Cannerlands

His helmet was on tight but not too tight. He adjusted his glasses and sniffled. "Mister Stallion. Mister..." A voice started to call his name over the audio comms above everypony in the very large yet somehow still stuffy room. The white walls were faded, some spots paint was chipping. Banners of ponies, changelings and gryphons on the front lines sacrificing their life for the sun was strung across the walls. The floor was an equally depressing tone, stained with mixes of yellow and brown that was not what you thought but still unknown to you.

He quickly got up from his seat and trotted towards the front desk. "Mister B-Butt St-Stallion will you p-please..." The office worker mare was on the verge of tears, as well as her co-workers as they read the name on the sign up list. Everypony looked in his direction beginning to chuckle and laugh as he went red with embarrassment. "Kid, Sergeant Haystacks is waiting for you in his office." The mare pointed to a door that was to the side of the front desk, barely able to contain herself.

Yes. We get it. My name is Butt Stallion. Enough already. Geesh.

He trotted into the office and closed the door softly behind him. Sergeant Haystacks was not a pony despite his namesake. He was actually a gryphon. A gryphon who raised the finest Trove Hunters in Cannerlands. He trained adventurers and heroes to spread the good and the plentiful across Cannerlands. How he got there was questionably ethical but in the end one thing was certain, he was one of the most powerful individuals in Cannerlands, and gaining his protection was not only a privilege but a tool that most ponies took advantage of in the lawless wasteland.

"Let's see... Mister Butt Stallion..." The gryphon had a gray coat with light brown feathers. His eyes were downcast a majority of the time as Butt trotted into the room and took a seat in one of the two chairs that was placed at an angle of Haystack's desk. The gryphon muttered under his breath, "This isn't going to take long," Barely loud enough for Butt to hear. Barely. Butt Stallion took a moment to look around the office. It was a small blue box, much like he was. The walls was decorated with plaques and medals, though Butt could barely tell if they were for anything of importance or if they were just bought at a medal crafting shop. On the desk however was something of note, it looked like blueprints for a weapon of some sort, an apparatus if you will. "So. Mister Butt. Why do you want to become a part of Alliance?"

"Well sir..." Butt Stallion paused for a moment, his eyes scanning something unknown to Haystacks. "I need protection." Haystack's eyes widened in surprise, before Haystacks could even answer, Butt Stallion continued, "I need protection from those savages out there. Protection that you could give. That you could teach. I need power to help me become stronger, to help other ponies, my mother and myself included," Haystacks blinked and pulled out a scroll that seemed like a script.

"That's fine and dandy soldier, but what can you bring to Alliance that I couldn't get from any one of those 'savages' you say out there?" Haystack's eyes narrowed at Butt.

"What are those blue prints for? A new kind of weapon? Something to make ponies even more deadly?" Butt Stallion's eyes went straight to Haystack's desk. Haystacks immediately rolled it up and put it under his desk, he wasn't supposed to allow anypony to take anything longer than a glance at it and yet this pony already knew it was something of worth.

"I think it's time for you to leave,"

"I think it's time for you to ask yourself a question. Who else asked about the blue print?" Butt Stallion slammed both his hooves onto the desk, propping himself up to reach Haystacks height. Haystacks straightened his back, attempting to match Butt's gaze. "The next question after that should be, 'Who scanned that blueprint the instant they saw it was important?" Haystacks began to feel his spine slowly turning into jelly, "Then the question immediately to be followed up with that is, 'Is this pony a spy? Will my officials be pleased by my efforts? Does he know that Sergeant isn't actually my name, but my rank? That there's one above it?"

Haystacks had enough as he pulled a revolver from his desk and fired it at Butt Stallion. Butt Stallion removed his helmet and threw it at Haystacks, slightly disorientating him, causing his first few shots to miss. Upon Butt Stallion's head was a horn, thus showing him to be a unicorn and not an earth pony. His horn flashed for a brief second and two copies of him appeared before Haystacks. He pointed his gun at all three before taking a shot at the one in the middle. "Wrong." The middle one mocked as it fell to the floor before disappearing completely. Haystacks fired another shot at the one on the left, "Wrong again. Tut tut." Haystacks fired the rest of his clip into remaining Butt Stallion and it went down, blood oozing out of its head. Haystacks panted heavily and grinned.

"Victory is mine you cocky sonuva..."

"Bang." Haystack's heart stopped beating for a brief moment as Butt Stallion appeared at his side with his hoof raised, pretending it was a gun. The dead Butt Stallion on the floor slowly evaporated into magical dust,"If I was truly a spy, you would be dead and the blue prints would be mine. Your superiors won't like this," And without another word, Butt Stallion left the office. He left the door open as he began to count down in his head. The office mare from earlier was the first to attempt to stop him, a rifle raised at his head shouting vulgarities at him to stop. "You going to kill me? Or help your leader before he bleeds out?" The mare bit her lip and dashed past him to check if Haystacks was alright. Butt Stallion was halfway through the room before he was eventually stopped by a claw on his shoulder. "Looks like I misjudged you Haystacks,"

Haystack's eyes begun to look hopeful. "You are a horrible, pitiful, shitty, awful, inadequate excuse for a leader..." Haystack's spine was now that similar of a snail without his shell as he was forced to look up at Butt Stallion's gaze. "But, you show promise and a will to learn. Acceptable. After a few changes to this place, maybe The Alliance will finally presented the way it deserves?" Haystacks nodded, begging profusely to keep his position here. The numerous other ponies in the room who were here to join Alliance were forced to watch, not risking to make another move lest they become the target of the mysterious pale blue unicorn. "First, get rid of the workers at the front desk. They're weak. I don't care if you kill them or fire them or both, I don't want to see anyone weak in here, understood?" Butt Stallion glared at Haystacks with an implication he didn't need to be told twice.

Butt Stallion didn't know Haystack's superiors. He did know a simple illusion spell to make birds freak their shit. He didn't know that the mare had a family to feed. He did know that he wouldn't care if he did know. He didn't know shit about The Alliance. He did know where the first of four Troves was. And he knew The Alliance had the firepower to get it open for him