Everfree Forest, Equestria

"We are screwed, aren't we?" asked Matt, pulling out his LC3 Jaguar and aiming it at the closest Timberwolf, fearful of when they might attack.

"Well, with me, you have a 20% higher chance of living." said Rainbow Dash, putting up her front hooves in a boxer-like fashion. But she herself was having doubts about the current situation.

Suddenly, a large, moss-covered Timberwolf lunged at Rainbow, resulting in a spray of 9mm bullets from Matt's Jaguar colliding with it mid-air. Sending the wooden behemoth to the ground, green blood leaking out of several wounds. And seeing one of their brethren fall, the entire group looked to Matt, teeth clenched and mouth snarling. And with a few claws at the group, the pack charged.

"Rainbow, get back and take care of Twilight!" shouted Matt, spraying several rounds into the horde. "I've got this!"

Rainbow then rushed to Twilight and grabbed her coat, and tarted to pull her towards a large rock next to a group of trees. While Matt unloaded his Jaguar on the Timberwolves, sending several chunks of bark into the air, but not having any real effect on the wolves themselves. Matt then pulled out the used magazine, letting the plastic container drop to the ground, while Matt just pulled a new magazine from his ammunition belt. He then put the mag into the receiver and pulled back the bolt handle. Letting an old bullet casing be ejected from the barrel and a new one be launched in. Resulting in a resounding *click* from the carbine.

Matt then looked up from reloading his LC3 to see even more Timberwolves climb out of the thick brush of the tree line. And there were the Timberwolves that were there to begin with, their teeth dripping with a strange green liquid dripping from their mouth, which Matt thought was a mixture of poison and saliva, obviously from the chance of snagging a meal larger than that of the average pony.

Matt then realized that he was facing an enemy with the strength of a pure beast, and would take a lot of firepower to take down. He then turn and ran towards Rainbow, who had just placed Twilight against a rock and was facing off against a Timberwolf.

Matt then saw Rainbow deliver a swift kick with her hind legs that made direct contact with the wolf's jaw, sending it reeling from the force of the kick. He then ran over to her, whilst firing his LC3 towards a Timberwolf that was getting too close for his taste.

"Go, get Twilight out of here!" shouted Matt while reloading another magazine into the LC3, "I'll hold them off."

"But-"

"Go!" snapped Matt, hitting a Timberwolf in the snout with the stock of his LC3.

Rainbow immediately followed Matt's order without hesitation, and picked up Twilight by her midsection onto her back. She started to carry her through the thick brush; Using her wings to lift Twilight up a few inches whenever they encountered a thick root or fallen tree. All whilst the forest echoed with the sound of gunfire and the sounds of crunching wood; Dying down every few seconds, only to pick up again even closer to Rainbow, causing her blood pressure to go up with every reemergence of the loud bangs of Matt's alien weaponry.

"Come on, Twilight, wake up." muttered Rainbow to Twilight's unconscious form, but was only met the an occasional breath every few seconds.

Suddenly, the red form of Elise appeared in front of Rainbow, startling her to the point of which she dropped Twilight with a heavy *thud*

"Alright, I've pinpointed the location of the chariot, keep going your current direction and you should be fine." said Elise quickly, her form fazing in and out of clarity every few seconds. "I have to go now, Matt's trying to wrestle with a Timberwolf and he needs all the help he can get."

Elise then sped through Rainbow, causing a slight shudder to run down Rainbow's spine.

"I am never going to get over Matt's strange toys." said Rainbow, picking up Twilight on her back and continuing her journey. Her hooves crushing several twigs and old leaves with every step, all while the gunfire never ceased

It took several minutes of walking through briers, brambles, and other assorted foliage before Rainbow spotted the edge of the woods. A burst of energy filled every inch of her being. She then dashed as fast as she could to the sunlight, barreling into every thing that got in her way, and by the time she reached the clearing, Twilight's and Rainbows coats were scuffed up in several places, with leaves with residue sap on them sticking to them.

Rainbow then saw the Gilded chariot, the stylish metal creating its own ambiance of beauty in the light of Celestia's sun. The light warming Rainbow's coat and filling her with the warm feeling safety.

She then stated to trot towards the chariot and the awaiting guards. But was stopped when she felt a rustle on her back. She then turned to see Twilight, her eyes fluttering from the bright light of the sun.

"Rainbow," said Twilight, meeting the surprised eyes of her fast-flying friend. "What happened? Where is Matt?"

Suddenly, Twilight saw the two guards rush towards her.

"Princess Twilight, are you okay?' asked one of the guards, bowing to his leader.

"I'm fine," said Twilight, looking back to the forest. "Where's Matt, Rainbow?"

"Yeah..." said Rainbow, rubbing the back of her head with her hoof, "He decided to stay behind and fight against the Timberwolves to protect us."

"He WHAT!?"

<><><><><><><><><><>

*Rat-tat-tat-tat*

The booming sound of Matt's LC3 echoed through the forest as he fired several bursts into a Timberwolf that was planning on jumping onto him from on top of a fallen tree that had collided with another, forming a type of chaotic arch.

From his many scuffles with the wooden beasts, Matt had sustained various wounds. Including several scratches on his right arm, and a deep gash in his left cheek. A Timberwolf also tried to bite down on Matt's armor, resulting in several deep cuts in the plastoid armor.

Matt then ran like the wind from the group of Timberwolves that had been following him since the clearing. Their claws nearly reaching his heels. He tried his best to stay ahead of the pack, knowing that if he faltered for even a moment would lead to his end.

Matt then made a swift turn to his left, only to be met with huge crevice in the middle of his path. With no way out, he then turned to the oncoming horde, aiming his Jaguar where he expected the Timberwolves to come from; intending to die knowing that Rainbow and Twilight were safe.

Just then, the lead Timberwolves made their way into Matt's sights. He then squeezed the trigger, unleashing a hail of bullets onto a Timberwolf, sending chunks of bark flying, but not derailing the wooden monster from it's current path.

Beads of sweat formed on Matt's face with every step the wolves took, he then saw himself get closer to the crevice by the second; Faced by the contemplation of death by wildlife, or death by falling.

Suddenly, a loud *Pew* resounded through the forest. Matt then turned to see a thin streak of plasma collide with a Timberwolf, the streak of light burning right through it's skull. Sending it to the ground.

The wolves then began to back down, becoming one with the foliage in the forest. Until nothing was left but little pinpricks of their eyes.

Matt then saw a figure dash through the woods, which looked closely to a human. With a strange shape on it's back, possibly the weapon it used to take down the Timberwolf.

Matt then placed his LC3 on his back and took chase, hopping over branches and roots in an effort to keep up. He was then brought to a clearing, with mossy trees and a few streaks of light hitting a small rock formation in the center.

"Show yourself, in the name of the citizens of the Terran Republic!" shouted Matt, pulling out his Jaguar and aiming it in several directions, searching for the mystery figure.

"Ah, a soldier of the Republic, who serves his citizens to no bounds." said a female in a soothing, yet determined voice, "But only the citizens his government deem worthy."

"I said, show yourself!" shouted Matt, once again. Sweat forming on his brow inside his helmet.

He then saw a glimmer of light manifest out of the corner of his left eye on the rock. Revealing none other than a human female, dressed in the uniform of a Vanu Sovereignty Infilrator!

The Infiltrator then touched a small button on her neck, and the advanced helmet collapsed around her head, revealing a Caucasian female. With blue eyes and a purple streak down her hair.

She then sat on the rock, while Matt aimed his LC3 at the Infiltrator.

"In the name of the Terran Republic, I order you to surrender, traitor!" snapped Matt, pointing the LC3 muzzle at the Infiltrator's head.

"As much as I would love to accept you generous offer, I have other plans." said the infiltrator, her eyes glimmering in the sunlight, "And as for the word, "traitor", my fellow followers of Vanu prefer the term, "Advancements of the Human condition"."

"I said, surrender!" bellowed Matt, gripping his Jaguar tighter.

"Only if you catch me!" gleefully said the Infiltrator, hitting a button on her arm. Making her form become visible, one with the terrain.

Matt then unloaded his magazine on the rock, only for the bullets to hit the rock.

Suddenly, a small patch of bushes to the right of Matt rustled. Leading Matt to believe that the Infiltrator had ran through them. Making Matt take a mad dash towards the bushes, just in time to see several more pieces of foliage move on their own.

Matt then rushed towards the bushes, but instead of the Infiltrator, he saw a bright light. And at the end of the light was his pony friends, with Twilight showing signs of anger.

He then rushed towards his friends, much to the surprise of two ponies dressed in golden armor and carrying spears, who pointed said weapons at him.

But Twilight just pushed aside the guards, and hugged Matt around the waist. Causing Matt the recoil and blush from the physical contact.

"Um, h-hi, Twilight." stammered Matt, his face red with embarrassment.

"Sorry, Matt." said Twilight, letting got of her iron grip on Matt, "I was just afraid that you might have... well, died."

"It's okay, Twilight." said Matt with a reassuring smile, "Besides, with Elise at my side, there was no way I could have died." Matt being obviously proud of his little companion.

"Yeah, believe me, Twilight. Matt was totally cool the entire time, almost as me!" interjected Rainbow, her brash ego showing.

"Yeaaahhh," said Matt, taken back by the size of the cyan pegasus' ego. "So, how are we getting to your leaders?"

"On that," said Twilight, pointing to the golden chariot. Which made Matt just stare at it.

"You know, if they wanted to give us a nice ride, they could have at least given us a covered chariot." said Matt, walking over to the chariot and inspecting it.

"Well, this is the most luxurious state-of-the-art flying chariot." said Twilight. The guards starting to harness themselves to the golden transport.

"Wait, flying?" asked Matt, truly surprised at Twilight's statement. "How can a chariot made out of solid gold fly? Let alone be pulled by two small horses?"

"It's quite simple actually, the gold is enchanted to be lightweight so the drivers can pull it." stated Twilight matter-of-factly, who turned to see Rainbow stifling a laugh at Matt's ignorance, which she promptly glared at. Making Rainbow contain her laughter for good. She then turned back to Matt, "It even has an magical barrier that stops the passengers from falling off while in flight."

"I don't know, still seems pretty unsafe." said Matt, doubtfully.

I'm sure it's fine, if Princess Celestia requisitioned it for us, I'm 100% certain that she had every variable taken into account." said Twilight, trotting over to the chariot and sitting down on it. "Come on, it's fine." She then patted the golden flooring of the chariot.

"Fine," groaned Matt, walking over to the chariot and sitting next to Twilight. The former was then promptly followed by Rainbow.

And with a mighty push and a flurry of flaps, the two guards were able to pull the chariot, sending it above the trees, and over the clouds. And all Matt could do was stare in awe with his mouth wide at the sudden takeoff. Which made Rainbow, and even Twilight snicker at Matt sudden shock.

But what Matt was actually in awe about was a small figure that was at the place they had taken off from. And as he squinted his eyes to get a better look, the figure turned out to be the same Infiltrator from the forest! And this made Matt infuriated to no end. He even reached for his TX2 in his holster to fire a few rounds at her. But he stopped when he realized the futility of the idea. He took off his helmet and goggles off the clear his head with the gusting wind.

At first, Twilight had no idea who-or what- was behind the helmet and goggles, she couldn't even imagine what the rest of his face looked like. But when he took the protective gear off, Matt was revealed to have a fairly hairless head, with only a disheveled, unkempt head of brown hair at the top with bushy eyebrows.

"Say Matt," asked Twilight, while studying the facial features of Matt. "What exactly happened in the forest? I mean, while Rainbow and I were at the chariot, we didn't hear your weapon for quite a lengthy time. Did something happen?"

Matt then turned to Twilight and sighed, knowing that he would have to eventually bring the problems of his race into theirs.

"There's been a....development in my stay." said Matt sitting down with crossed legs, staring deeply at Twilight, "Under section 42869 of Terran Republic Military Guidebook: Any country that is under threat by any enemies of the Terran Rebublic can accept assistance from Terran Republic military personnel if the reigning ruler and/or governing body requests or accepts it. If the assistance is deemed necessary."

Matt then finished his lengthy rule recital, leaving the ponies with wide eyes, in shock at what was just described to them, and even the guards turned around from their monotonous task the confirm what Matt had said. But Rainbow had a different reason to be shocked from the others.

".....Say what-now?" asked Rainbow, her face contorted with confusion.

Matt then groaned at this, and rubbed his eyebrows with his thumb and index finder.

"Okay," said Matt, trying to calm himself from the pegasus' ignorance. "Let me try to be simple: Your nation is under threat of annihilation from the Vanu Sovereignty, a faction from the civil war waged on my planet. And since they've probably seen me collaborating with you pe-ponies, they will probably burn your nation to the ground."

Rainbow then began to ponder this. "...So, alien invasion?" asked Rainbow, remembering the concept from the comic books she read as a filly.

"Basically," said Matt, noticing that Twilight hadn't moved a muscle since he told them the news about the Vanu Sovereignty's soldiers on their soil. He then tried snapping his fingers in front of Twilight, which seemed to awaken her from her shock.

"So, what happens now?" asked Twilight, waiting intently for Matt's response.

"Well, I'd say it's about time we meet your rulers." said Matt, watching Canterlot come into view, the white buildings glistening in the sunlight. And even though he was not showing it, Matt was truly amazed by the architectural beauty of the mountainside city.

"And I think this is going to take a turn for the worse if something isn't done soon."

Author's Note

Well, if you are down here, then you have (surprisingly) made it past chapter 3 of this story, so have a cookie!

Dang it, kitty.

And I'm sure the comments are going to be like: "Erhmagerd, you added VS!? This is a terrible idea, I'm reporting your for writting shitty!"

But anyway, Question of the Chapter: How screwed is Equestria?