A Man In A Mask

Chapters

The Masked Man Vs Shining Armor
The Interrogation
Swords At Dusk

The Masked Man Vs Shining Armor

In the middle of what could only be described as an empty void, a young man with ginger hair was lying flat on his back and starting to stir. He wore a black jacket with a fur collar and a white v-shape across the chest, underneath which was a yellow-and-green striped shirt, orange pants with a black leather belt, and custom baby seal leather boots. However, this person wasn’t completely human. At least, not anymore. His right arm was cybernetic from the elbow down, and it could convert into a powerful repulsor cannon. Not only that, but concealed in his back were bat wing rocket boosters that allowed him to fly at great speeds. This was Claus Ryuka, also known as The Masked Man, the commander of the nefarious Pigmask Army, and the slave of the twisted Porky Minch.

Claus opened his eyes, one ocean blue, the other blood red, and sat up before looking around. Where am I? What is this place? thought Claus. He spotted his dark gray helmet and his deactivated lightning sword lying next to him. He grabbed the helmet and put it on, then he attached the sword to his belt, all while trying to remember what had happened… he was about to pull the final Needle and awaken the Dark Dragon when his twin brother, Lucas, showed up with his friends and their father, both of whom tried to remind Claus who he really was. They failed, and Claus attacked them both. Flint, Kumatora, Duster, and their pet dog Boney had been seriously injured while Lucas was protected by his Franklin Badge. Even so, Lucas refused to fight, merely guarding and using PSI Shields to protect himself, all while trying to get his brother to break free of Porky’s control.

Claus’ eyes began to water a little as he remembered what happened next. The fight between him and his brother had somehow awoken the spirit of their deceased mother. Together, she and Lucas had managed to get through to him. However, Claus had been consumed by remorse for all of the terrible things he had done, and used Lucas’s Franklin Badge to reflect a very powerful lightning bolt back upon himself, thus killing him for a second time. And then, he woke up here.

Claus stood up and began to look around. Not that there was very much to see around here, except impenetrable darkness.

Maybe they were all wrong, thought Claus grimly. Maybe there is no heaven and there is no Hell. Only limbo.

“Oh, there’s a heaven and a Hell alright, young one… you’re just not going to either of them.”

At the sound of the deep, rumbling voice, Claus looked wildly around for the source of it, and soon found a pair of HUGE glowing red eyes looking down upon him from a height that made the Empire Porky Building look like a sandcastle.

“Thank you, Claus Ryuka. Thank you for awakening me,” rumbled the Dark Dragon.

Claus was confused. “M-me? I didn’t awaken you! It was Lucas, he pulled the last Needle,” he said.

The Dark Dragon chuckled. “Yes, that is true. Lucas did pull the final Needle and woke me up. But, tell me, did he pull all SEVEN of the Needles?”

“No… I pulled three, but Lucas pulled four. Thank God he did,” Claus said.

“Exactly. You pulled THREE of the Needles. You did half the work, therefore you get half the reward. I’ve already seen to it that Lucas got his half by restarting the world. Now, it’s time for you to get your half.”

“What do you mean, ‘my half?’” asked Claus

“If it helps, think of it as a consolation prize. For you see, young Claus Ryuka, I am going to give you a third lease on life. You will be sent to a new world called Gaia, and you will have the chance to have what should have been yours, as well as atone for the sins you committed while you were Pokey Minch’s slave,” explained The Dark Dragon.

“Why not just send me back to the Nowhere Islands? And how do you know Porky’s real name?” asked Claus.

“Not so easy, I’m afraid. When your twin brother pulled the final Needle and awakened me, I destroyed the Nowhere Islands. Rest assured, young Claus, Lucas, your father, and their friends are safe. As for how I know Porky’s true identity… let’s just say that just because I was asleep doesn’t mean I didn’t know what was going on on the islands above. Now, then… prepare yourself!”

Before Claus could say anything more, a bright white light began to envelope him, before consciousness was swiftly and suddenly taken from him.

…

In an alleyway in Canterlot, the capital of the land of Equestria, Claus began to stir, feeling as though he had just been hit by Porky’s flying limousine.

"Oh, Christ... what the hell happened last night? Someone get that limo driver over here so I can beat the crap out of him," Claus grumbled, rubbing the back of his head, and taking note that his helmet was still on. "Well, no use standing around in this alley. I better get out of here and see where the heck I am."

And so, Claus did just that... and made an already crazy day even crazier.

Everywhere he looked not only seemed to have a purplish tint to it, but this whole city seemed to be populated with ponies that looked very similar to the ones he'd seen on the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic episodes that he and Porky used to watch. His “waifu,” as it was called, was always Rainbow Dash. In fact, Claus had actually asked Porky if he could have his own version of Rainbow Dash made at the Chimera Labs, to which the tyrant said no. The more Claus looked around, the more it became clear that these ponies walked on two legs, wore clothes and, judging by the fact that there seemed to be cars of some type driving down the streets, were far more advanced than the quadrupeds from the cartoon. And yet they still seemed to have the same qualities, such as wings and horns.

"Where the Hell am I?" Claus asked himself as he looked around the city, and in turn, a few of what Shadow deduced were wealthy Unicorns, stopped and looked at him, curious and in a few cases, fearful, expressions on their faces. A look at the sky revealed the source of the purple tint was in fact a large purple dome that presumably encased the entire city of... wherever he was.

"Hey, you! Halt!"

Claus whirled around, robotic hand reaching for his lightning sword hilt, to find that a band of bipedal Unicorns and Pegasi clad golden armor and helmets that reminded him gladiators. Except, this armor also looked a bit more on the modern side. These soldiers also carried swords of some type.

"What is that thing? Some kind of cyborg monkey?" one of the soldiers whispered to one of his fellows.

"I don't know... can you understand me?" the lead soldier said slowly and carefully to Shadow.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, you're speaking plain English, so why wouldn't I understand you?" asked Claus, irritation in his voice.

"What's an english?" one of the soldiers whispered to another, only to get a shrug in response.

"Yes, well, then perhaps you understand the meaning of the words, 'you're under arrest,'" replied the lead soldier.

"And what the Hell am I supposed to have done? I just got here!"

"We have reason to believe that you're the one responsible for making an anonymous threat against Canterlot, and have therefore declared hostile intentions against Equestria and all ponies of our land. Now, will you surrender peacefully, or do we have to use force?" the leader soldier said, his hand drifting to the hilt of his sword.

Claus closed his eyes and gave a soft, barely audible chuckle. So, he really was in the magical land of ponies, albeit one that had some modern technology within it. Not only that, but he had a sneaking suspicion about WHEN he was in Equestria as well.

"Very well, then... I'll come with you. On one condition,” said Claus, his bat wings bursting forth out of his back. “You gotta catch me first!"

And with that, Claus took off into the air, and started to fly away from the guards at high speeds.

"After him! Call in the Pegasi Guard!" yelled the lead soldier.

And we’re off! Claus thought to himself with a smirk, looking down to see that the soldiers were rushing after him. Fools. Now, then, how do I get out of this city? I’ve never used my Shield Killer technique on something as big as-

Before Claus could finish his thought, a couple of Pegasi soldiers who’d just caught up with him rammed into The Masked Man, causing him to start to fall to the ground. However, as Claus tried to pull up, he was smacked into a building by a nearby pegasus.

“SORRY! I DIDN’T MEAN IT!” yelled the pegasus and Claus looked at her... and saw that she was gray, had a blonde mane and tail, wore a mailman's outfit, and her eyes were crossed.

“Wait... are you... are you Derpy?”

Derpy nodded her head. "Why, yes it is. Derpy Hooves," said Derpy with a smile and a salute, before she frowned. "How did you know my name? Are you from the Pony Express? I swear I just don't know what went wrong!"

"No! I'm not from the Pony Express!" said Claus, before noticing that there were a few soldiers outside, most likely looking for him. "But, I am in a bit of a hurry, so if you could move over so I can get out of here, that'd be great."

"Huh? Oh, yes," said Derpy, as she moved out of the way. The Masked Man then got up and started up his bat wing jet booster, but before he could go anywhere, Derpy called out. "Hey, mister! Er, you ARE a mister, right?"

"Yes, I am."

"Is that silver stick yours?"

Claus seemed puzzled for a moment, before he saw where Derpy was pointing. It was his lightning sword.

"Ah, yes, thank you,” said Claus, picking up the weapon and attaching it to his belt. “All right, I've dawdled long enough. I need to get outta here before-"

"Don't move, freak!"

Claus turned around to find that the two Pegasi soldiers from earlier, who he now suspected were actually Royal Guardsponies, were standing there with their swords drawn, and in the case of the Unicorn who was accompanying them, horn glowing.

"You're coming with us," said the Unicorn.

Claus smirked. "Come and get me," he said, his hand clasped tight on the lightning sword behind his back. As the soldiers moved in close, Claus pressed a button on the hilt, causing the lightning sword to come to flickering and crackling life. The two Pegasi Guards swung their swords at Claus, and when The Masked Man parried the attack, the soldiers got a 50,000 volt counterattack, rendering them both unconscious. The Unicorn soldier tried to blast Claus with magic, only for the young cyborg to shout “PSI Shield!” and reflect the attack back at the soldier, knocking him to the ground.

As Claus approached the downed Unicorn, ready to finish the job, a voice spoke behind him.

“I think that’ll be quite enough from you. Surrender now.”

Claus turned to find that there was a lone soldier walking towards him. He seemed different from the rest. He wore purple armor with golden highlights, complete with matching gauntlets, helmet with blue horsehairs,and boots. The upper parts of the arms of his armor were black, but were gold and purple from the elbows down. On this stallion's belt was an elegant ceremonial sword, and on the chest of his armor was an emblem of a purple shield with a magenta starburst in the center.

Claus immediately recognized who this stallion was. Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard. And if he was right about when he was in Equestria, then he was also the unwitting fiancè of "Princess Mi Amorè Cadenza."

"So, you must be the cyborg monkey who's been giving my ponies the slip all morning," said Shining, his hand wandering towards his sword.

"Technically, I’m a Chimera,” Claus said casually, causing a few of the guards to chuckle, as The Masked Man looked nothing like a chimera.

"Is that so? Well, then, ‘Chimera...’ I'm going to have to either take you in or take you down. The choice of which one is entirely up to you," said Shining Armor, drawing his sword as he spoke.

"Because of that threat I've apparently made against Canterlot, right?" asked The Masked Man.

“How do you know about the threat? Did you make it? Did you?” asked Shining as he and Claus slowly circled.

“Look, I don’t have time for this, okay? Your wedding is going to be a sham. Bad things are a knockin’ Shining Armor...”

“What do you mean, my wedding’s going to be a sham? You better start talking before I have to take you down,” said Shining Armor, pointing his sword directly at Claus’ chest.

“Well, sorry, Shiny, but I’m not squealin’. Besides, would you REALLY believe what I have to say? I don’t think you would,” said Claus.

“Then, you leave me no choice.”

And with that, Shining Armor charged at Claus, who simply brought up another PSI Shield before attempting a few slashes of his own. When he got Shining Armor vulnerable, Claus activated his arm cannon and fired a shot, only for the Captain to pull up a shield of his own.

“Hmm… well, this could be trouble,” said Claus in mock concern before a smirk crossed his face. “Good thing I picked up THIS little trick.”

Claus slashed at Shining Armor’s shield in a certain pattern with his lightning sword, and somehow made it dissipate.

“Wha-? How did you-?” said Shining Armor in shock.

“Like that? I call it the Shield Killer,” said The Masked Man. “Now, then, how about we stop playing around with pointy sticks and laser guns? PK Inferno!” yelled Claus holding out his hand, from which a jet of fire burst forth from it, like flame from a dragon’s mouth. Shining Armor barely dove out of the way in time.

I need to finish this quickly, before there isn’t a Canterlot left to be threatened, though Shining Armor as he began to charge up his magic.

“PK Blizzard!”

This time a jet of pure ice shot from The Masked Man’s hand, and this time Shining Armor didn’t make it out of the way in time, causing his hooves to be frozen in place.

“Well, I must admit, this has been fun, certainly one of the best workouts I’ve had in awhile. Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And trust me, this ending will be quite a shock,” said Claus as he pressed a button on his lightning sword, which began to charge up energy. As The Masked Man fired the lightning bolt, Shining put up a desperate reflect spell, which caused the lightning bolt to bounce back at Claus, who started screaming and twitching as he was electrocuted.

“Four score and llama years ago-COBALT EINSTEIN KOOL-AID-I’m squishing up a baby bumblebee-FINLAND!” yelled Claus before he fell over, unconscious. Shining Armor, Derpy, who was hiding in a nearby utility closet, and the three members of the Royal Guard could only stare and wonder about what had just happened.

“Well… that escalated quickly… and ended abruptly,” Shining said as looked down at Claus, who laid upon the ground. “Take him to the dungeons. I’ll stop by a little later to interrogate him and see what he knows about the threat. Something tells me he knows who’s behind it. Oh, and be sure to patch him up, maybe give him some oil or something.And will somepony unfreeze my hooves?”

As Royal Guard reinforcements entered and gathered around The Masked Man, they picked him up by his arms and started dragging him off towards Canterlot Castle.

The Interrogation

Claus groaned as he began to wake up to the clinking and clanking of heavy metal chains and the smell of a barnyard. As he slowly opened his eyes, Claus found that he was in a dungeon cell of some type and that his mask and his lightning sword were gone, and that a clamp of some kind was attached to his robotic arm, preventing it from transforming into the cannon.

Damn it! Now how Hell am I supposed to get out of here? thought Claus. I’m still too exhausted from that fight with Shining Armor to use PSI to bust out of here… so that means I’d better wait until some poor, poor, fool of a guard comes and gets me. Then I can beat him down and bust out of here.

Not even a moment later, Claus heard the sound of a key scraping against a the inside of a lock.

Okay, here goes, thought Claus, getting ready to pounce on what he thought was a lone Royal Guard. However, when the door swung open, instead of a single Guard Pony entering the cell, four of them entered, unlocked Claus’ chains and removed the clamp before grabbing him by his arms before the cyborg could do much of anything. The Royal Guardsponies then proceeded to escort Claus past several other cells, the chatter from which filled the corridor.

"You foolish little ponies sleep tight, because you'll never know when the Pegasus Device will reawaken, hungry again."

"Anchovy pizza! Something, something Italian sounding!"

"BEARS! BIG THE CAT!"

"IT WASN'T ME! I SWEAR I'M INNOCENT! IT WAS THE ONE-ARMED MAN!"

"Hey, would a ’man’ look something like that thing the guards are dragging?"

"...I have no idea."

"Oh, Celestia, why can't I free your doubtful mind, and melt your cold, cold heart?"

As Claus was led past these various cells, he began to wonder where the Guards were taking him to. It wasn't long, however, before he got his answer: the interrogation room.

"If anyone so much as THINKS about trying to waterboard me, then I give you my word that there will be bloodshed and broken bones," warned Claus.

"Shut up and get in there!" snapped one of the guards as he opened the door and gave Claus a rough shove into the room.

As the door shut behind him, Claus took a moment to look about the room. It looked pretty much like your standard interrogation room: small with dim lighting and reflective side of a one-way window facing the door, and a table with two chairs on each side.

Claus' unamused frown deepened when he saw who was sitting in one of the chairs: Shining Armor. To top it off, his mask and his lightning sword were sitting on the table, most likely as evidence against him.

"Welcome," said Shining Armor. "Have a seat."

Not really seeing any other option, Claus took the seat adjacent to Shining.

“I know what you’re going to try and do.”

“Really now?”

“Good cop-bad cop routine. You act nice and polite while I-” whatever Claus was about to say next was silenced as a Guard beside him slammed his head into the table.

“Whoops. Sorry about that. Hand slipped,” said the female voice of what had to be another Royal Guard... but the guard sounded like…. no, that wasn’t right because she was an Element of Harmony.

“What the... Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Okay, pal, start talking. How do you know my name?" she demanded, grabbing Claus by the jacket.

"If I tell you, will you explain why you're a member of the Royal Guard and not a Wonderbolt uber fangirl? Er, fan filly? Fan mare?" asked Claus, blushing a little at the sight of his waifu.

Rainbow growled a bit. "Why would I ever want to be associated with Spitfire's circus clowns?" she snarled. "I was born to be a fighter. A soldier, loyal to Princesses Celestia and Luna to the bitter end. Not some tight-wearing stage performer!"

"Lieutenant! This is an interrogation, so I suggest you do less hating the Wonderbolts, and more playing the bad cop," said Shining Armor.

"He started it!"

"Rainbow, that's an order!"

Rainbow glared into Claus’ mismatched eyes for a moment, before letting him go with a shove.

"Sorry about her. She's been in a bad mood ever since two days ago. We have a threat against Canterlot. But, then again you already know that don’t you? Why don’t you tell us EXACTLY what’s going on with that and maybe she’ll calm down.”

"Shining, I already told you, I'm not talking. Besides, if I did tell you what's going on, you wouldn't believe me anyway," said Claus, an annoyed look on his face. Rainbow slammed her elbow into Claus’ robotic hand in response, hurting her funny bone, causing the mare to hiss through gritted teeth and causing Claus to chuckle a little. "Yeah, that doesn't really hurt that bad since my real hand was lost in an… accident… when I was younger. Besides, even if I still had my real hand, that little attack wouldn’t hurt that badly since you already slammed my head into the table," he told the pegasus

"I'll keep that in mind," growled Rainbow as she rubbed her elbow.

Shining Armor took no interest in Rainbow's remark. "And WHY wouldn't I believe you?" he asked Claus.

"Didn't I tell you? Your wedding is going to be a sham, and will damn near bring about the destruction of Canterlot. Tell me, has the bride been acting a little differently lately?" asked Claus.

Shining Armor frowned. "What does that have to do with..." he began to say, before it clicked. "Are you seriously implying that Princess Mi Amorè Cadenza... my own fiance, who I've known and been in love with since high school... is the one behind the threat against Canterlot?"

"Either that, or she's one hell of a bridezilla," said Claus.

At that remark, Shining Armor cast a glance at Rainbow, who merely shrugged. Neither of them had a clue what the cyborg just said. But, Shining knew one thing. His darling soon-to-be wife just COULDN'T be the one behind the threat... she loved him too much to want to do something like that, to even think about harming even a fly.

"You're right... I don't believe a word you just said... Cadence would never dream of bringing Canterlot to ruin," Shining Armor finally said. "That's why, until you help us catch whoever is truly responsible for this threat, I'm keeping a close eye on you. It will be up to you to help me, Cadence, and our party planner make decisions for the wedding decorations, the music, you get the idea. During the wedding, which I'm willing to bet is when the culprit will strike, I'll need you to attend the wedding and help me protect Celestia and the wedding guests at all costs. Is that understood?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever... I assume I can have my equipment back?"

"Of course. But, I gotta say, that sword of yours is really something. When the Royal Scientists ran tests on it, it nearly destroyed all of their equipment... so, we figured we'd better give it back to somepony who knew how to actually USE that thing," said Shining Armor, while Rainbow nodded.

"Yeah, well, that's what happens when you screw around with a lightning sword," said Claus as he stood up and collected his sword and put his mask back on.

Before Shining Armor or Rainbow Dash could reply, another Royal Guard knocked on the door and entered. "Uh, Captain, Lieutenant, there's a group of ponies and a dragon at the front gates. They say they've come from Ponyville to help with the wedding," he said.

Rainbow's face broke into a grin. "That must be Twilight and the others!" she said.

Shining smiled. It had been far too long since he'd seen his LSBFF. "Well, what are we standing around here for? Let's go and see them," he said.

And with that, the guard left. Shining Armor, The Masked Man, and Rainbow made to follow, but paused in the doorway, having remembered something. "Forgive me, but I don't think I ever asked you for your name," said Shining Armor

"My name is Claus. Claus Ryuka," said Claus, shaking hands with both soldiers.

"Well, Claus, let's get going. My little sister's gonna get a kick out of you, as I'm highly certain there isn’t anything like you in Equestria... or anywhere else on Gaia, for that matter," said Shining before he walked away.

As Claus followed behind Shining Armor, The Masked Man chuckled to himself. Well, this should certainly be interesting. If Rainbow's a Lieutenant in the Royal Guard here... then, I wonder what the other Elements of Harmony are like, thought Claus.

...

On the front lawn of Canterlot Castle, a small group of ponies, plus one teenage dragon hidden amongst a mountain of luggage, were waiting to be admitted into the castle. The ponies, all five of which were mares, consisted of two Unicorns, two Earth Ponies, and a Pegasus. One of the Unicorns was a lovely shade of lavender and had a dark blue mane and tail, both of which had a magenta stripe through them, and wore a dark purple shirt with a magenta starburst on the front, black pants, and purple and pink sneakers. This was Twilight Sparkle, and she was the younger sister of Shining Armor, and a very gifted and powerful Unicorn sorceress.

The second Unicorn was chalk white with a curly purple mane and tail wearing a white t-shirt,designer jeans, and black and white sneakers. This was Rarity Belle, and she was the fashionista in charge of designing the outfits to be worn during the wedding.

One of the Earth Ponies was orange with a blonde mane, which was tied back in a ponytail, and wore a brown stetson hat, a white t-shirt underneath a green short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots. This was Applejack, and she was in charge of the catering for the wedding reception.

The second Earth Pony was a bright and bubbly shade of pink, from her fur to her bushy mane and tail. She wore a white t-shirt with a heart on it underneath a light blue t-shirt, a pink skirt, with three balloons on it, and blue heels with little pink ribbons on them. This was Pinkamena "Pinkie" Pie, and she was in charge of the wedding reception decorations.

The pegasus was a cream yellow and had a light pink mane and tail, and wore a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and sandals. This was Fluttershy, and she and her songbirds were in charge of providing the music for the wedding reception.

The dragon, Spike, had purple scales, small dark purple wings, and green spines, and wore a green t-shirt underneath a purple hoodie, blue jeans, and purple and green sneakers.

“Hey girls what’s up?!” A voice yelled as Rainbow came flying down still dressed in her guard attire.

“Wow, Rainbow. The Guard must be busy if yer our welcoming party,” said Applejack with a grin as she and Dash hugged each other... only to be interrupted by a gasp.

“A PARTY?! WHY DIDN’T ANYPONY SAY SO! I WOULD’VE BROUGHT MY PARTY CANNON!” screamed Pinkie at the top of her lungs.

Rainbow chuckled and shook her head. "Some things never change... but, you're right, AJ, the Guard is really busy, and it's not just because of the big wedding, at which I get to do my Sonic Rainboom, by the way. We've got other prob-"

"I'll take it from here, Lieutenant."

The seven gathered creatures turned to find Shining Armor strolling up to them, and with him was... an unidentified creature wearing a stone gray helmet of some kind. Not only that, but the creature appeared to be wearing an outfit that wouldn't look out of place on a mercenary from the future, complete with a robotic arm and a strange hilt on his belt.

"It's good to see you, Twilight!" said Shining Armor, opening his arms wide for a hug.

What Twilight did instead was walk up to her brother and glare at him. "First off, how DARE you not tell me in pony that you were getting married, and to somepony I've never even met I might add!" she said, poking Shining Armor in the chestplate of his armor. "And secondly, who, and if you don't mind me saying, what, is the mercenary?"

"What? Mercenary?" asked Shining Armor, looking confused for a moment before he realized that Twilight was talking about Claus. "Oh! You mean this guy. Everyone, this is Claus Ryuka. He'll be helping out with the wedding until the threat has passed."

"Threat? Why, Shining Armor, whatever do you mean?" asked Rarity, a classy elegance in her voice.

"A threat's been made against Canterlot. That's why all the Guard is busy except for me and Shining Armor, and nopony knows who's behind it. That's why we've got Claus here helping out," explained Rainbow.

"Ah may be just stating the obvious, but did it by any chance cross yer minds that that there Claus character might just be the varmint behind this threat?" asked Applejack.

"That's the other reason I'm helping out with this wedding; to prove my innocence," said Claus.

"Well, be that as it may, I simply refuse to allow you to go anywhere near the throne room dressed like that. This is a wedding of storybook proportions, not a war zone," said Rarity, causing Claus to smirk a little. "I simply insist that you follow me, so that I may take your measurements for a more appropriate wardrobe for the occasion."

Claus hesitated a moment, looking at Shining Armor, who nodded. "Well, if you insist," he finally said. “However, I do have on condition.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “And, what would that be exactly?” she asked The Masked Man.

“Does it come in black?”

Rarity smiled. "Very well, then, Mr. Ryuka, if you will follow me."

Swords At Dusk

"What in the wide, wide, world of Gaia were you doing in such a..." asked Rarity as she worked on Claus’ suit, which consisted of black dress pants with a black leather belt, a black tailcoat, a white dress shirt, a crimson bow tie, black gloves, and black dress shoes, pausing as she tried to find the right word. "...combative outfit on such an elegant occasion as this? I mean, is that lightning weapon really necessary? It's not like we're at war. And, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you become a cyborg?”

"Well, I didn't have time to get into a tux before Shining Armor beat me in that fluke," replied Claus cooly. "As far as the lightning sword goes, I have a funny feeling that I'm going to be needing it before the engaged couple are declared stallion and mare. And honestly, I’d prefer to keep how I got my cybernetics to myself, thank you very much."

"You really should work on your manners, you know. Language like that most certainly will not impress any of the Lords and Ladies at the wedding," said Rarity as she finished up with Claus bow tie.

"And I would care what those stuck-up rich ponies would say because...?" asked Claus.

Rarity gasped in shock. "'Stuck-up rich ponies?’ I'll have you know, sir, that I have many Carousel Boutiques all over Equestria, and my largest store and corporate headquarters in Ponyville rakes in over 17,000 bits a day, so don't you go referring to ponies like me as 'stuck-up!'" snapped Rarity.

"Whoa, sounds like I just hit a nerve big time," said Claus with a smirk.

"I'll say. I could hear you two screaming all the way down in the throne room, and that makes supervising the decoré exceedingly difficult."

Claus and Rarity looked towards the doorway to find a pink alicorn princess wearing a maroon dress, high heels, and a small golden tiara on her head.

“And… what are you, exactly? A cyborg monkey?” the pink princess asked.

Claus sighed and smacked his forehead in frustration. “Okay, that is getting really old, really fast. I’m a Chimera and/or a cyborg, and my name is Claus. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, Chys-” said Claus before he gave a false cough. “Sorry about that, milady. As I was saying, pleasure to make your acquaintance, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” Claus finished, giving a low bow.

Mi Amore Cadenza stared at Claus for quite some time. “Yeah, sure, nice to meet you too, now run along and do cyborg-y things. I need to get ready for my fitting,” she said.

“As you wish, my qu-er, my princess,” said Claus, before he climbed off of the platform and left the room, Mi Amore Cadenza watching him go with every stride.

Although the Princess’s face showed no emotion, her mind was racing. That cyborg, Chimera, or whatever he is… he knows something about my plan… maybe this won’t be as easy as I thought… then again, I truly wish I didn’t have to do this in the first place… but, what choice do I have? Besides, the big machine can’t be stopped, as the wheels have already started to turn, thought Cadenza as a pang of guilt ran through her.

“Princess? Are you ready to begin?” asked Rarity.

“Whuh? Oh, um, yes.”

…

A short while later, Claus, clad in his regular uniform once again, entered the throne room and saw Twilight Sparkle talking to a tall white alicorn with a flowing mane and tail of green, blue, and pink wearing a beautiful golden dress with matching heels and a golden tiara with a matching crown.

“I don’t know about this, Princess. I mean, I know it’s been a few years since I needed to be foalsat, but I didn’t think Cadence could change so much in so little time,” said Twilight.

“I understand your concern my faithful student. Truth be told, my niece HAS been acting a little short and bossy ever since the threat against Canterlot surfaced,” admitted Princess Celestia. “But, then again, it could just be exhaustion from the wedding preparations.”

“It might be, and it might not,” said Claus. “I don’t think Cadence’s recent behavior and the timing of this threat are just a coincidence.”

Celestia and Twilight turned around to look at Claus. “You must be that new arrival that Shining Armor told me about,” said Celestia.

“Yes, I am. Name’s Claus Ryuka,” said Claus got down on one knee before Celestia, who turned bright red. True, she was the monarch of Equestria, but it always made her feel uncomfortable.

“Er, you can get up now,” said Celestia. Claus stood and Celestia continued talking. “Shining Armor also told me about how you suspect Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of being the one behind the plot against Canterlot.”

“What?!” said Twilight, looking from her mentor to Claus in shock. “Cadence may be acting like a big jerk as of late, but to say that she’s the one behind the threat to Canterlot… it’s just not possible.”

Claus chuckled and shook his head. “Like brother, like sister. That was actually how your brother took that little bombshell. I’m telling you two, it all adds up. I mean, don’t you find the timing just a little bit suspicious?” he asked.

“What I find suspicious is the timing of your arrival and the timing of the threat. Maybe Applejack is right, maybe YOU’RE the one behind the threat,” said Twilight.

“I can assure that I’m not the one behind this,” Claus said sternly. “In any case, I want to have a word with Rainbow Dash. Do you know where I can find her?”

“She’s on patrol, I’m afraid. She usually doesn’t get back until dusk, after which she usually heads down to the training yard and practices late into the night.She won’t let anything stand in her way of becoming the best. An admirable trait, in Luna’s eyes at least,” said Celestia.

“Well, then, perhaps she’d like a sparring partner tonight,” said Claus before turning on his heel and walking away.

…

Later that evening, we find Rainbow Dash out in the training yard, practicing her swordplay skills with a group of enchanted training dummies.

“All righty, now… let’s get to work,” said Rainbow as she put on her helmet and stepped into the center of the training ring, thus activating the training dummies. The dummies’ eyes lit up with magical energy as they focused their attention on Rainbow.

With a smirk, Rainbow lunged forward, pulling out her sword and attempting to impale one of the dummies, only for it to jump backwards out of the way. Rainbow blocked a swing from one of the dummies before kicking it in the stomach, giving her enough of an opening to stab it through what would’ve been a throat on an actual pony.

1 down. Five more to go Dashie, thought Rainbow as she turned to the others. She grinned as she swiftly moved through the dummies, their straw and fabric innards spilling onto the ground before finally there was only one. This particular dummy has been giving her more trouble than any of the others… mostly because she happened to have been assigned to the only dummy that adapted to a fighting style for becoming Lieutenant.

“READY FOR A REMATCH?” The dummy asked as it took a stance.

“Always,” said Rainbow.

And with that, Rainbow shot like a bullet towards the dummy, which barely ducked in time to avoid the Pegasus’s strike.

“YOU’LL HAVE TO DO BETTER THAN THAT!” taunted the dummy.

“Oh, don’t worry, I will,” said Rainbow, before she looped back around and flew up towards the ceiling, and out of the dummy’s sight.

“Hmm… running away? But-” said the dummy before Rainbow’s sword was rammed directly through the top of its head, cutting its sentence short.

“And that’s all she wrote!” said Rainbow, taking off her helmet and wiping the sweat off her forehead before making her way towards the water bucket. However, she stopped short at what sounded like applause. Turning around like lightning with her sword ready to strike, Rainbow discovered that it was Claus who was standing behind her, an interested look on his face.

“Well, I can safely say that I’m actually impressed with your skill, Rainbow,” he said. “And from my perspective, that’s saying something.”

“Oh yeah?” asked Rainbow, lowering her sword and raising an eyebrow. “And what perspective is that exactly?”

“Well, Miss Dash, that would be the perspective of someone else who’s been a part of a military force before,” Claus said casually while Rainbow rolled her eyes in disbelief. “Actually, that reminds me. Why did you choose the Royal Guard over the Wonderbolts? That seems a bit odd for you.”

“Well…” said Rainbow, thinking Claus’ question over. “Tell you what. If you beat me in a sparring match, with a real sword instead of that lightning one you’ve got, I might tell you why.”

“Sounds fair enough. What if, by some miracle, I lose?” asked Claus.

“Then it’ll be you who spills the beans. You’ll tell me where you came from, how you got your cybernetics, and most importantly, how the Tartarus do you know all of our names.”

Claus smirked. “You’re on. Where’s the swords?”

Rainbow jerked her thumb over her shoulder. Moments later, Claus and Rainbow Dash were in the practice ring, their swords ready to clash.

“So… when you were in this army of yours… what was your rank?” asked Rainbow.

“I wasn’t really anything special, truth be told, I was just... the Commander,” said Claus.

“Like Tartarus you were,” Rainbow said disbelievingly. “You, a full-fledged Commander when you look hardly any older than me? Don’t make me laugh.”

“Well, I had certain skills that the big boss was looking for, so naturally he made me his right-hand man,” said Claus.

“Well, then let’s see those skills in action, shall we?” said Rainbow before she slashed her sword at Claus, who blocked the attack before kicking Rainbow in the chest, knocking her backwards. Rainbow sprung off her back foot and used her wings to attempt to deliver an aerial strike, which Claus was able to block at the cost of causing him to stagger a bit.

As Celestia’s sun began to sink lower and lower, and Luna’s moon rose higher and higher, the two warriors continued to fight, neither gaining a decisive advantage over the other. Until, finally, an elbow to the face from Claus caused Rainbow to stagger a little, allowing the young Chimera to knock the sword from her hand before literally sweeping the Lieutenant off her hooves. Claus then placed his foot on Rainbow’s chest, keeping her pinned down while he aimed his sword directly at her throat.

“Do you yield?” asked Claus.

After a moment of trying and failing to get Claus’ boot off of her and recover her sword, Rainbow finally muttered, “Yes.”

“Good,” said Claus, removing his foot and offering his robotic hand to help Rainbow Dash up. “Now, start talking. Why did you choose the Royal Guard over the Wonderbolts?”

Rainbow sighed in defeat. “My mother was Captain of The Wonderbolts prior to Shitfire, and was probably one of the best Wonderbolts in recent memory before she died from cancer,” she began to explain. “So, the pressure was on me from day one to live up to the family legacy and follow in her hoofprints. And I really, really wanted to. I couldn’t stop thinking about being as great, if not better than, my mother. I even swore it on her grave. Finally, about six years ago, I was finally offered the chance to attend the Wonderbolt Academy and make my mother proud.”

“And let me guess, you totally choked, didn’t you?” said Claus.

“Yep.”

“Okay… still not seeing why you hate the Wonderbolts, though,” said Claus.

“I hate them because they rubbed my face in my failure,” said Rainbow. “They told me my mother would be rolling over in her grave at the sight of my performance, amongst other things. After that, I joined up with the Royal Guard, and one thing led to another, and that was that.”

“Wow… the Wonderbolts in this dimension are total assholes… how could they say something like that?” asked Claus.

“Pretty easily apparently,” said Rainbow, before giving a loud yawn. “Look, I’m tired, so I think I’ll hit the hay. I suggest you do the same, we’ve got the wedding rehearsal tomorrow morning. Good night, Commander Claus.”

“Night, Lieutenant Rainbow Dash,” said Claus.

And with that, Rainbow and Claus turned and went… but not before looking over their shoulders at each other… neither of them aware that they were being watched.

…

The following morning, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza stretched as she climbed out of bed. Last night had been interesting in so many ways. That Claus character certainly knew his way around a sword… it was almost a shame that it was nothing more than a trick to ensure the wellbeing of her kind. However, one needs to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.

“Speaking of... breakfast sounds good about now.” Mi Amore said to herself as she headed downstairs to the Dining Hall, where she heard the others talking and laughing together. Once she reached the door, she flung it open. “Hello everypony,” she said, causing Claus to look up.

“Ah, so the sleepyhead finally wakes up,” said Claus, munching on an omelet while Mi Amore Cadenza sat down at the table.

“Well, with the big day tomorrow, I’m going to need all the sleep I can get,” said Mi Amore. “So... someone mind telling me what the cyborg is doing here?”

“Well, Shining Armor invited me down for breakfast so that way he could keep a better eye on me, and also so we could discuss the security details for your wedding, what with this threat to Canterlot and all,” explained Claus.

“Oh, is that so? I was under the impression that my fiance's shield spell would keep out anyone who had ill intentions against Equestria,” said Mi Amore with a skeptic look at Claus.

“So did I,” said Shining Armor. “But, Claus here seems to be under the impression that the enemy may actually already be in Canterlot, waiting for the opportunity to carry out their plot.”

“And what makes him say that?”

“Call it… intuition,” Claus said, a smirk on his face. “Now, then, where is Twilight and her crew of merry mares?”

“They should be coming here soon,” said Shining as he looked outside. “Rainbow’s a bit… obsessive about being on time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, it started back when she was still just a recruit in the military. One time, Rainbow overslept and was over two hours late to her training station. After she got her ass chewed out by her CO, she found herself enduring some… cruel and unusual punishment.”

“And that would be…?” asked Claus.

“Take off her clothes and do sit ups until told otherwise... she kept at it until night fall.”

“Holy hell.”

At that moment, Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Spike, and Pinkie entered the breakfast room.

“Whew, made it just in time,” said Rainbow, checking her watch.

“Good. With everypony here we can start talking about plans for the wedding,” said Shining Armor.

As the ponies, dragon, and Chimera talked about what the plan was for the wedding rehearsal later that afternoon, Mi Amore kept casting looks at Claus, and Claus did the same to her. Both of them knew that the other was a major threat that needed to be dealt with if either her plan or Equestria’s peace was to make it through this wedding in one piece.

I’ll have to snag him while he’s sleeping. That way, he won’t be able to stop my plans and ruin my kind’s hopes of survival, Mi Amore thought to herself.

Knowing Chrysalis, she’s probably planning to attack me in my sleep when I can’t fight back, thought Claus. I’ll need to be on my guard tonight, maybe work out or something.

In the end, both Mi Amore and Claus knew that when the wedding bells started to ring, there were going to be some fireworks… and only one of them would be left standing.