That Could Have Been

Chapters

Change The Future
Some HIE Fic I found looking around my files....
Technological Advances

Change The Future

Author's Note

This story takes place during the season 4 final, it is a what-if/alternative timeline to what happens hence why somethings are changed and some remain the same.

Change The Future

Twilight was shooting a death glare at the large muscular centaur that was staring down at her. Her battle with Tirek had scarred the land’s surface with shattered fields, explosive blasts, even the Golden Oak Library, Twilight’s home that she has lived in since the day she had first moved to Ponyville was destroyed in the intense all-out battle. After delivering both of their strongest attacks, the two combatants had come to a standstill as they appeared to be evenly matched; the young Alicorn princess and male centaur were at a standoff as neither dared to make a move.

“It appears we are at an impasse,” Tirek was the first of the two to break the silence, his opponent simply listened on, watching him carefully. A smug grin formed on the face of Tirek as a brilliant idea caught his thought. “How about a trade, Princess Twilight?” Tirek snapped his massive fingers and the other Element of Harmony bearers along with Discord and Spike appeared trapped in bubble-like prisons floating above Tirek; each with their own distressed expression as they begged for freedom. “Their release, for all the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” Twilight let out a gasp at the words of Tirek, her friends all began pounding on their round prisons as they pleaded for their friend to decline the centaur’s proposal. Tirek’s grin widened as he witnessed the astonishment which appeared on Twilight’s face, “what’s it going to be, Princess?”

“Don’t do it Twilight!” Rainbow Dash called as she begged her friend.

“We’re not worth it!” exclaimed Fluttershy who almost looked on the verge of tears.

“Oh but you are Fluttershy,” Discord said sadly as he sat in a slump in his bubble, Fluttershy turned her gaze toward the draconequus to listen. “You’re the pony who taught me that friendship is magic, I had magic and friendship.” Discord paused shortly as he placed his mismatched paw and claw over his eyes to shield his shame. “And now, I don’t have either.”

“Enough!” Tirek snapped as he stomped his front two hooves onto the land in a fit of anger. “I want an answer, and I want it NOW!”

Twilight shifted her eyes to each of her friends, Pinkie Pie; Rarity; Applejack; Rainbow Dash; Fluttershy; a rainbow colored shine glazed over her eyes as she began to feel a strange sensation, like a switch was turned on in her head. It was then that Twilight knew what she had to do.

“I will give you my magic, in exchange for my friends.” Twilight’s answer was met with cries and shrieks of disapproval as her friends all gasped with shock.

“As you wish,” Tirek replied with a faint trace of a smile. Upon snapping his fingers once more, everyone’s bubble prison popped as they fell gently to the ground, everyone’s except Discord.

“All of my friends,” Twilight stated sternly as she noticed Discord still sitting in his entrapment, hearing her demands, Discord turned his head to face Twilight.

“After the way he has betrayed you, you still call him a friend?” questioned Tirek as he raised his arm and pointed it at the draconequus to illustrate his point.

“Release him!” Twilight commanded as her glare returned to her face.

“If that’s what you want,” Tirek’s reply seemed as though it were half question half answer, nevertheless, he snapped once more which caused Discord’s bubble to drop and popping upon impact with the ground.

“Thank you Twilight,” Discord expressed his gratitude as he tried to repress the strong feeling of guilt which was stirring inside him. He glanced over at Fluttershy, “I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy responded with a saddened, “I know,” tears beginning to take form in her eyes.

A devilish smile overcame Tirek’s face as he looked towards Twilight, “Your turn.” An orange-yellowish colored orb formed above the centaur’s head as he opened his mouth and began to drain the princess of her magic, screams and moans of pain rang throughout the land as Twilight felt her strength began to fade.

As the very last of Twilight’s Alicorn magic was drained, Twilight collapsed and the color from her eye faded. Tirek let out a mighty roar as his size began to increase exponentially due to his devouring of all the Alicorn magic in Equestria. “YES!” he screamed as his size grew high enough to rival even the tallest mountain in Equestria, Tirek continued his yelling as he felt his power rise and began to feel the land and tress around him crush beneath him.

Twilight struggled at first, but in the end managed to bring herself up on her hooves once again. She was soon joined by Spike and her friends who followed closely behind. “Twilight, what were you thinking?” Spike questioned.

“Tirek tricked me into believing that he could offer me something more valuable than friendship,” Discord said as he approached the young princess with guilt still eating away at him. “But there is nothing worth more, I see that now. He lied when he said that this medallion was given as a sign of gratitude and loyalty; but when I say that it isa sign of our true friendship,” Discord removed the golden object from around his neck and placed it on Twilight. “I am telling the truth.” A strange sensation overcame Twilight again which brought the color back to her eyes, Applejack was the first to notice this new development and question it.

“You think that might be the last one we need?” the southern accented earth pony asked.

Twilight gave the medallion a hard glance and then finally spoke, “We have to get to the chest.” The princess took off running with everypony present following along.

The three ponies sat in the throne room in silence as they felt a sense of dread loom over them. The three once proud princesses of Equestria had bags forming under their eyes due to exhaustion from loss of magic, Princess Celestia; Princess Luna; and Princess Cadence all sat quietly, until a sigh was let out.

“Even without magic I can feel Tirek’s power, it’s almost immeasurable,” Luna began as she raised her head and looked at Celestia. “Sister, I believe this is the end of our rule.”

“Don’t say that!” Cadence snapped as she tried to stand but to no avail. “Twilight hasn’t given up, she’ll find a way I just know it.”

“I have faith in Twilight as well,” Celestia chimed in wearily as she sat up with a stagger. “But we also mustn’t underestimate the cunning of Tirek. Even without Alicorn magic, he is still a growing threat.”

“Sister, Cadence, you both cannot deny what we are feeling,” Luna was finally able to bring herself to stand. “Tirek has obtained Alicorn magic, all of it, meaning, Twilight has failed.”

“Twilight Sparkle has yet to fail you.”

The three princesses were left in a state of bewilderment when they heard a voice which belonged to neither of them. Their eyes lifted up to see a hooded figure slowly making its way into the throne room, it was now Cadence who slowly climbed to her hooves to better see the figure. It had the stature of a pony; though it’s only visible features were those of its grayish-phthalo blue muzzle and horn which poked out from under its black tattered hood and it’s hooves which shared a matching color.

“Allow me to express my most sincere apologies for showing up unannounced, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadence.” At the mention of each princess’s name the figure bowed its head humbly and honorable. The voice of the mysterious figure was that of a male, a stallion who’s age was more or likely close to Twilight and her friends age. “I know you all may be having your doubts, however I assure you, Equeastria’s safety shall be preserved.”

“Who are you, and why have you come here?” Luna asked almost defensively as the pony crept closer to her and the other alicorns. “Are you in league with Tirek?”

“No!” the pony yelled his response startling the princess of the night. There was a moment of silence followed by a sigh from the hooded unicorn who then continued. “Please forgive me for my outburst dearest Princess Luna, I only meant to say that my allegiance lies with Equeastria, I would never side with the likes of Tirek after what he’s done.” Luna’s eyes were wide as she was shocked at the pony’s extremely apologetic demeanor.

“What is your name?” Cadence asked as she cautiously stared at the pony who was now standing only several hoof lengths away from where the three alicorns sat.

“Once again, I apologize, but I cannot provide that information to even any of you right now.”

“Then perhaps at least reveal your facial features,” Celestia said, though her statement sounding more like a question. “And how can you guarantee the safety of Equestria? Do you not know the current condition in which the land is on?”

“Furthermore how can we trust what you say if you won’t even provide us with the smallest of detail about your identity?” Luna was growing irritated with the vague words of the mysterious pony. “Sister, we can’t just stand around, we’re wasting time. Twilight Sparkle needs our—” Luna made an attempt to fly only to come crashing down, but before she hit the hard marble floor of the throne room, she found herself surrounded in a blue aura which looked similar to her own.

“Please, all of you, you have nothing to fear. I will see to it that Equestria is saved, I swear it.” The blue aura around Luna disappeared once she was gently placed back where she sat originally by her sister’s side. “I wish I could stay longer and talk with all of you, but I’m afraid I’m all out of time. I must be going..”

The hooded unicorn gave the princesses a nod before disappearing in a sphere of blue light, leaving behind more questions than he did answers.

Tirek watched in surprise as the vibrant colored sphere which contained the six Element of Harmony bearers raised out of a crevice in the ground and meet his gaze. Seeing this as some sort of pitiful last attempt, Tirek fired a large orange flame colored blast from his horn only to realize that his powers weren’t afflicting the ponies.

“H—how is this possible!?” Tirek stammered in in a fit of shock. “You have no magic!”

“Your wrong Tirek. I may have given you my Alicorn magic, but I carry within me the most powerful magic of all.” Twilight spoke with a confident tone with a triumphant grin.

As the sphere of magic began to glow brightly, it was quickly cut short as the bubble disappeared with a popping sound leading to the six ponies to fall to the ground. Several shocked and surprised gasps came from Twilight and her friends as their transformations faded and they were left in their normal forms.

“Hey, what gives?” questioned Rainbow Dash as she looked around at the rest of her friends.

“I don’t understand,” Twilight asked herself as she stood on her hooves along with the others present. “What happened to our magic?”

“Well, well, it appears that you don’t carry the strongest magic of all within you,” Tirek laughed as he stood over the six who were now like ants to him due to his size. “I won’t take anymore chances, time to get ready of you six once and for all.” Tirek watched as the six ponies huddled together and closed their eyes, his orange sphere of magic above his massive horns grew in size rapidly. He then proceeded to fire a magical blast down at his cowering enemies, when the smoke cleared, the only thing that remained was a crater from the devastation of the blast. “Now Equestria is mine!”

“Equestria will never be yours.”

Tirek turned around to find a pony-like figure wearing a tattered hooded cloak of black standing before him; behind him, were the six ponies Tirek had thought he destroyed. The pony removed his hood to reveal a sharp and rather long horn, his eyes were a shade of deep royal blue and his mane was ruffled and black with streaks of white and dark blue mixed in.

“So, you must be Tirek, funny, your not as threatening as I thought you’d be.” The unicorn looked up at the mighty centaur with a serious expression. “Tirek, I’m only going to ask you this once, return the magic you have stolen from Equestria and surrender yourself and return to your cell in Tartarus.”

“Twilight, who is that pony?” Rainbow Dash whispered as she leaned closer to the young princess.

“I’m not sure, I don’t recognize him at all.” Twilight watched carefully as the unicorn stood his ground against Tirek.

“Well whoever he is he’s suffering from a major wardrobe malfunction,” Rarity chimed in as she pointed a hoof toward the stallion’s torn cloak. “I mean seriously, how can one walk around in such an atrocious piece of—” Rarity was cut off by Tirek’s erupting laughter.

“You are quite the comedian,” Tirek began as he pointed at the small blue unicorn with a large finger. “You can’t possibly hope that I’d listen to a puny pony like you, I am Tirek.”

“If you don’t comply with my demands I’ll have no choice but to defeat you.” The pony adjusted his face into a glare, “You can’t win, so make it easier for yourself and just give up.”

“You must be an even bigger fool than Discord if you think you can defeat me,” Tirek began to flex his muscular arms as he spoke. “I have acquired all the magic from Earth Ponies, Pegasi, and Unicorns ; and now thanks to Princess Twilight, I have obtained all of the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” Twilight’s face changed to one of guilt at the mention of her sacrifice.

“Your wrong Tirek, you may have acquired all the magic from Earth ponies, Pegasus ponies, and Unicorns, but you haven’t obtained all of the Alicorn magic in Equestria.” When the newcomer said this, there were expressions of astonishment on not only Tirek’s face, but the faces of the six ponies standing behind the cloaked pony as well. A cocky grin formed on the unicorn’s face, “that’s right Tirek, there’s still one more Alicorn left, an Alicorn who’s magic far exceeds the power of the ones you’ve stolen thus far; an Alicorn who is more powerful than you could ever imagine.”

“What!? There is another Alicorn!?” Twilight and her friends gasped in fright as Tirek’s massive hand scooped up the unicorn and held him inches away from his face. “Where is this 5th princess? Where is her castle?” Tirek became more enraged as the unicorn in his open palm began chuckling softly to himself. “What’s so funny?”

“I just think it’s funny how you assume that the last Alicorn is a mare, I never once even mentioned a princess or a castle.”

“Of course it’s a princess! Only princesses can be Alicorns!” Tirek gripped the unicorn with both hands and began to squeeze. “Your going to tell me where this Alicorn is and your going to tell me NOW!”

“How about I do you one better? I’ll show you!” Tirek’s grip on the unicorn was lost as the unicorn let out a yell, when the stallion was free, Tirek noticed two large pegasus wings keeping the unicorn hovering in mid air. Twilight and her friends watched on in shock, the pony whom they thought was a unicorn was actually the Alicorn himself. “I’ll give you one last chance, surrender now. If not, I will defeat you.”

“I don’t know where you acquired your magic,” Tirek’s flame like orb returned, “But it’s mine now!” Tirek’s mouth opened as he prepared to taste the sweet magic that the newcomer had to offer, however, he closed his massive jaws when he realized nothing was happening. “What!? What is going on!?”

“Your spell won’t work on me Tirek, you see I’ve been studying you and I came prepared.” The light blue Alicorn replaced his cocky grin with one of burning intensity. “And now…..your through!” The large red and black centaur was sent flying across the battle scarred land by a large neon blue blast of magic which had resembled the size of the one that Twilight had used against Tirek before. The Alicorn hovered to the ground and met up with the six ponies who were all carrying expressions of great shock as he turned to face them. “This won’t take long, but just to be sure your all safe,” the pony paused as his horn began glowing a light shade of blue, a bubble-like structure of similar color trapped Twilight and her friends. “I’ll be right back.” Without another word, the Alicorn took off at blinding speed to where Tirek lay on his back on the ground.

“How!? How do you have this much magic!?” Tirek questioned the Alicorn as he rose to his hooves. The stallion didn’t answer Tirek’s question but instead fired a blast similar to the one he did earlier. Tirek wasn’t going to let it happen again, he fired his own orange flamed blast in return; the two powerful attacks connected as a beam struggle began to take place. “You pest! I will not fall to a pony!”

“Its over TIREK!” With a loud yell that shook the heavens and the ground itself, the Alicorn’s blast changed from blue to a flurry of rainbows which swallowed Tirek’s blast along with him. The centaur’s mighty form quickly diminished as his size shrunk gradually and he was restored to his original, weak state. The Alicorn landed next to the elderly Tirek as he opened up a portal which led to an empty Tartarus cell, the centaur was sent through the portal and dropped into the cell by the Alicorn’s aura. “I told you before, you had no chance of winning.”

“Who…,” Tirek’s raspy voice began as he looked back at the Alicorn before he closed the portal, sealing the centaur’s fate. “Who….who are you?”

“I’m the hope that remains in a world of despair and suffering, a dead world that stinks of war and death; I am the hope of the future.” With those final words, the portal was shut and Equestria had been saved, however, one more thing still needed to be done.

Twilight and company watched as an explosion of colors sent shockwaves of vibrant rainbow force across the land, they more or less would have been swept away by the force had it not been for the bubble shield which had been provided conveniently to them by the mysterious youth who had saved them only moments before. When the dust began to settle, Applejack was the first to take notice of the Alicorn silhouette exiting the cloud of dust and was approaching their prison.

“Is everypony okay?” No pony answered the stranger’s question, they just all wore expression of shock and disbelief, everypony except Fluttershy who was hiding behind Rainbow Dash. “Your right, now isn’t the time to talk, magic still has to be returned all over Equestria.”

“How are you going to do that?” Twilight asked.

“It isn’t up to me.” The male Alicorn shot a rainbow colored ray at Twilight and her friends who immediately transformed into their previous long multicolored hair forms. He gave the young princess a nod.

“Come on girls!” Twilight exclaimed as she and her friends all flew in different directions causing an explosion of vibrant colors to spread all over the land, following their trails.

“It wasn’t supposed to be this way, I shouldn’t have intervened,” the light blue Alicorn gave himself a slap in the face as he said this. “I goofed, who knows how much damage I’ve just done?” The Alicorn took notice of a rainbow which seemed to fall in the nearby town over the horizon, he then watched as a crystal looking castle rose from the ground and touched the sky; seeing this sight, he grinned happily with a sigh. “At least everything is back to normal so far, but I should check just to be sure.” With that, he jumped into the air and spread his wings out wide as he took to the sky, his destination: Ponyville.

“But what is the Princess of Friendship without her friends?” Celestia asked as she watched Twilight along with Discord and her other friends all join in for a large group hug.

“Wait a minute!” Discord exclaimed as he realized something, “Where is my throne?”

“I don’t think your there just yet,” Fluttershy said as she flew near the draconequus and joined in laughter with her friends and the princesses.

“Oh good, your all here,” came a familiar voice from the entranceway of the throne room. Everypony’s gaze turned to meet the gentle smile of the male Alicorn who had entered in the room, everyone except for Twilight and company who had witnessed the heroic deeds of the Alicorn earlier were shocked.

“Wait! Your voice,” Luna began as she stared in disbelief at the male Alicorn. “You’re the unicorn who we had spoken with earlier today….how are you an Alicorn? That’s not possible.”

“I have quite a bit of explaining to do,” the stallion laughed as he rubbed his head nervously. “Oh where to begin? I guess I’ll start with the basics. My name is Sol, and as hard to believe as this sounds, I’m from the future.”

“Are you from next Tuesday morning?” Twilight chuckled to herself.

“Actually, I’m from a millennia in the future,” Sol watched as everyone present stared on in shock, but none seemed as shocked as Luna, and he knew why. “A thousand years from now, Equestria is locked in a state of terror and death; under rule by a heartless monster known as Obsidian Black who was taken over and worked just about every creature into slavery.” Sol know carried with him a stern expression, several others looked on in dismay.

“Things couldn’t have gotten that bad!” Rainbow Dash snaps as she soars into the air and launches a glare at Sol. “Princess Celestia wouldn’t let things get that bad.”

“Your right Rainbow Dash, except, Princess Celestia is no longer.” Celestia and Luna both exchange glances as Sol continued to speak, but not before looking at the princesses. “I hate to inform you of this Princess Celestia, but you are destroyed when Tirek breaks out of prison once more and conquers Equestria. Shortly after, Obsidian destroys Tirek and takes command of his forces.”

“What about the Elements of Harmony?” Celestia asked, letting the worry drain from her face as she tried to regain her composure. “Surely they still remain.”

“That’s actually why I’m here princess, in my time, the Elements disappeared mysteriously without any explanation. It was somewhere around this timeline that they vanished, so I traveled back in time to try to find out what happened to them and prevent their disappearance.”

“If I may ask,” Luna commented as she raised a hoof. “If what you say is true, and my sister does fall in combat, what becomes of me?”

A complete look of dread overcame Sol as the color drained from his face, he stood frozen in a shocked state before attempting to speak. “You, Princess Luna, you grow to become as powerful if not stronger than Princess Celestia, you were the leader of the freedom fighters that fought back against Obsidian’s tyrannical regime.”

“This creature, Obsidian, is he truly that powerful?” Celestia questioned, her concern growing evermore.

“He’s a heartless monster who is practically the embodiment of evil. He’s overwhelming powerful but he doesn’t normally leave his fortress of a castle, but that’s why he has his three generals.” Sol shot a glare and bared his teeth at Discord who looked confused and shrugged. “His generals include a newly resurrected King Sombra; Chrysalis, the changeling Queen; and the last one,” Sol choked on his words, he immediately shot a death glare at Discord and pointed a hoof. “And the fourth is a Draconequus that you all know very well.”

“What? I’d never do such a thing,” Discord responded with a defensive tone. “Why, I’m reformed.”

“Maybe in this time period you are, but in my time, your just as heartless as Obsidian. Your chaos falls over Equestria like a wildfire, your Obsidian’s right hoof creature,” Sol began slowly making his way into the room, inching closer to Discord gritting his teeth. “I hold a personal vendetta against you, Discord. I could never forget the one who murdered my mother.”

Everyone let out shocked gasps at the mention of this, Fluttershy flew in front of Discord as if to protect him from the slowly approaching Sol. “But he’s nothing like that here, he’s our friend.”

“Be that as it may, in my time, he’s just another pawn being used by a heartless monster. He took everything from me!” Sol was beginning to lose his composure as his rage was now entirely noticeable; his path was soon blocked by the princess of the night.

“The Discord of your time and the Discord of our time differ greatly, while he may have committed atrocities in your time, keep in mind that he has yet to do such here.” Luna gave Sol, a slight smile. “You mustn’t hold a grudge against him for something he didn’t do, and if you can’t help it, than the least you can do is try to forgive and forget, I’m sure its what your mother would have wanted.”

Sol’s eyes quickly began to fill with water, tears slowly falling from them like rain. “How ironic that you, Princess Luna, would say such forgiving and comforting words,” he laughs through his sobs, “I’m sorry….I just…..I need to be alone right now…” Sol runs out of the room, his sobs louder than ever, leaving everyone left in a state of confusion.

Some HIE Fic I found looking around my files....

“On your hooves creature”

I awoke to see several white horned horses glaring down at where I lay. As I slowly lifted myself up, I felt a sharp pain in the back of my head erupt, causing me to wince in agony. When I groaned in pain and placed my hand on the back of my head, one of the horses gave me a shove.

“Don’t make me repeat myself,” one of them demanded in a commanding tone. Wow what an asshole right? I was already getting tired of this dude- err horse, and decided I wasn’t going to comply.

“But the floor is just sooooo comfy,” I lied as I shuffled on the ground emulating the act of making myself comfortable in bed.

“I think I might rest my-”

I was interrupted by one of their horns penetrating my shirt near my neck and jerking me up in a violent motion.

'Okay, I take that back, these horses weren’t assholes; they were MAJOR assholes. I wonder if all horses are?'

“So, can I ask what I’ve done?”

As I managed to get to my feet, I began to look over the creatures that surrounded me. They all wore gold armor plating on various parts of their bodies and their height was shorter than mine. It wasn’t until I had looked them over carefully that I realized these weren’t just some random mutated horses with horns, they were unicorns.

“You have been caught trespassing on royal grounds without permission. You are going to be taken to the princess so further punishment may be discussed,” one unicorn said as he stared back at me.

“Further punishment?! The hell for!? I haven’t even done shit!” I barked at the unicorn.

I must have given off a feeling of malice because the next thing I know I’m being brought back down to the ground by a hoof kick to the back of my leg. You know where I’m talking about, right behind the knee. I fall to my knees and catch myself with my hands on the ground before my face has a chance to kiss it.

“Okay…now your really starting to piss me off. I’ll let you know now, I won’t let you do that shit again.”

“Are you threatening a royal guard? That’s another charge to throw on top of Breaking and Entering as well as Trespassing. Looks like you’ll be imprisoned for awhile,” said one of the unicorns with a grin of pleasure.

‘Prison? Yeah I’ma have to say hell no to that! Okay let me think, there’s got to be some way I can get outta here.’

I glanced around at the ground only to see the key to my escape from the guards that surrounded me. I was able to stand once again without any of the guards picking up on the fact that I now held an item in my hand. Seeing that I was now accepting my capture, one unicorn cracked a smirk of victory once I was back on my feet.

“Looks like your willing to finally come along quietly. Now then, let’s be on our way,”

“Hang on a sec, I have a small request before we leave,”

The unicorn stared on with a dumbfounded expression after hearing the words I spoke.

“I don’t see why not, but don’t you try anything funny,”

I’m not saying they’re stupid animals, but if this horse…or unicorn, only knew what ingenious plan I had in mind; funny, would be the last word I’d use to describe it. With a quick and swift movement, I executed my flawless escape plan by releasing one of the items which I now carried in my hand, followed by the magical phrase which I’ve used countless times to escape the company of others before.

“Look at the rock!” I screamed after tossing a pebble several feet from my location. Instinctively, the unicorns cocked their heads toward the object which I had released from my palm. As if mesmerized by its presence, all of the guards locked eyes on the oval shaped pebble and continued watching it intently.

I’d say it took them a good 5 seconds before they realized what they were staring at. And by the time they looked back at where I was standing, it was already too late. I took off as fast as I could across the garden looking field only seconds after the pebble left my hand.

I may have had a head start but I gotta hand it to them, those unicorns were pretty damn fast. They were already catching up to me before I knew it, their distance was now only meters away from where I was. It was then that I remembered I still held on to several small rocks in my hand and decided to put them to good use.

“Human uses Rock Throw!” I screamed as I expertly threw a spherical shaped rock at one of the unicorns. I watched the rock hit him in his eye as he cried out in pain and tripped over his own hooves, doing so caused the others behind him to crash into each other and fall to the ground. Watching them all trip up I couldn’t help but let out a laugh as I glanced back at the guard who was giving me so much shit before, he glared back as several other unicorns fell on top of him; he snorted at me angrily.

“It was super effective!”

I had to admit, for ‘royal’ guards these guys weren’t at all as well coordinated or professional as I thought they’d be. As a matter of fact, this must have been the worst kind of law enforcement I’ve ever seen, clumsiest too. As I watched back and laughed hysterically, I didn’t have enough brains to watch where I was going and crashed face first into something. The pain I had once felt in my head was back and throbbing more then ever as I fell on my ass. I focused my vision to see another unicorn scowling back at me, only, this unicorn was a dark blue and black with strange blue hair, an image of a moon on her rump, and she had wings. Not gonna lie, the wings looked pretty badass and I actually wanted a pair for myself.

"What art thou doing in the royal garden!?"

I couldn't help myself, I began cracking up with laughter after her question. I mean who did this horse think she was, Shakespeare? Needless to say she wasn't fond of my hysteria as I watched her face fill red with anger. Just as I was finishing up, I heard the clamoring of hooves approaching and knew I didn't have time for this horse to read me a poem.

"I'd love to stay and chat," I began as I wiped away a tear of joy from my eye. "But I got somewhere to be,"

She must have noticed that the guards were behind me because she blocked my path. I shifted left, she shifted left; I went right, she did the same; she mimicked my movements and I was beginning to get annoyed. As I was playing with miss copycat, I hadn't noticed the guards sneaking up behind me. I only noticed when I was aggressively tackled to the floor with several unicorns restraining me down by my hands and feet. Though they appeared to be horses, these creatures were very light in comparison. Sure, they were heavy as a group, but I'm sure I'd be able to pick up one of these guys separately if the opportunity arose.

"Princess Luna, did this creature bring harm to you?" asked a guard who stood next to her with concern.

"Indeed, please take note that this creature assaulted a member of the royal family," she said through gritted teeth.

"Oh bullshit!" I snapped at her before several hooves covered my mouth.

She only stared at me with a face of confusion, possibly trying to contemplate what the dung of a bull had to do with this situation.

"Such vulgarity shall not be tolerated, take it away," Luna commanded as she turned her back to me.

As the guards let me up, one of them shot a beam from their horn which seemed to bound my hands in magical handcuff like restraints. They let me off my feet and prepared to march me away, however, I still had a laugh I wanted to get in.

"Wait, you can't imprison me! Then you'll never know!"

"Halt!" Luna commanded with a hoof raised. The guards listened obediently and turned me around to face the princess.

"What douth thou speaketh of?"

'Good, she's interested. Now to have some fun.'

"If you imprison me then you'll never know where the secret sacred treasure is hidden,"

Luna stared at me intently as though trying to tell if I was lying or not. It's almost impossible for a guy to lie to a girl, human or not. Luckily for me, I was a professional.

"And what treasure might that be?" Luna asked with a serious expression.

"The treasure of Ima Wiener,"

"Ima Wiener?" Luna asked with a perplexing gaze.

I could already see several guards attempting to hide smiles or hold in laughter. I guess I wasn't the only one who found Luna's reaction funny, however, it wasn't until her next question that me and another guard began to erupt with laughter.

“Who is this ‘Ima Wiener’?”

Though I was laughing I could see Luna was truly curious about the treasure, it was only after a few seconds did she pick up on the name I spoke of. When she did, her curious complexion was replaced by a red face of mixed emotions of embarrassment and anger.

“Take him away!” Luna said once more as she waved her hoof.

“Oh come on moonbutt,” I chuckled. “Just chill,”

Luna obviously wasn’t going to take my shit anymore because she shot a beam from her horn which knocked me off my feet and sent me flying back. With a hard thud, my back landed on the ground and once again my head hit the grass rather hard. The blow was stronger then I thought because the next thing I know everything went dark and I faded from consciousness.

I awoke to find myself alone in a jail cell, however, this jail was different from usual jails. This cell wasn’t like the ones I’ve seen before, the walls all around the cell were made of cobblestone and bright torches mounted on the walls were the only source of light, well that and the fading sunlight from out an open window.

As I sat up, I noticed the pain in my head was gone and replaced by a newfound pain which came from a bump on the back of my head.
‘If this shit keeps going than I’m gonna have a headache before the day is over’. I looked out from my cell to see others which resembled my own, unlike mine though, not a soul was within these cells. The sound of hooves caused me to turn my eyes to a giant wooden door that now opened, in the doorway was a guard with an angered face. He shut the door behind him and made his way to where I stood and then just stared at me silently.

“Take a picture horseshoe, it’ll last longer,”

Upon hearing my words, the unicorn ditched his stern façade and began to laugh at me.

“Oh I did always enjoy the humor of you humans, there was always some form of mischief or chaos in your actions and vocabulary,” said the unicorn with a faint smile.

I was confused at this point, how the hell did he know I was a human when all the other unicorns, including Luna, had not even a clue of what I was? As though he read my very thoughts, the unicorn laughed again before speaking.

“Yes, I know you’re a human, I might possibly be the only one; yes, I know your not from here; and on top of that, you have magic. As for who I am, you can call me Discord,”

As he said this, the unicorn’s eyes changed from their blue color to a strange yellow with red pupils.

“Discord? What’s this thing you said about me having magic? More importantly, what am I doing here, in this world anyway?”

“So many questions yet so little time, now then, stand clear of the cell door,”

With a flash of light from his horn, Discord changed the jail cell door from metal into cinnamon sticks in seconds. Realizing my stomach had taken control, I swiftly chewed through the now delicious door and devoured it in just as little time as it took the unicorn to transform it. I gave out a belch of satisfaction and licked the tip of my fingers.

“Thanks for setting me free, oh and for the snack too. You said I could use magic too, can I do spells like that?”

“Sorry, chaos magic is reserved for yours truly,” Discord said placing a hoof on his chest. “And don’t celebrate, you haven’t made it out yet,” Discord transformed into a small fly and landed on my shoulder. “As long as you listen to me you should be able to sneak out without any problems,” said the tiny voice in my ear.

“How the hell am supposed to ‘sneak’ out of here? I stick out like a sore thumb in this damn place?”

In another flash of light I noticed that my height had shrunk slightly and my stance felt….off. I looked at myself and noticed I was standing on all fours like a dog, no that’s not it, like a horse.

“Discord?”

“Yeeeesssss?” the tiny voice replied innocently.

“The fuck!?”

“What? You said you’d stand out like a sore thumb right? Now your practically invisible,” as he said this, the tiny creature made a small mirror appear in front of me before it disappeared seconds after. He had transformed me into one of the unicorn guards who had brought me here in the first place, armor and everything, my disguise was spot on.

I attempted to walk and almost fell, this had to be one of the most awkward feelings I’ve ever felt. I wasn’t used to walking like a horse, let alone having the body of one. As I struggled to get familiar with my new (hopefully not permanent) body, I heard the forthcoming sound of hooves marching towards my direction.

“Stay calm, as long as you repeat exactly as I say you’ll be able to walk right out the front door,”

Within a few short moments, I was graced by the presence of 7 unicorn guards resembling myself. I did as Discord had instructed and put up a façade to mask my original personality.

“The prisoner has escaped! We must inform the princess immediately!”

Hearing my words, the guards began to panic and shifted their direction away from me instead. I noticed another unicorn was now rushing towards me instead. This one was different from the rest, his armor seemed to stand out and his blue streaked hair underneath his helmet differed him among the rest. Perhaps a higher ranking officer?

“What happened here?” he commanded.

“Sir, the prisoner has escaped. It looks like the whole cell door is gone as well,”

“He can use magic?” the unicorn asked himself under his breath as he faced away from me. He turned around and faced the rest of the guards and myself once more. “Seal off all the exits and search the castle from top to bottom, we will find him,”

Hearing his command, I mimicked the other officers by giving a fake salute to the unicorn and ran off in a similar direction as them. Not only did his physical appearance differ, but this unicorn’s level of comprehension was clearly above the rest I had encountered. I guess not every equine is stupid after all.

“Discord not to be rude but I have no fuckin idea where I’m going!” I said trying to suppress my yell as there were still guards in listening range.

“Your heading in the right direction, now keep going straight ahead and you’ll be home free. For now, I have to go, should the worse arise use these,” a small sack was tied to my wrist-or hoof, which held what felt like black palm sized spherical objects. “Say where you want to go, throw some one of those at the ground beneath you, and ta-dah! You’ll be transported there instantly. What do you think?”

“I think J.K. Rowling is gonna sue somebody,”

“Anyways, gotta run, good luck, adios amigo,”

I heard a faint pop near my ear as I had noticed the small fly was gone. ‘The hell did he mean by good luck? No time to dwell on it now, the exit is right in front of me and I’d be stupid not to take it’. I burst through the giant wooden door expecting to feel the wind from outside hit my face, sadly, this wasn’t the case.

“Goddamn it Discord, you had one job,” I muttered to myself.

Upon opening the massive doors, I was greeted by eight horses, two were larger in comparison to the other six. One of them I recognized right away as moonbutt Luna from earlier today who sat on a miniature throne next to a larger winged unicorn with bright green and blue hair that moved like her own.

The other Six were smaller horses of differing bright colors. Two were unicorns; two looked to be normal horses aside from color; and from my knowledge of Greek mythology, I deducted that the last two with wings were none other than the mythical creatures known as pegasi. But out of all the creatures, the two which stood out to me the most were the cyan rainbow haired pegasus and the bright pink horse which kept hopping in place instead of standing still like the others.

After bursting through the doors and possibly interrupting a conversation which they were having prior, all eyes turned to me as the large white winged unicorn spoke to me.

“Have you come to report your findings?”

I only stood silent, dumbfounded by the very question that I knew I didn’t have an answer for. It didn’t help that I was the center of attention either. After a few moments of a mental anxiety attack, I exhaled a deep breath and put on my guard façade once more. After all, I was a professional when it came to lying to girls, and horses wouldn’t be any different.

“Actually, I-”

My façade was shattered and a look of surprise took over my face as I realized Discord’s transformation spell had worn off. Instead of standing all fours, I now stood on my usual two human legs. Recognizing me just as I did her, Luna gave me a glare which I happily returned back to her.

“You!”

“Moonbutt,” I replied with a devilish smirk.

Remembering the crude nickname I had given her, Luna jumped from her throne and dashed forward at me. I looked at the sack that was tied around my hand and decided to have a little fun. I quickly withdrew one of the black palm sized spheres from within the sack and held it above my head. Noticing this, the six small horses let out shocked gasps and Luna stopped her high speed rush and watched my hand carefully.

“Ladies,” I glanced over at Luna, “Moonbutt, you will always remember this as the day that you almost caught, Captain Jack Sparr—”

My monologue was intervened by a purple sphere of magic that imprisoned me. I placed the my escape object back into the bag and placed my hand on my spherical prison; it was as solid as a wall even though it looked as fragile as a bubble.

“Oh you gotta be kidding me!” I hissed as I slammed my fists against the magic bubble. “Damn it, I was so close!”

The six horses slowly approached me cautiously as though they were seeing a wild animal for the first time. As they drew nearer I noticed that one of the unicorns I had seen before now had a pair of wings like Luna.

“Princess,” she began as she turned her head back to the larger white winged unicorn. “What is it?”

“It’s a creature even I haven’t seen before. Luna, you’ve encountered it before, what was it like?”

“It has displayed the traits of in ill mannered ruffian who dwells on trickery and inappropriate comical high-jinks,”

Hearing Luna soiling my good name the way she was I knew I couldn’t let it go on any longer.

“If I may interject,” I began as I sat down with my legs crossed and put on my English accent. “Princess Luna, I apologize for my earlier high-jinks and referring to as *clears throat* Moonbutt,”

At the mention of Luna’s nickname, the pink horse let out a laugh but a shove from the other horse next to her made her stop. So, I’ve found someone who actually enjoys a good laugh? I’ll have to take note of her, she could be useful in my escape.

“I assure you, my jokes were all in good fun and only made to generate a laugh from you,” I narrowed my eyes at the pink horse who stared back with a smile. “After all, who doesn’t enjoy a good laugh?”

“Ooh, I do! I do!” the pink one cried out as she waved a hoof in the air as she jumped up and down.

“Laughter or not, one cannot make jokes lightly and run around acting like some ruffian,” said a white unicorn with a purple curly hairstyle. She spoke in a proper accent, one I had heard numerous times from the prissy girls around my neighborhood.

“Oh, you are too right. I assure you I am no ruffian, as a matter of fact, I abhor such behavior and feel as though one should condone oneself with finesse and grace. Wouldn’t you agree?”

The unicorn seemed mesmerized by my words as I spoke exactly what she wanted to hear. Hook, line, and sinker; lying to mythical creatures was so much easier than lying to real girls.

“I see what you mean princess Luna, his strength comes from his trickery and words,”

It was the lavender winged unicorn who stepped forward to confront me. I had to hand it to her, this one could see through my bullshit and wouldn’t be strayed as easily as the others. She was no doubt going to be a problem.

“Trickery? In no way do I practice any form of such thing. Do you not trust me because we are so different?”

“No, I don’t trust you because you remind me to much of Discord,”

Hearing his name brought up, I lost my cool and looked up at the unicorn when she mentioned Discord. In hindsight, I might have made a mistake allowing my façade to lift away. The unicorn acknowledged this and raised an eyebrow.

“So you do know Discord? Is he the reason you’re here?”

I stood up and pulled out the black sphere from the sack that Discord had given me and tossed it in the air while catching it in my palm.

“Well…….
..I fucked up. Now to ensure no other mistakes are made, I must bid you all farewell,”

I raised my hand triumphantly getting ready to throw down the pellet when a thought ran threw my head.

“Shit! I have no idea of any nearby areas around here. Does anyone know of any local towns or cities that may be well within reach?”

“Oooh, how about Ponyville?” cried out the pink horse.

“Pinkie Pie!” snapped the lavender winged unicorn who was irritated with her friend’s answer to my question.

“Pinkie Pie was it? Thank you for being so cooperative with me, my dear, we should do lunch sometime.” I raised my arm once again and prepared to make my escape. “Ponyville!”

In a puff of black smoke I disappeared from within my spherical prison and found myself in a silent little town which seemed teeming with life. ‘Huh what do ya know? These things worked like a charm.’ I examined the town and noticed how bright and vibrant it had been, though, the sun was beginning to set.

“Time for me to face my real problem: where the hell am I gonna sleep?”

Author's Note

As the tittle implies, I stumbled across this old story when thinking of what other stories I could add on here. I read it, got a quick laugh and then thought to myself: "This one for sure." Not gonna lie, I actually enjoyed rereading this story and I'm really debating whether or not I should follow up on it. Hmm, decisions, decisions.

Technological Advances

Author's Note

This story was centered around a corrupt private contractor agency in a slightly advanced Equestria. Fair warning, this story was supposed to be rated Mature specifically for language and blood. I did originally post this story on its own but it never really took off anywhere.

Technological Advances

“No matter what threat, domestic or foreign, we swear to uphold justice and protect the innocent no matter what. fights so you don’t have to. We are the Equestrian Sentinels.”

“Man, those guys are so cool,” Spike said as he watched the colorful cube of images and lights. He sat on his small bed and continued to flick through the other channels that the TV had to offer.

“Spike,” Twilight called out as she entered the room. “I didn’t get you that thing just so you can lay around all day and watch TV. Now come on we’re going to be late for the picnic,”

“Oh, do I have to?” the little dragon groaned as he lay down in his bed. “Why don’t you just ask Starlight to help you?”

“Because Starlight isn’t my number 1 assistant,” the young princess laughed. “Now come on or we’re going to be late,”

“Oh fine,” the purple dragon spoke with withheld enthusiasm as he shut of the television and followed Twilight out of the room.

Sunlight shinning, cool wind blowing, a pony couldn’t ask for a better Friday afternoon; it truly was perfect for a picnic, especially one among friends. Ponyville was vibrant and bustling with life as it always was, however, there were a few advances which were made that have improved the flow of traffic through the town. Thanks to a steady economy and some encouragement from princess Twilight Sparkle, technology has advanced over the years in Equeastria. It started off small with improved digital watches and cameras; eventually television sets were made and even radio towers which, along with several news channels, kept citizens up to date on the latest events in Equeastria.
Since it’s improvements, Ponyville was thriving more than ever and several electronic signs lined the streets of the town carrying advertisements; promotions; and other images which promoted consumer products. Twilight and Spike walked through the market district of Ponyville as they made their way to the outskirts of town.

“Can you believe how far ponies have come?” Spike asked with wide eyes as he rode on Twilight’s back. “And its all because of you.”

“It’s not really anything special,” Twilight said through a modest smile.

“Don’t act so modest Twilight, if you hadn’t encouraged so many scientists and researchers who knows where we’d all be right now,” Spike jumped up on Twilight’s back and placed his claw above his eyes as he attempted to peer into the distance. “Uh Twilight, what’s that?”

Twilight placed a hoof above her eyes as Spike had done, she could see a large dust cloud approaching the town though she couldn’t make out anymore than that. “It…..it kind of looks like a-”

“STAAAAAMPEEEEDE!” Rainbow Dash’s hoarse voice screeched at the top of her lungs to alert the population. Hearing her words, everypony began to enter a state of panic as they all rushed into their homes to avoid the danger, some even leaving behind their belongings such as saddle bags and baskets of fruit.

Twilight galloped over to her friend at the speed of a bullet. “Rainbow Dash, what’s going on?”

“Stampede. Big buffalos. Coming to Ponyville. Fast!” she said through several gasps as she stared out over the horizon at the approaching cloud.

“Where’s Applejack? Isn’t she usually the one who rounds up stampedes?” Twilight questioned as she spread her wings and joined her friend in the air.

“She’s already at the picnic spot with the others and there’s no way she’ll make it in time,” a worried look now formed on the pegasus’ face. “What are we gonna do?”

“I might be able to redirect their path if-”

“Wait!” Rainbow interjected as she placed a hoof over her friend’s mouth, silencing her. “What’s that?”

Twilight’s eyes squinted as she tried to make out what the sky blue pegasus was gesturing to. Far off into the distance, approaching Ponyville at a much faster rate was a triplet of large wooden wagons being pulled by earth ponies wearing unusual attire. The speed in which the earth ponies galloped was incredible, neither Rainbow nor Twilight could see their hooves hit the ground with how fast they were going; the stampede paled in comparison in speed as the three wagons rapidly approached the town limit.

The wagons came to a safe, albeit, abrupt and jerking stop as the earth ponies dug their hooves into the ground to slow their speed. It was then that Twilight could make out the wagons better and see the bizarre imagery painted on them. The wagons were black with several strange markings of silver and white; they all had the same insignia of several creature’s paw/hoof/claw prints with a silver unicorn silhouette in the background. Twilight watched as several couples of unicorns, earth ponies, and griffins poured out of the wagons in quick haste. They all appeared to be wearing strange attire similar to the earth ponies who pulled the wagons, however, one pony appeared to stand out from the rest. A male earth pony who wore dog tag like medals around his neck, a headset, and a heavy duty vest with a radio like device and a holstered knife on his side. He was a light beige with a dark brown mane and green eyes. He appeared to be the one in charge as he shouted orders to the others in a commanding tone.

“Griffin, I want you and Aero to take to the sky. We need that stampede’s ETA immediately!” the earth pony commanded as a griffin and a light green pegasus gave him a salute.

“We’re on it boss!” the two said in unison as they dashed off into the air in the direction of the stampeding buffalo.

“Everyone else, establish a perimeter and set the flash charges, and don’t forget to prepare the nets. We have to contain that herd as quickly as possible or else this whole town will be destroyed!” the beige pony turned his headset on and now began speaking into it. “Talk to me Griffin, what’s the impact time of that herd?”

“Stampede rapidly approaching boss, ETA is 8 minutes out.”

“Holy hell is that is that all?” We may be wrapping this one up earlier than expected. Terra, how are the charges and perimeter looking?”

“Sir,” an orange blonde haired earth pony who resembled Applejack now stood before the commanding pony. “Perimeter has been established and charges are set, nets are prepped and everypony is position.”

“Outstanding work soldier, proceed to your designated area and await for further tasking orders,” Terra gave a salute to the pony and gathered with several other creatures who laid in wait behind several reinforced barricades which blocked off the town entrance.

“Excuse me,” Twilight said after clearing her throat. “What are you all doing?”

“Sorry princess,” the earth pony replied as he joined up with the rest of his group. “That’s on a need to know basis, and you don’t need to know,”

“Wait just a second!” Twilight yelled as she unknowingly knocked her dragon companion off her back as she galloped after the rude pony. “I am Princess Twilight Sparkle, and as the overseer of Ponyville, I demand you explain your business here at once!”

“Uh…Twilight,” Spike tried to speak up as he caught up to his friend. “These guys are-”

“My most sincere apologies your majesty,” the pony said with a bow of his head. “Terra! Bring me the least of IP’s which have been provided for this mission!” The orange pony ran over to Twilight and the beige pony with a clipboard in her mouth. “Hmmm, nope, sorry. No Princess Twilight Sparkle here, guess you really don’t need to know princess,”

“Boss, me and Aero have corralled the herd and are rapidly approaching the town! Time before interception, 2 minutes and counting!”

The earth pony placed a hoof on his headset earpiece before responding into the device. “Affirmative,” he than placed on a pair of dark shades as he commanded his troops to do the same. “Alright everyone protective lenses on, now!” He then pulled out three pairs of dark tinted shades and offered them to Twilight and Rainbow Dash. “Here your highness, put these on.”

“And why would I do that?” Twilight scoffed as she watched Spike and Rainbow Dash put on the shades. They were grinning and joking with each other, the pegasus even made a remark about how “awesome” the tinted glasses made her look.

“The flash charges emit blinding flashes of light to disorient and render their targets immobile. So if you your fond of your eyesight and wish not to part with one of your most important senses, than I strongly recommend that you put them on.” The earth pony smirked with satisfaction as he watched the princess put on the glasses with an unpleasant expression. He then turned his gaze to the stampede which had appeared before him and his troops. The earth pony waited until the buffalo were only several meters away from the barricades. “Detonating charges!” he screamed as he pushed his hoof on a metallic rectangle which had a single red button on it.

A low pitch hum resonated from the strange devices and continued to rapidly rise. On the reach of it’s crescendo, a bright flash erupted from the same location the humming was coming from. The light made every buffalo in the stampede close their eyes and stop in their tracks, some tripping over others in the process.

“Alright, threat everted, glasses off,” the earth pony said as he and everyone else did the same and removed their shades.

“That. Was. Awesome!” Rainbow yelled as she jumped into the air and did a backflip. “I’ve never seen a stampede stopped like that before!”

“That’s because it’s completely unnecessary,” Twilight mumbled in annoyance.

“Griffin, Aero, outstanding job as always. I expected as much from my two best flyers,” the beige pony was now joined by a griffin and light green pegasus who landed next to him and gave him a salute. “Alright ladies pack it up we’re headin home!”

“Excuse me sir!” Twilight interjected with a waving hoof. “You still haven’t explained your business here.”

“First off the name’s not ‘sir’, you can call me Boss or Flashpoint, take your pick.” Flash made several gestures as he watched several pegasi lift the metallic barriers into the back of the black wagons. “Secondly, I’m sure it’s pretty obvious what we’re doing here. You must not watch very much TV or else you’d know who we are. We’re-”

“The Equeastrian Sentinels!” Spike interrupted with wide eyes filled with excitement. “They fight so we don’t have to! And their soooo cool!”

“Bingo! See? The kid gets it,” Flash laughed. “We’re private contractors who provide more efficient safety for Equeastria.”

“For a price!” Twilight grumbled with anger at the words of the earth pony.

“Money ain’t everything princess, and when my comrades and I are out risking our asses so ponies like you can sleep peacefully through the night; I think it’s only fair that we obtain a bit of incentive for our services.”

“Please, language!” Twilight growled as she watched Flash roll his eyes, obviously in annoyance to her comment.

“Oh right, I forgot. Your too pampered and prissy to take the words of the real world. You know all you stuck up ponies are such a pain in my a-”

“Boss we got a situation!” Flash’s headset crackled to life as a concerned tone spoke up.

“2nd Lieutenant Flashpoint reporting, what do you got?”

“We got a bad case of bug bears south of the Crystal Empire, after that we have several packs of Timberwolves that escaped from the Everfree Forest Preservation.”

“I’m on my way,” Flashpoint muted his headset as he turned away from Twilight and gathered the attention of his comrades. “Alright listen up! We got some bug bears to contain and some Timberwolves after that. Are you all ready to get some?”

“HOO-RAH!” The large group of creatures said as they saluted their Lieutenant. With the stampede stopped and their portable barricades put away, every creature except fro Griffin, Aero, and Terra piled into the wagons.

“Can I leave it up to my two best and fastest flyers to help with the Timberwolves at the preservation?” Flash laughed as he gave the two a playful shove.

“Pfft who you tryin to fool?” Aero asked as he wrapped an arm around Griffin. “The Wonderbolts can’t even keep up with us,”

“What was that!?” Rainbow Dash glared at the griffin and pegasus as she hovered above them. “You think your better flyers than the Wonderbolts?”

“We don’t think we’re better flyers,” Aero flapped his wings so he could return the sky blue pegasus’s glare face to face. “We know we’re better flyers, and with a the training we go through every morning, we’re probably the best flyers in all of Equeastria.”

“You and me. One v one. A race right now!” Rainbow Dash narrowed her anger filled eyes and brought her face closer to the green pegasus.

“Cool it,” Griffin began as he put some distance between the two pegasi. “Aero, we’ve received our orders from the lieutenant, meaning, we’re already on an active mission. If you were to race her right now, you’d not only be disobeying direct orders, but you’d be charged with insubordination and that’s grounds for immediate termination.”

“Yeah your right,” Aero looked past his friend and glared back at Rainbow. “We’ll settle this another day,”

“I’ll be waiting!” Rainbow Dash said as she watched the two creatures fly off into the distance until they were no longer in sight. “Hey, you, Flash…whatever your name is. What do I gotta do to join you guys?” Rainbow was now hovering above Flashpoint and Terra as she questioned him.

“Rainbow?” Twilight gasped. “What are you?-”

“You couldn’t handle being a Sentinel. Trust me kid, your not cut out for this line of work,” Flash gave Terra a look and she nodded in recognition. “But if you really want to try, let me ask you just one question: how well do you fair against blood?”

“Bl-Blood?” Rainbow gasped with a fearful expression on her face as she watched Flashpoint pull a knife from his side vest. He extended his arm, knife still in mouth, and then slowly slide the blade across his hoof; causing red liquid to ooze from his opened wound. Rainbow Dash winced and backed away, a look of fear frozen on her face.

Flash holstered his blade back in his vest and held his hoof up to Terra who quickly pulled out a cloth and bandaged the wound, weaving a tight knot around the earth pony’s hoof.

“If you join up with us, a little bit of blood would be the least of your problems. I’ve seen several ponies put their lives on the line and suffer from worse than a small cut.” The beige earth pony took his dog tags in hoof and stared at them intensely. “Some of us don’t even make it back alive,” after a few moments of silence, Flash cleared his throat and continued. “Come on Terra, your gonna help me and a few others with the bug bears,”

“Sir,” the light orange pony said as she entered the wagon. Flash was about to follow, however, a stubborn alicorn blocked his path.

“And who gives you the authority to do as you please in Equeastria? We didn’t ask for your help!” Twilight growled as she glared at Flash who chuckled softly.

“Look her princess,” Flash attempted to gently brush the alicorn aside but she smacked his hoof away with her wing. “I’m just following the orders of my employer, if you wanna complain, than complain to Celestia. She’s the one who hired us to begin with. Now if you’ll excuse me,” Flash hopped into the large black wagon. “I have some bug bears to deal with. Why don’t you go get a hooficure or do political things or whatever it is you princesses do.” Flashpoint waved shooing Twilight away before he closed the door to the wagon.

Twilight watched as the wagon along with another took off at great speed. Her attention was turned back to someone clearing their throat behind her. She turned around to see the rest of her friends, now along with Rainbow Dash standing behind her with concerned expressions.

“So,” Spike began as he held the picnic basket that Twilight had planned on bringing in his hands. “Does this mean the picnic is cancelled?”