The Mare who Holds Man's Chaos

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 3

Chapter 1

Night dominated the land as the moon shined over it like an all seeing eye, bringing a small chilling breeze to the denizens of the planet it watched below as they slept. However, that darkness was soon broken and scattered by the Sun ‘s warm rays as it rose over the snow capped mountains of the Eastern ridge. It rose high until it was a good inch above the tallest peak. From the point of view of one of the many denizens, it was blocked by a hand, a human hand, so it didn’t hurt the owners eyes as they check the Sun's position.

The hand dropped after the owner figured out the estimated time by the position of the sun: roughly ten minutes past 10. The human, a male human, continued on his path through the forest he was traversing through so he could progress on finding and completing his goal.

The man was 6’1” with short, disheveled, dust brown hair. His face was bit angular, but was also slightly curved at his cheeks. The iris color of his eyes was a light green with a bit of blue in it, almost looking hazel. A brownish-tan rag covered his hair, nose and curved jaw, only leaving his eyes and the bridge of his nose to bear the leaves and branches of the forest. He wore a white undershirt that was covered by a black, long-sleeved shirt with a close-nit neckline. Both shirts were tucked into a set of olive-drab cargo pants that were bloused into a set of 11” tan boots that are military grade quality. Over his black shirt, he had a pure, brown leather belt with a brown leather machete sheath threaded so the grip of the weapon would be pointing down and to his right, for easy access, along with a basic combat belt that was threaded through the pants' loops. The machete was held in place by a single snap that was placed below the small, round guard and rested on the grip. He also wore a poncho made of pure rabbit fur that he made himself from all the rabbit he caught and ate in the woods so he could save his man-made rations.

He pushed his way through the trees, only having to cut through the wedged in branches and leaves with a long combat knife that resembled an old K-Bar that the Marine Corps and Navy Corpsman used in the Pacific Theater of World War II. The blade was coated with a flat, no stick, black paint while the handle was a light tanned leather. The knife was light weight, easy to store in most sheaths, which he used a boot sheath for it, and could be used for a secondary for extreme close combat, but that’s if he lost his machete which has never happened.

He carried one more knife on him. Though it was a small combat switch blade and couldn’t be used for much. The blade near the guard to halfway up the blade, which was a couple inches long, was serrated, making it easy to cut most things that require it. The blade still did its purpose when he wanted precision cutting on fruits from the trees, and cutting the meat he ate into pieces.

He spotted an opening in the wood and used the trees for cover, moving towards the opening in a crouch, jumping from tree to tree. He stopped at the last tree before it led into an open field. He saw straw rooftops and chimneys letting smoke trickle out in a steady stream. A road led from the town proper to a small school house while going to another part of the town.

The Schoolhouse was brightly colored with some trees around the outside, with wooden fencing cutting out an area that had a tetherball court and a two person swing set that was placed over grass and dirt, respectively. Out on the front was a sign that had a giant book carved on the front; the man couldn’t make out anything else without risking a closer inspection. On the opposite side the road from the sign was a flag pole that flew a plain red banner with some shape atop it, but he knew it was a quadruped. The house was a bright pink color with hearts placed atop the windows, at the base of the school’s bell and was used instead of a feather for the wind pointer. Next to the flagpole was a bush that gave shape to what looked like a horse with a rounded muzzle wearing a cap used for graduations.

He didn't want to stay any longer since the bell rang for a long while but he couldn't move because he was captivated by nine small horses leaving the school room because these were the first sentient beings he's seen. They were smaller than regular horses and looked like they’d go about to his below his waist. Another horse came out and it would probably be as tall as his upper torso, maybe up to his shoulders. The horses were made from bright colors of the rainbow with every combination in the book. They seemed to laugh as they walked to the town, though, they were separated small groups. Their voices, though, sounded human enough, but the language they spoke was a like they were speaking English, but he wasn't able to tell due to them being far away.

He saw one of the smaller ponies look his way, giant pink bow tied into its crimson red mane, swaying as it turned its head. He ducked behind a tree, machete sheath pressing against his back while sweat started to drip down near his eyes. He looked a minute later and the road was empty. Good. He wanted to look into whatever information he could find inside the school, hoping to find anything useful about the place he was in and the inhabitants.

He stole his way to the school as he sprinted across the open field; luckily he left his poncho back with his pack at the edge pf the forest since it was heavy for the tasks he needed his mobility for. He hopped over the fence low like it was hurdle, dashing and sliding under one of the windows and he dared to look up, peaking into the room. It was a single room with different teaching tools and many other things, most notable a telescope, the blackboard and what looked liked small desks.

The man saw no one inside the school and checked the door knob. It creaked a little as it moved, but it was unlocked. He quickly maneuvered into the room and latched the door silently behind him. He moved past the desks in the middle of the room quickly and stopped at the desk. He looked over the desk and found it neatly organized so the owner knew nothing was out of place.

He noticed a stack of papers and picked one up. He looked over the contents and realized it was basic multiplication and division, which was something, taught to maybe 3rd to 4th graders. He didn’t remember much of those times as he trudged on that wandering path he now found himself on, replacing the old memories with new ones. Those old memories were from a time before he and his colony arrived in this dimension.

As he set the paper back on top of the stack, he moved to look behind the desk and found an atlas under the desk. He opened up to the front page and saw the table of contents list off many different names, most of them seemed like puns from he could tell. He looked over the different cities, though he couldn’t make sense of the characters since they looked like English words, just bunched together in a random order. One, however, jumped out to him as he moved his finger down the length of the page, accidentally smudging the ink a little bit, which he just wiped it onto his shirt and thought nothing of it. He didn’t know what the name was and he didn’t want to take the time he barely had anyway to try and understand the written language that this horses made.

After putting the name of the town on his small map he had created, and put the atlas back into its spot, he turned to leave the room but saw a small yellow horse with that same red hair color and that distinctive giant pink bow watching him with its orange eyes from the door. His eyes went wide as the small horse moved towards him, but made its way to a bag of some sort, using decorative apples for the clasps to the small desk in the exact middle of the box of desks in the middle of the room. The horse put the bag over its back and watched him the entire time with an indifferent face as he made his way to the front door, slipping the piece of paper back into his front right pocket of his pants. He closed the door after the little horse exited and watched it galloped down the road, probably to tell someone about him, so he didn’t stay at the school any longer. He walked onto the main road and sprinted towards the direction of the wooded area he was in and made his way back to his camp so he could gather the rest of his gear to leave the area as quickly as he could.

Applebloom ran back to the school with Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle in tow. She was bouncing around the two fillies excitedly as they walked up the road to the schoolhouse.

“Could you please tell me what you saw again, so I can try and make sense of it?” Scootaloo asked, skeptical.

“Ah’m tellin’ ya, Ah saw a tall monkey thing in the schoolhouse while he was alooking at the atlas.”

“What was it doing with the atlas?” Sweetie Belle asked, genuinely curious.

“Ah don’ know but Ah guess it got lost and needed to know where its at.”

“Why didn’t ask when you came in then,” Scootaloo asked, skepticism still etching her voice.

“Ah couldn't because it saw me coming into the room,”

"Did you try and say something to it?" Scootaloo asked.

"Ah wanted to but my brain was all jumbled up while my tongue became tied, but Ah did notice it wrote som’thin’ down on a slip of paper.” Applebloom stopped hopping and looked a bit sad, she didn’t know why.

"Did you see if it write anything down?" Sweetie asked.

"Ah did see it write something, but Ah don't know what it was. It did use a pencil with claw,"

“Well, we at least know it can write so we know it’s intelligent like us.” Scootaloo shouted excitedly as she jumped into the air, small wings flapping as they tried to pick her up, to no avail. “I wonder if it can fly or something!”

“Ah doubt it since Ah didn’t see any wings. And it didn’t have horn neither so it probably couldn't do magic.”

They grew silent as they came upon the school. Scootaloo opened the door but it was empty. Applebloom walked the length of the room and came to a stop at the desk. She pulled out the atlas, setting on the floor and flipped it to the front page. she studied it for a bit until she noticed a slight smudge moving towards the bottom of the page; it was near the names of the different cities in Equestria.

“From that slight smudge in this book, I guess it wanted to know where it was at.” Sweetie Belle pointed out.

“Yes, but where is it going? That’s the question.” Scootaloo asked.

“Ah don’t know and Ah guess we won’t find out unless we meet that creature again.” Applebloom answered, a bit saddened since she won’t be able to see the creature again.

They walked out of the school and Applebloom closed the door behind her.

The little yellow horse with the giant pink bow bumped into her friends, or at least he guessed it was a girl and they were her friends. She asked something in an annoyed tone, but her tone changed when she looked up and saw him again. Thankfully he wore his mask so they couldn’t identify his face.

The man saw the panic and terror in the little horses’ eyes as their mouths hung open. Then, what amazed him, their mouths turned into smiles, the panic and fright turned into excitement and happiness as they began to look everything he owned. One of them even jumped onto his pack, making him drop it to the ground due to the sudden increase in weight which he could not handle. He roared as loud as he could and it set the three straight as they sat in front of him, staring.

He heard shouting in the distance and saw two bigger ponies running towards him and the three small ones. He wanted to run and hide from them so he could continue on his journey, but he wasn't able to move at all. His instincts screamed and yelled at him to move, to run, to get away, but he was frozen; he couldn't move anything, hell, he couldn't even blink which made his head scream even more.

The one on the left had a lavender coat with lavender eyes. It had violet hair with a purple and pink stripe. He noticed a horn that was glowing jutting out of its forehead. So this unicorn was the reason why he couldn't move at all. The other pony was orange with blond hair. Both tail and mane had two read scrunches’ at the bottom. The orange one had green eyes and wore something that baffled him more than the unicorn: a cowboy hat.

The two ponies began to talk to three little ones, but the one with the pink boy stood up to the other two as she stood on her hind legs and put her front legs up like a makeshift barrier, the small orange one with light purple hair, as the gray-ish white one with light pink and purple hair did the same. They were trying to protect him even if they never even knew him or his intentions.

He then saw the glowing horn on the purple one glow brighter. A bright light blinded him completely. He tried blinking away the light but he remembered his eyelids couldn't move. The light, however, went away after a while and he saw those tiny little white flakes swimming around his vision. He wanted to blink them away but still was unable to. However, the unicorn's horn stopped glowing and he slumped to the ground, one knee on it. He stood up and stretched his long limbs and rubbed his eye while blinking so his vision could clear.

The two ponies walked up to in a defensive manner while asking him questions, however, he wasn't able to respond, that's when the orange grew antsy and attacked with its back legs, though the purple one called out in a negative manner to the action. He quickly ducked under and used his left shoulder to push the horse onto its back and its face near him. The other one charged and he had to quickly dove out of the way. He rolled back onto his feet and stood in a low crouch. The orange one with the cowboy hat tried a frontal charge again but he jumped as high as he could and landed on top of it, facing away from the head.

He looked back and noticed the mouth moved into a smile, his stomach became filled with butterfly's. The horse began to buck as he held on tight as he could to the tail, which made the horse buck even hard. He stood onto the horse's back, hands still holding onto the tail. As the orange horse brought its back legs up, he let go of its tail and pushed off with legs. He landed on the ground and rolled, until he flipped onto his legs again, stopping in a sumo wrestlers stance.

Another charge happened but this time he steeled himself and grabbed hold of the horse, lifting it up a bit. It pushed him back with its strong back legs but he held fast as he dug his heels into the ground, trying not to give the horse much ground. They came to standstill as each one tried pushing the other off their feet (or hooves) until he got the upper hand since the horse heard something. The man succeeded to be the first one to start pushing and quickly gained more ground as he pushed with all of his might. The horse cried as it fell flat on its back, K-Bar to its throat. He saw the defiance and fear in its eyes as it stared at him. It was short lived, however, since he heard a few indistinct cries.

Something heavy hit him in his side, sending him tumbling far away, making him lose his grip on his knife. He slid to a stop, face down in the dirt, but he quickly got up, grabbing his side from the bruise that would pop up soon, and grabbed his knife since it was near by. He took off his poncho and set on the floor, along with his brown mask.

He saw the purple horse was back and it seemed to have brought a few friends: one with a red coat and short orange hair, the other had a cyan colored coat with rainbow colored hair. He knew he was out numbered and at an extreme disadvantage since he didn’t know much about these species other than them being miniature horses; ponies he believed they were called.

The cyan one flapped its wings and soared up into the air. A Pegasus, huh? Now he has seen everything. It dove straight towards him, he doubt he’d be able to dodge the pony. He closed his eyes and positioned himself so that he would take less damage than intended, and that was to fall flat on his back before the Pegasus could hit him.

He opened his eyes back up and found himself still standing, left hand still over his right side. He pushed his side hurt side again, but immediately regretted it since he felt a couple of his ribs were cracked. It would take him a couple of weeks for them to repair, so he was going to have to take it easy, that is if he could escape this predicament he was in. He then heard cries of the cyan and purple colored ponies fighting over something while the orange and red ones watched him. It was going to be tough to grab his stuff, but he believed he would manage it, until something forcibly entered his mind which forced him onto his back as he writhed around in pain.

Though the process only took a seconds to do, it felt like an hour had gone by while a needle scraped his skull and brain, like it was etching something into his mind.

“There, you should be able to understand us now.” The purple coated pony told him. “My name is Twilight Sparkle and these are my friends: Rainbow Dash, who is the Pegasus pony, Big Macintosh is the red coated Stallion and Applejack is the one with the hat. Who are you and what are you doing here in Ponyville?” She pointed to each one respectively then got into her attack stance, horn pointed towards him as it began to glow.

“Captain Victor “Vic” Hanlan, United Democratic Defense Force, Serial number is 451H96T,” He told them in a serious tone, eyes and face calm but indifferent.

“Is that all you have to say?” The Pegasus asked in an annoyed tone as she slowly flew around him. The athletic one, he guessed.

“That is all I have to say when interrogated by the enemy.”

“But we’re not the enemy, you are!” The pony with the cowboy hat shouted.

“Now sis, let the creature share its side of the story.” The red one said, in an easy tone with a carefree expression on his face. Guess the red and orange ones are siblings and since the red one is a male, he’ll most likely understand more than the females.

“Hogwash! He’s probably a scout for a larger force that’s here to conquer us! Ah, don’t trust him one bit.” The orange one countered; cheeks red with anger that he beat her in a fight. “He even says he’s in the military by spoutin’ that fancy rank and those numbers!”

“I agree with your brother Applejack. Besides, you unjustly attacked him without warning.” The purple said matter-of-factly.

“Ah still don’t trust it, but Ah’ll give it a chance to speak.” she humphed as she sat down on the grass, legs splayed wide.

“Thank you,” Vic said as he moved towards his pack, “I just happened to be wandering by through that forest over there and saw this settlement. I was hoping to find information on where I was at and where I needed to go. Suffice it to say, the latter still has yet to be met. Now if you’ll excuse me, I must be on my way again since none of you will have no idea what I’m searching for considering I’m the first and last of my kind to visit here.” He placed his K-Bar into its sheath and grabbed his pack and put it on his shoulders after his poncho and mask, which he just wrapped around his neck.

As he took a step away from the group of ponies, then he felt weightless and unwillingly flew close to the purple coated pony. He wasn’t good with names, especially with the stuff he wants to forget from past experiences of growing attached to others.

“Oh no, you’re not leaving anywhere. Not until I do some tests on what your species is and where you came from. For now, you’ll be staying in Applejacks barn.”

“Why my barn, Twi?!” Applejack(?) gasped cheeks turning even more red.

“Because, it is the biggest and almost secluded place in the entire town. Besides, I doubt this creature could walk on clouds so Rainbow’s house is out of the question.”

He knew he had no choice in the matter and was dragged away by this Twilight down a road that ran outside of the town and led to a farm called Sweet Apple Acres. It was an apple orchard and one of the biggest he’s seen since the trees went past a small mountain, but they filled his vision. He was led to a big barn that looked well taken care of and was set down in the middle of the barn. All four ponies left him as they shut the open door, trying to slam it but failed, which made him chuckle a little bit.

He set his pack and poncho down, stood up and made his way up the loft of the barn. He silently walked his way to the far back window and climbed onto the roof. He crawled the entire length and watched the unicorn and red pony gallop off, while the Pegasus and the orange one stood outside the door. Guess they’re his guards for now. He can easily slip by the orange one, but with the cyan Pegasus, it was going to be tough since she could fly and spot him while he ran. The only decision he could make was to endure what the unicorn had in store for him and hopefully he would be let go soon otherwise, he was going to leave at night.

An hour passed when one of the barn doors opened up. Vic stood up and watched the unicorn and the male bring in some type of scientific equipment. He guessed they brought in a brain analyzer, a DNA analyzer and species classifier, along with a few others he couldn’t name

The unicorn expertly set all the machines up and hooked them up to various parts of his body, most notably a dome-shaped one that had blinking lights on it after he had to remove his brown t-shirt.

The machines blinked, whirred and made other sounds as they chugged along, collecting different data entries from his body and working out what it all meant. It would be a long process, so he decided to close his eyes a bit, until, he guessed, the brain scanner whirred even louder as it gathered in the new data on what he had just made since he was adjusting his brain waves to.

A ding came when all the machines were collectively done and the ponies anxiously waited for the long sheet of paper to finally stop. Another ding and the page stopped after 20 folds collectively. The unicorn picked it up with some type of levitation magic or something and read the data that was on the page.

“How can this be?!” She screamed aloud, worried and excited at the same time.

“What is it, Twi?” The cowboy hat wearing pony asked, curious.

“His DNA sequence, his genome and chromosomes are all similar to a monkey’s, but his brain is able to hold about 112 billion neurons and has a bigger cerebral cortex than us, how is this even possible. His brain wave patterns are similar to ours though.”

“In English please,” the Pegasus said in her annoyed tone, flapping lazily in the air.

“Let’s just say my species is the evolved form of the primate you…ponies are used to. My species scientific name is Homo sapiens’ or ‘wise man’ in a language that we knew in our earlier history that is being learned today, although minutely. We are capable of any and all basic brain functions that any mammal is capable of making, but we have evolved to the point we have colored vision, speech, longer memories, being able to make rational decisions instead of instinctual ones and the like that you all have, I assume?”

The unicorn nodded.

“OK. We’re much similar in thought process and brain power, and maybe our Intelligence Quotient or IQ is similar in records, maybe you ponies have a higher IQ than us humans, which I wouldn’t be surprised at all, in the way our species has been going so far. Anyway, I’ve said more than I should have. If you don’t mind, I’d like some sleep, I have long ways to walk in the morning.” He laid back down against his pack, put his hands behind his head and closed his, hearing the brain analyzer whir and beep as the new information streamed into it.

“Hold on a minute. Your telling me that even though, you…humans have larger brains, that your IQ is lower than ours? How is that possible?”

“The evolution of science, the human nature of trying to make our lives easier, attention spans becoming shorter as well as short-term memory loss and the social norms. They all made an impact on our lives, for better or for worse. Due to the advancement of our technology, our average IQ has decreased from 100, which is average, down to 95. Our genius level was considered to be at 130, but that dropped to 125 now. The highest record so far has been for man the science community, especially in the physics community, is Albert Einstein. He was man that revolutionized what we thought about our universe and what more mysteries it could hold for us to discover.” He rambled, his eyes still closed.

“What about you, what is your IQ?” The unicorn asked.

“132. That’s my IQ. Though, I may be smart and able to become clever, my brain cannot wrap around mathematics and all of those numbers. My genius lies in the creativity of art like writing, music, and other forms of those.” He opened his eyes and sat back up. “However, the art I grew up learning was the Art of Fighting and Killing. I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter, but I am glad it is going to help me in the fight I have coming up soon. No more questions please, let me sleep.” He laid back down against his pack after the unicorn unplugged her machines and wheeled them away.

The door closed a half an hour later and night fell four hours after that, he fell asleep after they left since he had a long night ahead and needed to quickly get back on track.

Chapter 2

Vic opened his eyes and looked out the barn’s big window that was over the loft. He saw the moon as it rose into full view, shining it light into the otherwise dark space.

It was full again, as it has been for the past two months since he started this journey before coming to this town, even before that actually. What a curiosity, though.

He’s been used to a moon with its phases as it orbited Terra, but he wants to know why this moon is always full. That question will be answered when it is presents itself an opportunity, however, he has more pressing matters to attend to, and that is to get a map of the area along with a book or two on the plant life that is edible so he can continue his journey.

He quickly wrapped the brown t-shirt around his head and picked his pack up. While placing it on his back, he made his way up to the loft, walked over to the window and grabbed some rope that was coiled on top of a hay bale that was near the window. He picked up the rope and threw it out the window, but held onto the other end.

The rope fell flat onto the dirt and kicked up a small bout of dirt.

He tied the rope to a handle bar that held some hooks on it. He checked the rope to see if it was taught by pulling on it as hard as he could, even as going so far as to put both of his feet against the wall just to pull on it. Once he was satisfied that it passed the test, he grabbed the rope and slide down the 30 feet or so to the ground. He let go of the rope and groaned while letting off a curse in a loud whisper as he blew on his hands that burn because of the rope. He wished he had kept his leather gloves for something like this, but he needed to eat then and that’s all he had he could part with.

Vic crept along the side of the barn as he made his way to the entrance of the Apple Farm once his hands cooled off. He looked around to see if that rainbow haired Pegasus pony was at the barn, but the ground was clear. He looked up and saw a lone cloud in an otherwise clear night. He pressed himself up against the barn wall and looked around the corner towards the cloud.

The cloud stayed in that one spot, not even moving an inch, until it started moving it around. Another oddity for him that he still doesn’t understand. Something poked all the way through it, making it dissipate. The cyan Pegasus fell as the cloud dissipated and landed on her back upon the ground, kicking up a dust cloud. The pony stood back up onto all four of her hooves and said something to the clouds, shaking a hood and kicked some up dirt. She then took to the sky, flying over him and back over the town. Vic waited at his spot until she was out of sight, then made his way to the front gate of the farm as quietly as he could. Once he figured he was a good distance away, he sprinted at full speed.

He leapt over the waist high gate and rolled, getting back onto his feet and sprinted down the road without looking back. He didn’t stop until he came to the first thatched house of the town and pressed his left side up against the wall. He took a peak around the corner and saw nothing but an empty street with empty market stalls and candles in lampposts that were burning, lighting up the streets. He surveyed the area, then saw something sprint across the darkness, it’s silhouette was inconveniently huge, but that’s all he could see in that split second.

Vic didn’t want waste any time on figuring out what that thing was, that’ll come later on in his journey. He turned 180 degrees around and skirted around the town until he found a dark alleyway devoid of any light, which he used to make his way onto a part of the main street that was relatively unlit. He sprinted again once he saw his chance and weaved his way through the shadows as he made his way down the road, until he saw a giant Oak tree adorned with a wide array of windows, two balconies and other homely decorations all over it. The door to the lowest balcony was open with light streaming outside, faintly lighting the night. He saw a figure moving atop the balcony. The figure was the purple unicorn looking through a telescope and had several books open around her. A pony of education, he guessed. Who knew?

He crept up to the balcony the pony was using and set his pack down against the trunk of the tree. He removed his poncho and his machete, along with its sheath, setting them both over his pack, with the poncho covering the machete. Vic climbed up the tree as best as he could while still trying to be stealthy, though it was tough since it had no hand holds he could use but pressed on, while narrowly avoiding the inconvenient beehive that impeded his path.
He reached the underside of the balcony and climbed up so he could look over the edge. He saw the unicorn still was focusing on what she was looking at through the telescope. Good, he has the element of surprise and she was luckily unaware of his presence. He quietly lifted himself up and pulled himself under the rail. He cleared the rail and pushed himself so he could kneel, while pulling out his black pocket knife. Vic pulled out the blade, it made a loud ‘click’ as it snapped into place, but the unicorn didn’t move an inch. She was still unaware then, so, talking the chance he sprinted, throwing away his stealth for a full on charge as he let his heavy feet fall on the wooden floor. He leapt as soon as the pony’s ears twitched from the new noise.

The pony was fast, but he was already near her before she could do anything. He tackled the purple coated pony, making both of them tumble past the books without disturbing them. Vic was on his feet once he slid to a stop, pocket knife still in his hand. He jumped again and landed on the pony’s back as she stood up while shaking her head, making her sit. He quickly grabbed her horn pulling her head up to expose her neck and placed the blunt part of the blade against her throat, letting the flat part touch the bottom of her muzzle. He wanted to make sure he didn’t kill her. He didn’t need more blood on his hands and in his nightmares.

“Scream or do any of your crazy magic, and I’ll cut your throat. I don’t want to kill you, but I will if I have to. Just do as I say, and you’ll live, ok?”

She nodded as best as she could since he was pulling her head back.

“Ok. Like I said, try anything and I will kill you.” He pulled his knife away and folded it back up by using his pants, while sliding it back into its place in his front right pocket. He let go of the horn and slid off the unicorn, letting her stand.

“What do you want?” the pony asked, as she turned to face Vic, tears forming in her eyes, which were full of fear and anger. Good, he wanted her to have that fear of him so she wants him to leave and hoped for him to never see this town or its occupants again.

“All I want is a map of the surrounding area and a book on edible plant life like fruits and vegetables. Got anything like that?” He asked.

“I believe I do, just give me a minute.” She cantered back into the tree and was out of sight before he could say anything more.

He grunted at that, but noticed the pile of books near the telescope she had set up. He walked over to the pile of books and crouched down. He flipped through one of the closed books that was on top of pile and saw the exact same constellations his universe had. He closed the book and chose another closed book from a different pile. He flipped through this one and saw statistics and other variables for meteor showers and comet falls. He whistled as he flipped through more of the book, learning more about this universe’s own outer space.

As it turned out, the Sun and Moon was magically controlled by two powerfully magical beings called Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Celestia was the owner of the Sun as Luna was the owner of the Moon. Curious how Celestia, Latin for Heaven, controlled the Sun. He guessed the Sun Princess regarded herself as the ruler over a heavenly body. Figures that religion could still be found amongst sentient beings.

The next thing he saw in the book was the fact the science done and the theories stated fit the way this world was run on how the world was the center as the Sun and Moon revolved around it, along with the different planets circling around them in this System. He guessed that the only way to break them of this thinking would take an extremely long time as their understanding of science grew. This will also take a seat in the back of his mind.

He heard the sounds of hooves and creaking wood as the pony walked up the stairs. He replaced the book he opened and stood, moving away from the piles, towards the door.

“I found a few maps I had and several books on the surrounding wildlife and plant life in the forest I assume you are going to head through. Take what you need and go. Please, just go.” They were floating around her but she pushed the things towards him.

“I will once I find the ones I need. I just want to say I’m sorry and thank you for your cooperation.” He took the books and maps.

He sat down a little ways from the purple unicorn and poured his attention over every single book and map until he found the ones he really needed.

Once he finished his research. He noticed the pony had fallen asleep. She used to the piled up books as a makeshift pillow so she could fall asleep. He guessed that was a normal occurrence for her. He pulled his pen out of a pants pocket, along with a small scrap piece of paper. He scrawled the words on it “I’m sorry,” on it and set it under the book her head rested on.

He quickly picked up the map and the couple of books he had chosen, and climbed down the tree as best as he could while trying not to lose his grip. He felt the cobblestones that made the street under his boots and let go of the tree. He tied the map with a piece of string that he had in his pocket and tucked it inside the middle pocket of his pack after putting the books in. Though the map was sticking out, it’ll have to do for now, until the next time he came to a town. He picked up his pack, poncho and machete and set out into the night, heading towards the unknown, heading north and west.

When the sun rose and shinned onto Twilight’s face, she drowsily picked up her head, yawned and closed the book she had used as a pillow. Luckily she didn’t drool tonight, unlike the other times she had slept with her head in her books after a long night of studying and research.

A small piece of paper rose with the wind and flew over to a small pile of books to the back and to the right of her, coming to a rest atop one of them. She stood up and walked over to the small pile of books and saw rolled up maps there as well. They were arranged into a neat pile that looked ready to be taken back inside.

The small note was picked up into the air, but Twilight quickly grabbed it with her magic. She brought it over so she could read it, but couldn’t really decipher what the note read. The creature probably wrote it in the characters he knew instead of in her written language, but that doesn’t matter now.

She rearranged the lines into something comprehensible and what she read, she felt incredibly sad, but also incredibly angry at what the creature had pulled last night. Twilight could still feel the coldness of the blade the weapon he used to threaten her.

“Twilight!” A scream was heard as a rainbow and cyan colored blur zipped past, going straight through the open door. The result was a loud crash inside the interior of the library.

Twilight sighed audibly as she made her way down the stairs and sighed yet again when she saw all of the books she put back in their new order all over the floor. Again. For the third time this week.

“What is it Rainbow Dash?” She asked in an annoyed tone as she cautiously made her way to the cyan colored Pegasus.

“Twilight?!” Rainbow Dashes head poked out of the big lump of books, quickly searching around for the purple colored unicorn. She saw her friend and made her way over to her, though it looked like she was swimming through the books. “Twilight, the creature escaped and he’s nowhere in town!”

“Yeah, I know. He visited me last night, asking for a couple of books and a map.” She started picking up the books and putting them back into their place.

“And you just let it go without doing anything?”

“I would have done something, but he snuck up on me while I was studying last night. He caught me at a disadvantage, but he was polite about the entire situation, which surprised me.” She subconsciously raised a hidden hoof to her throat but quickly dropped it and turned towards Rainbow Dash.

“So you helped him without a struggle and he didn’t do anything to you bad to you?”

“Yes and yes. Like I said, he was polite about situation last night, however, let’s just forget this entire incident ever happened and never speak of it to anypony. Ok, Rainbow?” Twilight asked, still putting away her books.

“I guess you’re right. Better for him to be out of sight, so he can be out of our minds. Let me help you clean up.” Rainbow trotted over to the pile and began helping Twilight.

Applejack and Big Macintosh came by a little later after Twilight and Rainbow finished up, with the help of Spike who woke up after Rainbow began helping. That dragon could sleep through anything. Twilight talked with the two Earth Ponies and suggested the same thing she did with Rainbow Dash: Forget about the creature and return back to their normal lives like it never existed. They agreed to the suggestion and never spoke of the incident again, only keeping it between themselves and made the CMC do the same, instilling the fear of them getting into trouble if they spoke about the human and they didn’t want to be kept from their crusading.

A week’s time has passed without any more incidents, so the three mares, along with Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie decided to take a trip since it was time for the Buffalo to stampede again in Appleloosa and they were asked by Breaburn to come help pass out the pies the following day.

The trains wheels’ clacked along the set track, drowning out the laughter and happiness from inside the car the six mares, along with Spike, were having fun in.

Vic dizzily stumbled on as the heat of the desert hit him before he hit the shade of a plateau. He rested his left shoulder against the cool red rock and pulled out his canteen from its own special pocket in his pack. He pulled off his brown shirt, dumping a little water onto his face so it could cool off and poured some water down his throat, letting it become wet again.

He sighed happily as he took another drink from his canteen and put it back into its pocket. He put his t-shirt back into its place and looked east as he heard the sound of a noise he hadn’t heard since his youth: a train whistle.

He knew the ponies were smart, but he didn’t know how advanced their technology was.

The same whistle blew again as a brightly colored train appeared from behind the rock that covered his right. He watched it pass by, becoming engulfed in a tunnel that was carved into a rock.

Where there are train tracks, there is civilization. He smirked and began to walk towards the track but a dust of cloud kicked up, prompting him to cover his eyes with a forearm so he wouldn’t be blinded by the sand.

The dust settled and what it revealed was an extinct animal that used to roam the plains of the Old Mid West: The Buffalo.

He was in awe that he was able to see one that was actually alive since they had become extinct about three ago. But that awe faded since they didn’t look friendly and would pose a threat to him.

There was enough to give him worry as they formed a circle around him. They snorted and stamped their hooves on their ground horns pointed towards him, feathers waving in the wind. just waiting for him to make a move, but he didn’t move an inch, until they stopped and an opening formed, allowing a bigger buffalo through. The big Buffalo’s coat was black and wore a Plains Tribal styled headdress with a blue band that had detailed bead work worked into the headdress.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my land?!” the leader asked with a deep, fatherly, voice, snorting into Vic’s face as the Buffalo shoved it close.

He pulled down his brown t-shirt, letting it rest on his shoulders. “My name is Vic and I was just wandering through. I am humbly sorry for trespassing into your land without knowing, Chief. I was actually on my way to the town that those train tracks lead to in hope to gather supplies and water while being able to rest there for the night.”

“Which town did you even come from stranger? What land?”

“ The land I’m originally from is dead. Long and buried, but the town I came from was a town called Ponyville, I believe. The only thing I mostly remember about that place was a Pegasus pony whose mane and tail was rainbow colored.”

“You know Rainbow Dash?” A feminine voice asked as a small orange Buffalo jumped onto the Chief’s back. She then jumped off and landed in front of Vic.

“I knew her, yes, but it was only for half a day as I only stopped there for water, a map and a few books.” He said with a straight face, though he knew he was lying since he had taken those books and that map with force. Best to not let them know about that.

“Well, anyone who knows Rainbow Dash is a friend of mine. The name’s Little Strongheart, by the way.” She held a hoof out in front of him.

He knelt and lightly took the hoof in his hand. “Vic, is mine,” he said, shaking Little Strongheart’s hoof and let go a second later. Scrawny little calf.

“C’mon, you can stay with us tonight.” She said, eyes gleaming.

Vic felt the tension on his back and he didn’t know how to respond to the offer. He looked at the Chief for help, but the big Buffalo looked away. He’s in the same boat as well, then. “I will take you up on your offer for tonight, but I must be on my way before the sun comes up.”

“It’s settled then! C’mon!” she walked her way through the herd without it having to part for her, but the Buffalo reluctantly did so for him, keeping him in their sights.

Vic and the herd walked a long ways, answering questions along the way, until he spotted a settlement of teepees surrounded by walls of plateaus and hills.

“Welcome to our camp, Vic. It isn’t much, but with the Appleloosan’s giving us apple pie this time of year, it’s a nice change of pace from the oatmeal we usually eat here.”

“Anything that resembles a town is better than what I’m used.” he chuckled.

“I can tell with all that dust on your coat.” The small buffalo giggled, her hawk’s feathers bouncing as she walked. “Anyway, welcome to the Buffalo Tribe’s home. Make yourself at home while I go and see to our other guests. Chief Thunderhooves here can help you, won’t you Chief?” She asked the big Buffalo, her big eyes becoming bigger. He looked around for excuses to say no and started to sweat but quickly caved in.

“Of course, but I don’t like it.” He said, letting Little Strongheart go on her way. “Come with me to my tent, I would like to ask you a few questions.” The big buffalo said as he moved off from the main group.

Vic followed closely behind. He looked around and saw they were like one of the many Plains Tribes from the old movies he used to watch, except they were Buffalo and they weren’t tanning any hides that he knew of.

They crossed the main fire pit and turned left after a couple of teepees. The Chief stopped and opened the flap to his. Vic walked in and sat down on the dirt as the Buffalo did same, facing him.

“Now, tell me what really happened in Ponyville and why are you here.” The chief demanded.

Vic sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “Well, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll say it bluntly then: I forced a purple unicorn to give me the books I needed, along with a map of the area. The reason I’m here is because I’m passing through, as I’ve said. I have a mission to complete.”

“And what mission is that?” The chief asked but a knock came on the post outside before Vic could answer.

Little Strongheart poked her head through that held a smile on her face, with wide eyes that held excitement. “Mr. Vic, Rainbow Dash and her friends are here, helping us out and I asked if they wanted to see you again. Will you join me with them?”

“I would love to but I…,” he trailed off and felt his expression soften a bit. He was searching for an excuse to not go and see those ponies but was unable to find one. “Sure, I’ll go and see them.” He sighed inwardly as he stood up and made his way out of the teepee after bowing his head a little to the Chief, who nodded in return.

Little Strongheart happily walked her way through the tribe to the spot where seven multicolored ponies and a purple lizard sat around a fire pit, eating pies, though the lizard was eating what looked like gems. He heard his stomach growling, which prompted a giggle from the female buffalo.

“Hey! It’s you! What are you doing here?” The cyan colored Pegasus shouted as she took to the air and zipped over to Vic, shoving her snout into his, eyes filled with anger.

“I was just passing on through this little settlement and Little Strongheart here offered for me to spend the night. Besides, I did nothing to warrant such hostilities from you.” he pushed the Pegasus back with his nose, but his face was kept at a calm neutrality.

“Then what do you call using a weapon to threaten one of my friends?!” She cried, he could see small tears forming but this pony was acting like a tomboy, so they didn’t form. A gasp went through the ponies as they all looked towards the purple unicorn, who was looking at the ground. “I saw you threaten Twilight with one of those things you have. What’s your excuse with those, huh?! And did you ask her to lie so you could cover your tracks?”

“First off, lie? What lie? Second, I saw no other possible option of gaining her cooperation without threatening her life, besides, I use these knives for survival.”

“Likely story,” the Pegasus said, crossing her hooves.

“I will do anything to complete my mission and threatening your friend for what I needed was the best option, otherwise, she wouldn’t be here. As I said, my art is in warfare and espionage. Nothing more and nothing less. I will take responsibilities for any and all actions I have made, along with the mistakes those actions have warranted. Since I am clearly not welcome here anymore, I will be on my way then. I thank you for your offer of hospitality Little Strongheart, but I must be on my way to continue on my journey.” He turned, putting his t-shirt back over his hair, mouth and nose and walked away from the fire, towards the open expansion of the desert beyond.

Twilight watched as Vic walked by her. She raised a hoof and opened her mouth, but let her it drop and closed her mouth. She felt sad for him because she knew something substantial happened to him but she didn’t know why. She looked back down into her pie tin and saw her saddening face.

She stood up, getting some worried cries from Rarity and Fluttershy, but she ignored them as galloped off after the human, though it was only a short run.

“Excuse me. Can I talk to you?” she asked as she followed behind him. He stopped and faced her, while he removed that brown cloth, letting it rest on his shoulders.

“If you’re here to apologize for your friend, don’t. Her anger is justifiable and is understandable. If you were in my shoes, you’d probably do the same thing in order to complete a task like mine. The actions that took place between you and I are my responsibility. I wasn’t proud to make that choice to threaten you, but it was one of few options I had to make and its better than the alternative.”

“ And I thank you for that.” she bowed her head. “I understand the logic and reasoning on said decisions. We ponies aren’t just used to much violence other than self-defence. I’m sure if you sat down with us and talked, maybe we could find out a lot more about each other?” she asked.

Before Vic could say anything, his stomach answered for him when he thought about the pie. “I guess my answer is set then. I will come but I will say this now: When I leave in the morning, I leave with no one and I was never here, ok?” he asked.

“I understand, Vic.” Twilight turned and walked back towards the fire pit, with a reluctant Vic in tow, though he didn’t show his concerns on his face.

“Hey, I thought you were leaving!” Rainbow shouted as she stood up from her seat.

“I asked him to stay for the night so he could eat something and besides, he still has to return my books to me.” Twilight told Rainbow as she sat down at the fire that has already been started since the sun began to go down.

“Whatever, I still don’t trust him,” Rainbow stared at the human as he sat down next to Twilight.

“Neither do I,” Applejack spat into the fire, a small steam trail mixed in with the smoke. “Especially after hearing what he did to ya, Twi.”

“I’m not asking you to trust him, but give him a chance to explain the situation he is in and what we can do to help him.” She turned to Vic. “Now please, tell us your story.

Chapter 4

For seven whole days, they walked, only stopping at night to eat and sleep.

Rainbow Dash complained about how tough it was to walk such long distances, but she trudged on with determination, nonetheless. She’ll get used to the long distances with time. While she thought about that, Vic, on the other hand, was thinking about telling her. He’ll probably tell her when the time is right.

The treks weren’t long, just the normal 20 miles a day, but then again, something like Rainbow Dash, who has the ability to fly, isn’t used to walking for 16 hours everyday, since they have something that gives them an alternative means to travel, so Vic had to cut off 2 hours to compensate for her stamina.

On the eighth day of their travel, they were traversing a forest area that was lightly wooded. They came upon a river that had a stepping stone path. The river was wide enough for it to hold only four stones. The deepness of the river only covered the bottom half of his femur. The last time he saw something like this was during the Robot Insurrection of 2035 in the United Republic of Japan. He had to force out the family that owned something like this in their yard in order to use the house as a forward operating base. That’s another place he didn't want to think about, though.

Vic removed his brown t-shirt, letting it rest on his shoulders as he bent over the water, dipping both of his hands into it, like a cup. As he pulled them out, water was trickling through the holes in between his fingers and took a sip of it. It was neutral tasting, which his tongue didn’t like, but his throat, however, loved it since it was finally becoming wet. He had run out of water a day ago, then ran out of spit to quench his thirst. He pulled out his empty canteen and stuck it into the river. He swished the water around in it and dumped it out onto the grass. Vic did this a couple more times before filling it up as Rainbow Dash put her muzzle into the water and took a long pull of the water to quench her own thirst.

“Ready to move on?” Vic asked after taking his own long drink from his canteen.

Rainbow Dash nodded after picking her head up from the river and wiped her mouth from the excess with her hoof.

“Alright then. Let’s get moving.” He said standing up while closing his canteen’s lid and putting it back into its pocket. He then jumped onto the first stone.

He hopped onto the second, the small river trickling down below them. He wanted to have a bit of fun and be like a child, hopping from rock to rock, again. It felt good to do something like this once in a while and have no worries in the world. No more traveling, no more fighting, nothing but peace and relaxation. That would be his goal at the end of all this, if he survived it.

He watched Rainbow Dash try to attempt the same thing as he did, but because of her four legs, she lost her footing quickly, resulting in a splash on the second stone as Vic reached the other side. He burst out laughing as he hopped is way back over and helped her out of the water. She walked the rest of the way to the bank of the river and dried herself off.

They made their way over to an opening in the wood. They were able to see more of the forest below them as it expanded in every direction as far their eyes could see a top of a cliff. However, below them, there was a circle of about 1 mile in diameter where a giant excavation was being held. There were shouts being heard as a lot of figures were moving about and digging.

“Diamond Dogs,” Rainbow Dash mumbled aloud as she sat down, looking at the figures below, running in every direction. “I don’t like them. They tried to enslave my friend Rarity because of her ability to find gems. We rescued her shortly after, though, it was more of an escort back since she practically whined her way into freedom while she reversed the roles for herself and the Dogs.”

“The voice of a woman. Always works, if you know how to use it.” He said with a smile on his lips, but it disappeared a few minutes later. “C’mon, let’s go get some information.”

Rainbow Dash jumped up, following right behind him. “Are you sure about talking to them about this? They are mean and very ruthless and I doubt they’d help us.”

“We’ll see once we get down there.” He answered as he started climbing down the cliff face. The only safety net he had had be strong enough and fast enough to catch, especially since he still has 60lb pack on his back.

Rainbow Dash just rolled her eyes as she took flight. She flew next to and under Vic so she could get a clear view on foot/hand holds.

Vic whipped his hands on his pants as Rainbow Dash landed next to him at the base of the cliff. They began their half-hour walk to a wooden fence was broken and half-eaten. Termite colonies must live in this fence, he guess as he pushed one of the planks with his foot. It crumbled and broke into small fragments as it landed on the ground, scattering out thousands of small, light-gray colored bugs into the safe haven of another post. He pushed another one that was above the one he kicked, and it crumbled to the ground as well.

He looked back at Rainbow Dash, who kept wary eyes on the small little bugs. Guess she didn't like them a lot.

They stepped through the opening Vic had made and come upon the site. It was bigger than what he originally measured atop the cliff. He figured the area surrounding the excavation was 1 mile from the fence to the lip of the dig site he could see in the distance.

The walked over to the site, stopping just at the lip. He looked down and saw a small sloping pathway below him with a rail track on it. A cart completely filled of gems was being pushed up the slope by three indistinct figures.

He looked up and saw the actual size of the dig site. He whistled loudly, while gaining a look from Rainbow Dash. He ignored it and took the time to measure out the diameter, which was around 4 miles, and the depth, he guessed, was 2 miles deep.

The longer he looked, the more he could see that the mines, rail tracks, and the pathways all were well organized and held a subtle pattern to them. Vic tried to place a finger on said pattern, but he was unable to. He took another look down and saw the figures, these "Diamond Dogs", ran in every single direction down below him. They looked like ants moving into and out of their holes.

Vic looked down at Rainbow as he watched her ears move about quickly. He guessed she had started hearing something. He then started hearing the faint sound of barking. He turned his head to the source of the sound and saw two gorilla like animals barking as they ran on all fours, over to them. One had the head of the Bulldog, jowls and body to match, while the other one, who was smaller in height and stature, had the muzzle and head of pointer but the body of a small yorkshire terrier

They screeched to a halt, Iron armor clanking as their spear hafts clanked against their underarm armor as the iron heads were pointed straight at both Vic and Rainbow.

“Halt! Who are you and what are you doing here?!” The bigger of the two guards asked in low baritone voice, spears at the ready, his jowls letting out unwanted saliva. Bulldogs.

“I need some information on a creature I’m tracking, I was hoping your leader would be able to help me.”

“What type of information?” The guard asked skeptically, setting his spear butt back onto the ground. His partner followed suit.

“Directions, like, if she went north, south, east or west. That sort of thing. Just a general direction would be helpful.”

“I don’t see any harm in simple information like that, but it’ll cost you her.” the guard pointed to Rainbow with a sharp claw while his partner's mouth began to salivate.

“What?! You can’t seriously agree-” Her sentence was cut off as Vic placed a hand over her muzzle, quieting her down as he began to talk again.

“Then let’s make a deal. If I beat you in one on one combat, you give me the information I want, but if you win, you get us both, as slaves.” Vic offered, eyes confident.

“Here and now?” The dog asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

“If you’re man enough for it,” Vic said, dropping his pack down onto the ground after moving more towards the middle of the site. He also took off his rabbit skin poncho, his machete and it's sheath, and his long-sleeved shirt, dumping them all onto his pack.

"Hmph. Guts. I like that in a victim. Take my armor Domino." The Bulldog ordered as he began to strip down to just his vest.

"Are you sure about this, Hearth?" Domino asked, his brown eyes held worry in them as he came back from giving his spear to Vic.

"Better than just standing around doing nothing," Hearth answered with a low growl.

As both fighters began to stretch, a circle gathered around them as cries started shouting the word "fight." the Circle grew bigger and bigger. Not long after most of the workers came to the fight, a betting table was set up and the Dogs began to trade in their gems or money or what not for slip of paper with the supposed odds on the fights. The payout was 80:1, and not many of the Dogs wanted to bet on Vic, which he kind of was hoping for, as he smiled at a small plan he had while overhearing the cries for the betting table.

“You sure about this Vic?” Rainbow Dash asked while Vic was kneeling down, spear resting over his shoulder. "I mean, there are other ways to find out information."

“I'm sure. I know there are other ways of getting information, but this is our only lead since we left that town with the Buffalo. Besides, I need to keep my skills up to par." He told her as he stood back up, spear at the ready. "Before I forget, always bet on the underdog."

Rainbow didn't understand what he meant by that last sentence until she started hearing the cries call that the betting office is closing. So, she took flight, her bag of money tightly secured in her mouth.

She circled above the crowd to pinpoint the area. She spotted another small circle, which isn't that far away from the actual fight. She swooped down as the dogs began to clear the way, bits clinking. She landed next to the betting office, which was more than just a long crate with a couple of clipboards, some small papers with the odds, along with the payout on it. There was a scale that was off to the side with what looked like small metal bars on one of the arms.

She walked up to the crate and set her bag onto it, disorienting the scale by knocking off a few bars, which clattered onto the crate, then onto the ground.

“I’m placing this entire bag of Equestrian Bits on the outsider.” She stated as loudly and as confidently as she could, letting every one of them know her stance on this fight.

The betting master lifted the bag. He was a bit surprised at the weight as he stroked the fur under his chin. He then set it on the scale. The bag was heavy enough that he had to use up all of his bars, along with some of the heavier gems he had. The betting master took the bag off the scale, setting it down on to the crate. He opened up the bag and took one out. He turned it around in his paw, looking at it skeptically, until he bit the coin and tried to bend it. The coin held strong, which satisfied the betting master, which he set it back into the bag, nodding happily. He took the bag and handed Rainbow Dash a ticket with the odds on it. She looked down at the paper and saw that the number "1" was circled, which she guess that was the odd of Vic winning.

Rainbow took flight, her paper in her mouth, and flew back to their stuff, landing right next to it. Luckily, for her, the fight hasn’t started yet.

A bell rang and Heath charged, spear butt raised.

Vic didn't expect the Bulldog to be fast, but he was and Vic couldn't keep up.

Heath pulled back his spear and swung it at Vic's right side, the side with his still healing ribs.

Vic had barely enough time to bring his spear down to the block the attack. It was a fruitless endeavor as Heath's spear haft hit his own, taking away some of the force. Then, Vic was sent tumbling to his left from the hit. His right side began to hurt without him even having to touch it. Vic quickly stood up as Heath jumped into the air.

He ducked and rolled under the spear, smacking one of the sides of the Bulldog’s face. Vic quickly turned his spear butt around, hitting the other side of Heath's face. The Dog had to kneel down, but got back up as he shook his head.

Once Heath was standing upright, though a bit dizzy, Vic slammed both of his feet into the Dog’s chest, sending them both to the ground. They both landed, with a dust cloud surrounding them. Vic rolled over and pushed himself to his feet. He grabbed his spear. He noticed that the Bulldog was still on his back. He quickly jogged over to Heath and put the spear head at Heath's throat.

The crowd became silent, letting their arms drop. Rainbow Dash was sitting down, mouth open, as her ticket fell into the dirt.

Vic pulled the spear away from the canines throat and moved away. He put his hand out to help Bull Dog up, but he shrugged it away while standing up.

A small part of the crowd that gathered around the Vic and the Diamond Dog broke apart as a taller and leaner Dog walked through the opening. It looked intimidating and yet, seemed fair, though Dobermans were known for their compassion. Vic also noticed it was missing her left eye. The Bulldog laid down on his belly in front of the Doberman and began to whimper, his tail was under his legs. Vic is guessing this Dog is the Alpha of this pack.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? Corporal Domino, what is going on here?” the Alpha asked in a commanding, but feminine tone. “Why is there a stranger in the camp with a spear in his hands?”

The Little dog that was Bull Dog partner came up to the Doberman, ears all the way down with his tail between his legs while rubbing his paws in a nervous motion.

“Well, Serah, this creature came up to the camp in a hope of seeking information for a pray he is after, but Sergeant Joel wanted to compete with the creature for the information in order to get the creature companion, which is one of those ponies, that Rex and Fido kept talking about, Serah, before they went missing with Spot. And, well, as you can see the creature is the winner.”

“Yes, I can easily see that.” The Doberman mumbled as she moved towards Vic.

The Doberman held out a paw, with her other behind her back. “My name is Roxy. It is pleasure to meet you.”

“Vic; likewise. Since I beat your guard here, can I have my information and gems that I won for this little bout.”

“In due time, friends. Come to my tent, I may have proposition for you and the reward will be greater than what this duel has for you.”

“Fine, I’ll listen to your proposition, but my companion here is coming along too, otherwise I will just take the gems I am owed and we will be leaving. I can get the information somewhere else.”

Roxy watched as Rainbow Dash canter up and stand next to Vic, her held up high as a confident flame flared to life in her magenta colored eyes. The Doberman couldn't help but smirk.

“Ok; shall we go, then?” She asked as she turned away, making her way through the open space the crowd made for her.

Vic patiently put everything back on, but kept his brown t-shirt wrapped around his neck, letting it rest on his shoulders.

Rainbow Dash took to the air, leading Vic through the crowd so they can catch up and follow Roxy as they snaked their way through the mining site, until they came to a big tent.

The Pegasus landed next to Vic, looking at the big tent with awe. Vic just sniffed at it, comparing the size either to a mess tent, or a Base Commander's tent, but he knew it was obviously the latter.

A few seconds later, the two guard Dogs began to growl, indicating that they should head inside.

“Come and sit. Gruff, Jackel?" she pointed to the Shepard and Rottweiler, respectively, as she sat down in what looked like a small throne.

"Yes, Serah?" Jackel asked. His voice sounded something like that would belong to a snake, but it was more dignified, and he didn't roll his "s" '.

"Close the flaps and make sure no one enters no matter what and I mean no matter what.” The Doberman ordered, her two guards saluting as they exited the tent, closing the flaps behind them.

Vic sat down in the one of chairs provided, however, Rainbow Dash took to the air.

“What is this proposition that you mentioned earlier?” Vic asked while he crossed his legs, his voice giving off a cautious but easy tone. He was trying to sound friendly.

“I want you to bring me the heads of these three Dogs,” she slapped down three separate pictures. “Their names are Spot, Rover and Fido, respectively."

"Wait a minute," Rainbow said as she began to study each picture, hovering over Roxy's desk. "I know these three! They were digging around our town, until captured one of my friends!"

"Oh yes. They were advanced scouts to tell us where we could find out where more gems could be at, however, they took upon themselves to 'collect the gems for a greater good." She uttered a growl at the pictures, but regained her composure. "Anyway, these three have been sabotaging our supply chain from the Capital. I have sent many Packs against them, but,"she paused, letting out a sigh, "they've never returned. I want you, Victor, to get rid of them once and for all. If you do this, I will give you the information you want, along with the gems that you have won. Deal?” Roxy asked as she stood up, holding out her right paw, ready to be shaken.

“Double the prize money and we have a deal.” He stood up, taking the paw with his own right hand.

“What?! You can’t be serious.” Rainbow Dash shouted as she put both of her eyes and his together.

“I am,” he said with confidence, with both of his tone and with his eyes. Rainbow Dash wavered and moved away from Vic, until Roxy grabbed her by the throat.

“Oh, and to make sure you do your job, we’re keeping your friend here with us." She saw the intensity in Vic's eyes, but she knew he wouldn't move. He couldn't move, or the Pegasus would die. "Don’t worry, she’ll be under my personal protection and please leave your pack here also. I doubt you’ll need it."

Vic placed his pack next to his chair, while draping his poncho over it.

"Take this slip to Gruff outside, tell him I told you to give it to him.” She said, as she slid him an already prepared note.

“Fine," He said, with some edge in his voice, as he took the slip of paper in hand. "I’ll be back, Rainbow Dash,” He told her as he turned and left the tent.

Roxy let go of the Pony, who tried smacking and kicking her, but Roxy was too fast for the pony since she was able to block every swing the Pony tried throwing. This kept up for a bit before the creature tired herself out, slumping on the ground.

“You can’t be serious with this about this. Why would make an order to do this?” Rainbow Dash asked as she regained her voice

“I am serious about this. Besides, I was ordered to do this by our government, which I will gladly fulfill.” Roxy responded as she sat back down. "I doubt you have any idea what type of mentality it takes to carry out orders that only a few creatures, like me and Victor."

"What are you talking about? What type of orders?'

"The type that keeps you up at night without sleep. No more questions," Roxy told Rainbow as she began to pour her attention over notes, papers and many other things that were on her table without a care in the world. Rainbow Dash on the other hand, was disgusted.

Vic crawled through the forest, a few kilometers north-northwest of the dig site. He looked back, watching as ten white faced Jack Russell Terrier Dogs crawling up behind him; all of them have a spark in their eyes, especially the lead Terrier. Vic believed his name was Loraine. He turned back and kept moving forward until he got to a tree line, showing nothing but slight hills completely covered by grass, with a few dots of flowers. He turned his head to the left slightly and he saw an old tower that looked like it had a base diameter of 20ft. Holes began to show themselves as Vic began to stare it longer. Vines grew from the top of the tower down to the grass, like green tendrils reaching out to grab...something that was on the ground, but he didn't know what it was.

He squinted at the tower, willing his eyes to focus on the things that were hidden by the vines. He starred for a minute more until he saw a figure holding a bow, an arrow was nocked and ready to fire. He slammed his back against the closest tree. He looked back at the pack, their ears perked up and eyes waiting for an order.

Vic gestured with his arms for them to their right a bit then assault the tower when he enters it. Loraine, the pack leader nodded at the orders, making his pack move out as quickly and quietly as he could.

Vic laid down on the ground and began to crawl again, moving slow enough that it took him an hour to just get to a quarter of the way to the base. Guess those months as being trained as a certified sniper were paying off for him. He stood and ran, only slowing when he came to the wall. He moved around the outside of the tower in a clockwise direction, looking for some type of entrance he could reach. He sighed inwardly as he saw a wooden door with iron workings on it. The door's opening mechanism was for it to be pushed, but when he tried opening it, it wouldn't budge. He slammed his right boot into the door, but it didn't even quiver. He guessed they barred it shut.

He stepped back, taking a look around the base as he tried to find an entrance inside, until he finally found a hole in the wall that was close to the door, which was big enough to fit his build. He took a few steps back and literally ran up the wall, grabbing the bottom ledge of the hole. He pulled himself into it rolling into the interior of the tower.

Spinning in circles was never a good thing for Vic, especially when stairs are involved. Luckily, however, he was able to stop himself quickly by placing both of his feet against the stair column and pushed his legs so his back would hit against the outer wall. He sighed as got into a crouch, quietly making his way down the stairs. If he was going to go to the top of the tower, it was smarter to have the bottom part cleared out first so he wouldn't get a knife in the back as he was climbing up to the top floor.

He silently made his way down the staircase, waiting to hear the sound of laughter or warning from kicking at the door earlier, but the only thing that was waiting for him at the bottom of the staircase was nothing empty boxes covered by cobwebs. He moved over to the door and saw that a plank on a swivel held the door shut. Vic pushed the plank up and bent it until the plank broke. He pushed the door open and saw the plains out in front of him, with the forest nearby. He pulled the door closed, but left it at a crack so the squad can get in and he silently made his up the stairway in low crouch.

He cautiously made his up until he spotted a figure looking out the window, bow in hand and had an arrow nocked. He silently made his way over to the figure and grabbed it, slamming it down onto the stone steps K-Bar at its throat. He expected some resistance or even a noise but the figure made none. He pulled his K-Bar away from the figure, using it to cut down the vines that were blocking the sunlight from getting in.

The light shined in and showed that the figure was actually a training dummy that used to hone a warriors sword skills. The bow was tied to the fake arms, along with the arrow and the quiver, which was empty. Bow itself was a stout, medium sized bow, but it looked to be in excellent condition for such an old tower. He picked up the bow and pulled the string back. The tension on the string was perfect. He even smiled as he set the bow down, grabbing the quiver. He looped the quiver onto his belt, the opening pointed to the right so he could draw his arrow quickly. Once it was at the right angle, he moved, bow and arrow in hand.

He finally arrived at the top of the staircase. He saw a door that looked exactly like the one at the entrance. So, he stood and made his over to the door, the arrow nocked on the string, ready to be pulled back and loosed.

Vic kicked opened the door, arrow pulled back to his right cheek, ready to be loosed. Time for him slowed down as he scanned the room, until he saw three Diamond Dogs tied up in a line, all three were on their knees, hoods covered their heads. They whimpered as Vic walked his way over to the smallest Dog, pulling off the black hood, placing the arrow into the quiver with the few he had found along the way. He had five arrows in total.

“Thank you!” The Dog shouted in low, but slightly high-pitched voice, as he tried to lick Vic;s face, but he put his hand on top of the Dog’s head, keeping the tongue back.

“Stop that!” Vic ordered; the Dog stopped, going back to his kneeling position. “What happened here?”

“The name’s Spot. Me and my friends here were tied while we were asleep. We don’t know why though.”

“To take the blame, I bet. I doubt you three would sabotage the supply chain for that dig site a few kilometers to the south, correct?" he asked as he put his left arm through the open area of the bow, letting it rest on his body. Spot just curiously looked at Vic with worry and confusion in his eyes. "I'll take that look as a no then. I bet your buddies would have the same look, I'd imagine?"

Spot nodded as Vic pulled off the other two Dogs' hoods.

"Figures," He said, tossing the hoods to a corner. "Anyway, I'm guessing you guys are innocent. But who and why would someone sabotage their own supply lines?"

“Greed is a prevalent thing that can be found almost anywhere in a civilized society.” A voice answered as the door was locked shut.

“Corporal Domino. Who would have known the dog that could hide in plain sight would be the craftiest out them all, which is a very dangerous combination, evidently.”

“You bet it is! Now I have to kill you and these three bumbling idiots here, just like how I had to kill Loraine and his squad.” He pointed towards the three tied up.

Then the Domino leveled his spear, pointing the spearhead at Vic's abdomen.

“I only got one phrase for you then: Come at me, bro.” Vic smiled as he pulled out his machete.

Rainbow Dash paced back and forth in front of Roxy’s desk. She couldn’t stop moving, just like her brain. It moved as her body moved: quickly moving back and forth in a line, going from point A to point B, then back to point A, though the in between was just a bunch of jumbled lines.

Roxy assured her that he would be back and something else about other options would have been used instead of him that were non-existent or whatever. That didn't concern her in the slightest. She was more worried about Vic.

The pacing finally got to her after ten more minutes, deciding to leave the tent to get some fresh air so she could clear her mind. She nodded to Gruff and Jackal as she moved a short distance away, while staying in their sight.

She looked towards the west, watching the sun color the sky and clouds orange, with a slight purple hue to them. Rainbow Dash was still in awe about how much more beautiful the sun was when it was setting without Celestia's interference. She still couldn’t get over about how the environment around her changed and grew without the help of pony intervention.

After a few minutes passed, a shadowed figure made its way towards her. It was shadowed really, it was that Rainbow was looking at the sun, the figures shadowing itself. It looked like it's left arm was missing, it's right carrying a sac that held something in it. She squinted at the figure, while covering her eyes with one of her hooves. The shadow went away, reveling Vic in its stead. He looked like he had been through an ordeal since his eyes were cast down, but the brightened up a bit when he saw her, a small smile forming onto his lips. He moved his left arm his right side and waved to her, placing it back. She cantered over to him, moving with him as he moved closer to Roxy's tent.

“Told you I’d come back,” he assured her as he took a few more steps before falling flat onto his face, letting the dirt stick to the blood that was steadily trickling down the left side of his face from a cut just below his hairline.

Rainbow Dash helped him up unsuccessfully, until she called over Gruff, who lifted him up and let Vic lean on his shoulder. Rainbow noticed the blood splotches on the ground where he had fallen, then looked at Vic's face.

"Your bleeding!" she shouted as she began to run around in circles, asking what she should do.

"Rainbow!" Vic shouted at her, making her stop running. "Don't worry. I'll be fine, ok? Trust me, this is nothing compared to what I would usually get back home."

"If you say so," Rainbow said as she eyed him warily.

With the help of Gruff, Vic walked into the tent tossing the sack at Roxy, who caught it with deft paws. She set the sack onto her desk and opened it. She stood up violently, sending the "throne" to the ground.

“What is the meaning of this?! Is this some type of joke?” She asked, her teeth barred as she began a low growl.

“If it was a joke, would I be bleeding right now?” Vic asked as calmly as he could, pointing to the blood that was still trickling down his face. “He’s the real culprit. Those other three were framed because they were easy to pin. He was the one who sabotaged your supply lines because he wanted the money and the gems here; he even killed the patrols you sent to make it seem like those three did.”

“I see,” Roxy sat back down after righting her chair, setting the sack next to her desk. “Since you kept your end of the bargain, I will keep mine. What information do you seek?”

Vic unbuttoned the cargo pocket on the left side of his pants and pulled out a small zip-lock baggy that held two pictures. He opened it up and dropped them on the table.

The picture on Vic's left held a woman that looked to be in her early twenty's. She had her brown hair was up in a bun, but had bangs covering her forehead. She wore Urban style military battle fatigues, combat boots and held an old M40A1 Sniper Rifle in her right hand, the barrel pointed to the sky. In the picture in the right had the same woman doing the same pose with the same gun, but Vic was in it. He pointed the more modern M504 Sniper Rifle at the camera, his right eye covered by the scope as he closed his left. Both of the pictures were taken in the yard of the house that had the stepping stones.

"Have you seen this woman?" He asked, pointing to the picture on his left.

"Maybe. It's been a few months, but I'm not sure. I do remember her carrying around that peculiar stick she's holding." Roxy pointed to the sniper. Vic cursed under his breath. He was hoping she wouldn't find the Sniper. "I believe she said she was heading to the northeast, but I could be wrong. Sorry it isn't much information."

“ It's fine. I thank you for your cooperation then. Now, about the money that Rainbow Dash has won?”

“Here. That’s from my own personal stash,” She set a bag that was as big as Rainbow's head onto the desk. It seemed to have many sharp bulges and protrusions.

He opened up the sack and saw many different gems: ranging from sapphires, rubies, emeralds and many other gems; he even spotted a few diamonds.

“How much is in here?” Rainbow Dash asked as she peered into the bag, wings flapping a cool breeze onto Vic's wound.

“Around 15,000,000 Equestrian Bits,” Roxy replied as she turned to Gruff. "Gruff, go and get him patched once were done here."

Rainbow Dash’s jaw dropped at the amount she heard. Vic just sniffed as he guessed it was a lot of money but he didn't know the currency rate, if any, between these Bits and the Credits he still has on his Credit Chip.

"Of course, Serah," Gruff answered as he picked up the bag, along with Vic's belongings that he had left.

“Thank you again," Vic as Gruff helped him turn.

Roxy nodded as she began to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her.

Rainbow followed closely behind as they left the tent.

Chapter 5

As Gruff slowly walked out of Roxy's tent with Vic under one of his arms, he quickly swept Vic's weak feet out from under him, taking Vic into his overly sized arms. As Gruff did that, though, Vic's eye's closed, constantly fluttering. It would have been easy to just snap his neck as he was in his state, since he had killed an entire squad of The Alpha's own personal guard. They were all Hounds he knew personally and would trust them with his own life. Gruff, however, would never kill anyone or any thing that was under Sub Alpha Roxy's protection or without proper and extensive proof. Gruff will admit, this human did the job he was charged with and found the proper perpetrator.

He took off at the fastest speed he could manage, shouting, "make a hole" as he passed the throngs of his fellow miners and guardsmen going between . They parted away from Gruff as he continued on, pushing his way towards a tent that was as the clouds him in the morning sky.

"Doctor Kale! Doctor Kale!" He shouted as the pony threw the flaps open with her wings. "Get your sticking rump out here this instant!"

"Alright, alright. What is it this time, Gruff?" A female's voice asked as the bitch, the female version of his own race, came from a conjoined tent in the back of the one they were standing in.

"This creature needs medical attention. He's bleeding and he's already unconscious." Gruff told the doctor but something affixed her stare. Her ears sat up and were pointed in one direction. He looked behind him and saw the little pony walk up next to him, her eyes staring back at Kale.

"Kale, if you so much as blink at this pony, I will rip out your throat and feast on your entrails as if you were of her own species." Gruff growled in a low voice, watching Kale turn her attention back to Gruff, his growl growing louder and becoming more intimidating.

After a half minute of staring back, curiosity in her eyes. She backed down quietly, baring her throat as she arched her back.

"Good. You will relinquish your quarters and start treating this creature. Immediately" Gruff ordered and she bared her throat again.

He was led towards the conjoined tent, moving straight over to the cot and gently set Vic down on the bed, his head resting on the pillow. Gruff, with the help of Kale, who was watching that pony, whenever she could, but Gruff had to keep growling to keep the bitch's eyes on her work instead of watching and Gruff thought he had to growl one more time to keep Kale on her job, he would snap her neck after that. Luckily for the human, they stripped him down to only his shorts.

"What's that?" The pony asked as she looked at something on his arm. Her wings beating a small breeze as she hovered over Vic. The bitch ran outside of the tent, leaving Gruff and the pony alone.

"It looks like some drawings on his skin, but..." Gruff trailed off rubbing a gentle paw onto one of the drawings.

"It seems, Guards Dog Gruff, that said drawings are fully set into this creatures skin and these drawings are precise and whoever did this used a thin needle, plus this creature willingly sat down to have these drawings put into his skin, especially the one on his back. Anyway, I want you both out of here so I can work on this creatures wounds

"I'm not going anywhere," the pony told Kale in a cold but authority like tone. She slightly flinched, huffed then started spreading a salve onto the many small cuts on his upper right arm.

She continued down onto his left leg, where two cuts conjoined each other as they made their way down his lower leg. Kale wrapped up both arm and leg, as Gruff sat down in the chair that was in the corner. She then moved over to the gash that opened up part of his side on his right. Unlike the wounds on his leg and arm, the gash was treated with a bit of alcohol, the salve and then Kale sewn it shut, wrapping a long bandage around his waist.

As Vic woke up, he saw the folded top of a tent. The moon had apparently left the sky as it transformed into the Sun, bathing the top of his tent with a brilliant light, showing him that the tent was white. Too brilliant, he thought, as he sat up with a hand over his eyes. He brought his other hand up and began to rub his face with both of them. He felt for the scar that would have been surely on the left side of his forehead. It, however, was gone, to his surprise.

His body tensed as his gut began to scream at him that something was wrong because he knew a wound couldn't have healed itself in a single night. Or had it been a single night? Vic figured he went into a coma on his way out of that Diamond Dog’s tent. He relaxed at the easiest and most logical answer that his mind gave him, but he stayed on cautious, just to be safe.

He stretched out his arms with a yawn and ran a hand through his longer than normal hair. Vic then grabbed a his own hair and pulled on it, grimacing at the fact that it was long, not to mention it hurting him as he pulled it very graciously. It was long enough for someone to grab it, which was not good for a close quarters fight since it would be a huge disadvantage.

He looked down and saw that he was completely stripped of his clothes save for his underwear. But what got him annoyed was that he sitting down in the dirt instead of a cot that would normally would be used for healing medical patients. He stood up, dusting off the dirt from his butt and hands. Vic looked over to his left and saw his clothes neatly folded on top of a chair.

He picked up the his black shirt, however, his eyes went wide as he let it unfold itself, revealing cuts that were long and wide while randomly crossing each other on both the front and the back. He threw the shirt away from him in horror and confusion and quickly picked up the white shirt, which revealed the same exact cuts.

Vic threw that shirt also, before picking up his pants. As he did, he closed his eyes and gave a quick prayer that the pants were at least alright. He opened his eyes to dismay, showing him the pants were completely shredded from the waist down to the bottom with small cuts that compounded into each other. He tossed them away, also, landing atop the thrown away shirts. Vic then wrapped himself in a bearhug as a cold wind blew in from the opening of the tent, its flaps moving in and out.

He moved cautiously towards the front of the tent, holding the flaps closed in place as his teeth audibly clicked against each other rapidly. He closed his eyes against the bright light the Sun beat against his eyelids as he slowly opened the tent flaps.

Vic took in a deep breath, but he didn't like the smell that forced itself into his nose as it smelt of something metallic and something both burnt or still burning. He opened his eyes, feeling them going extremely wide and his mouth slowly opening in disgust.

The next thing he knew, he was on the ground, throwing up bile near his head while in the fetal position. He lifted his head and looked again at the bodies that lay strewn about everywhere. They were cut to pieces and/or held severe burns on their skin.

Dried blood covered the ground of what looked like a burnt down campsite. The tents were in shambles; some even held small fires on their canvas. Among the tents and bodies, clothes, suitcases, bags, food, toys, and many other things were scattered around randomly. But what for what reason? Vic asked himself as he started focusing more on the objects than the bodies

He stumbled his way through the camp looking at a few faces to see who it was and they all turned out to be the same face: his own. Even the cuts on the bodies were the same as the ones he saw on his clothes, which scarred him deeply as he crawled away from the last body he turned.

Vic let out frantic gasps of breath as he stood up shakily and ran in a random from any of the bodies. He was hoping to find a way out of the nightmarish campsite he found himself in. However, his route literally stretched out in front of him. He sped by the same tent, over and over again, but he did it in the slowest manner possible. He also noticed that, though he was sprinting at his best pace, he was only running in the same spot. Vic stopped running, knowing he wasn't leaving the site, as he stooped over himself, using his knees to hold him as sweat dripped from his brow, sucking in more blood and burnt meat scented air as he tried to regain the air his lungs expelled trying to get out.

He closed his eyes for just a split second, but it felt like hours to him, and found himself in another medical tent, fully dressed in his normal attire, save for his poncho, brown "scarf" and pack. His newly acquired bow shaft was tied along its quiver, with its own string, which held fifty steel tipped arrows in its wide mouth. It sat snugly across his lower back, pointing slightly up to keep the arrows inside, though he didn't know why the tips were facing outside instead of the fletching. However, he didn't want to take the chance of seeing something he wouldn't like.

He was looked around the tent for a bit, but it was all black, save for the two walls that he was able to see, and a bed. He looked down at the bed and he saw the bright cyan colored pony with her rainbow colored mane. Her forehead and right eye was bandaged while her front right hoof was in a sling. Both wings were held out from the bed, completely wrapped in bandages. She was a prettier sight to see compared to campsite he was just at, but he knew something happened to her.

The pony slowly opened her eye, focusing it onto Vic. He looked into the one eye and saw it was completely devoid of life, which made him subtly step back from the pony in reflex.

“Hey Vic, I didn’t expect to see you here.” She said, resting her head against the pillow while staring up at his face until a coughing fit came up. Once it was over, she focused upon his face again. “Then again, I never expected you of all the creatures I knew to do this to me. I was lucky to get out alive myself, however, I don't know about the others. I should have done what you told me to do. We all should have listened to you. However, I didn't expect for you to do this at all. Not at all.” She said, her voicing almost coming out as a whisper at the end, closing her eye before it did.

“Wait, Rainbow Dash!” Vic shouted at her as he grabbed her shoulders. “What did I tell you to do that you never followed?”

“You said to-” she began another coughing fit, but this one had blood spraying all over an olive drab colored blanket that looked like it was made of wool, the white sheets showing under them.

The fit lasted a rough minute until she finally whispered to Vic with her last breath, “Nighty night, Vic.” After uttering those words, her lips still held a small smile that was warm.

Vic, on the other hand, kneeled down next to the now lifeless body that was his former friend. He grabbed her left leg and cried silently into it.

Rainbow Dash was happily asleep on the floor of the medical tent they took Vic to once they had left Roxy’s own command tent. She was using Vic’s rabbit fur poncho as a blanket, until she heard Vic start whispering something which made her take off the poncho itself.

In her annoyance, she drowsily picked her head up, rubbed her eyes with her legs and used her wings picked up her body as she flapped over to Vic, hovering in place over him. She sleepily looked at him, noticing his head was shaking back and forth rapidly while sweat slowly beaded down his face.

Rainbow grabbed his face with both of her hooves, then slapped both of his cheeks, shouting at him to wake up. He didn’t even move an inch and said nothing.

In her sleepy mind, Rainbow thought that something shocking should wake him up. She thought about it for a minute and decided that licking him in the face like Winona would probably help wake him up quickly. He giggled happily, which completely surprised Rainbow, but he ended it quickly with a sigh, “Stop it Michelangelo. It’s only four in the morning. Two more hours please.” He turned onto his left side and fell back to sleep, his breathes even and peaceful.

Rainbow Dash just sighed in annoyance while shrugging and flew back to her spot under Vic’s poncho, falling quickly to sleep.

When morning came, Vic’s eyes opened up and he was again greeted to the folded top of a white tent, like the one in his dream. However, he could hear voices shouting outside as bodies moved about while talking and laughing happily. He sat up and uncontrollably yawned while stretching, wincing as the cut on his right arm flashed with a sudden pain. He knew then that everything was real since he could feel pain.

Vic slowly took in the entirety of the tent like a panoramic view: on his right was a small end table with what looked like a kerosene or gasoline lamp that must have been put out during the night. The table also held his dog tags, his two pictures, both his K-Bar, which was in its sheath, and his pocket knife. along with his wallet. He scanned the room some more, moving away from the end table. Vic saw a chair in the corner on the left of the tents entrance. He continued to scan until he saw the sleeping form of Rainbow Dash. Her belly was facing up while all four legs were splayed to the side in random positions, her mouth wide open as she snored softly; his poncho was off to the side of her, crumpled up next his bed, until she grabbed it began using it as a blanket as she rolled onto her right side.

Vic saw a third chair in the corner on the left side of his cot. It looked like it held his clothes his machete and his newly acquired bow and quiver, but he noticed that his quiver held the bristling fletchings of many arrows. The feathers looked freshly plucked, unlike the ones he grabbed from the old tower which were grimy and probably wouldn't have been able to fly farther than twenty yards.

He swung his legs out from the covers, sighing in relief that his boxers were still around his waist. He stood up like he normally would, but the pain that was brought to him by the action made him sit back down on the small, wooden cot. Vic looked down at it and found his left calf and shin was completely wrapped in bandages, from the bottom part of his knee to an inch above his ankle.

He sucked in a giant breath as he braced himself and pushed himself off the bed, throwing himself onto his feet. He thrusted his arms out. Vic quickly regained his balance and brought his wounded leg up so he could use his toes to keep his balance, trying not to put any pressure on it. Vic then hobbled over to his clothes, using the chair’s arms to brace himself as he set down his machete next to his bow and quiver, which was set against the side of the chair. He quickly picked his clothes up and set them down on his lap while sitting down, exhaling happily.

Vic unwrapped his leg to assess the damage, laying the bandage across the top of his clothes. The cut ran from the bottom side of his knee down to the almost middle of his calf. Another cut continued, at another angle, from the first cut down to the top of his Achilles Heel. It came close to touching both bones in his leg, but he figured he was lucky that it never did even come close to touching the bone. Vic sighed unhappily at the thought of cutting his traveling time short, but he’s going to have to stop to rest his wounded leg, working it back up to the point it was at before the cut. At least I'll be able to walk, He thought to himself as he wrapped the bandage around his leg again, picking up a pair of long black socks that was left on top of the pile.

Vic slipped the socks on, happy that they were long enough to cover the bandage. He slipped the pants on over his legs, pulling them up to his knees, standing up slowly as he pulled his pants on. He sighed as he sat back down in annoyance that he realized that his stuff was on the other side of the cot. But he didn’t dwell on it for long as he put his boots on, wrapping the laces around the bottom part of his pants then tied them off. He pulled the excess of his pants around the boots themselves and grabbed his undershirt. Vic grunted as he stood back, picking up his left leg again.

He waited to put his shirt until his leg stopped hurting. He slowly pulled it on and stuffed the hem into his pants, which he buttoned up, grunting at his right side, since he forgot the cut there, but he’ll look at the later. He was surprised that the shirt, even his pants bore no cuts on them. Vic took off the bandage that was wrapped around his bicep and saw that the entirety of it was covered in cuts that ran in every angle. He was surprised that there was even more than one cut on his arm. I underestimated the little Dog, Vic thought to himself as he wrapped the bandage around his arm again. He slowly pulled his arm through the sleeve, then pulled his other through its respective sleeve. He slipped through the neckline and pulled the shirt down, letting it hang loose.

He grabbed his machete in light hands, which was in its sheath, throwing it around his chest so that the top of the strap rested on his left shoulder, the handle poking out from a bit above his waist. Vic picked up and slipped through the quiver's strap. Vic let it hang around his waist as he unstrung the bow, grabbing the strap and pulling it tight. He wrapped the string quickly around the strap and the quiver as much as he can until he tied it off. He let the string go and saw the belt didn't slack. He grabbed the bow handle and shoved it between his machete's sheath and his back.

He pulled on the straps again, making sure everything was tight until he was satisfied with the way everything was setup. Vic sat down on the cot slowly, swung his legs to the other side and grabbed his personal effects that sat upon the table: his old dogtags, his wallet, the two pictures, his K-Bar, which was in its boot sheath and his pocket knife. He stuffed the wallet and pocket knife into his back right pocket, while gently sliding the pictures into his right cargo pocket. He slid his dogtags over his neck, stuffing the chain into both of his shirts, letting it drape over his chest and grabbed his boot sheath. Thankfully it had adjustable clasps which he brought his right leg up and clasped the sheath on the outside of his boot, making sure it was nice and tight against it.

Vic slid his left arm sleeve up until it was past his elbow. He rested the arm on his leg, with his palm facing up, watching as a chip that was one inch in length on everyside slowly rise from its hiding spot under the synthetic skin that made up the bottom part of his arm and the entirety of his hand. The chip stopped, its place directly under his wrist, and a hologram of a name appeared, along with a birth date, a serial number, gender and religious preference.

More of the chips popped up until half of the synthetic arm was covered with them, while each individual chip's hologram came up, showing the same information the first one did. Vic slid his right index finger down the length of the chips until he got to the last row. He touched two of the three there and all the holograms disappeared, save for the first chip that came up. He touched the name, the voice of the person reading it aloud: "Jenichi Hashiro. Born on July 20th, 2015 at 1847 hours. Serial number: 571C58Q. Sex: Male. Religious Preference: Budhism. Death: January 11th, 2038."

Vic tapped the hologram again and the voice stopped before it could repeat itself. He touched the chip itself and the hologram disappeared. He touched the next one in line, along with its hologram: "Kailey Sheffer. Born August 1st, 2012 at 0410 hours. Serial number: 147A24H. Sex: Female. Religious Preference: Roman Catholic. Death: January 11th, 2038." He sent the hologram away before touching the next one, but he stopped himself. He almost pressed his finger against the chip, but instead of touching it, he wrapped his entire hand around all of them then pressed down with a slight pressure. Vic pulled his hand back and watched with a subtle pain as the chips sunk back under the synthetic skin, waiting to be called again.

He stood up again as he slid the sleeve down his arm, grunting with pain as he stepped onto his leg again and frowned that he didn’t see his pack and his "scarf" everywhere as he looked around the tent one last time, until the tent flaps opened.

“Leaving somewhere?” asked the Diamond Dog camp leader as she walked into the tent, his pack's top handle wrapped tightly around in a paw. He noticed she was trying to hide another pack behind her slim form.

“Maybe,” he replied in a neutral tone, trying to not put a lot of his weight on his left leg. "What about you?"

She strode forward as she kept her eyes on him, moving towards Rainbow Dash, whose form was back to the position he first saw her in.

"Maybe," The Doberman made a small noise that probably was a small chuckle, “But you look like you’re ready to go out and kill someone. Tell me, Victor, how are your wounds healing up?”

“Better than normal, but then again, I’ve had worse wounds this.” He told her, his tone still neutral, as he clasped his hands behind his back. “Now, let me ask you a question: are you sure you want to leave this camp with me? I’ve seen animals like you, moving and hunting in packs of around ten to fourteen bodies. I’ve even stayed with a pack for the better part of a year, and yet I’ve never once seen the Alpha leader voluntarily leave her pack just to travel with a creature she barely just met. However, you, on the other hand, want to. Why?”

“Because I’m the best tracker in this entire camp and I can lead you to something similar to your target.” she replied haughtily as she looked towards him. “I’ve left Gruff and Jackal in charge. They’re part of our leader’s own personal troop. Besides, they’ve been together since they were both pups. They can handle running the camp together.”

“Point taken. And I can already see it in your eyes that you are not going to back down and take “no” for an answer. With that said, are you ready to travel long distances in a random direction while taking orders from me?”

“Ready and willing to,” She answered with a low growl at the last part of his sentence.

Vic figured she didn’t like the thought of someone else in charge. She’d probably snap his neck than take an order, but he’s going to have to remain strong as they traveled, trying to show no hint of anything that would give her cause to kill him. Gotta love predatory animals.

“Excellent. I also assume Miss Rainbow Dash’s saddle bags hold food in it for herself?” He asked as he deftly hobbled over to Roxy, grabbing his pack from her hands and wrapped his brown cloth around his neck, sticking it into his shirts.

“It will be filled with much oats, hay or grain, depending on what the pony wants.” Roxy said in a flat tone of her own as she looked at the sleeping form of the Pegasus.

Vic nodded at that and slipped on his pack on after adjusting it so the pack fit comfortably. He then moved over to Rainbow Dash and stooped down without trying to show Roxy any weakness at all. Vic shook the sleeping form of the pony, softly calling out her name.

Her eyes fluttered open, fixing themselves onto him. A smile slowly formed on her lips. “I didn't know you were up. How’s your wounds?” She asked groggily while moving around to stand on all four hooves.

“They healed quickly, but the damage to the nerves is still there so we’re going to take it easy on the travel for a week at least. Anyway, I’m guessing your saddlebags are outside and they're waiting for you?” he looked at Roxy, who gave him a curt nod. “So hurry up and let’s go.” He stood up.

“What about your poncho?” She asked after a yawn and rubbed her eyes then picked it up with her mouth, throwing it over herself.

“I actually don't need it anymore, so if you want, I can give it to you?” He answered her with a small smile.

Her eyes went wide at that but he guessed she saw the seriousness twinkle in his eyes, making her look down at it. “I’ll gladly take it.” A small smile shone on her lips for the brief part of a second before disappearing. “How am a I going to walk with it on?”

“I have an idea,” He told her as he plucked it off of her back. Vic dusted the dirt off the rabbit skin and grabbed his pocket knife, stabbing into a quarter way down from the neckline. He quickly cut his way down the poncho, until the knife left it. “Try it on,”

She quickly shoved her head into the opening, but it almost became stuck in the neckline. She her wings gave her the extra force to push past it. The poncho hung around her body, the opening he made hung around legs, almost touching the floor. The Pegasus slowly brought her wings up so they spread outwards, then upwards.

“This thing fits comfortably and I can spread out my wings too,” She said with a smile as she took to the air, the poncho flapping as she flew around the small tent.

“Poncho’s were made for the wearer to be able to fully use their arms while keeping them warm. However, the ones that were normally made were made from a blanket, but I made mine out of tent canvas and of course, rabbit fur. Anyway, are you ready to leave?” Vic asked as she landed in front of him again.

“Of course, sir!” She barked at him, while snapping a crisp salute. Rainbow then cantered out of the tent, followed behind Roxy and Vic, who made sure he left nothing there.

They left the medical tent and traveled through the camp until they reached an old but sturdy gate. Vic saw warriors standing watch atop the gate.

As they moved through the gate, the guards brought up their spears in front of them and howled mournfully in a low tone. Roxy replied back the same way, nodding as the warriors arched backwards and bared their throats. Roxy turned away from the gate and all three walked into the forest that laid beyond the simple wooden gate.

The three kept moving through the forest, stopping only at times for Vic to rest. They stopped twice before only for a scant two minutes before moving on. But on the third stop, as Vic began to make a fire, Rainbow Dash dropped something in front of him. Vic looked down at that something and saw it was a long stick. He picked it up and used it to pull himself out of his seat on a log. He looked at the stick and saw that it was a quarter of hand taller than himself.

He sat down as he pulled out his pocket knife, then he looked over at Rainbow as she moved over to her saddlebags.

“I still can’t believe you brought her along,” Rainbow scolded as she sat down across the fire from Vic, who began stripping the bark off the stick that was as tall as him.

“I didn't have much of a choice in the matter.” He replied back under his breath, striking the stick with his pocket knife.

“What were your choices?”

“Simple choices really," he said, stopping his whittling to look at Rainbow Dash, who moved closer to him. "A: I let her come with us and live. B: She rips my throat out and you’ll be forced to head back home or C: We both die. So I opted for the one where we all win.” Vic replied as Roxy placed a paw on his right shoulder as she walked by him.

“And it was a wise choice indeed,” She said with a smile that unhinged Vic about as she passed the both of them.

“Yeah. Wise choice indeed,” He repeated under his breath with a quirky smile as he returned to whittling the bark off. "If only I had some varnish."

"What's that?" Rainbow Dash asked as she watched the knife.

"A type of coating for wood that seals it so it becomes waterproof and it doesn't become tarnished." Vic answered, stopping the whittle and pulled up his right sleeve, making sure the cuts on his arms started bleeding again. It was still white.

"I have another question for you, Vic." Rainbow dash asked as she moved closer to him, dragging the poncho along.

"Shoot," he said making sure the serrated part of his pocket knife was still sharp.

"Well, as the doctor looked at you to asses your damage, I happened to see that you a whole bunch of cutie marks on your left arm and one giant one on your back. I was wondering what they mean." She asked.

"Cutie what?" Vic asked, eyes showing confusion as he set his pocket knife on the ground. Rainbow Dash explained to him what a cutie mark was and she told him what her's meant. "Oh. Okay. Now I understand. But that's not what those are, really. The ones on my left arm are small little reminders of what military units I have been in and how many friends I have made within those units. The one on my back, however, is a mythological animal that was the protector of an ancient land. Those people revered these animals like they were gods, or feared them, depending on where you were at. The dragon on my back however, is my guardian and she gets to choose the person that I will spend with for the rest of my life. If that person can achieve balance within themselves, then they'll be able to grab the key and use it to unlock the heart. I digress, however. Anything else?" he asked, looking at Rainbow expectantly.

"I got one," Roxy chimed as she strode over, a rabbit in her paw. "What happened to your left arm? I saw you touch it with your fingers and it spoke in many different voices."

Vic sighed heavily, placing both hands on the back of his head. he brought them down and clasped them together, his eyes going red for a split second. "I will show you this only once. I will tell you what you saw, only once. After that, no questions them or my arm. Never ask or I will kill you, both. Do you two understand?" He asked as his voice became hard and his eyes grew distant and cold while grabbing the pocket knife, the blade pointing to the ground. Rainbow audible heard Roxy swallow as they both nodded. "Good,"

He pulled up his left sleeve past his elbow, pressing slightly against his the back of his forearm, exhaling in slight pain as the chips on his arm rose again, the holograms popping up. He pressed his index finger against the bottom row and slide it down, turning off the holograms.

"These are the serial chips every member of my country's military had implanted into them when they joined. The orders I have been given was to retrieve every chip from the corpse under my command. We platoon leaders are given this type of synthetic arm to house the chips in until the arm's storage is full or when we retire, at which point, we are to return the chips so they can used again. It's the basic duty of any Lieutenant when a soldier under his or her command dies." His grew distance.

He touched one of the chips in the middle and hit the hologram, letting the voice tell his two companions about the owner. "Hussam Ali' Shihaf. Born on December 5th, 2016. Serial number: 571L26R. Sex: Male. Religious Preference: Islam. Death: January 16th, 2038." Vic touched the hologram and touched the chip. He then pressed another chip's hologram, the one he didn't want. "Kelly Hanlan. Born on October 18th, 2012. Serial number: 684K15C. Sex: Female. Religious Preference: None. Illegal Chip Removal: September 8th, 2040." Vic muttered something in a language that made no sense to Rainbow or the Diamond Dog under his breath and made the chip's contents go away.

"Okay. Now since I've shown you this, never speak of this to anyone, and never ask about those two names. Especially the last one. If you have thoughts, keep them to yourselves." He seethed as he pushed the chips away, moving away from the camp fire in a predatory fashion.

They sat quietly, eating their respective dinners, in silence, later that night without even uttering a word.

It wasn't until the next morning that Vic, Roxy and Rainbow Dash continued on through the forest, stopping once during midday. He aired at all three areas that were wounded, especially his side, for a couple of minutes. Vic wrapped up the wounds and so they continued on out of the forest and to the base of a mountain range a few days later.

They made their way through the lowest part of the mountain range, taking them another week, all the while following Roxy as she led them through.

After safely traversing the mountain range and reaching the base, they saw a sparse forest and in the distance they saw smoke rising up from some miles away. As Vic and Rainbow Dash made their way through the tall grass that grew upon the base, however, Roxy hadn't moved from the spot.

"I must return to my pack for they will grow restless if I am gone any longer." Roxy explained as soon as Vic stopped and turned towards her.

Vic nodded in understanding, and watched as Roxy bounded back toward the path they came from. He turned away watching as Rainbow continued on down, her entire body covered with the poncho save for her head and her hooves.

It took sometime for the two of them to reach the edge of the forest but they made before twilight and began to prepare a small camp for themselves. They got a fire going by the time the sun had set.

Rainbow Dash had fallen asleep an hour after she had eaten, but Vic couldn't as he pulled the chips back out. He went down the list, listening the many names of the voices who owned those names, save for the one he didn't want to touch. The one that belonged to his wife.

Something snapped loudly, making him press the chips down and quickly grabbing his K-Bar.

By the time he had his knife out, a rope had snagged his neck. Luckily he had his left hand up, struggling to keep the rope, and whoever owned it from choking him. Vic slowly brought his head forward, then swung it backwards, throwing himself onto his attacker while knocking the wind out of him. He quickly stood up, throwing the rope away and picked up the man by his throat, shoving the man against the dirt near fire.

"Cap?"

"Mel?"

Chapter 6

Twilight yawned after a sliver of light touched her face as it poked out of the window's curtain. She happily sat up as she removed the crust from her eyes after yawning. She stretched her limbs after jumping out of her bed and fixed her sheets so they were nice and neat. She walked down into the kitchen and began to make breakfast for herself and Spike.

As she did, Spike was awoken by the smell of the pancakes she was making and she saw him walk in. He grabbed his apron from the coat rack from behind the door and began to help Twilight with the cooking.

Once the cooking was done and they had set the table, they happily ate as she began to recite they were going to do today. Halfway through the meal, however, there was a loud bang as her front door was kicked open. She heard Applejack’s voice calling out for her.

“What’s wrong, Applejack?” Twilight asked as she and Spike entered the Library proper.

Applejack turned around after pulling a book halfway out of the shelf. She replaced it and ran over to Twilight.

“Ya’ll didn’t hear, then?” She asked.

“Hear about what?” Spike asked as he stuffed a pancake into his mouth. He was holding his stack on his other hand.

“Soldiers!” She exclaimed as she began to shake uncontrollably .

“What do you mean soldiers?” Twilight asked with suspicion. “Don’t you mean the Royal Guard?”

“Hogwash ‘bout the Royal Guards!” AJ shouted as she slashed a hoof through the air. “Ah’m talking ‘bout real life Soldiers! Th’ ponies t’at go to different lands or somethin’ like that!”

“What are you talking about, Applejack?” Spike asked as he shoved another pancake into his mouth.

“Jus’ follow me,” she breathed haughtily, leading Spike and Twilight out of their home and took them to the outside of the Mayor’s Office.

Ponies gathered around the stage as they whispered about what was going on. There were lines and lines of ponies in the same type of armor the Royal Guard had, but the color made it look like the armor was made of iron instead of the usual gold, and the clasps that held their pauldrons together were completely different. The first clasp Twilight saw was two crossed spears. She then saw a pony with a white coat running somewhere and his clasp was a red cross, like those of the nurses.She also a fireball, a snowball, a thunderbolt and many other types.

Applejack led Twilight and Spike to Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. As they came to together, they exchanged nods and greetings.

The crowd was finally shushed as a Stallion walked up to podium, and faced the crowd. Instead of the small cloth that sat under the Guards saddle, the Stallion’s cloth was red in color and had a sheen to it while a red cape billowed behind him from a slight breeze. The cape was clasped to the front of his ornate armor on both shoulders. He removed his helmet and set it down on the ground, his red mane draping over his face. The Stallion cleared his throat and spoke in an almost booming voice.

“Fillies and Gentle-colts; my name is Sea Shore and I am Captain and leader of the First Royal Infantry Division. My soldiers and I have come to stand before you today and we ask of you good ponies to help us find a traitor to this Realm, to you and to Princess Celestia herself. We ask of you today to help us find a Pegasus named,” he held his breath for a split second a for dramatic pause, “Rainbow Dash!”

The crowd let out a single gasp before their chatter rose.Then they began to shout but the Captain held up a hoof which began to shush the crowd slowly.

“Yes, I know good citizens of Ponyville. I know it’s extremely hard to even comprehend a fellow pony that you all have probably known most of your lives, especially so for the Pegasi who both grew up with her. But that doesn’t mean anything. Any pony can lie. You all remember the Changling Crisis during Princess Cadence’s and Sir Knight Shining Armor's wedding.” He said as he let that event sink in for a bit. “However, Rainbow Dash has not thrown her lot in with the Changlings. She has not thrown her weight in with the Griffin’s or the Diamond Dogs. She has, however, joined forces with a creature this land has never seen before.

“He has similar characteristics to that of the primate family, like a Gorilla or an Orangutan, but he is stronger, fit, lean, and he has extensive training in the ability to kill anything that gets in his way. He cares not for life save for his own and he wants to wipe out everything we have done by first getting rid of both the Princesses.”

“That is a lie!” Twilight shouted as she made her way to the front of the crowd.

“Ah, miss Twilight Sparkle. Bearer of the Element of Magic. How quaint it is to see you here, along with the Elements of Harmony, save for one. And why do you call me a lier?” He asked as she hopped onto the stage, flanked by Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy as Spike tried to threateningly stand on her back.

“Because I have met this creature you speak and he is not that type of man!” She shouted, her face contorted with rage.

“Ah, then what is he? Please explain because I’m sure the crowd would like to also hear.”

“Hold on a minute here. Ya better tie up yer horses before they begin to buck, Mister Shore.” Applejack said as she moved past Twilight and faced the Army Captain. “Now, Ah don’t know what ya believe this man has done, or care to know, but since Ah am the Element of Honesty, after all, Ah believe my word carries more, let's say: Oomph.”

“Then you have the floor Miss Applejack,” He said with a slight bow.

“Thank ye kindly. Now, when Ah first met this man outside o’ Appleloosa, he looked scary and threatening enough, and he does have a bite once he stops barking, but when Ah fought him, he could,” She emphasised by slamming a hoof done, “have killed me but he didn’t because A: Ah saw in his eye that he has seen enough horrors and B: he never set to harm me. Now, ya’ll might be asking: ‘Did he attack you first?’ and mah answer to that is a simple ‘no’. He did not attack me, but I attacked him because of that intimidation he was letting out, but he did it involuntarily.

“All he really wanted was information on how to get out o’ Appleloosa and he be on his merry way. But we asked him politely to sit a spell with us fer the night and he oh-bliged. He answered every single question we had, and he answered them either vaguely or with gusto. But the one answer Ah’ll share with ya’ll is the one why he is traveling: It’s because he is huntin’ down the murderer who killed his friends and family.” She concluded with hard eyes as she stared at the Captain before looking over the crowd.

“And I shall assume that the rest of them can attest to that?” He asked and they nodded happily. “Good. Seize them,” He ordered and a group of soldiers surrounded them, spears pointed to their throats. “For now, we will have to question about what you know and don’t know. Until then, you all are under the suspicion of being a traitor. Take them away” He said then turned back to the ponies. “Citizens of Ponyville, under the orders of Princess Celestia herself, this town has been put under Martial Law.”

A round of gasps escaped their lips again as the five ponies of the remaining Elements and the baby dragon was escorted away while the Captain rattled off the restrictions while the Division was there.

A couple of hours later, Twilight sighed heavily as she laid down on the cot the soldiers had provided her in the white tent they held her as a sort of cell. She saw two soldiers outside the front of the tent, making sure she didn’t escape, their spears held high.

She looked around the small tent for the fifth time and only saw the cot, a cushion with a table sitting on a red rug which was a barrier between herself and the dirt. A small stack of five books sat atop the desk with an ink pot, a quill and a small stack of parchment. In next to the stack of parchment was a small plate of a hay sandwich and hay fries along with a tea kettle filled to the brim with tea, a few cups, along with a couple of cups that held some honey and sugar lumps, respectively.

Twilight made her way over to the table and began to flip through the book on the top of the stack. It was completely blank. She picked two more of the books and found they were also blank. The rest of the books were also blank. She set them back in their spot and began to ponder why the books were all blank, but it didn’t last long as the tent flaps flew open as a unicorn meandered in. His eyes were orange, as was his coat while his mane was a creme colored.

His armor was less ornate than the Captain’s but he had the red skirt that Captain had under his own saddle. The small symbol on his chest was an angled fireball with a small quill and scroll emblazoned on the armor next to it.

“Miss Sparkle,” he said with a slight bow, but his voice was hard without meaning it to be. She returned the bow. “I am Lieutenant Orangesicle and I am here to ask you a few question. Once it is done, you will be free to go back to your home and will no longer be harassed. Will please take a seat?” he asked and gestured to the table as he pulled the cushion to the plate filled with food and moved another cushion to the books and parchment.

Twilight sat down hesitantly as the Lieutenant waited before he sat himself. He asked if she was hungry and wanted some tea, but she declined.

“If you don’t feel comfortable at any time, please, let me know.” He said as he placed the parchment on the stack of books, save for one.

“I will, but if I may, may I ask you why you are searching for the creature and why are you commandeering our town?”

“The only thing I can tell you is that the order came from Princess Celestia herself. I know it is vague, but I’m just a simple soldier, ma’am. The only thing I ask is how high I should jump. Anything else you would like to ask?” He answered in a soft town, but his eyes were still hard, though, it was involuntary.

“No,”

“Ok, and now let us begin with the Q&A,” he replied as he wetted the tip of his quill in the ink pot.

He asked questions about where he met Vic, what he wanted or needed, where he was going, why Rainbow Dash decided to go with him and many more questions that Twilight had no answer for.

It was a grueling hour and half of answering every question, whether it was the real answer or an answer that was a fable, but held a hint of truth in it.

“I have no more questions for you, Miss Sparkle. Sergeant Match!” the Lieutenant shouted as a mare burst into the room, her green eyes hard.

“Yes, Lieutenant?” She asked, her voice sounded unnecessarily tough, as she saluted. He nodded in acknowledgment.

“Please send a couple of Spears in to escort Miss Sparkle back to her home and place her under house arrest then send in Miss Pie, please.” He ordered as he began to placed the questions and answers inside the book on top of the stack.

“Please follow me, Miss Sparkle,” The Sergeant said in a soft voice as she showed the Unicorn out.

Once the flaps were closed, Orangesicle sighed with relief and began to rub his temples with his hooves as he took one of the cups and poured some tea into it, while dropping a lump of sugar into it. He sighed happily after taking a couple of sips.

He continued to copy the questions and the answers until he finally finished, closed the book after filling around one hundred pages and burned the papers of parchment which he just wasted, all one hundred papers.

He set the top book next to the stack and grabbed the second one, placing it in front of him and opened to the front page. He wrote “Q&A; Pinkie Pie” on the very top in bold letters.

Orangesicle, took another sip from his cup of tea as the pink mare named Pinkie Pie, happily bounced into tent and sat down with loud thump. He asked her the same questions he asked Miss Sparkle, but where Twilight was very detailed, Pinkie Pie was going off tangents that Orangesicle had bring her back to the same questions many a time.

After a full hour of hearing her talking about the most random things that nothing to do with the questions, he gave up and had her sent back to her home with another set of Spears.

The next mare of the group he had to question was a mare named Fluttershy. She was timid and either answered a question with a whisper of a yes or a no, or just squeaked as she tried to hide herself under the table. It took Orangesicle so much energy just to try and not get angry, but he couldn’t take it anymore after half an hour. He also sent her back home with another couple of Spears to watch over her.

The mare after that was a mare named Rarity and she was a beauty. However, as soon as she entered the tent, she began to whine about how dirty the tent was, how there was dust on her cushion and many other things that were wrong with the tent’s contents, which turned Orangesicle's mind around.

When the Lieutenant commented about, she became huffy and really began to whine about every single thing. So he apologized and he began to ask her the questions he asked the previous three mares, but every time he tried to ask a question, she would interrupt and start complaining about something. She would demand things his Division did not have, and when he told her no, the Captain would have to intervene until it came to the point where Orangesicle used an old army trick where he sat still and just stared straight past her. It made her extremely uncomfortable until the point she began to become timid and answered his questions.

It took about a full hour just to get her start answering questions, but when she answered each one, her answers were longer and she spoke a lot more quickly than he would have expected and couldn’t keep up, so it took another two hours since they had to go back just to fully write down the questions and then wrote down the answers. When the Lieutenant ordered for two Spears to take her back to her, he hand picked the Spears that would completely ignore her no matter what said, asked or pleaded of them. Luckily, though, the two Spears were mares.

He placed the fourth book onto the stack as the holder of the Element of Honesty came into the tent. She sat down on the cushion and asked if she could eat the food that has not been touched yet. Orangesicle gestured she may and Applejack tore through the food with gusto.

Finally finished with the food, the Lieutenant began to ask her the same questions he asked the other four. She was precise and clear with her answers, though, she still sported her drawl and help corrected when Orangesicle made a mistake. It was quicker than the other four and the questioning only lasted about forty-five minutes. He also sent four Spears with the farmer, two for their farm and two for the stall she had set up.

By the time everything in the tent was cleared out and it was broken down, Orangesicle made his way back to his tent as the sun was setting. He was both bodily and mentally tired as he laid down on his own cot, quickly drifting off to sleep.

Rainbow Dash awoke to the sounds of a small scuffle. She quickly jumped up, her wings spread upwards in an intimidating manner, her magenta eyes were alert. She saw Vic shoving a hand under something as he was trying to keep himself breathing. So, she took to the air as high as she could. Rainbow hovered there in the air for a second then dove towards the scuffle. She was reaching subsonic speed by the time the man she saw was over the other, hands on each others throat.

Rainbow quickly her altered course, flying over the small fire Vic had made earlier. As she was about to clip the man, the face was confused as he looked down, but when he looked up, that confusion turned into shock as Rainbow clipped the man with her left shoulder.

She spun away from the fire and tumbled into the darkness.

Vic tried to stand up but fell onto his right side after being thrown off of Mel and onto the leg he was using to sit himself a few minutes before. He saw that his entire arm was limp. He touched his shoulder and his pain blossomed as his vision swam with small stars, pressuring himg to fell onto his back, grasping his arm.

“Are you alright Captain?” Mel asked with extreme concern as he ran to his comrade.

“My shoulder is broken,” Vic breathed as he rolled slowly on the ground. “Go...go and check if that pony is alright. You know I’ve had worse and still survived. A broken shoulder won’t stop me.”

“Aye, sir,” Mel said as he ran off, his black braided hair bouncing on his upper back.

He jogged into the darkness, away from the fire into the supposed spot the pony landed. He looked around and heard a small groan from a voice that sounded tomboyish, but the noise that came afterwards was something like the coo of a dove. It didn’t even sound like a language, but he made his way over to the pony. Mel couldn’t see her well, so he picked her up via the waist and ran her over to the fire as she squirmed and fidgeted, save for her shoulder, which was just flung around wildly. Mel set her down near the fire as she began to try and kick him, but he swatted her back legs away.

“Rainbow Dash!” Vic shouted as she faced Mel down, his hazel eyes gleaming with a childhood memory when he used to live on his grandfather’s ranch out on the Lakota Reservation. He always had fun breaking in wild horses.

Her head whipped around towards Vic, showing blood trickling over her left eye and small cuts and bruises around her entire body. Her front left shoulder hung loosely as she used wings to support her.

She spoke something that Mel didn’t comprehend until he heard Vic’s answer: “I don’t care. He is like a brother to me and you will treat him as such. Besides, he was only protecting his colony that he has here. If you hadn’t done what you did, we’d be meeting more of my friends, but I guess we’ll be spending a room together as we heal. Help me up, Mel. Please,” Vic breathed as he blinked a couple of times.

Mel rushed over and helped his former Captain up and set him down on the log. He gave him his walking stick and shouldered Vic’s pack over his bare shoulders, along with saddlebags before covering the dirt with fire.

It took them a long while to weave their way through the dark forest before Mel found a worn trail that they carefully walked on. Once on the trail, their speed picked up a bit more quickly. It was a longer time, however, to find the wooden palisade Mel and his colony had erected.

A red light flashed onto Mel’s, Vic’s and the pony’s face.

“Who goes there?!” A voice shouted from a palisade that they could barely see as Vic heard the familiar click of a weapon he hadn’t seen in about six years since his colony was chosen to use stone tools and weapons before finally finding a small cave filled with iron veins near their camp.

“It’s Mel and I have a couple of friends here with me who need medical attention!” Mel shouted to the owner of the red light. He was happy to finally find another human as his vision began to swim as he fell forward towards the ground.

Then everything went black.

Chapter 7

The sounds of horns rang through a forest as they called out for the guards. They sounded for a long while, then the stamping of boots and hooves on a dirt road, with the sounds of the clinking and clanking of metal against metal dominated. Another horn and the noise stopped atop of a hill, with the wind blowing in and disrupting the noise as it blew through the leaves of the tall trees. A smaller while crept up with silence, then, the rasping of swords leaving their sheaves sounded..

The next sound that came next, it was the most frightening and encouraging sound Rainbow Dash has heard of that has left the throat of man.

Horns blew and the sounds of men yelling and screaming their defiance against an adversary better than them that they will overcome, like all the others creatures they have fought, even if they are better equipped.

The last sounds before the screams of agony and death, the grunting of exhaustion and wasted energy was the clang of metal biting into the hardened wood of shields and weapons alike.

Rainbow knew her part in this grand battle, however, she could not think of what she was supposed to do as wooden arrows, sharpened at the ends, began to shoot up to her from the tall, green creatures. Her brain became addled with fear and the hope of the crude arrows missing her body, especially her wings entirely.

She then dove down to the ground, finally remember her objective: To spot the Elf King that lead the legion facing the outnumbered human warriors that were distracting the enemy from the deadly selective fire of the sharpshooters that lay a half mile away from the battle, picking off stragglers and to help their comrades thin the enemy numbers.

Rainbow soared slightly above the battlefield that has become chaos, while staying out of reach of the tallest Elves wooden clubs. She saw the King, a head taller than the tallest Elf.

She pulled away from the battle and flew as fast as she could towards the clouds. Up and up she went, until she felt cold. Her breath left a small breeze. The thin air made her resort to take deep breaths just to get enough oxygen into her lungs as they burned. Rainbow relaxed her body and she let herself drop.

Down and down she went, letting gravity and her wings push her closer to the ground. Her descent grew faster as she made herself flat, bringing in her wings to her sides as she gained more speed until, finally, she made a Sonic Rainboom hundreds of feet off the ground.

The sound of the sound barrier being broken alerted everyone, both human and Elf alike. The fighting stopped completely as they saw the cascading colors branch away in a wide circle from where Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier.

Mel was speechless as a rainbow trail lead down to the ground. He followed it as the trail past over a large figure with a Golden Leaf Circlet atop its head. He looked over at Vic, who was next to him, and found him gaping at the beautiful colors that swirled and mixed together.

“The Elf King,” He whispered to himself, as his Loran jumped up and down, while wooping louding over the excitement of the Sonic Rainbow.

He heeled his ride and it lumbered off at its quickest pace, which is quite weird for its lanky physique.

He stopped a few feet away from the edge of the forest near the top of the hill and hopped off his Loran, who kept shouting while looking up at the Rainboom.

Mel lept into the forest, moving as fast as he could over brambles and roots, over rocks and boulders, over trickling streams and a few rabbit holes. He slide to a stop near a root that was exposed to the surface and pulled a blanket away from the trunk.

He shoved his left hand in and pulled out an old Bolt-action rifle. It was the Model 1903 Bolt-Action Rifle that was the primary weapon of the American Armed forces in World War I and was the main Sniper weapon during World War II and the Korean War during the Republic of North America’s early history, which was called the United States of America while Canada, Mexico and the entire Caribbean were their own countries back then.

The only thing on his M1903 was an high powered scope that a x12 sight with optical zoom that could exceed the x12.

Mel laid flat on his stomach and covered himself with the blanket, along with his weapon, which was covered with moss and grass to blend in with the surrounding area. He sighted it quickly and searched for his target. It took a couple of minutes because the battle resumed before he even hit the tree line a few minutes ago.

It took a while but he saw the glint of the Circlet and aimed two notches above the head of the Elf King. He took his time to properly aim and then he held his breath. Seconds went by. Then minutes, then hours and days passed as he slowly pulled the trigger.

2 Weeks earlier

‘Way to go Jen. You screwed up big time, and I highly doubt Mel’s gonna save you.’ Jen thought to herself as she ran, jumping over the normal plant denizens of the forest, with a mixture of small rodents and lizards.

Normally, when Jen got into trouble, it was only around the village with pranks that she would willing to to some of the folks. She got in trouble most of the time and either fixed what she had broken or worked for a certain number of days or weeks to replace the item of question she had broken, depending on what it was.

But this trouble she was into, it would most likely end in her death, which dampened her plans to become the next greatest archeologist. If Harrison Ford was still alive, he would be proud of Jen’s Indiana Jones adventure just had, just replace the Nazis with a creature she’s never even heard of before. He would most definitely be proud. Hopefully. Maybe.

Jen whips her head around as she heard low growls pop up from behind her. She stumbled and fell, tripped by a root that began to wrap itself around her foot. ‘The root is alive?!’ she thought as it snaked up her leg, firmly trapping her to the ground. Whatever that made it move left it, the root becoming still.

The figures moved into view. They were all lanky and tall. The shortest of the creatures was taller than Grant, the town’s blacksmith and he was almost seven feet tall, just off by a centimeter. There was five of them and they each held a long curved blade that was fat at the end in their clawed, green hands. They wore black leather chest guards, bracers and simple fur waist cloths that had leaves dangling at random.

The tallest of the group made its way over to Jen and grabbed her hair in a clawed hand, his sword against her throat. It showed its sharp teeth, a low growl coming from deep inside its diaphragm. Its full black eyes were unblinking and Jen could sense the anger in them. It breathed through two slits where its nose should be as slits that could be gills on its side moved, breathing in the air.

“Ach ti nan fu nang so nu.” The creature breathed, its comrades watching silently, kneeling, hoping to spring into action at the slightest movement.

“I-I-I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re saying!” Jen breathed, her eyes wide. “Look, I’m sorry! Take the sword back then!” She shoved the cloth-covered sword into the creature’s chest.

It let go of her hair, grabbed the sword and tossed it behind him. One of his subordinates snatching it from the air and put it inside of a bag quickly, like it was a venomous snake ready to bite its hand.

Then one of them stood up, like a prairie dog on watch, its pointy ears twitching at the slightest sound. The others picked it up a second later, even the leader, who stood up. Then Jen finally heard a twig snap in the direction she was running.

The leader raised his sword, growling like a wolf that was about to go on the attack, tensing. “Tu nad shis la nack fo dur!” It shouted as it moved forward in a charge, its sword raised.

That’s when a loud, sharp noise cracked through the morning air. It was there a second, then rolled out, like the sound of thunder after a lightning strike.

The leader jerked back, like it was closed line, falling hard on its. Its head lolled to one side, looking towards the area of Jen, its right eye missing, leaving only an open hole bigger than the eye and its socket. A thick, dark looking oozed crept its way out slowly of the opening, along with small chunks of gray matter.

One of the other creatures yelled out a deep, loud roar that seemed filled with malice and anguish. Then, a loud series of snaps resounded throughout the forest as each creature taken down, one by one without even being able to lift their swords. Save for one. Its sword arm was shot twice in the forearms, both shots piercing through the bracer.

As the loud sounds dissipated through the air, three men covered in foliage, moss and fungi walked up to Jen nonchalantly. She knew each of the by name and was close with all three of them. They were her brothers.

Vic jumped a little at the sound of Mel slamming both of his fists against a wooden table, a stack of paper jumping, landing, then a few papers flew away, to get away from Mel’s anger. Vic was more surprised about him jumping at the sound of Mel’s fists than his anger.

“Are you kidding me?!” Mel asked as he stood up from his chair, letting it topple to the ground. “Good work on saving your sister, you three, but what you did Is inexcusable! What have I taught you when something like that happens?” He asked the Jen’s three brothers: Alex, Tanner and Jacob.

They stood across from his desk, still dressed in their Ghillie suits they wore. Alex was the oldest of the three at the age of twenty-seven. He already has a kid and happily married with only five years in the military. He’s one of the original six to have any military training, and thats including Vic, who stood behind Mel in his back left corner. Alex is average height for his age, with brown hair, slate gray eyes and handsome jawline most girls go for. He still kept his military body, like Mel and Vic.

Tanner was the second oldest at the age of twenty-four. He also had brown hair, and good jawline with stubble growing all around his face. His nose, though was broken a few times, so it bent down slightly. He was a SWAT Sniper in Los Angeles, but his training was dumbed down, only being able to hand urban warfare. His brother Alex had to fill in the rest. He was tallest of the bunch, standing at six feet, two inches. He had a fiance and is expecting soon.

Jacob was the youngest of the four kids at the age of fifteen. His hair was dirty blonde with green eyes, his jaw line was more refined, like his sister’s and was less pronounced than his two brothers’ because of the baby fat that still somehow stuck around, even though he was training with brothers to enter into Mel’s Town guard as a shooter when reached sixteen. The last one was Jen, who stood next to Jacob.

She looked at the ground while the other three were looking at particularly nothing or something past Mel. Guess the Drill Instructor in Mel still showed through since he had them at attention for five minutes straight before his explosion. Vic chuckled at that.

Jen was five feet, six inches. Beautiful for a young of her age at eighteen than most of the girls of her same age with long, flowing, pure blonde hair and blue eyes. But the personality issue that she has of getting into trouble is warrant on her face and in her eyes. Guess she’s being ignored for something that girls aren’t allowed to be doing here. He’ll have to ask that of Mel.

“To wait until definitive proof that said creatures were going to hurt Jen, sir.” Alex spoke first, as his brothers helped finished the sentence. The military training still shows.

“And from the story you just told me, Lieutenant, that you did not wait until proof and shot the creatures without hesitation and left one alive to tell the enemy. What has your training told you about letting the enemy live?” Mel asked as he placed his left hand atop his desk. Good choice of using the former rank, Mel.

“None, sir, other than that no enemy is supposed to be alive after an encounter with a Ghost, sir.” Alex replied what seemed to be mechanically. Guess Mel chewed into the young sniper’s butt a few times before when he was supposed to be discreet.

“And you have completely went against that. Now we have to ramp up training and double the guards during the night. You three are revoked of your rifle privileges until I say otherwise. Is that understood?”

“Sir! Yes sir!” All three boys shouted as Jen mumbled it, staring at her feet.

Mel raised his hands to dismiss them but Vic stepped from his place in the corner and held up his own to stop Mel.

“May I speak with them, Mel?” Vic asked as he stopped in front of the line of siblings, looking at each one, save for Jen, who just continually looked down.

“At your leave, Ca-Vic,” He said with a hint of catching himself, since he was about to say captain. Vic ignored it, for his friend.

“Thank you. Now, I will say this: I completely agree with Mel here that what you three just did will cause more trouble for your town than what Miss Jen could have done by stealing. Was there any excuse for what you three did, other than a sword placed against your sister’s throat?” Jen shivered a little. So she’s still traumatized by that. He looked at them in turn.

“No excuse, sir,” Tanner spoke up that time. He even spotted Jacob a small change in Jacob’s face but it was gone an instant before.

“Is there anything you’d like to say Jacob?” Vic asked as he stood in front of the Fifteen year old, then knelt to see him at eye level.

“Sir,” he said uneasily, “um, will this, um, incident affect me to get into the town’s guard?” He asked, looking up at Vic then at Mel.

“Personally, I would have do latrine duty for three months after you've graduated, but since the situation has become dire, I’m not particular about that myself. What happens with that is up to your Mayor himself. He’s even saved my butt a few times before. If I were you, I’d trust his judgement and take the punishment, whatever it is, like a man. OK?” Vic asked as he stood back up.

“Yes sir,” Jacob said, looking straight at Vic with a small grin on his lips.

“Good. I think that’s all I have to say, but may I suggest, Mel,” He turned to his friend, “If you’re going to be fighting a battle, I suggest you’ll need every shot you have, until, hopefully, this is over.”

“I do agree with you Vic. Alex, you’re the senior training officer, ramp up the men’s training as much as you can. Forget the classroom and put them into the muck. Tanner, rally the guard and double the shifts, Also, send out probes consisting of your most silent guards in two-men squads every other hour. Keep them on rotation. They’re only jobs are to be eyes and ears, not hands. If they spot anything, have them report directly to me or Captain Victor Hanlan, here.

“The guards posted on the walls also do not have permission to fire until I specifically say otherwise. I don’t anymore blood on our hands than there already is. Jacob, you’re immediately going to train for the Green, but know this, I expect your brother to take no pity on you. If you fall behind in the muck or can’t take it, then you’re completely done and will be used for jobs the town might need. Got it?” He ordered. All three replied simultaneously with an enthusiastic ‘sir, yes sir.’ “The three of you are dismissed, but Miss Jennifer, I still need a word with you in private.” She nodded, reluctant to stay.

As the three brothers left, Vic took his position back in his corner. Mel corrected his chair and sat down in it. He pulled out the stolen item and set it down on his desk, opening up the brown cloth. It was sword that gleamed without sunlight, as did the scabbard. It was long, thin, and curved, reaching up to sixteen inches from the hilt. It almost looked like an old Japanese Katana. Almost.

“My only question is this: What do you really want, Jen? Why do you go headlong into trouble without a second thought? Why?” Mel asked. It sounded like he was pleading for an answer. A first for Vic.

Her only answer was to shift on her feet, still looking down.

“The only course of action that I have for you now is to join the guard and take the Green, or send you to the brig with the rest of the criminals. You have twelve hours to decide on your own punishment. Dismissed.” He said, placing the sword into its scabbard and wrapped it up again in the cloth. Jen bowed her head and hurriedly walked out of Mel’s office.

“A little harsh, don’t you think Mel?” Vic asked as sat in a chair, across from his friend.

“Maybe, but as you once told me ‘lack of discipline for the mind, leads to the lack of discipline on the trigger.’” Mel recited as he rubbed his eyes.

“You were also like that once. Hot headed and ready to cause trouble through insubordination, which was what got you into the Sniper Corps. Well, that and I was able to pull a few strings.”

“And I’m glad you did. I still remember you yourself bursting into my room, tying me up, gagging and bagging me and then throwing me into the back of a two-ton.”

“Yeah, and you were kicking and punching the entire time without even flinching, even though you recognized it was me and where you were. You still wanted to fight. But I do have a question.”

“Shoot,”

“Why does Jen steal and cause trouble? Obviously it's to get attention, but what does she hope to show us when she has it?”

“I still don’t know. I've confronted her about it many a time but I still get nothing but either a blank stare or just her hair falling over her eyes as she looked at the floor. The answer to the next question is this: She was, uh, she was almost raped when she was fifteen before her brother Tanner pulled the assailant, a Danny Juskin, off of her and hauled him to the brig. A few days before that, Jack died from his Brain Cancer. Other than those two events, I know nothing else.” Mel stated as he stood up and stretched out his arms and his back.

“Nothing to do than to wait, I guess.” Vic replied as he also stood up.

Mel was about to say something before a horn blew. They both flew outside, seeing Tanner above the South Gate as his archers had bowstrings drawn the their ears, an arrow nocked and ready.

Vic followed as Mel climbed up the stairs to the ramparts where a small force of the creatures that attacked Jen stood in front of the gate. They had swords in their sheath that poked out over their shoulders. There was six of them. Rainbow flew over and landed between Vic and Mel, looking below at the creatures.

“Where’ve you been?” Vic asked the cyan pony as she landed.

“Exercising. I need to keep my wings strong, after all.” She replied, like it was the most obvious thing.

“What do the Elves want?” Mel shouted to the six creatures.

“We want the Light that Cuts Away the Darkness, the three Humans who wiped out our Lonka and the girl who stole The Light. If you give us these, we might think of sparing your pitiful race.” The tallest of the six called back as it stepped forward.

"The only thing you'll be getting from us is your sword back. We'll deal punishment of our offspring ourselves."

The leader didn't like that response as it openly growled it disdain for the choices. “Then we shall see you on the open field to spill blood and make you watch your entrails fall out of you. Fu nak grak.” The leader shouted as all six of the Elves turned around, walking back the way they came.

Until they were out of sight, the tension in the atmosphere relaxed a little as the archers relaxed their strings and put their arrows back into their quivers.

“So, what happens next?” Vic asked as he crossed his arms across his chest as he stared at the spot where the Elves made their disappearance. He already knew the answer, but he wanted to make sure Mel knew too.

“What happens next,” Mel said hesitating a little as a small sadness washed over him. “We ride for war,”

Author's Note

Its been a long time since I wrote a new chapter but I can't really help that while working two jobs. Here is the newest chapter and I hope ya'll like it. Took me a long while but I finally finished it! Enjoy.

Chapter 3

“Do you really want to know my story?” He asked, worry in his eyes.

“Please tell us. We might be able to help you with your plight.” Twilight insisted while the others nodded their heads in agreement.

“Alright, if you say so. My story is that I am hunting a dangerous psychopath; and I am the only one who can bring her to justice.” Vic said, fingers intertwined as they covered his mouth. His empty pie tin rested in front of his shins, legs crossed.

“What did this… criminal do?” The unicorn with curly purple hair asked in a dignified tone.

“She slaughtered everyone in my colony without mercy and didn’t it in the most gruesome way possible. She killed both men and women that were either young or old. It didn’t matter what age or what gender they were, she killed them with equal brutality. She escaped by the time I returned with some firewood. Ever since that happened, I vowed that it will be my personal responsibility to set vengeance upon her very soul for the crimes she has committed.” Vic answered, face calm, but his eyes burned with a passionate fire.

“Well, if you want to take her to court, I’m sure the Princess will help.”

“No. No government’s court can settle this. The only person who can be this woman’s Judge, Jury and Executioner is me. And I plan on wearing the black mask when my blade whispers to her.”

“Well, is there a way to bring justice to this person without killing her?” Twilight Sparkle asked, he’s finally starting remembering their names.

“No. She kills for the sheer fun of it and the only way to stop her bloodshed is for me to shed her blood. I have thought of every other way, but that is the only option that would stop her for good. This is a quest I must do alone.” He answered, his voice was calm.

“Well, Ah don’t know ‘bout vengeance and what not, but Ah’ll help ya out.” Applejack said, tipping her hat.

“You sure ‘bout that cousin? You don’t even know where ya’ll are going.”

“Even so, Braeburn, Ah can’t sit idly by while a criminal runs around, endangering us all.” She stood up.

“No!” Vic shouted, waving his right hand. “This is my fight and I will do this by myself. If I bring anyone else along, they’ll most likely be killed.”

The yellow Pegasus whimpered after hearing that. “I’m fine with staying back in Ponyville.”

“Even though we have been through a lot in the past few years, girls, however, maybe this is one fight we shouldn’t involve ourselves in.” The curly-haired unicorn suggested.

“How can you say that Rarity and Fluttershy?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, lifting herself into the air with her wings. “This is one of those times that when someone needs our help and yet you turn your backs? Both of your elements revolve around helping others.”

“Dashie, they are right though. This isn’t our fight, no matter how you look at it. Besides, if he is forbidding help, then who are we to override his choice?”

“Not you to Pinkie Pie! What do you say about this Twilight?” Rainbow asked, all of her friends looking at her.

“It’s not our choice in the matter and we have to respect Vic’s, ok Rainbow? So let’s just drop this and try and be merry.” Twilight said, a small smile forming onto her face.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash both had a look of disappoint on their faces. The others, however, agreed with Twilight and began talking about fun times in their pasts where they were able to laugh and have fun and avoid the topic of Vic’s journey.

The night dragged on as they asked a few questions about Vic and his species. They talked until they all fell asleep around the fire except for Vic, who was sitting near a big enough rock to sit up against it, pack sitting next to him.

He stood up, while taking off his poncho, looking over the sleeping bodies and walked away from the tribe after dropping his poncho onto his pack. He quietly found a secluded rock where prying eyes wouldn’t be able see him and was able to finally answer natures call.

He sighed happily as he finished up and began his walk back while buttoning his pants up. Once he got a few feet away from the rock, he was rammed in the stomach and fell flat on his back, coughing away the dust that tried to enter his lungs as he sat up. He felt his right side and found out the ribs that were cracked fully broke. Well, isn’t that just something?

He looked up and found Rainbow Dash standing over him, wings spread apart to make her look bigger than normal. An intimidation tactic but it won’t work on him.

“Where ever you’re going and whatever you’re doing, I’m going to be right next you and you will not leave me behind no matter. Got that?” She shoved her snout into his face for the third time since they met.

He pulled her back legs forward, but pushed her front legs back. He then quickly wrapped his arms around her body so she couldn’t move her front legs. She raised her wings, but he rolled until he was on top of one, immobilizing her.

“Hey! what are you d-“ she was cut off as he covered her mouth, putting his index finger to his lips and made a shushing noise.

Vic looked forward and saw the same silhouette he glimpsed at back in Ponyville, or whatever that town’s name is. He was able to get a clear look at this time: The shape was that of a bear, but it was a lot bigger than the Grizzly and Black Bears. It stood on its hind legs, sniffing the air with its snout. Then, tentacle-like appendages grew out of its back, spinning and wiggling in the air. Luckily it, went back on all four its ‘legs’ and ran off into the night. He released his grip on Rainbow and rolled off of her wing, letting her stand.

“What was that thing?”

“A Night Lurker, as I like to call it. It’s been stalking me ever since I left Ponyville. Luckily it hasn’t attacked yet and has been content with just following me. I don’t know when it started, but I noticed it when I entered the town the night I left. So, do you still want to go with me, even though that is tailing us?” Vic asked, brushing the dust off of his clothes after tucking his shirt back into his pants and re-buttoned them.

Rainbow Dash turned towards him and looked him straight in the eyes, they were alight with a burning passion. “I do,”

“Even if I tied you up so you couldn’t go anywhere?” He asked with an eyebrow raised.

“I’ll hunt night and day for you, even if it takes me a lifetime to find you.”

“Well then.... Gather your stuff and I’ll be over to see what your taking with you.” He sighed with apprehension. He didn’t like this at all.

Rainbow Dash giggled excitedly and tackled Vic again, but this time, she gave him a giant hug while shouting out thank you. She released him and ran off back to camp.

Vic stood up slowly and wiped the dust off his backside, yet again, but he couldn’t help but smile. Funny how something like that could cheer him up, even if it was for a little bit and over something small.

Once done, he walked over, but stopped at the edge of the fire’s light, to see Rainbow Dash gathering everything she could to fit into her bags. Vic raised an eyebrow at that and walked over. He pushed the Pegasus out of the way and upended both bags that were connected together. Saddlebags, he guessed.

“What are you doing?!” Rainbow asked, angry that he just undid her work. She’s got a lot to learn if she was going to travel with him.

“I told you I’d be checking your bags and none of this is suitable for long distance traveling. Comic books are not needed, same with these regular books.” He tossed Rainbow Dash’s collection of Daring Do’s Adventures that she brought with her onto the dirt. “Pick only one and no more. Just count yourself lucky I’m even letting you bring one with you.”

He saw half-finished pieces of sugary treats and other food items. He threw those into the dying fire.

“Only carry food that won’t spoil, but can give you nutrients and energy to keep moving. Any type of grain product is the best for now since it lasts long and can give you the energy you need. Don’t worry about fruits and vegetables, we’ll find those along the way. Just count yourself lucky you’re an herbivore and don’t require protein. I hoped you didn’t plan on bringing any other bags along because you’re going to be traveling light.” She shook her head no. “Good. We’ll head to town and pick up all the grain products and water you can carry because that’s going to be your only food and water source until we can get to the next town.”

“What about money? I only brought enough for a couple of days.”

“Doesn’t matter. Buy as much as you can fit in your saddlebags because once you’re done with that, we’re leaving this area and heading west.”

“Why west?” she asked, still trying to pick which book she wanted to bring with her.

“It’s a new direction,” he answered with a straight face, but his eyes were smiling.

“You have no idea where you’re going, do you?” She asked with suspicion.

“Nope, and I intend to keep it that way until I can get a solid lead on my enemy. Besides, the journey isn’t fun if the destination is already known.” He winked with a sly smile. “Hurry up and get to sleep, we have a long day tomorrow.” He made his way back to his pack, and slipped on his rabbit fur poncho. He put his back up against the rock he was using and fell asleep with his arms crossed.

Rainbow watched him for a while after picking the book she would take with her. She chose to bring the first book she read and that was ‘Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone’. She set the book in her otherwise empty saddlebag and closed the flap.

She walked over to Vic and nudged his head a little to see if he was awake, but he ignored her by rolling over so he could show his back to her. She tapped his back with a hoof but he just waved it away with his hand. She rammed his back again, causing him to grunt, but he didn’t move much. She sighed and rolled her eyes while walking back to her saddlebags.

“You could have just said something instead of tapping or hitting me.” Vic said, rolling over to face her.

“Yeah, right,” she cleared her throat while blushing, “I just wanted to say I’m sorry for yelling at you and causing you trouble.”

“No need to apologize. It was understandable anger. You just wanted to stand up for your friends and I respect that. I didn’t see much in the way of loyalty until now.” He rolled onto his back, staring into the star-filled sky.

It still pained him to not see any dust clouds or nebulae in the sky. He missed being able to view the Milky Way’s Core from a top a hill that was pitch black.

“What do you mean by that last sentence?” Rainbow asked, curious.

“No questions tonight. You’ll find out more later on in the journey. Get some sleep; we have a long day ahead of us.” He closed his eyes and drifted away into the comfort of sleep.

“Right,” She sighed again, nodding and laid down next to her bag, staring at the dwindling fire as she also drifted off to sleep.

The next thing Rainbow felt was a harsh kick to her flank. She jumped up quickly and displayed her wings while getting into a charging stance. Vic stood in front of her, arms crossed over his chest.

“What was that kick for?!” she demanded, sitting down and rubbing the spot he kicked.

“It’s time to head to town so you can purchase food. Your friends agreed to help chip in. Here’s the purse.” He tossed a large sack full of coins that spilt out a little. It was twice as big as the one Rainbow Dash brought, which only held about 45 bits; it was only enough to get by this weekend.

“Wait a minute! The sun hasn’t even risen yet, so why are you eager to get out of here quickly.” She stood up, placing her bits in with her friends’ bag.

“Because, it’s a long walk from here to town, besides, it’s best to get an early move on.”

“But I can fly there in no time.”

“Yes, but if you do that, I won’t guarantee I will be here. Hurry up and get ready, your friends are ready to move out.” He said, walking over to her friends while he wrapped his brown cloth around his neck which Rarity put a tongue out at it.

She stood up and asked Twilight to help her with her saddlebags. Once she was ready, they moved out of the Buffalo tribe’s territory with waves and hugs of goodbyes and followed the tracks back to Appleloosa.

It took awhile but they finally made it to the outskirts of the small settler town as the sun was hiding behind the mountains, but still giving off light as it rose above them.

“Buy only what you need and come back here when you’re done. You can say goodbye to your friends either there or here. You have thirty minutes and that’s being generous. Don’t waste it because if you do, I’m gone.” He moved over to a rock that had shade already showing and pulled out map, along with a compass and a pencil.

As Rainbow and her friends galloped down the slope, the orange pony with the cowboy hat and 3 apples on her side, walked over to where he was sitting.

“Vic, can Ah talk to ya?” She asked as she sat down next to him.

“What is Applejack, is it?” he looked at his compass and marked a few numbers down.

“Well, Ah was thinkin’ if Ah could come wit’ ya’ll an’ try an’ help. If that’s okay wit’ ya.”

“I would say yes, but you already have your own responsibilities back at the town you live in, correct?” He looked at the orange pony, who looked away, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“That is correct,” She answered.

“Then you already know my answer. If there’s anything else you want to talk about, do it now, because this your last chance.” He told, but she just shook her head in a no and watched Vic plot his course across the map while writing down the numbers in a small notebook.

The half-hour was almost up as Rainbow trotted her way up the slope to where Vic still sat, his attention still on the map. Applejack sat next to him, watching what he did, until she saw the others and stood up, making her way over to them.

“You have five minutes left to decide on whether or not you want to go with me. Make them count.” He told her without looking up as he started packing his things up.

Rainbow said goodbye to her friends as they embraced her with a giant group hug. The five minutes were up as they finished up and Vic started moving west, towards the already set moon, once he finished packing everything up.

Rainbow broke free and cantered after Vic, who was walking at a brisk, but fast pace.

“Hey! What happened to waiting for me?” she asked with an annoyed tone.

“I never said I would wait.” He told her and felt her anger on him, which he ignored.

They walked for a bit in silence for a couple of miles before Rainbow Dash spoke up again.

“This just feels strange, for some reason,”

“What does: traveling with a creature you don’t know anything about or traveling without your friends to help you out of any situation, even the most basic or both?” he asked, not even looking towards the cyan colored pony.

“Both,” She simply told him.

“You’ll get over it soon. Any questions?” he asked, looking down at her.

“No, no,” She turned away and look ahead of her at the open expansion of the desert they were in.

“Good. No more talking then, we’ll waste energy that way.” And with that, their chatter ceased for a long, long while.

It took them a couple of days before the desert rose in elevation a bit while the climate changed to suit a Savannah biome. Though it wasn’t much of a change in temperature, Vic liked the change,. He was uncertain how the Pegasus took the change, however.

Once they were able to stop at night, Vic went back to catching small rodents to keep his protein levels up, as well as the other vitamin’s the small critters provided since he some running around earlier.

As Rainbow Dash set up the fire, a couple of hours later, Vic came back with three giant rabbits. Each one would probably keep him going without having to stop for the next couple of days. He set the carcasses down and pulled out his serrated pocket knife and began to skin them.

Rainbow Dash looked up from the fire and saw Vic was skinning a dead rabbit. She quickly stood up, jumped over the fire and shoved him back, making him drop the half-skinned carcass onto the ground.

“What was that for?” He asked as he stood back up, hand over his ribs and saw Rainbow between him and his meal.

“Why did you kill these rabbits?” she asked, wings spread in an intimidating stance, which made him smile slightly, but once he noticed her eyes, his smile faded.

“Because they are my dinner,” He told her flatly.

“What about those boxes of food you made? Why can’t you eat those?”

“Those rations are for emergency only. The time I ate those was because I was unable to find food that is already available, i.e. those rabbits. My species is omnivorous, which means I can eat both plants and animals. Without the necessary vitamins and proteins that the meat provides me, I will die of malnutrition because my body cannot make the necessary amino acids, unlike yours. Sure I can eat beans, cheese or anything else along those lines, but they do not provide the necessary amount I need, especially for what I am doing now. Besides, those aren’t as common as a rabbit is in the wild.” He explained as simply as he could. “Do you want me to die of malnutrition?”

“I-I guess not,” the cyan Pegasus said, lowering her wings slowly and dropping her head, but picked it back up. “I don’t like it though,”

“You don’t have to. I’m only doing this because I need to survive to complete my goal, otherwise I wouldn’t bother with this and live out on a farm.” He sat back down in front of the rabbit and picked it up. He inspected it and luckily, it landed on its fur, which broke the meat of the mammal’s fall.

He finished skinning the carcass and opened up the belly with his knife so he could see the inside. He set the body down on the fur, then grabbed some rubber gloves from his pack and put them on. He dug his hands into the rabbit itself and pulled out everything, dumping it all into the fire. It roared high as the organs burned, along with the blood. They released a pungent smell that Rainbow Dash didn’t like at all since she tried to cover her nose, especially after he tossed the head in. Vic tossed her his brown shirt at her with an non-gloved hand, which she gratefully accepted since she placed it over her nose.

He washed out the inside with a bit of water, while adding a bit of salt from a packet he had. He grabbed one of the more slender sticks and drove it all the way through the rabbit, making sure it went into one hole and out the other until it both ends were visible. He then set the stick to face at a 45 degree by driving the bottom part into the dirt and used some surrounding rocks to make sure it stayed in its position.

It took a while for the rabbit too fully to cook but Vic was happy for the wait because it was juicy and tender as he bit into it, like a well done rib-eye steak. He dug into the meat with pleasure, but Rainbow was just disgusted at how he was able to eat another animal, even if he had a higher intellect.

The night dragged on as Vic finished his meal, dumping the remains into the small fire, making the smell the Pegasus pony hated very much which made her put the brown t-shirt over her muzzle again. He laid down with his head on his pack and looked back up at the never changing twinkling stars and the moon staying full while Rainbow began to fall asleep on the opposite side of the fire, but was facing him.

“Hey Rainbow Dash, why is the moon always full?” He asked, staring up at it.

She picked up her head and looked at the moon. “It’s probably because Princess Luna likes the moon being full so the ponies who work at night can see. Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious, because our moon actually looses and gains light every month due its fast orbit. Sorry, I’m becoming scientific again. Let’s get some sleep.” He rolled onto his side and was able to shut his eyes an hour later as the fire died.