Skyline woke up what seemed like ages later in a well lit room. Looking around, he noticed the walls were blank and there was a metal table before him. He noticed there was a place for handcuffs, but Skyline had not, in fact been handcuffed.

He looked up and saw a security camera aimed at him and he used his magic to crush the lens. That would get their attention.

Soon, the door swung open and four figured stepped inside. They were none other than the princesses, by the names of Celestia, Luna, Mi Amore Cadenza (better known as Cadance), and Twilight Sparkle. Skyline gave a little wink to Twilight, and she responded with a small smile, like she was amused.

"I assume you know why we are here?" Said Celestia.

"Please bring me up to speed, if you would." Said Skyline.

"It seems you have a bit of a record here. You have many aliases, almost all of which have been created outside of Equestria." Said Luna

Skyline nodded, mildly surprised. He spawned a toothpick and put it between his teeth. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to hear this list."

Cadance spoke next. "Starting from the top, you've been known as The Armored Reaper..."

"Yep."

"Ryan Cooper..."

"Yes."

"The Rookie..."

"Also true."

"One of Luna's Children of the Night"

"Ooh, that's new. I like that one. Sounds like a cool thing to put on a resume."

With this, Luna proceeded to give him a curious look.

"To be honest, Skyline, for the time being, we would like your help with something." Said Celestia. "There are certain things we are dealing with, and you could help us."

"You really think I'll do such things?" Said Skyline.

"We would hope so." Said Luna.

Skyline took a minute to think. After reaching a decision, he sighed. "What do you need me to do?"

They dropped a yellow folder in front of Skyline. "We need you to do some scouting, investigate, the likes. We are trying to keep tabs on Queen Chrysalis."

Skyline winced. "I-I ran into her a few weeks back. On a contract."

"In any case, if she is found, we want you to subdue her and bring her here. Alive is preferred."

Skyline got up. "I'll need a team."

Celestia smirked. "We thought so. Come."

The four of them got up and started walking down the hallway. Many turns later, Cadance handed Skyline a tablet.

"Our first entry is your old friend Fastback. I'm sure you'll get along well as a team."

"How many are in this team?"

Cadance looked at him. "Three, including you." She paused.

Skyline raised an eyebrow. "Who's the third?"

Celestia put her hands behind her back. "Afterburner, as you may have suspected."

Skyline felt as if he got tazed. "No."

"If I remember correctly, she is 18 years of age now, and she can make her own decisions." Luna interjects.

Skyline put is hand to his face. "Let me see her."

Celestia smiled. "We thought you might say that." She pressed a button on the door she stops next to, and moments later, a yellow woman with white hair opened the door.

"Who's ther-.. what the f-... Skyline..?"

The woman emerged from the doorway. She wore a Bikini top and jeans, with an aviator jacket over her shoulder.

"I never thought I'd see the day, Sky."

The princesses turned to leave. "We will give you two some time to talk. We will be in the main hall when you are finished" said Celestia.

Skyline's attention snapped back to Afterburner. "Well well well. You got a nice life now, huh Alicia?"

She looked murderous. "Don't. Use. That. Name."

Skyline chuckled. "Alright."

She sighed. "Get in my office."

The two proceeded to enter her office, and Skyline sat on the desk as Afterburner stood before him.

"So I heard that you're gonna lead the special team the princesses gathered."

"Yes, and I would hope you would not be in it."

"Why? I'm old enough to do my own thing! You don't need to protect me anymore."

"But I think that this could put you in danger. There's a reason I'm leading it. It is a top-priority high-danger op."

"I know you want me to be safe. You're practically my brother. But this is something I'm gonna do. You can't hold me back."

Skyline sighed. "Fine. But you're gonna follow my field orders to a T, got it?"

She crossed her arms. "Fair enough."

Skyline got up. "Well, I'll be seeing you later. I have some things to do."

"Coolio. I can't guarantee I'll be here when you get back."

"I know. You're a free spirit. I wasn't born yesterday."

Skyline got up and left the room, closing the door behind him. He soon made his way to the main hall, and approached the princesses.

"Now that you're back, we can talk operations..." Said Celestia.

"Actually, I need some questions answered first."

Celestia raised her eyebrow. "Go on..."

"First of all, where's my car?"

Luna crossed her arms. "We have it in police impound. We saved it just in case you wanted it, otherwise it would have been crushed." Luna smiled. "You can thank us if you want."

"Ha. Keep in mind that I have a very important mission. I'll thank you after I blow sh*t up."

All they could hear was Cadance silently snickering for a few moments.

"And your other question?" Said Celestia.

"What do I have to work with as far as equipment?"

Celestia handed him the tablet again. "Our entire inventory is at your disposal."

As Skyline scrolled down the list, he laughed. "Hell. Yes."

____________________________________

Skyline stood in the driveway of 2559 Bridgestone Avenue, and walked up to the door, and he proceeded to ring the doorbell. He looked sideways and saw the 2009 Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR, and smiled to himself. He hasn't changed a bit, it seems.

Just then, the door opened, revealing a white colored man with red hair.

"Skyline?"

"Hey man. Ready to be a badass?"

The two laughed and fist-bumped each other.

"Come on in, Speed Racer."

"HA! I'll make your Viper look like a kitten."

"Maybe. Anyway, I think there's a talk to be had, huh?"

"Yea..."

The two went inside and Skyline followed Fastback into the garage. Inside, there was half-built 1969 Dodge Challenger HEMI.

"Nice car, she does the strip in what, 10..... Minutes?" Joked Skyline.

"Ha ha. Actually, when she's done, she'll do 8 seconds flat, I hope."

"Cool, cool. Anyway, let's save the reconciliation for after the mission. As far as equipment goes, I have access to the entire Equestrian weapon cache, so you can go shopping like a kid in a candy store."

Fastback was using a wrench to secure a few things in the car, and Skyline was sitting on a workbench. While Skyline was sitting, he was watching Fastback, and offered to help. "Hold up, you need to tighten the other bolt some more." Skyline proceeded to grab a wrench and started working on the car as well.

"So, as I was saying, we are going to have a third member on the team in case you didn't know already."

Fastback reached further into the engine. "Yea, I heard, but I wasn't told who."

"Well, her name is Afterburner. You two probably don't know each other. But I want you to promise me that you will help me keep her safe."

Just then a voice was heard from the other side of the garage door. "Really Sky? You need to cut the crap."

Skyline cursed, and Fastback opened the garage. As it opened, Afterburner ducked under and she proceeded to fly up to the nearby workbench and sat down.

"So she's Afterburner?" Asked Fastback.

Skyline sighed. "Yep."

Skyline walked up to her. "You followed me, huh?"

"Yep. You've lost your keen situational awareness, huh?"

"Hardly. I just had more important things on my mind." Skyline stood for a moment. "You still drive the Zonda, don't you?"

"Yea. I've never driven anything else."

Fastback put down his tools and walked over. "Whatcha talking about?"

Afterburner answered before Skyline did. " when I was.... Younger, Skyline watched over me. He had a car, a 2012 Pagani Zonda R, and I liked it better than any of his other cars. When I got my drivers license, he painted it sky blue and gave it to me. It means too much to me."

Fastback was wiping his hands on a rag. "Sounds like you two were pretty close at one point."

She replied again. "We still are, in some ways. For one thing, he's basically my brother."

"That explains him being protective."

Skyline brought his hands together. "Let's change the subject. Now that we're all here, we need to draft a game plan. My idea is that me and Fastback are on main offensive strategy, should we be detected. Afterburner, you're our sniper."

"Skyline, dammit, you need to cut the crap. I'm gonna be on the front lines with you wether you like it or not."

Skyline sighed. "Do you truly want to be a part of this? It is completely possible that you could get injured, and even die if you screw up."

Afterburner stood straight. "I do, truly."

Skyline stood up. "Alright. The op is in a couple days, so I guess I'll see you two then."

They both nodded. "See ya later man." Said Fastback.

Skyline exited the house and entered his car and sat in the driver's seat. After thinking for a few moments, his passenger door opened and in came Afterburner. "I'm coming with you. I wanna know how you are, being back and all that. And before you ask about the Zonda, Fastback said he'd watch it for me. He agreed that maybe I should tag along."

Skyline sighed. "Fine. Be quiet for a sec though, I have to make a call."

She nodded in reply.

Skyline pulled out his phone and dialed Rainbow Dash's number. After a few seconds, she picked up.

"Skyline?! Holy crap, I didn't think we'd be seeing you again. Is this your call from jail?"

"Not even. You could say I've been promoted, give or take."

"What?"

Skyline briefly explained the events from after his crash. "The car's gonna need an overhaul after the damage done to it, but it'll be fine. Eventually. But didn't Twilight tell you about me? She was there when I was briefed."

"No. Not at all. I'm gonna go wring her neck in a sec."

"Please don't."

"Ugh, fiiiine. But how about you come over to Sugarcube Corner? I'll get all the girls over here."

"That sounds good. I'm also apparently bringing a friend with me. Her name's Afterburner. You might like her."

"Oh, her? I know her. We talk occasionally."

"Oh. Okay. Well, see ya in about..." He looked at his watch. "Twenty minutes?"

"Alright. See ya."

Skyline hit END CALL and turned to Afterburner. "You know RD?"

"Yeah, a little."

"Hmm.. Well, let's get going then." Skyline started the engine.

"How are we going to get from Canterlot to Ponyville in twenty minutes?"

Skyline donned his signature golden aviator sunglasses. "You obviously don't remember me well enough." He released the parking brake and slammed his foot on the gas, producing a small burnout. The car got grip and launched off down the road. Skyline dumped the clutch and shifted into third gear as Afterburner grabbed hold of the handhold above her door.

"My god, you still don't follow speed limits, huh?"

"Never have. Celestia lets me only because I have a gift for this, and have never crashed. Except for yesterday."

"Actually, you were passed out for a few days, last I heard."

"Oh. Whatever then." Skyline shifted into 5 gear, surpassing 150 MPH. He smirked, and moved his hand torward the clear button case. He flipped it, revealing a silver switch. He flicked it and hit a separate button on his steering wheel and the car jumped, pressing the two occupants to their seats, the car hitting very high speeds. The car expertly maneuvered through traffic, and soon Skyline pulled the E-brake and the the car did a 180 spin, and came to a rest in front of Sugarcube Corner.

They both sat still for a moment, the only sound being their breaths. "Well then," said Skyline, "That was as fun as ever. Hope you didn't soil yourself, Alicia."

She raised her voice. "First of all, stop calling me that. That was, what, six years ago? Alicia died that day and Afterburner came to be. End of story! And second of all, you think I'm that weak? Come on. I drive a PAGANI.”

"Alright, alright, fine. Jeez..."

They got out and Afterburner threw her jacket in the trunk. Skyline opened the front door and the bell rang when he did. One second later, the girls were already asking him questions.

"Are ya alright?"

"What happened?"

"I thought you died!"

"I thought he was in jail."

Skyline smiled. "It's good to see you all too. " He looked over at Twilight. "I just about saved your life. I convinced Dashie not to wring your neck. You can thank me now."

Twilight gave him a sarcastic smile. "Thanks."

Skyline spent the next few minutes telling them what happened. After he finished, he let them ask their questions.

"So, the car's wrecked?" Asked AJ.

"Yeah. It's gonna take a month to fix, and that's with magic."

"Um, your friend has interesting outfit tastes." Said Rarity.

"Trust me, you won't get through to her."

"Did someone rat you out?" Asked Rainbow Dash.

"No, I just wasn't being careful enough."

"Do you want to throw a 'super secret mission you could die on' party?!" Yelled Pinkie.

"Umm, no."

Skyline chuckled. "You can when its over. But it's nice to know you have friends watching over you."

"If the princesses let me, I'd totally go with you." Said Rainbow Dash.

"Actually, it's my call, but we already are a team of three. I don't want to put you in danger. And don't give me any 'but I'm Rainbow Dash' BS."

RD sighed. "Fine. But if ya need me, just gimmie a call."

Skyline smirked. "I'll keep it in mind."

Soon they decided to hang out, before he went on his mission. He walked to the parking lot and whistled out loud.

"Twilight, you drive a 2004 BMW M3 GTR?"

Twilight turned and smiled. "You like it?"

Skyline smiled. "It's the best BMW, like, ever. Bring it by the garage any time."

Twilight laughed lightly, and got into her car. He looked over and saw Pinkie get into a 2014 Chevy Corvette Stingray.

"Pinkie, I never would've thought you'd drive a Corvette."

"It's basically my job to surprise people, silly." With that, she hopped into her car and shut the door.

"And Rarity, you have a 2004 Lamborghini Murcielago?

"Darling, I think you like cars too much."

Skyline laughed. "Hasn't been the first time I've been told that"

"Well, let it be said once more. You need to get another hobby."

Skyline chucked. "Maybe I will."

He strode to his car and slid into the driver's seat. Afterburner was in the passenger seat messing with his radio.

"You ready, Afterburner?"

She turned and smiled at him. "Let's go."

Skyline started the car, and a loud sound responded from the exhaust. He released the handbrake and followed his friends to their destination.
____________________________________

They arrived at a club in Canterlot an hour later. On the way, though, they had a little fun and raced. Twilight, naturally, stayed out of it. Skyline thought it a shame. The BMW didn't seem to get much action.

They had parked their cars and they entered the club.

"Remember," said Skyline," you can't actually mention the conditions of our celebration."

"Yeah, we know." Said RD. "we heard the whole 'top secret' part."

"And this means you in particular, Pinkie."

"Uh huh, okie dokie loki!"

They approached the door, and suddenly a bouncer said we should leave. He explained that they were full. Twilight approached him.

"What about for the princess's friends?"

The bouncer widened his eyes. "Oh, my mistake, your highness, I'll let you all in momentarily!"

As he went to get us in, Twilight glanced at him. "The perks of a princess, I guess." She smiled.

Skyline rolled his eyes. "Better than my method." After a long silence, he laughed. "I'm kidding, seriously."

The bouncer returned, and let them in. As they entered, Applejack nudged Skyline and then pointed at the bar. "Take it easy with the alcohol, alright?"

Skyline held up his hands. "No promises."

They started to roam, with Twilight and RD going to dance, and applejack went to find a relative. Fluttershy seemed to be hanging on the sidelines, and Rarity was probably sucking up to some celebrities. Pinkie Pie was probably raiding the dessert table, and when he checked, sure enough, she was hiding cookies in her puffy hair.

Skyline walked over to the bar and ordered a Corona. When it was given to him, he popped the top and took a long drink. He found a chair and took a seat, and he spawned his favorite hat when no one was looking. He put it on and tilted it downwards as he took another drink. He looked sideways at Fluttershy, who was leaning on a nearby wall.

"Hey Fluttershy! Come on over here."

She flinched, and then looked at him. Hesitantly, she walked over and took a seat next to him.

"H-hi." She said.

"Aren't ya having fun?"

"N-no, not really. I prefer the quiet..."

Skyline chuckled as he took another swig. "You want to know a secret?"

"S-sure."

Skyline slumped backwards. "I do too."

Fluttershy looked at him. "You do?"

Skyline smiled, looking at the crowd. "When it's quiet, I think more. And when I think more, my mind goes places. Next thing I know, I feel like there's another reality in my head." He took another swig. "The people I care about are really the only things that hold me to reality."

Fluttershy smiled sympathetically. "I get what you mean. I just like the quiet because I can feel alone, and have my space."

"Heh, well, uh, you wanna... Hang at that park next door?"

Fluttershy smiled. "I-I.... Sure."

They got up and Skyline managed to to walk to the park. They sat at a park bench and Skyline looked at the sky. He heard a sound, and he saw that it was a message from Afterburner. He told her he was fine and then put his phone on silent.

"The sky looks nice, huh?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Yeah. It does."

"You see those three stars, over there?"

"Yeah?"

"I kinda blew up a couple things in the past, and in one instance, I created a few stars. That triangle of stars there were a job gone wrong, and when these 'stars' appeared, I heard they scared the hell out of Luna, she being princess of the night."

"Oh, really?" She laughed lightly.

Skyline threw his beer away. "Come on, let's get back to the girls."

"Alright"

They walked to the bar, and he found the girls hanging out next to the cars.

"Hey guys." Said Skyline.

Twilight raised an eyebrow and smiled. "Sneaking off with Fluttershy?"

"Ha! We were just hanging out. Not much else."

"Mmhmm. Riiight." Twilight laughed.

Skyline walked over to his car. Afterburner appeared to be asleep, laying against the windshield.

"Hey. Get up. I'm taking you to Fastback's so you can get your car, and then I'm going home. I got a message from Luna saying that the mission's tomorrow."

Afterburner opened her eyes. "Yeah yeah, hold on..."

She hopped off of the Nissan and slipped into the passenger seat. Skyline walked over to the driver's door.

"Hey guys! Ima turn in for the night!"

The other girls agreed that they would too, and they all started the drive home.

____________________________________

Skyline undid the deadbolt to his garage and walked inside. He hung his hat on a hook and pulled out his phone. He thought it amusing that he still have the contacts from the other dimensions on it. With a few swipes, he deleted them all.

He walked up to the living area, and threw his shirt on the laundry pile. He walked to the closet and pulled out a black bag. He sat on his bed and placed the bag on the ground in front of him. With a sigh, he placed his hand on the front of the bag.

To his touch, the metal-like material became seemingly fluid, and moved up his arm. Soon, the black metal had encased him from the neck down. The suit formed his helmet, which manifested around his head. He then pulled it off, and stared at it.

He looked at his wrist and activated a data pad. He punched in a few commands, and the suit began to change color until it stopped, becoming a blank white color. He stood up slowly, and brushed the crack in the visor of his helmet with his hand.

"Today, I am not The Armored Reaper."

He put on the helmet, and the HUD display booted up.

"Today, I am The Guardian Angel"

Author's Note

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