I heard the wind whistling past under my helmet as we soared through the air at incredible speed. My helmet protecting my eyes. I was hunched down, practically hugging Soarin so that I wouldn't drag our speed. I looked down towards the ground hundreds of feet below. I felt only slightly nervous, but that was expected without a seatbelt or safety harness and being thousands of feet in the air. The only reason I wasn't more nervous was because of the conditioning I received during the war. Plus, I had been a rather exceptional pilot in the later years of the war when the dragon riders lost the battle in the skies early on in the war. But now things were different, more peaceful. I could finally enjoy being up in the skies rather than searching for my next target.

"Hey, Can you move whatever is digging into my upper back? It hurts a bit."

I looked down and found myself resting my body weight on my elbow, which was digging into Soarin's back. I quickly moved my elbow and readjusted myself. "Sorry, my bad." I apologized.

"You're alright. Try to keep your, Knees? A few inches away from the wing joints as well. Makes it difficult to fly." Soarin added. Following his request, I flattened myself out. Almost lying on the pegasi face down with my knees resting on his haunches.

"God, this is uncomfortable and hard to keep balance." I strained, trying to balance myself out to not fall off his back.

"You're telling me. Those knees of yours are really boney. Thankfully we're almost to Everfree." Soarin Replied, angling his wings so he glided down toward the ground.

I could now clearly see the forest come into view. That gloomy dark forest of twisted trees held a horrid natural presence in the air even this far away from it. I could see the small mountain deep in the uttermost center of the forest, but only slightly. It was covered in a haze that made it seem almost mirage-like. And as I came in on the final landing approach, I suddenly felt a nasty magical presence in the air. One that I had not felt in my prolonged stay in the forest prior. It felt... damaged, like a wounded animal crying out for help. I had never felt such a magical presence in the air, not only of this type but also this prominent.

As Soarins hooves touched the ground, I rolled and planted my feet on the ground and got out of that uncomfortable position as fast as I could. I stood and stared into the dark depths of the forest in front of me.

"This forest keeps surprising me at every turn, I swear." I thought aloud.

"Huh?" Soarin said, approaching on my right.

"What are you on about?" Spitfire said, coming up on my left.

"You guys don't feel that?" I asked, turning my head slightly to face them, not taking my eyes off the forest.

"Feel what?" They both asked simultaneously. I stood there in silence for a few moments. A loud buzz of unintelligible whispering sounded in my ears. Growing louder with each passing second. I shook my head violently, Silencing the noise and regaining my focus.

"Nothing, forget about it," I said, pulling up my wristpad and checking the map for the ship's tracking blip. "Okay, Im gonna run in and find my ship. You all circle the sky and wait for my signal. It'll be obvious and bright."

"Alright, fine. Just don't take all day. I have a wing massage planned later this afternoon." Spitfire said, taking off into the sky.

"Hey, watch yourself in there, okay?" Soarin said before he to took off into the sky.

I turned on the same high-pitch frequency that made the timberwolves fuck off the last time and took a deep breath. Before dropping myself into a low stance and charging into the woods in full sprint. I had the map of the forest overlayed on my helmet hud. I vaulted over overgrown roots and fallen rotted-out trees. I jumped off some of those logs, grabbed a branch, and swung off of it over a thick set of thorn bushes on the other side. It didn't take long before the hunting howls of the timberwolves filled the woods. I knew I was gonna be on a time limit before the entire pack was upon me, even with my sound deterrent. But clearly, it was shorter than I thought, So I picked up the pace.

I saw a clearing coming up and assumed it was the same one I crashed in at first. But the blip on my map was a while off still. My natural curiosity got the better of me, and I went in investigate. When I exited, I felt my gaze fall upon an ancient and ruined castle. What seemed to be the main central hall had all but caved in on itself and was overgrown with trees and moss. Every glass window was shattered and ruined, and the stone that made the walls had fallen into utter neglect and disrepair. The grassy hill it sat upon was overtaken by nature and taller than most fences and gates. What were the remains of a dirt path or road leading from the decrepit main gate down to a surprisingly sturdy rope bridge. And weirder enough, the tree ceiling didn't reach the castle at all. But was instead cut off as the treetops came to an abrupt stop around the chasm that separated the castle from the forest.

I also felt that same magical presence from before, only stronger and more prominent and strangely familiar. And those whispers crept back into my ear, only softer. And more alluring than anything. I was compelled to go into the castle by them. But it didn't matter much as I wanted to go in the first second I saw it.

I slowly made my way inside, checking around for anything really. I was just curious and let my body rummage around this old place. It was also the first time I encountered an ancient ruin of this magnitude. Most of anything like this we found back home were lost artifacts of my people's pre-golden age. But the magic in the air shifted once I reached the center of the main hall, or at least what was left of it. Instead of lingering everywhere in the air. It focused on a central point in the main hall in the shape of a ball. And the whispers changed as well, instead of a lot of unintelligible voices. Two distinct and familiar voices were engaged in a heated argument about... something.

"Is this what I think it could be?" I asked aloud, approaching the magical sphere that echoed these voices. I reached my hands out around it, and I felt the magic ripple and echo back and forth against my hand. I then knew exactly what it was. It was a magical echo. Echos like these were discovered back home after two mages engaged in a heated magical battle while training. Had such a force behind it, it left a magical echo in time. And when one was unbound and interacted with it magically. They would gaze upon the events that made such an echo. Essentially a living memory in time and space. They found a way to create these later on in a less destructive manner. But magical clashes of epic proportion still could make these if they were violent enough.

But this one was BIG and very powerful. Whatever made this one was a very powerful battle or clash indeed. I channeled my magic into my hands and prepared to gaze into the echo. What I saw was very interesting. The echo was brief, but carried a great number of emotions. Anger, hate, sadness, and many more. But what I saw were two winged unicorns. One was clearly Celestia, six glowing gemstones circling her. Even gazing into the past, I could feel the raw power that she emanated. The other was far too similar to Luna, only a wicked and twisted form that only gave off anger through raw power and corruption. I watched as Celestia blasted the other with untold magical power, sending the other to the moon. Indenting a unicorn-shaped symbol across it. The echo ended abruptly, repeating the same instance a few times before I backed away.

"This world has a more complicated history than I thought..." I pondered. This information was interesting, for sure. After all this is done, Romulus is back up and running again. Im going to ask the sisters about this. Focusing on the orb again, I channeled the magic within into the stonework of the ruins and into the air. Dispersing the concentration of magic. The whispers in the back of my mind ceased, and I gained a sense of clarity.

I lingered in the ruins, poking through ruined books and tomes before moving on. Going out the rear of the castle and dashing back into the woods. I went onward for roughly five minutes when the comforting blue light of my head flashed red, and a proximity alert went off. I felt something rush past me from behind. I spun around, drawing my hand cannon. Only to see the ass end of a timberwolf scramble back into the forest.

"They're trying to do hit and runs now? Fuck, they got bigger stones I gave em credit for." A voice in my head told me that wouldn't make sense. They are literally made of wood. I then proceeded to argue with myself about metaphors for wooden creatures for the rest of my journey whilst also dodging hit-and-run attacks from the timberwolves.

I hacked away the bushes and branches as the thick overgrowth opened into the clearing I knew all too well. There lay in the center was my crashed aircraft. The rear exit had a large canopy tent made of animal hides from my previous hunts. Moss and grass had already covered the ripped-up earth from my crash landing and the edges surrounding my craft. The metal that made up the outer hull was untouched by the effects of nature. No moss grew upon it nor rusted in the slightest, still shining bright as if freshly polished. One of the main reasons we built with Element steel back home was its ability to resist the effects of time and nature.

I walked towards the rear of the craft, the entry ramp still locked in the open position due to the crash damage. Inside, a proximity sensor detected my presence and turned on the lights. The metal floor was covered in a large fur rug. The walls had tally marks carved into them, marking my days spent in this forest since the crash. The rightmost wall was hollowed out and had a bed compartment fitted with a pillow, sheets, and a blanket. All strewn about on the thin mattress. The leftmost wall held several storage lockers, including the one holding the other nine Unbound Arcanums.

I walked to the cockpit towards the front of the craft as I exited the short hallway as it opened up to my left and right like a shovel head. The walls on my left and right were covered in shelves that held artifacts my father had loaded to save from my home's cataclysm. On the floor was the still mangled robotic husk of Romulus. He had unmoved from the position I last left him in; a thick layer of dust covered the upper part of his chassis. I knelt down next to him. "Don't worry, my friend. Im gonna get you out of here." I said, resting a hand on his shoulder. I left the craft and climbed atop it, getting a good look at the plant ceiling that was now my main obstacle.

"So, I have a few things I could try here. But I think the easiest is to cut a massive circle around the edge and pop the ceiling off rather than just try to burn my way through it." I Brainstormed aloud. Focusing, I conjured a disc of fire in my hand the size of a large serving plate. I levitated it into the air and sent it to the edge of the clearing, and got it into position. Then I enlarged it three times bigger than it was. I could feel the mental drain on such a spell, but I powered through as it would only take but a moment. I held out my hand and slowly turned. The disc moved clockwise with my turn as the smell of burnt wood filled the air as it cleaved through the wood. I did a full 360 and released my hold on the spell as the firey disc flickered away. I then focused my mind on a new spell, made entirely of sky runes. As a large sigil appeared, the air above me filled with sky runes. Glowing a lightning blue as I felt a low rumble of thunder in the back of my mind. I thrust my arms upward and cast the spell as a loud thunderclap rang out. Sending the cut ceiling into the sky and falling apart into branches and leaves.

I fell to my knees, breathing heavily. "Well, that part is done. Now, I gotta signal the others. I just gotta catch my breath." I don't know who I was talking to. But after a few minutes, I felt light-headed. I stood up too fast and nearly passed out on the spot. Falling back on my knees again. "Fuck it. Ima just do it now." I focused fire into my palm again, but this time it changed colors rapidly. Then I flicked it upward as it took off like a firework shooting out small multicolored explosions before ending in a final bang.

That final spell got me. I tumbled to my side and off the top of the craft. Landing on the ground below with a thump face first. I rolled over, groaning in pain as I gazed up at the sky. My vision could have been smoother, focusing and unfocusing rapidly. I then saw dozens of black specs appear in my vision. Growing larger and larger with each passing second. I heard the flapping of wings as my head dipped to the side, my eyes closed, as my eyelids grew heavy and tired. I struggled to hang on to consciousness.

"Hey, stay with us, dude." I felt something smack against my cheek with force. Stinging slightly as my eyes shot open. I stared into the eyes of Soarin, who was staring back with concern.

"Yeah, don't die on us yet, two-legger." I heard Spitfire say, out of view.

I blinked a few times and slowly sat up, Soarin helping me. "Sorry, the spells needed to make an opening took a much larger toll on my mind than I thought. I swear I performed way more straining spells like those like they were nothing."

"I would assume so with that light show you gave us," Spitfire said as she kicked the hull of my craft with one of her hind legs. "Did this thing really fly? It looks like an imploded cloud turbine that crashed into a mountain."

"Yeah, it did," I responded, rubbing my throbbing head. "Although it never reached the final product. As of right now, the thrusters could only fly just before the speed of sound. By the time it reached its final phase, it was supposed to fly at around Mach twenty. But given direction mobility at that speed, it wouldn't turn very well."

Spitfire turned and gave me a confused look. "The heck is Mach twenty?"

"Huh, I thought Pegasi would surely use the term Mach. Well, Mach twenty is twenty times the speed of sound."

Spitfire gave out a loud hardy laugh. "Yeah, right. So how do you plan on getting this thing out of the ground? We can't really get under it for leverage. Not to mention it's absolutely massive."

"I have some cables inside a storage locker." I strained, getting to my feet. "I'll hook them up to various points on the upper hull to keep maximum balance while you guys haul it."

"And what are you gonna be doing while we do all the hard work?" Spitfire questioned, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I will be inside controlling and monitoring the Geomag stabilizers. And before you ask, they will help make the craft lighter to carry and easier to balance." I responded, putting a hand against the side of the craft to steady myself.

"Whatever you say, prince." Spitfire responded with a hint of vice at the end of her sentence as she turned to the rest of the wonderbolts behind her. Ordering them into groups.

She is really pushing it. I thought as I made my way back inside my aircraft. Going through each of the storage lockers until I found my coils of element steel cables. Throwing a coil over my shoulder, went back outside to find soarin was waiting for me. He cocked his head upon seeing the cable.

"Are those going to hold this? They seem pretty thin," he asked worriedly.

"These are pure element steel cables. They are quite literally unbreakable as the tool needed to break them is in another dimension. They will do fine." I responded, climbing atop the craft... again. "So there should be six connecting points. Two on the main chassis, one on both the nose and tail end, and one on each wing." I said to myself, searching for the hooks to attach the cables to. One by one, I hooked each cable. It was easy until I got to the mangled wing.

"well, shit, I guess I gotta wing it for this one," I chuckled, cringing at myself for my horrid joke. I began looking across the mangled wing for a solution. The wing was bent in half and dragged threw the ground on the crash. Causing the thruster to be broken off its three-sixty-degree axle and wedged deep within the metal hull. Several pieces of the wing jutted out in shard metal scraps. I got an idea upon seeing it.

I knelt down next to a piece of scrap and took hold of it in one hand. Leveraging myself against one side of it, the metal began to creak and bend. I kept the same pressure against it until it looped back on itself to form a metal loop onto which I could hook the last cable. I tested the strength of the link by tugging it. Afterward, I stood up, wiping the sweat from my forehead. "There, that should do it."

A flapping of wings filled my ears as Spitfire flew into my view. "We're ready when you are."

"Good," I responded, sliding down the side of the craft. "There are six cables total. Have your boys grab each of them evenly and find a comfortable hold on them. There free to start lifting whenever they're ready. I'll be inside managing the Geomag stabilizers as I said I would."

Spitfire flew off, mumbling something under her breath which I ignored. Heading back inside my craft, I pulled the lever that hung from the ceiling as I walked in. Causing the door's mechanisms to hum to life as the rear ramp door tried to close, but the metal screeching and wincing of the mechanisms quickly halted the ramp's progress. I gave a sigh of annoyance and took a grip of a small handle on the ramp, channeled the last bit of magical will I had into a strength-boosting spell, and ripped the ramp out of its locked position with a loud metal bang. The ramp mechanism gave out with a loud screech and pop, but I simply pulled it into its upright position, where it locked itself in place. I then sat down in my seat at the pilot console. Going through the normal startup buttons, I saw that the large holographic screen appeared in front of the windshield's shattered glass.

"I hope you guys down below had a good rest 'cause im gonna need some juice," I said aloud, thinking of my arc elemental companions below the floor.

Skipping through the majority of the engine startup and flight prep programs and tests. I focused on the Geomag stabilizers phase, and it was just as I figured. I needed to recalibrate everything to the new geomagnetic field of the planet, as this was not the same planet as the one in my home realm. I started the calibrations, having to run several tests on the atmosphere and other planetary features in the background when the whole craft began to shift and creak. The dirt on the outside of the glass began to shift as I felt the craft start to lift. Instinctively, I grabbed my seatbelt and buckled it. I could tell how straining it was on the pegasi by how slow the craft of rising, one inch at a time. I started to work faster.

Once the first phase of testing was done, I tested the stabilizers to ensure they wouldn't BLOW UP on activation. They were slow to start, either from damage or the lack of power in the beginning. Either way, they hummed to life, and the whole craft shot upward at remarkable speed. We cleared the treetop of the forest easily. But thanks to the broken as fuck glass, I couldn't see much else other than that. I minimized the screen and called upon my magic against my better judgment. I focused on a relatively simple rune in my upper throat. The drain on my mind was unnoticeable.

"Rah," I spoke, and a visible shockwave in the air flew from my mouth and vibrated into the glass windshield. Entirely shattering it and scattering the broken shards outward over the forest below. Wind flooded in with fresh air as I looked outward from the cockpit over the land before me. We were up in the air but also moving forward slightly. I plugged my wristpad into the console and uploaded the map of Equestria into the ship's database. Shortly after, a smaller screen appeared on my left in between the two chairs with a live visual of the map and a blimp that represented the ship in the center.

"Alright, good progress so far," I said to myself, reopening the screen and monitoring the stabilizers. For the next half hour, we made decent progress. It was extremely slow going, as the Pegasi still struggled to move directionally, even though the craft was significantly lighter now. While watching the data on the screen, I opened a second one to look over some things about this world, mainly the several species of equine that inhabit it. Starting with an in-depth scan of the pegasi carrying the craft.

It took only a few moments, and an in-depth scan of both a male and female pegasi popped on the secondary holographic screen. Overall, they had DNA and anatomy similar to those of the equine back home. Save a few key but apparent details. One is the wings, of course. Soarin mentioned something about the joint that connects the wings to the body was a ball and socket joint, which was surprising as most bird species had wrist-like joints in their wings, which was still consistent with the rest of the wing's anatomy. But the wings on Pegasi could do a lot more than that of a typical bird. More aerial control and faster wing motions to carry a higher constant speed. Very interesting.

Second would be the clear difference in weight compared to other Equine back home. The pegasi had almost half the weight of the standard horses back home and only two-thirds of an average pony's weight back home. Which made sense as it was a creature capable of flight. The lighter, the better. But the most curious difference was actually the lungs. They were incredibly larger than any Equine id ever seen. Not only that, but the lungs were separate. Each has a trachea, bronchus, and diaphragm. One was attached to the nose, the other to the mouth. Allowing breathing from both the nose and mouth at the same time! Versus a human being, who is only able to do one or the other. Another thing that pegasi could do was breathe in through their mouths and exhale from their nose at the same time! A truly fascinating feat! Such things were only heard of in certain sea creatures back home, such as the arctic sea corra. But never in a birdlike one. Well, besides certain falcons and high-speed birds.

One possible reason for such an ability is the fact that pegasi have an extremely high speed in the air if the calculations on the screen are correct. So much so that at high enough speeds, they need to hold one valve open to let air in and another to let the air out so they don't suffocate themselves. Hence this is a truly remarkable trait. I was never a biology guy, but I quickly became one in the war to expose human weak points and pressure points for close-quarters fighting. I guess I never lost that analytical side of myself.

My train of thought shattered as I heard an all too familiar howl from the forest below. I tried to sit up but was held firm by the seatbelt. Unbuckling myself, I stood up, climbed atop the dash, and grabbed the nearby edge which held the windshield in place as I hung myself out of the former windshield as the wind blew my hair every which way.
Trying to gaze onto the land below.

We had just made it past the forest, and from the edge of trees below came dozens upon dozens of timberwolves. Maybe even a hundred. All are moving in the direction of a nearby town in the distance. My heart stopped, and I could feel my face turn white. I remember the day Shining Armor and his company came and pulled me out of Everfree, those poor ponies. If a small pack rips apart a small company of soldiers that fast and violently. What could that many do to a town of most likely civilians? Something deep inside of me yelled as loud as it could to do something. A part of myself I wanted to keep locked away, my inner general. The One who stood as a wall and single-handedly stopped the enemy's advance on his homeland.

I dropped back down in my chair, closed all programs, and activated the ship's weapons system, consisting of twin 30mm machine guns and a single 150mm cannon. Although the ship was a prototype, I had planned for it to see some form of combat at some point. So I had weapons installed ahead of time. The only issue was the big red error that appeared on the holographic screen with a detailed 3D model of the craft below it. Highlighting three panels that kept these weapons concealed until they were activated. The panels had been heavily damaged and lodged in place from the crash. Sighing from frustration, went back to my position on the dash and drew my sword. I stepped off, stabbing into the craft's hull to catch myself.

I scanned the underside of the hull for the panel. They had a small outline to them, so they were easy to spot, not to mention dented and broken to hell. I sat and kicked the panel as hard as I could over and over again while I hung on the handle of my sword with both hands. Swung back and forth the get the extra momentum to hit the panel that much harder.

I swung myself back as far as I could, pulling out all the stops to hit this panel as hard as I could. My metal boot clashed with a metal clang, and the panels shot off as the barrel of the 30mm cannon shoved it out of the way violently. Sticking out of its socket, ready to go. The metal panel fell through the air below, out of sight and out of my mind. I pulled myself back into the cockpit and repeated the process on the opposite side. Kicking off the other panel for the second 30mm cannon. But the most complicated part now was the 150mm cannon right on the nose of the craft. The panel was at such an awkward angle and was so large that I had to jam my sword into a gap I could barely see. I was trying to use it like a crowbar to pry it off while also keeping my balance on the very small piece of dangerously smooth hull I was lying on. Not to mention I was facing straight down at the lethal fall I would take if I did slip.

Surprisingly enough, The panel popped off just fine and fell downward, along with my father's sword that got knocked out of my hand from the giant 150mm cannon extending from its hole! I reflex cast a telekinesis spell consisting of mainly sky runes in a sigil to halt the sword's descent. Which was hard to keep concentration on as I felt my headache swiftly return the longer I held the spell and tried to pull the blade upward back into my hand to a point where I just had to let it sit in the air, or I would have passed out.

I heard wings flapping as Soarin came into view on my left. He opened his mouth to talk, but I cut him off before he began. "Grab the sword! I can't hold this spell much longer!" I strained. I watched Soarin open his mouth to speak again, so I cut him off again.

"NOW, SOARIN!" I yelled.

He gave me a look of surprise mixed with fear as he dived down to the sword and took the handle in his hooves. As soon as he did, I released my hold on the spell and nearly passed out again. Flopping onto the nose of the craft and almost sliding off the side. I gathered myself and scooched myself backward until I could safely get to my feet. Soarin sat flying next to me and held out the sword, which I gladly took and returned it to the sheath on my back.

"Look, we're going drop this thing off nearby and help Ponyville. That's way too many timberwolves for that town to handle. Spitfire already sent Fleetfoot to warn ponyville." Soarin Said, about to take off.

"NO! Go tell Spitfire to point the nose of this craft toward those oversized weeds, and I'll clear the field!" I yelled, jumping back into the cockpit and sitting in my seat. Activating the weapons system, which pulled up the targeting screen, only to pop up with a progress bar that said "calibrating."

"Im sorry, but Spitfire's orders are final. I know better than to argue with her-" Soarin started, but he was interrupted by me reaching through the holographic screen, grabbing his blue uniform by the collar, and pulling him close to my face. Bringing out my military voice for the first time in years.

"You will go tell Spitfire there will be a lot of unnecessary death today if she doesn't do what I say! If she doesn't like it, then that's too damn bad because I lived in the Everfree forest with these things for almost a year and have seen and felt the savagery of their attacks in groups. Unless we do something to halt their approach on that town, they won't stand a chance. I can provide that solution with the weapon system on this aircraft. I can't aim it well since both the thrusters are kaput. So this task falls on you guys. NOW GO!" I finished, pushing him out of the cockpit and letting go of his collar. His face showed he was clearly intimidated before he flew back up toward the rest of the pegasi.

I sat waiting for the nose of the plane to dip while rebooting the weapons system. Not long after Soarin's departure, Spitfire's face appeared on the other side of the holographic screen. Her face was stern with a mix of determination and anger as she slowly passed through the screen, staring me down.

"Let's get one thing straight here, prince. You may be in charge of this op, but when it comes to the safety of other ponies, especially a whole town, all bets are off. And this situation takes priority over your precious glorified hunk of scrap metal. We are going to drop this dead weight off in a nearby clearing, and THAT'S FINAL!" Her voice was stern and fierce, like a general. Something I could relate to. Clearly, she was experienced in this regard, but I do not think she saw the value of using this 'hunk of scrap' to her advantage.

I leaned back in my chair in sighed, "You're right. I get it. Your people get in harm's way. It's your job to keep them safe. I get it." She smirked, thinking she had won.

"But," I started again, quickly making her smirk disappear. "Considering I spent eight months in the everfree forest with nothing but the timberwolves for company, learning their ins and outs and ways to fend them off. It would be rather foolish to dump me and my ship, Which, might I add, has an onboard air to ground a hundred-and-fifty-millimeter cannon mounted on it, in the middle of a field when it could be used to clear a field of said beasts rather efficiently and quickly. This means This ship has a big fuck off cannon that could greatly help you in dealing with this threat rather than sitting in a field."

I watched Spitfire's mouth contort, and her eyes glared at me, but she saw my point. I could see the gears in her head turning as she thought. She looked down at the field of timberwolves encroaching on the town below. She needs to make a choice soon.

"Do I need to mention I was in the military as well? I know when decisions need to be made quickly. I believe this is one of those times, yes?"

"ALRIGHT, FINE!" She yelled, spinning back to face me. "What do you need from us?!"

"I just need you to point the nose of the ship toward the field and circle the timberwolves. I can do the rest from here." I responded. The yellow pegasus turned and flew upward back to her flyboys. Within seconds the nose of the craft dipped down, giving me a full view of the horde of timberwolves below. The craft soon was circling them. As if on queue, the screen gave a ding of completion, and the progress bar disappeared and was replaced by a flight HUD display with altitude markers, a center reticle, and other mid-flight tools. The steering wheel came from the center console on a mechanical arm and extended towards me. It looked like the top part of an H, with two red buttons on the top of the handles. I took hold as my thumbs rested on those buttons and my index fingers wrapped around to rest upon two triggers on the back of the handles out of eyesight.

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes as dozens of memories of missions I did behind these same controls flooded my mind. Dogfights, airstrikes, strafing runs. All of it. For the first time in a while, I was nervous. I opened my eyes and focused on my target. Instinctively I checked my ammo count on the bottom left on the hud, which read 250 on a large ammo counter and 15 on a smaller one just above it. Along with an error above them both that read-

'ERROR: A.L.P.U LINK SEVERED- LIMITED AMMO RESERVES'

"Fuck I forgot about that! Guess ill have to make do with what I got." I said, looking back to the horde, without a moment's hesitation. I clenched my index fingers around the triggers. The twin machine guns roared to life with alternating rapid booms followed by a ca-chunk as another round was loaded. Bright yellow flashes flung out from the craft and into the hoard, ripping apart two or three timberwolves into chunks of wood. Overpierceing their bodies and into the dirt, flinging dirt and debris into the air with each shot. My ears were ringing with pain by the seventh shot, and by the tenth could barely hear anything other than the guns firing. Without the windshield, the loud blast from the guns just ruined my eardrums. I felt something hit my foot as I looked down and saw my helmet skating across the ship's floor. I reached over and picked it up as it slid by and put it on. It muffled the sounds of the guns but not completely silence them, which was better than nothing, I guess.

I watched my ammo dwindle down, to 200, 150, 100, 50, 25, 0. The guns abruptly stopped the barrels smoking and almost red hot. Half the hoard was in pieces, and half of the rest were either wounded or limping. I pressed down my thumbs as a concussive boom rang out from the aircraft. A large shell of bright orange shot out from the nose of the aircraft, rocking the whole thing back. The shell impacted a large chunk of the group and exploded. Turning nearly twenty of the bastards into sawdust and hunks of firewood. Along with cratering the ground and sending fifty feet of dirt airborne. I pressed the button again, and it fired once more, turning another large chunk of the wolves into dust. I repeated until I used all the shells I had left. Besides leaving several craters in the ground, I cleared the field pretty well. The remaining seven Timberwolves looked worse for wear and were running as fast as they could with what legs they had left back to the everfree forest.

However, I wasn't one for leaving survivors of the enemy. I jumped out of my seat to one of the serval lockers on the walls of the aircraft. Slamming my fist on the button beside it to open it. The locker opened with a mechanical whir as the inner wall pushed forward. Presenting a very large and rather sexy-looking LMG. With three boxes mags of ammo hanging next to it. I grabbed the large weapon and loaded a box mag into the bottom of it. I grabbed the lever on the side and cocked the weapon, and it was ready to fire. I jumped out of the windshield and aimed the weapon at the retreating timberwolves. Aiming this type of weapon was very weird as the forward grip for your off-hand stuck out diagonally from the gun. And the circular sight did as well, just not downward like the forward grip I mentioned.

I proceeded to open fire and mowed down the remaining timberwolves with a slew of bullets from the gun. Trying to aim from that distance was hard, but when it comes to an LMG. You have enough bullets that you're firing so fast that it doesn't matter. You'll hit it eventually. I finished and returned the LMG to its locker and locked it up. I turned around and saw Spitfire fly through the screen, taking a double take as she was clearly confused by it, and landing on the floor.

She started talking, but I only heard my ears ringing.

"HUH?!" I yelled. Taking off my helmet, which didn't help.

"I SAID, I'LL ADMIT YOUR HUNK OF STEEL PACKS A PUNCH!" She yelled, clearly agitated. I still could barely understand her over the immense ringing in my ears.

"IM SORRY I CAN'T HEAR YOU! MY EARS ARE SHOT FROM ALL THE GUNFIRE! ALL I HEAR IS RINGING. THE WINDSHIELD NORMALLY STOPS THAT FROM HAPPENING," I yelled, not being able to hear myself.

"WELL, I GOTTA GO CALM DOWN THE LOCALS OF PONYVILLE AND ASSURE THE POPULACE EVERYTHING IS ALRIGHT NOW. ALL THOSE EXPLOSIONS REALLY RATTLED THEM. THE REST OF THE WONDBOLTS ARE GONNA TAKE YOUR THING UP TO CANTERLOT," She yelled back. Flying back out the shattered windshield shortly after.

"ALRIGHT, YOU DO THAT THEN!" I said, not knowing what she said.

Several hours passed before the landing gear touched down on the stone pathing of Canterlot. The best thing Celestia managed for a landing platform was one of the circular sightseeing venues on the edge of the city overlooking the land below made for tourists. Of course, I didn't stick around long. As soon as we touched down, I kicked open the rear ramp, and I had Romulus on my back. I was booking it to the blacksmith's stall like I was carrying a wounded soldier to a medical tent.

I kicked open the gate into the forge and set Romulus's body on a large table. Getting the supplies needed to fix his insides took little time. I did, however, lack the means to cut open the Element steel plating on his chest. Taking off the clothes he wore for some reason was easy. But that element steel chassis of his was strong enough to tank a missile. Not to mention that I was so mentally drained from using magic today that harnessing a beam of magic to cut the metal was impossible. I was searching for a solution when the gate swung, and Shining Armor entered.

"Hey, you are back! I saw the big metal, whatever it's called, from my post and figured you were back." He looked to see the lifeless body of Romulus sitting on the table in front of me. And got somewhat concerned. Even though, to him, It probably looked like a hunk of metal. "Whatcha working on there?"

I turned to look at him, and my eyes went wide as I laid eyes on his horn, and an idea popped into my head "Shining! Come over here. I need your help!" I said, grabbing the collar of his armor and dragging him over.

"Okay, okay! Sheesh!"

"So your horn is essentially a conduit for magic, right? Does it produce focused beams of energy?" I asked, talking quickly.

"Well, yeah, I mainly use a beam spell as an offensive spell when I need to stop crooks or thieves on duty," he responded.

"Not what I wanted, but I can work with it!" I said, tipping his head toward Romulus's chest. "Okay, so what I need you to do is make a small, very concentrated beam of energy and cut open this metal as I instruct you to."

"I-I can't make a beam that small!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, you can! You just need the mental image and the will to conjure it. Here, try putting a large sum of the magic on the tip of your horn, and I mean a LARGE SUM." I said, trying to teach him.

"You mean like a light spell?" He responded as a bright ball of light appeared on the tip of his horn.

"Yes! But like twenty times the amount of energy in that ball." I responded enthusiastically.

"But that'll just turn back in on itself and cause a shockwave of magic! I did it once in guard training. It did not end well," he exclaimed.

"Not if you use that magic to contain itself in a field. Essentially, it is feeding itself to contain itself, so to speak. I've done it dozens of times. I can't right now since I'm mentally drained." I retorted.

"Alright, I'll try it." He said, closing his eyes. I watched the ball of pink light enlarge and shrink over and over as I felt the magic build to volatile levels, then stabilize. Beads of sweat broke out across Shingings forehead as he concentrated. "All right, I think I got it." He said, opening his eyes to a small squint.

"Okay, Now picture sunlight magnifying through a magnifying glass. And the picture that is happening to that magic on your horn. And aim it right above my finger. Try not to hit it, please." I instructed, placing my finger on Romulus's metal chest plate with about an inch and a half of room above it.

Shining clenched his teeth as the sweat dripped off his brow. Suddenly, a beam of concentrated pink energy erupted from the ball on his horn, impacting the space above my finger. The metal grew hot instantly, so I lifted my finger off it slightly. "Great! Thats great! Now follow just above my finger. I'll go slow." I started moving my finger slowly, and the beam followed. We made it halfway down Romulus's chest when I stopped my finger.

"Okay, now split the beam."

"WHAT?! Do you know how draining this is already?!" He exclaimed.

"Yes, but Just picture a mental image of the beam splitting. It doesn't matter in what way. And apply that to this. Once that happens, follow both fingers with each beam." I responded, now pressing two fingers, one from each hand on the metal.

Shining grunted and started breathing heavily. I could visibly see the beam split and began moving my fingers diagonally downward and away from each other. We made it down near the hips when I told Shining to stop. The beams dissipated, and the ball of energy vanished. Shining gasped and flopped onto his belly, breathing heavily.

"WOW! That was exhausting, holy Celestia!"

"Is that how you'll curse here? Using your ruler's name in vain?" I asked as I grabbed a pry bar from my assortment of tools and began prying open Romulus's chest from the new cuts.

"Shut up," Shining responded, sitting back on his haunches, still catching his breath.

I got each piece of his chest peeled back so I could gain access to his innards. In the center Of all the complex circuitry, components, and hydraulics was a very much smaller clear glass canister holding one singular arc elemental within. Who was okay inside its sturdy canister. I could see the underside of Romulus's head from the upper neck portion. Despite being very awkward, I pressed my hand against it in the best position possible. And pushed against it with all my might. But it did not budge.

"Shining, lend me your telekinesis for a second," I asked. He stood up, and I pointed to where I needed him as he enveloped Romulus's head in pink magic. "Okay, now push Hard!" With both him and me pushing, the head slowly moved, and screeching of metal came from the inside until it suddenly gave way, and his head popped out the top into its normal position. Of course, the neck area needed repair everywhere for the AI chip slot to regain connection to the rest of the body. I definitely had my work cut out for me.

"Well, now all I gotta do is rewire and fix all of that." Gesturing to the neck area. "Thank you, Shining, for your help. I literally could not have done that without it."

"Hey, it's no problem. It's a guard's duty to serve the public. And hey, I learned something about magic today. That's a plus." he stated proudly, standing tall.

"Heh, yeah, I bet. Well, Unless you have a heavily advanced understanding of complex circuitry and engineering. Unfortunately, that will be all I'll need. I'll ensure that when I open up shop here, your first few orders will be free, and I'll pay you back in whatever the currency is here." I said, Grabbing some tools and getting to work on what was probably a long night's work.

"I do not know what half the words you just said were. So I'll just leave you to it then. I gotta get back to my rounds anyway. I'll see you around, Riley." Shining said as he left the forge.

"Not if I see you first!" I shouted back.

After a few hours of work, the main parts of the neck, besides the bulkier wiring, looked good as new. I was rather proud of myself, considering the rather primitive tools at my disposal. I was trying to reattach the wire with my bare hands. Which was extremely hard might I add. Celestia stopped by sometime today to ask what the plan was with my aircraft, as it needed to be moved at some point or another to reopen the platform. I told her if she needed it moved, just drop it off in the space to the right of the forge, hugging the wall. I needed to get Romulus fixed before I could do anything about it. Stating that the blueprints were stored with Romulus's AI chip. Which she had the wonderbolts do about an hour ago.

I plugged the last wire in, and a spark of electricity shot up through my hand so violently it burned my fingertip. I took it and put it in my mouth, screaming swears under my breath as I hopped around the forge. I grabbed a bandage off the shelves and quickly wrapped my finger. I turned back to the machine on the table as his eyes lit up a bright blue, and the small dots appeared, representing eyes looking about the room. The shutters over his eyes blinked a few times before he sat up slowly on the table. One of his hands rubbed the back of his neck and rewired several wires I had yet to do. His fingertips folded back to a small welding torch, and he fixed up his neck in a matter of seconds.

"Ah, that's much better." Romulus's voice filled the room. His voice sounded like that of a very self-respecting butler with a slightly lower tone since it was slightly robotic. I came to know it very well over my lifetime, as he was there pretty much every step of the way.

His eyes focused on me. "Young master Riley! Ah, it's so good to see you in good health, sir! Other than the burn just caused to your finger, of course." I had no words. I don't know why; I just couldn't make out any words.

"Sir? Are you alright?" He asked, concerned.

I jumped and hugged him. Tears filled my eyes as I sobbed. He returned the hug instantly. I remember babbling on Dad and the kingdom and how it was all gone. He tried his best to console me. But I just sobbed and sobbed and sobbed until day turned to night. And the sobbing turned to sleep.

Author's Note

WE BACK FELLAHS, HELLLLOING!

Sorta... Im back in writing spirit but my work schedule has changed and a lot of other things are going on like a big move Im planning to happen by the end of the year. Other than that I hope yall enjoy this long-awaited chapter.