The inside of the club was surprisingly large compared to the outside. Ponies danced along with the pulsing bass and others got plastered at the bar. Haze, Starlight and Morbis sat at a booth in the corner far away from anyone possibly eavesdropping.

"I'm telling you guys, Chrysalis is planning something and it's gonna happen soon, I just know it. We just gotta figure out what the hell it is."

"Well, what proof do you have that something is going to happen?" Starlight replied, completely confused on what Morbis was talking about.

"She told me that death arrives on the dawn of chaos. What do you guys think it means?" Starlight was about to reply until Shade came by completely hammered.

"HEY STARLIGHT! Wanna see my cutie mark?" She said wrapping him in a tight hug.

"You don't have one Shade." He stated plainly while rolling his eyes.

"WELL NEITHER DO YOU! I~m so fucking drunk." She said before passing out under the table.

"Have you found out anything about our marks?" Haze said in a serious tone. Morbis shook his head. They all found it rather strange that they didn't have their cutie marks. Morbis spent most of his free time looking in to cutie marks, he even tried talking to Luna about it but she told him to give up. Even after being told that, he continued searching but only ran into dead ends.
Moments later, both princesses made their way over to them. Luna holding Celestia up, probably because she had been knocking back Applejack Daniels since they arrived. Couldn't really blame her though, Applejack Daniels was some good shit.

"Chrysalis make it to the prison yet?" Starlight asked as Luna placed her drunk sister in the booth.

"Not sure, haven't heard from them yet. If not, she should be there soon. We probably won't know till tomorrow. You gonna finish that, thanks." She said as she stole Haze's glass of alcohol without giving him time to reply "To be honest, not knowing her whereabouts is quite bothersome." Everyone nodded in agreement and down their drinks, except for Haze of course.

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"So Scorch, when we picked you up, you said something about being to hell and back to Shade, what was that about?" Starlight asked, breaking the silence as they all returned home.

"Ah yes that, when Shade and I were sent on a mission alone to seal Cerberus in Tartarus, Shade decided to make me his own chew toy," He said looking over at Shade, who was now rubbing the back of her neck nervously "Eventually I knocked the fucker out and escaped with all these scars you see today." He finished, motioning at his face.

"You are all seriously, the least functional group I have ever seen!" Twilight spoke up, getting everyone to look at her and make Haze laugh.

"Honestly miss Sparkle, functional is the last thing that runs in our little family. Sure we run into snags, kick each others ass from time to time, hell every now and then we end up trying to kill each other. But that's just how we work." He finished with a kind smile, looking at his 'family'. "And to be honest, it would be an honor to die from you guys rather than some piece of shit changeling." He gave a salute, receiving salutes and smiles from the rest of the team.

"Nice speech Haze. We should probably get to our homes, I really gotta my sister home, she is very drunk." Luna said, giving a small laugh. Everyone agreed and parted ways, making their way home.

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"Alright, this is a simple spell. Just focus solely on the spell."

"Okay, here goes nothing." Twilight closed her eyes and began focusing on her spell. Her hands began glowing a bright purple as an object began to form. After a moment, a short sword formed "I did it, I finally did it!" She said overly joyed.

"Great, now give it a few swings." Shade watched closely as Twilight gave her sword a few swings. They were sloppy swings but as long as she was able to keep it up, it was just fine. "Work on forming the sword just a bit quicker, it could save your ass. But first lets get some rest tomorrow, tomorrow i'll teach you some new spells." Twilight picked up Spike and made her way upstairs. It always made Shade wonder why Twilight decided to live in a library of all places she could have lived. She was snapped out of her train of thought when a bright flash appeared in front of her. A scroll landed on her lap bearing a seal in the form of a crescent moon.

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"Well here we are, I'll stay out front and watch your house." Morbis said as he turned around and began heading outside.

"Actually, I was hoping you could stay inside. I don't want to be alone, not that im scared or anything." Rainbow Dash finished trying to play it off. "Im just..."

"A little shaken up?" He finished for her. She looked away and rubbed her arm nervously. She hated to admit it but it was true. Being in the middle of a war for the first time can be quite startling. He nodded and walked her to her room "Im going to sleep on the couch if that's okay?" She gave a small smile and climbed into her bed of clouds. He could tell she was still scared so he thought for a bit before sitting on her chair and loading his gun. After she heard his gun cock, she looked up at him quizzically "I decided that it would put you more at ease if I was closer and you knew you were protected. So im gonna keep watch all night." She gave a full smile and laid back down. He sighed and leaned back in the chair "This is gonna be a long night."

After many hours, Morbis sat hunched over, rotating the chambers causing it to emit a soft clicking sound. He soon began thinking about Chrysalis yet again. He was unsure why he continued to think about her, it was damn near maddening. He began lightly hitting his head with the handle of his gun, trying to force the thoughts out. He stopped hitting himself once a flash appeared in front of him, making a scroll appear and drop on the floor at his feet.

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"Do I have to do this?"

"If you want to live with me then yes, besides, once im done you will look positively gorgeous."

"Why don't you just use a mannequin?"

"Well darling, mannequins aren't always accurate. When using an actual pony, the measurements will be more accurate, now stand still." Rarity demanded as she began measuring his legs. "So tell me, why did you become a soldier?"

"Well I got into some trouble with the wrong people and I guess my fighting skills proved that I was capable of such missions. It still amazes me that she noticed me, I guess it was all dumb luck. But hell I've never been happier."

"I must admit, your profession seems rather brutish. The whole killing and fighting, it just seems so-so..." She gave a shudder and continued her measurements. "And finished, your suit will be finished by next week. If you don't mind me asking, would you be able to help me run the shop."

"I don't know, I never made clothes before."

"Please, you won't have to do much, you will only have to run a few errands and bring me a few items." Haze gave a sigh of defeat and agreed. She let out a squee and lunged at him, giving him a tight hug. "Thank you so much, I promise I wont work you to hard."

"It's fine Rarity, i'm happy to help." He cracked a smile and rubbed her head "Why don't you head to bed, you've had a long couple days." She released him from her tight hold, put her supplies away and made her way upstairs. As much as he hated to admit it, it was fun being a mannequin. It was something different and that was all he wanted, something different.
Haze entered the kitchen in hopes of finding some sort of alcohol, perhaps a nice red wine. He approached the wine rack and found an unopened bottle of wine. He thought for a moment, deciding whether or not he should open it. He came to the conclusion that he could always pay her back. He popped the cork and poured a glass. He swirled the wine around a bit before taking a sip. "Not exactly my favorite, but it will do." As he began to take another sip, a flash appeared... inside the bottle of wine. "You gotta be kidding me. Well here goes nothing." He began chugging the bottle while mentally chanting 'chug chug chug...'
Once the bottle was finished, he wrapped it in his shirt, placed it on the table and elbowed it causing a quiet shattering sound. He removed the scroll and threw the glass away.

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"Thanks again for helpin' out with the harvesting, you sure did help us out a lot." Applejack said as She, and Scorch made their way back to the barn from the west side of the orchard, carrying bushels of apples. It amazed Scorch that their entire income came from apples. In just a few hours they were able to harvest over half the west orchard.
"No problem. Just wish we could have gotten more done."

As soon as they arrived at the barn, Big Mac emerged from the east orchard with two bushels under his arms. "Oh hey, I didn't know we had some help. Im Big Macintosh, but you can just call me Big Mac." He offered to shake Scorch's hand as he introduced himself. Scorch gladly shook his hand and introduced himself. Scorch opened the barn and they placed the apples against the wall and made their way back to the house. When Applejack was inside, Big Mac stopped Scorch and closed the door. "Mind telling me who you are?"

"Oh well i'm just a friend of Twilight, and she had me meet all her friends." Scorch smiled nervously, hoping that he believed him. Big Mac stood there with his arms crossed and observing him with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm not sure I believe you. Just tell me who you are and we can go to bed." Scorch leaned up against the wall and admitted that he was a soldier, but wouldn't give any more information. "So you would be able to protect my little sis?" Scorch nodded and looked at Big Mac who was now smiling. He must have been happy with the answers since he opened the door and invited him in.

Scorch was laying on the couch thinking about the previous day. It was intense to say the least, but it was nice going back to what he knew. Sleep soon began to take over before he was awoken by an object landing on his face. He reached up and noticed it was a scroll, seal by a crescent moon.

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"Wow, I cant believe how many animals you have, it's like your own zoo." Blitz said, looking around and marveling at the animals.

"Well actually, not all of the animals you see are mine. I take care of pets while their owners are away." Fluttershy said as she pet a bird that was perched on her finger. Fluttershy sang a few notes getting the bird to repeat exactly. Blitz loved how well she got along with the animals.

"So are you a vet or something?" Blitz asked as she sat down on the couch.

"Oh my no, of course tending to animals comes with making sure they stay healthy, but its not a job, it's my passion to take care of animals."

"So if your not a vet, what do you do for a living?"

"I don't have a job, believe it or not but the city pays me for taking care of all the animals in town when their owners aren't around. It's great to payed for doing something I love, I just wish other people would do what they love most... Do you love your job?"

"Well i'm honestly not to fond of what I have to do, but its what I do best. I would love to care for animals like you but I just don't have the time."

"While your staying here, you can help me with the animals, If you don't mind that is." Blitz jumped at her, wrapping her in a tight hug, thank her over and over again. "Um, your welcome." She said as she lightly returned the hug and her cheeks turning a light shade of pink from embarrassment "Unfortunately I don't have anything for you right now. But I will tomorrow." Blitz nodded and went back to the couch. Fluttershy checked to see if the animals were fed, said goodnight to her new roommate and went to sleep.

Blitz felt at ease around all the animals, it was as if she was in her natural habitat. She noticed a bright flash from one of the bird houses. She sat up and noticed a part of a scroll sticking out of it. She thought for a moment before whistling three times quickly. The scroll disappeared for a moment before a bright red bird flew out, holding the scroll in its mouth. She extended her finger for the bird to land on. She took the scroll from the bird and and began reading it.

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"How does it taste?" The bouncing pink pony asked.

"Mother of Luna, it's incredible. What did you say this is?" Starlight asked as he downed the rest of his cake.

"Its called the 'Haymaker berry blast', It's a new recipe that I wanted to try out. Im glad it turned out good. You want another piece?" Starlight nodded before licking the the plate. Pinkie Pie cut another slice for him and for her. the cake was made of hay and covered in a bright strawberry frosting with raspberries and black berries circling the top "Thanks for being my personal taste tester, It makes my job so much easier when I have another pony tasting my cooking."

"So how many cakes have we made now?"

"I think this makes ten cakes now. Wanna make another one?" As much as Starlight loved sweets, he wasn't sure how much more he could eat. He wanted to keep going but there was no way in hell he could keep up with her. "Oh come on, just one more I promise only one more and then we will be done, just one..." Pinkie pies' head dropped like a rock on the table. Starlight poked her a couple times to make sure she was still alive. She let out a groan and a snore signifying that she was only passed the fuck out. Starlight looked around as if the answer was around him

"Seriously, how the hell can this pony have a sugar crash!?" He yelled out to no one. He looked down at the rest of his cake and shrugged "Might as well finish my cake." He was about to dig his fork in until a bright flash caused it to disappear and have a scroll take its place. He stared down at the scroll with a blank expression "Or not." He unrolled the scroll and began to read to himself. Once finished, he tossed it down, stood up and took a deep breath "DO WE EVER GET A FUCKING BREAK!?"

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"I'm sure you are all wondering why I summoned you here in the Everfree forest so late. It appears something quite startling has come up," Luna began, noticing that she had their attention "One of the guards noticed something off about the gardens. During the attack they seemed to have stolen something very important. Im sending you all to one of the changeling fortresses tomorrow, you will leave at dawn. If you keep a steady pace, you will arrive around nightfall."

"Alright, what exactly are we looking for?" Morbis asked, sounding a little drowsy. Luna presented a picture of a creature made up of several animal parts.

"I already have the plan laid out." She took out a map from her bag and placed it on a stump.

"A transport will fly you from Cloudsdale, and drop you five miles south of `The Forbidden City where you will circle around and infiltrate from the rear gate, once you retrieve the statue, call in an evac unit and once you are on board, notify Canterlot to send in a napalm strike."

"But what about the civilians?" Shade spoke up.

"Our intel tells us that the city has become overthrown by the changelings. If that's correct, there will be no civilians within the vicinity. Now go get prepped for the mission and report to the military base in Cloudsdale. May the night guide you all." She finished with the M.O.T.S. salute obtaining the same from the team.

Author's Note

Sorry its so hard to see the areas on the map. Here's the URL to the map http://images.wikia.com/wtwe/images/archive/7/7d/20111108121849!Equestria_and_beyond_rev_8.jpg

The Forbidden City is at the top of the central land