The trip from Manehatten to Ponville by train was a very long trip for Sentinel Ward. As he was sitting down in his seat staring at one of the passengers playing on their Joyboy, he knew that this trip to Ponyville was gonna be longer then expected.

As this 10 hour trip passed, Ward's been sitting down having already ordered and eaten some fast food that's been for sale in the train. When the train made one stop at Neighagra Falls, he watches as a few Mares and Stallions got off the bus before eventually resuming destination. Soon Ward ordered another meal as soon as they stopped by Cantelot, where the one pony who he saw playing his Joyboy also dropped off at.

It is surprising that no pony checked his bags for any concealed weapons considering that it had his silencer pistol. He remembered to put his gun in the box which was then wrapped in present paper which he then convinced the guard that it was a birthday present for somepony. No pony ever looked at Ward in a funny or suspicious way.

When Ward finally arrived in Ponyville, it was a relief getting off the train as it was very cold inside of the train and it was actually very warm this time in Ponyville.

Looking around Ponyville, it seems like nothing much has changed since he left last time apart from a few new shops in Ponyville and the Mayor being a lot older now. Walking towards the center of the town, he managed to bump into one young earth filly who had a note in her mouth.

"Oh I'm very sorry sir, I didn't see you walking by"
Ward takes a look at the young filly who dropped her note. Picking up the note for her before handing it back to her, Ward reads the contents of the note.

Dear Cutie Mark Crusaders, my name is Dip, I'm Mitch's father and well, my little Mitch is having a problem finding a talent, can you please come meet me near the outskirts of Ponyville by the Northeast side?

The note had a map with directions on how to reach the house.

Ward began a short conversation with the young filly. "That's alright kiddo, oh and you dropped this note"
"Thanks my fine sir, names Apple Bloom, I work on the Apple Farm and I was about to bring this note to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, had you seen them anywhere? She's a white unicorn with a similar cutie mark to mine and well..."

Ward was scouting the place for the exact filly Apple Bloom was talking about when he suddenly spotted 3 foals next to the Boutique, one being the exact unicorn filly that Apple Bloom was describing, another one being a young Grey Pegasi Colt which was chatting with the young Unicorn filly, finally, an orange Pegasi Filly was also chatting with the 3 others who had a similar cutie mark to both the unicorn, and Apple Bloom. "Right over there Apple Bloom" Ward said when he pointed his hoof at their direction.

"Why thank you so much, we have this young colt who we gotta help understand his cutie mark and well... thanks for the help Mr.."
" Sentinel Ward" Apple Bloom patted Ward's head as he watches the Apple filly run over to them to possibly discuss the note with the others.

Ward stops by his old parent's house quickly before he ventures out to the Everfree Forrest. Standing by the door, he knocks on the door and awaits for an answer from his parents. The door opens and suddenly Ward recognizes the face of his father. "Oh Hello son, I hadn't seen you since you moved out to Manehattan" Ward's father spoke.
"And it was glad to see you again too father"
"Well, come inside my son"

Entering the house of Wards parents, it seems like nothings have changed since he left other than a lot of artifacts and furniture being a lot dustier and aged than before. Sitting on the main living room couch, Ward and his father decided to watch a long game of Hoofball while having a few shots. As a few hours passed by, Ward was going to speak out about his current state before his father started speaking.

"So Son, how's it been working at the research facility?" Ward didn't want his father to know that he was laid off a few years ago, nor did he wanted his father to know about his brief job as a Royal Guard or his unemployment as to avoid being labled a failure so he decided to tell him about how it was in the last year he was working in there as if he was still on the job. If he couldn't tell him about something that he did that was announced publicly, tell him about classified spells that nobody outside of the facility has even heard of.

"Well father, Its been really great, we generated this new spell which is able to treat many uncurable mutations"
"Oh, Ward don't be such a liar. You know pony magic can't do such things"
"Well, what if I can prove you wrong?" At this point, Ward's father had to accept that Ward was indeed telling the truth, as he never did stumble upon someone with a mutation.

"OK, I believe you son. Whatever they been teaching there, I'm guessing its all classified stuff. I hope that if it is, that your not gonna tell everyone about it"

"Don't worry father, its just me, you, and mother"

"Oh please don't mention about your mother!"

Ward was now curious as to why his father flipped out. "Why, where is she?"

"She doesn't live with us anymore, she was caught assisting in helping some pony take down some pony she thinks is a kidnapper. I kicked her out of the house as soon as I realized she was using our computers to chat with crazy ponies. She thinks there are corrupt royal guards that are actually working with trafficking groups"

"But what if she was right..."

"I seriously doubt it son. Now none of us make meation of her name again, Don't want you to be some crazy psyco path killin everyone you think is in the wrong, do ya!"

"You have my word" Ward decides to approach the fridge and grab himself a sandwich before leaving home. Ward approaches his father once more
"Say, should things never work out in Manehatten, mind if I can move back in here"
"We'll see son, but right now you have a job to do, I suggest you go back to Manehatten and continue making a future out of yourself"

With those words, Ward leaves his fathers house and steps back into the street corners of Ponyville.

The nighttime has just arrived as Ward was about to head SouthWest towards the Everfree Forrest. A southern voice called out Wards name and he was stopped by a bright Orange Earth Pony in a hat.
"Hey, Mai name is AppleJack and my sister Apple Bloom claimed to have seen you and well, I was wondering if you had seen her and her friends, they been gone for a few hours now, They said they were supposed to help some pony with his cutie mark"

There was a sudden flashback to when Ward read the note that was on the paper. "Yea, they were heading towards a house in the Northeast outskirts of Ponyvillle, that's what their note said for them to head over too"

"Oh my sweet Celestia, Why hadn't you told us this earlier?"
"I just assumed you went with your..."
"Gotta go tell the others quick" As he watches AppleJack make the run for it towards the area, Ward starts to enter the Everfree Forrest as he searches for the pony who's been advertising intense magic training. It was almost Midnight, and June 13 was coming to a close in just an hour.

The Everfree Forrest was surrounded by so many trees and critters, many of the creatures in the Everfree Forrest ranged from harmless like Bunnies to dangerous such as Cockatrices. Ward can only smell the humid air and hear the sounds of owls hooting as he walks through a dirt path.

Upon reaching an odd tree, Ward finally finds the sign that was advertising intense magic training. A unidentifiable Unicorn greets Ward.
"What brings you to my hideout"

"Hi, I'm a formal Royal Guard, and I came here because of this newspaper ad, can I come in?'
The unidentifiable unicorn stared at Ward for a while, examining his suitcase and his eyes seeing if this was some pony to be trusted. A couple of red eye flashes from the Unicorn started Ward a bit, but he was given a response.

"You may come in Sentinel Ward"

Unsure of how the pony knew Ward's name without asking, Ward proceeds to enter the hideout and begins to discuss the listing.

Looking around the hidden house, there was a small fireplace with plenty of wood to keep the house warm. Every piece of furniture was made out of the remains of Everfree Forrest life. The chair which the mysterious pony sat in was made from the remains of TimberWolves, A carpet which was made from the feathers of dead chickens, finally, there was some Changeling heads mounted on the wall along with a Pump Action Shotgun. There was a nice smell of burning ash that filled the room which while obnoxious, didn't really bother Ward too much.

"So Ward, they call you. I see that you served the Royal Guard in Manehattan once"
"Question, who are you, and how do you know my name and job?"

"Its really simple Ward, I'm a mind reader. I'm able to read certain thoughts in ponies minds and figure out what brings them here. I suppose your looking to learn some deadly attack spells for Viliginatie purposes"

"Yes sir, what kind of offerings do you have"

"Well Ward, considering your skills in spell making from your previous job, I can easily offer you a easy no pain training plan which will take just a couple of hours"
Ward was skeptical at 1st seeing that this pony had a lot of potions and books on display, though something about the unicorn kinda turned him off.

"So what's the catch?"

"Well, there is one catch, but since you appear to be a Wizard spell maker like myself. I'll won't charge you anything extra other then the bit fee"

"Just give me the full training package"

"Excellent, meet me outside as soon as you make your payment in the donation box" Ward drops about 50bits into the box as he starts heading back outside.

"OK, I'm ready for my training, where are you?" Sentinel Ward looked around and noticed that the mysterious pony is nowhere around. A loud voice can be heard echoing through the forest.

"I want you to lay down Ward" Ward lays down to be greeted again by the mysterious pony. "Now stand still, this will only hurt a bit"

Ward stared into the unicorns dark red eyes as he prepares a huge charged up energy blast that is about to come out of his mouth. The heat from this generated energy was so intense that Ward can almost feel his eyes hurting from the intense light. As it changed to super bright to glowing red, the magical noise just started getting louder and louder.

"Close your eyes Ward, and feel the surge of energy" Closing his eyes, he can no longer hear any of the forest sounds either as the sounds of this powerful ball is overpowering both other sounds and even his mind. He can suddenly see a Red glowing hot pattern with his eyes closed as he feels the intense heat of this blast. It was finally then that his brain appeared to have switched completely off as the Unicorn fired his magic beam directly into Ward. Sentinel Ward never got to see or feel the loud lighting strike that hitted him as he's knocked out briefly to obsorve all of the energy.

Author's Note

Well that was a huge Mind Blast.
Wonder how Ward's gonna feel after waking up