for is over there by the big hearty general over there. Your only safe escape would be going through the hidden doorway in the panel over by the bust of Winston Churchill." Daniel replied as he nodded over to a general who had defiantly treated himself well to the fine cuisine and a man in a black dress jacket and dress pants. "Thank you for your support. The Cossacks owe your group a favor." Sergi said as he slowly made his way through the crowd toward the two. "Excuse me general but I must say it is a pleasure to meet you! If anyone is going to stop the Russian armies it would be you." Sergi said as he came closer. "Oh, why thank you. Now if you excuse me I have some very important business to discuss." The British General said trying to edge away from Sergi. "Before you go and discuss your top secret stuff could you sign this for me? You are my son's hero and he would be honored if he could get your signature." Sergi said as he pulled out a picture. The look on the General's face changed from annoyed straight to shock. The picture showed the man he was talking with caught on a security camera with several dead agents around him. In the lower right hand corner was a message written in red. 'This man is a Russian spy. When I make my move, be ready. Sign the picture to not arouse any suspicions.' Sergi tighten his grip on his cane and prepared to make his move. "You look parched General; do you want me to get you something to drink?" Sergi stated more than asked. "No, I can get my own drink. Hope your son appreciates this." The General said as he regained his composure. "It is good to know that the military is still looked up to in this dire time. By the way my name is..." The other man began to say. "I know just who you are and what you do Prokhorov." Sergi interrupted before swinging the cane at Prokhorov. "I must say it is a pleasure to meet you again Sergi. I always knew you were going to cause problems for me later on." Prokhorov said as he easily caught the cane. "Well if you guessed that then do you know what will happen next?" Sergi asked as he held his gaze with Prokhorov. "You’re going to release the cane and go for your kukri knife hidden inside your jacket." Prokhorov answered with that grin he always had on his face. "Very good, you know what I would do if I was here by myself. Good thing the Cossacks branched off into different divisions." Sergi replied returning the grin. With a quick and smooth motion Sergi pulled the head of the cane and plunged the blade hidden in the cane into Prokhorov's gut and forced it deeper into his chest. Screams could be heard around him as he held the dying body of Prokhorov close to him. "The Fathers are now satisfied upon your death. May the First Fathers guide you in your passing." Sergi whispered into Prokhorov's ear as he felt the life slipping away from the body. He pulled the blade from Prokhorov's body and shoved it toward the crowd. The screaming crowd of observers blocked any way for the agents to reach Sergi. Wasting no time he rushed to the hidden passage way and bolted out of the room. "Excuse me, are you Anderson? My sister has told me all about you and most of your friends." A new voice asked as the memory slipped away and Sergi found a unicorn in armor looking towards him. "OH, my apologizes I forgot to introduce yourself. I am Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Guard and I believe that you have already met my sister Twilight Sparkle." The unicorn continued. Before Sergi could answer a familiar voice interjected. "Sergi, It is a pleasure to see you here tonight. I must say that you look almost too good for this event, almost." The voice of Dawn Treader greeted as he walked toward the two. "Wait. Are you the ‘Sergi’ that killed a full grown Basilisk and took down Nightshade in a close quarter’s combat match; not to mention completely destroying a small griffon army camped within Equestrian borders?" Shining Armor inquired as a spark of interest flared up in his eyes. "The very same." Sergi simply stated. "I have to say that you have defiantly placed Commander Nightshade in his place. He was getting a little bit cocky for his position." Dawn Treader commented. "For the little while you’ve been here I must say that you have defiantly made your mark here in Equestria!" Shining Armor exclaimed "Even though you have been able to avoid my little interrogator of a sister." "You don't say... If you don't mind can you tell me how you are ranked with everybody else?" Sergi replied trying to figure more about the inner workings of the Equestrian guards. "Outside the walls of Canterlot I am the rank of a captain but when inside the walls I am ranked just the same as both Commander Dawn Treader and Nightshade." Shining Armor explained. "So how does that work with both of you in Canterlot?" Sergi asked trying to see how this could be anything except a security nightmare. "Shining Armor and I have worked out an agreement that I will be a sub-Commander when I am in Canterlot. Before he was here though, this was just one giant security nightmare." Commander Dawn Treader answered. "So if you are here, where are your friends?" "I came by myself. I have my own ways of getting places now." Sergi answered as he began scanning the crowd of ponies again. "After my little run into town a little while ago I have had to find a new place to call my own." "Now that we have all gotten acquainted with each other I think that a certain somepony would like to see that you are doing alright." Dawn Treader said trying to get a point across without wandering ears finding out more than they need to know. "Are you sure it will be fine. She seemed pretty determined to take me out last time." Sergi replied wanting to just stay in the comforting shadows that he knew would protect him. "With me and Shining Armor with you, I am confident things will go smoothly." Dawn Treader said punctuating his point that things would be fine. The trio moved away from the edge of the event and headed through the sea of ponies. Ponies couldn't help but stare at Sergi as he made his way through the party with the Commander of Celestia's Royal Guard and the Captain of the Canterlot Guard. After heading through various rooms they reached a room that seemed more like an entrance lounge. There was a large stairwell that leads down to a very intricate door enlaided with what seemed like every different type of gems that existed. A steady flow of ponies in dresses and suits streamed through the doors and quickly dispersed into other rooms. Celestia stood on top of the stairs greeting ponies as they reached the top of the stairs. When they got closer Celestia was still occupied with the stream of ponies. Commander Dawn Treader coughed and caught her attention. "Why Commander Dawn Treader, it is good to see you made it out here for the Gala. Did Twilight Sparkle and her friends already arrive? I don't remember seeing any other humans arriving earlier tonight." "It is a pleasure to meet you again Celestia. Even though our last encounter was not as pleasant." Sergi said in a calm voice as he raised his hat up to its normal position. "Sergi, why I did not expect you to be here. This is definitely going to put an interesting twist on tonight." Celestia responded after being shocked with his attendance. "I want to thank you for your effort in taking out the griffon camp we found in the forest. If I had only known earlier..." "I am over the issue. I understand that only a few seconds afterwards did you receive the report of the burn site. These things happen and we can't leave ourselves trying to apologize for things outside of our reach." Sergi cut in before a train of self-degrading happened in the public view. "Your right, so are we on even ground again?" She asked quickly regaining her composure. "That lightning bolt you hit me with didn't even sway my position. I am still willing to help with the Griffon situation." Sergi answered as he gave a tip of his hat. "It is good to know that everything is straightened out now." Another familiar voice commented. The heads of the royal guards and Sergi turned to see Princess Luna standing there. "Since both of you gentlecolts are busy with the security and my own commander is busy with other tasks, would you mind if I take this fine Cossack here as a royal escort?" Luna asked with a smile on her face. "I would be honored, especially if there won't be any Basilisks jumping out at us." Sergi said with a grin. "I promise no creatures will be jumping out at us this time around." Luna said visible pleased he accepted. "I need to head over to the Guard Station and then I would like to head over to a local pastry shop." The two then headed off deeper into the castle. The closer they got to this Guard Station the more ponies were seen wearing armor. Guess were pouring out of every possible door with patrol details and other orders. Even though they were different than her Royal Guards they still should all the respect as if she were. "How is everything proceeding tonight?" She asked as she entered the busy room filled with stacks of paper and blue prints of the castle. "Everything is proceeding as planned Princess and the Guards are prepared for anything tonight." One of the more elaborately decorated guards stated. "Can I see the patrol plans and also the locations of both the stationary and undercover units?" Luna asked wanting to make sure everything was in order. With a few inspections of guard positions and floor layouts the pair left from the busy beehive of activity and out into the nearly empty streets of Canterlot. Sergi could easily see that something was troubling her but she tried to hide her uneasiness. "I can tell that something is troubling you. What is wrong?” Sergi asked after he was sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. "I once knew someone like you in many ways when I was only a little filly. His name was Alexander. He was my personal guard in the revolution against the Lord of Chaos Discord and the closest friend I’ve ever had. Before the last battle against Discord himself, he and many other humans suddenly disappeared from the world. I now see he was taken into your world because one of his ideas is standing right next to me, a Cossack for the people." Luna tried to explain. "One of the first fathers was named Александр. What else is troubling your mind?” Sergi asked as she clearly had avoided what really was troubling her. "Nothing else is troubling me. I think the pastry shop is at the next corner here." She replied quickly. "In my life I have been able to read anybody by just their body language. I will ask you again; what is troubling you?" Sergi said as he could easily tell she was hesitant and very quick to change the subject. "You have been raised in a world of chaos but you act as if it were normal. Chaos should never be normal! How have you been able to go through your life without any peace?! Even though I have lived for more than 1000 years, seeing any type of chaos as a normal thing has never been possible! I just want to understand how any of this is supposed to work." Luna blurted out what was really troubling her as she began to break down. "I can live with it as normal because there was no peace where I came from. Peace was just a dream that one day we might be able to achieve. Sadly that dream will never be fulfilled..." Sergi replied as he remembered the broadcasts that told of the end of the war and everything else in the world. "What do you mean by never to be fulfilled?" She asked as she slowly regained her composure. "Before my arrival in your world here, my world was so deeply entangled in war that they broke down old laws and used weapons that should have never been used again... Is this the pastry shop we were looking for?" Sergi replied simply trying to get away from the memories of things that couldn't possibly be contained in the deepest part of hell. Some of those things he personally did... "Why yes it is, and I know that we have both mentioned things that were meant to be kept secret. Thank you for listening to one of the problems that I have been pondering since I healed you. I think that we have more in common than anyone else might think. Maybe we could talk again some time when things aren't so hectic." Luna said ad they entered the building. Sound escaped from the pastry shop as the door opened. Laughter and excited voices filled the air. Along with the voices came the smell of freshly made pastry delicacies that Sergi had only experienced only three times before in his entire life. The six ponies he had gotten himself acquainted with when he first arrived and his two other companions were sitting around a large table off to the side of the room next to the windows. "Why did you freak out earlier when Rarity mentioned that Sergi had told her what Sir Henry and you had been accustomed to?" Twilight Sparkle inquired. With that one question Sergi, formed an idea in his mind. He gave a gesture to Princess Luna to stay quiet even though the smile on her face clearly showed that she was thinking the same thing. "It is just how Sergi knew that the Grand Galloping Gala was tonight and knew when Rarity was working on the ideas." Anderson said as his back was to Sergi as he silently glided up to him. "I have my sources Anderson, haven't you learned that yet?" Sergi playfully asked as he squeezed Anderson's shoulders. "Sergi, I didn’t know you would be here tonight." Anderson managed to get out after nearly choking on a donut. "I have heard that a lot today." Sergi replied calmly as he released Anderson. "What are you doing here? You don't seem like a formal attire type of guy." Applejack questioned. "He is my escort tonight since the other commanders were busy this evening." Luna answered as she walked up beside Sergi. "Princess Luna, I haven't seen you in here for a long time. What can I do ya for?" The pony behind the counter asked in a heavy eastern U.S. coast accent. "I wouldn't mind an éclair if you have one Donut Joe." Luna replied to the pony behind the counter. "You got it, one éclair coming right up!" Donut Joe stated as he placed the order on top of the counter. "Thank you sir." Luna chimed as she placed some golden coins on the counter with her magic and then snatched up the éclair. "Hey Sergi, are you alright from last week? That seemed like a pretty powerful spell the Princess used." Rainbow dashed asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice. "I have recovered from that unfortunate accident and I have also settled my affairs with Celestia. Everything is fine at the moment." Sergi replied noting the new tone in her voice. "My goodness, I must complement you on that gorgeous looking outfit you are wearing. I have never seen such style before, those small ribbons and medals on your chest give it an interesting twist." Rarity said as she critiqued his outfit. "Thank you, this is the Commanders jacket worn only by the sole leader of the Cossacks and I would rather not want to go into how I acquired this jacket." Sergi answered as he saw a certain look appear on Twilight Sparkles face. "Why not? It can't be..." Twilight Sparkle began before a guard burst into the pastry shop. "PRINCESS LUNA... WE HAVE A THREAT LEVEL 3... SITUATION OUT IN THE GARDEN COURTYARD!" The guard exclaimed between breaths. “Hold on everypony. This is going to be a first time for most of you." Shouted Luna as her eyes turned pure white and her horn glowed with magic. The room was filled with a white light that Sergi recognized from when he arrived. The light lasted only for a few seconds before it disappeared. He and the others stood in middle of a marble floored courtyard surrounded by many unique statues. The sounds of panicked screams and confusion filled the air and a large clearing could be seen with several variously armored griffons and a pony in a blue jumpsuit with a mane that looked like fire. The apparent leader of this rag tag group of griffons was shouting out threats and basically looking for a challenge. "You ponies thought your little night raid on our camp would quell the wrath of the griffon army?! That little idea has only fanned the flames of the Griffon War Machine! So if the pony in charge of the night raid is here, I challenge them to a duel! Just me and that worthless piece of meat! If no one comes and accepts the challenge any time soon, I'll give this pony here a new hole to breathe through!" He soured out as he pressed a dagger against the neck of the hostage. Sergi started to move toward the griffon while reaching for his Kukri before feeling something holding him back. He turned around to find Fluttershy holding him back by one of his pant legs. "Sergi, please don't kill them! There has been enough death already!" She quietly begged. Sergi looked at the other ponies there and read a general idea. The faces of Twilight Sparkle and Rarity had a look of fear. Applejack looked as she favored not killing them, but not enough to know that it might be the only way. Rainbow Dash and Spike had a look of excitement on their faces for being able to see some action here at the Gala. Pinkie Pie was... "Here! I always have a baton stashed away somewhere just in case of a nonlethal situation!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she popped out if one of the marble squares in the floor holding a black police baton. Sergi just took the baton and looked at Pinkie Pie as she disappeared back under the piece of marble that easily weighed more than four times more than her. He shook his head and continued his way to the griffons testing the weight of the baton as he went. "I'm the one you’re looking for. Now you’re going to release the hostage and go back into the hole you crawled out of." Sergi shouted out with a voice devoid of any emotion. "Ah, so it looks like a bedtime story comes out to save the day. I will have so much fun slowly pulling your life from your body." The griffon replied as cruel smile spread across his beak. “Lieutenant, take hold of the prisoner." As the pony was being passed to another griffon Sergi whipped out his Kukri and pinned the claw of the lieutenant to a Statue of an alicorn. "RUN NOW!" Sergi ordered to the pony as the griffons were stunned at what had just happened. The pony flew quickly out towards the outside of the ring of ponies but stopped to watch the duel unfurl. Sergi sprinted up towards to the first griffon and knocked him back with an upward swing from the baton. With the element of surprise gone, Sergi took a quick look around to scope out the other hostiles. Other than the leader there were only three other griffons. They all had a look of fear in their eyes and did not move. The leader got back up and threw himself at Sergi hoping that the force would knock him down. Sergi side stepped and dealt another powerful blow from the baton. He then grabbed the griffon by the scruff of the neck and tossed him at the statue holding the lieutenant. The griffon collided with enough force to make small cracks appear on the statue. Sergi walked up to the two griffons and pulled out his knife. The lieutenant grabbed his superior officer and flew off into the night. They were quickly followed by the other griffons and silence fell upon the courtyard for only the briefest of seconds until the crowd started murmuring about what had just happened. "Good Evening Everypony, My name is Captain Shining Armor and I need your full cooperation. I need all of you to vacate the courtyard. You may continue your night in the other parts of the Canterlot Castle. I hope that this did not spoil your Grand Galloping Gala experience." Shining Armor said over all the accumulated voices in the courtyard. Although the crowd started to disappear Sergi felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see the hostage from before. He could clearly see a white lightning bolt going down the side of the jumpsuit. "Hi, I wanted to thank you for what happened back there. My name is Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. I can understand letting those griffons go but they need to get what's coming to them..." She began before Sergi gave a slight chuckle. "If you want to see them go down stay here for a little bit." He said as he opened up his comm channel. "Send in Night Watchmen #2 to eliminate four bogies heading away from the castle." Sergi ordered through his TACPAD, "What is going to happen?" Spitfire asked as she moved forward a little bit more. "Just wait." Sergi said as he could hear the faint sound of one of the Night Watchmen fly over the courtyard and head towards the griffons. Only seconds passed before a whine along with a steady line of tracer bullets ensured that the griffons were no longer a problem. Preparing for WarThe Beginning of the End Preparing for War Sergi laid in the cold, bare, concrete room he had been kept in while not being experimented on. He stared at the wall where he had made the markings of a mad man. The markings were almost unrecognizable, even to him. They ranged from small messages or maps chiseled into the wall to cryptic words promising the end written in his own blood when his hands were turned raw from chiseling. His internal clock slowly clicked as he waited for the next session. There was no escape from here; all of his attempts landed him directly in the office of the Director. The office was filled with American pop culture such as posters for old movies hung on the wall along with many Western items, such as two 44 magnum revolvers and a 1887 shotgun that supposedly belonged to one of his ancestors. This place has almost effectively done something nothing before has done: Break the mind of a Cossack. Cossacks are trained to be unbreakable like other soldiers. This is what made the Cossacks something greatly praised and feared. All of that training could not help with what this place did. They would mess around with his body for a few hours and then send him out onto a training course where every single simulation strained everything he had and showed him how it was not enough because his failures made people he cared for pay for them. The Scientist had stopped messing around with his body for the past month and a half but had been increasing the testing regiments. Sergi raised his right hand up to his face to feel the healing wound he had received during one of the latest tests. They had changed Dimitri into something that wasn't him, a soul less husk of a man that was broken and made into a machine of war. Killing him was the only way to end the suffering that Dimitri had, what little of him existed. His train of thought was cut short by the sounds of foot steps in the hallway. 'The guards are not supposed to be around here until 6:00, it was only 1:54,' Sergi thought as he pulled every single detail from the situation with his already fragile brain. The buttons made cheerful noises as they released they thick metal bars sealing the door to the wall. As the door swung open, only a man stood there in a white lab jacket. When Sergi's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the head scientist standing there with a knife, a high level key card, and a silenced pistol. Standing up, Sergi prepared to finally meet his end only to find the items placed into his hands. "I can no longer stand by as I watch my projects be broken by some high minded Americans! This is my lab, and I will do what I will in it, even releasing my own projects to kill the intruders. This knife was my Ancestor's when he fought for the Third Reich. An armory is just down the hallway and you should find some things to your liking, Sergi. Zu Ruhm comrade, the Goths are willing to avenge the Cossacks." The Scientist said before he walked out of the room and headed down towards the other holding cells. Sergi took no time rushing out of the cell and bolting down to find this armory. The signs posted along the way helped him find his way. The door to the armory was only a simple card scanner, no eye scanner or key pad. Inside, Sergi took the time to look over what he had. The pistol was an old 9mm with a modification to fit a more modern day silencer on it. The key card had the face of the Scientist who had just released him on it, along with his name, Dr. Fredrick Luger. The knife was very interesting, because it was a rare officers knife that was highly valuable after the war ended. Sergi looked up from his items to look around the room. There was plenty of standard weaponry filed along the wall that Sergi did not even bother looking at. Placed away in the back of the room was what Sergi was looking for. A small assortment of mismatched weapons stood there untouched. He looked through the line of weapons looking for anything that would be of use. In the assortment he found something he only hoped would have survived, the Cossacks officers PPSH. Sergi checked every single spring and latch to find that it was still in good condition. He took the weapon along with as much ammo as he could carry for it. A Russian recon armor hung in the armory as well and Sergi did not mind having to stop for one more thing. He placed the visor on and was gleefully happy when the entire world turned a blood red. Sergi saw a heavy machine gun on a mount in the back as well. Alarms began to blare as Sergi entered back out into the hallways. From around a corner swarms of guards headed down the hallway to find Sergi standing there priming up the heavy machine gun. Bullet after bullet left the gun and filled Sergi with cold satisfaction. "Infirmorum susceptor, Hunter magni ab ultimo ad ultimum spiritum, pugnabimus" Sergi shouted out through the external speakers as he walked through the piles of dead and dying bodies. "Sergi, are you here? What is all this stuff?" A voice asked pulling Sergi out of his memories. "Please do not touch any of those things." Sergi barely grumbled out. "OH my, we didn't wake you up did we?" Fluttershy asked as Sergi's mind began to come back to reality. "You did but I should be up anyways." Sergi replied as he opened his eyes. He found himself lying on top of one of the night watchmen. Sergi slowly pushed himself off of the unmanned surveillance aircraft and rubbed his face with his left hand. The cold touch of metal made him look at his hand to find another gauntlet made of obsidian and a the eagle emblem of a commander on the back made out of one solid piece of diamond. "So it actually is true." Twilight Sparkle commented. "What is true?" Sergi asked as he turned his attention from the gauntlet. "The Prophecy of Man, something that seems to be more than just a relic in one of Rainbow's Daring Do books." Applejack answered as she continued to stare at him as if this was the first time. "Is that what you wear every time you go to sleep dear? You should really invest in some pajamas. They will do just wonders for you. Maybe heal up those wounds you have there." Rarity said as she evaluated what he wore. Sergi looked over himself to find that other than the gauntlet he had just found, all he was wearing was his cargo pants. His bare chest should the scars and tattoos of his past life. He was just glad that his one big secret was not showing. "What happened to you? I have never seen anything like this..." Twilight Sparkle began saying. "Did Anderson tell you about the war?" Sergi asked. "Yes but what does that have to do with..." Twilight Sparkle began to reply. "Obviously these were scars from the war silly." Pinkie Pie cheerfully said as she began to bounce around the room. "Can someone tell me what the Prophecy of Man is?" Sergi asked as he slowly began to get irritated and confused with everything. "It is this one giant picture thing that supposedly told how the world would end. Supposedly the last humans of Equestria carved the entire thing before ending the reign of Discord. Everything was very cryptic until you guys came around and Sir Henry unlocked the entire thing!" Rainbow Dash proudly explained "And what Rainbow Dash is forgetting is how almost everything was decrypted. The last part of the inscriptions is so vague that not even someone from the time knows what it means. All that it shows is a giant round hole and clouds burning with the inscription underneath narrating, 'And the heavens will burn and the earth shall feel the wrath of an entire race'." Twilight Sparkle corrected, visibly annoyed by how Rainbow Dash left out a somewhat major detail. "Where am I included in this prophecy? I am just a soldier from a destroyed world." Sergi asked as he began walking through his collection of advance technology he created with the magic contained in his golden gauntlet. "All of the carvings show a man taking on creatures that no pony could take on by themselves. They show everything from when you all arrived up to the news of a griffon army that would easily take all of Equestria!" Twilight shouted out trying to make some point. "When the time comes I am sure things will play out just fine. Now is there anything else you ponies need before you leave?" Sergi asked hoping to get something accomplished today. "Where did you get that gauntlet there? I don't remember you having it the last time ah saw you." Applejack inquired. "I wish I could tell you but I don't even know how I got the gauntlet. It seems to have just appeared like the first one." Sergi replied as he pondered how they both appeared out of nowhere. "Maybe there something more than just gauntlets..." Twilight Sparkle began before getting interrupted again. "OH, Twilight I bet they're just like are elements. Maybe they have some super secret power that nopony has seen since when the humans were here! Pinkie Pie shouted out as she continue to hop around the cave. "You guys have things similar to this?" Sergi asked as this was the first time he heard about other items of power. "Yeah, how else could we take down Nightmare Moon and Discord!? Rainbow Dash blurted out as Sergi walked up closer to the embers of a fire that once burned hot and shuffled them around with a stick. "Unlike Sir Henry or Anderson who have been with you ponies since day one, I have not had the pleasure of finding out what you six have done other than what I hear from others, mostly from the officers of the Royal Guards." Sergi stated as he placed a few logs onto the small embers to begin cooking up his breakfast. "Well maybe we could change that. Ah personally would like to know you more than just a human that has saved my friend's and ah's flanks more than once." Applejack said as she slowly stepped forward. "Why do you even want to be out here? There is nothing to do other than work on these things and sit by a fire." Rainbow Dash asked as she flew over and sat on the nose of the VALKYRIE gunship. "You do seem like a very fine gentlecolt, and I find it hard to believe that you like to stay secluded." Rarity said following the lead of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "I have my reasons for living here. Mostly because ponies are not used to what I have been trained to do." Sergi said as he started setting up the stand and preparing his breakfast in a metal kettle. "We don't even know what you did back in your world!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed as Sergi noted how she was laying a trap about his past. "I was a soldier back in my world. I fought to keep the ones I cared for safe, even though it did not happen that way." Sergi replied as he said the last part in a low tone. "Oh I'm sure the ponies will warm up to you. They warmed up to me and Spike since we first moved here." Twilight Sparkle said as she used her magic to lift the kettle onto the stand over the fire. "You and Spike are actually from here and you do not have a history filled with things that should never see the light of day." Sergi said as he went inside the tent to retrieve a shirt to put on "They can't be that bad." Twilight Sparkle said as she was still trying to fish for information. Sergi exited the tent with his usual green t-shirt and gave a cold, hard stare in return. Twilight's ears flattened against her head and blushed a little bit after getting caught trying to fish for information. "Um... if don't mind me asking; do you like animals?" Fluttershy asked quietly after seeing Twilight go into his past life. "I do. When I was young I had a falcon as a pet. That was back when I was only about 6 or 7." Sergi replied as his mind went back to those times. "Excuse me ladies, is this where the human Sergi lives?" A new voice asked from the mouth of the cave. The ponies turned to see a pegasus who looked like a fresh out of training Royal Guard. Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle moved off to the side to reveal Sergi standing among his weapons of war. "OH, my bad. Anyways I am here to give you the reports on the situation at the moment." The pegasus said as he looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you excuse us girls, this guard and I will discuss business. Please do not mess with any of the things out here. If you get hungry just have what I'm cooking up." Sergi said as he waved the guard over to the tent. Sergi followed the guard into the tent and saw the dumbstruck look on his face as he looked around the tent. "Anything I can answer for you?" Sergi asked wanting to scrape up any more information he could on the guard. "Is this where you actually sleep? I thought the guards quarters were Spartan. Is that a Griffon Commander helmet there?" The pegasus began asking. "Yes I sleep here and I guess he was a Commander. Did you have something for me?" Sergi answered before pressing the important matter. "Oh yes, here you go." The pegasus said as he went into his saddle bags and pulled out various plans and reports. Sergi heard the sound of hooves surrounding the tent and sighed. He went over to the monitor on the tent and ordered a secure channel meeting. This caused an orb of harmless electricity to surround the tent and deny any sound from leaving the tent. "What just happened?" The pegasus said as he shuffled towards the middle of the tent. "A few ponies are trying to hear things beyond their pay grade. This just insures that we are the only ones that will know what happens in here." Sergi replied as he moved over to the desk to review the reports. Minutes turned into hours as Sergi read and memorized every single detail that was in front of him. From what he had read; Equestria has never seriously been to war for over a thousand years. The reports did hold a great amount of information about the griffon nation and the Equestrian defenses but showed how weak Equestria has become. The National Army has been disbanded 750 years ago. The Royal Guards have drastically dropped over the years to barely holding up at around 2,000 guards per Princess. This would definitely make things more difficult, but not impossible. The Griffons easily had a larger army that could be only be topped by the armies from his world. With their numbers short of a million, it wasn't hard to trace a path of where they would move. From the Mountains at the Border of the Griffon Nation and follow a large river cutting through an empty plain that was stage for many of the battles of the rebellion against the Lord of Chaos, Discord. Once they pass through the plains they will reach the mountains that marked the border of Equestria. An old mountain path used back in the time after the fall of chaos will most likely be used to cross over into Equestria. Everyone in Canterlot will, have the best view of the beginning of the end of Equestria. Among the reports were ones that were describing possible troop movement of something called Changelings. These reports were few but contained as much information as the griffons. Through the reports it could plainly be seen that the Changelings were seen as a larger threat than anything. Sergi slowly shook his head at the idea of this small of a force could be seen as a bigger threat than an army ranging up to the low millions with the one mind set of crushing the ponies under their boot heels. There was no way to do this, two different armies arriving at about the same time period and the smaller force seen as a bigger threat. His eyes drifted over to his golden gauntlet and a small idea began to form. If the ponies wanted to focus on the Changelings, then they could focus on them all they wanted to. Sergi just needed them distracted so his part of the plan could go off without a hitch. There would still be a high cost in the aftermath of the plan, but it would all be worth it in the long run. He rolled up his report summary and turned to give it to the pegasus but found him sleeping on his cot. "Private Lucky Clover, are you asleep at your post!" Sergi inquired in a large voice. "I am not sleeping at my post Commander Dawn Treader!" The pegasus shouted out as he bolted out of his dreams and straighten his stance, visibly still vague on where he was. "Good, then can you take this report summary back to Commander Dawn Treader. I'm sure he would be glad to know that he can start preparing for an invasion in about two months." Sergi said as offered the rolled up parchment. "Two months you say, that falls right on top of Captain Shining Armors Wedding." The pegasus guard said as he realized where he was. "It is just a estimate, so it might come earlier or later. Let me turn off the security systems on the tent" Sergi said as he began to smile behind his emotionless expression. "I'll get this straight back to Canterlot, Good bye." The pegasus said as he exited the tent. "Oh, I'm sure that we will be meeting again soon." Sergi said as he waited in the tent. The sound of flapping wings marked the Pegasus's departure. Sergi took of the black gauntlet and placed it next to the golden one on the desk. He stepped out of the tent to find that the other ponies were gone and his breakfast had disappeared. He found a plate of cupcakes and a note lying on the nose of the Valkyrie. Sergi picked up the note and read through what little was on there. 'Dear Sergi, We shared your breakfast and left to get things ready for a picnic tomorrow. If you are free from Guard-related matters maybe you could come as well. From: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash' The names at the bottom looked like they were written by each individual. He folded up the note and placed it in one of the pockets of his pants as he began eating one of the cupcakes. After finishing one of the cupcakes he took the plate and went to stand outside. Sergi took a look at the landscape and the small specks of ponies moving around in the town down below. 'In two months, nothing will be the same again for a long time. Might as well soak up as much of this peaceful place as possible before War rears it old familiar face. Calm before the StormThe Beginning of the End Calm before the Storm Twilight Sparkle was trotting down to a nice little spot where she and her friends have their picnics. It lay right in a small meadow surrounded by a few trees and a small stream ran off to the side. She was accompanied by Spike, Anderson, and a box of cupcakes fresh from the Sugarcube Corner. The trip down had been complete silence as they moved through the pleasant scenery. This was fine with Twilight because she had a plan up her sleeve. If Sergi was able to make it she would finally break past the iron curtain that he always had around him. When she got back home yesterday she began searching for a spell or something of the like to be able to get past his defenses. All the spells she found were nowhere close to being inconspicuous as she needed them to be. She smiled to herself as they began to approach the spot. Everypony was in attendance except for Rainbow Dash and Sergi. "Good afternoon everypony!" Anderson said as he began to walk faster towards the group. "YAY! The cupcakes made it!" Pinkie Pie shouted out as she snatched the packages from Anderson. "Does anyone know where Rainbow Dash is?" Twilight Asked as she got closer to the group. "She was here earlier but left to take care of some business she forgot about, although she did seem a little off when she was here." Rarity said as she laid lounged on the picnic blanket with her large 'picnic' hat. "She seems like she’s had something else on her mind since the humans settled down in Ponyville, or at least most of them." Applejack commented. Twilight could easily take a guess as what Rainbow Dash was doing. Once things got somewhat settled down just before Winter Wrap up, Rainbow Dash had seemed preoccupied with the one-man army named Sergi. She even has been wearing the same weird necklace that he made as a gift for her. It just made her irritated that Rainbow Dash was able to get inside Sergi's iron curtain with ease and here she was trying to find some chink in his armor. All she wanted to know was what exactly he did back in the other world. It seriously can't be as bad as he makes it to be. "Sorry I'm a little late girls, I went to find Sergi and get him to come along but I couldn't find him anywhere." Rainbow Dash said as she landed next to the others followed by the clicking of the necklace that Sergi had given her. "Maybe he already left to work with the Royal Guards at Canterlot." Anderson said as he leaned against a tree nearby. "All of his stuff was still there; even his tent was still up. There was even this strange voice that talked to me." Rainbow Dash replied. "Ah, so it seems you have met his AI unit. He is the only person I know who has received his own personal AI. I have heard some rumors but I doubt any of them are true." Anderson said "He's not around at the moment so you'll be alright. Tell us some of the more realistic ones." Twilight Sparkle said willing to hear any information about Sergi. "I think the one that is most likely true is..." Anderson said before a voice interjected. "You shouldn't be talking about things beyond your comprehension or pay-grade Anderson. You shouldn't let these ponies get the better of you." Sergi's voice stated from out of nowhere, causing everyponies head to find where he was. "Ah Sergi, I knew you would surprise us all. Now appear to us so we can enjoy your company." Sir Henry said with a small smile. "Oh there is no trick to this one. I am sure that you will find me once you take a closer look around you." Sergi replied still hiding himself well from all the picnickers. "I'm sure that if a certain cyan pegasus didn't tire herself out looking for me, we’d be seeing eye to eye." Twilight watched as all traces of weariness disappear as she bolted up into the air. Rainbow Dash then began looking around from where she hovered before flying over to one of the trees. She slowly poked her head through the branches of the tree before pulling her head out with a large grin. Seconds later, a large mass fell from the tree and stood back up with an apple in his hand. Sergi had been there the whole time and no one bothered to look up into the trees. "Nice little area you have here girls. I have never seen anything like this in my whole life. The sight just makes you feel like there is nothing wrong in the world." Sergi said before taking a bit out of the apple he had. "Well Ah'm glad you made it here today. You have been very busy the last couple of weeks and a break could be good for you. Now how about you come over here and take a seat with us." Applejack said as she offered a spot next to her. "A break would be nice at the moment, especially since in a weeks’ time I will have more work than ever." Sergi replied as he knelt down next to the farm pony. "What’s happening in a week?" Rainbow Dash said as she lowered herself back down onto the ground. "I can't say much but what I can say that I will be heading up to Canterlot to better manage the griffon situation." Sergi said "How long do you think you will be gone?" Twilight asked trying to figure out how to play things out. "With the current situation it will probably be at least six months. It just depends how long they will want to keep persisting." Sergi answered simply as he shrugged his shoulders. "I might be seeing you from time to time for fashion shows. So you won’t be lonely all that time." Rarity said as if to cheer up Sergi in some way. "Don't worry about me my friends, with everything happening I don't think there will be any time to focus on something else let alone take a break." Sergi replied as he stretched his arms out. "Also I have a proposition for everyone here. That is, if you’re interested." "What's this deal you’re talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked as she squinted her eyes to somehow see what the deal was better. "I will accept any questions that you have about me or the other world as well as a special gift for everyone when I come back from Canterlot. The only catch is that any information about what I did in my past is off limits, did you catch that last part Twilight?" Sergi continued as he finished directing it towards her. They all agreed to the proposition as Twilight almost jumped out of her skin. 'A time allocated to getting answers from Sergi. This could not go any better!' she thought in her head. "What is a Cossack?" Twilight Sparkle asked to begin the deal. "It is a mercenary group that deals more with night-time undercover operations so that things might be easier for everyone." "Do you guys have a motto?" Rainbow Dash asked next "Infirmorum susceptor, Hunter magni ab ultimo ad ultimum spiritum, pugnabimus. It is roughly translated to The Protector of the Sick, from the Final End to the Last Breath of the Great Hunter, we will fight." "How many parties have you been too?" Pinkie Pie asked as she leaned in close. "All together, about 36 or 37. If you’re talking about ones that I have been officially invited to and not just for a contract; one." "What does that mean?" Applejack asked as she heard the answer. "I have been to a lot of parties uninvited to either get high valued information or to deal with a high valued target." "What were all those interesting ribbons on your uniform that we saw last at the Gala?" Rarity asked keeping to her area of expertise. "They were awards for performing beyond the call of duty and also awards for surviving through a certain string of battles or campaigns." "Are you always so aggressive and single-minded? If that is alright to ask." Fluttershy asked quietly. "It is alright to ask. No, I am only like this when something that is either good or close to me is being threatened in any way." "How did you get all those scars we saw on you yesterday?" Applejack asked as she moved to grab a cupcake. "When we went on missions I always stayed behind enemy lines so that everyone else could get to be able to live another day, sometimes I stayed back a little bit too long." Sergi said as he slowly felt one on his left arm. "What was it like in the old world? What had happened in it? Would you ever want to go back?" Twilight began asking as the questions just flowed out of her mouth. "It was nothing compared to this world to say the least. So many things happened to it that it only barely resembles this world. The only constant in that world was war and an endless cycle of vengeance. Right about now the planet should be a burning ruin of its former self. Anything that is still alive will not last for much longer. With all of that said I think that I would rather live here than under the thick nuclear-fallout clouds that block out the sun." Sergi answered before his eyes looked of somewhere in the distance and what little emotion was on his face dissolved away. Twilight Sparkle started to get angry because he had started to ignore her questions. This small fury burned for a little while until she noticed that he wasn't responding to anypony at the moment. He just sat there staring off into the distance as if something else was happening there. Twilight decided to use one of the spells she learned to see what exactly he was watching. "What are you doing Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, watching Twilight Sparkle charge up the spell. "I just want to see if I can help him with what’s in his head." Twilight answered as she tried focusing on the spell. "Ah don't think that would be such a good idea Twilight." Applejack said. Twilight did not hear the last comment as she released the spell and went into Sergi's head. The inside of his mind was like a giant series of halls filled with doors. The hallways were made of something similar to rock in appearance but still very different; the doors looked to have been made out of solid metal with a large wheel in the middle. She went to every door she passed only to find them either locked or leading to rooms with little to nothing in them. Any books she found in there were mostly fictional or journals from random people. Down the hallway she went until she heard a unique sound coming somewhere close by. Following the noise lead her down to a door that looked similar to all the other doors. Loud pinging noises could be heard from the other side of the door. With her magic she began turning the wheel to open the door only to find it spinning out of her control and bursting open. A figure ran out into the hallway where she was standing in and hid behind the door. Other figures were further down the hallway making flashes from the center of their chests. Twilight began to slowly move forward to investigate the other figures until a sharp stinging pain sliced across her side. She screamed out in pain as the door slammed shut with a small thud came from the other side of the door. Looking at her side she could see blood spilling out of a line across her side. All the blood almost made her faint. The figure that came through the door stood towering over her with a dark green outfit that she had seen before except holes could be seen with dark blotches. The blood-red orbs stared down at her as fear and terror began to fill her thoughts. All of the questions she had evaporated as panic filled her mind. "TWILIGHT!" A voice shouted out, breaking apart the world she laid bleeding in. She opened her eyes to find herself lying down on the grass in a cold sweat. Across from her Sergi began to looking down at her with the same look as she received inside his mind. "Are you alright Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as everyponies eyes now laid on her. "I'm alright, everything is fine." She said as she brought herself back up onto her hooves. The picnic began to slowly slide back into its normal state but Twilight could still feel the gaze of the eyes staring straight into the mind. It was as if they watched her every thought. Once more into the FrayThe Beginning of the End Once more into the Fray "Damned rocket whores!" The pilot shouted out as the Valkyrie rocked from an explosion. "GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Captain Miller shouted into the cockpit as he held on to one of the overhead grips. "Sorry, I forgot Captain. I was just going to pick up a gallon of milk from the store and maybe fill up the gas tank!" The pilot shouted back sarcastically. "I hate gunships." Snake muttered to himself quietly. "What do you not hate Snake?!" Joesph asked as while he tried to hold onto a handle. "I don't hate normal life." Snake replied before the gunship rocked again. "When was the last time you have seen that?" Joseph asked jokingly regaining his stance. "One more hit like that and this thing is going down! Can you please try to avoid those missiles?" Captain Miller shouted into the cockpit of the Valkyrie, "No shit Captain! It doesn't help that we’ve already used up all our flares!" The pilot shot back. "Open the hatch." Sergi stated as he grabbed for a rifle in the overhead compartment. "What are you thinking!? I don't want a missile coming in here!" Snake shouted out. "Trust me, I did things like this for a living. Now open the door." Sergi answered as he quickly looked over the gun. "I'm not sure Captain, I think that this Russian is just trying to kill us all. Look at Lieutenant Ashlyn if you have doubt about him." "What happened to the Lieutenant was not because of him. I had to listen to her as she told how he had saved her from a mole in the ranks...." The Captain began not noticing the hatch slowly opening. "And walked across Europe leaving a trail bodies in his wake!" Snake interjected trying to show a point while gesturing towards Sergi. "Um...Sir?" Joesph hesitantly asked looking towards the rear hatch. "WHAT is ...it?" The Captain began before watching Sergi jump out of the rear hatch. "Thank you for flying United Airlines, Zu Ruhm to you my friend." The pilot said into his headset. "Dasvadanya Comrade." Sergi's voice replied through the speakers before a click sounded. "What the fuck was that for?!" Snake shouted out as he entered the cockpit. "Helping a friend out." The pilot said not even giving a glance at Snake. "Are you a spy?!" Snake said in a more hushed voice. "Just another mercenary saving your ass." He replied as he calmly grabbed a taser from a side compartment and pacifying Snake. "Hey can someone get this unconscious body out of here. It's hard enough with these... DAMN ROCKET WHORES!" The pilot shouted back to the two still conscious soldiers on the gunship while a rocket flew right past the windshield. "I can see why your people used this tactic during that World War II. Very crude but effective, I am not really sure about the cost though." A voice said as the world around Sergi dissolved away. Sergi found himself in a world of red and staring out the back of the Valkyrie. Next to him stood was Sir Henry wearing his full set of armor. Below him laid fields of burning wheat and a town sending out its last breaths in deep thick billowing clouds. He couldn't help but smile at all that he saw in front of him. "Balitmare has been added to the list of towns taken out, bringing the total up to 9 out of 9 towns destroyed before the mountain pass. Reports show 87 occupants are wounded and 296 are severely wounded or dead" The AI replied as the Valkyrie began to move west. "It’s now time to fortify the pass I guess. I must thank you again for allowing me to come along and help in the defense of my old friends." Sir Henry said as he moved further into the Valkyrie when the hatch slowly closed. The world slowly disappeared and he stood in his battle armor while holding his helmet in his right hand. He now stood at the train station surrounded by the ponies he had grown to know better over the last week. Everyone had a look of disappointment on their face. "Are you sure that you have to go, maybe someone else could take your place." Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed the dog tags that hung from her neck. "There is no other way for this to go. I am just making sure that life here does not turn into something I know from my world." Sergi said as he knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am glad you allowed me to come along with you Sergi. When danger threatens old friends of mine, I promised to give my life in order to keep them safe." Sir Henry said as he patted Sergi on the shoulder and moved onto the train to drop his things. Anderson stood behind the ponies and had a sad look on his face. He kept his gaze down to the ponies but raised his eyes every once and awhile. Sergi had already discussed this with him and was going to keep firm with what his decision was. "Sergi, why don't you bring Anderson with you? I'm sure he could be able to help you two in some way." Fluttershy asked in her usual quiet voice. "I need him to stay here and watch over you ponies. If things go bad on my end, at least he can be ready to help out." Sergi said as he noted Anderson looking at Fluttershy with a look of hope. "Take Anderson with you. It is not fair that you’re leaving him behind and out of your plans when you do something." Fluttershy said in a more assertive voice while her eyes grew bigger. "Fluttershy, I am keeping him back so that he will have less of a burden than me and Sir Henry." Sergi replied as he felt the gaze trying to make him rethink his decision. "Take him." She simply replied as she somehow tried to obtain dominance. "Careful Fluttershy, when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Sergi said as he placed his free hand on the side of her head with the thumb on her forehead. With a simple thought he flashed some of his more gentle memories of what he would be doing. Burning buildings and random things moving around on fire. These things made her instantly break eye contact and notice how interesting the ground was. Once he showed what he needed he pulled the memories back and gently lifted her chin up so that they were eye to eye. "I am doing this to preserve the innocence of both Anderson and all the ponies in Equestria. That one thing is what separates me from the rest of this wonderful world. It is filled with something I never had the chance to have." Sergi said in the gentle voice he uses when talking with Fluttershy. "Now just remember, no matter what happens you still have friends here in Ponyville. Nothing will ever change that." Applejack said as she extended her hoof. Sergi shook her hoof and said his good byes to the others. As he began to board the train he turned around and pointed at Anderson. "Stay." Sergi ordered as if Anderson was a dog. Anderson just stood there and watched as the train began pulling away from the station. The train station slowly disappeared and once it disappeared from sight Sergi pressed a button on his TACPAD. Within seconds the Valkyrie flew in over the train cab waiting for the next order. He walked over to the cab door and unhooked the cab from the rest of the train. With another push of a button the sound of clamps attaching to the cab could be heard and the ground fell away from the train cab. Sergi closed the door and watched as they flew away from Canterlot and towards the plains over the mountain. The peaceful forests and small clearings were replaced by the final glimpse of the burning fields and city of Baltimare before the hatched closed completely and sealed itself. Sergi moved himself into the cockpit and stared out the windshield at the towering mountains. Off colored spots could be seen at various points across the white peaks of the mountains. Status reports filled down his HUD and all the stations were reading 100% battle ready. "If you placed those stations all across the mountain range, why didn't you place any at the mountain pass?" Sir Henry asked from over Sergi's shoulder. "We want to funnel them through the pass. If we fill the entire mountain range with those stations then they will find a way around the mountain and possibly find some other pass we haven’t found yet. They want an invasion so we will give them a nice welcoming gift." Sergi answered as he began thinking over any possible variables he might’ve overlooked. When they had almost reached the pass the rear hatch began opening. Sergi slowly walked up to the very edge as the gunship flew over the pass and landed in an open spot away from the pass. He looked down at his dog tags that he had been given when he reached the age of ten. He could hear a conversation that Rainbow Dash and he had. "What are these things anyway?" She asked him when they were out in the open fields by Ponyville. "They are called ‘dog tags’. They have all the general information about you on them. Back in my world, they were used to identify someone after a battle. With the large amount of people we had back there it was impossible to know every single man and woman in the army. Not to mention the other sections of the military." He replied as he pulled his own out from under his shirt. "Do you wear them all the time then?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked down at her own. "The young recruits usually only wear them when they are actually fighting in the war but the more seasoned soldiers usually wear them as if it were a part of themselves. The only reason they would give their own tags to someone else was when they would not be coming back from a mission." Sergi said as he felt the other dog tags that were in one of his pants pockets. "But even though you may only have their tags, it seems like they were there in person as you went on with your life." Sergi said as he began slipping out of the memory and disembarking from the Valkyrie. The clearing was now the defense headquarters including his command tent and three Night Watchmen left in reserve. Sergi looked up into the sky and noticed the snow gently falling down from the sky above. It reminded him of how this land was still virgin in a way. No war or political dispute has happened for a thousand years. He stood there for a while just staring up at the falling snow. Time was of the essence and now was not the time to look in wonder at nature. Sergi mentally kicked himself and began the trek through the snow to the mountain pass. The trek revived memories from his past; his last mission with other fellow Cossacks. The snow began to fall in thicker sheets as they reached the mountain pass. Even though the weather was controlled by Pegasi in Equestria, it seemed like the mountain range was left to its own designs. At last they made it up to the ridge overlooking the pass. The pass could allow three T-100 Ogres and maybe a KV-20 Zhukov or a BTR-112 Cockroach if they were lined up side by side. Since there would be no vehicles to worry about dragon teeth and AT mines would not be in the equation. He stood there and thought what would be the best option for defense and then it hit him. Sergi held up his hands and thought of the plan he had for the defenses. When he was done the pass still looked the same as it was before. "What did you just do?" Sir Henry said as he moved closer to see what had changed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sergi said as he placed his arm out to stop him. "Since the Griffons can't fly through this weather they will have to go through this pass if they don't want to add another 9 months to go around the mountain. When they pass through here they will meet Bouncing Betty and she is a very naughty girl." "So what else is there to do now? The pass is fortified now." Sir Henry asked as he remembered what happened when they arrived in Equestria. "We still need to set up defenses along the side where we can hopefully ambush the confused griffons." Sergi answered as he watched every situation that could possibly happen with this stand. The only one constant throughout all of the different situations and plans was that this stand would be their last. He looked through the storm and looked at the capital city that hung to the side of the mountain and released a bloodlust-filled roar that challenged anything and everything. From the beginning of his life he had been made and formed to do one thing beyond where one has been before. He did not even have to be pushed in order for killing to be as easy as breathing. It just was what he was made for. It was his purpose in life. Into the Last Good Fight I'll ever know.The Beginning of the End Into the Last Good Fight I'll Ever Know Sergi stood on a small outcrop of rocks as a thick black blotch advanced towards the mountain. The flying mass began separating into different segments. He watched as an army unfolded in front of him. The pure size made Sergi keep a hand on the grip of the FAL. "Commander, Private First Class Anderson is trying to connect. Shall I patch you through?" The AI said breaking the uneasy tension. "Yes, patch him through." Sergi said relieved that something came up to take his mind off the army of griffons forming in front of him. "Where the hell are you? The guards said they never sent for you and I have a bad feeling about this wedding." Anderson's voice interrogated through the speakers. "I might have said some things in order to do what was needed, isn't this in one of the episodes you watched?" Sergi replied as a small portion of the army broke off and started flying towards a different part of the mountain. "I never saw anything like this before. A royal wedding, I mean this would have been a great episode to watch. Anyways what I mean by ‘off’ is that I haven't seen Twilight since this morning when she confronted the bride. Also the bride seems focused on other things than the wedding and is very... moody." Anderson said carefully choosing his last word. "That seems interesting. Can you give me any quotes from the confrontation?" Sergi asked as this did indeed sound off. "Yeah I got a recording of it, here it is!" Anderson said before other sounds filled the speakers "I've got something to say! She's evil" The voice of Twilight Sparkle shouted out in a infuriated tone. "She’s been horrible to my friends... she’s obviously done something to her bridesmaids…and if that wasn’t enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all…" She continued and ending with some type of hoof gesture that left him confused. "How did that sound? Stuff after that is just family matters." Anderson said as he ended the playback. "I think I know what will happen. What types of defenses are up in Canterlot? This is a royal wedding so I'm sure that there would be more protection than what I saw at the Gala." Sergi asked as he watched the detachment approach the mountain side. "There is this giant bubble surrounding the castle and its grounds that is being held up by Shining Armor, the groom and..." Anderson began. "And Captain of the Guard...Anderson, what are you wearing at the moment." Sergi asked as ideas raced through his head. "I am getting my suit on at the moment. Why do you want to know?" Anderson asked, perplexed by the question. "Get that fancy suit off and get your armor on. You got business coming." Sergi answered "But I left that in Ponyville. Looks like I'm going to have to wing it." Anderson said with a sigh. "No you aren't, just stay right where you are. It will make this a lot easier for me." Sergi said as he focused on creating a new set of armor and weapons for Anderson. "What do you... AHHH, what did you just do?!" Anderson shouted through the speakers making Sergi cringe from the volume. "Don't worry about that. Just get it on and prepare for the worst." Sergi answered about to close the link. "Okay, but you still haven't answered my first question." Anderson stated as his voice got slightly muted from the shuffling off the clothes and metal. "FUBAR, that's what I have at the moment." Sergi simply replied as the detachment got almost in range of one of the stations. "Let me see... Wow... you do have a FUBAR’d situation." Anderson's voice quietly replied after the sound of a helmet sliding on. "You have Changelings and I have an army of griffons. Well a little less now." Sergi said as the detachment was torn apart from two 25mm canons at the closest station. "Good luck with your imposter situation." Sergi said as he shut off the comm link. He continued to watch the griffon army for a few seconds before heading back down and preparing for the inevitable. Sergi checked over his gear over and over until the sun began to set and the light shined through the mountain pass. He headed into the command tent and removed a black bag from the head of a male pegasus with a maroon coat and a mane of a darker maroon with golden strands. "Please whatever you are, just let me go! What could you possibly want from me?!" The pegasus shouted out after the bag was removed. "What I need from you is to take two packages to Canterlot. When you arrive there you must find another human there by the name of Anderson who will easily look out of place and a pegasus named Rainbow Dash who..." Sergi began to answer. "Has a cyan coat and a mane with the colors of the rainbow." The pegasus replied as he perked up as much as a hostage in his situation could. "Yes exactly. I need you to take this package to Anderson and this to Rainbow Dash." Sergi said as showed the Pegasus the two different cloth bundles, one was a black cloth and one was a drab olive-colored cloth. "After the packages are delivered I will have no more need of you and you are free to go. I just need someone who can get these to them while I am preoccupied with other things." Sergi continued. "So you’re going to let me go just to deliver these things, nothing more?" The pegasus hesitantly asked. "Once you get these delivered I do not care what you do. Just don't try to go across the mountains. Things are going to get pretty messy pretty quickly." Sergi replied as he pulled out his kukhri. Sergi cut loose the bonds wrapped around the pegasus's legs knelt there as the pegasus slowly stood up. The pegasus then clumsily walked over to where a saddle bag was laying and tighten it up around him. Sergi gave a sharp whistle to get the pegasus attention. "What is your dominant side?" Sergi asked. "Um, right?" The pegasus said unsure what all of this meant. "This package goes to Anderson."' Sergi said as he showed him the black package before placing it in the left saddle bag. "This package goes to Rainbow Dash." Sergi continued as he showed him the drab olive package before placing it in the right saddle bag. "Okay, left is human right is Rainbow Dash. Got it." The pegasus said to himself before moving to leave the tent. "Good luck Iron Cross." Sergi said as he began to stand up. "H-how did you know my name?" The pegasus asked hesitantly after breaking free of his shock. "Call it a lucky guess, now get going to Canterlot. The sooner you leave the farther away you will be from what's to come." Sergi answered as he waved him off. Once the pegasus left the tent he looked over the map he had pieced together from all the aerial shots from his Night Watchmen. It showed every single part of his plan, from targeting the enemy officers in the beginning to rushing out into the remains of the army in the pass. Sergi exited the tent and started towards the operation area. He slowly walked through the trees and made sure to remember what trees were hollowed out and had weapons stashed in them. A small wooden bunker lay hidden in the snow drifts next to the pass. The Mc'Apline light machine gun was mounted in the bunker along with the American rail gun. Sergi walked along the ridge until a small rock outcrop slowly appeared with his Woodson '67 anti-material rifle lying among the rocks. He laid himself down on the rocks and peered through the scope at the oncoming army. The crosshairs on the scope fell on top of a group of griffon officers. From what he saw two of the officers were arguing. One griffon was very well built and his army was covered with dents and scrapes from earlier battles. The other griffon looked smaller and had a more careful nature to him. Sergi could not figure out what they were talking about but the look of the first griffon told him all he needed to know. He wanted to charge forward and blow through anything in his way. The other griffon looked to want to take things carefully and maybe go around this problem. The sight moved slowly next to the griffon and the entire world was quiet and still. Sergi pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet fly outwards and slowly curve back towards the target. It landed just above the griffons’ thick metal chest plate, casing the body to drop from the sky and spew blood across the face of the bigger griffon. Pure shock was quickly replaced with a white-hot flaming rage. He waved his front claws to signal the charge. For the plan to be pulled off at its best, Sergi needed this griffon to live. So he aimed for the other lower officers flying in various spots in the army. Any shots that missed their marks soon found a replacement in the giant army. When all of the ammunition was gone he quickly made his way down the ridge line and into the wooden bunker. The sun began its decent on the other side of the mountain sending a beam of light down the pass. Minutes passed before a yell quietly pierced the winter air. Similar sounds began to follow while increasing in volume until the beam of light showed a small shadow bursting into the air and suddenly disappearing. The screams that followed filled Sergi's heart with delight and anticipation for the action to come. His moment arrived when griffons shot into sight trying to fly over the Bouncing Betty’s. Sergi’s world grew quiet and began slowing down to the point where nothing seemed to move. Small burst of bullets flew out of the Mc'Alpine machine gun and sent the griffons into a downward spiral into the fresh snow below them. Other griffons began to appear, coming into the pass with looks of fear and bewilderment on their face. The Commander was nowhere to be seen in the masses. Sergi switched from small controlled bursts to full automatic fire into the funneled body of the army. Bodies fell to the ground while screams of pain and death echoed until the bullets were hitting more corpses than live griffons. He let go of the machine gun and grabbed for the rail gun. The electronic crosshairs on his HUD juggled around as he steadied the large weapon. When the sight steadied on the pass Sergi released a shot of aluminum from the rail gun. The shot punched through the wall of the dead and continued right through the griffons hiding behind their dead bodies. Sergi quickly finished off the rest of the shots in the three round chamber of the Rail gun and tossed it aside. Even though it was a very effective weapon those three shots were his only rounds for the rail gun. He quickly picked up the machine gun and began firing back down the pass cleared of a wall of dead bodies. The gun soon gave the heart-stopping sound of no ammo left. Not to mention that the gun fire was no longer holding the griffons back and they began advancing not because of glory or orders but for vengeance. His world soon began being filled with sound and slowly began speeding up, much to Sergi's distaste. Sergi ran to a tree and bashed in the bark and pulled out a Beowulf Assault Rifle and slipped in a fresh clip. Chambering the first round he turned around to face a fast approaching wave of griffons. He tried to push the wave back or at least hold them right where they were but the endless wave would not break and slowly crept forward. Tree to tree Sergi moved, placing every bullet into the still breathing body of a griffon. Once all the assault rifles were out of the way the shotgun came next. The spray of pellets seemed to push hold the wave back easier but still they advanced. Time was running out for Sergi but every second used here gave more time for Canterlot. Sergi came up to the last tree before the camp site and proceeded to elbow the bark off, inside was a small hand held device with switch cap on it. With a small flick of the cap and a push of a button, all hell broke loose in the forest. Bouncing Betty’s popped up from the ground and tore the griffon force to pieces. He wasted no time reaching the camp before the second part of the surprise came. He could see Sir Henry out in the middle of the camp with his sword drawn. Sergi started to wonder why Sir Henry was looking around but was stopped when a low whine shot through the air and the Valkyrie flew in from the clouds above and released hell upon the forest. Rockets of all sizes flew into the forest and leveled every single thing in sight. Sergi left the flaming waste behind him and continued to the camp. Everything seemed fine and normal except for the nervous knight standing in the middle of the camp. "What's going on, we still have a large majority of an army to take care of." Sergi said to Sir Henry. "He's here!" Sir Henry replied in a hushed voice. "Who's..." Sergi began. "Oh Henry. Who is your friend here? I don't recall humans wearing this the last time your race tried to kill me." A voice said from no spot in particular. "Who's there?" Sergi shouted out as he flipped through various views to try to find the disembodied voice. "Oh I am disappointed Henry! You haven't even told him who I am." The voice replied. "SHOW YOURSELF SO THAT WE CAN END THIS LITTLE GAME!" Sir Henry shouted out clearly being pushed to limits he hasn't been to in a long time. "I guess I will have to introduce myself then. My name is Discord, Lord of Chaos. It’s a pleasure to meet you..." The voice said as Sergi's sensors spotted energy waves forming behind him. Turning around he saw a creature that he could not easily relate to anything from his world. It had a long body of a snake but had body parts of different animals. One arm was from a lion and the other was an eagles claw. It had a leg of a buffalo and of possibly a leg of a dragon. This thing was like someone breaking the laws of physics, or what physical laws actually exist in this world. It had its lion paw stretched out towards him. Sergi knew better than to follow along with whatever he was doing. He slowly moved his right hand down to grasp around the handle of a pistol. "What do you want?" Sergi asked trying to avoid attention to his hand as it slowly got a good grip on it. "Just a little bit of chaos in this boring place. I even made myself a little army to help me take down some problems like those pesky Elements of Harmony." As he absent mindedly waved towards the burning ruins of the forest. "My, what an interesting trick you did there! A little harsh for my liking but chaos is still chaos." "Well I just can't let you do that." Sergi stated as he whipped out his pistol and fired off five shots before the gun was ripped from his hand. "YOU UNGRATEFUL CREATURE! I was going to give you a chance to join me in this one sided war! I guess that is now out of the question." Discord shouted out as he quickly healed his bullet wounds. "I will not let that happen!" Sir Henry shouted out as he began his charge. Sergi watched as Discord simple snapped his fingers and Sir Henry stopped right where he was standing. Sir Henry was now stone. His armor and sword where still normal but the man underneath was just a stone statue. "A little trick I learned from Celestia. My magic can't touch his armor but works perfectly fine on the human inside." Discord said as he walked up to the statue and snapped his fingers again to make it disappear. "I think that this would be a lovely addition to the Canterlot statue collection!" He continued with a smile. "Once more into the fray I go." Sergi began. "What was that?" Discord interjected. "Into the last good fight I'll ever know." "What are you doing?" Discord asked as he watched Sergi slightly swaying his body. "Live and die on this day." "What are you planning?" Discord said more to himself as Sergi seemed to stare into his mind and soul. "Live and die on this day!" Sergi finished before lunging forward with his Kukhri in hand. "Sorry! Try again next time." Discord said turning Sergi into stone. "You, YOU HAVE BEEN TRICKING US THIS ENTIRE TIME!" The Griffon Commander said as he came up to the pass. "Oh, Commander. You’re almost to the glorious city of Canterlot. See how nice it is? Doesn't it look like it needs to be burned?" Discord said as he placed the Commander under his spell. "The rule of the Alicorns will end and the Griffons will finally make their mark on the world!" The Commander shouted out as other griffons began entering the area and Discord disappeared from sight. A small crack appeared on Sergi's statue. Slowly it expanded and grew in both size and sound. "What is that?" One of the griffon soldiers asked as he heard one of the cracks. Heads of griffons began to turn their heads towards the statue that was cracking up at a frightening speed. Soon shards of stone flew out into the surrounding griffons and a metal figure with glowing red eyes stood there. Closer inspection showed that it resembled a human but without any signs of actual life. The metal figure began going from griffon to griffon ripping them limb from limb. The griffon Commander was soon reached and the metal biped raised him up and stared him in the eyes. "You remind me of a puppy!" It said in Sergi's voice as it pulled the griffon into a hug. "I like puppies! I like to slowly. Slowly. Crushing them!" It continued as it crushed everything in the mid-section of the griffon. The machine dropped the commander and looked around at the other griffons who all stood in shock at what had happened. A pink cloud appeared and began pouring chocolate milk. Discord was lying on top of the cloud wearing a pair of sunglasses that were obviously meant to be larger than normal. "Why what do we have here? I have been hearing rumors of a secret that only one creature knew, could this possibly be it?" Discord said as he lowered himself onto the red slush mixed with various body parts. "I am model #101 of the TERMINATOR II program, formerly a soldier called Sergi Zolnerowich. I am the only fully working Terminator model ever to be produced." "My, you are interesting. Perhaps I can get something out of you after all." Discord said as he tried to use his magic on it. The machine grabbed onto Discords eagle claw and crushed the hand in its metal palm. The red eyes connected with Discords own eyes as pain filled Discord’s very being to the brim. The fear soon changed to rage as Discord slammed the robot to the side and into the tent. "I guess maybe I was wrong and you are useless to my cause!" Discord shouted as he walked towards the collapsed tent. "Someone once told me that we all have our inner demons to face. I found mine and now we're all on the same side now!" The machine replied as it bolted up from the debris and ran to meet Discord. The machine jumped up and landed a blow on Discord's chest. While he stumbled back the machine continued forward continuing to land blow after blow. After receiving a few cracked ribs and a broken arm Discord finally went on the offensive. He pinned the machine down with his foot and ripped off its right arm. As he stared down at the thing with unbridled rage a part of it’s chest began opening up to reveal a glass container filled with a blue ball of light. "You’re a god right?" The machine asked as it reached for the container. "Yep! God of Chaos and Disharmony, remember?" Discord replied as the question only slightly reduced the rage he felt. "Then I think you would like to see something that would rock your world. God of Chaos, meet anti-matter. I'll see you in hell." The machine said before crushing the glass with its free hand. 'This has not been my week.' Iron Cross thought to himself. First his home was destroyed before his eyes by some flying metal creatures and was taken hostage by some strange monster from an emotionless race with big red eyes. After that he has had a bag over his head for the majority of the days before he was released with a job. Now he was being chased by Canterlot guards and he still have not found either of the two ponies he needed to deliver to. As if someone had answered his plight he turned a corner and found a human standing behind a group of ponies that contained Rainbow Dash. Iron Cross began to fly faster towards the group until he almost crashed into them. "Uh Excuse me but I got some things for you and Rainbow Dash." He said as he poked the back of one of the human's legs. "Um, okay. Just who are you?" The human asked. "Look I need to get..." "Is that you Iron Cross?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Yes it is. Now this one is for you..." He answered as he pulled out a drab olive-colored package from his right saddle bag. "And this one is for you." He finished before getting tackled down to the ground by two Canterlot guards. He struggled against the guards grasps but stopped when he saw a small flash on the horizon. He stared as the explosion suddenly disappeared and then a blue burst of light swallowed up part of the mountain side. Iron Cross felt the guards stop focusing on him and on the fast expanding ball of blue light. Soon he could see other ponies turning to see the light. "What is that?" One of the guards asked absentmindedly. As they stared at the light, a shockwave suddenly started flipping tables and throwing ponies all over the place. The guards that stood over him were knocked back when a table flew right over Iron Cross. He turned his head to avoid any debris getting to his eyes. The rush of air slowly died down and silence descended on the city. Iron Cross got off his side and looked at where the light was. The mountain side looked barren and charred, no trees or any color other than black could be seen. The sun showed itself again where part of the mountain was missing. The clouds above the mountain looked like they were burning. "And the heavens will burn and the earth shall feel the wrath of an entire race." he heard one of the unicorns there say to herself as the sun lowered itself over the horizon again. Live and Die on This DayThe Beginning of the End Live and Die on this Day Twilight could only stare at where the blue ball of light had been before, now a large, blackened dent in the mountain. First there was the Changeling princess bride, then there was the Changeling invasion, and now an entire section of a mountain had been completely wiped out from the world. Twilight finally broke her trance on the mountain side when a cough sounded behind her; moving her thoughts over to the strange visitor who had been tackled to the ground after delivering two clothe wrapped packages. One was given to Anderson which was about the size of a lunch box and wrapped in black cloth and the one given to Rainbow Dash was half as thick and wrapped in a olive green clothe. The pegasus began to get up still looking dazed from what had happened. The guards that had taken him down earlier were now lying underneath the rubble of what used to be a table. The pegasus had a maroon coat with a mane of a darker maroon and gold, the edge of his wings had what looked like bronze adorning his wings but on a closer look they actually were a part of his wings. His cutiemark consisted of a black cross that all the ends were equal with a steel border. There was no doubt that he was fit but more from everyday manual labor than that of working out at a gym. Twilight Sparkle's friends began to pull themselves off the ground and absorbing the area which used to be the reception party. Applejack had a look of utter confusion as how all of this had happen. Rarity looked down in distress as her dress had looked as though it had been dragged through the mines underneath Canterlot. Fluttershy just laid where she was in shock from the chaos that wiped over the peaceful gardens. Pinkie Pie had already gotten up and bouncing around helping other ponies up off the ground. Anderson could be seen behind some bushes by the wall he had been thrown against. Rainbow Dash was slowly pushing herself off of the package that she was given. The silence that had engulfed everypony after the shockwave was quickly dissipating. Panic soon filled the city as ponies realized what had just happened. The guards soon came down on the scene to quiet the disturbance. Minutes had turned into hours as peace filled the courtyard before a heavy silence fell upon them. "Wha...What happened?" Applejack asked tearing the heavy blanket of silence. "I don't know Applejack but I think I have a good Idea what caused it." Twilight answered as she pulled her thoughts back together. "My GOD! I thought this was supposed to reduce impact damage." Anderson said as he pushed himself off the ground. "OH, are you alright Anderson?" Fluttershy quickly asked as she floated over to where he was. "I'm fine Fluttershy; I don't think being tossed against the wall will break me." Anderson replied as he brushed off the front of his vest. "Do you think Sergi is alright?" Rainbow Dash asked as she picked up her cloth package. "Once again I have no clue. I don't even have the faintest idea as to where he was all of today..." Anderson began. "He was based near the mountain pass about where that blue ball of light appeared." The new pegasus answered. All seven of their heads turned their attention to the maroon pegasus. He stood tall where he was and revealed more hints of his life. He had a few scars that showed through his coat and he looked like he had seen some pretty tough places. "Sorry but who are you?" Twilight asked "His name is Iron Cross; we used to be friends when we were younger before he disappeared one day. Why did you leave Cloudsdale anyway?" Rainbow Dash said as he began opening his mouth. "My mother passed away and my father took me back to his home country of Germaney. Two months after moving into Hayburg the entire nation was thrown into a Civil War. My father was killed by the resistance after they tried to make us join their ranks. I ran into the Blacktail Forest and was found by a passing group of Imperial soldiers. They took me in and raised me up trying to keep me away from the horrors of war as much as possible. One night though we stepped into a resistance ambush. I lost many friends that night but I had found my special talent, standing up for those I hold close. After that night I officially joined the Imperial army and quickly flew up the ranks. After the war I felt alone even though I was surrounded by ponies. I headed onto the road trying to find some place where I could fit in. Everywhere I went there was nothing solid I could do other than doing odd jobs here and there." Iron Cross explained as he seemed to drift off to a different place near the end. "Wow...I can't believe that the last pony not to have a cutie mark in my class would be thrown into something like that." Rainbow Dash said trying to comprehend what he had experienced. "That sounds similar to the stories about Sergi except for the soldiers trying to preserve your childhood." Anderson commented as he picked up his own package. Twilight's curiosity turned from Iron Cross who seemed to be catching up with Rainbow Dash to the black cloth package. "Hey Anderson, why don't you open up your package." Twilight Insisted as she got closer for a better look. "Alright, what do we have here?" Anderson replied as he unwrapped the black cloth to find a rugged, black, box within. The outside of the box was barren, no identification markers of any type. Anderson opened the box and stared inside for a few moments before pulling out a piece of paper. Twilight began getting annoyed as the box was still above her. She gave out a cough and Anderson looked down at her. "My bad, I think you will like this as well." Anderson said as he knelt down to her level. Inside the box was a small metal rectangle with a glowing blue light glowed from the middle. As she moved in closer to inspect the light glowed brighter and shot up from the box. Twilight squeaked as she fell back onto her rear. Before her stood a human woman made out of light. She looked to be dressed up in an outfit similar to what Anderson wore now except without the helmet and the vest. Her hair was grown down to her shoulders and a smile spread across her face. "It's good to stretch out ever once and awhile, I don't recall Sergi knowing you Private. Well he hasn't really interacted with me fully since about two months ago. I'll check my secondary components to see what Sergi has been doing since he put me to sleep." The Lady said as she moved her arms out as far as they could go. Small characters began flowing across her and she began glowing brighter. A few moments passed and then the characters disappeared. The smile on her face quickly turned into a frown. "It looks like Sergi had some fun while I was sleeping. I always miss the fun stuff." She pouted as she crossed her arms. "What are you?" Twilight asked as she finally pushed past the shock. "Why, I am an Artificial Intelligence unit or AI for short. My name is Dawn of Revelation; most people just shorten it up to Dawn though. I have been with Sergi after he broke out of the United States Zurich labs. He has seen some interesting things in his time but this has to be the cream of the crop." She answered as she turned towards Twilight Sparkle and unfolding her arms. "Why have you been sleeping all this time?" Twilight asked as she got more used to this AI. "With the death of Lieutenant Ashlyn Smith he decided to turn off most of my functions because I bore a similar appearance to the one person he had grown especially attached to after the traumatic events that had happened to him. Life was not very courteous to that Russian." She replied as she slowly shook her head. "Could you tell me about where you all came from?" Twilight Sparkle inquired hoping for a chance that has been denied to her for a long while. "What do you want to know?" Dawn of Revelation asked. "Everything." Twilight simply answered. "I can't promise you that but I can tell you what I can." Dawn replied "Before we get anywhere else what happened to Sergi?" Anderson asked before Twilight could begin firing off questions. "From my records he was last stationed by the mountain pass. My readings of his last reported area detect that anti-matter was used. Anything caught in the blast is now gone from this world. Nothing remains of anything, no ashes or bones. I guess Sergi won't be followed by his past anymore." Dawn replied. Silence followed what she said. A man that seemed to be able to push through any opposition was now said to be not even dust. Nothing in Twilight's mind could come up with anything with that much power. Even a large blast would leave something behind. Her thoughts were interpreted when Dawn of Revelation continued. "I think that we should start planning a funeral for Sergi, the unsung hero of an unknown war. If you would like I can take up the planning and preparation for this if you would like to take your time wrapping yourself around everything that had just happened." She continued as saw the look of disbelief on Twilight Sparkle's face. "I guess that would be fine. I just need to tell the girls about this." Twilight replied quietly. Twilight Sparkle got back onto her hoofs and began walking over to her friends who were in a small circle. As she got closer she could see that they already knew. Taking a look around at her friends could show that they all shared a feeling of disbelief and sorrow from what had happen. On the ground in front of them was a triangle of folded red fabric with a golden trim. Lying on top of the fabric triangle was a strange necklace that looked similar to the one that Rainbow Dash has been wearing for the last few weeks. Rainbow Dash sat on the ground staring at the folded triangle of fabric and the necklace as if she took her eyes off it all of her memories of Sergi and those items in front of her would vanish into thin air. "I take it everypony here knows what happened..." Twilight gently said. "Sergi sacrificed everything to protect all of Equestria. Ah never knew something like this would happen so soon." Applejack replied. "I didn't really know him very well from just a few weeks but this did seem like how he would like to go out. A final stand that would save an entire nation and ponies he held dear." Rarity commented. "He did what he always did best, showing some mean ponies a thing or two!" Pinkie Pie shouted out as she boxed with some invisible pony. "I am not sure it this will help anypony but Anderson has something that will be able to answer some questions you might have." Twilight Sparkle said. One by one her friends slowly moved over to where Anderson was until Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were the only ones left. They both sat there for what seemed like an eternity in silence. Rainbow Dash raised her head after a while and looked towards Twilight Sparkle with a look that she thought was never even possible for Rainbow Dash. If she showed any more misery or sorrow she would be the exact representation of that. "What do you think Twi'?" She asked in a voice almost as quiet as Fluttershy's voice. "Think about what?" Twilight replied trying to specify the question. "About everything that has happened when Sergi, Sir Henry, and Anderson. They showed up out of nowhere and saved your life. Now in less than 3 months Anderson is the last one standing while Sir Henry and Sergi gave their lives to stop something that we only knew as whispers and murmurs. Are they going to be forgotten as quickly as they arrived? Will their actions be written into a book and placed onto a shelf to gather dust until somepony wonders why a story that sounds almost fictional is placed among books recounting events that left their mark on Equestria? Since Anderson is the last of the three, when he goes what will keep the memories alive of those who sacrificed everything to save those they cared about?" Rainbow Dash asked as her eyes began watering up. "We knew them as well; we can help keep their memories alive. I am positive that what they did will never be forgotten. Personally, even though Sergi is dead I think he may have a few tricks up his sleeves that will surprise us for years to come. Now let’s see if Anderson's gift can help you with any other questions." Twilight Sparkle said as she held out a hoof to her friend. "Thanks, it just seems like a part of me was ripped away when I saw his dog-tags. Maybe I just need to get some air and try to hold strong, just like he would want to see." Rainbow Dash replied as she wiped some tears from her eyes. Twilight waited as Rainbow Dash picked up her red and gold fabric triangle and the 'dog-tags' and they walked together towards the rest of their friends feeling that everything will be fine again. ================================== Three Months Later Anderson stood towering among the ponies around him. He wore the formal suit that Rarity had made for him for the Gala but with some military ribbons attached to the front. Three were replicates of ones he had received from his former world's war. There was a ribbon and a medal he had received from the princess of Equestria for standing up against the changelings during their invasion. It felt odd wearing those medals at the funeral service of a man that had fended off a griffon army of around 1.5 million. Just a few days ago they were at the Hall of the Fallen for the funeral service of Sir Henry. The trip across Equestria to Stalliongrad was a long and tiring train ride. Once there, they had to trek up a mountain to an ancient temple that was very well taken care of. Now they stood in the courtyard in Canterlot where Equestria watched the end of the Griffon conflict. In front of them was a large silk cloth that covered a new addition. Compared to the other statues around them this one easily towered over all of them by more than double. He turned his attention as he saw the Princesses approach a stage in front of the silk covered statue. "Three months ago we faced not one but two invasions on our homes. One we felt right here as the changelings ran rampant through the streets of Canterlot. The other one we never experienced but rather felt the force of the last card being played. This statue is dedicated to one of the two humans that stood for Equestria's defense." Celestia began before nodding to her sister. The silk was magically lifted off the statue to show a giant marble statue of Sergi. He stood in his combat armor he always seemed to be wearing. In his left hand he held a giant, gold, banner staff that displayed the flag of the Cossacks in the gentle breeze. The flag was red with golden trim and a golden star. The skull was a pure white with a yellow crown and a steel grey dagger finding its place plunged down into the skull. The motto of the Cossacks was embroidered below the skull in its original Latin form. In the right hand was his signature PPSH raised into the air as if to encourage anyone behind him to follow him into an unknown battle. The most intriguing aspect of the statue was how on the helmet they placed two rubies where his eyes would be. "This man's name was Sergi Zolnerowich. His life was hard; his hometown was burned to the ground when he was but a child. He was rescued by a group of mercenaries called Cossacks. After that he was trained for battle and war, stealth and deception, adaption and perseverance. He has seen things and done things that no pony here could ever begin to imagine. All of these things he used to better the common good, to help the weak and take down those that abused the power entrusted in them. When he and his two companions were brought here he did not change his mindset or his morals. He took down a manticore who was trying to kill my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. He ran through a blizzard in the Everfree forest to find help for Twilight Sparkle. He took down a pack of Timberwolves to defend Twilight Sparkle and her friends who came to help. He defended my sister from a basilisk and its minions even though it nearly killed him. He settled a dispute in Ponyville between a group of griffons and the local population. He stormed into a hidden griffon camp in the middle of Equestria to rescue captured ponies in said camp. He helped the Royal Guards oust some griffon soldiers who crashed this recent Gala. He used his skills to make a final stand against an army of griffons who wanted to destroy the entire nation of Equestria. This human saved all of Equestria at the cost of his own life, so we dedicate this statue and another similar one in Ponyville to this great man who sacrificed all that he had to save those close to him and those with a good heart." Princess Celestia said as she put emphasis on his skills and how he used them to save each and every pony there in attendance and everypony they knew. Princess Celestia stepped down from the stage to be followed by Princess Luna. A few moments later the ponies in attendance made their way to the concessions laided out for those in attendance. Rainbow Dash flew in the opposite direction and headed towards the statue, soon to be followed by the rest of her friends. On the base of the statue was engraved, 'Here stands a monument to the human named Sergi, the once unsung hero of an unknown war. This monument also stands for those who risk what they have to help others. In the words of the Cossacks, The Protector of the Sick, from the Final End to the Last Breath of the Great Hunter, we will fight.' They all stood there for a long time until a rumbling in their stomachs reminded them of how they were missing out on what would be their late lunch. Slowly the group shrank until it was just Anderson, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. "I think it is time for us to grab something to eat. Anderson, are you coming?" Twilight Sparkle asked as the man stood solid in his spot. "No, no, you guys go on. I'll be right there." Anderson replied as he continued to stare up at the statue. The sounds of the fading hoof steps reminded him of a small favor he had to do. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a piece of folded up paper. Unfolding the piece of paper showed the handwriting of the man that statue he now stood in front of. Anderson had read and reread every word on this page but it always seemed to have a slightly different meaning to it. 'Anderson, if you are reading this I have made my attempt at stopping the griffon army and have succeeded. I now ask of you a favor to ease my heavy rest. Watch over them, they are not only the bearers of great power but a great sign of something I never got to experience. They have a life filled with light, joy, happiness, and innocence. When I came into this world, I always felt out of place because these girls had never even had an idea or a basic understanding of war and the chaos of our world. They have friends that care for each other and the ease of knowing that their way of life will never be disrupted by war. Watch over them Anderson, make sure that they stay as happy and joyous as they are now. I have no doubt that this task will be a cake walk for you but if trouble stirs again, I promise on my Cossacks Honor that I will pull myself out of whatever bloody hole that I was sent to and restore the peace. Dasvadanya my good friend, Sergi Zolnerowich. Once he got to the last few lines he looked up from the paper and looked over to them. All of them looked exactly as Sergi had written. Even the newest addition to the group, Iron Cross, filled in the part exactly. He made his way to them as he stuffed the paper back inside his jacket. "Dasvadanya Sergi. Rest in peace." Anderson said quietly into the air before interacting with his friends. ======================== Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked over the proceedings from the top of a stairwell off to the side of the statue. "Do you think they will find out?" Princess Celestia asked simply. "The ponies will not find out until it happens but Anderson might figure it out sooner or later." Princess Luna replied as she looked off towards the mountains. "If I learned anything from Sergi it is that not even the bounds of death can hold him back if those close to him are threatened. Now with the Elements, we have recovered from the detonation it just makes it even more real." "So it is all true; even the last part of the Prophecy that was destroyed after its completion.” Celestia said in a pondering voice. "A new Guardian Angel forged from the wars of hell will take up his throne and strike down any that dare threaten his protected lands." Luna quoted from her memory. After a few moments of pondering they proceeded down to join in with the other ponies to do what they can. Luna still thought about when and how Sergi would come back to the mortal world, and what unlucky group will feel the wrath of the Cossack. Ghost of Ages PastThe Beginning of The End Ghost of Ages Past Morning breaks the steady night to reveal a world that has ripped itself to pieces. The once glorious city of Berlin has once again found itself bearing the scares of war. This is just one of the many cities in the year of 2075 that have become the playground for the war between the United States and Russia. The only European country that has been mostly spared is the United Kingdom, choosing to stay neutral after seeing most of Europe crushed under the tracks of the two warring nations. The front line of the war has been steadily kept somewhere inside what once was the country of Germany. My name is Sergi Zolnerowich, 22 years of age and a well-built former Russian Cossack, a Mercenary group which I used to call family. I once fought for a Russia I thought still stood strong, but after a few "incidents" I decided to defect to the American's side. Once we met a mutual agreement I helped slowly advance against the Russian positions. I thought it ironic when we stepped onto Berlin's doorstep, that once before in time a cruel power was settled in this once grand city. Before it was the fascist third Reich who held on to the city desperately against the Russian forces, and now the Russians were facing the same challenges the Germans did. As I looked around to see the faces of Americans that trusted me more than their superiors did. Most of them where new replacement from the brutal fighting just outside the city limits. The sniper of the team was a young man by the codename of 'Snake'. He took pride in his Irish ancestry and will prove it to you if you challenged him. The heavy weapons specialist was a man by the name of Joseph Gilbert, who came from one of the few places left in the United States that was not covered in steel and glass. He tried his best to keep everything simple. Most importantly would be the commander, Colonel Brad Miller. He could almost swear that he knew what would happen in a battle before it even happened. Looking behind me walked a green member of the squad. Ever since I saved his ass back at the last battle, he has been sticking close to my side like glue. "Excuse me, uh, sir?" The newest member asked me as he jogged up to keep up. "Yes private ..." I responded after I thought he had already finished interrogating me with random questions about myself. From what he already told me about himself. He was a something called a Brony; he was a vet before he decided to join the war and couldn't wait to get back to his family of three sisters and two brothers. "I was just curious what that weapon you have there is?" He responded sheepishly. Finally I thought something that I wouldn't mind answering. "This, my friend, is a PPSH-41. It has been in the hands of Cossacks since 1942. By the way what was your name again?" I proudly answered and turned my head to emphasize my question. Straightening his posture and saluting, he shouted out, “Private First Class Michael Anderson, Medical Battalion!" "Looks like someone has a new puppy dog." Chuckled Snake followed by assorted snickering throughout the new ranks. "Quiet down back there unless you want the Russians to know where we are, now the objective is just a further bit down this street." Shouted the colonel from up in the front. Our objective today was to do reconnaissance on an old cathedral turned museum that recently came under the eye of Military Intelligence. Our job was to clear the building of any hostiles and take hold of any Intel in the building. This cathedral was built to replicate the one in Florence. Built to such size, it made many people feel like they were being watched by the divine. Apon entry, Snake looked up at the huge dome of the cathedral and made the sign of the cross. For someone as sarcastic and critical, it was easy to forget how religious the man was. Preparing for the worst, I attached the gas mask visor to my helmet. In a few seconds, I heard the helmet sealing the mask in and the startup of the Heads Up Display. With everything up and running, the HUD showed my squad and their health readings. The world changed from dull colors to everything tinted red. As we began to clear the rooms of any possibility of hostiles, no one took notice of the wooden floors of the oldest parts of the cathedral until they collapsed under the weight of the small armory I carried with me "You all right down there?" shouted down Joseph "Yeah, just give me a sec." I replied as I regained my footing Taking a good look around at my surroundings, I found myself in what appeared as part of the basement of the cathedral. For a second I thought I had rid myself of that Private Anderson who just couldn't stop asking questions. Any hopes of that were dashed when I saw him lift his head from a pile of rubble from the crash. "I can't see a way to get back up there from here." I shouted "I'll try to find another way back up." "Sound like a plan, just don't get too carried away down there you two." Colonel Miller said through the radio headset in my helmet. "Be careful down there. We have heard reports of possible Russian tunnel systems below Berlin. So keep sharp while you’re down there." Giving a farewell salute to the rest of my squad. I proceeded out a doorway to be quickly followed by Private Anderson. After following the series of hallways and dead ends we approached a large metal doorway. "This doesn't look like the rest of the cathedral. Do you think it's new?" whispered Anderson. "No, this looks to be older than the rest of the building. I'm going to place my money that this cathedral was built over the ruins of a former church." I stated as I stepped closer to open the door. The doorway lead to a large pit with stairs leading down to where the bottom might have been. "I think that we should stay back and try to find a way to get back with the squad." said Anderson in a voice filled with fear. Chuckling to myself, "I'm stuck down here with a nervous private; this is NOT going to end well." "Look there is no other way up from down here and this is the only way. Who knows, we might stumble into something that hasn't seen for a long time." I said in a louder voice to catch his attention. He seemed to be having a serious problem with going down until the whole ceiling above us shock violently, covering everything with dust. "Colonel what is happening up there?" I shouted into my helmet. "The Russians...they were waiting for us...their artillery is tearing this place apart." He struggled to say between coughs. "Colonel! What Is Happening!" I shouted out. "Get yourself and the private out of here...We won't last much longer...GO NOW, That’s... an ord..." The Colonel tried to say before everything went to white noise. After trying to get a hail from the colonel from every other channel, I was snapped back into the reality when the ceiling violently shaked again. Seeing the private just standing there in shock, I grabbed him by the collar of his Kevlar vest and shouted at him. "Private! We need to get our asses in gear. Now get down these stairs!" Needing no other persuading, he sprinted toward the stairs and bolted down them faster than I could ever think he could run. Quickly following him down the stair we came up to pair of thick metal doors that looked similar to the ones up above. I saw that the private was having trouble with trying to budge the doors. Seeing this I increased my speed down the stair and rammed into the door with my shoulder covered in advanced Russian heavy armor. Private Anderson barely got of the way before I broke open the stubborn doors and raced inside. On the other side was what appeared as an old tomb covered in maps and filled with Russian personnel. Turning to see what could be making the commotion the Russians saw a heavily armored friendly and a low ranking American soldier busting through the old iron doors into the command center. I took advantage of their shock of what just happened to fill the room with an entire drum of my PPSH-41. After assuring that the room was cleared I turned to see Private Anderson standing there, still trying to process what just happened. After pulling him back to reality for a second time we got around to searching the bodies for supplies and any Intel. Finding duffel bags in a neighboring room, we filled up with as much as we could before hearing a sharp crack from the iron doorway to see rubble falling down and blocking up where we just came from. Sealing us from the world. Hearing a high pitch scream I slowly turn to the Private who I thought was just stating the obvious about how we were trapped but was stunned to see something very different. There was Private Anderson standing with his gun out, screaming at the top of his lungs, staring at what appeared as a medieval knight. This knight had a strange appearance about him, like if he was not really hear but a vision. Raising his hands, he said. "Do not be afraid. For I am Sir Henry Longworth, Paladin of the Knights Templar." The apparition said “I see that you are in need of some assistance. I know another way out." I contemplated what this ghost said as I moved over to Private Anderson to snap him back into shape. A quick slap to the back of the head got most of his attention. Grabbing him by the shoulders and forced him to look towards me. "Look at me Anderson. No one is trained for this, but you have to stay focused. Now lets ask this new 'Friend' of ours wants for this other way out." Turning back to the ghost who was patiently standing there. Waiting for what my answer would be. "What is the catch?" Asked the newly awaken Anderson. "There is no catch. Just an open invitation..." The ghost replied "And from what it sounds like that invitation might be gone quicker than you thought." That’s when I heard from the white noise from my helmet changed to the Military Warning System. After a series of beeps and buzzes a female voice calmly announce that the Russians have launched multiple nuclear warheads as a last ditch attempt to win the war. At the same time a radio in the tomb was saying how the United States have launched nukes back at Russian positions to stop the inevitable Russian rule. Along with that came the sounds of footsteps coming from a door off to the right. "Which way." I said quickly, more worried about the soldiers coming from the door then adding "I doubt that you know a place that will survive a nuclear winter." "You’re standing on it." the Knight said as he walked towards us. "Be ready, this might be rough." The footsteps had stopped and the clear sound of a blow torch could be heard. A white light started to appear from the floor as the door became close to being breached. As the door slammed to the ground a sound of a grenade launcher went off and a White flash filled the room. Everything was white for a moment, then as the colors flooded back into the world. Revealing a large lion with the wings of a bat and the tail of a scorpion. Worst of all, I heard the metallic clicking of a Bouncing Betty hitting the floor. The Past Catches UpBeginning of the End The Past Catches Up All around him, Sergi watched in amazement at the falling snow in the Swiss Alps. Even though he was raised in Russia where snow was now uncommon in the least bit, this seemed to have a different look to it. "Sergi, snap out of it. We're almost to the compound, we need to keep a sharp eye out." shouted a man further up ahead than Sergi. Quietly they walked through the mountainside forests, just Sergi and 12 other fellow Cossacks. A clearing showed up ahead and everyone slowed down and all took up hiding spots. "Well there are the research labs. Once we blow this place to hell, no one will have to worry about being a lab rat ever again." the man from before said. "I don't know Dimitri, it seems pretty quiet for a military research lab..." another man said to the first. "These are the coordinates we received from our man on the inside. So this is it, you feeling nervous Yuri?" Dimitri said. "Just a gut feeling." Yuri said. Silence fell on the group as a helicopter flew over the building and over the group. Minutes passed before anyone moved again. This time they headed out into clearing to infiltrate the labs. When they were about three quarters of the way across the clearing, gunfire erupted from the building. As some of the men in the back tried to escape the way they came, more gunfire erupted from the tree line. Sergi stood his ground and tried to shoot down as many enemies as possible inside the building. His reasoning would be that if enough of them died, then he could storm in and have some type of defense from the ambushers. Once the clip he was firing was empty, the entire world went into slow. Sergi grabbed for another clip that held Liquid Nitrogen rounds. Thrusting this clip into the gun, he looked down the sights and did what he did best. Opening fire on the building, the liquid nitrogen rounds ripped apart the cover the enemy was using. Out of the corner of his eye, Sergi saw a flash out. The next second he felt a bullet plunge into his right shoulder. When Sergi stopped firing at the building, those troops began shooting back at him. Sergi felt himself being hit by multiple bullets. Some of the bullets stopped at one of the layers of metal in the jacket, but a few went right through and placed Sergi on the ground. Staring up at the falling snow, he was still amazed by its sheer beauty or just how it looked so innocent. Dimitri fell down next to him with his entire left arm missing and blood dripping from his mouth. "Sergi, it looks like we bit off more than we could chew. Don't worry comrade, the last of us here will..." Dimitri started before noticing the stop of gunfire and a quiet whistling. Looking up to the sky, both of them stared up into the sun to see what was coming. Tiny black dots appeared in the sky amongst the falling white snow. The dots grew larger and larger until they realized what was happening. "INCOMING!!!" Dimitri shouted out as the soft whistle quickly turned into a terrifying screech of a banshee. Dimitri dropped down on Sergi's chest as the first mortar struck the ground. *SNAP* as a twig breaking snapped Sergi out of his dream. Sergi snapped out of the dream and found himself back in the tent he had set up yesterday. Silently grabbing the 1887 shotgun from underneath the cot, Sergi listened in on the other sounds surrounding him. Two voices could be heard heading closer to him. "Where could that thing live out here, I have seen nothing that would say something is here." A male voice said. "I don't know, but did you see the size of that thing. It was at least as tall or taller than Princess Celestia." Another male voice said. "I hope we find this thing soon. I have to go help Applejack with clearing the fields." The first voice complained. "Lucky, I have to go help Rainbow Dash with clearing the skies and bringing back the summer birds." The second voice replied. "Why can't they just use magic to change the seasons like they do back in Canterlot?" The first voice still complained. Sergi silently holstered the gun onto his leg and placed his jacket on. Getting up from the cot, Sergi grabbed his Helmet off the desk and slid his Kukhri back into its sheathe. Pressing a series of buttons on his TACPAD, he disappeared from sight and headed outside. The voices still drew closer. He decided to head toward the voices to investigate. Not a fair distance away, two ponies were walking forward toward where his tent clearing was. "Are you sure that this was where those Cutie-mark Crusaders said they saw him last?" The light brown pony with a darker brown mane who was the owner of the first voice said. "I am positive. I can still see their tracks in the snow. Who else would be out here?" The white pegasus with a blonde mane, who was the owner of the second voice said. "I believe that would be me..." Sergi said as they both turned to see where the new voice came from. After pressing another series of buttons, Sergi appeared before their eyes. "Are you Sergi?" The Pegasus asked. "Yes Sir. What is needed of me now?" Sergi replied "Well, you don't have to call me sir for obvious reasons and also the Commander wanted to see you about something." The pegasus replied. "That sounds good. What were you talking about before?" Sergi asked to try to get some more intel. "Today is Winter Wrap Up. Everyone today has special jobs they have to do for the seasons to change." The brown pony said. "You have to manually change the seasons?" Sergi asked as this did not make any sense in his mind. Well, neither did the Manticores, Timberwolves, or the Basilisk. "Yeah, don't you have to back where you come from?" The pegasus said as if Sergi was crazy. "No, the seasons just change by themselves back where I came from." Sergi replied, adding. "If you gentlemen.. I mean gentlecolts are heading back to town then may I join you for the trip? I might as well try to get acquainted with everypony that lives here, including the undercover guards." They had no objections and the trio headed back through the woods. Ten minutes passed before the town appeared through the thinning trees. The pegasus headed into the air and headed toward a group of pegasus in the sky. While the other said his farewell and headed off to a farm off in the distance. Every pony seemed to be out doing some sort of task. All of the commotion reminded him of his early life. Men and women walked around a base, busy with the jobs at hand. He remembered watching this off the shoulders of a young man. "Amazing isn't it?" He asked Sergi who was still thinking over what had just happened a few days ago. "Let’s start out with something easier. My name is Dimitri. What is yours?" He asked in a gentle voice. "My... My name is Sergi." He barely mumbled out. "Sergi, that's a good name. Glad to meet you." Dimitri said as they began walking toward the base. The vision disappeared from his mind and Sergi refocused at the task at hand. He walked down to the town in front of him to find the Commander. Walking through the town he received many looks from the residents. Some were of curiousty, but most were of fear. Ponies even stopped what they were doing to head off to their homes. Sergi continued his journey until he found who he was looking for. Twilight Sparkle stood on a pedestal, overlooking everything that was going on. He quietly walked around the pony crowd standing around the pedestal. As he neared, Twilight caught his movement and turned to meet him. "Look who finally decided to show up? Did you come to help out with Winter Wrap Up? We already have Anderson and Sir Henry out working." She said as the attention quickly turned to him. "I'm sorry ma'am, but Commander said that he wanted to see me this morning. Would you know where he is stationed at the moment?" "Yes, he just left for breakfast. I think he went over to the cafe that is on your way to Sweet Apple Acres." She answered looking slightly sad that Sergi was busy with other stuff. "Thank you ma'am. Have a good day." He replied as he wanted to quickly leave the center of attention. Quietly Sergi made his way out of the town center and headed out of town in the direction he was given. The cafe was easily spotted with tables sitting around the outside of the building and one lone guard sitting at a table with only his breastplate on. Sergi came up and stood by the Commander as Dawn Treader casually drank a steaming cup of coffee. "Enjoying your coffee there sir?" Sergi inquired after a few moments had passed. "Ah Sergi, I was wondering when you would show up. I trust that my men found you without starting trouble?" Dawn Treader asked. "It was more I found them stumbling through the woods trying to find me." Sergi replied "But they still did their jobs. Now I know you’re a straight forward man so I will get straight down to business. Equestria might seem calm and nice, but something else is stirring beyond our borders. The Griffons have been building up their armies and have been increasingly more hostile to Equestria ever since Steel Wing took control of the Griffon Empire. Since you are a solider yourself, I was thinking of maybe enlisting you into the military here. First we will have to do an evaluation of your skills. I want you to at least consider this option and give me an answer. Are we clear?" The Commander explained as he set up the last sentence to hear his favorite word. "Sir, yes sir!" Sergi replied with a smile before slipping away from the table and heading back to his quarters. "Since your here, would you like to have some breakfast Sergi?" the Commander asked as he realized that the human had already departed. "I really underestimated him. I guess he is going to be a hard one to pin down..." The Commander mumbled to himself as he finished his cup of coffee. Sergi was already fast on his way back to his camp. He had just been asked to go back to what he knew best. This part did not bother him. The part that bothered him deeply was the having tests done on him. The secret that Celestia had seen was just the surface of it. He had his secrets for being a 'super soldier' and he planned on keeping them secrets. Upon reaching the clearing of his camp, his helmet buzzed on. "Welcome back commander, Is there anything you want to talk about?" The female voice piped in through the headset. "Not right now, I have some things to think about. Can you start up a training simulator out here?" Sergi replied as the thoughts ran through his mind. "Yes commander. You’re afraid that they will find out you are not all human?" The female voice said as if she had read his mind, adding "Don't worry commander, I only overheard your conversation with Commander Dawn Treader." As the simulation began, Sergi was able to think about everything that had happened. Not only the things that happened in this new world, but also things that happened many years ago. The simulation was a standard hologram program that was used in modern times. 'Those Americans think they are too good for an actual physical beating...' Sergi thought scornfully. He had the AI change the simulation to constantly push him with five different targets until he was overrun. He held his ground against the five targets for about an hour which the system was moving more than double times normal human speeds. As he was pushed passed his limits and the program beat him, memories flashed into his mind. His surroundings changed into a white surgery room with bright lights pointed towards him. Two silhouettes stood over him talking about him. "I will not allow it! The subject has already gone farther than any before him. I will not sacrifice him to find out that we can recreate something from an old movie!" One said in pure disgust of the idea. "But if we can actually recreate it and possibly exceed it... Think of the possibilities! This war could be over before it ends us all!" The other said with excitement in his voice. "If we fail now, we will lose everything we have been working towards! We already tried this procedure with the other subjects and received less than optimal results." The first one retorted. "Doctor, I know that you sometimes grow attached to your projects, but remember who is funding your projects." The second answered with a cold voice. "Fine! I will create you a movie prop from the early 21st century! Don't come crying to me when your little idea ends up killing our only step off first plate!" The first voice roared, making the lights shake a little bit. The vision quickly disappeared as the AI broke his train of thought. "Commander, you have an incoming message from Private First Class Michael Anderson. Shall I patch you through?" The female voice inquired. "Yes...That will be fine." Sergi replied as his mind came back into reality. "I guess you weren't kidding when you said you would be in touch, you already have a network set up. I also heard you made a trip into town this morning, something about Commander Dawn Treader... Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to join me and the others for lunch?" Anderson said through the helmet speakers with a joyful voice. "It sounds like you are living a dream come true Anderson. I will be able to come to lunch, but I'm bringing my own meal." Sergi replied to Anderson before cutting the call. "That was a little harsh, this sitting around isn't getting to you already is it?" The AI piped in after Sergi cut the call. "No, just old habits." Sergi replied flatly. Sergi went inside the tent to switch out some supplies. He pulled out the 1887 shotgun and stared at the gun for a moment. He still remembered when he first picked it up in those labs. Oh, how it filled him with joy when he turned it against the doctor who’d previously owned the gun. Sergi placed it beneath his cot and thought about what he would bring. After a while he grabbed the officer’s sword and inspected it. The only indication that it was an officer’s sword was the intricate design of the hilt and grip. The blade was either an oversized bowie knife or a short sword. The blade ran about 20 inches long and looked to have been kept in good condition. Sergi found a strap and placed the blade on his back where a gun would normally go. If it was an officer’s sword, might as well show off this prized position. Heading back over to the cot, he rummaged through his personnel bag and found what he needed. Sergi walked out of the tent with a hand around a large brown bag. As Sergi walked through the forest and into the town, he could not help but glancing around. Taking in all the information he could get in case of an ambush or possibly catching the enemy first. It was not hard to find the others once he was in town. All the gossip he could hear was about two strange creatures with some ponies at 'Sugarcube Corner'. Sergi was glad he was bringing his own lunch, for he was not very big on sweets. Sergi turned the corner and guessed he was at the right place. A giant structure stood in front of him looking as if it was pulled out of Candy Land. He had not personally played the game but had seen enough copies of the game in his life to understand the concept. Outside the building was a ring of ponies looking in awe at the strange creatures. Sergi spotted the three little fillies that he had spotted watching him yesterday. A fun idea jumped into his mind. He pressed some buttons and soon disappeared into thin air. Sergi quietly strolled around the ring of ponies and stood right behind the three fillies. They were deep in amazement as Anderson was recollecting the story of the first few days they had been there. "...We meet Sergi later that day along with Twilight Sparkle and Commander Dawn Treader who just came back from dealing with a Basilisk." "WOW, that most have been exciting. I never knew anything could take on a Manticore AND a pack of Timberwolves in the same Day!” exclaimed the yellow filly. "He sounds almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!" the orange pegasus filly said with just as much excitement. "Ah am still in disbelief that he took on a fully grown Basilisk. Those things don't get out often." Applejack added in. "It is all in a days’ work." Sergi said as he appeared behind the group. Everyone that was there jumped when they heard his voice and saw him standing there as if he was there all along. The three fillies that he was standing behind quickly jumped around to find the man they spied on yesterday and heard so much about from Anderson. Even the private stood in shock as Sergi just appeared there. "How did you just get here!? I never saw you coming!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "It is just how I am. I can walk through an entire town and only have one or two people spot me." Sergi replied as he soaked up their stunned reactions. "Ah Sergi, you never cease to amaze me. I thought I had seen it all in my time." Sir Henry said with a grin on his face as well, adding "Here, take a seat. We were just about to have lunch." Sergi took up the offer and took a seat next to Sir Henry and a soon grounded Rainbow Dash. She still had a look of suspicion on her face whenever she looked at him. Now the look was more of trying to find out his secrets rather than looking for hostility. Seeing that the story was over, the ring of ponies dispersed back to their schedules except for the three fillies. They had stayed for lunch with the group, all still looked on in amazement at Sergi. A pony came out the building with a platter of items such as Pastries and salads. The pony was had a blue coat with a dark pink mane. She noticed Sergi at the table with the others and gave no hint of any shock. After she finished delivering orders to the others, she directed her attention to the new comer "Why hello there dear! Can I get you anything?" She asked in a cheery voice. "Just water would be fine, thank you." Sergi simply replied trying to match her cheeriness. The pony disappeared into back into the building and quickly returned with a glass of water. She gave a smile to him before she went back into the building. Sergi began to open his lunch and began cooking his meal. "What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked the question that was on every mind of the other ponies at the table. "I'm making my lunch." Sergi replied as he kept his eyes on his meal. "How could anypony make a meal out of pouring water into a brown bag? I just can't think of anything." Rarity commented. "Just wait and watch." Sergi said as he was almost done fixing together his meal. "What are you making 'urself for lunch?" Applejack asked. "I am making...Macaroni and cheese with flat bread and a some vegtables." Sergi answered as he quickly checked the side of the bag to make sure of what he was making. The meal was done and Sergi took a spoon he had pulled out before and began stirring the meal before taking the first bite. The ponies were shocked to see what they had seen as a glass of cold water turn into a hot cheesy meal only by pouring it into a brown plastic bag "How in the hay did you do that?! I know of nothing that can do that!" Twilight Sparkle blurted out. "This is the magic of the MRE or also known as a Meal Ready to Eat." Sergi replied between bites. "I bet it ain't better than my family’s apples." Applejack stated. "You wouldn't believe how right you are." Sergi said with a chuckle. "Has anyone noticed were Sweetie Bell went?" Rarity asked with a hint of concern. "She and the other two fillies left a little while ago after they finished their meals." Sergi replied as he was finishing up his meal. As if on cue, a large shriek came from just outside the town. Before anyone else could react, Sergi's instincts engaged. He was already up and running toward the shrieks. As he ran through the town he grabbed his mask and attached it to his helmet. Rounding a corner at a full sprint the scene appeared before his eyes. He was looking at a large group of armored creatures. They were searching through houses and pulling ponies into a group in the middle of the town. A heavily armored creature hovered in the sky shouting out orders. "FIND ME THOSE ELEMENTS! IF WE ARE TO WIN, WE MUST CONTROL THEM!" It shouted out Sergi found the three fillies on the outside of the corralled ponies. Sergi noted everything that was happening and activated his invisibility. He crept up behind a group of three creatures storming into another building. They went along with their business as Sergi pulled out his Kukhri. He grabbed the one straggler by its beak and sliced open its neck. The others noticed the body fall to the floor and were shocked at what happened. Before they could shout out for help, Sergi threw his knife into the skull of the farthest creature and quickly ran and snapped the neck of last, now screaming, creature. Taking a closer look at the creatures, Sergi realized that these were griffons. 'Those bastards remind me of the world I had just left. Too bad for them I did not really care for that one.'' Sergi thought in his head. More commotion could be heard outside. Walking up to the window he saw that the others had arrived on the site. The Leader of the griffons looked to be having a heated debate with Anderson and Sir Henry. Things seemed to be getting very heated out there. So Sergi reappeared into the world and started to drag the three bodies out into the street. If someone had a grudge against his friends he was sure to make them pay, but if someone decided to settle a grudge and start beating innocents, He was damned sure that he could make them dead.
One Hell of a DayBeginning of the End One Hell of a Day Twilight raced up the stairs of the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. Who knew that a simple research expedition would end up like this? She paused for a moment to catch her breath, only to continue her sprint again when the roar of a hungry manticore climbing up the stairs behind her. reaching the end of the steps she ran halfway into the new room only to be hit with the fact that she was now trapped in the throne room where Nightmare Moon was destroyed with the help of her friends who stood by her side in the warm summer. The seasons have changed and she was by herself now and snow blew in from windows where stained glass windows used to gleam gloriously. If anything she was glad that Spike was not here to add more fuel to her stress. He stayed back at the library to keep things in order. Twilight's thoughts were soon disrupted again by the roar from the manticore, who had finally caught up to his prey. Taking one big swipe, the manticore's paw grazed the side of Twilight. Stumbling back further into the room, Twilight felt pain all across her body. Her vision was dimming slightly and things started to blur. In one final attempt to survive she attempted to do a spell. The magic flowed through her and into her horn. Building up for the spell. Barely holding conscience twilight had to release the spell undone, producing only a spark. She thought all was lost but suddenly a white light started to create lines in the floor. The lines crossed over each other many times. Before Twilight blacked out, she saw three figures standing in front of her. It reminded her of a story she was told as a little filly. The Guardians of the Equestria. ===================== Seeing the metal canister hit the floor. I turned around to grab Anderson but saw that he was unconscious on the floor. Seeing no need to revise my plan of protecting myself I sprawled on what I thought was a stone floor. I landed on top of something soft and with the appearance of a second thought of seeing what I landed on the metal canister made a soft click as it stood tall on its rounded end. Springing up into the air it went halting for a split of a second and then releasing its deadly cargo of nearly one hundred strengthen drill bits. The bits fly in every direction, only stopping their deadly path when they hit stone or metal. The roar of the lion thing could be heard deafening everything out. I felt a few of the bits drive themselves into my body, but the armor I wore stopped their flight before they reached anything important. As a silence filled the room my body protested against my actions as I stood up to see the results of the bouncing betty. It looked like the night sky in the large room. With lights shimmering off the drill bits that embedded themselves into the masonry of this room. What, room? Large ceiling? No funny sounding English Templar? This train of thought was cut short by the sound of a very pissed of creature. Standing there as the only human that was awake with a creature that had something explode in its face was not something I wanted to do today. I also didn't want nukes to be launched off and destroying everything I knew that wasn't already dead yet but I guess that wasn't going to happen. My PPSH was dry and I didn't think this thing would give me time to reload it. So I lightly tossed aside and went for my knife. Staring into the one good eye left on this creature, I slowly pulled out my Kukri, which was given to me when I was brought into the Cossacks, out of its sheathe on my shoulder, and slowly stared to circle this creature. I could tell that even though he sounded and looked tough. The Bouncing Betty did a good number on it. "Come on you pussy cat. Lets play a game of cat and mouse." I shouted out to give myself encouragement rather than for anything else. The Lion thing made the first move swiping with its right paw. I slide just around the strike and stabbed it right near where I believed its shoulder joint would be. Outraged by my hidden skill, it shoved me away from itself and attempted another swing. This one connected and lifted me off the ground and slammed me against a stone pillar. I could feel the screws that were previously embedded into my body slowly inch further in. The HUD in my helmet alerted me of multiple broken ribs and some possible internal bleeding. Landing back on the ground I found my knife about ten yards away, lying in a pile of snow that blew in from one of the broken windows. As I crawled, the sound of a predator who is sure of victory savoring the moment before enjoying his meal. Now I was a yard away when I could feel the warm breathe of it on my neck. In one quick motion I lunge for the blade and drove the knife deep into the jaw of the beast and partially into its skull. Twisting the blade, I ensure its death by pulling the blade across its throat as I pulled the knife out. Lying there I waited to regain my breath from the battle. Footsteps neared me as I lied there. I was surprised when I saw the ghost from before, but in flesh and bone. Kneeling down and offering his hand, he assisted me up from underneath the corpse that was quickly turning the once white snow into a bloody slop. Wiping the blood of my knife I considered this the best time to get some questions answered. "How are you alive again? Before you were just a shimmer." Was the first thing that came to my mind. "In this world, I have powers unlike ones in the other world. Unlike in the one we just came from, I have a very much longer lifespan here." He calmly replied in his British accent as he pulled out his blade to polish it. "Wait, this world? Other world? Where the hell did you take us?" I piped once he finished answering my first question. "This is earth of a different Universe. Here things are very different. Unlike yours, this one is still alive and breathing. I also believe you have already acquainted yourself with one of the dominant species here." The knight calmly replied as he finished working on his sword. Questionable I turned to look at the dead corpse. Looking back at him he shook his head and nodded over in the other direction, it was the thing I landed on before. Moving over for a closer inspection, I could see it was something equine. With the horn I would say a unicorn and the size would mark it a pony. Strangely it had a purple colored coat and a darker colored purple mane with a strip of dark pink running through it. Noticing that it hasn't really moved at all, I checked for a pulse. There was one but still very feint. There were cuts on its side, probably from that thing I just killed. On its flank was what appeared to be a tattoo or brand in the shape of a star. I turned to see if Anderson had woken up yet. He was still on the ground lying there. "Hey Sir Henry. Can you do me a favor and wake up that poor excuse for a soldier there?" I asked as a started to check for any other injuries on the unicorn. Out of the corner of my I watched as the knight walked over by the unconscious private and lift up the body. He then proceeded to walk over by one of the snow piles and toss the body into it, face first. Once the private’s face hit the snow, his body flinched and made an attempt to quickly stand up. With the sudden shift in weight, the snow slipped from under his feet and sent Anderson flying backwards onto the floor. Looking around confused, He could see me and the knight chuckling at his misfortune. Getting up again, he tried to brush off the snow that stuck to him. Once he started to look around, I would have sworn his eyes almost popped out of his head. "Anderson, you said you were a vet before you came here. Correct?" I asked in a none chalant fashion. "Yeah, but death is still past my area of expertise." He replied looking at the dead corpse. "You really fucked up that manticore." "You don't say; now bring your expertise over here." He stepped over to where and knelt right next to me. He stared at the unicorn for a long time as if in disbelief. With a quick slap to the back of the head he snapped back into focus. "While you’re still focused, can you tell me if you can fix it up? I'll try to get a camp up and going, hopefully with the help of the knight here." "Sir, it’s a she." "What do you mean?" "It’s a she and her name is Twilight Sparkle." Taking another look at the unicorn. It reminded me of a friend I used to know back in the army. She used to carry these little pony figurines with her everywhere. Before she died from a sniper bullet through his lungs, she handed me them to me saying "Take these. If not for luck or anything special, keep them to remember me by.". Reaching into a pocket on the heavy jacket I wore over my armor. I pulled out the six figurines and found the one that matched the one lying right in front of me. "Twilight Sparkle you say, huh." I mumbled to myself. Placing the figurines safely back into my pocket. "Sir, if it’s alright for me to ask. Are you a Brony too?" Anderson sheepishly asked in a quiet voice. "What, I don't know what you’re talking about." I responded. Of all the things he could be asking, why that most random of all questions? "Well, I just guessed you were because of you having the mane 6 with you in your pocket." he quietly mumbled out. "No, those were from a friend of mine. Now they help me relax." thinking of my past experiences with that friend. "Hell, sometimes I think their right there next to me. Ready to charge into battle with me like the many times before..." After a few moments of silence, the private finally made the connection and started to focus on the job on hand. "Other than the cuts on her side. There are a couple of broken ribs with a possibility of internal bleeding. She might not make it." The private said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. "In one of the duffel bags that we brought, there is a large medic bag with supplies." I stated as a got up. "She is only unconscious at the moment. Keep her alive as long as possible. I'm going out to try to find some help." continuing as I walked over to the stairs. "Sir Henry, You’re in charge now while I'm gone. Set up the camp, the supplies for that are in the bag with the eagle printed on the side." "Yes, but you are not seriously thinking of going out in this storm, you can barely see anything." The knight motioned with his hand out to one of the windows. "Don't worry; I can easily navigate through this stuff. I was trained to do this since I can remember." I replied, about to disappear down the flight of stairs. "Wait, you might need this if you meet another manticore." Replied the knight as he threw a war hammer my way. "Thanks, this might come in handy out there." placing it on my back where my PPSH used to be. "Sir, there are drill bits in your back. Do you want me to take them out before you leave." questioned Anderson who saw my back was bloodied from the bouncing betty. "No, I've had worse than this. Focus on our friend over there first." I ordered as I disappeared down the stairs. I exited out into a large open ruin which appeared to be a lobby some time ago. Seeing that the storm was thickening, I pulled out a tripod and threw it out. Once it touch the ground. I could see a beam of light burst up into the sky above. Looking at my wrist I could see a map being made of the surrounding area on the screen of my TACPAD. About three miles from my location there was a town. Setting the destination on my TACPAD. A waypoint appeared in my vision pointing me straight into the woods. Before leaving I pressed an icon on my TACPAD, My once dark green jacket and armor turned into pure white. I sprinted into the white nothingness and disappeared from sight of the ruins. When the ruins disappeared, instincts kicked in. As I sprinted through the woods I marked key landmarks along the way. When the 2 mile marker was passed the trees started to thin out and open to a field. Bursting out of the woods I noticed that the snow had suddenly shifted to a light dusting. Puzzled, I stared up into the sky. Right at the tree line the blizzard was raging on, but right next to it the snow was lightly falling from up above. Shaking my head I continued my jog towards the town distance. Before entering the town I receive a hail from the Private. "Sir, I have patched up Twilight! When you can switch to video feed!" He said through the radio like a little school girl. "That’s good, but I know that is not why you sound like a little girl know, what happened." I inquired "Switch and you will know!" Excitement could be heard brimming over in the private's voice. Switching over to the video feed on my TACPAD I could see Sir Henry and the unicorn on the screen having what appeared as a conversation. Damn! She was already up after the encounter with the 'manticore' as the private mentioned before. She layed next to a fire with a blanket over her body and white bandages could be seen on the front part of her torso. From what he saw in the background, Sir Henry did his job and set up the command tent and had started a fire. I felt proud in my quick judgment of this knight. "Anderson, I am getting the video feed and I'm impressed. Can you get any Information on where I can begin searching for someone who is specialized with in her type of injuries?" ==================== Hearing a new voice in the room, Twilight temporarily stopped her conversation with Sir Henry and turned to where the voice was coming from. This voice sounded familiar, maybe it was the other voice she heard when she was unconscious. All that was there was the man called Thomas Anderson who helped her after the manticore attack. Puzzled, she started to get up to investigate until a searing pain ran across her side. Forcing her to lay back down. Seeing the pain she was going through, Anderson sprung forward to assist her. "You should try to move around. Even though I was able to patch you up, I wasn't able to stitch the cuts close." Anderson said in a calm voice. "Where is that voice coming from? Is there someone else here?" She inquired "Oh yeah, give me just a minute!" said Anderson as he scrambled to the bags in search of something. "If you’re looking for the display to enlarge your video feed. It would be in the bag that held the other camp supplies." said the mysterious voice." "Sir, the bag is empty. There is nothing else... Here it is; I got it!" Anderson chimed as he pulled out a long slender pole. "I would swear you would forget your own head if it wasn't attached." piped the mysterious voice. Twilight watched in confusion as Anderson struggled with the pole and required assistance from the mystery voice. From what she heard. The voice was of another male, and it seemed to sound like Anderson was below him. Like a relationship between a young colt and his father. Stern but filled with knowledge. After a while the slender pole snapped open and a white sheet rolled down and tightened. Once this was done, Anderson removed his helmet and attached a line to the back of the helmet. Immediately a picture came up of what appeared as a head with a red star in the middle of where the forehead should be and no real facial features could be made out with the exceptions of what appeared as two unusually shaped rubies that had no edges, and a round object at about where the chin should be that shot out puffs of white clouds every few seconds. "AAHHHHH, WHAT IS THAT!" Twilight shrieked as she did her best to shuffle back without causing serious pain. "Um, sir... your mask." Anderson mumbled towards the screen as he moved back towards Twilight to reassure her some bit. At that moment a hand appeared over the strange 'face' and a hissing noise could be heard. After a second the hand removed what she saw before and revealed a normal face similar to Anderson's and Sir Henry's face. By Normal, she meant it had the same general features. Unlike the other to faces, this one bore scar of some unknown incidents. One laid across his left side of his face and ran right over his eye. His eye's, they looked like none she had seen before. They were blue, but like the blue of frozen ice. So light that it could be mistaken for a light grey but the speckles of a brilliant blue corrected the first idea. Like Sir Henry, he had fur around his mouth, but just enough to make it look a shadow was being cast just around his mouth. "So it appears our new friend is awake. Good to see that your awake now." said the new voice from the picture. "Yes, thank you for protecting me from that manticore." Twilight Sparkle said as she blushed lightly. "I was an honor. A Cossack is always proud to help those in need." The voice replied with pride. The eyes in the picture moved slightly to address Anderson. "How well did you patch her up?" the voice continued in a steady tone that showed none of the emotions it just showed before. "I was able to clean the wounds and place bandages on them. She will make a better recovery if she could get stiches." Anderson responded. "Good, now..." the voice began again, addressing Twilight. “I am on the outskirts of a town by the edge of the forest. Are you familiar with it?" the voice questioned Twilight Sparkle. "Yes, are you already by Ponyville already? Sir Henry said you only left about twenty minutes ago." Twilight questioned. 'How in Equestria could he go through half of the Everfree Forest in that amount of time? It took me and my friends about two hours to reach the Castle.' Twilight thought to herself. Breaking her train of thought the picture switched from the face to a new picture. "Yes I did leave just a little while ago, and is this the town you call Ponyville?" the voice said. Taking a closer look at the picture. It was indeed Ponyville. Few ponies could be seen walking the streets in the light dusting of snow. Most of the ponies would probably be inside watching the snow falling down. Taking a closer look at the library she could make shapes out of multiple ponies jumping around. It looked like it was a... "It looks like someone’s is setting up for a party......Inside that tree? The voice finished her thought in a statement that also sounded like a question. "Maybe Pinkie Pie is planning some type of party at my house." Twilight sounding slightly annoyed. Last time there was a party at her house. She was cleaning it up for two days straight! "I'm guessing that I would be able to find some type of medical professional over ther... Wait, you live in a tree? Replied the voice in a skeptical reply. "Yes I do and yes there my friends should be there. They will all want to put a hoof in if I'm injured." Answered Twilight Sparkle. A click could be heard and the picture disappeared. Anderson got up to go retrieve his helmet and returned when he saw the confused look on her face. "What do you need?" Anderson asked in a gentle voice. "What just happened? Who was that? Where did he get that scar? What was that thing that I saw before" Twilight quickly asked as if she had to ask them all before some time limit would finish. "Okay, just slow down." Anderson replied. “That was our other friend. We talked to him from a screen connected to a signal feed that he set up. When I was helping you out, he was racing out to Ponyville to find someone... er... somepony that could fix you up better than I could. As for those other questions, you’re going to have to ask him in person when he comes back with help." Anderson continued. Twilight couldn't stand having to wait for answers. It just irritated her, but like a pony said once. 'Patience is a virtue.' Today would be the testing point for Twilight Sparkle on this virtue. ==================== I had made my way through town up to the tree. Surprisingly none of the few ponies that were walking around the town notice his approach. I had to avoid being run into by a few. Twilight Sparkles assumption was right, anyone who was close to the tree could hear the excited voices inside for the future festivities and silhouettes could be seen through the windows. Rushing from one place to another. Remembering Twilights reaction to my gas mask. I removed it and placed it in its pouch on my left forearm. I also decided to shut down my natural camouflage system built and perfected by the Russians. Approaching the door after doing those things I knocked on the door. All the voices on the inside turned hushed and all the lights flickered out. After a while the door opened and a yellow pegasus about the same size as Twilight poked her head out. Her mane was long and a light pink. She stood there in shock as she looked up at me. I knelt down to her level to try to comfort her. She just continued to stare at me. The fear in her eyes could be easily seen. "Fluttershy, who's here? ur lett'n in a cold draft." a someone else said from behind the yellow pegasus called Fluttershy. It sounded like someone who came from down south in the United States. "It's alright; I'm not here to harm you." I said in the best calm and pleasant voice I could muster up. "MONSTER!" The yellow pegasus shouted out and darted inside, leaving the door wide open. A light flashed on in the house to show the rest of the occupants. From the open door I could see four other ponies and what appeared as a dragon in the tree. Before I could get any more details from the scene, a cyan pegasus with a mane that looked like the rainbow bolted forward towards me. Getting back up I was launched backwards out into the snow filled streets. The drill bits still embedded in my back dug in even more with the extra lying on my chest. I could feel a warm heat on my back as blood began to seep out of my back. A groan slipped from my mouth as I could feel my broken ribs moving with the new pressure on my chest. "I HOPE THAT HURT. NO PONY HURTS MY FRIENDS!" Shouted the pegasus on my chest shouted with her face just mire centimeters away from mine. I heard the others approaching and saw four more faces appear when the cyan pegasus pulled back her head. "What is that and what horrible attire is it wearing?" A white Unicorn with a purple mane in light curls questioned. "Whatever it is, it scar'd Fluttershy here so badly." An orange pony wearing a cowboy hat stated. "I wonder if it likes cupcakes?" Asked a pink pony who had a mane of darker pink in bouncy curls. "Pinkie!" The three ponies shouted out in unison turning their attentions to the pink pony. "What’s that underneath it? Questioned the dragon who appeared very young. All the faces turned back in my general direction to see the white snow I laid on slowly turn a dark red. "It's bleed‘in! How hard did you hit that thing Rainbow?" The Orange pony exclaimed. "I didn't hit it that hard! At least I don't think I did." The cyan pegasus replied. "Get off my chest." I barely mumbled out. The yellow pegasus came back into view and was startled by the image of blood underneath me. She disappeared off again and the rest of the group started arguing what to do about me. The Cyan pegasus had the idea that I was trying to do something bad. The orange pony thought that I might be something good and just didn't mean to startle Fluttershy. The white unicorn criticized what I wore. While the dragon was taking a closer look at me. "Get off my chest." I muttered out louder as before. "I think he's trying to talk." Stated the dragon as he stared into my face. "I'm watching you. If you try anything, you’re gonna get it." Threaten the cyan pegasus as she leaned up close to my face. Making the broken ribs just tear up my insides even more. Struggling to get fresh air into my lungs from the broken ribs scratching the front of my lungs and the drill bits touching the back of my lungs. I grabbed the pegasus and tossed her off to the side. Once the weight lifted off my chest. I lunged up into a sitting position and took a deep breath of air as the broken ribs moved away from my lungs. I started to get up onto my knees when the Cyan pegasus got back into my face. "What did you do that for?!" She shouted into my face. "After fighting a manticore, one does not simply walk away without broken ribs." I replied in a voice with no emotions "So what does that have to do with throwing me? Huh, answer me!" She exclaimed in frustration. "I couldn't breathe with you lying on top of me because I have broken ribs and I didn't want to kill myself trying to breath." I again replied with a bit of irritation in my voice. "Whoa there! Simmer down you two. We don't want a fight breaking out." The orange pony said as she tried to separate the cyan pegasus and me. "Now what did you need before?" she continued as she looked towards me. "I came here to try to find the friends of Twilight Sparkle. She is injured and she said that her friends would be able to help." I answered to the orange pony. "Now if you’re her friends I need you to follow me. She is back in a ruin in that forest over there." I continued as I pointed back the way I came. "What if you try to kill us out there!" The cyan pegasus pony questioned as she pushed the orange pony out of the way to make eye contact with me again. "If I was trying to kill you, we wouldn't even be talking. Now if you’re done interrogating me, I think we need to get going now." I replied as got up to my full height. "Fine, but don't try to pull anything." The cyan pegasus submitted. "Why would I try anything if I promised on my Cossack's Honor to retrieve you ponies?" I stated as I turned to head off. "Um... excuse me... can I help you, if it’s alright..." A voice from behind me asked lightly. I turned around to see the yellow pegasus from before with medical bags on her back, like saddle bags. "No, but thank you for asking. Save those supplies for your friend. I believe she will need them more than I do." I said in a voice that I made as gentle and as calm as possible. "Twilight's hurt! Where is she?" She said in an assertive voice. "Follow me and I'll show you." I responded. As we made our way up to the forest, the storm in the woods had subsided majorly and one could easily see a good distance. Wanting to make sure where we were heading. I attached my gas mask back onto my helmet. I could see the infrared light from the machine I set up before and all of the checkpoints that I placed down before. I turned on the channel from before and sent out a message. "I have found the girls and heading back. I'll report back in when something else happens." I said into the receiver in my helmet. "Oh yeah, get that corpse out of there. I doubt that will help them trust us." Once we past a majority of the checkpoints. We came up to a canyon with a rope bridge, the very last checkpoint. I waved everyone across as I heard new noises from behind us. These new noises had been following us since we crossed the frozen river. All the ponies mad it across except for the yellow pegasus. Who looked to have heard the noises too and stood there in shock. Not wanting to wait and see when she would come out of her stat. I grabbed her up into my arms and sprinted across the bridge. Crossing the bridge I heard the noises from behind us grow louder. Turning around, I saw what looked like a pack of huge wolfs mad out of wood. Needing no more instructions the rest of the ponies followed behind me. Once we got inside the ruins, I set the pony I was carrying down. "Okay now head up those stairs over there. Your friend will be up there along with my companions. Now get going, were about to get some company." I yelled. Everyone went up the stairs except the orange pony "No can do. If you’re going to hold of those Timberwolves. Then I'm gonna help you out." The Orange pony stated as she stood there by the stairs. "I thank you for your honesty and your will to help but your friend needs you up there more than I do. Also if I fail and die down here, you can be prepared for what I didn't take down with me, now get up those stairs!" I shouted out through my mask. My point was punctuated by the howling of the wolfs behind me. She seemed to be struggling with the decision. With the second howl, she wished me luck and headed up the stairs. Turning around I could see the silhouettes of the timber wolfs appear out of the storm. As if god saw this, the storm began to increase back to its furiousity that I experienced before. This was good for me because I grew up and trained in weather like this. Giving me some chance against this pack in my wounded state. I pulled out the war hammer that Sir Henry gave me before. As the timberwolves came closer I inspected the war hammer closer now. It had a 6 inch rectangle on top with a spike jutting out on the very top. On the face of the hammer a series of spikes jutted out like something you would see on a meat tenderizer. On the other end was a spike that curved down. Looking up I could see the Timberwolves were closing in on me. There were five in the group; I spotted the Alpha right in front of me. We stared each other down for some time. I was surprised when I didn't have to stare down at these creatures. They fanned out around me and tried to surround me. A small one in the group tried to take a bit at my left leg. Only to meet the full force of the War hammer, which snapped his wooden head off. 'One down, four to go' I thought in my head. Another one went for my back as he saw what happened to his comrade. I swung around to just grab the back of his head with the curved spike. Feeling that the spike was dug in deep, I went up and placed my right foot on its back and ripped the War hammer out along with most of his head. 'Two down, three more to go' I thought. If it kept going this easily, I might actually be able to walk away from this fight. Hearing a howl behind me, I turned to see another Timberwolf jumping at me. Being too close to evade or take another swing I went down to a knee and jabbed the spike on top of the war hammer into the beast's chest. Using its momentum from the lunge the creature was lifted over my body and I finished the job by thrusting the hammer even deeper into its chest. 'Only two more to go.' Turning around I was tackled to the ground by a timberwolf. I grabbed into one of my outer pockets and grabbed a packet of C4. Grabbing hold of this I rammed my fist into the creature's chest and kicked it back with my legs. It stumbled backwards from the unexpected resistance as I stood back up. I pushed the released the detonation charge and saw the creature blow up into a thousand pieces. If only I had thought about the shrapnel from the resulting explosion before. Thousands of pieces flew towards me and tore up anything that wasn't harder than itself which happened anything not my jacket. Struggling to get back up I forced myself to my knees. Seeing one last Timberwolf standing there as if he was gloating over how victory would be his. Grabbing my Kukri knife off my shoulder I attempted to stand up. The female voice in my head set was stating off how multiple armor failures have been detected, how one of my lungs was punctured, and how my right leg was fractured. Basically this would be my last battle if I made any mistakes. I thought of the all the other Cossacks that I knew who were pitted against similar odds. Knowing the end might be near I started to mutter the poem that was the main idea of the entire Cossack ideals. "Once more into the fray I go. Into the last good battle I'll ever know. Live and die on this day. Live and die on this day." Staring back at the Timberwolf I felt no fear. I taunted the Alpha male into combat. "COME ON YOU BIG PANSY, I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU. ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU THEIR GOING TO HAVE TO GLUE YOU BACK TOGETHER IN HELL!" The Timberwolf took up the challenge and charged right towards me. I dodge out of the way of the first charge and stabbed my blade into his side. Howling in pain, the Alpha turned around and made a lunge to bite my crippled leg. Stumbling back I avoided the attack and landed a blow with my knife across his head. Outraged, the Alpha threw its entire body at me. I felt the everything in my body, all the broken ribs, my fractured leg, and all of those damned screws in my back. As I released out a cry of pain I felt my entire body being filled with adrenaline. My pain disappeared and new energy flowed into my body. I got a new grip on my knife and started stabbing the Alpha as many times as possible. "Why...Won't...You ...Just...FUCKING...DIE!?" I cried out in my rush of adrenaline. From out of nowhere, a large ax blade came down and embedded itself into the alpha wolf. Quickly following the ax a sword came down and looped of the head and just stopping short of my chest which was ripped and bloodied to hell. Staring up I saw Sir Henry standing over the dead corpse. After grabbing his weapons including his war hammer, He lifted me up by grabbing my shoulders. I felt another pair of hands move the corpse off my body and grab my legs. The world slowly turned dark. We entered the stairs and headed up for what seemed like an eternity. The world slowly blurred and I could just make out general things. The hands that held me up placed me down on my side. I saw the brightly colored legs come over stand by me. Voice danced around my ears but I couldn't place a finger on any of the names. Before I blacked out there was a voice I heard that seemed directed towards me. "Please don't die! I have so many questions that I want to ask!" The female voice said as I felt something touch my shoulder. "Sir! You have to try to stick with us! Don't leave us!" Anderson shouted into my helmet. Removing the visor from my face. I pulled Anderson in close. “My name is Sergi Zolnerowich and I WILL NOT DIE! Then the world went black.
More Questions than AnswersThe Beginning of the End More Questions than Answers Twilight Sparkle's waiting was over when she heard the sound of some ponies racing up the stairs. To her disappointment, Applejack was not with the group and the human was also not present. Before she could ask any questions, she noticed the look of suspicion her friends had when they saw Sir Henry and Tom Anderson. Out of all her friends, she was worried about Rainbow Dash and how she sometimes takes things too far. "Girls, don't worry. These creatures helped me when I was hurt and the only reason I'm still alive." Twilight said trying to relax her friends. It worked for mostly everyone. Rainbow Dash still had a skeptical look in her eyes. "Oh Twilight, your hurt! Let me take a closer look." Fluttershy said in an assertive voice that Twilight Sparkle has only heard from Fluttershy when she saw something was hurt. "Geez Twilight! When I heard you were in trouble I didn't expect this." Spike said as he jumped off Rarity's back to check to see what happened with her. "My, this outfit fits you just smashingly dear! I've never seen such brute force and elegance mix together so well!" Rarity said as she approached Sir Henry who was a little nervous about the new guests. "I'm not completely sure about your attire though. It seems so bland and is that a rip I see there?" she critiqued as she looked over towards Anderson. All eyes flashed back towards the staircase. The sound of a Timberwolf could be heard outside. A conversation could be briefly heard between the howls. The sound of another pony racing up the stairs overpowered the noise from outside. "You’ve got to go help your friend! He's got some crazy idea of taking on a pack of Timberwolves." She shouted out in a desperation rarely seen in Applejack. Anderson seemed to hesitate and Sir Henry seemed slightly confused until a challenge bellowed from out of the staircase. "COME ON YOU BIG PANSY, I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU! ONCE I'M DONE WITH YOU THEIR GOING TO HAVE TO GLUE YOU BACK TOGETHER IN HELL!" In a flash Sir Henry grabbed an ax and threw it at Anderson as he reached for his sword. Mere moments later they disappeared down the stairs. Everyone that was left up in the room could hear the angered howls of the Timberwolves and the breaking of wood. Seconds passed in silence only to be broken when another howl was let out and moments later a cry of pain was heard, followed by a shout filled rage and desperation. "Why...Won't...You ...Just...FUCKING...DIE!?" Silence began to fill the chamber again. This time no shout broke it, only the sound of boots racing up the staircase. Anderson emerged with Sir Henry carefully carrying a bloody bundle out into the open. Everypony raced over to look at the bloody bundle that used to be the human that guided them here. Twilight managed to control her gag reflexes when she saw the damage. There were so many cuts across his chest that she could easily see his ribs. The left arm appeared to be longer than the right, hinting at a dislocated shoulder. His right leg was bent in an interesting way below the knee. The floor that he laid on was quickly pooling with blood. Seeing how the body was not moving much. Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder and said in a desperate voice. "Please don't die! I have so many questions that I want to ask!" "Sir! You have to try to stick with us! Don't leave us!" Anderson shouted at the metal face as he knelt down by his body. His trembling right hand slowly moved toward his face and a small hissing noise could be heard. The hand instantly dropped the mask and revealed a human face that was almost as pale as the snow by the windows. Drips of blood could also be seen rolling out of his mouth. The hand moved towards Anderson and pulled himself closer to field medic. "My name is Sergi Zolnerowich and I WILL NOT DIE!" The bloodied body said in a voice that could barely be heard by everypony there. He lost his grip and his body went limp. See looked in disbelief as she watched him die right in front of her. She barely noticed Anderson moved to look at his friend's back. As she came back to her senses, she got an idea. "Anderson, I know a spell that can fix him up. Can I help heal him?" She asked as her plan unfurled in her mind. "What does the spell do?" He asked as his head still hid behind the body. "It closes every wound and places everything back where it’s supposed to go. Here let me show you!" She replied as her horn began to glow. "NO NO NO! NOT YET!" Anderson said in frighten panic, waving his newly bloodied hands at Twilight. "We just can't let him die, it's just not right!" Applejack countered. "I didn't even find out if he liked cupcakes." Pinkie Pie said with a hint of disappointment in her voice. "Let me show you what the problem is." Anderson says as he sees Twilights horn dim down. Walking around the body and the slowly growing pool of blood, the girls and Spike see what the problem is. "What are those things, they don't look natural." stated Applejack looking at the stubs of the deeply embedded drill bits. "Oh my... those look painful." quietly mumbled Fluttershy. "Yes they are. These would heal right into the body if you used your spell Twilight. Since they would still be there they would just rip open the wounds right back up." Anderson explained to them. This was different than anything that she had ever seen. "I guess you didn't hit him so hard then Rainbow Dash." Applejack said as she looked over at the rainbow-maned pegasus. "Wait, what happened?" Twilight Sparkle inquired. "Fluttershy went to open the door and then shouted 'MONSTER' and ran back inside and Rainbow Dash flew out and BAM knock the thing flat on its back. Then we went outside to look at what Rainbow Dash had tackled and started talking about whether it was good or bad and then we noticed it was bleeding. As we stood there talking, it threw Rainbow Dash off of its chest to the side. After that Rainbow dash and it almost got into a fight if Applejack didn't break it up!" Pinkie Pie explained in her usual hyper attitude. "Where did these things come from?" Twilight asked as her curiosity began to rise again. "I'm not so sure about that. I just noticed these were in his back before he left." Anderson simply replied "He would probably know, but first let’s remove these things before any healing happens. Twilight Sparkle and the others watched as Anderson pulled the shrapnel out of his body. Each one varied in length, some were just small pieces while others were about 4 inches in length. As the final pieces were being pulled out Twilight began to focus her energy into the spell she was going to use before. Her horn started to glow brighter and brighter. Soon she wasn't able to see anything other than the light of the magic. She felt a hand tap her on the shoulder and she released the spell. The room was filled with a purple light. Her mind was soon filled with images, none of them her own. Images flashed by of snow, blood and fire. She saw other humans that stood by and helped a small child out of the snow. The images flashed by so fast there was no time to absorb any details. The images stopped suddenly and a different human stood in her mind and looked towards her. "Twilight Sparkle. Yes, I know your name. That is not important now. I am here to tell you I am in your debt." The figure said as he faded from her mind. Twilight opened her eyes to see what had happened. His body still laid there in the pool of blood. She ran around the body to check the front. It worked! The large chest wound was gone and the clothing he wore had also repaired. Standing there for what seemed like forever, his chest slowly began to rise and fall. Feeling good that the spell had worked, she relaxed. She had a new set of questions lined up in her head that needed answering. 'What did I just see, who communicated with me in my head, how did they know my name?' Taking time now to look outside to attempt to quiet the questions in her head, she saw the sun setting over the horizon as the storm still raged outside. 'Good, this has been a long day.' Twilight Sparkle thought to herself. 'I need to relax from everything that just happened. I doubt that he will wake up any time soon.' "Wow, the day just flew past. I better start making some room." Anderson said in an amazed voice. "Why do you need to make more room?" Spike inquired as Anderson began to move things from around the fire. "With this storm going on and the sun setting, I doubt anyone would be able to navigate through it." answered Sir Henry as he lifted his companion out of the pool of his own blood. "Well anyone that is awake at the moment." The knight dragged the body away from the pool of blood and inside one of the tents that were set up. Emerging from the tent, he assisted Anderson in making room for the new guests. Twilight saw Rainbow Dash hovering near the rest of her friends, watching the humans move things around. Anderson stopped for a moment and looked over at the ponies. "I cleared out a spot over hear by the fire. You can come over here and warm up." He offered waving towards an area that had cushions placed down. Twilight didn't really notice it at first, but she was kinda cold. She walked over to the fire and sat down. Her friends followed suit with Rainbow Dash still keeping an eye out on the two humans. As they were sitting there trying to get the idea of a creature they had never seen nearly dying for their safety. Spike quickly got bored and started to rummage through some of the bags and boxes that were still full. She heard some clamps being opened and turned to look at what Spike found. A polished wooden instrument lay inside of the case. It looked similar to the one that Octavia plays but very much smaller. "Spike, I don't think it’s such a great idea to look through their stuff. They might let you if you ask them." She advised. "It is alright with me. All I have is what I wore on my back." Sir Henry stated as he removed a large majority of his armor. "That's alright with me. Just stay away from that pile there. It's Sergi's." added Anderson. She was happy at the humans’ willingness to let them explore their belongings, but slightly disappointed that one pile would be left unsearched. Hearing the clamps of the box shut once more, Twilight Sparkle turned back to the fire she decided to join the conversation the group was having. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were talking about the intents of the humans. Rarity was commenting on what they wore. Pinkie Pie was deep in conversations with the humans on what types of parties and treats they liked. Fluttershy was just sitting there staring into the fire. Fluttershy was bought into some conversations to break a tie or see her opinion, but was then left to herself after that. She looked like she was frightened out of her mind. "Have you heard about or know of anything like these humans Fluttershy?" Twilight Sparkle asked to try and help her relax. "No, I’ve never had an idea that something like them existed. They seem pretty nice though." Fluttershy said after a moment of thought. "I think I have an idea but the book I need is back at the library." Twilight Sparkle said more to herself than to Fluttershy. "Oh, what book? I have a couple of books with me in my bag... I mean if you want to check." Fluttershy mumbled out. "Could you read me the titles?" Twilight asked. "Supernaturals, How Equestria was made, Daring Do and the Griffon's Chalice, General History of Equestria: From Ancient to Modern..." "That last one would be great! Could you pass it over?" Twilight said as her interest grew. Opening her bag and tossing the book over Twilight Sparkle grabbed the book with her magic and started flipping through the pages. As she skimmed through, she saw multiple references to mysterious creatures that came in and out of history to either cause chaos or restore peace. The last reference to these mysterious creatures showed a picture of a human clad in metal facing off against Discord as the Princesses cast their spell during the battle. Looking at the subtext below it read 'And the last member of one of the ancient races sacrificed his life to help defeat the Lord of Chaos, Discord. A statue dedicated to the bravery and courage of this dead race can be seen in the Hall of Fallen Heroes.' Something about the creature seemed familiar. Flipping back a few pages she found what she was looking for, The Guardians of Equestria: The Last of an Ancient Race. Reading through the section she looked up every once and awhile at Sir Henry. From what she was reading in the book, this creature was as old as Celestia and Luna. Even with this explanation, where did Anderson and Sergi come from if not from here in Equestria? "Sir Henry, Anderson, can you answer a few questions of mine?" Twilight Sparkle asked the humans. Sir Henry got up from the pile of debris from a fallen pillar that he was sitting on. Anderson was broken out a trance from watching the weather outside. The storm was breaking down and showed glimpses of the sky beyond. Anderson sprang right up and sat himself right across the fire from Twilight, as Sir Henry walked up slowly behind Anderson. "Fire away. I'll try to answer to the best of my abilities." said Anderson in the calm manor that she has come to know him for when they spoke. "Before we start with the questions, let’s start with introductions. My name is Twilight Sparkle." "My name is Applejack, pleasure to meet yah both." Applejack cheerily said as she offered her hoof. Anderson never saw the intensity of the shake until it happened. Sir Henry just nodded as she turned towards him. "My name is Rarity. I must make you some new clothing when we get back to Ponyville." Rarity stated as she still looked at Anderson's beaten-up attire. "My name is Pinkie Pie! I work at a sweet shop in Ponyville. Do you guys like cupcakes? I know! When we get back to Ponyville, I'll make a big huge party for both of you as a 'Welcome to Ponyville!' OH! I can't forget about the guy in there too." Pinkie Pie rambled on, the suspense of being here when she could be out planning a party for these new creatures was killing her. "My name is Fluttershy..." Fluttershy mumbled as the attention switches to her. "My name is Rainbow Dash and if you try anything, I'll have you on the ground before you even knew what happened!" Rainbow said as she kept her eyes on the two humans, watching for any movement. "First off you both are humans, correct?" Twilight prodded before asking her real question. Sir Henry could see where this simple question was going and shifted uneasily in his spot. "Yes, we are both humans. Next question." Anderson replied oblivious to what it was leading to. Twilight Sparkle could see out of the corner of her eyes that her friends had stopped their conversations to watch this one. "From what I know, Sir Henry was here during the first rule of Discord. So where did you and Sergi come from?" Twilight asked, dropping the big question. "Well first off, I don't know how we got here. But Sergi and I come from a different place that has no other intelligent life other than us, called Earth." Anderson replied as he was perplexed by what she said. "Wait, what do you mean 'Only intelligent life'? What about ponies or griffons?" Applejack asked as she joined the conversation. "We humans are the only ones that can do things like read and write. Ponies live like the creatures out here in the Everfree Forest and griffons are only creatures from ancient myths." Anderson answered with a small quiver in his voice. "Now darling, I must ask. Is what you’re wearing the style back where you come from?" Rarity cut in, not wanting to drop the idea that these creatures were uncultured in fashion. "No this is... something we wear to...to protect me when I'm in battle....See, Sergi and I were soldiers in a war... Everyone was at each other's throats... All hell was breaking loose..." Anderson answered as he started to break down. He bent his head down; covering whatever emotion was on his face, even though it was obvious. "Is everything alright? What's wrong?" Twilight began to ask as she saw this human break down. Sir Henry knelt down beside his comrade and placed his hand on Anderson's shoulder. "Oh dear...are you alright?" Fluttershy asked Anderson as he continued to cry and mumble cryptic things. "He reminds me of when I went to Manehattan when I was only a little filly." said Applejack. "I know what can help!" Pinkie pie shouted as she pulled a cupcake out of nowhere. Looking up at the outstretched hoof with the offering on it. Anderson took the cupcake and carefully looked at it. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was a bright red. As he took a few bites, he thanked Pinkie Pie for her kindness. Composing himself, he prepared himself for the next volley of questions. "Is it alright to ask what you’re upset about?" Spike asked Anderson. "Was it my question on your fashion? I am dreadfully sorry for that then. I didn't know you were that attached to that style." Rarity said. Twilight looked around at her friends to see that they had removed the wall that they had place between them and the humans. Even Rainbow Dash seemed to soften up. Hearing a rustling behind her, she maneuvered as best she could with her injuries to see the tent flap opening and Sergi appearing. "What Anderson is upset about is that our world no longer exists. Before we left, the war had brought out the worst in everyone. The two major players in the war decided that if they lost, then they were taking everyone else with them." Sergi told them. "He knows that he will never see his family again. That we are the only survivors of our world's final war." He added. "If you escaped with Anderson, why are you not depressed?" Twilight asked, confused at the glaring differences in their respective reactions. "My family is already dead and I never felt attached to the world afterwards." He simply replied "How can anyone become as stone cold as you? Nothing seems to faze you." Rainbow Dash blurted out. "I had to watch my closest friends die right in front of me and see people I held dear die in my arms." Sergi replied in a voice that cut like a knife. Silence filled the room as that news was revealed. The information slowly filled the minds of the ponies. 'A whole planet destroyed? That can't be right. Why would there be a conflict so immense that it killed everything?' Twilight pondered, the silence hanging over everypony like a heavy blanket. "It's getting pretty late. I suggest that everyone get some sleep. We’ve got a long trip ahead of us." Sergi said to break the silence. Looking outside, he was right. The storm had stopped and Luna's clear night dazzled the land with its bright stars. Sleep sounded like a good idea. Getting herself more comfortable on the padded ground, Twilight could see that she was not the only one with the idea. Twilight watched as Sergi went over to his companions and tell them that they could have the cots inside the tent. Anderson looked up at Sergi and took the hand that he offered and they spoke to each other in voices low enough not to be heard by wandering ears. Looking happier than he did before, Anderson finished his cupcake and headed for the tent. Falling asleep quickly, she did not have time to go over all of the questions floating around her head. The only thing she knew was that she now had more questions than answers. ===================================================================== So everything has gone off pretty well. I want to thank frieD195 for helping me with proofreading.Thank you all so much for the support, It is going to help me throughout the story. Any ideas on a schedule for upcoming chapters will be taken into consideration.
Unexpected GuestsThe Beginning of the End Unexpected Guests Before Spike went to sleep, he decided that what happened today should be made known to the Princesses. Pulling out a piece of paper he began to write: Dear Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, Twilight was injured today in her studies at the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters. She was saved by some unknown creatures called humans. Everything seems fine here and we are camped out in the throne room of the castle. Tomorrow we should be heading back to town. Your faithful student's assistant. Spike The fact that he had done something that Twilight would’ve asked for before she actually asked it felt good. He sent the message out and fell asleep next to the fire. ==================== Sergi opened his eyes. 'Damn, I feel asleep during the night. Good thing none of those creatures came up here looking for a fight.' He thought as he cleared his head and looked around. Everyone was still asleep and the sun had not risen yet. Noticing something odd, he walked over to the purple unicorn that was called Twilight Sparkle. All the others he had vaguely remembered as well. As he got closer to Twilight Sparkle he noticed that the bandages were damp. Quickly thinking this was from the weather outside he noticed it had a tint of red. 'She must’ve reopened the wound sometime last night.' Quietly jogging over to the medical bag, Sergi rummaged through the bag and did not see anything left that could be of use. Remembering that one of the ponies had a medical bag as well, he went over to the group of ponies and one dragon. There it lay next to the yellow pegasus. 'What was her name? I think it was Fluttershy.' Pushing the thought aside he opened the bag and rummaged through. Most of these things would work great for smaller cuts but not for the ones that graced her friends’ side. It looked like another supply run would be needed. He quickly chiseled out a message out on a pillar. Feeling that it might be passed along, Sergi embedded his Kukrhi into the pillar. Checking over the message, he felt that it would suffice. Before doing anything else, he wanted to be able to take down anything that would come at him this time. Picking up his PPSH, he unclipped the empty drum and placed a fresh drum with a piece of red tape across one side into the slot. From the inside of the large backpack he pulled out two more drums and a special box magazine made for this World War II legend. Also from out of the bag he took out a black box that fit into a compartment on his upper leg. Walking over to a duffle bag he opened up the bag and pulled out a model 1887 shotgun and a FAL rifle. After grabbing some ammo and placing them on various parts of his person, mostly his legs, Sergi walked back over to the purple unicorn, 'Twilight Sparkle I think that was her name. I bet Anderson would know.' Sergi thought to himself. Looking out a window he saw that the snow had stopped and it was just about dawn. Checking his TACPAD, he was surprised that the temperature was about 19 degrees. Seeing that another trip would be needed, Sergi found that his tactical mask was missing. Not wanting to waste any more time, he removed the helmet he wore and was about to toss it over to his pile. Thinking for a second, he recorded a message on his helmet in the hopes that Anderson would find it. Sergi took another look at the pony. Unless this unicorn had a really thick skin, which she didn't, she would be in worse shape later than she was right now. Taking off the thick jacket he was wearing, he wrapped it around the unicorn. The jacket was Russian-made with metal plates sewn in between the three different cloth layers. Sergi stood there in just a green T-shirt and multiple straps holding onto three other knifes. Multiple scars marked previous battles from times past. Up on his right shoulder was a tattoo of the red star of the Cossacks. In the middle of the star was a skull wearing a crown and a dagger plunged into the skull. On the left was a tattoo of a pair of crossed guns. One was an AK-47 and the other was a Mosin-Nagat with a scope. Above the guns was a skull with the words Mortis Personalis Donum printed on the forehead of the skull. He lifted the creature off the ground and cradled it in his arms. As he raced down the stairs, he flipped the hood of the jacket over the pony's face to block it from the chilling air. When the sun started to rise over the horizon, the black shape charged into the white of its surroundings. This movement was noted as a shadow by one of Celestia's Royal Guard. =================== Anderson had a harsh wake up call. Hearing movement outside the tent, he thought that some of the ponies were awakening. 'This will be so exciting! The one thing that I care for, I'm now a part of their world! There is so much to do and learn here!' He thought in his head. As he got up, Anderson moved towards the tent flap and heard something else other than hoof steps. It sounded like.... metal clanking? Backing away from the tent flap he took a mirror and pulled up the bottom of one of the corners. Looking at the reflection he could see a platoon of Royal Guards and Princess Celsetia. 'Oh shit! Why is she here? She only comes when something big happens or something bad occurs. Usually it was the same things. I better get Sir Henry up.' Anderson rushed through his head. Racing across the tent over to where the knight slept, Anderson violently shook the knight trying to keep quiet as long as possible. Sir Henry had removed most of his armor last night except for a leather chest piece, his metal gauntlets, and his metal boots. "Hey! Get up! We have a problem!" Anderson whispered. "What is it? It's barely morning." Sir Henry mumbled as he slowly awoke. "We got guards and Princess Celestia outside the tent!" "What do you...." The sound of a tent flap opening made them both look over. Princess Celestia and several guards stood in the opening and Celestia did not have a happy look on her face. Before Anderson or Sir Henry could react, they were thrown to the ground and dragged out into the open. Having two guards standing next to both of them, they stared at their surroundings. Anderson noticed that both Sergi and Twilight Sparkle were gone. The other ponies were just moving around and getting up. Confusion could also be seen in their faces. His vision was forced up into the eyes of Princess Celestia. "Where is Twilight Sparkle?" Celestia interogated. "I...I don't know.... She was fine and well last night." Anderson mumbled out through everything he was trying to process in a short time. "When I received the message that Spike sent to me, I thought this would be a simple investigation. It has now turned into a kidnapping!" Celestia exclaimed to Anderson. "Also, why do I have the feeling that I have seen you before? Have we met before?" She added as she looked over to Sir Henry. "Yes you have ma'am. I am Sir..." Sir Henry was beginning as a guard shouted out "Princess! I found something!" Walking over to a pillar near the stairwell, a message could be seen chiseled into the stonework. 'I have taken the purple unicorn. Gone out to find help. Do not panic.' Seeing the color change in the face of Celestia, Anderson prepared for the worst. "WHO ELSE ARE YOU IN LEAGUE WITH? IS IT THE GRIFFONS?!" She shouted out at the two humans kneeling under her magic. "Nevermind. Commander, leave eight of your men here and take the rest out to find this third creature. If you can, don't kill it. I have some questions for it." "Yes ma'am, can we get Princess Luna's forces to assist? They have a better understanding of the surrounding area." "Yes, that is fine. Just get the third creature before anything bad happens." Turning her attention back to the two humans, she decided to start from the top. "Names, what are your names?" she questioned as she applied a little pressure with her magic. "Anderson! Oh god please make it stop!" Anderson shouted out as he slowly crumpled into a ball from the pressure. "My name is Sir Henry Longworth, Paladin of the Knights Templar. How quickly do you forget your old friends Princess?" Sir Henry as the magic flared up around him and flickered out. "How are you doing that? No creature alive can do anything like this unless...." Celestia drifted off as she remembered centuries past, removing the pressure from the other human. "Yes, this is cold steel armor, one of the only substances that can nullify magic." "I only know of a few creatures that could forge this metal. May I?" As she moved forward and tilted her head down a bit. "Certainly, I remember the first time you worked this spell." Sir Henry answered as he knelt down onto one knee and tilted his head forward. Celestia's horn glowed again. Anderson just lied there and watched as everyone went still. seconds passed, it seemed more like minutes or hours passing by. The magic began to dim and Sir Henry raised his head and looked at Princess Celestia. With a look of disbelief on her face, a smile slowly grew on her face and she embraced him in what looked like a hug. As she pulled herself away tears could be seen sliding down her face. "My good friend, it is good to know that you are alive. So many were lost in the uprising." She said as all earlier hostility disappeared. "Now are you going to explain how you crossed dimensions and brought back two other humans?" "Certainly, but to answer your question, I think we need to consult the Prophecy of Man." Sir Henry replied. "Isn't that just something from Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet?" Rainbow Dash questioned. "I'm not sure but I do know that many have tried to decipher the cryptic message and have failed. But I believe that I have cracked it wide open.” ===================== Without any trouble going through the forest, Sergi burst out of the woods with his package. Looking over the town again, he noted a building with the red cross on it. 'Good thing some things are still the same in this place.' Taking a look behind him he could see golden specks flying over the forest with black dots. Racing over towards the building, ponies in the street either stood in shock of what was racing through town or bolted into their homes. With this the streets were slightly easier to move through. As the hospital grew rapidly in size, Sergi didn't slow down and rammed his shoulder right into the doors. Bursting wide open he found himself in a lobby, everyone in the room was staring, startled at the sudden commotion. "I got an injured pony here that needs a doctor! Can anyone help?" He shouted out to the others there as he scanned the lobby for exits he might have to use later in case of hostiles. A pony wearing a white cap with a red cross exited a door behind the counter and came back out with a unicorn in a white jacket and a black tie. Seeing that there was help here he pulled off the hood from Twilight Sparkles head. She was muttering things in her sleep; oblivious to what was happening around her. "Follow me, I can help her." said the unicorn with the white jacket and tie. Following behind the two other ponies, they came to a room with a bed and some monitors around it. Placing his jacket down on the bed, Sergi removed the sleeping unicorn from his jacket. Seeing the red bandages, the 'doctor' and the 'nurse' carefully removed them and took a look at the damage. A glowing light appeared from the ' doctors' horn and the wounds stitched themselves back together. In only a few seconds the wound was completely healed. The once large cuts on the side were covered in a purple coat. About to run out of the room, the nurse yelled out. "Excuse me. What about your jacket?" "Leave it with her; it will help her find out how she got here." Sergi shouted out as he bolted back out the doors. Being back outside the specks were getting closer to the town, following his exact trail through the forest. Swearing under his breath, Sergi bolted back towards the woods. 'If they’re looking for me, then I'm going to give them a run for their money'. Back into the woods he went, not knowing where he was going or what would happen. He knew he was being followed; he had to distract them from the hospital. Pulling the shotgun from his holster on his hip Sergi shot one round into the air. The air cracked from the gun shot, bringing the specks over to Sergi's position. They swooped down from the skies, intent on capturing their target. They followed a man without a plan into unknown territory. ==================== Commander Dawn Treader heard the blast from down below. Knowing that this was possibly the creature he was looking for, he sent all of his men except for one to follow. He took the newest member of the Celestia's Royal Guard to follow the tracks leading into the town of Ponyville. He had a gut feeling that there was a reason for the creature going into the town. "Commander Dawn Treader, why are we following these tracks here if the creature was going into the forest?" Private Lucky Clover asked. "If you took a good look at him, you’d have seen he was not burdened. That means that Celestia's student, Twilight Sparkle, has to be somewhere along his path through town. I need a new set of eyes, and you’re just the ticket." The commander replied. As they followed the trail, they ended up at the hospital. Perplexed as to why it came here they ventured inside. There was already a group of ponies talking together in a panicked frenzy. As they saw the two royal guards step in, they clamored over and all started speaking at once. unable to decipher anything, Commander Dawn Treader held up a hoof and everything went quiet. "Ladies and Gentlecolts, I am unsure of what happened and everything will work out if we all keep calm. Now can someone tell me what happened?" "I can. This tall creature was carrying Twilight Sparkle in a jacket. It barged into the hospital, waited for Twilight Sparkle to be healed and just took off again. Very strange behavior if you ask me." said Doctor Stable as he broke through the crowd. "Is Twilight Sparkle conscious?" Commander Dawn Treader asked. "Yes, she is stable and conscious. She's just a little woozy from the effects of magic healing." Doctor Stable replied. "Which way doctor?" "Follow me." The trio disappeared down a hallway and left the other ponies to their imagination. Entering the room they found Twilight Sparkle lying in the bed and a dark green jacket lying next to a coat stand. On closer inspection a peg was broken off when the jacket was placed on it. 'This thing just keeps on getting weirder and weirder.' the commander thought in his mind. Slightly shaking his head to clear out the stray thoughts, he approached Twilight Sparkle. "Twilight Sparkle, I wish we could have seen each other in a different situation, but it is what it is. Now do you know anything about your kidnapper?" "Kidnapper? No, you’ve got this all wrong. He helped me, he saved me!" "Hold on, I know that after some time in a situation like yours, you might develop feelings..." "NO NO NO! I was not kidnapped. I was saved from a manticore by him. He went out into a blizzard to get my friends for help. He killed an entire pack of Timberwolves to protect me and my friends. There was no kidnapping!" Silence filled the room. Twilight Sparkle was fuming from the last question. Commander Dawn Treader took this time to take his leave. As he motioned to Lucky Clover that it was time to move, Twilight Sparkle shouted out. "Commander! Please don't hurt him, he has a good heart!" "We will see but..." Before he could finish his statement a scroll appeared out of a sudden flare of fire. Opening the scroll, he browsed through the contents. On the paper in front of him it read, Dear Commander Dawn Treader, I have gathered information from the two other creatures and the other ponies there. These creatures are dangerous but came here in peace. If you find the third creature, do not kill it. It is very important concerning a new breakthrough with a secret from an ancient artifact. This creature is to be marked as dangerous, but hard to anger. The two other creatures, and the other Elements of Harmony will help in the search and recovery. From Princess Celestia Passing the scroll to Lucky Clover to look over. Commander Dawn Treader walked back over to Twilight Sparkle. "Come on kid, we got ourselves a creature to catch." Delight could be seen washing over Twilight Sparkle as she heard this. Jumping out of the bead she nearly fell flat on her face. Catching her before the floor, Commander Dawn Treader supported her as she regained balance. "Easy there kid, we haven't even left the room yet. Let’s just try to take it slow and steady." Dawn Treader calmly said, relaxing Twilight Sparkle, adding "I bet he is still giving my men a run for their money." Why did he have a strange feeling that this was actually happening. ==================== Sergi burst into an opening in the forest as he was closely followed by crossbow bolts. Flying past him, the bolts hit the trees on the other side of the clearing and engulfed them in ice. Turning around to see how close his pursuers were to him. Rustling from the foliage told him that they were still pretty close. Running back into the forest he became aware that he was in an over grown ruin. Tapping a series of buttons on his TACPAD, Sergei jumped over to the side and hid behind a wall. A holographic double now ran in the same direction that he was going before. As the double disappeared from sight, the sounds of hoofs could be heard charging down through the ruins. A wave of gold, white, silver and dark blue stormed past the wall that Sergi used as cover and continued to follow the double deeper into the woods. The sky darken as the sky was filled with pegasi following in the chase They continued to fire crossbow bolts at the double as they slowly disappeared back into the forest. Looking around his surroundings more closely, this appeared to be a fort of some type. A lone figure could be seen in a courtyard off to the side. Walking up to the figure, it soon became apparent that it was a human knight with both of his hands on the hilt of his two handed sword. Sergi slowly moved toward the FAL on his back as he felt like he was not alone. Turning around quickly, Sergi whipped the rifle off his back and looked down the sights at what appeared to be a unicorn and a pegasus mixed together. It had a flowing mane that looked like the night sky and had a dark blue coat. "These are the ruins of my personal retreat. This was a place I used to visit any time I could before I became envious of my sister. No one knows why, but everyone has their ideas." She began as she slowly stepped towards Sergi. "I had friends that were like you, being human I mean. Now, if you can tell me where Twilight Sparkle is I will not harm you." "She saved my life and now I'm saving hers." Sergi responded, he still felt that something else was watching. "I am not here to hurt her, just to better understand what the situation is." She said as she continued her advancement. "GET DOWN NOW!" Sergi shouted as he pointed his rifle above her. With a crack a shot rang out through the ruins and a snake the size of the new pony fell out of a tree. Darting his head around he spotted what was watching them, an entire horde of snakes. "Aren't snakes inactive during the winter or are they fully seasonal creatures here?" Sergi shouted out to his new companion. "No, they shouldn't even be moving this time of year unless..." Her sentence fading off into thought. "Unless what!?" Sergi shouted out as he tried to keep his eyes on all of the snakes. "Unless the Basilisk is awake." she finished her sentence as she moved closer to Sergi. At the mention of the name a bone chilling hiss broke out of the forest and a snake the size of a four story building rose above the surrounding forest. Taking another look around he could see that the snakes where slowly closing in. "How well do you remember the layout of this place miss?" Sergi shouted out as he prepared for the worst. "Pretty good, why is that important now?" The pony asked "Is there a building we can enter close to here?" Sergi explained "There was a tower built behind this statue, but it's not much now." She answered with a quiver of fear in her voice. "That will be good enough" Sergi's said as he turned his head to look. It was a good distance away, but it would have to do. "Here's the plan! When I tell you to, you need to run as fast as you can toward the tower. I will follow you soon after. If anything, you will be able to get to safety. Any questions?" Sergi said as he continued to follow the movements of the snakes. "No." She replied "Go now, I'll follow!" Sergi ordered. Without any hesitation she sprinted toward the ruins. Seeing a brief opportunity to strike the pony, a few snakes lunged forward. Sergi turned to each one and released burst of bullets at them. The bodies withered around in the snow and quickly came to a stop. The other snakes lunged in vengeance for their fallen comrades and were met with a similar fate. Even though they failed to reach Sergi, they slowly pushed the line closer and closer to him. Hearing the dreaded click of an empty clip, Sergi grabbed his 1887 shotgun and began to fire into the swarm again. This time he began his way back to the ruins. The Basilisk noticed the killing field that appeared before its eyes and let out another deafening hiss, throwing itself into the battle. Sergi had finished the last of the snakes when he heard the deafening hiss of the Basilisk. Looking up he saw the world quickly turn dark as the Basilisk flung itself onto the battlefield. Aiming the shotgun up at the monstrosity, Sergi fired off the last of the shells in the shotgun and watched in astonishment as the shots only made dents on the scales of the creature. "What the hell is this thing made of?" Sergi said to himself as he attempted to jump out of the way. ==================== Princess Luna had just entered into the ruins when she noticed that no one was following her. Turning around she could see him fending off the snakes and the sound of his strange magic continued to echo throughout the ruins. 'I shouldn't be here running to safety, I should be up there with him.' She thought in her head. Running back out, Princess Luna noticed a different sound. It still sounded like the humans' magic, but louder and more resounding. Reaching halfway between location of the human and the ruins, she cringed in agony as the hiss of the Basilisk filled the air. Fear welled up within Luna as she saw the colossal Basilisk lunge toward the human. As the human attempted to evade the strike, the Basilisk snatched the human up with its tail and brought it up to its head for closer inspection. 'What now? Only the combined powers of my sister and I could we challenge the Basilisk. Even then we only contained it with the powers of the Elements of Harmony. Now the spell is broken because we are no longer attached to the Elements.' Princess Luna hurriedly panicked as the tail slowly began crushing the human. The strange magic of the human could be heard again as pain and anger quickly washed over the Basilisk as it whipped its head about. As its head thrashed around, red began to paint itself on the face of the Basilisk. As it fell to the ground, it abandoned its curiosity and started flailing its entire body around. The corpse of the Basilisk soon came to a stop and laid there as the fresh new blood joined the blood of the other snakes and covered the pure white snow and took away any signs of innocence of this place. An eerie stillness filled the ruins. Nothing could be heard except for Luna's own breathing. She began walking toward where the human had fallen. Her walk quickly turned into a jog, and then a sprint. Luna found the human lying on the ground, barely holding onto life. His midsection was torn up from the scales of the Basilisk. A strange thing on his wrist was stating how every one of his ribs had been broken and how multiple lacerations were detected in his midsection. In his right hand he held a strange object; it was made out of wood and metal along with a red line across a wide cylinder near where he held it. A low groan slipped from his lips as it looked like he was attempting to move. Luna used her magic to lift him up and carry him over to a safer area of the ruins. Inside there were small reminders of what this place used to be. A fireplace stayed unlit in a corner of the room. A few chairs surrounded a large table. Spreading against a wall was an upside down crescent moon with wings flared out. Below the moon was a star touching the moon only by two tips. Forcing the bad memories from her mind, Luna placed the bloodied body onto the table. Seeing how this human would not last long, she flipped through her mental book of spells. After flipping through enough pages she landed on something that would fit the bill. Powering up her horn she aimed it at the human lying there and released the spell. Images flipped through her mind: a burning village in the middle of winter, other humans taking in a child, his only family dying all around him, a seemingly endless period of time in a building full of white walls and machines, a war that was spelling the end to the world's existence. All of these images... No, memories flashed through her mind all at once and suddenly stopped as she saw a human standing, staring back at her in her mind. It walked closer so a light showed the human in detail. He still wore a green shirt and a thick pair of pants that was similar to the human she was healing, but something looked familiar. Something of this human reminded her of centuries past, but what was it. This was the same clothing that the human she was healing wore but the man was someone else. "Dear Princess Luna, it has been so long. I have missed this world so much." The man said as he noticed her taking interest. "Who are you? You look so familiar." Luna replied. "How could you forget me dear Princess? I was your bodyguard during the uprising; your noble warrior from the north, your royal guardian Cossack. Do you not remember those times?" The man said as other images began to appear around him. "Is...Is that you Alexander?" Luna asked in wonder. "Yes. It is I, Princess. The man you are saving is the answer to the Prophecy of Man. He will be the deciding factor of the fate of Equestria." "He holds that much power? So where are the rest of the humans hiding?" Luna asked in curiosity. "He is not of this dimension. He is from where I escaped to when I disappeared during the fight against Discord. He has powers beyond anything you have learned. Be careful with him, he has seen things and has had things done to him that not even you could possibly imagine." Alexander said as he slowly vanished from her head and she reopened her eyes. The human was lying there, healthier than when she brought him down. His chest was back to its normal position and his body showed no signs of the damage from the Basilisk. A few seconds later, his chest began to slowly raise and lower with his breathing. Smiling she decided to start the fire. This has been a very interesting day. Her thoughts trailed off to the times back when she was a little filly. Back when Discord had overthrown her parents. Back when she and Celestia were alone in the world. Back to the times she spent with Alexander... =========================================================== Well there you go folks, the next chapter of story. Thank you all again for your support, it pushes me to continue the story. Credits for proofreading go out to frieD195. The next chapter should be off to proofreading in about a week, so hang tight.
Old MemoriesThe Beginning of the End Old Memories Sergi slowly opened his eyes. This had been the second time he was saved from death by this weird world. Slowly getting up he took stock of his surroundings. It was a room that consisted mostly of stone, but there were hints of rare metals as accents on the furniture. Everything seemed normal in the room, except for the back wall. It stood there with only one thing on the wall, a large flag with an upside down crescent moon with unfurled wings. The emblem was in a bright red on a black background. Moving into a sitting position, he found that it was already night outside. Pushing himself off the table, he found a note attached to the table’s edge. Sergi picked up the paper and started reading it. He quickly stopped and pulled a SAS combat knife from a sheath on his upper arm. Turning around he found the pony he had saved from the snakes standing in the doorway to the outside. "Can I help you?" Sergi asked as she approached even closer. "Yes, but let’s start out with introductions first. My name is Princess Luna, and yours would be?" She asked as she moved inside. Light began stream in from the doorway and multiple cracks in the wall "My name is Sergi Zolnerowich." Sergi flatly replied. "Now that we have that out of the way, let’s get to business. You saved me from the Basilisk, but earlier I was informed that you were a kidnapper and held my sisters star pupil. Where is Twilight Sparkle?" "Why should I trust you? I have dealt with many people before you and when I started to trust them, they just stabbed me in the back." Sergi replied as he readjusted his hold on the knife. "Because I trust her." A familiar voice said from outside the conversation. Looking beyond Luna, there stood Twilight Sparkle with a guard. Hesitantly, Sergi lowered his knife and relaxed. He placed the knife back in its sheathe. From behind Twilight Sparkle stood a pony clad in golden armor that looked like something the Roman's wore. The fringes of the armor and some type of emblem were highlighted with black and silver. Sergi's jacket soon floated in the air as it moved into the room. Sergi took a step back as it got closer. "Stop fidgeting, I'm trying to give you your jacket back." Twilight Sparkle said with a little irritation. "You’re making my jacket do that?" Sergi asked as he switched his attention between the jacket and her. "Of course, it's just magic." She replied Sergi let the jacket come closer and rest itself on his shoulders. He noted that the purple outline disappeared as the weight of the jacket met his shoulders. Sliding his arms into the jacket, he picked up his PPSH-41 that was on the floor. Sergi realized that he had left his shotgun and his rifle outside during the slaughter. He walked past the three ponies in the room to step right into a situation. The multiple bodies of the snakes and the Large Basilisk were gone, only to be remembered by the field of bloody snow. Out in the courtyard were two entire platoons of ponies in golden armor. He counted at least 50 crossbows aimed at him. From up above, a pegasus dived down at him. Sergi waited until the pegasus was closer before he stepped out of the way. As the pegasus flew past him and into the ground Sergi brought up his gun. The pegasus turned around to find himself staring down the barrel of the gun. This pegasus wore similar armor to the one he saw before but his armor was all black with gold and silver highlights. Making sure the pegasus knew what was going to happen, Sergi pulled the trigger. An uneventful click was all that happened. He threw the gun aside and grabbed the pegasus by the collar of his armor. Sergi lifted up so that his gaze bored straight into the pegasus's eyes. All around him he heard the sound of others surrounding him and locking him in a circle. Seeing a grin spread across the pegasus's face, Sergi pulled him closer and said. "This is not over yet. You’re lucky I didn't have any bullets left." With this said, Sergi tossed the pegasus off to the side and looked upon the other unicorns and pegasi surrounding him. All had an emotionless expression on their face. Sergi slowly turned around to see the golden guard and Twilight Sparkle coming out of the ruins. Twilight Sparkle saw the situation and began running toward the circle of gold and black. As she reached the circle, she tried to persuade her way into the inside with Sergi. "He's not dangerous, has he not saved enough ponies yet?" She shouted out in desperation. "He is dangerous by my account, he killed off a Basilisk and all of his minions. Anyone who can do that should always be marked as extremely dangerous." The pegasus in black armor replied as he got back into the air, just high enough so that Sergi had to look up to him. "Isn't that right? Monsters don't get privileges." The pegasus continued with a voice you would use with a small child. "He's not a monster! He saved my life twice!" Twilight Sparkle shouted out with a voice filled with rage. "Don't call it a 'he', 'it' just wants to get you when you get close." The pegasus shot back as he turned his head to look a Twilight Sparkle. Sergi had enough of taunting from the pegasus and took his chances when he looked away. With one swift movement, He had the pegasus on the ground and had pulled a 8" knife out of his boot. Pressing the blade against the pegasus's neck, Sergi stared coldly at the pegasus. His eyes widened with fear as he realized his mistake. The surrounding guards murmured with anxiety as they did not know what to do with this situation. "Never talk down to me! I have respected everyone I have met here that hasn’t tried to kill me yet. All that I'm asking for is to be seen as an equal. Your Princess would not be alive right now if I had not killed off all of those over grown snakes. Trust me when I say I have more combat experience than you." Sergi said coldly to the pegasus. "You?! Have more experience than ME?! I am Commander Nightshade, Leader of Luna's Royal Guard. What experience, may I ask, do you have?" "I have had 20 years of killing tyrants, toppling governments, crushing nations, fighting in a global war, and watching almost everyone close to me die." Sergi said with a voice so cold that it seemed to freeze the bloody slush. "20 years, you don't even look that old yet. How old are you anyway?" Commander Nightshade interogated. "I am 26 years old. Ever since I can remember, I have been trained to face anything that gets in my way." Sergi replied as he stared right into the eyes of the pegasus. "So you have been brought up to be a cold-blooded killer? Well then finish the job, kill me right now!" The pegasus bellowed, trying to push Sergi over the edge. "That will be enough Commander, this human saved my life when I thought nothing could be done. I have never seen such courage and bravery for many centuries." Luna said from off to the side. "Sergi, I think you have gotten your point across." She continued. Sergi stared at the pegasus for a little bit longer before he released his grip and stood back up. He placed his blade back into its sheath in his boot. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he could see the pegasus getting back up and rubbing his neck. Twilight Sparkle made her way over to Sergi, but half way, she looked off to the side and bowed down toward the rising sun. Sergi looked over and saw another pony slightly larger than Luna. This one though, had a pure white coat and her mane looked like one of the Northern lights. Sergi turned his attention to the newcomer and waited to be questioned. Ever since he arrived in Equestria, everyone wanted to know about him. He just wished that the attention would go somewhere else. All this attention made him feel uneasy. The new arrival walked up to him with a smile on her face. "Hello Sergi, it seems like you have been busy. It seems like you’re not a normal human." She started off with. "No ma'am." Sergi replied, assuming that she wasn't wearing that crown for no reason. "You can just call me Celestia, ma'am just seems to...'Starchy'... Can I ask you some questions?" She responded to his stiff reply. "Yes, you may." Sergi said, still as stiff as a board with his hands behind his back. "What did you do in the other world?" Celestia inquired. "I was a soldier fighting a war." Sergi simply answered. "You weren't meant for regular situations, what was your purpose in this war?" Celestia asked as she probed deeper for more answers. "Protect the weak and destroy the powerful. I have trained ever since I could remember." Sergi replied as his childhood quickly flashed into his mind. "I have been around humans before, but you have surpassed the physical limits of your species. What is your secret?" Celestia asked as she started to walk closer. "I would rather not discuss that in public Celestia." Sergi answered trying to hold the flood gate of memories. "Let me try something. It will allow me to see what I need to see and no one else will know." She said as she continued to walk closer. "What might this be?" Sergi asked as he saw her horn began to shine more than it did before. "Oh, just a little magic trick I learned." Celestia simply answered with a grin on her face. Celestia flared up her horn and approached Sergi. He felt a presence in his mind, rummaging through his thoughts. She flipped through his training and quickly decided that wasn't the answer. Digging deeper into his memories, she found what she needed, his time as a lab subject. Those dreaded three years being pumped full of drugs and pushed to the breaking point. Curious on how he became a lab subject, Sergi felt her dig back up to earlier events. She stopped when she found the reason. Within seconds, he felt the presence disappear and to see Celestia jerk her head back from the harsh information she found. "Find what you needed?" Sergi asked already knowing what she had seen. The Princess stepped back and tried to process what had just happened. She looked back up at Sergi and regained her composure. "I think that will be enough questions for today. I have to think over everything I’ve just learned." She said to him "Oh, and Sergi? Next time we need to talk, you don't have to run." With this both of the Princesses flew up into the sky with their pegasus guards. All of the Unicorn guards disappeared in personal bubbles of color. This left Sergi standing in the middle of the blood soaked courtyard with Twilight and the first guard he met. Twilight Sparkle had raised herself off the ground and was looking towards him. The guard walked up and approached Sergi. "My name is Commander Dawn Treader, Leader of Celestia's Royal Guards. My job now is to escort Twilight Sparkle and you back to Ponyville, where you will meet up with your friends." The guard said as he stepped forward. "Yes sir." Sergi replied more willingly. "I think I like this ‘sir’ stuff from you." Commander Dawn Treader said with a smirk. "Before we head off, I need to grab some things." Sergi said as he remembered why he came out here originally. Sergi stepped away from the two and proceeded toward where he made his last stand. He found his weapons on the ground. It was easy to find his weapons. They were on the ground next to piles of shell casings. Sergi picked up his weapons back up and placed them in their respective places. Walking back toward the group, he picked up his PPSH. "I assume that is what you needed." The Commander said staring at the unique items. "Yes sir." Sergi replied as he straightened up a bit and gave a small salute. "You seem to take a lot of joy from this. Why is that Dawn Treader?" Twilight Sparkle inquired Commander Dawn Treader. "Once a guard knows your name, you almost forget what rank you are again until the Grand Galloping Gala." He said with a sigh. "Grand Galloping Gala?" Sergi asked when he heard the strange name. "I'll explain to you on the way. It's a very fun time!" Twilight Sparkle said, brimming over with excitement. With that, the group walked off into the forest as Twilight Sparkle tried to explain the Grand Galloping Gala to Sergi. ==================== Back at Canterlot, Celestia and Luna stood looking over Canterlot. It was very easy to see that Celestia was deeply troubled. "What's the matter? I haven't seen you like this in a long time." Luna probed. "The things in that human's head...It’s just...Everything we have done in our lives doesn’t even approach to what he’s seen in just twenty years." Celestia replied trying to hold her strong demeanor. "I’ve only just scratched the surface of his memories too." "What so you mean Sister? Let me try to help." Luna said as she stepped closer to her sister. "Okay, first off he has been trained since he was young to fight the good fight. Similar to when we were left for dead by Discord." Celestia began as she stared down at the statue garden. "Growing up, he had to deal with death almost every single day. On one day he had to watch everyone he had known as family die when a traitor led them into a trap." "That sounds horrible! It sounds so familiar to the fate of the Humans of Equestria back during the uprising. Are you sure of what you saw?" Luna replied as she tried to process these descriptions with what see saw earlier. "I am very sure. He would’ve lived peacefully for the rest of his life after that." Celestia answered as she ceased trying to hide her true feelings from her sister. "What happened then 'Tia?" Luna asked in a calm voice. "As he lay wounded in the middle of the slaughter, he was taken to labs and tested on. They treated him so cruelly. How could they treat their own species so cruelly?" Celestia said as she started to break into tears. "Can you elaborate on that?" Luna asked, desperately trying to find out if her version matched her sister's discovery. "They pumped him full of special potions and placed him in situations where he would fail. Everything he did killed those he held dear....For three straight years he went through this... How?" Celestia said as she began sob uncontrollably. "Dear sister, even though he has been through all of that, he has clearly held onto the beliefs of his early life. Do you feel any better getting that off your mind?" Luna tried to cheer up her sister after verifying that they saw the same things. "Yes. Yes I do. Thank you for your support. You always seem to be able to make things better." Celestia said after wiping a tear away with her hoof. "I learned it a very long time ago from a close friend of mine." Luna replied as her thoughts drifted back to her foalhood. ==================== The trio of Twilight Sparkle, Commander Dawn Treader, and Sergi emerged from the forest to look upon the small town he has already seen twice in the short time he has been here. During the walk he was enlightened by Twilight Sparkle about the Grand Galloping Gala, the general description of the area around both Ponyville and Canterlot, and a detailed description of all of her friends. Closer to the town were her six friends and his two companions. As Twilight ran up to her friends, Sergi slowly walked up as he checked the surroundings for any sniper spots, ambush positions, etc. "You don't have to worry about any ambushes here. This is too far in for any bad guys to be lurking. Also Celestia’s student lives here, so we have guards undercover here." Commander Dawn Treader said as he knew what Sergi was doing. "I once thought that way too when I was younger." Sergi replied blandly. "Ease up there; we're both soldiers to different degrees. Consider this a vacation." The Commander said as they neared the group. "I guess there's a first for everything..." Sergi said as he approached the others. The Commander stopped in his tracks and stared at Sergi for a few seconds before rejoining with the group. "Sergi, I'm glad you got back. With how badly you freaked out Princess Celestia, I thought you would be watching from the moon right about now." Sir Henry said as he offered a handshake. "The moon? Why would I end up there?" Sergi questioned, this day seemed to get weirder every minute. "Um...Sir Henry. I don't think he exactly know about things work around here." Anderson said trying not to embarrass Sergi or Sir Henry. "Oh, how could I forget! You’ve never been here before. This world is filled with all types of things from our myths, such as magic and flying. Don't worry though; I am sure you will get used to it after a while." Sir Henry said as he nodded to Twilight Sparkle and Commander Dawn Treader. "Why is all of our equipment out here?" Sergi asked as he couldn't help looking at the duffle bags. "Princess Celestia said that we were to live here in Ponyville so that Twilight can begin doing research on our world." At that moment, Sergi's eyes dilated and the winter landscape was quickly changed to the dreaded halls of the Research lab he was tested at for three years before he broke out. The hallways were dark, but when a light flashed on for a few seconds, the smears and messages written in blood. The voices of those around him were quickly muffled out by the screams. Those damned screams from other subjects in the lab. They echoed throughout his head, they gave him more agony than any battle wound he received. Sergi fell down to his knees and reached up and placed his hands over his ears. This did nothing as the screams could still be heard in his head. Everything flashed back to normal when he felt something pushing on his shoulder. Sergi raised his head to see the yellow pegasus looking back at him "Are you alright?" She asked in a calm, soft voice. "Yes...Yes I'm alright. Just dealing with some old memories." Sergi said in a voice that was softer than normal. "What just happened to you? I have never seen anyone react that way." Twilight Sparkle said as she looked concerned. "It was just remembering some old memories. I will be fine now." Sergi replied as he stood back up. "Well, can I do some research on your world?" Twilight Sparkle asked as she still looked concerned. "Yes, ma'am." Sergi replied as he strongly held his cold demeanor as the screams began again in his head. "If anything, I think that this would be a good time to talk about where we're going to live." Anderson said as he was still trying to figure out what happened to Sergi. "I could house Anderson in my basement, but not everyone." Twilight Sparkle said. "I could house Sergi and Sir Henry in my barn, if they aren't afraid to do some of the chores around the farm." Applejack said. "Don't worry about me, I can handle myself." Sergi said as he walked over to the pile of supplies. "You can't be seriously thinking of sleeping outside. In case you haven't noticed, it’s winter right now." The cyan pegasus said to him. "I am seriously going to do it. The tent in one of these duffle bags can easily keep out the cold and snow. Also I don't want to hassle any of you with myself. I am more than capable of handling myself." Sergi answered as he began to pick up supplies. The others watched in amazement as they watched this human easily carry three of the duffle bags, one on his back and two in both of his hands. He turned his attention to Anderson. "I am taking the weapons with me. I doubt anyone would want you to be dragging a bag full of weapons into town." Sergi said. "Where are you going to set up? I doubt that you’re going to pitch your tent right here." Anderson said as he was befuddled by Sergi's actions. "From what I have seen from maps and what Twilight has told me. A small forest lies close to town on the Northeastern side. From inside there I will set up camp." Sergi answered as if he had already seen everyplace in and around the town. "Don't worry, I will stay in touch. I just don't want anyone or pony to walk into my camp without me knowing." Sergi said as he saw the faces of everyone else in the group. Sergi started off on his own way. He could feel the eyes of the others on his back and hear the questioning voices. An old tune from his younger years played in his head. Unable to resist, Sergi began hum the song to himself as he made his way across the open field. Along the trip, Sergi saw little to no ponies. Right about when he crossed a road on the outside of town, he took notice of three little fillies near the side of the road. As he made his way into the forest, they still followed him. Sergi placed the thought of his followers off to the side while he dropped the duffle bags in a clearing and began to set up camp. While working on setting up the tent, he spied on who his observers were. One was a small light yellow foal with red hair and a big red bow, one was a small orange pegasus with purple hair, and the last one was a small white unicorn with a mane with three variations of purple. Once Sergi had put up the support poles on the inside of the tent, he went outside and looked toward where they were hiding. On this movement, they bolted out from their hiding spots and ran out into the woods. Sergi chuckled to himself as he went to throw the camouflage cover over the tent. After the tent was completely set up, he moved inside to work on the living quarters. The desk, furnace, and bed were the first things to get taken care of. Next was getting rid of what snow was in there. Lastly was the setting up the gun rack. Sergi placed his PPSH on the desk for cleaning latter along with the FAL. The 1887 shotgun went into a secret pocket under his cot, since it would be too short for the rack since the barrel had been sawed off. Sergi walked over to the two duffle bags full of weapons and began sorting them out. The floor of the tent space was soon enveloped by piles of old and new tech guns. Several AK-47's and AK-74's laid next to the desk. Three Beowulf-46's were on the ground between the desk and the cot. A Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle, a Woodson '67 anti-material rifle, and a Russian rail rifle leaned against the cot. Several variants of the SPAS shotgun were placer near the entrance of the tent. An American rail gun laid on the cot, taking up most of the space. A box of fragmentation grenades and incendiary grenades were placed on top of the desk. A Mittelstedt light machine gun laid over by the furnace along with a Mc'Alpine Light machine gun. Other than the guns, multiple types of combat blades and hatchets were sorted into piles, including an officer’s sword. With the small armory finally organized in piles, Sergi started to place them on the racks he had put together. Everything fit into the racks, except for the rail gun. A quick solution was made and the rail gun was placed leaning against the end of one of the two racks. After the guns were in place, he placed all of the ammunition in one of the duffle bags and placed it underneath the desk. Satisfied that everything was almost in order, Sergi placed his personal bag at the foot of the cot and walked over to the tent entrance while placing his helmet on. On the right side of the entrance was a screen with various buttons below it. After pressing some buttons and heading through some menus, a low hum could be heard. The metal poles holding up the walls glowed white. "Command post activated. No networks detected. Create new network?" A monotone male voice said from the screen. After pressing another button, the now white metal poles sent a pulse up to the connector piece at the top of the tent. Walking outside, Sergi could see a beam of light shining up into the sky above from the top of his tent. "Network created, uploading images of surrounding area..." The male voice said through his helmet. "Uploading complete, uploading information from helmet systems..." The voice continued. "Welcome Commander of the Cossacks. Would you like to connect to other helmet systems in the area?" The computer asked in his headset. "Yes." Sergi simply answered. Seeing everything up and running, Sergi walked back inside and began cleaning his PPSH and the FAL. Once done, Sergi removed his helmet and placed it on the recently cleared desk and walked over to the cot. He took off his jacket and placed it next to the cot. Lying down on, Sergi turned over and reached into a pocket in his jacket. He pulled his hand out of one of the many pockets and looked at the handful of dog tags in his hand. He flipped through all of them, remembering every single one in great detail. The last pair of tags left he held longer than the others and memories of her flashed through his head. She was the first good thing that happened to him after the fall of the Cossacks and his imprisonment in the labs from hell. As Sergi placed the dog tags back into their respective pockets, he could hear her voice talking to him. "My, my, my. What a situation you’ve landed in. Going from the doorstep of hell to almost paradise. Just remember to show me to everyone at some point." She said from his helmet. "I will, don't you worry your pretty little head. I will..." Sergi replied back to his helmet before he laid down and fell asleep. ================================================================ Well, that's the chapter for you. I must again give thanks to frieD195 for proofreading this piece. I am very thankful for all of the input on the story, even the interesting discussion about the 1887 shotgun I only mentioned twice in the last chapter. Hopefully the small armory of weapons will interest you.
Smoke on the HorizonThe Beginning of the End Smoke on the Horizon Anderson stood there brimming with fury. He was having a great start of a day. He was in his paradise, he had friends he always wanted, and everything was fine. That is until these griffons decided to come storming into town looking for a fight. "I won't ask you again. You give us the elements and we will release the other prisoners and be on our way." The Griffon Leader said to Anderson and Sir Henry. "I would never trade my friends for anything! I'm surprised Sergi hasn't already beaten you down into a bloody pulp!" Anderson shouted back with all of his fury. "OH and where is this friend of yours now!? No one could possibly take on the might of the Griffon Empire's Best!" The Leader replied with the same intesity. "Since you are unwilling to act on my deal, maybe some 'persuasion' is needed. Guards!" At the call, two guards went to the prisoners and pulled out an unlucky pony. When they turned around with their prize, the unlucky pony turned out to be Applebloom. "NO! Shouted Applejack toward Anderson as she began to charge out to get her sister. "Applejack, you can't just charge in there!" Shouted out Twilight Sparkle as she held back Applejack with her magic. "But they have my sister!" Applejack shouted back trying to get out of Twilight's magical grasp. "My, my, my...What a turn of events. This will be interesting to watch." The Leader said with an evil grin spreading across his face. The two guards stopped while they changed their positions. One held Applebloom by her shoulders while the other one stood off to the side. He raised his right claw into the air to begin the onslaught. Anderson watched as the blow was about to be delivered when all of sudden, a screech pierced the afternoon sky. A smile spread across Anderson's face as he knew what was about to happen. Within seconds, the griffon holding Applebloom fell backwards with a knife plunged into one of his eyes while the other griffon found himself staring at Sergi behind him after a wet snap of his neck. Sergi slowly stood up and looked around at the every griffon that was not dead yet. Applebloom ran back toward her sister after the adrenaline began pumping through her. The griffons recognized Sergi as a threat and began encircling him. Anderson took the distraction as time to help the other ponies. He dashed to one far side of the road and go to the prisoners. He persuaded them to either head back to their homes or at least keep their distance from the faceoff. When he turned to check on the others he had just left, he witnessed how good Sergi actually was. ==================== Sergi stood there standing as still as a statue while the griffons closed in around him. He began to circle around once they had surrounded him. After making a quick head count and general profiling, Sergi readied himself for the attacks. There were 9 griffons in total, the leader stood outside the circle shouting out threats and encouragement for his men. The leader had a very elegant metal breastplate and a large black roman centurion commander helmet. The entire color scheme of the armor consisted of black, gold, and blood red. The rest of the griffons were not as armored. All they wore was simple leather armor. A brilliant idea jumped into Sergi's mind and he set up a timer in his helmet. Similar to the Timberwolves, they attacked one at a time. The first lunge came from behind, beginning the timer. Sergi quickly knelt down to grab his boot knife and pivoted around to hear the satisfying sound of a knife chrushing through the first griffons’ skull. He then swiftly pulled the knife out and quickly threw the knife at another griffon trying to use their wings to get a height advantage. The knife punctured right through the leather pads and right past the ribs. The officers’ sword quickly came out to meet another griffon on the side, saving the wounded griffon for later. Sergi pulled the sword into an upward slice to open the throat of a pouncing griffon. He then turned back around to finish the previous wounded griffon by impaling the sword through its head. With no time to pull out the sword, Sergi whipped around to punch the throat of the fifth griffon. Sergi fell to the ground and disabled the legs of the sixth griffon. At the same time he reached into his jacket and pulled a 10" knife. He placed all of his strength into placing the knife through the thick leather armor. Getting back up he saw a pure, primal fear in the griffons that were still alive. The two still-conscious griffons grabbed their comrade who was clutching his throat and flew off into the horizon. The Leader still stood off to the side shouting out threats. "YOU COWARDS ARE WORTHLESS! DO I HAVE TO do everything..." The Leader began before finding himself being stared down by Sergi. The griffon leader slowly backed up a few steps before launching himself into the air. Sergi marked the leader as a target on his HUD. If he is running away from a town in the middle of the country, there must be a camp set up somewhere. He grabbed his equipment from the small battlefield and started off toward his camp to prepare for his assault. The ponies that stood around all stared at him in fear and awe. Sergi took note of the timer on his HUD and wasn't surprised by their reaction. He had just taken down six, poorly, armored griffons in almost ten seconds. Sergi made his way out of the town toward his camp, forming up a list of things that would be needed for his new mission. "Commander, Private First Class Anderson is trying to connect. Should I patch him through?" The AI piped into his helmet "Might as well." Sergi replied as he knew what was going to be asked. "Sergi, what are you doing? You just killed six griffons in ten seconds and left them in the street! Where did you disappear to?!" Anderson shouted into the helmet over the sound of confusion in the backround. "Those griffons started a fight and I plan on finishing it." Sergi said flatly into the speaker. "You can’t just leave things where they are! Fluttershy is still unconscious from seeing all of that blood and Rainbow Dash just up and left to who-knows-where. Not to mention that other ponies are unaccounted for too!" Anderson tried to reason knowing what Sergi meant. "A small price to pay for insuring their safety. I will keep an eye out for Rainbow Dash." Sergi replied as he heard some interference from the other side. "Hello...Sergi, are you there? If you can hear me, don't go after the griffons. It is just not right to go killing everything. I can understand the creatures in the Everfree forest but the griffons are another thing all together." Twilight spoke through the helmet with apparent difficulty. "There is no difference. They are the aggressors, deeming them enemies. If you don't deal with them properly, they will give you more trouble in the future." Sergi answered from his years of experience. "We can find a way, I'm sure of it! Please don't touch them Sergi, we can talk things out...Please." She begged through the helmet. "I promise I will not touch any of them Twilight Sparkle." Sergi said as he chose his words wisely before cutting the link. He quickly went inside the tent and grabbed the empty duffle bag and began grabbing supplies. The Barret .50 caliber sniper rifle went into the bag with 2 eight-bullet magazines. The Mittelstedt light machine gun followed suit with one magizine of white phosphorus rounds. An AK-47 went into the bag only because of the gun having more available ammo. Sergi got up and moved over to the desk that still had his PPSH and FAL lying on it. He took the time to clean both guns before he decided to leave. He picked up a drum for the PPSH since he would be out of his mind not to take it. It was the one thing that tied him to his past and to the training that made who he partially was today. After everything was accounted for the mission, Sergi took a step outside. It seemed like those ponies actually cleaned up winter. There was no hint that this morning was filled with snow. He chuckled to himself because they had just helped him hide his tracks. Sergi jogged off deeper into the forest to follow the marker on his HUD. He was going to make his mark in this world, one that no one will be able to forget. ==================== Twilight paced around the book stand in the middle of the library. She was trying to think through all of the possible outcomes of what had just happened. They had just buried six dead griffons from the incident earlier today. Rainbow Dash was missing along with other ponies that lived near where the griffons were searching. Not to mention that Sergi had left after killing the griffons to do something that she sincerely hoped he didn't do. Her friends also stood in the room except for Sir Henry who was trying to find any leads on where the griffons could be staying. Anderson was still wearing what he wore he they had first met. He had placed his helmet down on an empty table, showing his short brown mane. Outside, Celestia's sun could be seen sinking down below the horizon. Luna's night was soon to appear in the sky. "Ah'm sure Sergi will do the right thing. He hasn't done wrong yet." Applejack said trying to calm her down. "That's the problem right there! Since he is not from here, there might be a different set of rights and wrongs! How do we know what is going to happen?!" Twilight Sparkle said as she began to panic again, adding "Anderson, you know Sergi the best here. What do you think he’s going to do?" "I have known him for only two days before we met you. I don't have the slightest clue to what he could be doing." Anderson said after taking a second to think. "Calm down dear, you are not doing any favors for yourself or your floor in the mindset your in." Rarity said as she nodded toward the wooden floor that showed the rut that Twilight was making. "How are you holding up Fluttershy?" She asked to try easing her mind. "I'm okay. I was just very surprised at what Sergi did." Fluttershy said in her usual soft voice. "What was the count of the missing ponies again?" Twilight asked Anderson. "We have a total of six ponies missing at the moment including Rarity's sister, Sweetie Belle." Anderson replied running his fingers through what hair he had. "This count is not including Rainbow Dash because she was there when the fight happened." "I know what would make this better. A PARTY!" Shouted out Pinkie Pie. After receiving many disapproving looks she amended "Maybe just cupcakes would be good." "That sounds fine by me. The action of today has made me hungry again." Anderson commented as he rubbed his belly. "Now dear, this might be a little bit off topic but it is of utmost importance. After this affair is dealt with, I need you to come down to my shop so I can make you some new clothes. If I am correct, you have left your world and also that nasty war you were in. So there will be no further need to wear that retched thing." Rarity said as she looked disapprovingly at Anderson's attire. A burp from an adjacent room made everyone turn to look. Spike came out of the room with a letter in his hand. "Letter from Princess Celestia!" He said as Twilight Sparkle ripped the letter out of his hand. She quickly opened up the letter with her magic, Twilight read the contents. Dear Twilight Sparkle. I have read through your most recent report and have sent out Royal Guard from both Luna's and My own guard to find the Griffon camp. I will also make sure that the guards know about Sergi's current status. I hope for the best possible outcome to happen. From: Princess Celestia Twilight Sparkle read and reread through the letter to reassure her mind of what is happening. Why did she even doubt for a minute that something bad would happen? With the help of the Princesses and her friends, nothing bad would happen! ==================== Sergi lay silently on a hill about 3/4 of a mile from the griffon camp. His rifle lie on the corpse of a griffon he found near the perimeter as a watch. Through the scope on the Barret, he could clearly make out each individual feather on every griffon down there. The camp was large enough to hold a small army. Forty tents were set up in a rough circle around a commander tent and a tall flag bearing the emblem of a griffon holding a sword and an olive branch. Other tents could be seen through the branches and foliage. The camp was tightly packed into a clearing in the woods. The canopy of a few trees throughout the camp was probably the only reason it has not been found yet. Most of the griffons were chatting and relaxing around small fires, six were stationed outside of a wooden cage off to the side that held six ponies. He spotted the two fillies from earlier huddled together next to each other in a corner of the cage. Sergi had been up on the hill for about an hour, watching guard patrols going through the camp and tracking their paths. The heads of the griffons stationed at the caged snapped to some event happening over near the tents. Sergi scanned back over to the tents to find Rainbow Dash held down by two griffons and a griffon that was probably a lower officer, compared to the one he saw before, grinning over what he had just caught. He flipped a little switch near the scope and audio of the situation flooded into his helmet. "What do we have here? One of the Elements of Harmony standing right here. I can just see the promotion now!" The Griffon gloating in front Rainbow Dash. "YOU’RE NOT GOING TO GET AWAY WITH THIS!" She shouted back. "We'll see about that... Any last words before we put you with the rest?" The officer asked with a look of indifference on his face. Sergi checked the chamber to find a bullet still chambered since the last time he checked an hour ago. A flick of the switch and Rainbow Dash's comment never came. He tightened his grip on the Barret and narrowed his aim down to the griffon leader. The crosshairs laided on a tuft of feathers near the back of the head. Slowly he pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet sped off toward the griffons head as it pulled to the right to make impact right behind the left eye. Where once was a head disappeared in a splash of red. Sergi quickly took out the two griffons holding Rainbow Dash down and the two stationed outside the cage. He finished off the clip and the world slowed around him. The empty clip was pulled out and quickly replaced with a fresh clip. Sergi waited a few seconds for his next set of targets to come out. As he expected, well armored griffons came out of tents deeper in along with the leader to give out orders. The air cracked as eight more bullets flew out of the barrel and made their marks on the officers. Before stashing the Barret away, he took another look at the hostages. They still were in the cage, frightened but unharmed. Sergi stashed the Barret into the duffle bag and out came the Mittelstedt LMG and the AK-47. Sergi dashed down to the camp with the same stone cold resolve that he had during any battle. The world still ran at half of normal speed as he lifted the machine gun up to his shoulder and aimed toward the swarm of vengeance-hungry griffons. Seeing Rainbow Dash just standing there, Sergi waved her off to the cages. She snapped out of her trance and headed for the cage with the others. He refocused on the oncoming wave of flesh and armor, falling completely into his training. "Ignis et ruinam sequi Angelus mors" Sergi mumbled to himself as he tightened his finger on the trigger. The wave of griffons came to a complete halt as round after round punched right through any and all armor. Anything in the way of the bullets caught on fire. Tents went up in flames and griffons flew into the night sky as they tried to run from the fire. The trees that once hid them from curious eyes now blocked a clean passage into the air. The screams pierced the night sky along with the sound of gunfire. Nothing existed in this world other than the gun rhythmically pushing against his shoulder and the assortment of moving indicators on his HUD. Once the clicking of an empty magazine came, Sergi tossed aside the gun and pulled out the AK-47. He noted that this was no ordinary AK-47, it looked like someone tampered with it before he took it. The difference was quickly found when the kick of the gun felt like it wasn't even firing and there was almost no recoil when the gun fired. Griffons flew for their lives as Sergi slowly proceeded his way through the burning ruins of the camp. With the eminent counter-attack vanquished. Sergi took the time to release the prisoners. He found they were just being released by Rainbow Dash. They sprinted into the darkness and away from the chaos. Seeing the wooden cage, He thought up an idea to spread a warning to others. Sergi walked back to the center of the camp to do one final thing. With a cross section from the cage and a piece of fabric burned at the bottom, he made his own symbol. Sergi placed the seal of the Cossacks with a small addition; he added wings to both sides of the star. Underneath the emblem he wrote the words Obliviónis Exercitus. He took the new masterpiece and speared it into the ground so it stood fine among the burning ruins it stood. A loud crack resonated from the burning griffon flag pole. Another snap crack sounded out before making its slow decent. Underneath its large bulk stood the orange pegasus filly, staring up at what might be her own end. Sergi made no second thought and sprinted toward the filly. The burning wooden pole continued its decent until it stopped with the soft crunching sound. Sergi felt the snapping of his ribs and the burning embers on his back. He had just barely pushed the filly out of the way at the last seconds. His mind began to drift off to his past, back to his time in the labs. He could see the two silhouettes standing over him again. "Now tell me doctor why the test subject is not responding to the upgrades?" One voice said in irritation. "The upgrades are installed properly and are ready to activate...But we have reached a small problem." The other voice said in a slight German accent. "What is this problem then, Doctor." The first voice asked in the same irritated tone. "For the system programs to start working, we need to jump start the system. In the movies they never showed how the hybrid unit worked, so we have nothing to base our assumptions on. Any form of power we have now would just kill him where he is, ending the project." The Doctor explained. "Why can't we just power him up? If he clinically dies then he would just run off of the system then, correct?" The first voice said as the irritation turned into confusion. "For the system to work at its highest capabilities, we integrated the machine system to his organic system. If the organic system dies before the other system is activated, then we have just wasted 3 trillion euros on this one project." The doctor tried to explain. "So you’re saying our best bet is to do nothing?" The first voice said trying to wrap his head around the concept. "If anything, the metal in his body would attract a lightning bolt that might start up the systems he has. Nature has always had an interesting way of making things work." The doctor simply said as his silhouette shrugged his shoulders. A scream made the two silhouettes turn to look behind them and pull Sergi back into the world. Slowly raising his head he saw what the matter was. Rainbow Dash was being held down to the ground by two griffons and the leader he had seen earlier staring down at her. The fillies were off at the edge of the camp, hidden in the shadows. "It looks like your back to where my lesser officer started out before except there is no monster from the deep abyss to save you now." The leader said with a look of indifference on his face. "I CAN TAKE YOU ON, JUST LET ME GO AND I'LL SHOW YOU!" Rainbow Dash said with her words dripping with fury. "I don't think I will, your worth more to me alive than dead. So stop with that nasty little attitude." The leader replied as he grabbed her mane and pulled it up, forcing her to let out a yelp. Sergi was forcing his body to make some type of movement to help, but to no avail. He kept on persisting against the pain coursing through his body and the immense, burning weight on his back. A sound began to float around Sergi's head, slowly increasing in volume and clearance. "Why are you just lying there on the ground?! You’re a Cossack for Christ’s sake! Cossacks never give up and they most certainly never lie on the ground when there are tortured civilians right in front of you!” The voice said "I'm trying but no..." Sergi began to say before getting cut off. "YOUR NOT EVEN TRYING YOU WORTHLESS 3 TRILLION EURO SCIENCE PROJECT!" The voice continued, adding "What is the code you live by every nanosecond of your life!?" "Proctect the Weak, Destroy the Powerful." Sergi mumbled out. "What did you say you piece of flesh and metal?!" "PROTECT THE WEAK AND DESTROY THE POWERFUL!" Sergi shouted out. The voice disappeared and one of the griffons holding down Rainbow Dash looked back at Sergi with concern. "Uh...Sir, I think it's still alive." He cautiously said. "Don't worry about that thing; it's probably just going through its last moments." The leader said as he still held the mane of Rainbow Dash. The griffon hesitantly turned his gaze away from Sergi to focus on holding down an angry pegasus. Sergi felt a surge of energy through him. Where there was pain, it was gone. He used this new energy to slowly push himself off the ground. The burning pole that lay on top of him slowly creaked under the new strain raising it off the ground. The groans made the heads of the three griffons to slowly turn their head towards him. Even Rainbow Dash turned to look at what had distracted her captors. Sergi stood up to his full height and stared down upon the griffons. Silence fell on the scene, even the roar of the inferno around them seemed to quiet down because of the tension. The silence was broken when Sergi whipped out his Kukri knife and took down the first two griffons with quick simple strokes. The leader realized what was happening and attempted to fly away to live another day. Sergi saw the leader unfurling his wings and quickly changed his grip on the kukri. With a strength that he did not know, Sergi threw the knife towards the griffon leader. The knife flew accurately through the air and pierced right through the metal armor. The griffon fell to the ground with a hard thud. Sergi walked up to the griffon, who was still trying to hold on to what little life he had. "Who are you?" The griffon leader barely mumbled out. "I am a Cossack." Sergi flatly replied before pulling the knife out of the griffons chest. With the knife out, the griffon quickly bled out. Sergi removed the leaders’ helmet and closed the eyelids of the griffon. With the new trophy in hand, Sergi turned around to face Rainbow Dash. She still laid on the ground where she was forced down. He removed his visor and placed it into a pocket in his jacket. Sergi walked up to Rainbow Dash and knelt down in front of her. Fear was clearly seen in her eyes and she attempted to make a run for it when he held out his hand. "Don't be afraid, I'm here to help. I never hurt my friends." Sergi said in a soothing voice. She looked at the hand for a second before placing her right hoof in the palm. He smiled at her as she stood up; the fear in her eyes was soon replaced by something else. She quickly wrapped her hoofs around his neck and started to sob. The two fillies that were hiding now came out and approached him. They soon joined in the hug that Rainbow Dash started, ending it with a very confused Sergi. Rainbow Dash stepped back with red eyes and rosy cheeks. "Pinkie Promise that you will never tell anypony what just happened." She said in a soft voice. "I promise on my Cossacks' honor that I will not tell anypony." Sergi replied with a smile. With the group together and well, they traveled away from the burning ruins of the camp and back home. As they headed away, the sun rose to warm their faces. ==================== Celestia looked out over Equestria. A plume of thick smoke could easily be seen in the distance. The sounds of hooves alerted her to someone else coming out on the balcony. Turning her head she saw her sister approach. "Good morning 'Tia. I'm guessing you also felt the surge of power last night?" Luna asked as she walked up next to her sister. "Yes, I felt it right before I raised the sun today. This amount of power is easily equal to the Elements of Harmony. It worries me what could possibly have that much power." She replied to her sister's inquiry. "I might have an idea, but it is a little bit sketchy." Luna said as she stared off into the distance. Celestia chuckled at the statement. 'My sister and all of her little cryptic messages.' She thought in her head as she looked back at the plume of black smoke in the distance.
Fulfilling a PromiseBeginning of the End Fulfilling a Promise Rainbow Dash looked over Ponyville from a cloud in the sky. Relaxing on a cloud had always helped her think. She had so many things on her mind. Like how Sergi was able to take down an entire camp full of griffons. Also why does he keep on mentioning Cossacks, they were just something from one of the Daring Do books. She just couldn't get over the fact that she felt alright around him. There was some type of coolness he had that she had never seen before. Like he had already seen everything and done all there is to do. They had arrived earlier that day about lunchtime and surprised everypony in town. Twilight asked about the plume of smoke on the horizon, if it was a forest fire. He said that it started from a lighting storm last night before heading into a string of questions about how ponies could control the weather. 'Why would he lie about something he did? He was just saving his friends from some griffon punks.' Rainbow Dash thought in her head. She pushed the thoughts aside and looked down on Ponyville. Small blobs moved around the town in the slow evening hours. The sound of her stomach grumbling reminded her that she didn't have breakfast this morning and shouldn't miss dinner too. Rainbow jumped off the cloud and headed into town to find someplace to eat. She had almost forgotten that Pinkie Pie was setting up a party today for the three humans. Waiting for a few minutes to eat wouldn't do any harm. Rainbow Dash came to a complete stop when she rounded a corner and almost collided with Twilight Sparkle and Anderson. "Easy there Rainbow Dash, I'm sure that you won't be late for anything." Anderson said to her as he was only six inches away from her face. "Sorry about that guys, I've just been thinking about a lot of about recent things. I guess I got carried away in my thoughts." Rainbow Dash replied as she rubbed the back of her neck. "It's alright Rainbow Dash; you’re not the only one." Anderson said as he discreetly nodded his head toward Twilight Sparkle. "Are you guys heading over to Sugarcube Corner?" Rainbow Dash asked as she back up a little bit. "Yeah, how did you guess?" Anderson replied as she saw Twilight Sparkle making signs to remind her that this was a surprise party. "I was just heading over there to grab something to eat, it is getting late and I didn't have breakfast this morning." Rainbow Dash said while Twilight relaxed a little. "By the way, what do you know about Sergi?" "Like I said earlier to the others, I don't really know him that well." Anderson answered as the group began their trip again. "Well there has to be stories about him. I mean seriously, he has to be one of the coolest things out there other than a few exceptions!" Rainbow Dash probed, Anderson was going to give her some information even if she had to get a little rough. "Well...There are some stories about him, but I'm not sure if any of them are true. So I don't usually trust that gossip since it gets so stretched and exaggerated once you actually hear about it." Anderson said as looked for some help from Twilight Sparkle. "Let's hear them; I personally want to hear about how your people tell tales. It's always good to find out how different cultures entertain themselves." Twilight said as her interest piqued with the possible idea of getting some form of information for her research on humans. "Fine, I will give the brief summaries of the popular ones, but don't take any of the information for granted." Anderson said as he broke in from the peer pressure. "One story says how when he was a child, only about four years old, his family and town was burned to the ground during the beginning of the war to be latter saved by a group of mercenaries that raised him in place of his parents. Another story places him in Paris where he hunted down the one responsible for killing his mercenary family just after he joined the American forces. The most popular one is where his mercenary family gets killed in an ambush and he goes through 3 long years as a science project. No one really knows what exactly happened in the labs, but he latter broke out, destroyed anything in a mile radius of the labs, and stumbled into an American camp coated in blood wearing the outfit he still wears today." "Wow...All of those stories sound..." Twilight began before getting interrupted. "AWSOME! Can you tell one of the stories some time?!" Rainbow Dash shouted out in excitement. Not only did Sergi do amazing things, but he has so many cool stories surrounding him! "Later I can, but not when he is around. I don't know how he reacts to people telling these stories. He seems to like keeping his past...secret." Anderson replied as he thought what would be the best word to fit his earlier attempts to get information from him. "He does seem to just stick with the present events." Twilight Sparkle said. "Hey look, there’s Sir Henry and Applejack." Anderson stated to take the topic off Sergi and his own lack of information on the subject. "Howdy there, y'all heading over to Sugarcube Corner?" Applejack said as she tilted her hat. "Yeah, it seems like we all have the same idea." Anderson said to make sure they don't go back to the last topic. "It seems so my friend. I am famished from getting back into manual labor." Sir Henry said as he held the door open for the others. As they entered the room the lights flickered on and ponies jumped out of every possible spot. "SURPRISE!" They all shouted out Pinkie Pie was in the middle of the room that was decorated with all types of confetti and streamers. Two tables were filled with a giant punch bowl and various bakery goods. Even though she had been to enough of these parties, it always surprised Rainbow Dash how Pinkie Pie is able to do things like this in a mere few hours. Pinkie Pie sped right up to the group and started to go into her greeting of the honored guests. Rainbow Dash took a look around the room and found a certain ‘someone’ missing. "Where's Sergi, wasn't somepony in charge of getting him?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I think Rarity was supposed to get him." Twilight answered "Good evening everypony. I tried to find Sergi with the help of Sweetie Bell but I couldn't find him anywhere." Rarity said as she joined into the conversation. "Excuse me Pinkie Pie, I just had one of the muffins and they are the best ones I have ever had." A voice from outside the group asked. Rainbow Dash looked up to see Sergi standing there in his big pants and an olive green T-shirt. Everyone stared in shock at how no one noticed him arrive. In his right hand was a muffin as large as his hand with a bite already in it. His face showed a look of contentment behind his large scar over his eye. "How did you get here?" Twilight Sparkle asked not quite out of the shock. “I walked here. Everyone seemed busy when I came here so I went into the kitchen to see If I could help somewhat. When I came back out, the lights were out and everyone hiding. I didn’t really think about it and headed back into the kitchen to see if the next time I came by to eat, I could finally have something." He replied as went for another bite of the muffin. "Derpy made the muffins for the party; she is the one with the yellow mane and the grey coat." Pinkie Pie said in her cheery attitude and pointed out a certain mare by the punch bowl. "Pinkie Pie, did you know he was here the whole time?" Twilight Sparkle asked "Sort of, I knew someone was in the kitchen. Now that I know it was Sergi, it makes sense now!" She replied with a smile before directing her attention back to the two humans beside her. Rainbow Dash hovered where she was and watched Sergi walk over to the punch table and started talking to Derpy and shacked her hoof. Then he took a glass of punch and went over to a wall and began watching the party proceed. She had to find out more about him. 'He saved your life by almost giving his own. You have to find out who he is other than simply a name and a face!' Her inner voice told her. Rainbow Dash wanted to but didn't want to go straight at it because he seemed to avoid topics that were directly about him. She waited for the group to move around and slowly pull in Sergi from the wall. He had refilled his glass and had a kringle in his other hand to replace the muffin he finished. "How do you like the kringle? I made it myself!" Pinkie Pie asked "It is delicious, this is the first time in a long while that I had something like this." Sergi said with a smile on his face. "A kringle?" Twilight Sparkle asked to clarify what he meant. "A bakery good in general other than bread." Sergi replied not taking interest in the stunned faces that surrounded him. "That is very interesting darling, but I must ask. Is that the only outfit you have?" Rarity asked as she was eyeing him from head to toe. "Yes, except for some formal attire I have.” Sergi answered as he looked back a Rarity trying to figure out what she was looking at. "It is alright, but you’re going to need more than just that if you’re going to be staying here." She replied in a simple tone. "Tomorrow morning, meet me at the Carousel Boutique. I will measure all three of you and get you gentlecolts something else to wear.” Small talk followed suit and slowly the group began to disperse to other parts of the party and talk to other ponies there. Rainbow Dash stayed there by Sergi talking about casual things like how every different type of pony had different types of magic. He seemed really interested in the topic. "So Unicorns are the only ones that can do active magic. Pegasi have passive magic for controlling the weather and can reduce wind resistance. While the Earth ponies have greater strength and are good with plants. Am I right so far?" Sergi said trying to summarize the information of magic. "Basically yeah, if you don't mind, can I ask you some questions?" Rainbow Dash asked as she began her trek into what she wanted. "Sounds fair enough, answers for answers. What would you like to know?" Sergi said as he finished the last of his punch. "So how did you get so cool?" She inquired starting in shallower waters. "Um, I'm not really sure how to answer that." Sergi replied with confusion. "Never mind then, I'll find out later. Next question, what do you like to do as a hobby?" Rainbow Dash asked as she scolded herself for asking such a weird question. "I like to either workout, make stuff with my hands, or play my violin." He replied as if he was waiting for this question. "What do you like to make?" She probed "Anything really, given the time I could probably make an entire castle by myself." He replied getting happier by the second. "Can you show me something that you have made?" Rainbow Dash asked "You know what; I'll make something for you when I get back to my camp. It would be a Cossack's Honor." Sergi replied as he was given the challenge. "You can just show me something you've already made. I don't want to trouble you." She said as she realized that she had accidently challenged his ability. "No, no, I will not mind at all. I like you because you’re different than everyone else I’ve met so far. You actually want to know about who I am rather than what I did when I was younger like your friend Twilight Sparkle. Even though she wants to learn about humans, she could as easily ask Anderson or Sir Henry. From what I know right now, your friend is more interested in how I got my skills." Sergi said with a large smile on his face. "I think I'll head back soon so I can go work on that project. You can go and talk with your friends now." Rainbow Dash stayed there for a second before heading over to converse with her friends. A question popped into her mind as she was halfway to her friends. She turned around to ask Sergi only to find that that he was already gone. As if he was never even there. The disturbing thought stayed only for a moment before she joined in conversation with her friends. 'Nothing bad is going to happen to him. I mean he is Sergi after all, he won't get into any trouble." ==================== Sergi found himself in a sparsely decorated room looking down at a social event down on a roof a few skyscrapers away from him. He was wearing a blue dress shirt with black dress pants and a tie that was loosened up from around his neck. The event was a big one. Most of the officers from the American army and French politicians were in attendance. Sergi lifted his head a little bit to check to wind direction again. It was still a very calm night; a small wind could be felt coming in from the west. Sergi lowered his head once again and looked through the scope to continue checking over the party list. He was there for one man, the one that had not arrived yet. The elevator doors on the floor opened and attracted the attention of the entire crowd. Sergi scanned his rifle over to the doors to find a five-star general stepping through the doors with his advisors. He wore the usual American officer's uniform with the tan uniform and an olive green jacket. Sergi checked the barrel of the Mosin-Nagat for a bullet, and shutting the chamber again when he saw the familiar shine of brass. His Cossack Honor demanded justice for the extermination of his family. The guns of the first fathers demand blood and retribution. Sergi tapped a button on a device lying on the table with him as he placed his crosshairs above the general’s head. The advisor on the generals left moved his left hand up to his ear. "Hello, this is Michael..." The advisor began to say through the machine on the table "Is that your new name now Gavriil?" Sergi said into a headset he wore. "Who is this; no one knows that name except for..." The advisor said as he turned away from the general who was in deep conversation with some military commanders. "The two other traitors that helped with destroying the family." Sergi replied as he kept an eye on the advisor. "Can you hold on a minute? I have an incoming call." Gavrill said before reaching into his pocket. "Don't worry about your friends; I have already taken care of them. Their funds are cleared and they won't have to worry about anything anymore." Sergi said as he predicted what Gavrill was going to do. "Just who exactly are you? You’re messing with powers beyond anything you could possibly dream of." Gavrill threaten into the mic. "Don't worry about me Gavrill, I already have 3 trillion euros invested in me. Too bad that all the research was destroyed when I left." Sergi calmly said back as he watched with delight. "Sergi...Where are you! I doubt that dead men can talk." Gavriil said as he began to look around the party for him. "Let’s just say you’re making a scene with this phone call and I absolutely did not alert American forces to a mole in their system." Sergi said as the calm demeanor of Gavriil disappeared in mere seconds. "Also, your tie is crooked. You might want to fix that." Sergi watched as Gavriil placed his right hand in his jacket and pulled out a large pistol with golden engravings across the side. He walked up to a female officer that was in conversation with the general and pulled her close as he raised up the gun up to face the crowd. "Come out now Sergi you damned traitor!" Gavriil shouted out into the crowd. "Michael, what are you doing?" The General said in confusion as the gun pointed at him. "You hired that little bastard didn't you!? If you want to take me down, then I'm going to take as many people here as possible. Starting with this young captain right here." Gavriil shouted out as he turned the gun to the head of the woman. "I must say Gavriil; I never thought that you would freak out that easily. Too bad I can't stay in your suite any longer." Sergi said as he moved the crosshairs over the head of the female hostage. As if on cue, Gavriil looked right at Sergi's position. Through the scope Sergi watched as the bullet left the rifle and flew out to the party. The bullet pulled to the right as the wind caught hold of the bullet and dragged the bullet toward Gavriil's head. His head snapped back as the bullet landed right between the eyes. The party was thrown into chaos as the body hit the ground. The woman stood there for a second before pulling the device out of Gavriil's ear. "Hello, who is this?" She spoke into the device. "It's good to hear your voice again Ashlyn. You can thank me latter for taking care of your mole problem." "Is that you Sergi? I thought you were still locked up in the POW camp?" She responded to his voice. "OH and one more thing before you go. Can you take the pistol and save it for me when you get back to camp. Thanks, much appreciated." Sergi said as he turned off the headset. As Segri got off the table and grabbed a duffle bag full of Cossacks funds and some weapons the door burst open followed by three French police officers. He brought up the rifle and aimed for the heart of the first officer. The recoil of the gun pushed Sergi back into the real world. He bolted up from his cot and took a look around the tent. Everything was still the same, nothing was out of place. His helmet and came alive and the AI spoke through the speakers. "Commander, Royal Guards are approaching the area. I suggest that we pack up camp and move if you want to stay on whatever good side you are already on... They have already found the ashes." The female voice piped up "What is the size of the force and is there any royalty with them?" Sergi asked as he quickly began disassembling the camp. "Both of the Royal sisters are here. From the Anderson's helmet feed; it appears that the one named Celestia is not happy." The AI answered. "This is going to be fun." Sergi said more to himself than to anyone else. The campsite was all packed away within minutes. He slipped his mask on to his helmet as he did whenever he was going on a mission. Sergi tossed the one of the duffle bags over his shoulder and tapped some buttons on his TACPAD. Where he once stood he disappeared from site as well as the bags. He was thankful for the electronic built-in systems of the bags because Sergi could see gold flashing between branches of the forest. Sergi sprinted through the forest as quiet as a soft breeze. As he exited the forest and into the open field a plan formed in his head. A near mountain peak could easily be seen from this general position. If he could get up there, it would be a lot easier to hide from the guards and he would still be able to keep an eye on those ponies and his comrades in town. Up the mountain base he ran with all of his strength. The surrounding area blurred out as he only focused on his objective. The mountain base came speeding up to him before he noticed an unusual clanking coming from his pants. Sergi stopped and dropped the bags by some bushes as he dug his pockets to find the cause of the clanking sound. His right hand passed over the origin of the noise and he pulled it out. In his hand was a pair of dog tags that hit him like a bullet. This was his gift for Rainbow Dash he made last night. One held her general information while the second one held both the sign of the Cossacks and a small message. 'I have seen how loyal you are to your friends back at the griffon camp. It would be my honor to accept you into the Cossack Family.' Sergi swore under his breath and looked back at the path he came from. He could easily get up the mountain and disappear from the world for a while or he could complete his promise to Rainbow Dash even if it meant going straight into a hornets nest. He had to think about the decision. What would be the best way to get back inside the town that is crawling with guards. His camo would have to be powered down in order to give her the gift so she wouldn't freak out. When that happened there had to be no guards or snitches in the vicinity. Sergi decided on a plan and headed back out. When he got back out in the field, the town looked like someone spilled liquid gold in the streets. Shining gold armor reflected the sunlight. Sergi only noted this and kept on going with his plan. He reached a small hill that layed before the town with a tall old tree going on top of it. Sergi made sure that no one could see him where he was and then proceeded to press some buttons on his TACPAD. When he was done, a hologram of himself ran uncamoflauged across the field and headed toward the woods. Commotion could be heard from the town as guards saw the sight and raced off toward the dummy. 'So far so good, now for the tricky part.' Sergi thought to himself as he checked to see if his camo was still on. It was but the battery life was getting very low. Sergi frowned at this and proceed into town carefully. Sergi quickly scouted what part of town he entered and found exactly what he was looking for. Guards were stationed outside of Twilight's tree as well as silhouettes in the windows. Sergi walked around the guards and leaned up close to a window. He could barely make out a conversation. "How is Sergi be marked as a criminal? He only killed when it concerned the safety of any one of us!" Applejack asked. "That smoke plume on the horizon did not start from a lightning bolt but rather something Anderson here calls a bullet. We are not sure what exactly was caught in the fire but that much must be contained." Celestia replied in a measured tone. "Like a prison cell!? I'm sorry Princesses but I don't think he deserves that." Rainbow Dash shouted out. "Don't tie me to this as well. Even though I am here with my sister, I hope to get an alternative solution." Luna said. That was all Sergi needed to hear, Sergi rifled through his jacket until he found what he was looking for. A small pad that was used for signaling. He typed up a quick message on it and looked over at the guards. One looked like a new recruit while the other one was relaxed at his post. 'It looks like these guards need to be taught a lesson.' Sergi thought to himself. He walked over silently to the guards and prepared to unleash non-lethal hell. In one swift movement he stuck the throat of the relaxed guard and wrapped his right arm around the new guard's neck and tensed his arm muscles. The guard struggled at first and then slowly fell limp. Sergi released his victim and felt for a pulse on both of the guards. Each guard still had one. Sergi typed something more onto the note and slide the device under the door and leaned up close to the side of the tree. A few seconds passed with no sound until the door bursted open and ponies burst out of the doorway as well as Anderson and Sir Henry. They saw the guards and checked for a pulse themselves. They seemed slightly satisfied in them still being alive and then began searching around the town close to the tree. Rainbow Dash was about to be the last one out of the tree until Sergi grabbed her and pulled her back inside with a hand over her mouth. She began panicking until Sergi successfully turned off his camouflage and revealed himself. With the sight of him she relaxed. As he removed his hand from her mouth, he made a gesture to keep quiet. He pulled out the dog tags and placed them in one of her hooves. He patted the hoof and began to leave when he was stopped by Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. He was temporarily trapped in the tree if she kept quiet, which didn't work out so well. "Stop right where you are Sergi! I don't know what you did but I must keep you here until the others get back." She demanded as she took up an offensive stance. "дерьмо" Sergi swore inside his helmet as he realized that his only quiet exit was blocked. Sergi made a desperate run for a window. He stepped on top of a table and jumped right through the glass window. As he was reaching the ground he turned his camouflage back on. With a roll on impact of the ground, he was off at full speed out of town. The dust cloud didn't help him much with being hidden, but all he was worried about was getting out of town before they knew what happened. Sergi reached the outskirts of town and risked a look behind him. He was being quickly followed by the Royal Sisters and five out of six of the elements. Turning back around, he heard the dreadful beeping of his TACPAD systems shutting down. He ran with even more purpose towards the edge of the woods that promised his safety. He was almost there when something hit him in the back and threw him to the very edge of the forest. The pain burned through his entire body and made his muscles unresponsive. He tried to slowly drag himself into the forest only to stop just on the boundary. His vison began to black out and he thought he was heading into another memory. He heard the sound of voices speaking Russian and footsteps nearing him. Two sets of arms grabbed onto him as he heard the click of a pin being pulled out of a gernade. Before he blacked out he heard one sentence directed at him. "Don't worry Comrade, you’re in safe hands now." Said a voice that he thought was gone long ago, the voice of Dimitri.
Things are ChangingThe Beginning of the End Things are Changing Sergi slowly opened his eyes. He slowly pushed himself up of the ground. Suddenly all the memories flashed back into his head at once. Immediately he stood up to search his surroundings. He stood inside a large cave that could easily fit a small armored unit in there. His tent was already set up and a fire crackling off to the side with one figure watching him. "Who are you?" Sergi flatly asked as he started to reach for one of his knifes. "My name is Alexander. I helped you get out of the forest. "You...You were with Dimitri." "I only used the power you held to pull one of your memories out to save you. Once you are fully healed, I would suggest going back to town." The figure said as he slowly stood up. "What do you mean? I am just flesh and blood." Sergi said as his right hand slowly grasped for where a knife should have been. "You are not just flesh and blood. I can clearly see you’re also built with metal, but you also hold powers in this world. Like back at the griffon camp, you used that power to save your friends. It also seems that when Celestia hit you with that burst of magic, the mechanical device inside of you started up. See for yourself if you don't believe me." The Figure answered as he began walking out of the cave. “Oh Sergi, I got you another jacket and shirt to replace your old one, courtesy of your friend Dimitri." He walked out into the sunlight of the day and began dissolving into the air. Sergi stared out the cave for a few seconds before going to brush himself off. Looking down he saw something that stunned him, part of his right side was no longer muscles but shining metal. Any skin near the site was burnt to a crisp while the metal seemed almost natural where it was. "Commander, I see that you are awake. Would you like me to fill you in on what happened?" The AI said through his helmet. "Just any messages I received would be enough. Can you explain to me why I am not in total pain right now?" Sergi said as he continued to study the new area. "Project WAR-ANGEL, an idea to create super soldiers out of regular men and women. Most experiments dealt with drugs and medicines to do things such as accelerated healing speeds and other such things. Your part of Project WAR-ANGEL, was to replace your skeletal structure with a metal mainframe. With this, it combines with your organic systems to create something that cannot be created through messing with genes. It seems like that bolt of power from Celestia started up the systems." The AI replied. "What was the magic that Alexander mentioned before?" Sergi asked as he began checking the rest of his body. "I am unsure about what he meant by that but you seem to have regained power to your TACPAD and also have an unknown power source emitting from your right hand." The AI responded. Sergi had taken off his jacket and looked at the large hole in the back of the jacket. It was about two feet wide and all the metal plates in the near vicinity were melted into mangled forms. He frowned at the ruined jacket and took out everything he had in the pockets before tossing the jacket to the ground. A glimmer of gold caught his eye as he released the jacket. On his right hand was a gauntlet that bore the emblem of the Cossacks on the back. This he definitely knew he had never seen before. He carefully unstrapped the golden gauntlet and proceeded inside his tent. As he looked around the inside he found a new jacket and olive shirt lying on the cot. He replaced his attire and went outside the cave. The sun warmed his skin but still left him cold. There had to be information on what happened and why he was attacked. "Patch me up to Anderson's helmet. I want to see what happened right when I got hit." Sergi said as he walked back inside to set up the display set. With his helmet connected to the device, the screen lit up with colors. He saw himself running across the fields. He heard Celestia trying to call out to him to stop running and to pay for the crimes he committed. At the corner of the screen Celestia's head appeared and her horn was dripping magic. With a bright flash, a solid beam of light shot out of her horn. It flew all the way out and made impact with his back. The force of the impact blasted him almost to the forest. Even from the distance that Anderson was at, the gaping wound could easily be seen. The video continued to show a four man group in tactical black attire poured out of the woods. Two of the men grabbed Sergi and started to drag him inside the forest while the other two pulled out something and tossed it towards Anderson and the group. In mid-flight the devices exploded, blinded and temporarily deafening all who were watching the scene. The sound of other came from somewhere off the screen. "Princesses, I have been sent to give you the report on what we found at the burn spot. Other than the metal objects lining the forest floor, we also found other weapons there such as swords, maces, and spears. It seems like the human single handedly taken an entire small army of griffons. We know that for a fact after finding bodies that were in different states of immolation farther away from the scene." Said a Pegasus in golden armor with smudges of black all over him. Sergi chuckled at the faces of everyone in the view of the helmet cam. Looks of disbelief were clearly printed onto the faces of every single creature there, except for Rainbow Dash who was just hovering in the air looking at the dog tags that were still in her hoof. "Princess Celestia, are you sick? I hope not because the Grand Galloping Gala is only a week away." The Pegasus asked when he took a closer look at the tired out Celestia. Sergi had seen all that he needed and stopped the playback. He walked back into the sunlight and looked down at the small town that he had left. It was a long time before he stepped back into the cave to prepare. Not only did he have to figure out how to use his new abilities, but he also had to prepare for something called the Grand Galloping Gala. A question came into his mind and he looked back through the confrontation again. Watching the beam hitting him in the back raised a question he never thought of before: "How much energy did that blast have?" He asked the AI "From my calculations, it was about 120 kilo-amps." The AI responded. Sergi chuckled to himself as he remembered his time in the labs a voice seemed to come out of nowhere and remind him of the irony. "If anything, the metal in his body would attract a lightning bolt that might start up the systems he has. Nature has always had an interesting way of making things work." ==================== Anderson stood by the stove as he expertly cooked pancakes. So much happened yesterday that he had to keep his mind off of what had happened to avoid getting a certain pony re-worked up. He had to force her to go to bed and get some sleep. He didn't get to sleep until 2:03 that morning. He placed a new batch of pancakes on top of a large pile on the table. Spike had gotten up earlier and was scarfing down his own pile. Anderson looked up at the clock on the wall and groaned when he saw it was only 6:05. He turned his head when he heard another groan, Twilight Sparkle was standing in the doorway to the kitchen with her mane all roughed up. "Good morning Twilight. Did you manage to get any sleep last night?" Anderson asked as he turned off the top burner of the stove and moved to grab his own plate of food. "I barely got any sleep last night. Sergi risked his life to save us from the griffons and all we do in return is treat him like a criminal. If only I could’ve known or have delayed what was happening for only a few seconds!" Twilight Sparkle answered as she began to go into the paranoid state she was for remainder the day yesterday. "No one could’ve known what had happened there and you wouldn't have been able to know any sooner. Have some pancakes, they’ll help you relax." He replied patting a spot at the table. "I guess that your right. That still does not explain why he did not tell us what he did when he got back." Twilight said as she placed some pancakes on her plate. "I think that he knew that you and your friends were already on edge for what he did in town with the substantially smaller group of griffons. If he would have come straight out with what he did, you might’ve just pushed him away and considered him a monster." He answered before he placed some of his own home cooking into his mouth. "He seems to be able to read anypony like a book. How is it possible for him to do that?" Twilight inquired as she poured syrup onto her pancake stack. "I don't really know. He seems like a shadow-lurker whenever he does stuff like that." Anderson replied before realizing that he used a term that nobody used here. "A shadow-lurker is a phrase that we used back where I come from. It is the name for when we feel that something is there in the shadows when there is actually nothing at all." Anderson finished the rest of his pancakes and headed off to work. Even though he did not have to work till 7:00am, he did not want to get wrapped up in the string of questions that Twilight Sparkle would inevitably throw at him. He did like to answer her questions and have a good conversation, but when he got caught up in one, he can never pull away from the conversation. When he reached the edge of Sweet Apple Acres he ran across the Cutiemark Crusaders. "Good morning Anderson!" They all chimed as they rushed past him. Up at the farm it appeared he was not the only one that decided to work early today. Applejack and Sir Henry were already up and working on general things around the farm. He waved at the two as he approached the two. "Morning Anderson, how’s Twilight holdin' up?" Applejack asked as he approached. "Better than yesterday but still thinking that she could have done something to prevent what had happened." Anderson said as he remembered how long it took just to get her to get some sleep. "Well some progress is better than none. I think she will be her old self again before the Gala." Sir Henry said trying to calm their minds. They started out with tending the new crops that were planted recently and prepping the apple trees for a new growing season. Things were going at a good speed in the quiet atmosphere. All three of them were caught up in their own thoughts and jobs. The silence was broken when a blur of cyan shot across the sky and came back around to the farm. Rainbow Dash looked as though she didn't even get any sleep last night. "What happened Rainbow Dash? You look worse than Twilight this morning." Anderson asked as the bags under her eyes could clearly be seen. "I've been trying to find Sergi...Since he isn't in trouble with the law anymore I thought I could find him and try to help him out." Rainbow Dash said with a yawn halfway through her sentence. "You should get some sleep Sugarcube. Last time I tried to do things when I was plum tuckered out, things didn’t go so well." Applejack replied. "What is that medallion you’re wearing; I have never seen anything like that before." Sir Henry said as he saw the new accessory around her neck. "Oh this, Sergi gave me this before he ran off out of town." She replied as she looked down at the dog tags. "You mean yesterday morning before the guards came?" Anderson asked to try to clarify when. "No, before he got hit with whatever Celestia used." She answered after thinking for a moment. "I still can't believe that even after he got hit with that blast, he was still moving. He is just one stubborn little bast..." Anderson began "Well I'll leave you guys to get back to your work; I'll try to find Sergi again." Rainbow Dash interrupted Anderson's statement. "Hold on there, you are beyond tired and won't do any good out there. You’re most likely to make things worse if you continue." Applejack said as she quickly grabbed onto her tail. "But..." Rainbow Dash tried to counter. "NO! I will not let you go to ah-don't-know-where and get hurt or lost. WE are done with our work here and were headin' down to Rarity's to get things ready for the Gala. Ah suggest that you should come with us and enjoy our company. All we want is to help out as friends." Applejack answered as she let go of Rainbow Dash's tail. "Like I said before, Sergi is one of the most stubborn things out there. He isn't going to die that easily." Anderson said to support Applejack in this discussion. "Okay, I guess you’re right. I'll tag along with you guys for the time being. Hey Anderson, can I take up that offer you gave before the party?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked over at Anderson. "I guess that since Sergi isn’t around I can tell one of the stories, but like I said before: Do not take any of the information as actual fact." Anderson said as he made sure his last sentence came through for everyone listening. "Now is there any type you would like to listen to?" "I want to hear one that’s filled with action!" Rainbow Dash replied with excitement after yawning. "I know just the one you’d like, I was even in this one so it is the most un-altered story." Anderson replied with a smile. ==================== Sergi's dreams took him to the outskirts of Berlin, only mere days before he was brought over here and the end of his own world. He was sitting in an APC heading up to the front lines. The sounds of the war could be heard through the heavily armored walls. He sat there with his mask on staring at the vacant seat across from him. He could easily hear the gossiping of the other soldiers in the same APC. "Who's the Russian over there? Shouldn’t he be back in one of the POW camps?" One of the soldiers said. "His name is Sergi; he's a 100 percent pure Russian killing machine. Don't piss him off; it usually ends up with a seriously wounded soldier and the top brass yelling in my ear." The Captain answered in a plain voice. "So why don't they deal with him? He can't be that dangerous." The soldier inquired. "Lets just say this; his entry application was destroying a small army all by himself and taking down multiple HVTs including a mole acting as an advisor for General McBride. Now shut your trap and get ready to go." The Captain replied ten seconds before a green light filled the interior. The back hatch opened and everyone streamed outside. Sergi took a look around and quickly drew up the situation. "What do we have here Sergi?" The Captain asked. "An Anti-Armor team positioned in that parking garage is keeping our armor from getting any closer to the city and our infantry are having trouble making forward progress because of two sniper teams positioned on the seventh floor of that apartment complex and the roof of that office building. There is a blind spot in their lines of sight off to the right side starting by that tank wreckage over there. It seems to be tipping into a deep trench which you could use to infiltrate the enemy fortification and take out the Anti-Armor team." Sergi answered through the squad radio frequency. "Uh...Sir, how does he know that before us, Sir?" The soldier asked. "You know how the Captain mentioned that he was a killing machine. Well, his training started when you were how old Sergi?" Snake asked with a grin on his face. "Since I was six years old, raised by the best mercenary group you could ever find." Sergi replied keeping his voice flat and cold. "Now you guys can advance toward the fortification while I deal with the snipers." The Captain nodded and waved the rest of the squad forward. Sergi checked the chamber of his American Mass Accelerated rifle. The shine of an aluminum round answered his question and he went out to eliminate the snipers. On the way he pressed a few buttons on his TACPAD and he disappeared from sight. The killing zone could easily be seen by the number of bodies lying out in unnatural positions. A medic could be seen being pinned down in the middle of the killing field hiding behind a small hill with the remains of a fence post. Sergi crawled up to the medic and tapped into his channel. "Soldier where is your squad?" He simply asked. "Sir, they are all dead Sir. Are you the support that was promised?" He replied with fear in his voice. "You could say that. Now keep your head down and don't you worry." Sergi said simply as he placed the sights on the sniper team on top of the office building. All of the noise that surrounded him was muted and Sergi focused on the shot. Slowly he pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet streamlined straight toward the gunner. Quickly he disposed of the spotter and dropped down to the ground to avoid the other sniper team seeing where he was sniping from. He placed the rifle on top of the fence post and spotted out the second sniper team. They were feverously searching for who had just taken out their other team. Sergi looked through the scope and chuckled to himself. As the scope began looking through the walls of the apartment complex, a multitude of different ammunition could be seen lying around the room. He turned the rifle until the crosshairs placed on top of a container filled with HE rounds for any heavy armor. The bullet sped off when the trigger was pulled and drove right into the target. The box erupted into a ball of flame that tossed the sniper team out of the window down to the ground. Sergi checked the rest of the area for enemy teams and reappeared into the world. "Go do your job now." He said as he tapped the back of the medic's helmet. The medic ran out into the field and stationed himself next to a wounded soldier. He started going to work on the soldier as Sergi walked up and continued to look around for any hints of an enemy. The wounded soldier looked up and saw Sergi standing there. "Glad you’re on our side sir." The soldier said as he made an attempt to give a salute. "All systems running beyond standard limits, remote connection is online." A voice said pulling Sergi out of his unnatural sleep. He pushed himself off the ground and looked at the bulking object in front of him. A laugh escaped his as he stared at the object. 'Equestria is in for one hell of a surprise.' He thought to himself as he began looking around at the other various things that surrounded him.
Element of SurpriseThe Beginning of the End Element of Surprise Tonight was the Grand Galloping Gala and Anderson was done preparing for the social event. Rarity had made him a suit to wear to the gala along with a new set of clothes as a welcoming gift. The suit fit perfectly on him and reminded him of back before he had joined the army. He was wearing a navy blue jacket with silver and gold highlights around his shoulders and also the edges. Underneath was a green vest that supposedly brought out the color of his eyes. Sir Henry walked into the room from somewhere in the back of the carousel boutique with a completely different attire. His outfit consisted of a ceremonial chest plate, gauntlets, and boots as well as a cape that was a dark purple with gold and silver highlights. "Did Rarity make that outfit?" Anderson asked looking over the integrate designs of the silver and gold flourishes. "Why yes, she seems to know exactly what styles are good and what we are accustomed with." Sir Henry replied as he looked over Anderson's outfit. "That does seem a little bit odd since we have barely been here for almost two weeks." Anderson commented. “That reminds me, how are we all going to get to the Gala? I don't think one carriage is going to cut it." "Don't worry Anderson; I have a plan for that." Twilight Sparkle stated from Anderson. Turning around Anderson saw Twilight Sparkle standing in the doorway. She had gotten into her dress earlier that day before Sir Henry and he got changed. “I have devised a new spell that will make an extra-large carriage so all of us can fit in there." Twilight said with an air of confidence "That's great so I'm guessing everyone else is ready to go?" Anderson asked. "Yep, we'll be the last ones to get in the carriage. I just have this feeling that this is going to be one of the best nights ever!" Twilight replied as she moved out of the doorway. Anderson and Sir Henry followed Twilight Sparkle out the doorway and were amazed at the carriage. It looked like the one he saw them use in the season finale of the first season but if they mixed it together with a stretch limo. This carriage could easily hold all of them with no problem. A flash on the horizon caught Anderson's eye but as he turned to look he could see nothing except the setting sun. He pushed the thought from his mind and proceeded to get into the carriage after Sir Henry. Anderson took the last seat and looked at all the wonderful dresses he had seen many times before. "Rarity, how did you know exactly what formal wear matches where we came from?" Anderson asked as the carriage made its way to Canterlot "I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to do for your attire until a voice came out of nowhere and gave me the ideas. After it told me a little about you two it disappeared. It was odd that it came from your strange hat you like to wear." Rarity said as she pondered over what happened. "Are you alright dear? You look as if you have seen a ghost." ==================== Sergi stood in the storage area of the Valkyrie Gunship holding onto one of the overhead hand grips. Only 3 of these gunships were made back in the other world, but the ones that were active defiantly were well worth the high cost. Unlike most gunships that still worked off a light helicopter frame. This gunship used state of the art technology to replace the rotors with jet engines and wings that made the gunship look more like an aircraft. He didn't mind because the Valkyrie has saved his life more than once. The new engines also allowed for a heavier load. The armor on the craft was 8 inches thick and carried enough armaments to level an entire small country. With just one of these, the Russian base in Luxembourg is just a pile of dust now. He wore his Cossack's formal attire, a uniform similar to most everyday military uniforms but with a few changes. The color scheme was a pure black with highlights of gold and red. His chest was filled with all the ribbons he has collected throughout the years. The emblem of the Cossacks was shining proudly on his hat. He also had knives hidden everywhere. There was a belt buckle knife, a pair of knifes hidden on the back of his belt, a boot knife, and his Kukri hidden in the small of his back. On his right hand was the Golden gauntlet. Even though he had taken it off multiple times it seemed to just appear in his hand whenever he attempted his new magic. "One minute until destination, opening rear hatch." The AI said through the speakers. "How are the Night Watchmen?" Sergi asked as he walked forward towards the growing opening. "Night Watchmen 1-6 are in position and ready. 7-10 are in reserve at the base camp." The AI answered through the rushing wind. "Keep me updated on any changes." Sergi replied as he casually stepped off the Valkyrie and onto the Canterlot city wall. He pulled his hat down just enough that his eyes were hidden along with the majority of his scar. Sergi sighed as he headed towards one of the guard towers. Ever since he came to this world he’s had to act nice and normal. He’s killed more than enough people to last a lifetime and that was completely fine by him. The deaths of the enemy and his old companions had dulled his emotions towards his actions. When the time came for action he stopped at nothing to complete the objective. The only moral keeping him going was that of Cossacks Honor, protect the weak and kill the powerful. A simple code by itself; outsiders don't usually see eye to eye with the ideal. So for the time being, he’s had to wear a ‘mask’ in order to not startle them. Sergi pushed the thought aside and opened the door leading into a tower. Sergi descended the stairs and back out into the open air. A patrol of three Royal Guards were making their way through the streets checking for something. He stepped into the shadows and watched as the group passed. "What did Dawn Treader want us to look for again? There is absolutely nothing out here." The pegasus guard whined. "He said that something was approaching the wall on this side. We will pass by and check for anything out of place. After that we can head back to the Gala." The earth guard said. "I don't really mind heading out for this, the Gala is just one big security headache." The unicorn guard stated as the continued their way past Sergi. He waited in the shadows until the guards disappeared into the tower he had left earlier. The path was clear for now and Sergi didn't want to take any chances by waiting for the patrol to come back around. He hugged to the shadows and proceeded past party guests and more guards. He then approached a large building made out of huge blocks of marble. It was heavily decorated with precious gems and gold. He slid in after the patrol team he had first passed came back from their patrol. Sergi crept over to a dark corner and watched the party go along with high regality. The walls started to change and the ponies were replaced with humans. This was one of the royal parties in Northern Ireland. The walls were filled with books from the ages past. All British military leaders and advisors were in attendance. Other than the important military leaders of the British forces there were also about five undercover British agents. A server came up with a plate of appetizers came up next to him. "Good to meet you Sergi. My name is..." The server began. "Daniel, I have already done my research on the Celtics." Sergi answered as he scanned the party attendees. "Did you do any research on the party?" Daniel asked obviously irritated. "Mostly, but this is your territory. You know this place better than I ever could hope to. Also I am only going to be here for a little bit and then I'll be out of your hair." Sergi answered keeping a monotone voice. "The one you’re looking for is over there by the big hearty general over there. Your only safe escape would be going through the hidden doorway in the panel over by the bust of Winston Churchill." Daniel replied as he nodded over to a general who had defiantly treated himself well to the fine cuisine and a man in a black dress jacket and dress pants. "Thank you for your support. The Cossacks owe your group a favor." Sergi said as he slowly made his way through the crowd toward the two. "Excuse me general but I must say it is a pleasure to meet you! If anyone is going to stop the Russian armies it would be you." Sergi said as he came closer. "Oh, why thank you. Now if you excuse me I have some very important business to discuss." The British General said trying to edge away from Sergi. "Before you go and discuss your top secret stuff could you sign this for me? You are my son's hero and he would be honored if he could get your signature." Sergi said as he pulled out a picture. The look on the General's face changed from annoyed straight to shock. The picture showed the man he was talking with caught on a security camera with several dead agents around him. In the lower right hand corner was a message written in red. 'This man is a Russian spy. When I make my move, be ready. Sign the picture to not arouse any suspicions.' Sergi tighten his grip on his cane and prepared to make his move. "You look parched General; do you want me to get you something to drink?" Sergi stated more than asked. "No, I can get my own drink. Hope your son appreciates this." The General said as he regained his composure. "It is good to know that the military is still looked up to in this dire time. By the way my name is..." The other man began to say. "I know just who you are and what you do Prokhorov." Sergi interrupted before swinging the cane at Prokhorov. "I must say it is a pleasure to meet you again Sergi. I always knew you were going to cause problems for me later on." Prokhorov said as he easily caught the cane. "Well if you guessed that then do you know what will happen next?" Sergi asked as he held his gaze with Prokhorov. "You’re going to release the cane and go for your kukri knife hidden inside your jacket." Prokhorov answered with that grin he always had on his face. "Very good, you know what I would do if I was here by myself. Good thing the Cossacks branched off into different divisions." Sergi replied returning the grin. With a quick and smooth motion Sergi pulled the head of the cane and plunged the blade hidden in the cane into Prokhorov's gut and forced it deeper into his chest. Screams could be heard around him as he held the dying body of Prokhorov close to him. "The Fathers are now satisfied upon your death. May the First Fathers guide you in your passing." Sergi whispered into Prokhorov's ear as he felt the life slipping away from the body. He pulled the blade from Prokhorov's body and shoved it toward the crowd. The screaming crowd of observers blocked any way for the agents to reach Sergi. Wasting no time he rushed to the hidden passage way and bolted out of the room. "Excuse me, are you Anderson? My sister has told me all about you and most of your friends." A new voice asked as the memory slipped away and Sergi found a unicorn in armor looking towards him. "OH, my apologizes I forgot to introduce yourself. I am Shining Armor, Captain of the Canterlot Guard and I believe that you have already met my sister Twilight Sparkle." The unicorn continued. Before Sergi could answer a familiar voice interjected. "Sergi, It is a pleasure to see you here tonight. I must say that you look almost too good for this event, almost." The voice of Dawn Treader greeted as he walked toward the two. "Wait. Are you the ‘Sergi’ that killed a full grown Basilisk and took down Nightshade in a close quarter’s combat match; not to mention completely destroying a small griffon army camped within Equestrian borders?" Shining Armor inquired as a spark of interest flared up in his eyes. "The very same." Sergi simply stated. "I have to say that you have defiantly placed Commander Nightshade in his place. He was getting a little bit cocky for his position." Dawn Treader commented. "For the little while you’ve been here I must say that you have defiantly made your mark here in Equestria!" Shining Armor exclaimed "Even though you have been able to avoid my little interrogator of a sister." "You don't say... If you don't mind can you tell me how you are ranked with everybody else?" Sergi replied trying to figure more about the inner workings of the Equestrian guards. "Outside the walls of Canterlot I am the rank of a captain but when inside the walls I am ranked just the same as both Commander Dawn Treader and Nightshade." Shining Armor explained. "So how does that work with both of you in Canterlot?" Sergi asked trying to see how this could be anything except a security nightmare. "Shining Armor and I have worked out an agreement that I will be a sub-Commander when I am in Canterlot. Before he was here though, this was just one giant security nightmare." Commander Dawn Treader answered. "So if you are here, where are your friends?" "I came by myself. I have my own ways of getting places now." Sergi answered as he began scanning the crowd of ponies again. "After my little run into town a little while ago I have had to find a new place to call my own." "Now that we have all gotten acquainted with each other I think that a certain somepony would like to see that you are doing alright." Dawn Treader said trying to get a point across without wandering ears finding out more than they need to know. "Are you sure it will be fine. She seemed pretty determined to take me out last time." Sergi replied wanting to just stay in the comforting shadows that he knew would protect him. "With me and Shining Armor with you, I am confident things will go smoothly." Dawn Treader said punctuating his point that things would be fine. The trio moved away from the edge of the event and headed through the sea of ponies. Ponies couldn't help but stare at Sergi as he made his way through the party with the Commander of Celestia's Royal Guard and the Captain of the Canterlot Guard. After heading through various rooms they reached a room that seemed more like an entrance lounge. There was a large stairwell that leads down to a very intricate door enlaided with what seemed like every different type of gems that existed. A steady flow of ponies in dresses and suits streamed through the doors and quickly dispersed into other rooms. Celestia stood on top of the stairs greeting ponies as they reached the top of the stairs. When they got closer Celestia was still occupied with the stream of ponies. Commander Dawn Treader coughed and caught her attention. "Why Commander Dawn Treader, it is good to see you made it out here for the Gala. Did Twilight Sparkle and her friends already arrive? I don't remember seeing any other humans arriving earlier tonight." "It is a pleasure to meet you again Celestia. Even though our last encounter was not as pleasant." Sergi said in a calm voice as he raised his hat up to its normal position. "Sergi, why I did not expect you to be here. This is definitely going to put an interesting twist on tonight." Celestia responded after being shocked with his attendance. "I want to thank you for your effort in taking out the griffon camp we found in the forest. If I had only known earlier..." "I am over the issue. I understand that only a few seconds afterwards did you receive the report of the burn site. These things happen and we can't leave ourselves trying to apologize for things outside of our reach." Sergi cut in before a train of self-degrading happened in the public view. "Your right, so are we on even ground again?" She asked quickly regaining her composure. "That lightning bolt you hit me with didn't even sway my position. I am still willing to help with the Griffon situation." Sergi answered as he gave a tip of his hat. "It is good to know that everything is straightened out now." Another familiar voice commented. The heads of the royal guards and Sergi turned to see Princess Luna standing there. "Since both of you gentlecolts are busy with the security and my own commander is busy with other tasks, would you mind if I take this fine Cossack here as a royal escort?" Luna asked with a smile on her face. "I would be honored, especially if there won't be any Basilisks jumping out at us." Sergi said with a grin. "I promise no creatures will be jumping out at us this time around." Luna said visible pleased he accepted. "I need to head over to the Guard Station and then I would like to head over to a local pastry shop." The two then headed off deeper into the castle. The closer they got to this Guard Station the more ponies were seen wearing armor. Guess were pouring out of every possible door with patrol details and other orders. Even though they were different than her Royal Guards they still should all the respect as if she were. "How is everything proceeding tonight?" She asked as she entered the busy room filled with stacks of paper and blue prints of the castle. "Everything is proceeding as planned Princess and the Guards are prepared for anything tonight." One of the more elaborately decorated guards stated. "Can I see the patrol plans and also the locations of both the stationary and undercover units?" Luna asked wanting to make sure everything was in order. With a few inspections of guard positions and floor layouts the pair left from the busy beehive of activity and out into the nearly empty streets of Canterlot. Sergi could easily see that something was troubling her but she tried to hide her uneasiness. "I can tell that something is troubling you. What is wrong?” Sergi asked after he was sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. "I once knew someone like you in many ways when I was only a little filly. His name was Alexander. He was my personal guard in the revolution against the Lord of Chaos Discord and the closest friend I’ve ever had. Before the last battle against Discord himself, he and many other humans suddenly disappeared from the world. I now see he was taken into your world because one of his ideas is standing right next to me, a Cossack for the people." Luna tried to explain. "One of the first fathers was named Александр. What else is troubling your mind?” Sergi asked as she clearly had avoided what really was troubling her. "Nothing else is troubling me. I think the pastry shop is at the next corner here." She replied quickly. "In my life I have been able to read anybody by just their body language. I will ask you again; what is troubling you?" Sergi said as he could easily tell she was hesitant and very quick to change the subject. "You have been raised in a world of chaos but you act as if it were normal. Chaos should never be normal! How have you been able to go through your life without any peace?! Even though I have lived for more than 1000 years, seeing any type of chaos as a normal thing has never been possible! I just want to understand how any of this is supposed to work." Luna blurted out what was really troubling her as she began to break down. "I can live with it as normal because there was no peace where I came from. Peace was just a dream that one day we might be able to achieve. Sadly that dream will never be fulfilled..." Sergi replied as he remembered the broadcasts that told of the end of the war and everything else in the world. "What do you mean by never to be fulfilled?" She asked as she slowly regained her composure. "Before my arrival in your world here, my world was so deeply entangled in war that they broke down old laws and used weapons that should have never been used again... Is this the pastry shop we were looking for?" Sergi replied simply trying to get away from the memories of things that couldn't possibly be contained in the deepest part of hell. Some of those things he personally did... "Why yes it is, and I know that we have both mentioned things that were meant to be kept secret. Thank you for listening to one of the problems that I have been pondering since I healed you. I think that we have more in common than anyone else might think. Maybe we could talk again some time when things aren't so hectic." Luna said ad they entered the building. Sound escaped from the pastry shop as the door opened. Laughter and excited voices filled the air. Along with the voices came the smell of freshly made pastry delicacies that Sergi had only experienced only three times before in his entire life. The six ponies he had gotten himself acquainted with when he first arrived and his two other companions were sitting around a large table off to the side of the room next to the windows. "Why did you freak out earlier when Rarity mentioned that Sergi had told her what Sir Henry and you had been accustomed to?" Twilight Sparkle inquired. With that one question Sergi, formed an idea in his mind. He gave a gesture to Princess Luna to stay quiet even though the smile on her face clearly showed that she was thinking the same thing. "It is just how Sergi knew that the Grand Galloping Gala was tonight and knew when Rarity was working on the ideas." Anderson said as his back was to Sergi as he silently glided up to him. "I have my sources Anderson, haven't you learned that yet?" Sergi playfully asked as he squeezed Anderson's shoulders. "Sergi, I didn’t know you would be here tonight." Anderson managed to get out after nearly choking on a donut. "I have heard that a lot today." Sergi replied calmly as he released Anderson. "What are you doing here? You don't seem like a formal attire type of guy." Applejack questioned. "He is my escort tonight since the other commanders were busy this evening." Luna answered as she walked up beside Sergi. "Princess Luna, I haven't seen you in here for a long time. What can I do ya for?" The pony behind the counter asked in a heavy eastern U.S. coast accent. "I wouldn't mind an éclair if you have one Donut Joe." Luna replied to the pony behind the counter. "You got it, one éclair coming right up!" Donut Joe stated as he placed the order on top of the counter. "Thank you sir." Luna chimed as she placed some golden coins on the counter with her magic and then snatched up the éclair. "Hey Sergi, are you alright from last week? That seemed like a pretty powerful spell the Princess used." Rainbow dashed asked with a slight hint of concern in her voice. "I have recovered from that unfortunate accident and I have also settled my affairs with Celestia. Everything is fine at the moment." Sergi replied noting the new tone in her voice. "My goodness, I must complement you on that gorgeous looking outfit you are wearing. I have never seen such style before, those small ribbons and medals on your chest give it an interesting twist." Rarity said as she critiqued his outfit. "Thank you, this is the Commanders jacket worn only by the sole leader of the Cossacks and I would rather not want to go into how I acquired this jacket." Sergi answered as he saw a certain look appear on Twilight Sparkles face. "Why not? It can't be..." Twilight Sparkle began before a guard burst into the pastry shop. "PRINCESS LUNA... WE HAVE A THREAT LEVEL 3... SITUATION OUT IN THE GARDEN COURTYARD!" The guard exclaimed between breaths. “Hold on everypony. This is going to be a first time for most of you." Shouted Luna as her eyes turned pure white and her horn glowed with magic. The room was filled with a white light that Sergi recognized from when he arrived. The light lasted only for a few seconds before it disappeared. He and the others stood in middle of a marble floored courtyard surrounded by many unique statues. The sounds of panicked screams and confusion filled the air and a large clearing could be seen with several variously armored griffons and a pony in a blue jumpsuit with a mane that looked like fire. The apparent leader of this rag tag group of griffons was shouting out threats and basically looking for a challenge. "You ponies thought your little night raid on our camp would quell the wrath of the griffon army?! That little idea has only fanned the flames of the Griffon War Machine! So if the pony in charge of the night raid is here, I challenge them to a duel! Just me and that worthless piece of meat! If no one comes and accepts the challenge any time soon, I'll give this pony here a new hole to breathe through!" He soured out as he pressed a dagger against the neck of the hostage. Sergi started to move toward the griffon while reaching for his Kukri before feeling something holding him back. He turned around to find Fluttershy holding him back by one of his pant legs. "Sergi, please don't kill them! There has been enough death already!" She quietly begged. Sergi looked at the other ponies there and read a general idea. The faces of Twilight Sparkle and Rarity had a look of fear. Applejack looked as she favored not killing them, but not enough to know that it might be the only way. Rainbow Dash and Spike had a look of excitement on their faces for being able to see some action here at the Gala. Pinkie Pie was... "Here! I always have a baton stashed away somewhere just in case of a nonlethal situation!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as she popped out if one of the marble squares in the floor holding a black police baton. Sergi just took the baton and looked at Pinkie Pie as she disappeared back under the piece of marble that easily weighed more than four times more than her. He shook his head and continued his way to the griffons testing the weight of the baton as he went. "I'm the one you’re looking for. Now you’re going to release the hostage and go back into the hole you crawled out of." Sergi shouted out with a voice devoid of any emotion. "Ah, so it looks like a bedtime story comes out to save the day. I will have so much fun slowly pulling your life from your body." The griffon replied as cruel smile spread across his beak. “Lieutenant, take hold of the prisoner." As the pony was being passed to another griffon Sergi whipped out his Kukri and pinned the claw of the lieutenant to a Statue of an alicorn. "RUN NOW!" Sergi ordered to the pony as the griffons were stunned at what had just happened. The pony flew quickly out towards the outside of the ring of ponies but stopped to watch the duel unfurl. Sergi sprinted up towards to the first griffon and knocked him back with an upward swing from the baton. With the element of surprise gone, Sergi took a quick look around to scope out the other hostiles. Other than the leader there were only three other griffons. They all had a look of fear in their eyes and did not move. The leader got back up and threw himself at Sergi hoping that the force would knock him down. Sergi side stepped and dealt another powerful blow from the baton. He then grabbed the griffon by the scruff of the neck and tossed him at the statue holding the lieutenant. The griffon collided with enough force to make small cracks appear on the statue. Sergi walked up to the two griffons and pulled out his knife. The lieutenant grabbed his superior officer and flew off into the night. They were quickly followed by the other griffons and silence fell upon the courtyard for only the briefest of seconds until the crowd started murmuring about what had just happened. "Good Evening Everypony, My name is Captain Shining Armor and I need your full cooperation. I need all of you to vacate the courtyard. You may continue your night in the other parts of the Canterlot Castle. I hope that this did not spoil your Grand Galloping Gala experience." Shining Armor said over all the accumulated voices in the courtyard. Although the crowd started to disappear Sergi felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned his head to see the hostage from before. He could clearly see a white lightning bolt going down the side of the jumpsuit. "Hi, I wanted to thank you for what happened back there. My name is Spitfire, Captain of the Wonderbolts. I can understand letting those griffons go but they need to get what's coming to them..." She began before Sergi gave a slight chuckle. "If you want to see them go down stay here for a little bit." He said as he opened up his comm channel. "Send in Night Watchmen #2 to eliminate four bogies heading away from the castle." Sergi ordered through his TACPAD, "What is going to happen?" Spitfire asked as she moved forward a little bit more. "Just wait." Sergi said as he could hear the faint sound of one of the Night Watchmen fly over the courtyard and head towards the griffons. Only seconds passed before a whine along with a steady line of tracer bullets ensured that the griffons were no longer a problem.
Preparing for WarThe Beginning of the End Preparing for War Sergi laid in the cold, bare, concrete room he had been kept in while not being experimented on. He stared at the wall where he had made the markings of a mad man. The markings were almost unrecognizable, even to him. They ranged from small messages or maps chiseled into the wall to cryptic words promising the end written in his own blood when his hands were turned raw from chiseling. His internal clock slowly clicked as he waited for the next session. There was no escape from here; all of his attempts landed him directly in the office of the Director. The office was filled with American pop culture such as posters for old movies hung on the wall along with many Western items, such as two 44 magnum revolvers and a 1887 shotgun that supposedly belonged to one of his ancestors. This place has almost effectively done something nothing before has done: Break the mind of a Cossack. Cossacks are trained to be unbreakable like other soldiers. This is what made the Cossacks something greatly praised and feared. All of that training could not help with what this place did. They would mess around with his body for a few hours and then send him out onto a training course where every single simulation strained everything he had and showed him how it was not enough because his failures made people he cared for pay for them. The Scientist had stopped messing around with his body for the past month and a half but had been increasing the testing regiments. Sergi raised his right hand up to his face to feel the healing wound he had received during one of the latest tests. They had changed Dimitri into something that wasn't him, a soul less husk of a man that was broken and made into a machine of war. Killing him was the only way to end the suffering that Dimitri had, what little of him existed. His train of thought was cut short by the sounds of foot steps in the hallway. 'The guards are not supposed to be around here until 6:00, it was only 1:54,' Sergi thought as he pulled every single detail from the situation with his already fragile brain. The buttons made cheerful noises as they released they thick metal bars sealing the door to the wall. As the door swung open, only a man stood there in a white lab jacket. When Sergi's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the head scientist standing there with a knife, a high level key card, and a silenced pistol. Standing up, Sergi prepared to finally meet his end only to find the items placed into his hands. "I can no longer stand by as I watch my projects be broken by some high minded Americans! This is my lab, and I will do what I will in it, even releasing my own projects to kill the intruders. This knife was my Ancestor's when he fought for the Third Reich. An armory is just down the hallway and you should find some things to your liking, Sergi. Zu Ruhm comrade, the Goths are willing to avenge the Cossacks." The Scientist said before he walked out of the room and headed down towards the other holding cells. Sergi took no time rushing out of the cell and bolting down to find this armory. The signs posted along the way helped him find his way. The door to the armory was only a simple card scanner, no eye scanner or key pad. Inside, Sergi took the time to look over what he had. The pistol was an old 9mm with a modification to fit a more modern day silencer on it. The key card had the face of the Scientist who had just released him on it, along with his name, Dr. Fredrick Luger. The knife was very interesting, because it was a rare officers knife that was highly valuable after the war ended. Sergi looked up from his items to look around the room. There was plenty of standard weaponry filed along the wall that Sergi did not even bother looking at. Placed away in the back of the room was what Sergi was looking for. A small assortment of mismatched weapons stood there untouched. He looked through the line of weapons looking for anything that would be of use. In the assortment he found something he only hoped would have survived, the Cossacks officers PPSH. Sergi checked every single spring and latch to find that it was still in good condition. He took the weapon along with as much ammo as he could carry for it. A Russian recon armor hung in the armory as well and Sergi did not mind having to stop for one more thing. He placed the visor on and was gleefully happy when the entire world turned a blood red. Sergi saw a heavy machine gun on a mount in the back as well. Alarms began to blare as Sergi entered back out into the hallways. From around a corner swarms of guards headed down the hallway to find Sergi standing there priming up the heavy machine gun. Bullet after bullet left the gun and filled Sergi with cold satisfaction. "Infirmorum susceptor, Hunter magni ab ultimo ad ultimum spiritum, pugnabimus" Sergi shouted out through the external speakers as he walked through the piles of dead and dying bodies. "Sergi, are you here? What is all this stuff?" A voice asked pulling Sergi out of his memories. "Please do not touch any of those things." Sergi barely grumbled out. "OH my, we didn't wake you up did we?" Fluttershy asked as Sergi's mind began to come back to reality. "You did but I should be up anyways." Sergi replied as he opened his eyes. He found himself lying on top of one of the night watchmen. Sergi slowly pushed himself off of the unmanned surveillance aircraft and rubbed his face with his left hand. The cold touch of metal made him look at his hand to find another gauntlet made of obsidian and a the eagle emblem of a commander on the back made out of one solid piece of diamond. "So it actually is true." Twilight Sparkle commented. "What is true?" Sergi asked as he turned his attention from the gauntlet. "The Prophecy of Man, something that seems to be more than just a relic in one of Rainbow's Daring Do books." Applejack answered as she continued to stare at him as if this was the first time. "Is that what you wear every time you go to sleep dear? You should really invest in some pajamas. They will do just wonders for you. Maybe heal up those wounds you have there." Rarity said as she evaluated what he wore. Sergi looked over himself to find that other than the gauntlet he had just found, all he was wearing was his cargo pants. His bare chest should the scars and tattoos of his past life. He was just glad that his one big secret was not showing. "What happened to you? I have never seen anything like this..." Twilight Sparkle began saying. "Did Anderson tell you about the war?" Sergi asked. "Yes but what does that have to do with..." Twilight Sparkle began to reply. "Obviously these were scars from the war silly." Pinkie Pie cheerfully said as she began to bounce around the room. "Can someone tell me what the Prophecy of Man is?" Sergi asked as he slowly began to get irritated and confused with everything. "It is this one giant picture thing that supposedly told how the world would end. Supposedly the last humans of Equestria carved the entire thing before ending the reign of Discord. Everything was very cryptic until you guys came around and Sir Henry unlocked the entire thing!" Rainbow Dash proudly explained "And what Rainbow Dash is forgetting is how almost everything was decrypted. The last part of the inscriptions is so vague that not even someone from the time knows what it means. All that it shows is a giant round hole and clouds burning with the inscription underneath narrating, 'And the heavens will burn and the earth shall feel the wrath of an entire race'." Twilight Sparkle corrected, visibly annoyed by how Rainbow Dash left out a somewhat major detail. "Where am I included in this prophecy? I am just a soldier from a destroyed world." Sergi asked as he began walking through his collection of advance technology he created with the magic contained in his golden gauntlet. "All of the carvings show a man taking on creatures that no pony could take on by themselves. They show everything from when you all arrived up to the news of a griffon army that would easily take all of Equestria!" Twilight shouted out trying to make some point. "When the time comes I am sure things will play out just fine. Now is there anything else you ponies need before you leave?" Sergi asked hoping to get something accomplished today. "Where did you get that gauntlet there? I don't remember you having it the last time ah saw you." Applejack inquired. "I wish I could tell you but I don't even know how I got the gauntlet. It seems to have just appeared like the first one." Sergi replied as he pondered how they both appeared out of nowhere. "Maybe there something more than just gauntlets..." Twilight Sparkle began before getting interrupted again. "OH, Twilight I bet they're just like are elements. Maybe they have some super secret power that nopony has seen since when the humans were here! Pinkie Pie shouted out as she continue to hop around the cave. "You guys have things similar to this?" Sergi asked as this was the first time he heard about other items of power. "Yeah, how else could we take down Nightmare Moon and Discord!? Rainbow Dash blurted out as Sergi walked up closer to the embers of a fire that once burned hot and shuffled them around with a stick. "Unlike Sir Henry or Anderson who have been with you ponies since day one, I have not had the pleasure of finding out what you six have done other than what I hear from others, mostly from the officers of the Royal Guards." Sergi stated as he placed a few logs onto the small embers to begin cooking up his breakfast. "Well maybe we could change that. Ah personally would like to know you more than just a human that has saved my friend's and ah's flanks more than once." Applejack said as she slowly stepped forward. "Why do you even want to be out here? There is nothing to do other than work on these things and sit by a fire." Rainbow Dash asked as she flew over and sat on the nose of the VALKYRIE gunship. "You do seem like a very fine gentlecolt, and I find it hard to believe that you like to stay secluded." Rarity said following the lead of Rainbow Dash and Applejack. "I have my reasons for living here. Mostly because ponies are not used to what I have been trained to do." Sergi said as he started setting up the stand and preparing his breakfast in a metal kettle. "We don't even know what you did back in your world!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed as Sergi noted how she was laying a trap about his past. "I was a soldier back in my world. I fought to keep the ones I cared for safe, even though it did not happen that way." Sergi replied as he said the last part in a low tone. "Oh I'm sure the ponies will warm up to you. They warmed up to me and Spike since we first moved here." Twilight Sparkle said as she used her magic to lift the kettle onto the stand over the fire. "You and Spike are actually from here and you do not have a history filled with things that should never see the light of day." Sergi said as he went inside the tent to retrieve a shirt to put on "They can't be that bad." Twilight Sparkle said as she was still trying to fish for information. Sergi exited the tent with his usual green t-shirt and gave a cold, hard stare in return. Twilight's ears flattened against her head and blushed a little bit after getting caught trying to fish for information. "Um... if don't mind me asking; do you like animals?" Fluttershy asked quietly after seeing Twilight go into his past life. "I do. When I was young I had a falcon as a pet. That was back when I was only about 6 or 7." Sergi replied as his mind went back to those times. "Excuse me ladies, is this where the human Sergi lives?" A new voice asked from the mouth of the cave. The ponies turned to see a pegasus who looked like a fresh out of training Royal Guard. Fluttershy and Twilight Sparkle moved off to the side to reveal Sergi standing among his weapons of war. "OH, my bad. Anyways I am here to give you the reports on the situation at the moment." The pegasus said as he looked down at the ground and rubbed the back of his neck. "If you excuse us girls, this guard and I will discuss business. Please do not mess with any of the things out here. If you get hungry just have what I'm cooking up." Sergi said as he waved the guard over to the tent. Sergi followed the guard into the tent and saw the dumbstruck look on his face as he looked around the tent. "Anything I can answer for you?" Sergi asked wanting to scrape up any more information he could on the guard. "Is this where you actually sleep? I thought the guards quarters were Spartan. Is that a Griffon Commander helmet there?" The pegasus began asking. "Yes I sleep here and I guess he was a Commander. Did you have something for me?" Sergi answered before pressing the important matter. "Oh yes, here you go." The pegasus said as he went into his saddle bags and pulled out various plans and reports. Sergi heard the sound of hooves surrounding the tent and sighed. He went over to the monitor on the tent and ordered a secure channel meeting. This caused an orb of harmless electricity to surround the tent and deny any sound from leaving the tent. "What just happened?" The pegasus said as he shuffled towards the middle of the tent. "A few ponies are trying to hear things beyond their pay grade. This just insures that we are the only ones that will know what happens in here." Sergi replied as he moved over to the desk to review the reports. Minutes turned into hours as Sergi read and memorized every single detail that was in front of him. From what he had read; Equestria has never seriously been to war for over a thousand years. The reports did hold a great amount of information about the griffon nation and the Equestrian defenses but showed how weak Equestria has become. The National Army has been disbanded 750 years ago. The Royal Guards have drastically dropped over the years to barely holding up at around 2,000 guards per Princess. This would definitely make things more difficult, but not impossible. The Griffons easily had a larger army that could be only be topped by the armies from his world. With their numbers short of a million, it wasn't hard to trace a path of where they would move. From the Mountains at the Border of the Griffon Nation and follow a large river cutting through an empty plain that was stage for many of the battles of the rebellion against the Lord of Chaos, Discord. Once they pass through the plains they will reach the mountains that marked the border of Equestria. An old mountain path used back in the time after the fall of chaos will most likely be used to cross over into Equestria. Everyone in Canterlot will, have the best view of the beginning of the end of Equestria. Among the reports were ones that were describing possible troop movement of something called Changelings. These reports were few but contained as much information as the griffons. Through the reports it could plainly be seen that the Changelings were seen as a larger threat than anything. Sergi slowly shook his head at the idea of this small of a force could be seen as a bigger threat than an army ranging up to the low millions with the one mind set of crushing the ponies under their boot heels. There was no way to do this, two different armies arriving at about the same time period and the smaller force seen as a bigger threat. His eyes drifted over to his golden gauntlet and a small idea began to form. If the ponies wanted to focus on the Changelings, then they could focus on them all they wanted to. Sergi just needed them distracted so his part of the plan could go off without a hitch. There would still be a high cost in the aftermath of the plan, but it would all be worth it in the long run. He rolled up his report summary and turned to give it to the pegasus but found him sleeping on his cot. "Private Lucky Clover, are you asleep at your post!" Sergi inquired in a large voice. "I am not sleeping at my post Commander Dawn Treader!" The pegasus shouted out as he bolted out of his dreams and straighten his stance, visibly still vague on where he was. "Good, then can you take this report summary back to Commander Dawn Treader. I'm sure he would be glad to know that he can start preparing for an invasion in about two months." Sergi said as offered the rolled up parchment. "Two months you say, that falls right on top of Captain Shining Armors Wedding." The pegasus guard said as he realized where he was. "It is just a estimate, so it might come earlier or later. Let me turn off the security systems on the tent" Sergi said as he began to smile behind his emotionless expression. "I'll get this straight back to Canterlot, Good bye." The pegasus said as he exited the tent. "Oh, I'm sure that we will be meeting again soon." Sergi said as he waited in the tent. The sound of flapping wings marked the Pegasus's departure. Sergi took of the black gauntlet and placed it next to the golden one on the desk. He stepped out of the tent to find that the other ponies were gone and his breakfast had disappeared. He found a plate of cupcakes and a note lying on the nose of the Valkyrie. Sergi picked up the note and read through what little was on there. 'Dear Sergi, We shared your breakfast and left to get things ready for a picnic tomorrow. If you are free from Guard-related matters maybe you could come as well. From: Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash' The names at the bottom looked like they were written by each individual. He folded up the note and placed it in one of the pockets of his pants as he began eating one of the cupcakes. After finishing one of the cupcakes he took the plate and went to stand outside. Sergi took a look at the landscape and the small specks of ponies moving around in the town down below. 'In two months, nothing will be the same again for a long time. Might as well soak up as much of this peaceful place as possible before War rears it old familiar face.
Calm before the StormThe Beginning of the End Calm before the Storm Twilight Sparkle was trotting down to a nice little spot where she and her friends have their picnics. It lay right in a small meadow surrounded by a few trees and a small stream ran off to the side. She was accompanied by Spike, Anderson, and a box of cupcakes fresh from the Sugarcube Corner. The trip down had been complete silence as they moved through the pleasant scenery. This was fine with Twilight because she had a plan up her sleeve. If Sergi was able to make it she would finally break past the iron curtain that he always had around him. When she got back home yesterday she began searching for a spell or something of the like to be able to get past his defenses. All the spells she found were nowhere close to being inconspicuous as she needed them to be. She smiled to herself as they began to approach the spot. Everypony was in attendance except for Rainbow Dash and Sergi. "Good afternoon everypony!" Anderson said as he began to walk faster towards the group. "YAY! The cupcakes made it!" Pinkie Pie shouted out as she snatched the packages from Anderson. "Does anyone know where Rainbow Dash is?" Twilight Asked as she got closer to the group. "She was here earlier but left to take care of some business she forgot about, although she did seem a little off when she was here." Rarity said as she laid lounged on the picnic blanket with her large 'picnic' hat. "She seems like she’s had something else on her mind since the humans settled down in Ponyville, or at least most of them." Applejack commented. Twilight could easily take a guess as what Rainbow Dash was doing. Once things got somewhat settled down just before Winter Wrap up, Rainbow Dash had seemed preoccupied with the one-man army named Sergi. She even has been wearing the same weird necklace that he made as a gift for her. It just made her irritated that Rainbow Dash was able to get inside Sergi's iron curtain with ease and here she was trying to find some chink in his armor. All she wanted to know was what exactly he did back in the other world. It seriously can't be as bad as he makes it to be. "Sorry I'm a little late girls, I went to find Sergi and get him to come along but I couldn't find him anywhere." Rainbow Dash said as she landed next to the others followed by the clicking of the necklace that Sergi had given her. "Maybe he already left to work with the Royal Guards at Canterlot." Anderson said as he leaned against a tree nearby. "All of his stuff was still there; even his tent was still up. There was even this strange voice that talked to me." Rainbow Dash replied. "Ah, so it seems you have met his AI unit. He is the only person I know who has received his own personal AI. I have heard some rumors but I doubt any of them are true." Anderson said "He's not around at the moment so you'll be alright. Tell us some of the more realistic ones." Twilight Sparkle said willing to hear any information about Sergi. "I think the one that is most likely true is..." Anderson said before a voice interjected. "You shouldn't be talking about things beyond your comprehension or pay-grade Anderson. You shouldn't let these ponies get the better of you." Sergi's voice stated from out of nowhere, causing everyponies head to find where he was. "Ah Sergi, I knew you would surprise us all. Now appear to us so we can enjoy your company." Sir Henry said with a small smile. "Oh there is no trick to this one. I am sure that you will find me once you take a closer look around you." Sergi replied still hiding himself well from all the picnickers. "I'm sure that if a certain cyan pegasus didn't tire herself out looking for me, we’d be seeing eye to eye." Twilight watched as all traces of weariness disappear as she bolted up into the air. Rainbow Dash then began looking around from where she hovered before flying over to one of the trees. She slowly poked her head through the branches of the tree before pulling her head out with a large grin. Seconds later, a large mass fell from the tree and stood back up with an apple in his hand. Sergi had been there the whole time and no one bothered to look up into the trees. "Nice little area you have here girls. I have never seen anything like this in my whole life. The sight just makes you feel like there is nothing wrong in the world." Sergi said before taking a bit out of the apple he had. "Well Ah'm glad you made it here today. You have been very busy the last couple of weeks and a break could be good for you. Now how about you come over here and take a seat with us." Applejack said as she offered a spot next to her. "A break would be nice at the moment, especially since in a weeks’ time I will have more work than ever." Sergi replied as he knelt down next to the farm pony. "What’s happening in a week?" Rainbow Dash said as she lowered herself back down onto the ground. "I can't say much but what I can say that I will be heading up to Canterlot to better manage the griffon situation." Sergi said "How long do you think you will be gone?" Twilight asked trying to figure out how to play things out. "With the current situation it will probably be at least six months. It just depends how long they will want to keep persisting." Sergi answered simply as he shrugged his shoulders. "I might be seeing you from time to time for fashion shows. So you won’t be lonely all that time." Rarity said as if to cheer up Sergi in some way. "Don't worry about me my friends, with everything happening I don't think there will be any time to focus on something else let alone take a break." Sergi replied as he stretched his arms out. "Also I have a proposition for everyone here. That is, if you’re interested." "What's this deal you’re talking about?" Rainbow Dash asked as she squinted her eyes to somehow see what the deal was better. "I will accept any questions that you have about me or the other world as well as a special gift for everyone when I come back from Canterlot. The only catch is that any information about what I did in my past is off limits, did you catch that last part Twilight?" Sergi continued as he finished directing it towards her. They all agreed to the proposition as Twilight almost jumped out of her skin. 'A time allocated to getting answers from Sergi. This could not go any better!' she thought in her head. "What is a Cossack?" Twilight Sparkle asked to begin the deal. "It is a mercenary group that deals more with night-time undercover operations so that things might be easier for everyone." "Do you guys have a motto?" Rainbow Dash asked next "Infirmorum susceptor, Hunter magni ab ultimo ad ultimum spiritum, pugnabimus. It is roughly translated to The Protector of the Sick, from the Final End to the Last Breath of the Great Hunter, we will fight." "How many parties have you been too?" Pinkie Pie asked as she leaned in close. "All together, about 36 or 37. If you’re talking about ones that I have been officially invited to and not just for a contract; one." "What does that mean?" Applejack asked as she heard the answer. "I have been to a lot of parties uninvited to either get high valued information or to deal with a high valued target." "What were all those interesting ribbons on your uniform that we saw last at the Gala?" Rarity asked keeping to her area of expertise. "They were awards for performing beyond the call of duty and also awards for surviving through a certain string of battles or campaigns." "Are you always so aggressive and single-minded? If that is alright to ask." Fluttershy asked quietly. "It is alright to ask. No, I am only like this when something that is either good or close to me is being threatened in any way." "How did you get all those scars we saw on you yesterday?" Applejack asked as she moved to grab a cupcake. "When we went on missions I always stayed behind enemy lines so that everyone else could get to be able to live another day, sometimes I stayed back a little bit too long." Sergi said as he slowly felt one on his left arm. "What was it like in the old world? What had happened in it? Would you ever want to go back?" Twilight began asking as the questions just flowed out of her mouth. "It was nothing compared to this world to say the least. So many things happened to it that it only barely resembles this world. The only constant in that world was war and an endless cycle of vengeance. Right about now the planet should be a burning ruin of its former self. Anything that is still alive will not last for much longer. With all of that said I think that I would rather live here than under the thick nuclear-fallout clouds that block out the sun." Sergi answered before his eyes looked of somewhere in the distance and what little emotion was on his face dissolved away. Twilight Sparkle started to get angry because he had started to ignore her questions. This small fury burned for a little while until she noticed that he wasn't responding to anypony at the moment. He just sat there staring off into the distance as if something else was happening there. Twilight decided to use one of the spells she learned to see what exactly he was watching. "What are you doing Twilight?" Rainbow Dash asked, watching Twilight Sparkle charge up the spell. "I just want to see if I can help him with what’s in his head." Twilight answered as she tried focusing on the spell. "Ah don't think that would be such a good idea Twilight." Applejack said. Twilight did not hear the last comment as she released the spell and went into Sergi's head. The inside of his mind was like a giant series of halls filled with doors. The hallways were made of something similar to rock in appearance but still very different; the doors looked to have been made out of solid metal with a large wheel in the middle. She went to every door she passed only to find them either locked or leading to rooms with little to nothing in them. Any books she found in there were mostly fictional or journals from random people. Down the hallway she went until she heard a unique sound coming somewhere close by. Following the noise lead her down to a door that looked similar to all the other doors. Loud pinging noises could be heard from the other side of the door. With her magic she began turning the wheel to open the door only to find it spinning out of her control and bursting open. A figure ran out into the hallway where she was standing in and hid behind the door. Other figures were further down the hallway making flashes from the center of their chests. Twilight began to slowly move forward to investigate the other figures until a sharp stinging pain sliced across her side. She screamed out in pain as the door slammed shut with a small thud came from the other side of the door. Looking at her side she could see blood spilling out of a line across her side. All the blood almost made her faint. The figure that came through the door stood towering over her with a dark green outfit that she had seen before except holes could be seen with dark blotches. The blood-red orbs stared down at her as fear and terror began to fill her thoughts. All of the questions she had evaporated as panic filled her mind. "TWILIGHT!" A voice shouted out, breaking apart the world she laid bleeding in. She opened her eyes to find herself lying down on the grass in a cold sweat. Across from her Sergi began to looking down at her with the same look as she received inside his mind. "Are you alright Twilight?" Fluttershy asked as everyponies eyes now laid on her. "I'm alright, everything is fine." She said as she brought herself back up onto her hooves. The picnic began to slowly slide back into its normal state but Twilight could still feel the gaze of the eyes staring straight into the mind. It was as if they watched her every thought.
Once more into the FrayThe Beginning of the End Once more into the Fray "Damned rocket whores!" The pilot shouted out as the Valkyrie rocked from an explosion. "GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Captain Miller shouted into the cockpit as he held on to one of the overhead grips. "Sorry, I forgot Captain. I was just going to pick up a gallon of milk from the store and maybe fill up the gas tank!" The pilot shouted back sarcastically. "I hate gunships." Snake muttered to himself quietly. "What do you not hate Snake?!" Joesph asked as while he tried to hold onto a handle. "I don't hate normal life." Snake replied before the gunship rocked again. "When was the last time you have seen that?" Joseph asked jokingly regaining his stance. "One more hit like that and this thing is going down! Can you please try to avoid those missiles?" Captain Miller shouted into the cockpit of the Valkyrie, "No shit Captain! It doesn't help that we’ve already used up all our flares!" The pilot shot back. "Open the hatch." Sergi stated as he grabbed for a rifle in the overhead compartment. "What are you thinking!? I don't want a missile coming in here!" Snake shouted out. "Trust me, I did things like this for a living. Now open the door." Sergi answered as he quickly looked over the gun. "I'm not sure Captain, I think that this Russian is just trying to kill us all. Look at Lieutenant Ashlyn if you have doubt about him." "What happened to the Lieutenant was not because of him. I had to listen to her as she told how he had saved her from a mole in the ranks...." The Captain began not noticing the hatch slowly opening. "And walked across Europe leaving a trail bodies in his wake!" Snake interjected trying to show a point while gesturing towards Sergi. "Um...Sir?" Joesph hesitantly asked looking towards the rear hatch. "WHAT is ...it?" The Captain began before watching Sergi jump out of the rear hatch. "Thank you for flying United Airlines, Zu Ruhm to you my friend." The pilot said into his headset. "Dasvadanya Comrade." Sergi's voice replied through the speakers before a click sounded. "What the fuck was that for?!" Snake shouted out as he entered the cockpit. "Helping a friend out." The pilot said not even giving a glance at Snake. "Are you a spy?!" Snake said in a more hushed voice. "Just another mercenary saving your ass." He replied as he calmly grabbed a taser from a side compartment and pacifying Snake. "Hey can someone get this unconscious body out of here. It's hard enough with these... DAMN ROCKET WHORES!" The pilot shouted back to the two still conscious soldiers on the gunship while a rocket flew right past the windshield. "I can see why your people used this tactic during that World War II. Very crude but effective, I am not really sure about the cost though." A voice said as the world around Sergi dissolved away. Sergi found himself in a world of red and staring out the back of the Valkyrie. Next to him stood was Sir Henry wearing his full set of armor. Below him laid fields of burning wheat and a town sending out its last breaths in deep thick billowing clouds. He couldn't help but smile at all that he saw in front of him. "Balitmare has been added to the list of towns taken out, bringing the total up to 9 out of 9 towns destroyed before the mountain pass. Reports show 87 occupants are wounded and 296 are severely wounded or dead" The AI replied as the Valkyrie began to move west. "It’s now time to fortify the pass I guess. I must thank you again for allowing me to come along and help in the defense of my old friends." Sir Henry said as he moved further into the Valkyrie when the hatch slowly closed. The world slowly disappeared and he stood in his battle armor while holding his helmet in his right hand. He now stood at the train station surrounded by the ponies he had grown to know better over the last week. Everyone had a look of disappointment on their face. "Are you sure that you have to go, maybe someone else could take your place." Rainbow Dash said as she rubbed the dog tags that hung from her neck. "There is no other way for this to go. I am just making sure that life here does not turn into something I know from my world." Sergi said as he knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am glad you allowed me to come along with you Sergi. When danger threatens old friends of mine, I promised to give my life in order to keep them safe." Sir Henry said as he patted Sergi on the shoulder and moved onto the train to drop his things. Anderson stood behind the ponies and had a sad look on his face. He kept his gaze down to the ponies but raised his eyes every once and awhile. Sergi had already discussed this with him and was going to keep firm with what his decision was. "Sergi, why don't you bring Anderson with you? I'm sure he could be able to help you two in some way." Fluttershy asked in her usual quiet voice. "I need him to stay here and watch over you ponies. If things go bad on my end, at least he can be ready to help out." Sergi said as he noted Anderson looking at Fluttershy with a look of hope. "Take Anderson with you. It is not fair that you’re leaving him behind and out of your plans when you do something." Fluttershy said in a more assertive voice while her eyes grew bigger. "Fluttershy, I am keeping him back so that he will have less of a burden than me and Sir Henry." Sergi replied as he felt the gaze trying to make him rethink his decision. "Take him." She simply replied as she somehow tried to obtain dominance. "Careful Fluttershy, when you gaze long into the abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Sergi said as he placed his free hand on the side of her head with the thumb on her forehead. With a simple thought he flashed some of his more gentle memories of what he would be doing. Burning buildings and random things moving around on fire. These things made her instantly break eye contact and notice how interesting the ground was. Once he showed what he needed he pulled the memories back and gently lifted her chin up so that they were eye to eye. "I am doing this to preserve the innocence of both Anderson and all the ponies in Equestria. That one thing is what separates me from the rest of this wonderful world. It is filled with something I never had the chance to have." Sergi said in the gentle voice he uses when talking with Fluttershy. "Now just remember, no matter what happens you still have friends here in Ponyville. Nothing will ever change that." Applejack said as she extended her hoof. Sergi shook her hoof and said his good byes to the others. As he began to board the train he turned around and pointed at Anderson. "Stay." Sergi ordered as if Anderson was a dog. Anderson just stood there and watched as the train began pulling away from the station. The train station slowly disappeared and once it disappeared from sight Sergi pressed a button on his TACPAD. Within seconds the Valkyrie flew in over the train cab waiting for the next order. He walked over to the cab door and unhooked the cab from the rest of the train. With another push of a button the sound of clamps attaching to the cab could be heard and the ground fell away from the train cab. Sergi closed the door and watched as they flew away from Canterlot and towards the plains over the mountain. The peaceful forests and small clearings were replaced by the final glimpse of the burning fields and city of Baltimare before the hatched closed completely and sealed itself. Sergi moved himself into the cockpit and stared out the windshield at the towering mountains. Off colored spots could be seen at various points across the white peaks of the mountains. Status reports filled down his HUD and all the stations were reading 100% battle ready. "If you placed those stations all across the mountain range, why didn't you place any at the mountain pass?" Sir Henry asked from over Sergi's shoulder. "We want to funnel them through the pass. If we fill the entire mountain range with those stations then they will find a way around the mountain and possibly find some other pass we haven’t found yet. They want an invasion so we will give them a nice welcoming gift." Sergi answered as he began thinking over any possible variables he might’ve overlooked. When they had almost reached the pass the rear hatch began opening. Sergi slowly walked up to the very edge as the gunship flew over the pass and landed in an open spot away from the pass. He looked down at his dog tags that he had been given when he reached the age of ten. He could hear a conversation that Rainbow Dash and he had. "What are these things anyway?" She asked him when they were out in the open fields by Ponyville. "They are called ‘dog tags’. They have all the general information about you on them. Back in my world, they were used to identify someone after a battle. With the large amount of people we had back there it was impossible to know every single man and woman in the army. Not to mention the other sections of the military." He replied as he pulled his own out from under his shirt. "Do you wear them all the time then?" Rainbow Dash said as she looked down at her own. "The young recruits usually only wear them when they are actually fighting in the war but the more seasoned soldiers usually wear them as if it were a part of themselves. The only reason they would give their own tags to someone else was when they would not be coming back from a mission." Sergi said as he felt the other dog tags that were in one of his pants pockets. "But even though you may only have their tags, it seems like they were there in person as you went on with your life." Sergi said as he began slipping out of the memory and disembarking from the Valkyrie. The clearing was now the defense headquarters including his command tent and three Night Watchmen left in reserve. Sergi looked up into the sky and noticed the snow gently falling down from the sky above. It reminded him of how this land was still virgin in a way. No war or political dispute has happened for a thousand years. He stood there for a while just staring up at the falling snow. Time was of the essence and now was not the time to look in wonder at nature. Sergi mentally kicked himself and began the trek through the snow to the mountain pass. The trek revived memories from his past; his last mission with other fellow Cossacks. The snow began to fall in thicker sheets as they reached the mountain pass. Even though the weather was controlled by Pegasi in Equestria, it seemed like the mountain range was left to its own designs. At last they made it up to the ridge overlooking the pass. The pass could allow three T-100 Ogres and maybe a KV-20 Zhukov or a BTR-112 Cockroach if they were lined up side by side. Since there would be no vehicles to worry about dragon teeth and AT mines would not be in the equation. He stood there and thought what would be the best option for defense and then it hit him. Sergi held up his hands and thought of the plan he had for the defenses. When he was done the pass still looked the same as it was before. "What did you just do?" Sir Henry said as he moved closer to see what had changed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Sergi said as he placed his arm out to stop him. "Since the Griffons can't fly through this weather they will have to go through this pass if they don't want to add another 9 months to go around the mountain. When they pass through here they will meet Bouncing Betty and she is a very naughty girl." "So what else is there to do now? The pass is fortified now." Sir Henry asked as he remembered what happened when they arrived in Equestria. "We still need to set up defenses along the side where we can hopefully ambush the confused griffons." Sergi answered as he watched every situation that could possibly happen with this stand. The only one constant throughout all of the different situations and plans was that this stand would be their last. He looked through the storm and looked at the capital city that hung to the side of the mountain and released a bloodlust-filled roar that challenged anything and everything. From the beginning of his life he had been made and formed to do one thing beyond where one has been before. He did not even have to be pushed in order for killing to be as easy as breathing. It just was what he was made for. It was his purpose in life.
Into the Last Good Fight I'll ever know.The Beginning of the End Into the Last Good Fight I'll Ever Know Sergi stood on a small outcrop of rocks as a thick black blotch advanced towards the mountain. The flying mass began separating into different segments. He watched as an army unfolded in front of him. The pure size made Sergi keep a hand on the grip of the FAL. "Commander, Private First Class Anderson is trying to connect. Shall I patch you through?" The AI said breaking the uneasy tension. "Yes, patch him through." Sergi said relieved that something came up to take his mind off the army of griffons forming in front of him. "Where the hell are you? The guards said they never sent for you and I have a bad feeling about this wedding." Anderson's voice interrogated through the speakers. "I might have said some things in order to do what was needed, isn't this in one of the episodes you watched?" Sergi replied as a small portion of the army broke off and started flying towards a different part of the mountain. "I never saw anything like this before. A royal wedding, I mean this would have been a great episode to watch. Anyways what I mean by ‘off’ is that I haven't seen Twilight since this morning when she confronted the bride. Also the bride seems focused on other things than the wedding and is very... moody." Anderson said carefully choosing his last word. "That seems interesting. Can you give me any quotes from the confrontation?" Sergi asked as this did indeed sound off. "Yeah I got a recording of it, here it is!" Anderson said before other sounds filled the speakers "I've got something to say! She's evil" The voice of Twilight Sparkle shouted out in a infuriated tone. "She’s been horrible to my friends... she’s obviously done something to her bridesmaids…and if that wasn’t enough, I saw her put a spell on my brother that made his eyes go all…" She continued and ending with some type of hoof gesture that left him confused. "How did that sound? Stuff after that is just family matters." Anderson said as he ended the playback. "I think I know what will happen. What types of defenses are up in Canterlot? This is a royal wedding so I'm sure that there would be more protection than what I saw at the Gala." Sergi asked as he watched the detachment approach the mountain side. "There is this giant bubble surrounding the castle and its grounds that is being held up by Shining Armor, the groom and..." Anderson began. "And Captain of the Guard...Anderson, what are you wearing at the moment." Sergi asked as ideas raced through his head. "I am getting my suit on at the moment. Why do you want to know?" Anderson asked, perplexed by the question. "Get that fancy suit off and get your armor on. You got business coming." Sergi answered "But I left that in Ponyville. Looks like I'm going to have to wing it." Anderson said with a sigh. "No you aren't, just stay right where you are. It will make this a lot easier for me." Sergi said as he focused on creating a new set of armor and weapons for Anderson. "What do you... AHHH, what did you just do?!" Anderson shouted through the speakers making Sergi cringe from the volume. "Don't worry about that. Just get it on and prepare for the worst." Sergi answered about to close the link. "Okay, but you still haven't answered my first question." Anderson stated as his voice got slightly muted from the shuffling off the clothes and metal. "FUBAR, that's what I have at the moment." Sergi simply replied as the detachment got almost in range of one of the stations. "Let me see... Wow... you do have a FUBAR’d situation." Anderson's voice quietly replied after the sound of a helmet sliding on. "You have Changelings and I have an army of griffons. Well a little less now." Sergi said as the detachment was torn apart from two 25mm canons at the closest station. "Good luck with your imposter situation." Sergi said as he shut off the comm link. He continued to watch the griffon army for a few seconds before heading back down and preparing for the inevitable. Sergi checked over his gear over and over until the sun began to set and the light shined through the mountain pass. He headed into the command tent and removed a black bag from the head of a male pegasus with a maroon coat and a mane of a darker maroon with golden strands. "Please whatever you are, just let me go! What could you possibly want from me?!" The pegasus shouted out after the bag was removed. "What I need from you is to take two packages to Canterlot. When you arrive there you must find another human there by the name of Anderson who will easily look out of place and a pegasus named Rainbow Dash who..." Sergi began to answer. "Has a cyan coat and a mane with the colors of the rainbow." The pegasus replied as he perked up as much as a hostage in his situation could. "Yes exactly. I need you to take this package to Anderson and this to Rainbow Dash." Sergi said as showed the Pegasus the two different cloth bundles, one was a black cloth and one was a drab olive-colored cloth. "After the packages are delivered I will have no more need of you and you are free to go. I just need someone who can get these to them while I am preoccupied with other things." Sergi continued. "So you’re going to let me go just to deliver these things, nothing more?" The pegasus hesitantly asked. "Once you get these delivered I do not care what you do. Just don't try to go across the mountains. Things are going to get pretty messy pretty quickly." Sergi replied as he pulled out his kukhri. Sergi cut loose the bonds wrapped around the pegasus's legs knelt there as the pegasus slowly stood up. The pegasus then clumsily walked over to where a saddle bag was laying and tighten it up around him. Sergi gave a sharp whistle to get the pegasus attention. "What is your dominant side?" Sergi asked. "Um, right?" The pegasus said unsure what all of this meant. "This package goes to Anderson."' Sergi said as he showed him the black package before placing it in the left saddle bag. "This package goes to Rainbow Dash." Sergi continued as he showed him the drab olive package before placing it in the right saddle bag. "Okay, left is human right is Rainbow Dash. Got it." The pegasus said to himself before moving to leave the tent. "Good luck Iron Cross." Sergi said as he began to stand up. "H-how did you know my name?" The pegasus asked hesitantly after breaking free of his shock. "Call it a lucky guess, now get going to Canterlot. The sooner you leave the farther away you will be from what's to come." Sergi answered as he waved him off. Once the pegasus left the tent he looked over the map he had pieced together from all the aerial shots from his Night Watchmen. It showed every single part of his plan, from targeting the enemy officers in the beginning to rushing out into the remains of the army in the pass. Sergi exited the tent and started towards the operation area. He slowly walked through the trees and made sure to remember what trees were hollowed out and had weapons stashed in them. A small wooden bunker lay hidden in the snow drifts next to the pass. The Mc'Apline light machine gun was mounted in the bunker along with the American rail gun. Sergi walked along the ridge until a small rock outcrop slowly appeared with his Woodson '67 anti-material rifle lying among the rocks. He laid himself down on the rocks and peered through the scope at the oncoming army. The crosshairs on the scope fell on top of a group of griffon officers. From what he saw two of the officers were arguing. One griffon was very well built and his army was covered with dents and scrapes from earlier battles. The other griffon looked smaller and had a more careful nature to him. Sergi could not figure out what they were talking about but the look of the first griffon told him all he needed to know. He wanted to charge forward and blow through anything in his way. The other griffon looked to want to take things carefully and maybe go around this problem. The sight moved slowly next to the griffon and the entire world was quiet and still. Sergi pulled the trigger and watched as the bullet fly outwards and slowly curve back towards the target. It landed just above the griffons’ thick metal chest plate, casing the body to drop from the sky and spew blood across the face of the bigger griffon. Pure shock was quickly replaced with a white-hot flaming rage. He waved his front claws to signal the charge. For the plan to be pulled off at its best, Sergi needed this griffon to live. So he aimed for the other lower officers flying in various spots in the army. Any shots that missed their marks soon found a replacement in the giant army. When all of the ammunition was gone he quickly made his way down the ridge line and into the wooden bunker. The sun began its decent on the other side of the mountain sending a beam of light down the pass. Minutes passed before a yell quietly pierced the winter air. Similar sounds began to follow while increasing in volume until the beam of light showed a small shadow bursting into the air and suddenly disappearing. The screams that followed filled Sergi's heart with delight and anticipation for the action to come. His moment arrived when griffons shot into sight trying to fly over the Bouncing Betty’s. Sergi’s world grew quiet and began slowing down to the point where nothing seemed to move. Small burst of bullets flew out of the Mc'Alpine machine gun and sent the griffons into a downward spiral into the fresh snow below them. Other griffons began to appear, coming into the pass with looks of fear and bewilderment on their face. The Commander was nowhere to be seen in the masses. Sergi switched from small controlled bursts to full automatic fire into the funneled body of the army. Bodies fell to the ground while screams of pain and death echoed until the bullets were hitting more corpses than live griffons. He let go of the machine gun and grabbed for the rail gun. The electronic crosshairs on his HUD juggled around as he steadied the large weapon. When the sight steadied on the pass Sergi released a shot of aluminum from the rail gun. The shot punched through the wall of the dead and continued right through the griffons hiding behind their dead bodies. Sergi quickly finished off the rest of the shots in the three round chamber of the Rail gun and tossed it aside. Even though it was a very effective weapon those three shots were his only rounds for the rail gun. He quickly picked up the machine gun and began firing back down the pass cleared of a wall of dead bodies. The gun soon gave the heart-stopping sound of no ammo left. Not to mention that the gun fire was no longer holding the griffons back and they began advancing not because of glory or orders but for vengeance. His world soon began being filled with sound and slowly began speeding up, much to Sergi's distaste. Sergi ran to a tree and bashed in the bark and pulled out a Beowulf Assault Rifle and slipped in a fresh clip. Chambering the first round he turned around to face a fast approaching wave of griffons. He tried to push the wave back or at least hold them right where they were but the endless wave would not break and slowly crept forward. Tree to tree Sergi moved, placing every bullet into the still breathing body of a griffon. Once all the assault rifles were out of the way the shotgun came next. The spray of pellets seemed to push hold the wave back easier but still they advanced. Time was running out for Sergi but every second used here gave more time for Canterlot. Sergi came up to the last tree before the camp site and proceeded to elbow the bark off, inside was a small hand held device with switch cap on it. With a small flick of the cap and a push of a button, all hell broke loose in the forest. Bouncing Betty’s popped up from the ground and tore the griffon force to pieces. He wasted no time reaching the camp before the second part of the surprise came. He could see Sir Henry out in the middle of the camp with his sword drawn. Sergi started to wonder why Sir Henry was looking around but was stopped when a low whine shot through the air and the Valkyrie flew in from the clouds above and released hell upon the forest. Rockets of all sizes flew into the forest and leveled every single thing in sight. Sergi left the flaming waste behind him and continued to the camp. Everything seemed fine and normal except for the nervous knight standing in the middle of the camp. "What's going on, we still have a large majority of an army to take care of." Sergi said to Sir Henry. "He's here!" Sir Henry replied in a hushed voice. "Who's..." Sergi began. "Oh Henry. Who is your friend here? I don't recall humans wearing this the last time your race tried to kill me." A voice said from no spot in particular. "Who's there?" Sergi shouted out as he flipped through various views to try to find the disembodied voice. "Oh I am disappointed Henry! You haven't even told him who I am." The voice replied. "SHOW YOURSELF SO THAT WE CAN END THIS LITTLE GAME!" Sir Henry shouted out clearly being pushed to limits he hasn't been to in a long time. "I guess I will have to introduce myself then. My name is Discord, Lord of Chaos. It’s a pleasure to meet you..." The voice said as Sergi's sensors spotted energy waves forming behind him. Turning around he saw a creature that he could not easily relate to anything from his world. It had a long body of a snake but had body parts of different animals. One arm was from a lion and the other was an eagles claw. It had a leg of a buffalo and of possibly a leg of a dragon. This thing was like someone breaking the laws of physics, or what physical laws actually exist in this world. It had its lion paw stretched out towards him. Sergi knew better than to follow along with whatever he was doing. He slowly moved his right hand down to grasp around the handle of a pistol. "What do you want?" Sergi asked trying to avoid attention to his hand as it slowly got a good grip on it. "Just a little bit of chaos in this boring place. I even made myself a little army to help me take down some problems like those pesky Elements of Harmony." As he absent mindedly waved towards the burning ruins of the forest. "My, what an interesting trick you did there! A little harsh for my liking but chaos is still chaos." "Well I just can't let you do that." Sergi stated as he whipped out his pistol and fired off five shots before the gun was ripped from his hand. "YOU UNGRATEFUL CREATURE! I was going to give you a chance to join me in this one sided war! I guess that is now out of the question." Discord shouted out as he quickly healed his bullet wounds. "I will not let that happen!" Sir Henry shouted out as he began his charge. Sergi watched as Discord simple snapped his fingers and Sir Henry stopped right where he was standing. Sir Henry was now stone. His armor and sword where still normal but the man underneath was just a stone statue. "A little trick I learned from Celestia. My magic can't touch his armor but works perfectly fine on the human inside." Discord said as he walked up to the statue and snapped his fingers again to make it disappear. "I think that this would be a lovely addition to the Canterlot statue collection!" He continued with a smile. "Once more into the fray I go." Sergi began. "What was that?" Discord interjected. "Into the last good fight I'll ever know." "What are you doing?" Discord asked as he watched Sergi slightly swaying his body. "Live and die on this day." "What are you planning?" Discord said more to himself as Sergi seemed to stare into his mind and soul. "Live and die on this day!" Sergi finished before lunging forward with his Kukhri in hand. "Sorry! Try again next time." Discord said turning Sergi into stone. "You, YOU HAVE BEEN TRICKING US THIS ENTIRE TIME!" The Griffon Commander said as he came up to the pass. "Oh, Commander. You’re almost to the glorious city of Canterlot. See how nice it is? Doesn't it look like it needs to be burned?" Discord said as he placed the Commander under his spell. "The rule of the Alicorns will end and the Griffons will finally make their mark on the world!" The Commander shouted out as other griffons began entering the area and Discord disappeared from sight. A small crack appeared on Sergi's statue. Slowly it expanded and grew in both size and sound. "What is that?" One of the griffon soldiers asked as he heard one of the cracks. Heads of griffons began to turn their heads towards the statue that was cracking up at a frightening speed. Soon shards of stone flew out into the surrounding griffons and a metal figure with glowing red eyes stood there. Closer inspection showed that it resembled a human but without any signs of actual life. The metal figure began going from griffon to griffon ripping them limb from limb. The griffon Commander was soon reached and the metal biped raised him up and stared him in the eyes. "You remind me of a puppy!" It said in Sergi's voice as it pulled the griffon into a hug. "I like puppies! I like to slowly. Slowly. Crushing them!" It continued as it crushed everything in the mid-section of the griffon. The machine dropped the commander and looked around at the other griffons who all stood in shock at what had happened. A pink cloud appeared and began pouring chocolate milk. Discord was lying on top of the cloud wearing a pair of sunglasses that were obviously meant to be larger than normal. "Why what do we have here? I have been hearing rumors of a secret that only one creature knew, could this possibly be it?" Discord said as he lowered himself onto the red slush mixed with various body parts. "I am model #101 of the TERMINATOR II program, formerly a soldier called Sergi Zolnerowich. I am the only fully working Terminator model ever to be produced." "My, you are interesting. Perhaps I can get something out of you after all." Discord said as he tried to use his magic on it. The machine grabbed onto Discords eagle claw and crushed the hand in its metal palm. The red eyes connected with Discords own eyes as pain filled Discord’s very being to the brim. The fear soon changed to rage as Discord slammed the robot to the side and into the tent. "I guess maybe I was wrong and you are useless to my cause!" Discord shouted as he walked towards the collapsed tent. "Someone once told me that we all have our inner demons to face. I found mine and now we're all on the same side now!" The machine replied as it bolted up from the debris and ran to meet Discord. The machine jumped up and landed a blow on Discord's chest. While he stumbled back the machine continued forward continuing to land blow after blow. After receiving a few cracked ribs and a broken arm Discord finally went on the offensive. He pinned the machine down with his foot and ripped off its right arm. As he stared down at the thing with unbridled rage a part of it’s chest began opening up to reveal a glass container filled with a blue ball of light. "You’re a god right?" The machine asked as it reached for the container. "Yep! God of Chaos and Disharmony, remember?" Discord replied as the question only slightly reduced the rage he felt. "Then I think you would like to see something that would rock your world. God of Chaos, meet anti-matter. I'll see you in hell." The machine said before crushing the glass with its free hand. 'This has not been my week.' Iron Cross thought to himself. First his home was destroyed before his eyes by some flying metal creatures and was taken hostage by some strange monster from an emotionless race with big red eyes. After that he has had a bag over his head for the majority of the days before he was released with a job. Now he was being chased by Canterlot guards and he still have not found either of the two ponies he needed to deliver to. As if someone had answered his plight he turned a corner and found a human standing behind a group of ponies that contained Rainbow Dash. Iron Cross began to fly faster towards the group until he almost crashed into them. "Uh Excuse me but I got some things for you and Rainbow Dash." He said as he poked the back of one of the human's legs. "Um, okay. Just who are you?" The human asked. "Look I need to get..." "Is that you Iron Cross?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Yes it is. Now this one is for you..." He answered as he pulled out a drab olive-colored package from his right saddle bag. "And this one is for you." He finished before getting tackled down to the ground by two Canterlot guards. He struggled against the guards grasps but stopped when he saw a small flash on the horizon. He stared as the explosion suddenly disappeared and then a blue burst of light swallowed up part of the mountain side. Iron Cross felt the guards stop focusing on him and on the fast expanding ball of blue light. Soon he could see other ponies turning to see the light. "What is that?" One of the guards asked absentmindedly. As they stared at the light, a shockwave suddenly started flipping tables and throwing ponies all over the place. The guards that stood over him were knocked back when a table flew right over Iron Cross. He turned his head to avoid any debris getting to his eyes. The rush of air slowly died down and silence descended on the city. Iron Cross got off his side and looked at where the light was. The mountain side looked barren and charred, no trees or any color other than black could be seen. The sun showed itself again where part of the mountain was missing. The clouds above the mountain looked like they were burning. "And the heavens will burn and the earth shall feel the wrath of an entire race." he heard one of the unicorns there say to herself as the sun lowered itself over the horizon again.
Live and Die on This DayThe Beginning of the End Live and Die on this Day Twilight could only stare at where the blue ball of light had been before, now a large, blackened dent in the mountain. First there was the Changeling princess bride, then there was the Changeling invasion, and now an entire section of a mountain had been completely wiped out from the world. Twilight finally broke her trance on the mountain side when a cough sounded behind her; moving her thoughts over to the strange visitor who had been tackled to the ground after delivering two clothe wrapped packages. One was given to Anderson which was about the size of a lunch box and wrapped in black cloth and the one given to Rainbow Dash was half as thick and wrapped in a olive green clothe. The pegasus began to get up still looking dazed from what had happened. The guards that had taken him down earlier were now lying underneath the rubble of what used to be a table. The pegasus had a maroon coat with a mane of a darker maroon and gold, the edge of his wings had what looked like bronze adorning his wings but on a closer look they actually were a part of his wings. His cutiemark consisted of a black cross that all the ends were equal with a steel border. There was no doubt that he was fit but more from everyday manual labor than that of working out at a gym. Twilight Sparkle's friends began to pull themselves off the ground and absorbing the area which used to be the reception party. Applejack had a look of utter confusion as how all of this had happen. Rarity looked down in distress as her dress had looked as though it had been dragged through the mines underneath Canterlot. Fluttershy just laid where she was in shock from the chaos that wiped over the peaceful gardens. Pinkie Pie had already gotten up and bouncing around helping other ponies up off the ground. Anderson could be seen behind some bushes by the wall he had been thrown against. Rainbow Dash was slowly pushing herself off of the package that she was given. The silence that had engulfed everypony after the shockwave was quickly dissipating. Panic soon filled the city as ponies realized what had just happened. The guards soon came down on the scene to quiet the disturbance. Minutes had turned into hours as peace filled the courtyard before a heavy silence fell upon them. "Wha...What happened?" Applejack asked tearing the heavy blanket of silence. "I don't know Applejack but I think I have a good Idea what caused it." Twilight answered as she pulled her thoughts back together. "My GOD! I thought this was supposed to reduce impact damage." Anderson said as he pushed himself off the ground. "OH, are you alright Anderson?" Fluttershy quickly asked as she floated over to where he was. "I'm fine Fluttershy; I don't think being tossed against the wall will break me." Anderson replied as he brushed off the front of his vest. "Do you think Sergi is alright?" Rainbow Dash asked as she picked up her cloth package. "Once again I have no clue. I don't even have the faintest idea as to where he was all of today..." Anderson began. "He was based near the mountain pass about where that blue ball of light appeared." The new pegasus answered. All seven of their heads turned their attention to the maroon pegasus. He stood tall where he was and revealed more hints of his life. He had a few scars that showed through his coat and he looked like he had seen some pretty tough places. "Sorry but who are you?" Twilight asked "His name is Iron Cross; we used to be friends when we were younger before he disappeared one day. Why did you leave Cloudsdale anyway?" Rainbow Dash said as he began opening his mouth. "My mother passed away and my father took me back to his home country of Germaney. Two months after moving into Hayburg the entire nation was thrown into a Civil War. My father was killed by the resistance after they tried to make us join their ranks. I ran into the Blacktail Forest and was found by a passing group of Imperial soldiers. They took me in and raised me up trying to keep me away from the horrors of war as much as possible. One night though we stepped into a resistance ambush. I lost many friends that night but I had found my special talent, standing up for those I hold close. After that night I officially joined the Imperial army and quickly flew up the ranks. After the war I felt alone even though I was surrounded by ponies. I headed onto the road trying to find some place where I could fit in. Everywhere I went there was nothing solid I could do other than doing odd jobs here and there." Iron Cross explained as he seemed to drift off to a different place near the end. "Wow...I can't believe that the last pony not to have a cutie mark in my class would be thrown into something like that." Rainbow Dash said trying to comprehend what he had experienced. "That sounds similar to the stories about Sergi except for the soldiers trying to preserve your childhood." Anderson commented as he picked up his own package. Twilight's curiosity turned from Iron Cross who seemed to be catching up with Rainbow Dash to the black cloth package. "Hey Anderson, why don't you open up your package." Twilight Insisted as she got closer for a better look. "Alright, what do we have here?" Anderson replied as he unwrapped the black cloth to find a rugged, black, box within. The outside of the box was barren, no identification markers of any type. Anderson opened the box and stared inside for a few moments before pulling out a piece of paper. Twilight began getting annoyed as the box was still above her. She gave out a cough and Anderson looked down at her. "My bad, I think you will like this as well." Anderson said as he knelt down to her level. Inside the box was a small metal rectangle with a glowing blue light glowed from the middle. As she moved in closer to inspect the light glowed brighter and shot up from the box. Twilight squeaked as she fell back onto her rear. Before her stood a human woman made out of light. She looked to be dressed up in an outfit similar to what Anderson wore now except without the helmet and the vest. Her hair was grown down to her shoulders and a smile spread across her face. "It's good to stretch out ever once and awhile, I don't recall Sergi knowing you Private. Well he hasn't really interacted with me fully since about two months ago. I'll check my secondary components to see what Sergi has been doing since he put me to sleep." The Lady said as she moved her arms out as far as they could go. Small characters began flowing across her and she began glowing brighter. A few moments passed and then the characters disappeared. The smile on her face quickly turned into a frown. "It looks like Sergi had some fun while I was sleeping. I always miss the fun stuff." She pouted as she crossed her arms. "What are you?" Twilight asked as she finally pushed past the shock. "Why, I am an Artificial Intelligence unit or AI for short. My name is Dawn of Revelation; most people just shorten it up to Dawn though. I have been with Sergi after he broke out of the United States Zurich labs. He has seen some interesting things in his time but this has to be the cream of the crop." She answered as she turned towards Twilight Sparkle and unfolding her arms. "Why have you been sleeping all this time?" Twilight asked as she got more used to this AI. "With the death of Lieutenant Ashlyn Smith he decided to turn off most of my functions because I bore a similar appearance to the one person he had grown especially attached to after the traumatic events that had happened to him. Life was not very courteous to that Russian." She replied as she slowly shook her head. "Could you tell me about where you all came from?" Twilight Sparkle inquired hoping for a chance that has been denied to her for a long while. "What do you want to know?" Dawn of Revelation asked. "Everything." Twilight simply answered. "I can't promise you that but I can tell you what I can." Dawn replied "Before we get anywhere else what happened to Sergi?" Anderson asked before Twilight could begin firing off questions. "From my records he was last stationed by the mountain pass. My readings of his last reported area detect that anti-matter was used. Anything caught in the blast is now gone from this world. Nothing remains of anything, no ashes or bones. I guess Sergi won't be followed by his past anymore." Dawn replied. Silence followed what she said. A man that seemed to be able to push through any opposition was now said to be not even dust. Nothing in Twilight's mind could come up with anything with that much power. Even a large blast would leave something behind. Her thoughts were interpreted when Dawn of Revelation continued. "I think that we should start planning a funeral for Sergi, the unsung hero of an unknown war. If you would like I can take up the planning and preparation for this if you would like to take your time wrapping yourself around everything that had just happened." She continued as saw the look of disbelief on Twilight Sparkle's face. "I guess that would be fine. I just need to tell the girls about this." Twilight replied quietly. Twilight Sparkle got back onto her hoofs and began walking over to her friends who were in a small circle. As she got closer she could see that they already knew. Taking a look around at her friends could show that they all shared a feeling of disbelief and sorrow from what had happen. On the ground in front of them was a triangle of folded red fabric with a golden trim. Lying on top of the fabric triangle was a strange necklace that looked similar to the one that Rainbow Dash has been wearing for the last few weeks. Rainbow Dash sat on the ground staring at the folded triangle of fabric and the necklace as if she took her eyes off it all of her memories of Sergi and those items in front of her would vanish into thin air. "I take it everypony here knows what happened..." Twilight gently said. "Sergi sacrificed everything to protect all of Equestria. Ah never knew something like this would happen so soon." Applejack replied. "I didn't really know him very well from just a few weeks but this did seem like how he would like to go out. A final stand that would save an entire nation and ponies he held dear." Rarity commented. "He did what he always did best, showing some mean ponies a thing or two!" Pinkie Pie shouted out as she boxed with some invisible pony. "I am not sure it this will help anypony but Anderson has something that will be able to answer some questions you might have." Twilight Sparkle said. One by one her friends slowly moved over to where Anderson was until Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were the only ones left. They both sat there for what seemed like an eternity in silence. Rainbow Dash raised her head after a while and looked towards Twilight Sparkle with a look that she thought was never even possible for Rainbow Dash. If she showed any more misery or sorrow she would be the exact representation of that. "What do you think Twi'?" She asked in a voice almost as quiet as Fluttershy's voice. "Think about what?" Twilight replied trying to specify the question. "About everything that has happened when Sergi, Sir Henry, and Anderson. They showed up out of nowhere and saved your life. Now in less than 3 months Anderson is the last one standing while Sir Henry and Sergi gave their lives to stop something that we only knew as whispers and murmurs. Are they going to be forgotten as quickly as they arrived? Will their actions be written into a book and placed onto a shelf to gather dust until somepony wonders why a story that sounds almost fictional is placed among books recounting events that left their mark on Equestria? Since Anderson is the last of the three, when he goes what will keep the memories alive of those who sacrificed everything to save those they cared about?" Rainbow Dash asked as her eyes began watering up. "We knew them as well; we can help keep their memories alive. I am positive that what they did will never be forgotten. Personally, even though Sergi is dead I think he may have a few tricks up his sleeves that will surprise us for years to come. Now let’s see if Anderson's gift can help you with any other questions." Twilight Sparkle said as she held out a hoof to her friend. "Thanks, it just seems like a part of me was ripped away when I saw his dog-tags. Maybe I just need to get some air and try to hold strong, just like he would want to see." Rainbow Dash replied as she wiped some tears from her eyes. Twilight waited as Rainbow Dash picked up her red and gold fabric triangle and the 'dog-tags' and they walked together towards the rest of their friends feeling that everything will be fine again. ================================== Three Months Later Anderson stood towering among the ponies around him. He wore the formal suit that Rarity had made for him for the Gala but with some military ribbons attached to the front. Three were replicates of ones he had received from his former world's war. There was a ribbon and a medal he had received from the princess of Equestria for standing up against the changelings during their invasion. It felt odd wearing those medals at the funeral service of a man that had fended off a griffon army of around 1.5 million. Just a few days ago they were at the Hall of the Fallen for the funeral service of Sir Henry. The trip across Equestria to Stalliongrad was a long and tiring train ride. Once there, they had to trek up a mountain to an ancient temple that was very well taken care of. Now they stood in the courtyard in Canterlot where Equestria watched the end of the Griffon conflict. In front of them was a large silk cloth that covered a new addition. Compared to the other statues around them this one easily towered over all of them by more than double. He turned his attention as he saw the Princesses approach a stage in front of the silk covered statue. "Three months ago we faced not one but two invasions on our homes. One we felt right here as the changelings ran rampant through the streets of Canterlot. The other one we never experienced but rather felt the force of the last card being played. This statue is dedicated to one of the two humans that stood for Equestria's defense." Celestia began before nodding to her sister. The silk was magically lifted off the statue to show a giant marble statue of Sergi. He stood in his combat armor he always seemed to be wearing. In his left hand he held a giant, gold, banner staff that displayed the flag of the Cossacks in the gentle breeze. The flag was red with golden trim and a golden star. The skull was a pure white with a yellow crown and a steel grey dagger finding its place plunged down into the skull. The motto of the Cossacks was embroidered below the skull in its original Latin form. In the right hand was his signature PPSH raised into the air as if to encourage anyone behind him to follow him into an unknown battle. The most intriguing aspect of the statue was how on the helmet they placed two rubies where his eyes would be. "This man's name was Sergi Zolnerowich. His life was hard; his hometown was burned to the ground when he was but a child. He was rescued by a group of mercenaries called Cossacks. After that he was trained for battle and war, stealth and deception, adaption and perseverance. He has seen things and done things that no pony here could ever begin to imagine. All of these things he used to better the common good, to help the weak and take down those that abused the power entrusted in them. When he and his two companions were brought here he did not change his mindset or his morals. He took down a manticore who was trying to kill my faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. He ran through a blizzard in the Everfree forest to find help for Twilight Sparkle. He took down a pack of Timberwolves to defend Twilight Sparkle and her friends who came to help. He defended my sister from a basilisk and its minions even though it nearly killed him. He settled a dispute in Ponyville between a group of griffons and the local population. He stormed into a hidden griffon camp in the middle of Equestria to rescue captured ponies in said camp. He helped the Royal Guards oust some griffon soldiers who crashed this recent Gala. He used his skills to make a final stand against an army of griffons who wanted to destroy the entire nation of Equestria. This human saved all of Equestria at the cost of his own life, so we dedicate this statue and another similar one in Ponyville to this great man who sacrificed all that he had to save those close to him and those with a good heart." Princess Celestia said as she put emphasis on his skills and how he used them to save each and every pony there in attendance and everypony they knew. Princess Celestia stepped down from the stage to be followed by Princess Luna. A few moments later the ponies in attendance made their way to the concessions laided out for those in attendance. Rainbow Dash flew in the opposite direction and headed towards the statue, soon to be followed by the rest of her friends. On the base of the statue was engraved, 'Here stands a monument to the human named Sergi, the once unsung hero of an unknown war. This monument also stands for those who risk what they have to help others. In the words of the Cossacks, The Protector of the Sick, from the Final End to the Last Breath of the Great Hunter, we will fight.' They all stood there for a long time until a rumbling in their stomachs reminded them of how they were missing out on what would be their late lunch. Slowly the group shrank until it was just Anderson, Rainbow Dash, and Twilight Sparkle. "I think it is time for us to grab something to eat. Anderson, are you coming?" Twilight Sparkle asked as the man stood solid in his spot. "No, no, you guys go on. I'll be right there." Anderson replied as he continued to stare up at the statue. The sounds of the fading hoof steps reminded him of a small favor he had to do. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a piece of folded up paper. Unfolding the piece of paper showed the handwriting of the man that statue he now stood in front of. Anderson had read and reread every word on this page but it always seemed to have a slightly different meaning to it. 'Anderson, if you are reading this I have made my attempt at stopping the griffon army and have succeeded. I now ask of you a favor to ease my heavy rest. Watch over them, they are not only the bearers of great power but a great sign of something I never got to experience. They have a life filled with light, joy, happiness, and innocence. When I came into this world, I always felt out of place because these girls had never even had an idea or a basic understanding of war and the chaos of our world. They have friends that care for each other and the ease of knowing that their way of life will never be disrupted by war. Watch over them Anderson, make sure that they stay as happy and joyous as they are now. I have no doubt that this task will be a cake walk for you but if trouble stirs again, I promise on my Cossacks Honor that I will pull myself out of whatever bloody hole that I was sent to and restore the peace. Dasvadanya my good friend, Sergi Zolnerowich. Once he got to the last few lines he looked up from the paper and looked over to them. All of them looked exactly as Sergi had written. Even the newest addition to the group, Iron Cross, filled in the part exactly. He made his way to them as he stuffed the paper back inside his jacket. "Dasvadanya Sergi. Rest in peace." Anderson said quietly into the air before interacting with his friends. ======================== Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked over the proceedings from the top of a stairwell off to the side of the statue. "Do you think they will find out?" Princess Celestia asked simply. "The ponies will not find out until it happens but Anderson might figure it out sooner or later." Princess Luna replied as she looked off towards the mountains. "If I learned anything from Sergi it is that not even the bounds of death can hold him back if those close to him are threatened. Now with the Elements, we have recovered from the detonation it just makes it even more real." "So it is all true; even the last part of the Prophecy that was destroyed after its completion.” Celestia said in a pondering voice. "A new Guardian Angel forged from the wars of hell will take up his throne and strike down any that dare threaten his protected lands." Luna quoted from her memory. After a few moments of pondering they proceeded down to join in with the other ponies to do what they can. Luna still thought about when and how Sergi would come back to the mortal world, and what unlucky group will feel the wrath of the Cossack.
Ghost of Ages PastThe Beginning of The End Ghost of Ages Past Morning breaks the steady night to reveal a world that has ripped itself to pieces. The once glorious city of Berlin has once again found itself bearing the scares of war. This is just one of the many cities in the year of 2075 that have become the playground for the war between the United States and Russia. The only European country that has been mostly spared is the United Kingdom, choosing to stay neutral after seeing most of Europe crushed under the tracks of the two warring nations. The front line of the war has been steadily kept somewhere inside what once was the country of Germany. My name is Sergi Zolnerowich, 22 years of age and a well-built former Russian Cossack, a Mercenary group which I used to call family. I once fought for a Russia I thought still stood strong, but after a few "incidents" I decided to defect to the American's side. Once we met a mutual agreement I helped slowly advance against the Russian positions. I thought it ironic when we stepped onto Berlin's doorstep, that once before in time a cruel power was settled in this once grand city. Before it was the fascist third Reich who held on to the city desperately against the Russian forces, and now the Russians were facing the same challenges the Germans did. As I looked around to see the faces of Americans that trusted me more than their superiors did. Most of them where new replacement from the brutal fighting just outside the city limits. The sniper of the team was a young man by the codename of 'Snake'. He took pride in his Irish ancestry and will prove it to you if you challenged him. The heavy weapons specialist was a man by the name of Joseph Gilbert, who came from one of the few places left in the United States that was not covered in steel and glass. He tried his best to keep everything simple. Most importantly would be the commander, Colonel Brad Miller. He could almost swear that he knew what would happen in a battle before it even happened. Looking behind me walked a green member of the squad. Ever since I saved his ass back at the last battle, he has been sticking close to my side like glue. "Excuse me, uh, sir?" The newest member asked me as he jogged up to keep up. "Yes private ..." I responded after I thought he had already finished interrogating me with random questions about myself. From what he already told me about himself. He was a something called a Brony; he was a vet before he decided to join the war and couldn't wait to get back to his family of three sisters and two brothers. "I was just curious what that weapon you have there is?" He responded sheepishly. Finally I thought something that I wouldn't mind answering. "This, my friend, is a PPSH-41. It has been in the hands of Cossacks since 1942. By the way what was your name again?" I proudly answered and turned my head to emphasize my question. Straightening his posture and saluting, he shouted out, “Private First Class Michael Anderson, Medical Battalion!" "Looks like someone has a new puppy dog." Chuckled Snake followed by assorted snickering throughout the new ranks. "Quiet down back there unless you want the Russians to know where we are, now the objective is just a further bit down this street." Shouted the colonel from up in the front. Our objective today was to do reconnaissance on an old cathedral turned museum that recently came under the eye of Military Intelligence. Our job was to clear the building of any hostiles and take hold of any Intel in the building. This cathedral was built to replicate the one in Florence. Built to such size, it made many people feel like they were being watched by the divine. Apon entry, Snake looked up at the huge dome of the cathedral and made the sign of the cross. For someone as sarcastic and critical, it was easy to forget how religious the man was. Preparing for the worst, I attached the gas mask visor to my helmet. In a few seconds, I heard the helmet sealing the mask in and the startup of the Heads Up Display. With everything up and running, the HUD showed my squad and their health readings. The world changed from dull colors to everything tinted red. As we began to clear the rooms of any possibility of hostiles, no one took notice of the wooden floors of the oldest parts of the cathedral until they collapsed under the weight of the small armory I carried with me "You all right down there?" shouted down Joseph "Yeah, just give me a sec." I replied as I regained my footing Taking a good look around at my surroundings, I found myself in what appeared as part of the basement of the cathedral. For a second I thought I had rid myself of that Private Anderson who just couldn't stop asking questions. Any hopes of that were dashed when I saw him lift his head from a pile of rubble from the crash. "I can't see a way to get back up there from here." I shouted "I'll try to find another way back up." "Sound like a plan, just don't get too carried away down there you two." Colonel Miller said through the radio headset in my helmet. "Be careful down there. We have heard reports of possible Russian tunnel systems below Berlin. So keep sharp while you’re down there." Giving a farewell salute to the rest of my squad. I proceeded out a doorway to be quickly followed by Private Anderson. After following the series of hallways and dead ends we approached a large metal doorway. "This doesn't look like the rest of the cathedral. Do you think it's new?" whispered Anderson. "No, this looks to be older than the rest of the building. I'm going to place my money that this cathedral was built over the ruins of a former church." I stated as I stepped closer to open the door. The doorway lead to a large pit with stairs leading down to where the bottom might have been. "I think that we should stay back and try to find a way to get back with the squad." said Anderson in a voice filled with fear. Chuckling to myself, "I'm stuck down here with a nervous private; this is NOT going to end well." "Look there is no other way up from down here and this is the only way. Who knows, we might stumble into something that hasn't seen for a long time." I said in a louder voice to catch his attention. He seemed to be having a serious problem with going down until the whole ceiling above us shock violently, covering everything with dust. "Colonel what is happening up there?" I shouted into my helmet. "The Russians...they were waiting for us...their artillery is tearing this place apart." He struggled to say between coughs. "Colonel! What Is Happening!" I shouted out. "Get yourself and the private out of here...We won't last much longer...GO NOW, That’s... an ord..." The Colonel tried to say before everything went to white noise. After trying to get a hail from the colonel from every other channel, I was snapped back into the reality when the ceiling violently shaked again. Seeing the private just standing there in shock, I grabbed him by the collar of his Kevlar vest and shouted at him. "Private! We need to get our asses in gear. Now get down these stairs!" Needing no other persuading, he sprinted toward the stairs and bolted down them faster than I could ever think he could run. Quickly following him down the stair we came up to pair of thick metal doors that looked similar to the ones up above. I saw that the private was having trouble with trying to budge the doors. Seeing this I increased my speed down the stair and rammed into the door with my shoulder covered in advanced Russian heavy armor. Private Anderson barely got of the way before I broke open the stubborn doors and raced inside. On the other side was what appeared as an old tomb covered in maps and filled with Russian personnel. Turning to see what could be making the commotion the Russians saw a heavily armored friendly and a low ranking American soldier busting through the old iron doors into the command center. I took advantage of their shock of what just happened to fill the room with an entire drum of my PPSH-41. After assuring that the room was cleared I turned to see Private Anderson standing there, still trying to process what just happened. After pulling him back to reality for a second time we got around to searching the bodies for supplies and any Intel. Finding duffel bags in a neighboring room, we filled up with as much as we could before hearing a sharp crack from the iron doorway to see rubble falling down and blocking up where we just came from. Sealing us from the world. Hearing a high pitch scream I slowly turn to the Private who I thought was just stating the obvious about how we were trapped but was stunned to see something very different. There was Private Anderson standing with his gun out, screaming at the top of his lungs, staring at what appeared as a medieval knight. This knight had a strange appearance about him, like if he was not really hear but a vision. Raising his hands, he said. "Do not be afraid. For I am Sir Henry Longworth, Paladin of the Knights Templar." The apparition said “I see that you are in need of some assistance. I know another way out." I contemplated what this ghost said as I moved over to Private Anderson to snap him back into shape. A quick slap to the back of the head got most of his attention. Grabbing him by the shoulders and forced him to look towards me. "Look at me Anderson. No one is trained for this, but you have to stay focused. Now lets ask this new 'Friend' of ours wants for this other way out." Turning back to the ghost who was patiently standing there. Waiting for what my answer would be. "What is the catch?" Asked the newly awaken Anderson. "There is no catch. Just an open invitation..." The ghost replied "And from what it sounds like that invitation might be gone quicker than you thought." That’s when I heard from the white noise from my helmet changed to the Military Warning System. After a series of beeps and buzzes a female voice calmly announce that the Russians have launched multiple nuclear warheads as a last ditch attempt to win the war. At the same time a radio in the tomb was saying how the United States have launched nukes back at Russian positions to stop the inevitable Russian rule. Along with that came the sounds of footsteps coming from a door off to the right. "Which way." I said quickly, more worried about the soldiers coming from the door then adding "I doubt that you know a place that will survive a nuclear winter." "You’re standing on it." the Knight said as he walked towards us. "Be ready, this might be rough." The footsteps had stopped and the clear sound of a blow torch could be heard. A white light started to appear from the floor as the door became close to being breached. As the door slammed to the ground a sound of a grenade launcher went off and a White flash filled the room. Everything was white for a moment, then as the colors flooded back into the world. Revealing a large lion with the wings of a bat and the tail of a scorpion. Worst of all, I heard the metallic clicking of a Bouncing Betty hitting the floor.
The Past Catches UpBeginning of the End The Past Catches Up All around him, Sergi watched in amazement at the falling snow in the Swiss Alps. Even though he was raised in Russia where snow was now uncommon in the least bit, this seemed to have a different look to it. "Sergi, snap out of it. We're almost to the compound, we need to keep a sharp eye out." shouted a man further up ahead than Sergi. Quietly they walked through the mountainside forests, just Sergi and 12 other fellow Cossacks. A clearing showed up ahead and everyone slowed down and all took up hiding spots. "Well there are the research labs. Once we blow this place to hell, no one will have to worry about being a lab rat ever again." the man from before said. "I don't know Dimitri, it seems pretty quiet for a military research lab..." another man said to the first. "These are the coordinates we received from our man on the inside. So this is it, you feeling nervous Yuri?" Dimitri said. "Just a gut feeling." Yuri said. Silence fell on the group as a helicopter flew over the building and over the group. Minutes passed before anyone moved again. This time they headed out into clearing to infiltrate the labs. When they were about three quarters of the way across the clearing, gunfire erupted from the building. As some of the men in the back tried to escape the way they came, more gunfire erupted from the tree line. Sergi stood his ground and tried to shoot down as many enemies as possible inside the building. His reasoning would be that if enough of them died, then he could storm in and have some type of defense from the ambushers. Once the clip he was firing was empty, the entire world went into slow. Sergi grabbed for another clip that held Liquid Nitrogen rounds. Thrusting this clip into the gun, he looked down the sights and did what he did best. Opening fire on the building, the liquid nitrogen rounds ripped apart the cover the enemy was using. Out of the corner of his eye, Sergi saw a flash out. The next second he felt a bullet plunge into his right shoulder. When Sergi stopped firing at the building, those troops began shooting back at him. Sergi felt himself being hit by multiple bullets. Some of the bullets stopped at one of the layers of metal in the jacket, but a few went right through and placed Sergi on the ground. Staring up at the falling snow, he was still amazed by its sheer beauty or just how it looked so innocent. Dimitri fell down next to him with his entire left arm missing and blood dripping from his mouth. "Sergi, it looks like we bit off more than we could chew. Don't worry comrade, the last of us here will..." Dimitri started before noticing the stop of gunfire and a quiet whistling. Looking up to the sky, both of them stared up into the sun to see what was coming. Tiny black dots appeared in the sky amongst the falling white snow. The dots grew larger and larger until they realized what was happening. "INCOMING!!!" Dimitri shouted out as the soft whistle quickly turned into a terrifying screech of a banshee. Dimitri dropped down on Sergi's chest as the first mortar struck the ground. *SNAP* as a twig breaking snapped Sergi out of his dream. Sergi snapped out of the dream and found himself back in the tent he had set up yesterday. Silently grabbing the 1887 shotgun from underneath the cot, Sergi listened in on the other sounds surrounding him. Two voices could be heard heading closer to him. "Where could that thing live out here, I have seen nothing that would say something is here." A male voice said. "I don't know, but did you see the size of that thing. It was at least as tall or taller than Princess Celestia." Another male voice said. "I hope we find this thing soon. I have to go help Applejack with clearing the fields." The first voice complained. "Lucky, I have to go help Rainbow Dash with clearing the skies and bringing back the summer birds." The second voice replied. "Why can't they just use magic to change the seasons like they do back in Canterlot?" The first voice still complained. Sergi silently holstered the gun onto his leg and placed his jacket on. Getting up from the cot, Sergi grabbed his Helmet off the desk and slid his Kukhri back into its sheathe. Pressing a series of buttons on his TACPAD, he disappeared from sight and headed outside. The voices still drew closer. He decided to head toward the voices to investigate. Not a fair distance away, two ponies were walking forward toward where his tent clearing was. "Are you sure that this was where those Cutie-mark Crusaders said they saw him last?" The light brown pony with a darker brown mane who was the owner of the first voice said. "I am positive. I can still see their tracks in the snow. Who else would be out here?" The white pegasus with a blonde mane, who was the owner of the second voice said. "I believe that would be me..." Sergi said as they both turned to see where the new voice came from. After pressing another series of buttons, Sergi appeared before their eyes. "Are you Sergi?" The Pegasus asked. "Yes Sir. What is needed of me now?" Sergi replied "Well, you don't have to call me sir for obvious reasons and also the Commander wanted to see you about something." The pegasus replied. "That sounds good. What were you talking about before?" Sergi asked to try to get some more intel. "Today is Winter Wrap Up. Everyone today has special jobs they have to do for the seasons to change." The brown pony said. "You have to manually change the seasons?" Sergi asked as this did not make any sense in his mind. Well, neither did the Manticores, Timberwolves, or the Basilisk. "Yeah, don't you have to back where you come from?" The pegasus said as if Sergi was crazy. "No, the seasons just change by themselves back where I came from." Sergi replied, adding. "If you gentlemen.. I mean gentlecolts are heading back to town then may I join you for the trip? I might as well try to get acquainted with everypony that lives here, including the undercover guards." They had no objections and the trio headed back through the woods. Ten minutes passed before the town appeared through the thinning trees. The pegasus headed into the air and headed toward a group of pegasus in the sky. While the other said his farewell and headed off to a farm off in the distance. Every pony seemed to be out doing some sort of task. All of the commotion reminded him of his early life. Men and women walked around a base, busy with the jobs at hand. He remembered watching this off the shoulders of a young man. "Amazing isn't it?" He asked Sergi who was still thinking over what had just happened a few days ago. "Let’s start out with something easier. My name is Dimitri. What is yours?" He asked in a gentle voice. "My... My name is Sergi." He barely mumbled out. "Sergi, that's a good name. Glad to meet you." Dimitri said as they began walking toward the base. The vision disappeared from his mind and Sergi refocused at the task at hand. He walked down to the town in front of him to find the Commander. Walking through the town he received many looks from the residents. Some were of curiousty, but most were of fear. Ponies even stopped what they were doing to head off to their homes. Sergi continued his journey until he found who he was looking for. Twilight Sparkle stood on a pedestal, overlooking everything that was going on. He quietly walked around the pony crowd standing around the pedestal. As he neared, Twilight caught his movement and turned to meet him. "Look who finally decided to show up? Did you come to help out with Winter Wrap Up? We already have Anderson and Sir Henry out working." She said as the attention quickly turned to him. "I'm sorry ma'am, but Commander said that he wanted to see me this morning. Would you know where he is stationed at the moment?" "Yes, he just left for breakfast. I think he went over to the cafe that is on your way to Sweet Apple Acres." She answered looking slightly sad that Sergi was busy with other stuff. "Thank you ma'am. Have a good day." He replied as he wanted to quickly leave the center of attention. Quietly Sergi made his way out of the town center and headed out of town in the direction he was given. The cafe was easily spotted with tables sitting around the outside of the building and one lone guard sitting at a table with only his breastplate on. Sergi came up and stood by the Commander as Dawn Treader casually drank a steaming cup of coffee. "Enjoying your coffee there sir?" Sergi inquired after a few moments had passed. "Ah Sergi, I was wondering when you would show up. I trust that my men found you without starting trouble?" Dawn Treader asked. "It was more I found them stumbling through the woods trying to find me." Sergi replied "But they still did their jobs. Now I know you’re a straight forward man so I will get straight down to business. Equestria might seem calm and nice, but something else is stirring beyond our borders. The Griffons have been building up their armies and have been increasingly more hostile to Equestria ever since Steel Wing took control of the Griffon Empire. Since you are a solider yourself, I was thinking of maybe enlisting you into the military here. First we will have to do an evaluation of your skills. I want you to at least consider this option and give me an answer. Are we clear?" The Commander explained as he set up the last sentence to hear his favorite word. "Sir, yes sir!" Sergi replied with a smile before slipping away from the table and heading back to his quarters. "Since your here, would you like to have some breakfast Sergi?" the Commander asked as he realized that the human had already departed. "I really underestimated him. I guess he is going to be a hard one to pin down..." The Commander mumbled to himself as he finished his cup of coffee. Sergi was already fast on his way back to his camp. He had just been asked to go back to what he knew best. This part did not bother him. The part that bothered him deeply was the having tests done on him. The secret that Celestia had seen was just the surface of it. He had his secrets for being a 'super soldier' and he planned on keeping them secrets. Upon reaching the clearing of his camp, his helmet buzzed on. "Welcome back commander, Is there anything you want to talk about?" The female voice piped in through the headset. "Not right now, I have some things to think about. Can you start up a training simulator out here?" Sergi replied as the thoughts ran through his mind. "Yes commander. You’re afraid that they will find out you are not all human?" The female voice said as if she had read his mind, adding "Don't worry commander, I only overheard your conversation with Commander Dawn Treader." As the simulation began, Sergi was able to think about everything that had happened. Not only the things that happened in this new world, but also things that happened many years ago. The simulation was a standard hologram program that was used in modern times. 'Those Americans think they are too good for an actual physical beating...' Sergi thought scornfully. He had the AI change the simulation to constantly push him with five different targets until he was overrun. He held his ground against the five targets for about an hour which the system was moving more than double times normal human speeds. As he was pushed passed his limits and the program beat him, memories flashed into his mind. His surroundings changed into a white surgery room with bright lights pointed towards him. Two silhouettes stood over him talking about him. "I will not allow it! The subject has already gone farther than any before him. I will not sacrifice him to find out that we can recreate something from an old movie!" One said in pure disgust of the idea. "But if we can actually recreate it and possibly exceed it... Think of the possibilities! This war could be over before it ends us all!" The other said with excitement in his voice. "If we fail now, we will lose everything we have been working towards! We already tried this procedure with the other subjects and received less than optimal results." The first one retorted. "Doctor, I know that you sometimes grow attached to your projects, but remember who is funding your projects." The second answered with a cold voice. "Fine! I will create you a movie prop from the early 21st century! Don't come crying to me when your little idea ends up killing our only step off first plate!" The first voice roared, making the lights shake a little bit. The vision quickly disappeared as the AI broke his train of thought. "Commander, you have an incoming message from Private First Class Michael Anderson. Shall I patch you through?" The female voice inquired. "Yes...That will be fine." Sergi replied as his mind came back into reality. "I guess you weren't kidding when you said you would be in touch, you already have a network set up. I also heard you made a trip into town this morning, something about Commander Dawn Treader... Anyway, I was wondering if you would like to join me and the others for lunch?" Anderson said through the helmet speakers with a joyful voice. "It sounds like you are living a dream come true Anderson. I will be able to come to lunch, but I'm bringing my own meal." Sergi replied to Anderson before cutting the call. "That was a little harsh, this sitting around isn't getting to you already is it?" The AI piped in after Sergi cut the call. "No, just old habits." Sergi replied flatly. Sergi went inside the tent to switch out some supplies. He pulled out the 1887 shotgun and stared at the gun for a moment. He still remembered when he first picked it up in those labs. Oh, how it filled him with joy when he turned it against the doctor who’d previously owned the gun. Sergi placed it beneath his cot and thought about what he would bring. After a while he grabbed the officer’s sword and inspected it. The only indication that it was an officer’s sword was the intricate design of the hilt and grip. The blade was either an oversized bowie knife or a short sword. The blade ran about 20 inches long and looked to have been kept in good condition. Sergi found a strap and placed the blade on his back where a gun would normally go. If it was an officer’s sword, might as well show off this prized position. Heading back over to the cot, he rummaged through his personnel bag and found what he needed. Sergi walked out of the tent with a hand around a large brown bag. As Sergi walked through the forest and into the town, he could not help but glancing around. Taking in all the information he could get in case of an ambush or possibly catching the enemy first. It was not hard to find the others once he was in town. All the gossip he could hear was about two strange creatures with some ponies at 'Sugarcube Corner'. Sergi was glad he was bringing his own lunch, for he was not very big on sweets. Sergi turned the corner and guessed he was at the right place. A giant structure stood in front of him looking as if it was pulled out of Candy Land. He had not personally played the game but had seen enough copies of the game in his life to understand the concept. Outside the building was a ring of ponies looking in awe at the strange creatures. Sergi spotted the three little fillies that he had spotted watching him yesterday. A fun idea jumped into his mind. He pressed some buttons and soon disappeared into thin air. Sergi quietly strolled around the ring of ponies and stood right behind the three fillies. They were deep in amazement as Anderson was recollecting the story of the first few days they had been there. "...We meet Sergi later that day along with Twilight Sparkle and Commander Dawn Treader who just came back from dealing with a Basilisk." "WOW, that most have been exciting. I never knew anything could take on a Manticore AND a pack of Timberwolves in the same Day!” exclaimed the yellow filly. "He sounds almost as cool as Rainbow Dash!" the orange pegasus filly said with just as much excitement. "Ah am still in disbelief that he took on a fully grown Basilisk. Those things don't get out often." Applejack added in. "It is all in a days’ work." Sergi said as he appeared behind the group. Everyone that was there jumped when they heard his voice and saw him standing there as if he was there all along. The three fillies that he was standing behind quickly jumped around to find the man they spied on yesterday and heard so much about from Anderson. Even the private stood in shock as Sergi just appeared there. "How did you just get here!? I never saw you coming!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "It is just how I am. I can walk through an entire town and only have one or two people spot me." Sergi replied as he soaked up their stunned reactions. "Ah Sergi, you never cease to amaze me. I thought I had seen it all in my time." Sir Henry said with a grin on his face as well, adding "Here, take a seat. We were just about to have lunch." Sergi took up the offer and took a seat next to Sir Henry and a soon grounded Rainbow Dash. She still had a look of suspicion on her face whenever she looked at him. Now the look was more of trying to find out his secrets rather than looking for hostility. Seeing that the story was over, the ring of ponies dispersed back to their schedules except for the three fillies. They had stayed for lunch with the group, all still looked on in amazement at Sergi. A pony came out the building with a platter of items such as Pastries and salads. The pony was had a blue coat with a dark pink mane. She noticed Sergi at the table with the others and gave no hint of any shock. After she finished delivering orders to the others, she directed her attention to the new comer "Why hello there dear! Can I get you anything?" She asked in a cheery voice. "Just water would be fine, thank you." Sergi simply replied trying to match her cheeriness. The pony disappeared into back into the building and quickly returned with a glass of water. She gave a smile to him before she went back into the building. Sergi began to open his lunch and began cooking his meal. "What are you doing?" Rainbow Dash asked the question that was on every mind of the other ponies at the table. "I'm making my lunch." Sergi replied as he kept his eyes on his meal. "How could anypony make a meal out of pouring water into a brown bag? I just can't think of anything." Rarity commented. "Just wait and watch." Sergi said as he was almost done fixing together his meal. "What are you making 'urself for lunch?" Applejack asked. "I am making...Macaroni and cheese with flat bread and a some vegtables." Sergi answered as he quickly checked the side of the bag to make sure of what he was making. The meal was done and Sergi took a spoon he had pulled out before and began stirring the meal before taking the first bite. The ponies were shocked to see what they had seen as a glass of cold water turn into a hot cheesy meal only by pouring it into a brown plastic bag "How in the hay did you do that?! I know of nothing that can do that!" Twilight Sparkle blurted out. "This is the magic of the MRE or also known as a Meal Ready to Eat." Sergi replied between bites. "I bet it ain't better than my family’s apples." Applejack stated. "You wouldn't believe how right you are." Sergi said with a chuckle. "Has anyone noticed were Sweetie Bell went?" Rarity asked with a hint of concern. "She and the other two fillies left a little while ago after they finished their meals." Sergi replied as he was finishing up his meal. As if on cue, a large shriek came from just outside the town. Before anyone else could react, Sergi's instincts engaged. He was already up and running toward the shrieks. As he ran through the town he grabbed his mask and attached it to his helmet. Rounding a corner at a full sprint the scene appeared before his eyes. He was looking at a large group of armored creatures. They were searching through houses and pulling ponies into a group in the middle of the town. A heavily armored creature hovered in the sky shouting out orders. "FIND ME THOSE ELEMENTS! IF WE ARE TO WIN, WE MUST CONTROL THEM!" It shouted out Sergi found the three fillies on the outside of the corralled ponies. Sergi noted everything that was happening and activated his invisibility. He crept up behind a group of three creatures storming into another building. They went along with their business as Sergi pulled out his Kukhri. He grabbed the one straggler by its beak and sliced open its neck. The others noticed the body fall to the floor and were shocked at what happened. Before they could shout out for help, Sergi threw his knife into the skull of the farthest creature and quickly ran and snapped the neck of last, now screaming, creature. Taking a closer look at the creatures, Sergi realized that these were griffons. 'Those bastards remind me of the world I had just left. Too bad for them I did not really care for that one.'' Sergi thought in his head. More commotion could be heard outside. Walking up to the window he saw that the others had arrived on the site. The Leader of the griffons looked to be having a heated debate with Anderson and Sir Henry. Things seemed to be getting very heated out there. So Sergi reappeared into the world and started to drag the three bodies out into the street. If someone had a grudge against his friends he was sure to make them pay, but if someone decided to settle a grudge and start beating innocents, He was damned sure that he could make them dead.
