Power

Tyler sat idle on his bed, looking out his window of his hotel room. He had business in the great city of Las Vegas and he was meeting with his client tomorrow. His room had the distinct smell of sweat and tears. So many dreams were made and lost in this city. Tyler planned on winning it big, but casinos weren't in his plan. Out of the many different suitcases he had brought with him, he picked up the largest one he had, about half his height and nearly as thick as he was. Dragging it to his bed, he took a key off his necklace that coordinated with the lock on the case to unlatch the inner mechanisms. It slowly swung open, revealing a SIG SG 550 assault rifle.

"If there is one thing that the Swedish did right, it's with their guns..." Tyler mumbled to himself, smiling,"Little over nine pounds of Hell fire..." He switched the safety switch to semi-automatic and held up one of his five clips in the case,"I'll have to see if any gun stores sell GP 90 rounds on my ride back. I wouldn't be surprised if they only sell them in Sweden." Tyler shook his head, putting the foam back into the suitcase's foam slot where all the mags were stacked on top of each other. He switched the gun back to safety and closed the case, putting it on the ground next to his bed.

He threw his legs onto the bed, lying back on the pillow. Tomorrow was gonna be his big break if he truly was gonna get paid as much as he was told. Tyler closed his eyes, ready to doze off as he reached for the lamp switch to turn it off. There was a static noise in the room next to his, someone must have turned on the Television to a white noise channel. Tyler knew first hand how frustrating it was to try and find a channel that was clear AND interesting to watch. He ended up just cleaning his gear for the rest of the day and thinking of what he was gonna do after he got all the money instead of watching TV.

Suddenly, a jingle began playing next door. 'He must have found the PBS channel or something...' Tyler thought.

"♫~My Little Pony, My Little Pony~♫" rang through the wall.

"Oh Christ no..." Tyler sighed,"Who even brings their child to Vegas?" He sighed, getting up and going to his medical kit. He had put a lot of his own things in the med kit including Advil, Peptobismal, and other medications.He took out a plastic grid with pills inside . He broke a few of the grid points as two dark blue pills fell into his hand. He walked over to his fridge and grabbed a water bottle. Swallowing the pills with the help of the water, he laid back down and closed his eyes. His vision faded as he fell into a deep sleep.

Tyler's alarm clock went off, releasing loud beeping noises. His hand rose to hit the snooze button but failed and landed on the end table. He tried again and this time hit the power button on the clock, turning it off,"Good enough..." Tyler muttered.

He pushed himself up and looked around, rotating to lay on his back and then throwing his legs over the edge of the bed to the ground. He sat on the edge of his bed for a second, rubbing his eyes,"Holy Hell..." he mumbled. Standing up and walking a few steps from his bed. He wobbled and almost fell, but soon he had his bearings. The suitcase containing his clothes was soon on his bed and opened. It wasn't as protected as his rifle and was much smaller in size. Inside was his homemade combat uniform, HCU if you will, and also a white tank top with green forest camouflage shorts. He was quick to get out of his 'pajamas' which were actually just his jeans from the day before and into the tank top and shorts.

Within moments he was in front of the bathroom's mirror. He poked at his man-flab, groping it and sighing,"I'm getting out of shape..."

A knocking came to his door,"Hello? Mr. Skinner?" Tyler grabbed his combat knife from his boot and got up against the wall next to his door.

"Who's there?" He responded.

"Will you come downstairs to our complimentary breakfast?"

"Uh, what are you guys serving?"

"The cooks have prepared eggs, pancakes, bacon, and other breakfast essentials."

"Alright, I'll be down." he breathed easily, putting his knife back into his boot. The feminine voice ceased and her heels clicked down the wooden hallway to the next room.

Tyler collecting as much as he could carry and set it next to his door. All his bags sat alone as he exited his room, slipping his key card into his pocket. He looked over to his neighbor's door, the same one who was blasting My Little Pony the earlier night. It opened and a middle aged man stepped out. He waved to Tyler and he waved back. They both walked to the elevator at the end of the hall. Tyler looked up and down the middle aged man,"Say... do you have a little daughter?" Tyler asked.

"No, why?"

"No reason..." Tyler choked on his spit. They ended up standing awkwardly next to each other on the elevator as it took them down two stories to the lobby. The doors opened and Tyler rushed out, wanting away from the man. The lobby was mainly empty and so was the neighboring cafeteria, but Tyler wan't planning on eating. He walked over at the front desk and told them he'd be checking out. Spending nearly two hundred dollars on a hotel room for one night would be paid off by the money he thought he was gonna get.

Across from he marble-floored lobby sat a luggage cart. It was good enough to carry all his bags if they were stacked decently enough. The wheels of the cart screeched as it entered the elevator. The button for third floor let off a bright glow as the machine lifted Tyler up. The squeaking continued down the hall and into Tyler's room.

The luggage cart squeaked even louder will all the heavy equipment now on it. Suddenly, Tyler's iPhone began to ring as his favorite ringtone, the marimba, sounded. "Tyler, we've decided your next mission."

He ran over and picked up the phone and answered, putting it off speaker phone. Tyler recognized the voice,"Yes? What do you need?"

"Come over to the intersection of 8th and Mesquite within an hour, we'll give you your next mission."

Tyler hurriedly shut the door, rushing the luggage cart away and B-lining it to his driver side door. His truck was a bright tan Humvee, looking like one from the United States Army but that was just his modifications onto the vehicle. Originally, it was a black Jeep with a skylight. Now, it had smoothed edges, sheet metal plating, hidden gun pockets on the inside, and twice as many cup holders!. Twenty minutes pass of pure anxiety as he eventually turns onto Mesquite Avenue. He kept driving, going past 6th street, 7th street, and finally slowing down around 8th street at the intersection. The area was mainly suburban, the large towering buildings of the iconic Las Vegas could be seen to the west. A man with a red bandanna over his mouth walked over from the sidewalk. He looked suspicious.

"Are 'chu Tyler?" he asked in a heavy accent.

"Yes I am... where do I go?" he replied and asked.

He took a moment to answer, pulling something from his back pocket,"Mr. Skinner, Honey Bee Mercenaries Inc zends their regards!" Suddenly the man threw a live fragment grenade inside the Humvee, signaling an ambush as a man jumps up from a nearby dirt lot across the street and fires and RPG-7 at the Humvee. both explosives explode, sending the vehicle up in flames.

The bandanna-wearing man pulled out a phone,"Hello? It has been done. 'chu are gonna pay us, right?"

Weightlessness, blackness, silence. Tyler suddenly gasped for air waking from what seemed like a coma, unable to see. In his mouth, he tasted what felt like oil. He blinked, nothing. He knew he was sitting in a car. It had to have been his Humvee. He felt around his body. He was still in one piece and as far as he could tell, so was his Humvee. He reached for the door handle, sunlight breaking through the cracks of the door and entering into the vehicle. He pulled his pistol from it's holster on the side of the door ad raised it, holding it close to his chest as he used his other arm to push open the door.

He heard gasps as he jumped form the driver seat. The sun almost blinded him as he held his pistol steady in front of him. He could make out shapes as his eyes adjusted. All the figures around him looked short. finally he blinked a few times and saw he was surrounded by.... horses? They all were lacking major details and didn't seem real at first. They all had white or grey coats with golden armor. All either had spears or shields and swords.

Tyler pointed his M9 Beretta pistol from pony to pony, bringing his hand to his eyes,"The fuck?!"

A few gasped, probably at his language or the fact he could speak.

"G-greetings, creature." One large stallion stepped up, maybe it was just his posture that made him seem taller. His coat was pure white. He wore armor like every other pony, but his was purple and he had a.... galea? Just like that from Greek times. It too was purple and had Blue hairs running from his forehead to the back of his neck. It matched his tail. A shield sat in the middle of his chest with a pink sparkle in the middle. Wait a minute, they can talk?!

"What the..... a talking horse?!"

Shining backed up one step when the pistol found it's cross heirs aimed at him. He didn't know what it was and didn't plan on finding out the hard way. Tyler shook his head, looking around and slowly bringing down his gun.

"W-where am I?"

"Canterlot, Equestria..." The stallion said. He took a deep breathe.

"I really do hope I'm dreaming." Tyler sighed, his breathing becoming more shallow. He quickly investigated his Humvee. It was covered in what looked like mud. No wonder he couldn't see anything.

Chrysalis paced from side to side as her hive slowly tried to heal. It had been a full month since the failed invasion and she was running out of ideas. If she didn't think of something, her hive would slowly starve, only being fed by those who disguised themselves as friends or family of other ponies.

Her horn suddenly twitched on top of her head. She knew something wasn't right and she had a sense something in Canterlot could answer her problems. Unless she wanted to stave, she would need to go and see what was making her love-radar go crazy.

She looked at her hive,"We are all going back! We WILL persevere, my changelings! Now! TO CANTERLOT!" she roared, her bug wings fluttering. Apparently all the other changelings could feel what she felt as they all licked their lips and got ready to fly at the city.

A stallion earthpony of the crystal empire frolicked along the icy land outside the city in his ice gear. It had been a long time since he could have a fun time in the snow. Something caught his attention in the ice. It was red and glowing. He ducked his head closer to investigate. It looked like a horn, but it was curved. It was black but a red tip. He suddenly recognized it. It was too late as the horn raised from the ice and shot itself into the stallion's cranium. It stuck from his head just like a regular unicorns'. An evil laugh erupted through the air as the horn slowly transformed the blue coat of the stallion to a dark grey. His magenta eyes turning green and red with a purple mist ejecting out. His ice gear turned to a robe and armor

Sombra was back and he could sense his chance to rise back to power.

"Canterlot...." he spoke in a growl, exploding into mist and flying south from the Arctic north and to the city.

Tyler looked from pony to pony,"This looks like a weak militia, to be honest."

Shining looked offended,"We are equipped with the latest weaponry and armor!" Every pony seemed worried. A voice came from the crowd.

"Princess Celestia, stand at attention!" All the ponies suddenly stood up straight , looking directly ahead. From behind the Humvee, a tall pony came out. It looked like a mare. She had a princess crown and a tattoo of a sun on her flank. She slowly stepped towards Tyler. Her mane was rainbow colored and waved even though there wasn't a strong wind present.

"Greetings, my name is Princess Celestia. I am the ruler of this land."

Tyler looked her directly in the eyes. She was about the same height as him,"Maybe you can help me out then. I don't know where I am, who any one is here, and I don't know WHY I'm here..."

"All answers will be revealed in time. But first, we must get you to safety. I can feel that you bring energy. Neutral energy that can be used for evil."

"Should we put him down?" One of the guards asked out loud. Tyler quickly turned to the nervous stallion

"I could geld you faster than you can count, horse!"

Celestia cleared her throat,"Excuse me, but we mustn't talk in front of others where some may misuse the information shared. Please join me on a walk to my throne room."

"What about my jeep?" Tyler asked

"Your what?"

Tyler pointed at the mud-covered vehicle,"It's covered in mud!"

"Hmm, I'll have some servants clean this 'jeep' if you want it." She tried pronouncing jeep like he did.

"Where am I gonna keep this thing? If someone could move this to a road where it can move around, I'd appreciate it, possibly give it a roof and a few walls too!"

The princess looked confused, but nodded nonetheless,"Alright, but may we keep talking in my throne room?"

"Alright..." he nodded, following her to her throne room.

All the guards slowly dissipated until it was just one. He looked around before exploding into green flames.