Kestria

"Let's get going." Twilight said, and they headed out.

The trip was uneventful, a few howls, but Sky knew wolves wouldn't have packs larger than their group. Applejack let them know, in a kinder way, the wolves wouldn't have the balls to attack them.

That is, until one such wolf jumped out of the bushes. It looked as if it were made of bark. That's actually a really good pun, Hasbro, considering they're named Timberwolves... And whatever, back to the story.

"This is where the fun begins!" 4728 said, raising his DMR and firing, getting a headshot. Damn, bro, where'd you get that accuracy?!

"Like Crawlers, just none of that laser face bullshit." Sky said. More jumped out, and were promptly killed. Sky reloaded her shotgun. 4728 noticed one had taken the chance and had gotten by, and to the princesses. He ran and grabbed it, pulling it back with one arm. With the other, he got his knife and severed it's head.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Yes, thank you, Spartans." Celestia said.

"That was AWESOME!" Rainbow Dash yelled. It was surprising for a pegasus that had to be suffering from a hangover had such energy.

"Rather barbaric, if you ask me..." Rarity said, but no one really paid her any attention. Fluttershy was terrified, but Twilight encouraged her on.

"Thanks, it was nothing compared to what we're used to." 4728 said.

Later, they came across some sort of lion, which was asleep.

"Sky, watch it. Quietly." He said. Sky crept over to the Manticore, and waited. 4728 guided the others through the forest around it. Sky hoped it wouldn't wake, to put such an interesting creature to death wouldn't be fair in her mind.

4728 kept a close eye on everyone, especially Rainbow Dash. This, was not normal. He knew alcohol had to have effects on all organisms, right? He swore he saw a faint black aura around her. Twilight seemed to have this same anomaly.

"Everyone, stop." 4728 said. They all froze. He approached Rainbow, but put his weapon away, resting his hand on his thigh.

"What is it?" She turned around. He knew something was up.

"How many bottles of Hard Cider did you have last night?" He asked it as a trick question.

"Uhhhh... 5." She said. She didn't remember the number is what she told him this morning.

"Wrong. What did you do to Rainbow, you sick son of a bitch?" 4728 asked, and the others wore surprised expressions except Twilight.

"Come on, if that Manticore wakes up-" Twilight began to argue.

"Sky will kill it. Where's Twilight? And say it before I paint the Everfree red." 4728 threatened. The others looked scared, yet Celestia and Luna tried to keep a straight face. He never liked to threaten, but the fact Twilight, the one that was generous enough to offer them a place for the night, had been killed without their knowing. And Rainbow, who seemed just as nice. His point was, they didn't deserve that fate.

"You caught us." The false Twilight said, before blasting him with a powerful spell. It did nothing, but as he brought his arms down for a punch, it collided with the fake Rainbow. He was hit with sadness for doing so, but it never stopped him from kicking the other imposter away into a tree.

"Celestia, Luna, what are these?" He . The Manticore woke, and Sky stood in its way. It went to hit her, but she dodged the slash and shot it twice with her shotgun, making it fall back into a deeper slumber.

"I don't know!" Luna shouted. The shadowy imposters limped to fight again, but 4728 shot them both to keep his pain minimal. Killing Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle, though they weren't real, was rather horrifying for everyone, but with different effects.

"You monster!" Rarity shouted.

"That wasn't the real Twilight." 4728 said, examining their remains, which decayed rapidly, dissolving into the air. He hoped so at least.

"I guess they passed this trial?" Twilight said, walking out from behind a tree with Rainbow. 4728 shrugged.

"You know, I really thought I killed them. Never do that again, please." 4728 said, realizing this was Celestia's doing. She created the evil replicas. 4728 understood she wanted to make sure they were ready for anything, but her own student? She could have just had a bunch of other stuff attack them.

"I apologize, I didn't know you had an attraction to Twilight or Rainbow Dash." Celestia said with a smirk. More effective than Foxtrot Command at embarrassing individuals, she was.

"I'm not really into horses." 4728 said.

"But they're ponies." Sky whined, and 4728 could practically hear the grin she hid behind her helmet.

"Sky, don't even." 4728 said. Like Sky's grin, sadly, the blush he donned made his armor useless as well. Twilight and Rainbow were blushing already, but both weren't interested in 4728 in that way either. They all moved on, deeper into the woodland. The closer they got, the more hilly the area became. They came across a cave, and something sent them all to the ground. It soared above them.

"DRAGON!" Applejack shouted.

"Sky, distract it! I'll try getting a missile lock." 4728 yelled. The two split up. He waved for the princesses to go to the cave with the Elements of Harmony. Sky pulled out her Carbine and fired. The bolts bounced off the scales, rather than burning holes like it should have.

The dragon stretched it's neck and shot a long blast of fire at Sky. She couldn't move in time, so she was hit full force.

https://youtu.be/zix51voNETI

The ponies gasped when Sky reappeared, unscathed as 4728 fired two rockets that struck the creature on it's back, causing it to fall out of the sky.

"I feel like I just absorbed this thing's soul!" 4728 said, and roared, pumping his arm up and down.

"I'm disappointed. It wasn't very tough." Sky said, getting a closer look at the creature.

"Still, we killed a MOTHERFUCKING DRAGON!!! Now we are more than Spartans; we are Dragon Slayers." He said with a burning pride that seemingly couldn't be put out.

"Twilight's assistant was a dragon." Sky said, killing 4728's mood.

"Dammit." He said.

They moved on, and saw the Pelican.

"There's the objective. Let's try to carry it out. We CAN flip a tank, after all." 4728 said. Sky shrugged and looked inside. Under her helmet she smiled, and picked up her favorite weapon, the SAW. It was a bullet hose, so it came with around 400 rounds. Sky had brought along much more than she'd need, having a rack of weapon clips and various items lining the walls of the Pelican. "What's that?" 4728 asked, looking at her SAW.

"This right here is the SAW. It can turn an Elite's armor into Swiss cheese in seconds." She explained. "Sad thing is that it's medium range only." Sky said. Twilight had come with them into the ship, curious about what was inside.

"So Twilight, what do you think of our ship?" 4728 asked.

"Pretty impractical in design, clearly isn't recreational. How do you even fly this?!" She asked.

"It's... A long, boring story." Sky said.

"Alright..." Twilight sighed disappointedly.

"Let's try carrying it." 4728 suggested, walking out and around to the front.

"You're gonna try to carry this back?!" Twilight asked.

"We're humanity's strongest; we can probably do it, the two of us." Sky said.

"All of you should get in. Make it more of a challenge for us." 4728 said, going back to the cargo area of the Pelican. The ponies entered hesitantly, one was a bit more scared than the rest. Knowing Sky wouldn't care as much as him, he knelt down and spoke to her.

"I know this looks scary to you, but believe me, one of these has been the only way out of a bad situation." 4728 said. She still wouldn't get in, so 4728 picked her up and placed her in the vehicle. The Spartans were at the back and front of the vehicle.

"Joe, lift in 3, 2, now!" Sky yelled as they began to lift the ship out of the ground. Holding it above their heads, they began to walk back the way they had come.

"They're pretty strong." Luna said to her sister.

"They also have bested a dragon in a minute, our guards couldn't pull off such a feat, even with their numbers." Celestia commented.

"Do you think that maybe that these two are fulfilling your wish that you made a few years back?" Luna asked.

"Exceeding it, more like. They have more strength than the entire guard put together." Celestia said.

"Wait, princesses, you want these two to be your guards?" Twilight asked.

"Only if they consent to it, yes. Of course, if trouble ever arises elsewhere, they'd be sent to that place. They would also join you on some occasions." Celestia said.

"But Celestia, we know little about their culture and such. What if they try to hurt us?" Twilight said.

"Stay positive. I'll ask you and Rainbow Dash to help them on their first mission so you can get to know them." Celestia said. "If there's any trouble, I will handle it."

"Alright, princess." She said.

***

"Can we set this down here? It's right outside your farm, Applejack." 4728 shouted to them.

"It's fine, sugarcube!" She shouted back.

The craft shuddered as it was set down.

"There we go. Princesses? You alright?" 4728 asked.

"Yes, we thank you for providing protection." Luna said.

"We'd like to know now, do you wish to join us? To be our personal guards?" Celestia asked. 4728 looked at Sky, who nodded.

"Yes. It'd be a nice change of pace for us. And, considering this new environment, it's sure to be exciting." He said.

"Welcome to the Royal Guard, Spartans Sky and Joseph." Celestia and Luna said.

"Sky, you shall be my guard, Joseph, you shall be Luna's. We will meet in Canterlot to discuss your first mission. I bid you farewell, Elements of Harmony." Celestia said, and most of the ponies, as well as Spartans disappeared.

***

"WARN ME BEFORE YOU DO THAT NEXT TIME!" 4728 shouted. He was on the ground, breathing heavily, in the throne room of Canterlot Castle. The experience of being teleported usually made 4728 quite nauseous, which triggered the reaction.

"I'm sorry, I should have considered that you two had never teleported." Celestia said.

"You teleported us?" 4728 asked. He'd been teleported several times, the worst several times ever. He barely had time to think about the fact he had to protect his least favorite pony so far.

"Why am I here?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"4728, I have magical abilities beyond your imagination. Rainbow Dash, I need you and Twilight here for your own mission." Celestia said.

"What's the mission?" 4728 and Rainbow Dash asked. This mission would be where previously separate destinies would cross, be reforged, and changed once again.

"I'm tasking the Spartans with finding Queen Chrysalis. So long as she is alive out there, she is a threat to Equestria. She attacked this castle years ago, and nearly succeeded. You shall begin your mission tomorrow morning. Flash Sentry! Show the Spartans to their rooms at once." Celestia called for a pegasus in golden armor at the end of the hallway.

"Yes, princess!" He shouted, and waved for the Spartans to follow. Soon, they had left, and it was just the princesses, Twilight, and Rainbow Dash.

"Twilight, Rainbow Dash, I'm giving you a harder job. Find out as much as you can about those two. If anything happens to you, I won't hesitate to help you." Celestia said.

"Alright, princess. But how are we supposed to figure out anything?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"You've both become masters of friendship in the past few years. It's time to put your skills to use, for everyone." Celestia said. "Now then, you should be off to your chambers as well."

"Yes, princess." Twilight said. She and Rainbow Dash left for their usual rooms. They'd been to Canterlot on more than a few occasions. This was a new adventure, that Sweetie Belle would say would resolve itself in 30 minutes.