The rest of the weekend flew by, and before you knew it, Aloe and I were on the train back to Ponyville. A few weeks have passed since our romantic weekend in Canterlot and during that time, Aloe and I have been spending time with each other for as long as possible. Occasionally, I would stop by at the spa to visit Lotus and Aloe and play my guitar in background while the spa sisters served their customers. Other times, Aloe and I would meet up in a special place in the evening and have picnic, do some stargazing and just enjoy each other’s company. There were also days when we felt like having a bit of time to ourselves and it happen to be one of those days now.

It was a warm Saturday afternoon and I was in my hangar, fettling with my Comitatus jumpship. I hadn’t flown her since I had landed here and I figured I needed to do a maintenance check on the power components. I was lying on the wing with the engine hatch open and having a fettle with the hyperdrive, when a purple flash lit up the entire hangar. I stood up and saw Twilight standing in the hangar entrance. There was a look of fear and panic on her muzzle which concerned me straight away,

“Twilight? What are you doing here?” I asked climbing down from the ship and walking over to her,

“Barnaby, I need you to come to Canterlot with me,” she replied, “It’s urgent,”

“What’s the problem?”

“IT'S UNDER ATTACK!” Twilight cried. A determined look appeared on my face. My father told me to protect this planet from anything dangerous, and I was not going to fail him,

“Attack!?” I asked in shock, “If Canterlot is under attack, then we need to go now,” I decided. I activated my storm call and I was standing before the lavender alicorn in my Guardian armor,

“I’m going to do my duty and protect this planet Twilight,” I told her,

“Then let’s put a stop to Queen Chrysalis and the Changeling army,” Twilight declared. I nodded in agreement and turned to look at Comitatus,

Alright old girl, its time fly, I pressed a button on my wrist and an entrance ramp opened from underneath with loud hiss. I turned to look at the lavender alicorn,

“Climb aboard Twilight, this will be the quickest way,” I said, walking up into the cargo bay. Twilight followed me inside and looked around. She spotted something that interested her,

“Barnaby, what is that?” she asked. I looked where she was looking and saw the crackling lightning orb,

“That’s The Eye of The Storm,” I explained, “It’s what gives me my powers,”

“Why is it here?” Twilight asked again,

“To keep it safe. If it falls into the wrong hands, then all hell will break loose,” The lavender alicorn gazed fearfully at it while I took my place in the cockpit and began the launch sequence. I activated the ignition and Comitatus’s engines roared into life,

“Hang on tight Twilight; it’s going to be a bumpy ride!” I shouted. I remained in control as the ship hovered slowly out of the hangar. Once we were clear, I opened up on the throttle and pulled up and Comitatus rocketed upwards into the blue sky. I did a few aerobatics to warm the ship up and then we blasted away towards Canterlot. I heard Twilight come up behind me as we flew over the countryside,

“This is simply AMAZING!” Twilight squealed,

“It is pretty epic isn’t it,” I called back with a grin. I then regained focus on the mission,

“Tell me about this Changeling army Twilight,” I said to her,

“Changelings are foul, ugly creatures who feed of the love you have for someone,” she explained, “The more love they feed on, the weaker you’ll become and the more powerful the Changelings will be,” Once Twilight had finished explaining, only one thought entered my mind,

Aloe… I shook my head and continued the flight path towards the city under siege. As we approached Canterlot, we saw what looked a swarm of gigantic flies buzzing around the city. There were some changelings that were dive bombing the streets. I circled around the outskirts and put Comitatus into autopilot. I then opened the entrance ramp and went into the cargo bay,

“Come on Twilight!” I shouted to her,

“What are we doing!?” she shouted back over noise of the engines and the wind,

“JUMP!” I yelled and I bailed out into the open air. I activated my gliding ability and flew down towards the streets of Canterlot. As I flew, I saw a group of changelings that had cornered the rest of the Mane 6. I put on a burst of speed and raced towards their rescue. When I was few feet above, I unleashed my Stormtrance and the changelings shrieked in pain as they crackled away in Arc light. After they had all vanished, I landed in front of the Mane 6 and Twilight landed next to me and looked at Fluttershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rainbow Dash with concern,

“You guys okay!?” I asked. They all nodded,

“What’s the situation?”

“Queen Chrysalis has captured the princesses and Shining Armor and is holding them hostage in the throne room,” Rarity explained,

“We need to get to the Elements of Harmony and rescue them, but the changelings aren’t making easy,” Rainbow Dash added. I nodded my head and then came up with an idea,

“Alright, I think the best way to win this battle, is that we’re going to have to split up,” I said,

“Ah think ya’ll ah on ta somethin,” Applejack said,

“That sounds like a good idea. What’s the plan Barnaby?” Twilight asked. I smiled at her, even though my face was hidden behind my silver visor,

“Okay, you six stay together and retrieve the Elements. Once you have them, make your way to throne room and rescue the princesses and Shining Armor. Do everything you can to protect them, I’ll delay the changelings,” I explained, pointing a thumb at myself,

“Oh, I hope you’ll be okay,” Fluttershy said softly,

“I’ll be fine,” I assured her. I looked at the rest of the Mane 6 who were all smiling at me,

“Are we all clear on the plan?” I asked. They all nodded and I grinned behind my helemet,

“Good. Now go!” I commanded, pointing down the street, “I’ll meet you in throne room when I’ve cleared off the changelings,

“Come on girls,” Twilight said, and the 6 ponies ran off to do their part,

“Good luck!” I called after them,

“This is going to be super, duper fun!” I heard Pinkie say. I shook my head in amusement and turned around to see a small army of changelings heading my way. I pulled out my auto rifle, The Zero Day Dilemma and loaded a 24 magazine into the receiver

Zero Day has begun for these bastards…

Author's Note

Here we go viewers. Our hero is going into battle once again.