"So... that's them?" Jumper 0007 asked.

The guard watching over him rolled his eyes and answered with a sarcastic remark. "What do you think?"

Under the protection of the Everfree Forest, Jumper 0007 and two other guards scouted the cottage which once belonged to a pony that he didn't know. The cottage looked similar to The Shire, home to both Bilbo Baggins and Frodo Baggins, among other Hobbits. It had a red wooden door, the 'roof' of the cottage consisted of brushes which made perfect homes for any small critters that have feathers. Jumper 0007 could also spot multiple small houses and holes on the ground and a chicken coop around the back of the cottage. Whoever lived here must've been a big animal lover. A small bridge could be seen which went over a creek, said bridge had a path which lead further away from the cottage, presumably towards the local town.

All in all, the cottage would be a wonderful place to settle in and have a calming day. However, this was all ruined because of the presence of humans. 0007 and the guards could see two humans outside of the cottage. Around their hands were guns that were completely disappointing in the eyes of Jumper 0007. On the other hand, just from the sight of these weapons is enough to elicit a reaction to both of his guards. One of the guns that they held was a revolver rifle and another was a bolt action rifle. Their 'uniform' is just a blue shirt and black overalls with red straps.

"I'm really underwhelmed by these guys," Jumper 0007 said, clear disappointment in his voice.

The guard to his left scoffed. "If you're so confident then why don't you go ahead and attack those guys?"

That made the other pony to his right chuckle. Jumper 0007 mentally gave a smirk, if he's allowed free reign that's what he probably would've done. Right now though, he needed to earn Princess Twilight's favour by scouting the location. Plus, underwhelming they might be, they're still humans, they probably have a system working on how to deliver information. If word gets out that this outpost gets overtaken by the enemy they'll probably beef up their security back in town, thus making the retaking of Ponyville much more difficult for the ponies.

As much as Jumper 0007 wanted to, he can't really pull out his strongest weapons like the virus Blacklight from the Prototype game, or the portable nuke thrower from the Fallout series, the Fatman and countless more. He doesn't need attention as it will attract more trouble than good. No, he needed keep them thinking that the rebellion is consisted of mostly ponies. Hit and run tactics are also viable like cutting off supply lines and communication from other bases. That plan will come later on once the rebellion starts kicking.

"Alright, we're done here," Jumper 0007 said.

His guards didn't say anything and started following him back to the castle.

"When do you think the hunting part will show up?"

Jumper 0007 stopped in his tracks, his guards also seem to give the same reaction and decided to stay a bit longer to listen in on the conversation that the two guards outside of the cottage were having.

"I don't know... I heard from Jerry that they're coming here in a week but then I asked Garrett and he said they're coming tomorrow!"

"DId you ask them both during the same day?"

He scoffed, "Of course, I just don't get it; why are we waiting for a large party all the way from Manehattan just to hunt down a few ponies? I mean, with just the five of us we can take em' on easily!"

"Probably because they're a lot more than what we expect,"

"'a lot more' my ass,"

Their conversation continued on but from that point it was just needless banter that all of them can easily forget about. Jumper 0007 left immediately, along with the two guards. Running past trees and foliage, the Jumper weighed their situation. Seems like time is not on their side, while he didn't know how big of a hunting party is being sent towards them he's going to take a shot in the dark and guess that it's a hundred soldiers. Judging by the confidence of that one guard, one of them is capable of taking out a lot of ponies. He could deny that information and just chalk it up to bravado but he won't. He knew the reason why they're sending a large party.

The forest

Just from the looks of it, he can tell that there was something off about it. Perhaps that's the reason why they're sending the party? They finally reached the ravine with the rope bridge and was about to start crossing it when all of a sudden, his spider-senses started screaming at him. He wrapped his arms around both of the guards' stomachs and jumped to the side, he felt something rush past him a millisecond later. All three of them landed in heap but quickly stood up. One of the guards was about to give 0007 a piece of his mind for throwing them off course but that was cut off when low growl reached his ears. Both ponies seized up and looked towards the direction of the growl to find themselves wrapped in total fear.

"M-Manticore,"

He could hear the other guard gulp as both of them shakily pointed their spears at the creature. For one thing, it towered the ponies by a great margin and was a foot taller than 0007 but that's only when it's down on it's four limbs. It had the body of a lion, ears and wings of a bat and tail of a scorpion. It gave out a loud roar that seemed to make the ponies' hind legs buckle. Both of them were looking at each other with a look that screamed 'what are we going to do?!'. For them, they had two options. One option will be to have one of them willingly fight it, that would cost one of their lives but it would save both 0007 and another pony. Option two would be to run away and use 0007 as bait, reason for thinking? He's a human, an enemy, they wouldn't think twice of leaving him behind just so that they can live another day.

If they actually chose the second option, 0007 wouldn't oppose to that, they're just conscripted guards they have next to nothing in terms of battle experience. He on the other hand is thinking about this in a different perspective. If they chose the first option and decide to leave one of them behind to buy some time, that will be one less pony to help with the rebellion. With the current situation, he couldn't afford that, he needs every able bodied pony alive to help and at least take over the first town, Ponyville. The second option which is the dumber decision. if they decide to leave him behind in panic they might run the risk of getting lost in the forest, exposed and easy prey for anything in the wild.

This would also prompt Princess Twilight to conduct a search party. In the event that his guards were to die because of the wild then they can easily shift the blame to him, losing all the trust he'd gained ever since he arrived. In addition, he'll lose two more ponies than the first option and reduce morale for the rebellion.

"I can tell from the looks of your eyes that both of you are weighing two options," both ponies looked at him. "One option would be to have one of you willingly stay and fight to buy some time. The other is to leave me as fresh bait,"

From the shocked looks in their faces, he grinned mentally knowing that he had hit the mark. Afterwards, he then started explaining to them how both options were dumb all the while eyeing the manticore for any sudden movements. Their features darkened, the look of hopelessness was visible in their eyes.

"Then... what do we do? Just give up and die?" the guard to his left said.

There was a moment of silence before Jumper 0007 spoke up, "What are your names?"

A look of confusion overcame their current fear for a second before they both decided 'we're going to die anyways, might as well introduce ourselves'.

"Red Rapid,"

"Sarsaparilla Sunrise,"

"Alright, Red, Sarsaparilla, here's what we're going to do...," 0007 said before accessing his Core.

Originally crafted by the Goddess, Hylia and later forged into the weapon it was meant to be by the Goddess's chosen spirit, Fi. The weapon was bathed in the three Sacred Flames located around the Kingdom of Hyrule. With the power to repent Evil, a power which is augmented after receiving its blessing from the bearer of the Triforce of Wisdom. It is a mighty weapon that chooses it's rightful owner, that being the Triforce of Courage. Usually accompanied with this weapon is a shield that is crafted by the blacksmiths of Hyrule.

[The Core has granted access to: Triforce of Courage - The Legend of Zelda]

[The Core has completed construction of: Master Sword - Legend of Zelda]

[The Core has completed construction of: Hylian Shield - Legend of Zelda]

Red and Sarsaparilla gave shocked looks at the sudden appearance of weapons. Jumper 0007 observed each Link's favourite weapon and his trusty shield. He then looked at the back of his right hand to see the mark of the Triforce of Courage.

With a visible grin he continued his statement. "...We fight,"

The manticore gave out a loud roar before making a mad dash towards them.

Author's Note

What do you guys think? Some constructive criticism is appreciated. Is the Lore for the Master Sword accurate? Also how about some weapon or body modification suggestions. Make sure that you include the Lore behind them.

Of course, make sure that the weapons you're all suggesting aren't over the top attractive. Jumper 0007 is trying to stay hidden after all so anything that will attract attention to both him and the rebellion will not be accepted. That's all and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I enjoyed making it!