Rebellionby LuytenChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1 Celestia awoke as saw the bright purple ceiling above her. Thin, intricate printings creating flowers swirled around on the ceiling. She sighed as she sat up. Her gold linen blanket was wrinkled and folded and laid long her spread legs. She eased herself toward the side of her bed and planted her hooves onto the ground, the drawstrings of her bathrobe dangling onto the red rug. She stretched and yawned, twisted her back and listened to her spine pop. She smacked her mouth trying to remove the morning taste from her gums. The Princess dragged herself across the room to the bathroom. The rug rubbed against her hooves as she entered the bathroom. Her hoofsteps turned from soft drags to firm, loud trots, clicking and clacking. She stopped in front of the wide mirror; she saw her reflection, sharp as she saw herself. Celestia reached for the faucet and turned on the water. She dipped her hoof into the newly formed pool at the bottom of the sink and scooped up some water. She splashed it onto her face and let out gasp. The water was cold. Just what she needed. She removed her bathrobe and turned on her shower. The water hit the floor with soft taps. "Your highness?" Celestia yelped and rushed into the shower, the water still being cold, she pulled the curtains to cover her. "Night Thunder!" She scolded, "I'm taking a shower!" She heard a chuckle. "Your highness, since when did ponies wear clothes?" Celestia felt the cold water dampen her flowing mane. She let out a breath, "what is it you want, Commander?" She heard Night Thunder clear his throat. "General Havive of the United Guard is here to speak to you." "When does he want to see me?" "Now, your highness." The water warmed up and Celestia felt blood rush back through her body. "Give me a few minutes." "Princess, he never comes to Canterlot unless it's urgent." Night Thunder's booming voice informed. "Well, so is conditioning this hair, Commander." Night Thunder chuckled and exited Celestia's bathroom. Celestia let the warm water continue down her long legs. She levitated the bottle of shampoo next to her and began to clean her mane. *** "She said she'll be right down, Gentlecolts." Night Thunder informed. He trotted down the stairs into the foyer of the castle. A glamorous chandelier with reflecting crystals shined down and made basic light shapes shine down on the floor. The United Guard General and his three men wore a traditional UG uniform; a blue bulletproof vest, and a matching military beret. The UG looked at the commander of the Elite Guard, jet black hair and mane, gray eyes with gelled hair to tip at the end and protrude past his face, his upper body was built, and one of his wings were robotic since it was torn off in a fight. The Elite Guard was a branch of military founded by one of Celestia's high ranking admirals. All who are accepted into the branch are 'the best of the best'. Night Thunder was wearing an Elite Guard uniform; basically similar to a Royal Guard's uniform only it had a small, red crest and instead of gold, major portions were silver instead. "Very well, Commander, did you inform her it was urgent?" Night Thunder smiled. "Yes, she heard me." The UG looked at Night Thunder, "what is the news?" The general looked at his two soldiers his sides. His bright green eyes caught a glare from the chandelier and made it glow brighter. "Since you are the highest ranking officer present, I suppose I can inform you of the predicament." "I suppose." The General nodded and one of his troops standing next to him handed him a manila folder. He opened it to reveal a thin pile of papers and photos attached. Night Thunder leaned in and the General flipped the file around and hoofed it to the commander. Night Thunder flipped through the photos displaying ruins of destroyed buildings. Concrete and debris were scattered along the ground. He flipped to the next photo which was a convoy of horse carts carrying ponies armed with firearms, dust trailing the. “Where were these photos taken, General?” “Saddle Arabia.” Night Thunder was shocked at the next photo; A United Guard Embassy with smoke rising from one side. “This building,” Night Thunder lifted the picture up to the General, “is supposed to have the tightest security in all of Equestria.” “They got in, what’s more to it, commander?” Night Thunder cussed under his breath, “The conflict between two rising factions in Saddle Arabia; Gaya and Hevera, is growing to a more dangerous level, possibly genocidal, commander.” Night Thunder looked through the files reporting the damage and deaths. “What’s the conflict between the two factions?” “Gaya had conducted genocide against the Heveras almost 50 years ago when Saddle Arabia was created. Since then the Gaya had stopped the massacre, but now the Heveras are looking for revenge in a sense.” "So the Gaya aren’t clean either…” “Yes.” “What happened to the embassy?” The UG shuffled in their spots until the general spoke up. “The occupants within the embassy were kidnapped and were hung in public by the streetlights in front of the embassy.” Night Thunder shook his head. “This is madness.” “They’re demanding that all United Guard withdraw from the land." Night Thunder looked up. "You don't plan on it, do you?" "That's what I came here to discuss with the Princess." Night Thunder closed the file. "I say we discuss this in the dining hall, Gentlecolts, you must be hungry after the trip here." He hoofed the file back to the general, "tell them I sent you." The General nodded and trotted off with his two soldiers. The Elite commander climbed back up the stairs and trotted down the red carpet hall. The Princess turned the corner into the hallway where the commander was. "Ah, there you are." Celestia smiled, her mane flowing in its original wavy state. She had put on her necklace, along her crown. "Your highness." Night Thunder bowed. "Next time, knock, Commander." She said smirking as she brushed past him. He stood back up and caught up to Celestia. "From what I heard from the general, its best you hear what is strolling in Saddle Arabia." "Oh?" "Yes, it's already caused the execution of United Guard Embassy employees to be executed." Celestia stopped in her tracks, Night Thunder stopping with her. "Bring me to them." Night Thunder nodded and led them down the stairs. Night Thunder reached the bottom and found himself in the foyer yet again. He made a right. Gold armor was posed to create ponies guarding the sides of the walls. The Commander lead Celestia to the dining hall which had a wood oak double door as its entrance. "They're in there." "Thank you." She opened the door using her magic and Night Thunder tried to sneak a peek until the doors shut in front of him. Night Thunder shrugged it off and trotted away. He turned the corner and bumped into two guards. "Ah, the Princess." Night Thunder informed them as he got up, he stretched out his hoof, "she's in the dining hall." The two guards grabbed the one hoof and Night Thunder pulled them up. The two guards nodded and they trotted away. The Commander continued his way to his office. He passed a large room, rounded at the top and made of plastered bronze walls. Night Thunder reached into his belt and grabbed the walkie talkie clipped onto it. "Tundra!" Night Thunder said into the talkie. No answer. He repeated himself. "I'm here. I'm here, sir." The walkie talkie croaked with a smooth, sweet voice. Tundra was Night Thunder's assistant. She was recruited into his team only six months ago, and according to Night Thunder, she's done extraordinary at her job. "A little late on the reply." Night Thunder chuckled. "Apologies, sir." The Commander exited the large room and into a hall. He stopped midway down the hall. He turned to face it and placed his hoof on it. Two green lines beamed on the wall. The one above his hoof went down and scanned his hoof. The one to the right scanned to the left. As soon as the two beams were finished with their individual scans, they simultaneously scanned the hoof once more at the same time. The beams flashed and the wall split in front of Night Thunder. "I need you to print out a file on recent reports on Saddle Arabia." He said as the sides spread revealing a dark opening. "I'll try and find something." Thunder clipped the walkie talkie back onto his belt. He trotted through the newly made opening. Once he was a few feet in, the light narrowed behind him. He found himself in complete darkness. "Name?" A robotic female voice asked. "Night Thunder." He answered. "Confirming voice pattern." Silence, and then, "confirmed." Light sprung out in front of the commander. He squinted as his eyes adjusted, "Welcome to the Elite Guard HQ, Commander." Chapter 2 "General, I don't believe an invasion is the rational answer to this predicament." Celestia informed as she sipped her tea. "I'm aware of this, your highness, but what other choice do we have? They've killed United Guard on foreign soil! That's an act of war." "Aren't we at war presently, General?" The UG (United Guard) ranking officer sat back silently, silently agreeing with the Princess, "I do propose a solution that does not need the presence of the United Guard on Saddle Arabian soil." "And what would that be?" Celestia stood up and trotted for the buffet table. The General getting up and following her, "Princess, we could be looking at genocide in the near future, hell, maybe a month's time away!" "I understand, but an invasion going to send all of Equestria to war. Don't you know that all the terrorist groups and social classes are somehow associated with oil industries are connected to other parts of Equestria?" She levitated a plate and gathered three slices of bread along with some butter, "if you invade the area, areas of Equestria will see it as you taking their oil. And we both know how dependent Equestria is of Saddle Arabia's oil rich lands." "So what better plan do you suggest?" The General said as he lifted a plate with his magic. "I'll keep that to myself until the time of right to reveal my plans to the United Guard." The General grew frustrated. "I need to know what will happen, my troops are scattered all over the place." "Deploy peacekeepers." Celestia ordered as she lifted a strawberry and popped it into her mouth. "Peacekeepers? What do you want me to with them?" "I believe," Celestia swallowed the red fruit, "it is listed in their name." "Keeping peace is difficult in Saddle Arabia." He informed as he poured syrup on his gold, freshly toasted waffle. "Just do as I say, General." Celestia turned away with her plate filled with fruit and light brown, hot pancakes. The General sighed and followed her, bringing his plate with him. *** Night Thunder trotted past aisles of cubicles, phones ringing from different parts of the room followed by 'Elite Guard'. He continued down the aisle until he reached the entrance into a hallway. He pushed the doors and entered into a quiet, clear hallway. "Always hated going through that." He let out a breath of relief. He trotted down the curved hallway, going left. At the end of the hallway was a pair of elevators. He stopped in front of them and pressed the button shaped as an arrow pointing upward. It glowed dull yellow as a hum slowly grew louder. Night Thunder backed away from the elevator. He listened as the humming grew louder and louder until a bell rang. The doors to the elevator opened and Night Thunder entered. The doors closed. The walls lower halves were made of wood and the upper halves were mirrors. Above him was a bright rectangular fluorescent light. The elevator started up and began to rise. Night Thunder could hear the faintest amount of elevator music. It was drained out by the humming, gears turning, and machines working. The small box stopped and the doors opened to a hallway. He stepped out of the elevator and looked around. There on the floor waiting was Tundra, her bright blue eyes, square glasses, shiny, long indigo mane and a brilliant shiny white coat. The door closed. Tundra was holding a yellow folder. She stretched it out to Night Thunder. "Thank you, Tundra." She nodded. Night Thunder opened the file and went down the hallway, Tundra trailing him. "May I ask why you requested this, sir?" She asked as she pushed her glasses up. "The General of the United Guard has come to town, Tundra. And he's come with alarming news." "Is it concerning what you have there?" She pointed to the folder. "Affirmative, I've heard the things happening in Saddle Arabia, but I fear that things will become worse if we don't do anything about the problem." Tundra nodded silently. Thunder turned and opened the door to his office. His office had one window that let him have a view of the hallway. He requested to have the window removed due to it possessing no purpose of its presence. He had a large wood oak desk in the corner with a leather swivel chair behind it. The Commander wasn't one of style of design, so the most he had in his office was a potted plant in the corner opposite of his desk and a painting of Star Swirled the Bearded. He sat in his desk as Tundra closed the door. Thunder placed the folder onto his desk and looked up at Tundra. "How are you, Ms. Tundra?" He managed a smile without the eye contact. "I'm fine." She replied in her soft voice. "Alright. Let's get back to work; I'll notify you if I need your assistance." She nodded and turned around. She opened the door. Night Thunder caught a glimpse of white crossing the window. Tundra held the door open and the commander noticed use bowed. The door handle glow a bright yellow as Tundra stood back up and went right. The door opened wider as the Princess trotted in. Night Thunder got up and stepped out of the desk and bowed before her. He stood up and saw the tall princess. "Commander." "Your highness." He acknowledged. He gestured her to sit in his desk but she declined. "I spoke with the General." She informed him. "And?" She looked to the right corner of her eye. "He wants an immediate invasion of Saddle Arabia." Night Thunder rubbed his mane. "Damn. That won't end well." "It won't start at all." She shot back. Night Thunder looked at her. She shook her head and sat down in Night Thunder's chair, "Saddle Arabia is like a web connected to many other webs. Once we mess with Saddle Arabia, we mess with everything else!" "That would be the future consequence, but what would the solution to all of this be?" Celestia rested her cheek on her hoof. She tapped her other hoof on the wood oak, the sound like a twig hitting a hardwood floor. Her eyes grew wide and a grin spread on her face. "Assemble Team 41!" She suggested delightfully. Night Thunder raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" She nodded. "I know they're still a testing group, but they did extraordinary on their last mission!" Night Thunder waved it off. Celestia rolled her eyes. "That does not mean they can conduct this mission successfully, Princess." "They saved your flank is what I know." The Commander rolled his eyes. "I slipped." Celestia smiled mockingly, "I will not assemble them, they're a loose cannon group, and we don't know what could happen! Last time was just an elimination of a small group of bandits. This time, we're looking at a world war!" "Commander, I wouldn't ask you to assemble them of I didn't trust them with this." She looked at his eyes. Night Thunder crossed his hooves. "You know the consequences if they screw up, don't you?" She nodded. Night Thunder bit his lip. He stared at the tip of Celestia's waving rainbow hair. Watching it whip like slow flame. "Alright. I'll file an order to assemble them." Celestia hugged Night Thunder. "This'll work, old friend. Forget the past and let's think about the future." She let go of him and trotted out. Night Thunder smiled as she past the window. He galloped through the door and down the hallway to Celestia. "I'll do it if you get someone to remove this useless mirror." Celestia smiled. "Done." The Commander smiled and the elevator door opened for Celestia. She stepped in and the doors closed. Night Thunder turned back around and headed back for his office. Tundra's office was right next to Night Thunders. He past his office and trotted into her office. She was organized, three tables, including her desk, held piles and piles of files, but each one was labeled, colored, very organized in summary. "Tundra?" Night Thunder put his hoof on her desk. She looked up from the paperwork, she hadn't noticed he had entered a few seconds ago. "Oh, sir." She closed the file, "what can I do for you?" "Prep me a team of ten Elites to assemble a team." She nodded and moved for the landline next to her, "also," she paused midway to the phone, "prep the master class Airship." She nodded and picked up the phone. The Commander left her room and entered his own. He slipped into his desk. He stared at the placard at the corner of his desk. He reached for it and turned it around. Inscribed on the gold sheet of metal was 'Commander Thunder'. He turned it placed it back in its original position and resumed his work, taking out the folder Tundra gave him. He flipped through the pages with interest, criminals charged with petty theft, all the way to reports of homicide. Suicide bombings, rape, protests on the street, one resulting in a massacre of both Saddle Arabian troops and the civilian population, he sighed, "We’ll be in for a rough one." He flipped through the pages of criminal records and found a stapled packet with records of past imports within the past three months. He fished through the pages. Some imports were highlighted, but they were all the same; 'steel from Manehattan and New Filly'. Night Thunder ignored the highlights for they were just steel. Manehattan and New Filly need to make a profit after all; they are the head of the whole world's stock exchange. He looked through the report for hours, "We can't sanction them...that would lead to more conflict outside of Arabia." "What would Saddle Arabia do with steel? High grade steel, for that matter?" He looked closer at the imports, three imports from Diabra; nuclear fusion instruments, technology used in powering cities big as Canterlot. Night Thunder closed the file and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and stretched. He grabbed the file and slid it under his desk. The Commander yawned and headed out. Chapter 3The sun shone no more in Saddle Arabia, debris and smoke covered the skies, like an endless storm with no rain: clouds never seeming to leave the sky. The blue sky was no more, but now a gray swirl of nothing. An explosion sounded in the distance. Screaming followed, fillies running from the noise. "Mom!" One of them yelled. They ram through an alley. Above them, pegasi eyed them like hawks looking at fresh prey. They spread their wings and dropped down, grabbing the squirming, screaming fillies. They rushed out of the alley holding them as they struggled to get free. A cart pulled up next to the alley; it was made of metal and had a closed top, one opening through the top was open and the back and front was caged. The Pegasus dropped the fillies in through the top. Citizens gathered and watched as one by one, the fillies were dropped into the cart, screaming for help. One of the Pegasus stood on top of the cart, dressed like his colleagues. Tan, ragged, torn cloth wrapped around their faces, a brown large blanket like cloth covering their bodies. You could barely make out a rifle hanging front their necks underneath the brown cloth. "What are you all looking at?!" He shouted. The citizens began to disband. One pony stayed and stared at the Pegasus on top of the cart. He was an old pony, using a cane to aid him in moving. His eyes were crusted along with his now shaggy white mane. "I'll tell ya what I'm looking at!" He scoffed. The Pegasus flew down and took out a small pistol. "Tell me old man. What?" The old pony bent down and picked up the sand beneath him. "I'm looking at one of my fellow Arabians betraying what we all are! To the sand with you!" He heaved the sand at the Pegasus. The Pegasus blinked his eyes and staggered back. He wiped the sand away, tears forming. The old stallion stood as citizens watched from the sides. The Pegasus blinked a few more times, while doing so he held the gun up and shot the old stallion five times in the head. The cane fell to the sand and so did the old man, staining the sand black underneath his head, like a pillow. The Pegasus put the pistol back in its holster. "All of you!" He yelled to the crowd, "Get out of here unless you want me to call a Heveran convoy over here!" The ponies galloped away from the scene, "and clean this rubbish up." The Pegasus commanded the others, referring to the dead stallion on the street. The cart pulled saluted as the Pegasus passed. He flew up to the top, listening to the screaming children underneath him. He stomped on the cart and the puller galloped. The Pegasus left behind picked up the old stallion and began to hack at him, laughing and joking as they did so. Finally the slammed the corpse up against the wall of a building, one of them picked up old rusty nails on the sidewalk. They hoofed them over to another pegasus who held them up to the old man's hooves and nailed his limbs onto the wall using the handle of his gun. The Heveran militia laughed as they slammed the nails through the old pony's body. They grabbed their firearms. "Ready?" They joked. "To the sand with him!" They laughed as they fired at the corpse that was now nailed to a building. Citizens watched from the sanctuary of the indoors, with eyes filled with fear. His limbs bleeding and scraps of his skin being blown off as the bullets whisked through the air. *** The road was bumpy, gravel and twigs break underneath the cart. Tundra lifted the back and watched as the Cary passes green pastures, small stones from the gravel spitting from the back of the wheels. She pulled her head back in and looked across from her at the Commander's eyes still glued to the file. She felt her backpack bouncing up and down on her side. She stared at Night Thunder. She got lost in his gray eyes. He lifted his head. She heard something muffled, Tundra stared at his hair. It was gelled to tip at the ends, just like it always was. "Tundra!" She shook her head and snapped out of her trance. She grabbed her backpack and began to search around it. "Uh, yes... What do you want, sir?" Night Thunder grabbed her bag. "Nothing Miss." He plopped the bag beside him, "you need to stay focused, Tundra. This is important." She blushed and nodded, pushing her hair back behind her ears. The cart stopped. Night Thunder returned Tundra's backpack and let her exit the cart first. Tundra found herself in front of a massive stone cliff. She gazed the cliffs surrounding them. On top on one of the edges was a massive blimp sitting on the edge like a large eagle on a thin branch. It looked like the ledge was about to snap. The blimp was the Master Class Airship that the Elite Guard used for special operations. It was much larger than the average airship, but possessed special equipment to make it the stealthiest, fuel efficient, and most powerful ship in all of Equestria. Nothing compared to the technology or firepower onboard the massive blimp. The balloon was black and massive, covered in thick metallic sheets that prevented projectiles from piercing the balloon. On either side of the balloon, a large circular device laid in the middle. It was currently turning, but you can see small holes on the revolving pieces. "Night Thunder?" Tundra inquired. The Commander picked up some bags and trotted over to her. "Yes?" Tundra pointed at the circular devices. "What are those?" She asked. "Those are converters, powered by unicorn magic, they possess the power to transform oxygen molecules into helium to keep the balloon afloat." "How?" Nothing in Equestria had ever witnessed technology like this. "Well, with modern day technology and magic, we've managed to create a similar process the stars do to create helium." Tundra nodded, "c'mon, there should be a lift over there." He pointed behind a large obelisk-like natural stone structure. Tundra trotted for the directed area, followed by the Commander. Behind the stone was a row of ten wooden planks, twenty feet long and bound together by four iron bars underneath them. A steel frame was built on top of the wood, extruding from the four corners and forming a parallel square from the wood. "Is it safe?" Tundra asked. Thunder shrugged. "It’s all we got." Tundra sighed and stepped onto the lift, the commander following her onto it. He reached up and grabbed the one of the four ropes on the corners and tugged in them. Some shouting was heard followed by the lift jolting and beginning to rise. Above, you could hear the machine pulling them up. Tundra watched as the stoke structure grew smaller as they rose. The lift jolted again. When they had reached the top, Tundra jumped onto the cliff without hesitation. Thunder threw his and Tundra's bag on first, and then jumped onto the cliff’s edge. Two ponies wearing yellow chest plates galloped toward them and picked the bag up. "To the airship, sir?" One of them asked, he had a slight Trottingham accent. Thunder nodded, and the two galloped off toward a mass crowd of ponies gathered near a small group of buildings. Moving around like a hive of working bees, Royal Guards, a few Elites, and some workers were helping to get the ship prepped for flight. Tundra and Night Thunder began to proceed for the ship. Tundra stared; the metal sheets that covered the balloon portion became clearer than they were on the bottom of the cliff. They shone brilliantly as the sun beat down on them. The gondola stretched from one end of the balloon to the opposite. Small, horizontal, narrow windows were built on the side like a bunker, and you could tell the half-cylinder like cockpit had a panoramic view as well as the rear. The rudders on the back of the airship displayed the logo of the Elite Guard; a sword encased in a circle excluding the tip of the blade. Tundra and Night Thunder pushed their way through the busy ponies. They were greeted near the rope ladder to the airship by Celestia. "Night Thunder," she smiled, "Tundra." "Your highness." Tundra bowed. Celestia looked to Night Thunder. "I wish you luck on your endeavors, old friend." She placed her hoof on his shoulder and he smiled, looking down. "Thank you Princess, I hope to return with success." She took her hoof back and allowed the Commander and his assistant to leave. Tundra spread her wings and flew up. Night Thunder followed, his robotic wing clicking as it went up. Celestia waved as they entered the airship. Tundra flew into the open hangar door, Night Thunder coming in shortly after her. Already in the hangar were two unicorn Elite Guards wearing no armor were moving things around. They greeted the Commander and his assistant with a salute. Night Thunder responded with a salute. The hangar was rather small; the floor was made up of four large metallic plates and one circle in the center of them. The sides were lined with one row of seven small, narrow windows seen previously. Two trunks were on either side, filled with parachutes. "Um..." Tundra pushed her hair back and looked at Night Thunder. "Oh, right, your room is right over there." Night Thunder pointed down one of the two hallways on either side of the hangar and the second door from them. She nodded and trotted to the room with her head down. Night Thunder coming into the hangar. "Is she shy, sir?" One of the Elites asked. "Yes." He answered plainly. "She's cute." One of them replied. The Commander turned his head to look at the Elite who said that. As he turned his head he saw something fly through the air and onto the Elite's face. "You're such a pervert." The other Elite laughed. On the Elite's, who called Tundra cute, face was piece of bread. He removed the piece and looked at his companion. "I called her cute! How is that perverted?" The other shrugged. Night Thunder ignored them and went through the hallway. As he entered the hallway, a door to his left lead to the research lab, and he continued down the hallway he entered the foyer, a large circular room meant to entertain the Team, where the bunkers/rooms for Team 41 and the Elites surrounded it. The walls were made of wood and the rug was like soft, white sand, only you couldn't kick it. In the foyer were three arched sofas that were concentric with the room's circular pattern. Three pegasi elites were seated at each of the chairs. In the middle of the room was three TV's each one pointing to a different sofa. Opposite to the hallways was a door that lead to the main cockpit, and on either side was a bar-like structure that held food and refreshments. It was made of wood to give it a luxurious and natural look. Night Thunder trotted over to one of the couches. As he approached the Elites noticed his presence, stood up, and saluted. Night Thunder bowed his head and the Elites sat down. Night Thunder sat down next to one of them and let out a sigh. "Tired, sir?" One of them asked. "Quite." The young stallion nodded. He held his hoof out. "Sergeant Chrome." Night Thunder looked at the guard. "I see why you were named, Chrome." His coat was like silver, his eyes were a like a bar of gold, rich and voluptuous. He too had no armor. He held his hoof out and shook his hoof. "Sergeant Greenspan." "Are all of you recruits?" Night Thunder blatantly and spontaneously asked. All three nodded. "I believe all Elites on this ship are recruits, Commander." "I see." The Elites nodded, "alright," he groaned as he lifted himself from his comfortable position on the soft sofa, "nice to meet all of you, but let's get to work on prepping the ship, shall we?" The Elites got up and did as the Commander told. Night Thunder trotted over to the safe door that lead to the cockpit. He turned the four handled tumble and the door opened with a hiss. The cockpit was as large as half the foyer. Inside were five earth ponies wearing utility belts like the others, and were without any armor. Four of them were on the monitors, two on either side of the room. In the front was a panoramic view of the blue sky in front of them. The floor was tilted at an angle, excluding a small portion on the bottom where the Commander "commands from, which is unnecessary," according to Night Thunder. On the desks and monitors the Elites were on were the instruments and equipment necessary to keep the airship moving. In the flattened area was an Elite leaning on a female Elite's monitor, pointing to parts of the desk, most likely assisting her in properly using the equipment. Night Thunder trotted up to the front of the cockpit. "Listen up!" He boomed. The cockpit went silent, "excellent. Let's begin our mission." The Elites all nodded and placed their earpieces in as if they were on cue. Night Thunder was tossed a headset with built in microphone, "Ignition." He commanded. One pony flicked a few things followed by the turning of dial. The ship rattled as the engines began to kick on. "Engines fired up and warming up to operating temperatures." One pony informed. "Close the hangar door." Another few clicks and turns and the sound of gears and machines working sounded followed by a loud locking sound. "Hangar door sealed sir." "Alright, let’s move out!" The ship hummed as it began to move, "let's hope this will work, Princess." Chapter 4A buzzing sound went off, as his eyes slowly cracked open, Beatstorm; a navy blue pony, with gold irises, yellow mane and sharp pointed tail, rolled off his leather couch and onto the wood floor. As his hearing fell dim, he looked around, his surroundings blurred. The noises flooded back into his brain. The buzzing. His alarm clock. Beats planted his hooves on the hard wood and pushed up. Using most of his woken strength to lift himself off the ground. He lifted his head up and saw the alarm clock: ten am. It sat upon a small bedside table, small scratches beneath the loud machine. Beats lifted his right hoof and smacked it on the top; killing the irritable sound that had awoken him from his deep slumber. He sat up on the floor and climbed back on to the couch. He sighed and lied down on it again, in his position prior to the buzzing. He drifted back to sleep as he dreamt. The buzzer sounded again which startled the pony. He fell off the couch a second time. This time he got up quickly, scurried for the alarm clock, picked it up and threw it out the open window, listening as the buzzing found dimmed. "Geez." He sighed. Beatstorm pulled himself back onto the couch and rubbed his eyes. Across from him was his laptop sitting on the glass coffee table. On the surface were two large cracks that made the table look like two baseballs had hit it. The laptop was left on all night, and on the screen was the desktop wallpaper of his cutie Mark; a pair of gray headphones. Beats waited for the flashing colors left behind in his eyes from the rubbing before he grabbed his laptop. He placed it on his stomach and began to search through his inbox. He selected most of them and clicked on the command "Erase." He watched the animation of three circles bouncing up and down in the middle of the screen. The screen was cleared and the small animation faded. He continued to rifle through his emails, until he stumbled upon one he had received last night from his place of work. He opened the email as it made a 'pop' noise. He examined the message and whispered it to himself. "Dear Beatstorm, your occupation here as DJ in the Night Club has come to a sorrowful end, your services here were much enjoyable but it's in the Club's best interests that you are taken out of duty. I hope you will be hired by somepony very soon. A pony with your talent isn't hard to find. -JC" Beatstorm sighed and laid back. He grabbed the laptop and tossed it onto the coffee table, only to hear the cracks on it begin to expand further. Beatstorm's eyes gazed as the table began to shatter to pieces. It fell apart, the fragments falling to the ground like fresh snow, the laptop falling on them and making a sharp shattering noise under it. Beatstorm closed one eye as the noise pierced his ears. He looked back at the debris. Everything but the stub of one of the legs was shattered to bits and pieces. Beats rubbed his mane and felt his ears being to heat up. He got up, galloped for the door, grabbed his coat and rushed out to into the rainy morning. No sun, no clouds, the sky was gray and the trees looked like charcoal. The grass housed no creatures, as they have fled to their homes from the pouring rain. Beatstorm pulled his coat over him and flicked the hood up. He gasped as he heard thunder roaring in the distance. "I gotta make it to the Club..." He whispered, "I'll give JC a piece of my mind, and he's not gonna understand it at all!" He smirked and began to gallop through the puddles that have invaded the concrete sidewalk. As he trotted, he watched ponies pass him, one pair laughing. Beats pulled the drawstrings of his hood with his magic and watched his breath turn to a cool blue frost as he exhaled. The rain became harder and he progressed from a trot to a gallop. Rushing through the puddles, splashing the cold water around him as his hooves hit the ground. In front of him laid a small hill that lay with a crowd of hills, like a small mountain range. Beats managed to make it to the top of the hill and found himself gazing at the lights of Manehattan. The buildings were gray and dull as they reflected the sky above, the rain was making the buildings appear disfigured and distorted. A strike of lightning flared in the distance, striking one of the tall standing towers of the city. Faster than Beats can realize what he saw, the lightning struck the city without warning, like a battle zone. He took a step and realized the ground had turned to guck and mud. He tread carefully as he tried to make his way down to the street at the base of the hill. Beats dug his hoof into the ground with each step, securing his hoof's placement and stability. He made another step, then another, "Easy does it..." He attempted another step, but one of his hooves slipped and he began to slide down the steep and muddy slope. Mud splashing onto his face and hoody, Beatstorm pulled his arms to cover his face, causing him to lose balance. He slowly tilted his position unknowingly as he slid down. His head caught the ground and he flipped, the dirt spinning off of him. Beats saw shades of blue as he spun, finally splashes of rainbow combusted on his eyes as he landed on his back. He groaned as the pain of the soreness was eased with stretching. Beatstorm lifted himself up and wiped the mud off of him. He rubbed his eyes to remove the colors. His entire body was soaked, including his now stained hoodie with green and black blotches spread from sleeve to sleeve. Beats looked around, no ponies within sight, but honks occasionally sounded down the road. He looked up to find two average sized buildings towering above him. Made of bricks, one building was used for residential purposes indicated by the laundry hanging on the clotheslines stretched from one building to another. The other one, a gray plaster coated building, displayed a sign of yellow with blue font saying "Zion's gym." The windows were lit with mares running on treadmills, a yoga class, and a swimming pool on the bottom most floor. Beatstorm trotted between the buildings in order to get further into the city. Beats formed a transparent shield above him to shelter him from the pouring rain. He galloped his way into the city, watching ponies galloping past him, escaping the rainy morning. Beats continued down the alley until he reached the end where it met one of the city's biggest roads, and thus, the busiest. Something buckled to the right of him, followed by cursing, Beats turned to find a business pony who dropped his suitcase. The suitcase's hinge buckled and the papers fell out, the raindrops denaturing the paper's form. Beats looked across the street; the Night Club was just a few hoofsteps away. Beats looked back and forth between the business pony and the Night Club, one of the employees looked out the door. Beats bit his lip. He gave the Club one last look and turned to face the business pony. He galloped for him and formed a shield merging with his to protect the stallion and his papers from the raging storm. The business Pony looked up at Beats who simply stood there. He hurriedly picked up his papers and stuffed them into his suitcase. "Thank you." He smiled getting up. Beats nodded, preventing eye contact. The business pony galloped away with the suitcase on his back. Beats looked at the Club, closed for the day. It'll open back up at 9:00 and he'd have an 11 hour window. Beats sat down on the curb and stared as the neon lights of the Club dimmed and were no longer lively. "Just like my career..." Beats sighed. He took off his hoodie and threw it onto the street where multiple rushing carriages ran it over. The hoody looked like a dead animal, soaked and deformed. The shield evaporated as the water began to hit Beat's mane. The color faded from gold to a dark green under the rain. The hair began to cover Beat's gold irises. His coat grew cold on his skin, his tail lay on the ground coiled up and soggy. Beats leaned forward and looked at the puddle forming beneath his hooves. In the puddle he saw his reflection, a grim mirror showing bleak colors. He stood himself up and trotted down the sidewalk dragging his tail across the wet pavement. He came across a neon sign hanging on a glass window of a cafe. He looked to the street where gray carriages had replaced the lively colored ones. Beats turned and trotted into the cafe. A jingle followed the creak of the entrance. Greeted with the black and white tiling of the establishment, the red leather chairs brought the serving area life. To the right of the DJ was a light blue counter with five red leather swivel booths surrounding it. Behind the counter was a stallion with a white stained apron and five o’clock shadow upon his stern face. His coat was dark brown, like the leftover coffee on the counter. "May I help you?" The stallion asked. "Um..." Beats looked around. His eyes darting from corner to corner, "I'll take a black with two sugars." The pony nodded as Beats came to the counter. He seated himself at the second from the right booth. Beats folded his hooves on his lap. He leaned forward and let his chest lean on the edge of the table. Beats let out a long sigh. He looked up and lost himself staring as the neon sign spelled, "open." Something hit the table. Beat's stare at the sign was broken by the stallion placing a white mug with a line of coffee sliding down the "Here you go, 3 bits." He slid the coffee to Beats. The DJ reached down to his side expecting his jacket to be there, but he remembered. He threw his jacket onto the street. "About that..." The stallion stood there looking at Beats. Beats felt his ears begin to heat up. "Well?" He became impatient. Beats flushed. The bell rang again. The stallion and Beats directed their attention towards a hooded figure wearing a parka standing in the doorway, the rain still pouring behind him. Beat's mouth opened slightly, as if to say something. The figure pushed his hood back revealing his jet black mane with gray highlight, watching fur and piercing gray irises. Beats quietly gasped. Night Thunder reached into the parka and pulled out six bits. He tossed them at the Stallion who failed to catch some. "I'll take an espresso." The stallion nodded and rushed into the kitchen. Night Thunder examined the cafe and trotted over to Beat's booth. His mouth still agape, "close your mouth," Night Thunder snapped him out of his trance. "Sir?" Beatstorm asked. "Why am I here? I'm guessing those were the words about to leave your tongue." Beats shook his head. "I was gonna ask," he pulled the cup of coffee towards him, "why'd you pay my drink?" Night Thunder smiled. So did Beats. "I'm here to bring you into another mission." Beats sipped his drink. "I thought the last mission was a one-time deal." The stallion returned with Night Thunder's coffee. The Commander nodded as he was hoofed the cup. The stallion returned to the counter. "I know that, but Celestia sees something in Team 41, my eyes can't see apparently. So I'm under orders to recruit you into this mission." Beatstorm twirled with the handle of his cup, tapping it. "I don't know..." He replied shyly. "Beats, I know you were let off by that Night Club." The Commander sank into his seat, the leather squeaking beneath him. "H-how?" Beats narrowed his eyes in curiosity. "I know. That's all there is to it." Beats sat back, "I know times will be tough, but if you prove to me that you're capable of this job, you'll have a future. Trust me." Beats bit the corner of his mouth and looked at the table. Next to his cup, Night Thunder slid his old SR9 pistol with chrome slide, Neuro grip panel, and quick reload magazine, "what do you say?" Beats picked up his old hoofgun and examined it, still has the dent on the trigger guard from the previous mission. Few scratches exposed the slides blackness, but other than that, the gun was still in working condition. Beats pulled the slide, listening to the inner mechanisms click in harmony. The slide sprung back to its original state with a low hum of the spring. The stallion yelped from behind the counter at the sight of the firearm. Beats stared at the stallion with confusion. "Oh, no no no." Beats realized he was looking at the gun. "Easy buddy," Night Thunder slid something out of his jacket and held it out to the stallion, "Elite Guard." The Stallion raised his head slightly until they saw his mouth. He looked closely at the item Thunder was holding. A badge showing the logo of the Elite Guard. The stallion got back up and cleared his throat. Beats looked at the gun again and caught a flash of glare from the slide. He didn't mind the brightness, instead, he kept staring. "Alright, sir." Beats spun the gun by the trigger guard, "I'm in." Night Thunder placed his badge back into the inner pocket of his jacket and stretched his hoof out to Beats. "Very well, finish your coffee and meet me outside." Night Thunder took a sip of his beverage and threw a bit into it. Beats watched as the drips of brown landed on the table. He took a few more minutes twirling the gun and drinking. He left the empty mug and trotted to the door. The stallion was as far as he can go from Beats. "Calm down man, no need to worry." Beats pushed the door open and saw a carriage with his commander seated inside. In the front, two ponies stood in the rain, the harnesses strapped around them. Beatstorm formed a shield above them using his magic. The two smiled as Beats climbed aboard. "Ivory tower, please." The two pullers whinnied and galloped, pulling the carriage with them. The ride was silent; Beats watched as ponies galloped through the rain, they passed a bakery where a group of ponies were singing in a harmonious tune. The rain grew harder and hit the top of the carriage like metal hitting metal. They took a turn as Night Thunder lit a cigar and pulled a folder out if his coat and hoofed it to Beats, "These are the recent reports in Saddle Arabia. According to sources, Heverans; a social class in Saddle Arabia, mostly a dominating class, have been ordering and receiving large amounts of steel and high powered items regarding nuclear fusion." Beats flipped through the paper. The paper became starchy with the humidity after an accustomed time. "It says here, that the dates imports of technology regarding nuclear fusion come in are spread out throughout the same amount of time; 30 days, or about a month in generality." Night Thunder nodded. "With those in their hooves, the technology wouldn't last very long, so they must contain it within a 20-day period or it will be of no worth." The carriage took another turn. "Around 900,000 bits have been spent to pay for all these imports." "Businesses are sponsoring these groups since they've promised oil to them." Beats scratched his head in frustration. "Ponies are so selfish these days." Beats flipped through the folder some more. Shortly after the carriage came to a stop, Night Thunder flicked the cigar into a nearby trash can. Beats jumped off as Night Thunder paid the two pullers. Heats looked up, shielding his eyes with his hooves from the hailing rain drops. The Ivory tower was the second biggest building in Manehattan. It was shaped like a funnel, narrowing from both ends; the top and bottom. Basically the closer you to the center, the narrower it became. On the top of the tower was a large, thin looking, rectangular prism lined with white Windows. Peering out of the top was a long narrow pole extending to the stormy skies. The sky flashed with a bright white light. Night Thunder looked to Beats from the two pullers. He proceeded to the tower. Beats trotted to catch up with the commander. "Sir?" Beats asked catching his breath, "What are we doing here?" Usually the base of the tower was filled with people eager to enter the giant monument. "You'll see in a few minutes." They approached the entrance where two security guards waited. They both wore blue cloaks, a gold badge hung on the left side of their chest. They opened the doors for the two. Night Thunder trotted through, but one of them put of hoof out, blocking Beats from the entrance. "Um." The guards looked at Beats. "You need to have a magic blocking spell cast on you, if you would please step this way." The guard lead Beats a few fret down where another door was. He pulled the door open where a purple aura stood in front of him taking up all the space in the doorway. Behind the aura came the commander with a smirk on his face. Beats rolled his eyes. The guard pushed Beats through the aura where his horn caught a portion of the aura and stretched it inward into the tower until the pressure pulled the aura back but left three swirling purple strings of magic swirling around Beat's horn. They swirled for a few more seconds before fusing with his horn with a strike of white light. Beats rubbed his horn. "Ow." Night Thunder flicked the horn and turned around to head for one of the elevators, "OW!" Beats looked around him, the Lobby had one way windows. From the outside, nopony could see into the lobby. The floor was made from ceramic white tiling, there was only one concierge desk, with one pony standing behind it. Night Thunder stretched his hoof out with his badge at the end. The concierge nodded with some sort of worry in her eyes. "C'mon, we'll miss our flight." Beats rubbed his horn pondering on the commander's note. "Flight, sir?" "Did I not make it clear?" He asked pressing the 'up' button. The two metallic doors slid open and the two trotted in as it dinged. Night Thunder pressed the 'sky tip' level. The doors sealed them away from the lobby. The elevator hummed and started up, bringing the pair higher and higher. Beats listened to the quiet elevator music that merged with the elevator hum. Night Thunder was used to the noise mixture. The machine slowed as it neared the top. The door spread revealing a duplicate room of the lobby, only the dark skies were closer to them, the wind swirling and howling outside. Nopony was on the floor possibly since the storm threatened the foundation of the tower. Night Thunder was the first to step out. Beats hesitated but followed him out before the doors were about to close. Night Thunder went down to the wind door, a door that would allow window washers to enter the room when in need of supplies. The Commander pushed the door open; the wind howled and pushed the door open for Night Thunder, slamming it on the wall. "C'mon!" Thunder shouted as the rain began to make the entrance damp. The Commander's hair was blown out of its style as well as his cloak. "Really?!" Beats looked out one of the windows and watched as lightning struck a n the distance followed by thunder. Beats gulped. Something pulled him to the door: it was Night Thunder. "Hey!" Night Thunder turned and saw security officers galloping for them. The Commander rushed out into the rain, the platform sloping. The guards stood at the wind door, hesitating to step onto the slippery slope. Night Thunder neared the edge, dragging a screaming Beats. The security guards finally galloped out onto the platform and screamed at Thunder. "Thunder!" Beats shouted. "Hold on!" Night Thunder gathered his strength and threw Beats off the side of the platform only a few feet away. Beats screamed as he watched the lightning and rain splash on his face. He screamed as he felt himself losing altitude. From the aide, Beats was caught by a white flash. Beats wiped his wet face and turned to his left where he was caught. "Tundra?" She nodded and dove down. Beats looked at the direction she was going in, in the middle of the air seemed to be a square portal parallel to the ground While down below where something white was waiting in it. Tundra rushed past the portal and Beats felt a cushioned, soft bounce catch him from falling: a fluffy pink mattress. Tundra stood up first and helped Beats up. Night Thunder came in last and portal above him closed. Beats looked around. It was the foyer of the airship, two guards on either side. "Where am I?" His voice was high pitched. Beats covered his mouth, "huh? I sound like a chipmunk!" Tundra giggled. "Me and Night Thunder do too." She said demonstrating her high pitched voice. "How?" Night Thunder pointed up. "You just passed through the ship's balloon; you probably inhaled some of the helium." One of the guards informed. Beats looked around confused. "Ship?" Night Thunder trotted away and to the cockpit. "Welcome aboard, Sgt. Beats." Tundra smiled. Beats smiled. Her helium voice had faded now. She helped him up, "this is the master class Airship of the Elite Guard, your room is right there." She pointed to the second door from the cockpit. "Thanks, Tundra." She nodded and trailed Thunder, "wait." She stopped. "Yes?" She pushed her hair back. "Who's here?" "Nopony, just some guards, Night, me and you." "So then who are we fetching next?" Beats smiled. "Your high school friend."
Chapter 1 Celestia awoke as saw the bright purple ceiling above her. Thin, intricate printings creating flowers swirled around on the ceiling. She sighed as she sat up. Her gold linen blanket was wrinkled and folded and laid long her spread legs. She eased herself toward the side of her bed and planted her hooves onto the ground, the drawstrings of her bathrobe dangling onto the red rug. She stretched and yawned, twisted her back and listened to her spine pop. She smacked her mouth trying to remove the morning taste from her gums. The Princess dragged herself across the room to the bathroom. The rug rubbed against her hooves as she entered the bathroom. Her hoofsteps turned from soft drags to firm, loud trots, clicking and clacking. She stopped in front of the wide mirror; she saw her reflection, sharp as she saw herself. Celestia reached for the faucet and turned on the water. She dipped her hoof into the newly formed pool at the bottom of the sink and scooped up some water. She splashed it onto her face and let out gasp. The water was cold. Just what she needed. She removed her bathrobe and turned on her shower. The water hit the floor with soft taps. "Your highness?" Celestia yelped and rushed into the shower, the water still being cold, she pulled the curtains to cover her. "Night Thunder!" She scolded, "I'm taking a shower!" She heard a chuckle. "Your highness, since when did ponies wear clothes?" Celestia felt the cold water dampen her flowing mane. She let out a breath, "what is it you want, Commander?" She heard Night Thunder clear his throat. "General Havive of the United Guard is here to speak to you." "When does he want to see me?" "Now, your highness." The water warmed up and Celestia felt blood rush back through her body. "Give me a few minutes." "Princess, he never comes to Canterlot unless it's urgent." Night Thunder's booming voice informed. "Well, so is conditioning this hair, Commander." Night Thunder chuckled and exited Celestia's bathroom. Celestia let the warm water continue down her long legs. She levitated the bottle of shampoo next to her and began to clean her mane. *** "She said she'll be right down, Gentlecolts." Night Thunder informed. He trotted down the stairs into the foyer of the castle. A glamorous chandelier with reflecting crystals shined down and made basic light shapes shine down on the floor. The United Guard General and his three men wore a traditional UG uniform; a blue bulletproof vest, and a matching military beret. The UG looked at the commander of the Elite Guard, jet black hair and mane, gray eyes with gelled hair to tip at the end and protrude past his face, his upper body was built, and one of his wings were robotic since it was torn off in a fight. The Elite Guard was a branch of military founded by one of Celestia's high ranking admirals. All who are accepted into the branch are 'the best of the best'. Night Thunder was wearing an Elite Guard uniform; basically similar to a Royal Guard's uniform only it had a small, red crest and instead of gold, major portions were silver instead. "Very well, Commander, did you inform her it was urgent?" Night Thunder smiled. "Yes, she heard me." The UG looked at Night Thunder, "what is the news?" The general looked at his two soldiers his sides. His bright green eyes caught a glare from the chandelier and made it glow brighter. "Since you are the highest ranking officer present, I suppose I can inform you of the predicament." "I suppose." The General nodded and one of his troops standing next to him handed him a manila folder. He opened it to reveal a thin pile of papers and photos attached. Night Thunder leaned in and the General flipped the file around and hoofed it to the commander. Night Thunder flipped through the photos displaying ruins of destroyed buildings. Concrete and debris were scattered along the ground. He flipped to the next photo which was a convoy of horse carts carrying ponies armed with firearms, dust trailing the. “Where were these photos taken, General?” “Saddle Arabia.” Night Thunder was shocked at the next photo; A United Guard Embassy with smoke rising from one side. “This building,” Night Thunder lifted the picture up to the General, “is supposed to have the tightest security in all of Equestria.” “They got in, what’s more to it, commander?” Night Thunder cussed under his breath, “The conflict between two rising factions in Saddle Arabia; Gaya and Hevera, is growing to a more dangerous level, possibly genocidal, commander.” Night Thunder looked through the files reporting the damage and deaths. “What’s the conflict between the two factions?” “Gaya had conducted genocide against the Heveras almost 50 years ago when Saddle Arabia was created. Since then the Gaya had stopped the massacre, but now the Heveras are looking for revenge in a sense.” "So the Gaya aren’t clean either…” “Yes.” “What happened to the embassy?” The UG shuffled in their spots until the general spoke up. “The occupants within the embassy were kidnapped and were hung in public by the streetlights in front of the embassy.” Night Thunder shook his head. “This is madness.” “They’re demanding that all United Guard withdraw from the land." Night Thunder looked up. "You don't plan on it, do you?" "That's what I came here to discuss with the Princess." Night Thunder closed the file. "I say we discuss this in the dining hall, Gentlecolts, you must be hungry after the trip here." He hoofed the file back to the general, "tell them I sent you." The General nodded and trotted off with his two soldiers. The Elite commander climbed back up the stairs and trotted down the red carpet hall. The Princess turned the corner into the hallway where the commander was. "Ah, there you are." Celestia smiled, her mane flowing in its original wavy state. She had put on her necklace, along her crown. "Your highness." Night Thunder bowed. "Next time, knock, Commander." She said smirking as she brushed past him. He stood back up and caught up to Celestia. "From what I heard from the general, its best you hear what is strolling in Saddle Arabia." "Oh?" "Yes, it's already caused the execution of United Guard Embassy employees to be executed." Celestia stopped in her tracks, Night Thunder stopping with her. "Bring me to them." Night Thunder nodded and led them down the stairs. Night Thunder reached the bottom and found himself in the foyer yet again. He made a right. Gold armor was posed to create ponies guarding the sides of the walls. The Commander lead Celestia to the dining hall which had a wood oak double door as its entrance. "They're in there." "Thank you." She opened the door using her magic and Night Thunder tried to sneak a peek until the doors shut in front of him. Night Thunder shrugged it off and trotted away. He turned the corner and bumped into two guards. "Ah, the Princess." Night Thunder informed them as he got up, he stretched out his hoof, "she's in the dining hall." The two guards grabbed the one hoof and Night Thunder pulled them up. The two guards nodded and they trotted away. The Commander continued his way to his office. He passed a large room, rounded at the top and made of plastered bronze walls. Night Thunder reached into his belt and grabbed the walkie talkie clipped onto it. "Tundra!" Night Thunder said into the talkie. No answer. He repeated himself. "I'm here. I'm here, sir." The walkie talkie croaked with a smooth, sweet voice. Tundra was Night Thunder's assistant. She was recruited into his team only six months ago, and according to Night Thunder, she's done extraordinary at her job. "A little late on the reply." Night Thunder chuckled. "Apologies, sir." The Commander exited the large room and into a hall. He stopped midway down the hall. He turned to face it and placed his hoof on it. Two green lines beamed on the wall. The one above his hoof went down and scanned his hoof. The one to the right scanned to the left. As soon as the two beams were finished with their individual scans, they simultaneously scanned the hoof once more at the same time. The beams flashed and the wall split in front of Night Thunder. "I need you to print out a file on recent reports on Saddle Arabia." He said as the sides spread revealing a dark opening. "I'll try and find something." Thunder clipped the walkie talkie back onto his belt. He trotted through the newly made opening. Once he was a few feet in, the light narrowed behind him. He found himself in complete darkness. "Name?" A robotic female voice asked. "Night Thunder." He answered. "Confirming voice pattern." Silence, and then, "confirmed." Light sprung out in front of the commander. He squinted as his eyes adjusted, "Welcome to the Elite Guard HQ, Commander."
Chapter 2 "General, I don't believe an invasion is the rational answer to this predicament." Celestia informed as she sipped her tea. "I'm aware of this, your highness, but what other choice do we have? They've killed United Guard on foreign soil! That's an act of war." "Aren't we at war presently, General?" The UG (United Guard) ranking officer sat back silently, silently agreeing with the Princess, "I do propose a solution that does not need the presence of the United Guard on Saddle Arabian soil." "And what would that be?" Celestia stood up and trotted for the buffet table. The General getting up and following her, "Princess, we could be looking at genocide in the near future, hell, maybe a month's time away!" "I understand, but an invasion going to send all of Equestria to war. Don't you know that all the terrorist groups and social classes are somehow associated with oil industries are connected to other parts of Equestria?" She levitated a plate and gathered three slices of bread along with some butter, "if you invade the area, areas of Equestria will see it as you taking their oil. And we both know how dependent Equestria is of Saddle Arabia's oil rich lands." "So what better plan do you suggest?" The General said as he lifted a plate with his magic. "I'll keep that to myself until the time of right to reveal my plans to the United Guard." The General grew frustrated. "I need to know what will happen, my troops are scattered all over the place." "Deploy peacekeepers." Celestia ordered as she lifted a strawberry and popped it into her mouth. "Peacekeepers? What do you want me to with them?" "I believe," Celestia swallowed the red fruit, "it is listed in their name." "Keeping peace is difficult in Saddle Arabia." He informed as he poured syrup on his gold, freshly toasted waffle. "Just do as I say, General." Celestia turned away with her plate filled with fruit and light brown, hot pancakes. The General sighed and followed her, bringing his plate with him. *** Night Thunder trotted past aisles of cubicles, phones ringing from different parts of the room followed by 'Elite Guard'. He continued down the aisle until he reached the entrance into a hallway. He pushed the doors and entered into a quiet, clear hallway. "Always hated going through that." He let out a breath of relief. He trotted down the curved hallway, going left. At the end of the hallway was a pair of elevators. He stopped in front of them and pressed the button shaped as an arrow pointing upward. It glowed dull yellow as a hum slowly grew louder. Night Thunder backed away from the elevator. He listened as the humming grew louder and louder until a bell rang. The doors to the elevator opened and Night Thunder entered. The doors closed. The walls lower halves were made of wood and the upper halves were mirrors. Above him was a bright rectangular fluorescent light. The elevator started up and began to rise. Night Thunder could hear the faintest amount of elevator music. It was drained out by the humming, gears turning, and machines working. The small box stopped and the doors opened to a hallway. He stepped out of the elevator and looked around. There on the floor waiting was Tundra, her bright blue eyes, square glasses, shiny, long indigo mane and a brilliant shiny white coat. The door closed. Tundra was holding a yellow folder. She stretched it out to Night Thunder. "Thank you, Tundra." She nodded. Night Thunder opened the file and went down the hallway, Tundra trailing him. "May I ask why you requested this, sir?" She asked as she pushed her glasses up. "The General of the United Guard has come to town, Tundra. And he's come with alarming news." "Is it concerning what you have there?" She pointed to the folder. "Affirmative, I've heard the things happening in Saddle Arabia, but I fear that things will become worse if we don't do anything about the problem." Tundra nodded silently. Thunder turned and opened the door to his office. His office had one window that let him have a view of the hallway. He requested to have the window removed due to it possessing no purpose of its presence. He had a large wood oak desk in the corner with a leather swivel chair behind it. The Commander wasn't one of style of design, so the most he had in his office was a potted plant in the corner opposite of his desk and a painting of Star Swirled the Bearded. He sat in his desk as Tundra closed the door. Thunder placed the folder onto his desk and looked up at Tundra. "How are you, Ms. Tundra?" He managed a smile without the eye contact. "I'm fine." She replied in her soft voice. "Alright. Let's get back to work; I'll notify you if I need your assistance." She nodded and turned around. She opened the door. Night Thunder caught a glimpse of white crossing the window. Tundra held the door open and the commander noticed use bowed. The door handle glow a bright yellow as Tundra stood back up and went right. The door opened wider as the Princess trotted in. Night Thunder got up and stepped out of the desk and bowed before her. He stood up and saw the tall princess. "Commander." "Your highness." He acknowledged. He gestured her to sit in his desk but she declined. "I spoke with the General." She informed him. "And?" She looked to the right corner of her eye. "He wants an immediate invasion of Saddle Arabia." Night Thunder rubbed his mane. "Damn. That won't end well." "It won't start at all." She shot back. Night Thunder looked at her. She shook her head and sat down in Night Thunder's chair, "Saddle Arabia is like a web connected to many other webs. Once we mess with Saddle Arabia, we mess with everything else!" "That would be the future consequence, but what would the solution to all of this be?" Celestia rested her cheek on her hoof. She tapped her other hoof on the wood oak, the sound like a twig hitting a hardwood floor. Her eyes grew wide and a grin spread on her face. "Assemble Team 41!" She suggested delightfully. Night Thunder raised an eyebrow. "Seriously?" She nodded. "I know they're still a testing group, but they did extraordinary on their last mission!" Night Thunder waved it off. Celestia rolled her eyes. "That does not mean they can conduct this mission successfully, Princess." "They saved your flank is what I know." The Commander rolled his eyes. "I slipped." Celestia smiled mockingly, "I will not assemble them, they're a loose cannon group, and we don't know what could happen! Last time was just an elimination of a small group of bandits. This time, we're looking at a world war!" "Commander, I wouldn't ask you to assemble them of I didn't trust them with this." She looked at his eyes. Night Thunder crossed his hooves. "You know the consequences if they screw up, don't you?" She nodded. Night Thunder bit his lip. He stared at the tip of Celestia's waving rainbow hair. Watching it whip like slow flame. "Alright. I'll file an order to assemble them." Celestia hugged Night Thunder. "This'll work, old friend. Forget the past and let's think about the future." She let go of him and trotted out. Night Thunder smiled as she past the window. He galloped through the door and down the hallway to Celestia. "I'll do it if you get someone to remove this useless mirror." Celestia smiled. "Done." The Commander smiled and the elevator door opened for Celestia. She stepped in and the doors closed. Night Thunder turned back around and headed back for his office. Tundra's office was right next to Night Thunders. He past his office and trotted into her office. She was organized, three tables, including her desk, held piles and piles of files, but each one was labeled, colored, very organized in summary. "Tundra?" Night Thunder put his hoof on her desk. She looked up from the paperwork, she hadn't noticed he had entered a few seconds ago. "Oh, sir." She closed the file, "what can I do for you?" "Prep me a team of ten Elites to assemble a team." She nodded and moved for the landline next to her, "also," she paused midway to the phone, "prep the master class Airship." She nodded and picked up the phone. The Commander left her room and entered his own. He slipped into his desk. He stared at the placard at the corner of his desk. He reached for it and turned it around. Inscribed on the gold sheet of metal was 'Commander Thunder'. He turned it placed it back in its original position and resumed his work, taking out the folder Tundra gave him. He flipped through the pages with interest, criminals charged with petty theft, all the way to reports of homicide. Suicide bombings, rape, protests on the street, one resulting in a massacre of both Saddle Arabian troops and the civilian population, he sighed, "We’ll be in for a rough one." He flipped through the pages of criminal records and found a stapled packet with records of past imports within the past three months. He fished through the pages. Some imports were highlighted, but they were all the same; 'steel from Manehattan and New Filly'. Night Thunder ignored the highlights for they were just steel. Manehattan and New Filly need to make a profit after all; they are the head of the whole world's stock exchange. He looked through the report for hours, "We can't sanction them...that would lead to more conflict outside of Arabia." "What would Saddle Arabia do with steel? High grade steel, for that matter?" He looked closer at the imports, three imports from Diabra; nuclear fusion instruments, technology used in powering cities big as Canterlot. Night Thunder closed the file and rubbed his eyes. He stood up and stretched. He grabbed the file and slid it under his desk. The Commander yawned and headed out.
Chapter 3The sun shone no more in Saddle Arabia, debris and smoke covered the skies, like an endless storm with no rain: clouds never seeming to leave the sky. The blue sky was no more, but now a gray swirl of nothing. An explosion sounded in the distance. Screaming followed, fillies running from the noise. "Mom!" One of them yelled. They ram through an alley. Above them, pegasi eyed them like hawks looking at fresh prey. They spread their wings and dropped down, grabbing the squirming, screaming fillies. They rushed out of the alley holding them as they struggled to get free. A cart pulled up next to the alley; it was made of metal and had a closed top, one opening through the top was open and the back and front was caged. The Pegasus dropped the fillies in through the top. Citizens gathered and watched as one by one, the fillies were dropped into the cart, screaming for help. One of the Pegasus stood on top of the cart, dressed like his colleagues. Tan, ragged, torn cloth wrapped around their faces, a brown large blanket like cloth covering their bodies. You could barely make out a rifle hanging front their necks underneath the brown cloth. "What are you all looking at?!" He shouted. The citizens began to disband. One pony stayed and stared at the Pegasus on top of the cart. He was an old pony, using a cane to aid him in moving. His eyes were crusted along with his now shaggy white mane. "I'll tell ya what I'm looking at!" He scoffed. The Pegasus flew down and took out a small pistol. "Tell me old man. What?" The old pony bent down and picked up the sand beneath him. "I'm looking at one of my fellow Arabians betraying what we all are! To the sand with you!" He heaved the sand at the Pegasus. The Pegasus blinked his eyes and staggered back. He wiped the sand away, tears forming. The old stallion stood as citizens watched from the sides. The Pegasus blinked a few more times, while doing so he held the gun up and shot the old stallion five times in the head. The cane fell to the sand and so did the old man, staining the sand black underneath his head, like a pillow. The Pegasus put the pistol back in its holster. "All of you!" He yelled to the crowd, "Get out of here unless you want me to call a Heveran convoy over here!" The ponies galloped away from the scene, "and clean this rubbish up." The Pegasus commanded the others, referring to the dead stallion on the street. The cart pulled saluted as the Pegasus passed. He flew up to the top, listening to the screaming children underneath him. He stomped on the cart and the puller galloped. The Pegasus left behind picked up the old stallion and began to hack at him, laughing and joking as they did so. Finally the slammed the corpse up against the wall of a building, one of them picked up old rusty nails on the sidewalk. They hoofed them over to another pegasus who held them up to the old man's hooves and nailed his limbs onto the wall using the handle of his gun. The Heveran militia laughed as they slammed the nails through the old pony's body. They grabbed their firearms. "Ready?" They joked. "To the sand with him!" They laughed as they fired at the corpse that was now nailed to a building. Citizens watched from the sanctuary of the indoors, with eyes filled with fear. His limbs bleeding and scraps of his skin being blown off as the bullets whisked through the air. *** The road was bumpy, gravel and twigs break underneath the cart. Tundra lifted the back and watched as the Cary passes green pastures, small stones from the gravel spitting from the back of the wheels. She pulled her head back in and looked across from her at the Commander's eyes still glued to the file. She felt her backpack bouncing up and down on her side. She stared at Night Thunder. She got lost in his gray eyes. He lifted his head. She heard something muffled, Tundra stared at his hair. It was gelled to tip at the ends, just like it always was. "Tundra!" She shook her head and snapped out of her trance. She grabbed her backpack and began to search around it. "Uh, yes... What do you want, sir?" Night Thunder grabbed her bag. "Nothing Miss." He plopped the bag beside him, "you need to stay focused, Tundra. This is important." She blushed and nodded, pushing her hair back behind her ears. The cart stopped. Night Thunder returned Tundra's backpack and let her exit the cart first. Tundra found herself in front of a massive stone cliff. She gazed the cliffs surrounding them. On top on one of the edges was a massive blimp sitting on the edge like a large eagle on a thin branch. It looked like the ledge was about to snap. The blimp was the Master Class Airship that the Elite Guard used for special operations. It was much larger than the average airship, but possessed special equipment to make it the stealthiest, fuel efficient, and most powerful ship in all of Equestria. Nothing compared to the technology or firepower onboard the massive blimp. The balloon was black and massive, covered in thick metallic sheets that prevented projectiles from piercing the balloon. On either side of the balloon, a large circular device laid in the middle. It was currently turning, but you can see small holes on the revolving pieces. "Night Thunder?" Tundra inquired. The Commander picked up some bags and trotted over to her. "Yes?" Tundra pointed at the circular devices. "What are those?" She asked. "Those are converters, powered by unicorn magic, they possess the power to transform oxygen molecules into helium to keep the balloon afloat." "How?" Nothing in Equestria had ever witnessed technology like this. "Well, with modern day technology and magic, we've managed to create a similar process the stars do to create helium." Tundra nodded, "c'mon, there should be a lift over there." He pointed behind a large obelisk-like natural stone structure. Tundra trotted for the directed area, followed by the Commander. Behind the stone was a row of ten wooden planks, twenty feet long and bound together by four iron bars underneath them. A steel frame was built on top of the wood, extruding from the four corners and forming a parallel square from the wood. "Is it safe?" Tundra asked. Thunder shrugged. "It’s all we got." Tundra sighed and stepped onto the lift, the commander following her onto it. He reached up and grabbed the one of the four ropes on the corners and tugged in them. Some shouting was heard followed by the lift jolting and beginning to rise. Above, you could hear the machine pulling them up. Tundra watched as the stoke structure grew smaller as they rose. The lift jolted again. When they had reached the top, Tundra jumped onto the cliff without hesitation. Thunder threw his and Tundra's bag on first, and then jumped onto the cliff’s edge. Two ponies wearing yellow chest plates galloped toward them and picked the bag up. "To the airship, sir?" One of them asked, he had a slight Trottingham accent. Thunder nodded, and the two galloped off toward a mass crowd of ponies gathered near a small group of buildings. Moving around like a hive of working bees, Royal Guards, a few Elites, and some workers were helping to get the ship prepped for flight. Tundra and Night Thunder began to proceed for the ship. Tundra stared; the metal sheets that covered the balloon portion became clearer than they were on the bottom of the cliff. They shone brilliantly as the sun beat down on them. The gondola stretched from one end of the balloon to the opposite. Small, horizontal, narrow windows were built on the side like a bunker, and you could tell the half-cylinder like cockpit had a panoramic view as well as the rear. The rudders on the back of the airship displayed the logo of the Elite Guard; a sword encased in a circle excluding the tip of the blade. Tundra and Night Thunder pushed their way through the busy ponies. They were greeted near the rope ladder to the airship by Celestia. "Night Thunder," she smiled, "Tundra." "Your highness." Tundra bowed. Celestia looked to Night Thunder. "I wish you luck on your endeavors, old friend." She placed her hoof on his shoulder and he smiled, looking down. "Thank you Princess, I hope to return with success." She took her hoof back and allowed the Commander and his assistant to leave. Tundra spread her wings and flew up. Night Thunder followed, his robotic wing clicking as it went up. Celestia waved as they entered the airship. Tundra flew into the open hangar door, Night Thunder coming in shortly after her. Already in the hangar were two unicorn Elite Guards wearing no armor were moving things around. They greeted the Commander and his assistant with a salute. Night Thunder responded with a salute. The hangar was rather small; the floor was made up of four large metallic plates and one circle in the center of them. The sides were lined with one row of seven small, narrow windows seen previously. Two trunks were on either side, filled with parachutes. "Um..." Tundra pushed her hair back and looked at Night Thunder. "Oh, right, your room is right over there." Night Thunder pointed down one of the two hallways on either side of the hangar and the second door from them. She nodded and trotted to the room with her head down. Night Thunder coming into the hangar. "Is she shy, sir?" One of the Elites asked. "Yes." He answered plainly. "She's cute." One of them replied. The Commander turned his head to look at the Elite who said that. As he turned his head he saw something fly through the air and onto the Elite's face. "You're such a pervert." The other Elite laughed. On the Elite's, who called Tundra cute, face was piece of bread. He removed the piece and looked at his companion. "I called her cute! How is that perverted?" The other shrugged. Night Thunder ignored them and went through the hallway. As he entered the hallway, a door to his left lead to the research lab, and he continued down the hallway he entered the foyer, a large circular room meant to entertain the Team, where the bunkers/rooms for Team 41 and the Elites surrounded it. The walls were made of wood and the rug was like soft, white sand, only you couldn't kick it. In the foyer were three arched sofas that were concentric with the room's circular pattern. Three pegasi elites were seated at each of the chairs. In the middle of the room was three TV's each one pointing to a different sofa. Opposite to the hallways was a door that lead to the main cockpit, and on either side was a bar-like structure that held food and refreshments. It was made of wood to give it a luxurious and natural look. Night Thunder trotted over to one of the couches. As he approached the Elites noticed his presence, stood up, and saluted. Night Thunder bowed his head and the Elites sat down. Night Thunder sat down next to one of them and let out a sigh. "Tired, sir?" One of them asked. "Quite." The young stallion nodded. He held his hoof out. "Sergeant Chrome." Night Thunder looked at the guard. "I see why you were named, Chrome." His coat was like silver, his eyes were a like a bar of gold, rich and voluptuous. He too had no armor. He held his hoof out and shook his hoof. "Sergeant Greenspan." "Are all of you recruits?" Night Thunder blatantly and spontaneously asked. All three nodded. "I believe all Elites on this ship are recruits, Commander." "I see." The Elites nodded, "alright," he groaned as he lifted himself from his comfortable position on the soft sofa, "nice to meet all of you, but let's get to work on prepping the ship, shall we?" The Elites got up and did as the Commander told. Night Thunder trotted over to the safe door that lead to the cockpit. He turned the four handled tumble and the door opened with a hiss. The cockpit was as large as half the foyer. Inside were five earth ponies wearing utility belts like the others, and were without any armor. Four of them were on the monitors, two on either side of the room. In the front was a panoramic view of the blue sky in front of them. The floor was tilted at an angle, excluding a small portion on the bottom where the Commander "commands from, which is unnecessary," according to Night Thunder. On the desks and monitors the Elites were on were the instruments and equipment necessary to keep the airship moving. In the flattened area was an Elite leaning on a female Elite's monitor, pointing to parts of the desk, most likely assisting her in properly using the equipment. Night Thunder trotted up to the front of the cockpit. "Listen up!" He boomed. The cockpit went silent, "excellent. Let's begin our mission." The Elites all nodded and placed their earpieces in as if they were on cue. Night Thunder was tossed a headset with built in microphone, "Ignition." He commanded. One pony flicked a few things followed by the turning of dial. The ship rattled as the engines began to kick on. "Engines fired up and warming up to operating temperatures." One pony informed. "Close the hangar door." Another few clicks and turns and the sound of gears and machines working sounded followed by a loud locking sound. "Hangar door sealed sir." "Alright, let’s move out!" The ship hummed as it began to move, "let's hope this will work, Princess."
Chapter 4A buzzing sound went off, as his eyes slowly cracked open, Beatstorm; a navy blue pony, with gold irises, yellow mane and sharp pointed tail, rolled off his leather couch and onto the wood floor. As his hearing fell dim, he looked around, his surroundings blurred. The noises flooded back into his brain. The buzzing. His alarm clock. Beats planted his hooves on the hard wood and pushed up. Using most of his woken strength to lift himself off the ground. He lifted his head up and saw the alarm clock: ten am. It sat upon a small bedside table, small scratches beneath the loud machine. Beats lifted his right hoof and smacked it on the top; killing the irritable sound that had awoken him from his deep slumber. He sat up on the floor and climbed back on to the couch. He sighed and lied down on it again, in his position prior to the buzzing. He drifted back to sleep as he dreamt. The buzzer sounded again which startled the pony. He fell off the couch a second time. This time he got up quickly, scurried for the alarm clock, picked it up and threw it out the open window, listening as the buzzing found dimmed. "Geez." He sighed. Beatstorm pulled himself back onto the couch and rubbed his eyes. Across from him was his laptop sitting on the glass coffee table. On the surface were two large cracks that made the table look like two baseballs had hit it. The laptop was left on all night, and on the screen was the desktop wallpaper of his cutie Mark; a pair of gray headphones. Beats waited for the flashing colors left behind in his eyes from the rubbing before he grabbed his laptop. He placed it on his stomach and began to search through his inbox. He selected most of them and clicked on the command "Erase." He watched the animation of three circles bouncing up and down in the middle of the screen. The screen was cleared and the small animation faded. He continued to rifle through his emails, until he stumbled upon one he had received last night from his place of work. He opened the email as it made a 'pop' noise. He examined the message and whispered it to himself. "Dear Beatstorm, your occupation here as DJ in the Night Club has come to a sorrowful end, your services here were much enjoyable but it's in the Club's best interests that you are taken out of duty. I hope you will be hired by somepony very soon. A pony with your talent isn't hard to find. -JC" Beatstorm sighed and laid back. He grabbed the laptop and tossed it onto the coffee table, only to hear the cracks on it begin to expand further. Beatstorm's eyes gazed as the table began to shatter to pieces. It fell apart, the fragments falling to the ground like fresh snow, the laptop falling on them and making a sharp shattering noise under it. Beatstorm closed one eye as the noise pierced his ears. He looked back at the debris. Everything but the stub of one of the legs was shattered to bits and pieces. Beats rubbed his mane and felt his ears being to heat up. He got up, galloped for the door, grabbed his coat and rushed out to into the rainy morning. No sun, no clouds, the sky was gray and the trees looked like charcoal. The grass housed no creatures, as they have fled to their homes from the pouring rain. Beatstorm pulled his coat over him and flicked the hood up. He gasped as he heard thunder roaring in the distance. "I gotta make it to the Club..." He whispered, "I'll give JC a piece of my mind, and he's not gonna understand it at all!" He smirked and began to gallop through the puddles that have invaded the concrete sidewalk. As he trotted, he watched ponies pass him, one pair laughing. Beats pulled the drawstrings of his hood with his magic and watched his breath turn to a cool blue frost as he exhaled. The rain became harder and he progressed from a trot to a gallop. Rushing through the puddles, splashing the cold water around him as his hooves hit the ground. In front of him laid a small hill that lay with a crowd of hills, like a small mountain range. Beats managed to make it to the top of the hill and found himself gazing at the lights of Manehattan. The buildings were gray and dull as they reflected the sky above, the rain was making the buildings appear disfigured and distorted. A strike of lightning flared in the distance, striking one of the tall standing towers of the city. Faster than Beats can realize what he saw, the lightning struck the city without warning, like a battle zone. He took a step and realized the ground had turned to guck and mud. He tread carefully as he tried to make his way down to the street at the base of the hill. Beats dug his hoof into the ground with each step, securing his hoof's placement and stability. He made another step, then another, "Easy does it..." He attempted another step, but one of his hooves slipped and he began to slide down the steep and muddy slope. Mud splashing onto his face and hoody, Beatstorm pulled his arms to cover his face, causing him to lose balance. He slowly tilted his position unknowingly as he slid down. His head caught the ground and he flipped, the dirt spinning off of him. Beats saw shades of blue as he spun, finally splashes of rainbow combusted on his eyes as he landed on his back. He groaned as the pain of the soreness was eased with stretching. Beatstorm lifted himself up and wiped the mud off of him. He rubbed his eyes to remove the colors. His entire body was soaked, including his now stained hoodie with green and black blotches spread from sleeve to sleeve. Beats looked around, no ponies within sight, but honks occasionally sounded down the road. He looked up to find two average sized buildings towering above him. Made of bricks, one building was used for residential purposes indicated by the laundry hanging on the clotheslines stretched from one building to another. The other one, a gray plaster coated building, displayed a sign of yellow with blue font saying "Zion's gym." The windows were lit with mares running on treadmills, a yoga class, and a swimming pool on the bottom most floor. Beatstorm trotted between the buildings in order to get further into the city. Beats formed a transparent shield above him to shelter him from the pouring rain. He galloped his way into the city, watching ponies galloping past him, escaping the rainy morning. Beats continued down the alley until he reached the end where it met one of the city's biggest roads, and thus, the busiest. Something buckled to the right of him, followed by cursing, Beats turned to find a business pony who dropped his suitcase. The suitcase's hinge buckled and the papers fell out, the raindrops denaturing the paper's form. Beats looked across the street; the Night Club was just a few hoofsteps away. Beats looked back and forth between the business pony and the Night Club, one of the employees looked out the door. Beats bit his lip. He gave the Club one last look and turned to face the business pony. He galloped for him and formed a shield merging with his to protect the stallion and his papers from the raging storm. The business Pony looked up at Beats who simply stood there. He hurriedly picked up his papers and stuffed them into his suitcase. "Thank you." He smiled getting up. Beats nodded, preventing eye contact. The business pony galloped away with the suitcase on his back. Beats looked at the Club, closed for the day. It'll open back up at 9:00 and he'd have an 11 hour window. Beats sat down on the curb and stared as the neon lights of the Club dimmed and were no longer lively. "Just like my career..." Beats sighed. He took off his hoodie and threw it onto the street where multiple rushing carriages ran it over. The hoody looked like a dead animal, soaked and deformed. The shield evaporated as the water began to hit Beat's mane. The color faded from gold to a dark green under the rain. The hair began to cover Beat's gold irises. His coat grew cold on his skin, his tail lay on the ground coiled up and soggy. Beats leaned forward and looked at the puddle forming beneath his hooves. In the puddle he saw his reflection, a grim mirror showing bleak colors. He stood himself up and trotted down the sidewalk dragging his tail across the wet pavement. He came across a neon sign hanging on a glass window of a cafe. He looked to the street where gray carriages had replaced the lively colored ones. Beats turned and trotted into the cafe. A jingle followed the creak of the entrance. Greeted with the black and white tiling of the establishment, the red leather chairs brought the serving area life. To the right of the DJ was a light blue counter with five red leather swivel booths surrounding it. Behind the counter was a stallion with a white stained apron and five o’clock shadow upon his stern face. His coat was dark brown, like the leftover coffee on the counter. "May I help you?" The stallion asked. "Um..." Beats looked around. His eyes darting from corner to corner, "I'll take a black with two sugars." The pony nodded as Beats came to the counter. He seated himself at the second from the right booth. Beats folded his hooves on his lap. He leaned forward and let his chest lean on the edge of the table. Beats let out a long sigh. He looked up and lost himself staring as the neon sign spelled, "open." Something hit the table. Beat's stare at the sign was broken by the stallion placing a white mug with a line of coffee sliding down the "Here you go, 3 bits." He slid the coffee to Beats. The DJ reached down to his side expecting his jacket to be there, but he remembered. He threw his jacket onto the street. "About that..." The stallion stood there looking at Beats. Beats felt his ears begin to heat up. "Well?" He became impatient. Beats flushed. The bell rang again. The stallion and Beats directed their attention towards a hooded figure wearing a parka standing in the doorway, the rain still pouring behind him. Beat's mouth opened slightly, as if to say something. The figure pushed his hood back revealing his jet black mane with gray highlight, watching fur and piercing gray irises. Beats quietly gasped. Night Thunder reached into the parka and pulled out six bits. He tossed them at the Stallion who failed to catch some. "I'll take an espresso." The stallion nodded and rushed into the kitchen. Night Thunder examined the cafe and trotted over to Beat's booth. His mouth still agape, "close your mouth," Night Thunder snapped him out of his trance. "Sir?" Beatstorm asked. "Why am I here? I'm guessing those were the words about to leave your tongue." Beats shook his head. "I was gonna ask," he pulled the cup of coffee towards him, "why'd you pay my drink?" Night Thunder smiled. So did Beats. "I'm here to bring you into another mission." Beats sipped his drink. "I thought the last mission was a one-time deal." The stallion returned with Night Thunder's coffee. The Commander nodded as he was hoofed the cup. The stallion returned to the counter. "I know that, but Celestia sees something in Team 41, my eyes can't see apparently. So I'm under orders to recruit you into this mission." Beatstorm twirled with the handle of his cup, tapping it. "I don't know..." He replied shyly. "Beats, I know you were let off by that Night Club." The Commander sank into his seat, the leather squeaking beneath him. "H-how?" Beats narrowed his eyes in curiosity. "I know. That's all there is to it." Beats sat back, "I know times will be tough, but if you prove to me that you're capable of this job, you'll have a future. Trust me." Beats bit the corner of his mouth and looked at the table. Next to his cup, Night Thunder slid his old SR9 pistol with chrome slide, Neuro grip panel, and quick reload magazine, "what do you say?" Beats picked up his old hoofgun and examined it, still has the dent on the trigger guard from the previous mission. Few scratches exposed the slides blackness, but other than that, the gun was still in working condition. Beats pulled the slide, listening to the inner mechanisms click in harmony. The slide sprung back to its original state with a low hum of the spring. The stallion yelped from behind the counter at the sight of the firearm. Beats stared at the stallion with confusion. "Oh, no no no." Beats realized he was looking at the gun. "Easy buddy," Night Thunder slid something out of his jacket and held it out to the stallion, "Elite Guard." The Stallion raised his head slightly until they saw his mouth. He looked closely at the item Thunder was holding. A badge showing the logo of the Elite Guard. The stallion got back up and cleared his throat. Beats looked at the gun again and caught a flash of glare from the slide. He didn't mind the brightness, instead, he kept staring. "Alright, sir." Beats spun the gun by the trigger guard, "I'm in." Night Thunder placed his badge back into the inner pocket of his jacket and stretched his hoof out to Beats. "Very well, finish your coffee and meet me outside." Night Thunder took a sip of his beverage and threw a bit into it. Beats watched as the drips of brown landed on the table. He took a few more minutes twirling the gun and drinking. He left the empty mug and trotted to the door. The stallion was as far as he can go from Beats. "Calm down man, no need to worry." Beats pushed the door open and saw a carriage with his commander seated inside. In the front, two ponies stood in the rain, the harnesses strapped around them. Beatstorm formed a shield above them using his magic. The two smiled as Beats climbed aboard. "Ivory tower, please." The two pullers whinnied and galloped, pulling the carriage with them. The ride was silent; Beats watched as ponies galloped through the rain, they passed a bakery where a group of ponies were singing in a harmonious tune. The rain grew harder and hit the top of the carriage like metal hitting metal. They took a turn as Night Thunder lit a cigar and pulled a folder out if his coat and hoofed it to Beats, "These are the recent reports in Saddle Arabia. According to sources, Heverans; a social class in Saddle Arabia, mostly a dominating class, have been ordering and receiving large amounts of steel and high powered items regarding nuclear fusion." Beats flipped through the paper. The paper became starchy with the humidity after an accustomed time. "It says here, that the dates imports of technology regarding nuclear fusion come in are spread out throughout the same amount of time; 30 days, or about a month in generality." Night Thunder nodded. "With those in their hooves, the technology wouldn't last very long, so they must contain it within a 20-day period or it will be of no worth." The carriage took another turn. "Around 900,000 bits have been spent to pay for all these imports." "Businesses are sponsoring these groups since they've promised oil to them." Beats scratched his head in frustration. "Ponies are so selfish these days." Beats flipped through the folder some more. Shortly after the carriage came to a stop, Night Thunder flicked the cigar into a nearby trash can. Beats jumped off as Night Thunder paid the two pullers. Heats looked up, shielding his eyes with his hooves from the hailing rain drops. The Ivory tower was the second biggest building in Manehattan. It was shaped like a funnel, narrowing from both ends; the top and bottom. Basically the closer you to the center, the narrower it became. On the top of the tower was a large, thin looking, rectangular prism lined with white Windows. Peering out of the top was a long narrow pole extending to the stormy skies. The sky flashed with a bright white light. Night Thunder looked to Beats from the two pullers. He proceeded to the tower. Beats trotted to catch up with the commander. "Sir?" Beats asked catching his breath, "What are we doing here?" Usually the base of the tower was filled with people eager to enter the giant monument. "You'll see in a few minutes." They approached the entrance where two security guards waited. They both wore blue cloaks, a gold badge hung on the left side of their chest. They opened the doors for the two. Night Thunder trotted through, but one of them put of hoof out, blocking Beats from the entrance. "Um." The guards looked at Beats. "You need to have a magic blocking spell cast on you, if you would please step this way." The guard lead Beats a few fret down where another door was. He pulled the door open where a purple aura stood in front of him taking up all the space in the doorway. Behind the aura came the commander with a smirk on his face. Beats rolled his eyes. The guard pushed Beats through the aura where his horn caught a portion of the aura and stretched it inward into the tower until the pressure pulled the aura back but left three swirling purple strings of magic swirling around Beat's horn. They swirled for a few more seconds before fusing with his horn with a strike of white light. Beats rubbed his horn. "Ow." Night Thunder flicked the horn and turned around to head for one of the elevators, "OW!" Beats looked around him, the Lobby had one way windows. From the outside, nopony could see into the lobby. The floor was made from ceramic white tiling, there was only one concierge desk, with one pony standing behind it. Night Thunder stretched his hoof out with his badge at the end. The concierge nodded with some sort of worry in her eyes. "C'mon, we'll miss our flight." Beats rubbed his horn pondering on the commander's note. "Flight, sir?" "Did I not make it clear?" He asked pressing the 'up' button. The two metallic doors slid open and the two trotted in as it dinged. Night Thunder pressed the 'sky tip' level. The doors sealed them away from the lobby. The elevator hummed and started up, bringing the pair higher and higher. Beats listened to the quiet elevator music that merged with the elevator hum. Night Thunder was used to the noise mixture. The machine slowed as it neared the top. The door spread revealing a duplicate room of the lobby, only the dark skies were closer to them, the wind swirling and howling outside. Nopony was on the floor possibly since the storm threatened the foundation of the tower. Night Thunder was the first to step out. Beats hesitated but followed him out before the doors were about to close. Night Thunder went down to the wind door, a door that would allow window washers to enter the room when in need of supplies. The Commander pushed the door open; the wind howled and pushed the door open for Night Thunder, slamming it on the wall. "C'mon!" Thunder shouted as the rain began to make the entrance damp. The Commander's hair was blown out of its style as well as his cloak. "Really?!" Beats looked out one of the windows and watched as lightning struck a n the distance followed by thunder. Beats gulped. Something pulled him to the door: it was Night Thunder. "Hey!" Night Thunder turned and saw security officers galloping for them. The Commander rushed out into the rain, the platform sloping. The guards stood at the wind door, hesitating to step onto the slippery slope. Night Thunder neared the edge, dragging a screaming Beats. The security guards finally galloped out onto the platform and screamed at Thunder. "Thunder!" Beats shouted. "Hold on!" Night Thunder gathered his strength and threw Beats off the side of the platform only a few feet away. Beats screamed as he watched the lightning and rain splash on his face. He screamed as he felt himself losing altitude. From the aide, Beats was caught by a white flash. Beats wiped his wet face and turned to his left where he was caught. "Tundra?" She nodded and dove down. Beats looked at the direction she was going in, in the middle of the air seemed to be a square portal parallel to the ground While down below where something white was waiting in it. Tundra rushed past the portal and Beats felt a cushioned, soft bounce catch him from falling: a fluffy pink mattress. Tundra stood up first and helped Beats up. Night Thunder came in last and portal above him closed. Beats looked around. It was the foyer of the airship, two guards on either side. "Where am I?" His voice was high pitched. Beats covered his mouth, "huh? I sound like a chipmunk!" Tundra giggled. "Me and Night Thunder do too." She said demonstrating her high pitched voice. "How?" Night Thunder pointed up. "You just passed through the ship's balloon; you probably inhaled some of the helium." One of the guards informed. Beats looked around confused. "Ship?" Night Thunder trotted away and to the cockpit. "Welcome aboard, Sgt. Beats." Tundra smiled. Beats smiled. Her helium voice had faded now. She helped him up, "this is the master class Airship of the Elite Guard, your room is right there." She pointed to the second door from the cockpit. "Thanks, Tundra." She nodded and trailed Thunder, "wait." She stopped. "Yes?" She pushed her hair back. "Who's here?" "Nopony, just some guards, Night, me and you." "So then who are we fetching next?" Beats smiled. "Your high school friend."
