Archangel's Adventure

Chapters

Awakening the Warrior
Joining the Quest
The Adventure Begins
Manticores and Musical Numbers
Rivers and Ravines
Lock and Load
The Final Battle
The New Beginning

Awakening the Warrior

"Captain, I have detected something," said a familiar computerized voice.

"Uhg, what is it now Guardian, I'm busy," I responded with some annoyance. I was right in the middle of running some diagnostics on my body, which was currently in suspended animation. (Oh and if you were wondering, my consciousness was wandering through my base's computer systems)

"I just thought you may want to know that six new entities have entered the main chamber," he reported,"and they appear to be of equine descent."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold up," I said,"equine descent as in horses?"

"Affirmative sir"

"Activate the security feeds, this I got to see," I commanded.

As I linked my consciousness into the security system I could clearly see exactly what Guardian was talking about: on the screen I could see six quadruped creatures that definitly bore a resemblance to horses, more like ponies, but something was very weird.

One was bright orange with a braided blonde main and tail with huge green eyes. It also had three red apples on its hind shoulder and was wearing a wide brimmed hat.

Another, who was not walking but bouncing around like a hyper six-year-old, was almost entirely pink with a mane and tail that looked like they were made of cotton candy with huge blue eyes as well as three baloons in the same place as the first creature's apples.

A third was.. wait, what the?...that one just started flying. It was light blue with a spectrum color mane and tail, dark violet-ish eyes, again, it had a tricolor lightning bolt on its side and freakin' bird wings? What was that called again? Flying horse...flying horse. Oh right its a Pegasus.

The fourth one that I saw was pristine white with a curled, bright purple mane and tail and, again, huge amythest eyes and three gems on its flank. Wait a minute, is that a horn? Wow, a unicorn. That's a new one.

The fifth was another Pegasus but was soft yellow, had a pink mane and tail, had huge blue eyes and three butterflies on its side, as well as a look of absolute terror on its face.

The last one was light purple with a dark purple mane and tail with a hot pink and purple streak, giant purple eyes, and a set of stars on its flank. And what's this? Oh, that one is a unicorn as well.

"Activate audio, they appear to be talking," I ordered Guardian

"Ok, he's not here lets go," whispered the yellow Pegasus, clearly scared to death.

"No Fluttershy, we need to find the warrior, he's the only one who can help us defeat Nightmare Moon," replied the purple unicorn.

"Come on Twilight, we're wasting time here, we can take her on," retorted the blue pegesus while shadow boxing in the air.

"Ah gotta agree with Rainbow Dash here, Twilight, we need ta get a move on if we're gonna get those Elements ah Harmony before Nightmare Moon", said the orange pony in a country accent.

"Look, a button, I bet it opens a door to an amazing party," rattled the pink pony at super speed.

"NO PINKIE! Don't touch anything, we don't know what any of this stuff even is, let alone what it does," commanded the unicorn called Twilight.

"All I know is that it is dreadfully filthy in here and its destroying my mane," huffed the white unicorn.

"EVERYPONY BE QUIET!," yelled Twilight, "look, the book clearly says that the Elements of Harmony are powerful but this warrior will be invaluable in our quest to find them and save Equestria from eternal night."

Where the hell did that book come from? Wait did they say they were looking for a warrior to help on a quest to save a place from evil?

"Guardian, lock down the entrance and activate the revival protocols, this is what I was placed here to do," I ordered

"As you wish, Captain," responded Guardian.

Then I heard the blast door slam closed and Guardian's voice come over the speakers.

"Initiating Project Archangel Revival Procedure"

With that I immediatly returned my conscousness to my body and awaited the awakening of my systems. I could still here the ponies but now they were completely freaked out by the sudden activity and the only sentence I could clearly hear was one of them yelling "PINKIE! WHAT DID YOU DO!?"

"Entering main chamber for system reactivation." With a jolt, my body began to raise through a hole in the floor of the main chamber where it would then undergo the process of disconnecting my systems from the base.

"Archangel System reactivation underway, reinitializing power system." With that, my built-in power cell fired up with a soft hum.

"Activating Life Support Systems, disconnecting external life support." This caused my body to lurch a bit as the large cable that supplied my inactive body with nutrients disconnected and retracted while my internal system took over.

"Reviving Biological components and realigning conscousness with mobile unit." A slight bolt of pain rocketed through me as Guardian broke my body out of its comatose state and bound my mind back to my brain.

"Activating sensor banks." All of a sudden all my senses came back online at once, I could now clearly see the ponies cowering against the door.

"Running diagnostics on cybernetics." A surge of power flowed into my arms and legs jolting the mechanisms to life.

"Finalizing reactivation." This caused the remaining wires and cables to disconnect with pops and snaps, and then to retract into the pair of supporting arms on both sides.

"Removing supporting structure." Then the pair of arms supporting me retracted into the floor leaving me standing in front of the six terrified ponies.

"Revival complete, welcome back Captain Archangel"

Joining the Quest

Once the initial shock of revival wore off, it immediately hit me that there were six very scared ponies in front of me. I have to be very careful how I handle this. I really don't want to scare them any more than I already had.

"What are you doing here?" I asked in as nonthreatening a tone as I could.
Complete silence.

"Can you understand me?" I said in the same tone. I saw the orange one nod yes.

"What are you doing here?" I repeated.
Silence again.
I walked a few steps closer and kneeled down in front of them causing the ponies to recoil a bit.

"Look, you don't need to be afraid of me, just tell me what you're doing here, " I said, again, as gently and calmly as I could. At this, the purple unicorn stood up.

"W-w-we were looking for the a-ancient warrior," She stammered out still in fear of me, "We need his help to defeat Nightmare Moon"

"Are you the warrior?" Asked the rainbow maned Pegasus.

"That depends, what is this warrior supposed to do?" I asked.

"Let's see here...," Said the purple unicorn who produced a book from nowhere and levitated it in front of her. This made me recoil in disbelief: how is she doing that?

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"How are you doing that?"

"What?"

"That, with the book," I said while pointing at the book.

"It's just a levitation spell"

"Spell, you mean like magic?" I responded

"Yes, why? Do they not use magic where you're from?" She asked

"No, or at least not that effectively, but, anyway, what were you saying about the warrior?" I said hoping to redirect this back onto the problem.

"Oh, right. The book says that the warrior is necessary to retrieve the 7 elements of harmony: honesty, courage, laughter, loyalty, kindness, generosity, and the unknown seventh element; defeat Nightmare Moon and save Equestria from eternal night" She read off. As I listened to this, I realized that this was why I was here. My mission was to protect this place from an evil that if left alone would cause untold damage. Eternal night sounded like the kind of thing I should help stop.

"Um, excuse me, are you ok?" Asked the unicorn. I had a nasty habit of drifting off into though.

"Huh? Oh, sorry." I said snapping back to reality, "So basically what you're saying is that you need me to accompany the six of you on a dangerous quest to retrieve seven ancient artifacts, one of which we don't even know where it is, and then somehow use them to defeat a creature so powerful, it is capable of plunging this entire world into a state of perpetual night. That about right?"

"Well, when you put it that way, it does seem a little...," The unicorn began nervously.

"That sounds right up my alley," I interrupted, "I'm in"
With a mixed look of shock and relief, the unicorn replied, "Wow, I really didn't think it would be that easy."

"Hey, when you've spent as long of a time in a coma as I have, you'll take any excuse to leave," I retorted, "But before we go, I need to get my gear so, if you'll excuse me"

"Guardian, open the armory," I ordered

"Opening"
Off to my left with a faint mechanical hum, a door to my favorite place opened. As I walked through the door, a paradise of weapons and armor greeted me.

"Feel free to look around, just ask before you touch anything," I called back, as this could take a few minutes. I then walked to a series of shelves that contained my armor and released the locks that kept them secure. I heard a small sound behind me followed by a faint glow.

"You cannot be serious, Captain." Said the same voice from earlier, "They are horses. Why are you helping them?"

"Ah, so nice of you to join me, G," I replied as I began strapping on my armored boots and greaves, "What can I do for you?"
"Well, you can begin with why you have agreed to help them."

"It's not like we have anything better to do," I responded while finishing with my leg armor and moving to the arms.

"AHHHHHHH, IT'S A GHOST!" screamed a voice from just outside the armory. I turned immediately to see a pink pony frozen in fear at what i assumed was the holographic image of Guardian.

"No, that's not a ghost." I said as I walked to the pony, "That's Guardian, he's with me. Trust me, he's harmless"

"A-a-a-are y-y-y-you s-s-s-sure?" She stammered out

"Yes," I said as I returned to my armor "G , why don't you introduce yourself while I finish up"

"If you insist," his image turned toward the ponies who had gathered "I am known as Guardian and I am the Captain's personal A.I. assistant"

"See G, that wasn't so bad, was it?" I joked as I was installing one of my shoulder-mounted miniguns, which is quite easy with my mechanical arms, "and besides he is actually not really there. He actually exists in my brain, what you're seeing is just a projection of what he thinks he looks like."
I finished attaching the second gun.
RetractI commanded mentally, causing the pair of miniguns to fold down and retract into their places on my back.

"He's a bit antisocial but he means well," I said as Guardian disappeared from view, "anyway I'm ready to go if you are"
I walked out of the armory grabbing my shield which i folded up and stored on my back, my combat tomahawk hung in its place on my right hip, and Guardian's cylindrical drone platform hanging off my left side.

"Oh, and by the way," I said as I snapped to attention, " I'm Captain Archangel, Special Operations; Augmented Division. Who are all of you?"

With that, the purple unicorn stepped forward, "I'm Twilight Sparkle, faithful student of Princess Celestia"
Then the spectrum Pegasus flew up over the group. "I'm Raindow Dash, the fastest Pegasus in Equestria"
Bouncing up in front was the puffy pink pony, "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie, do you like parties? 'cause I like parties. Hey we should have a party for you..." Oh boy, this should be fun
Once Pinky had finally finished, the white unicorn stepped forward. "Hello, darling, I am Rarity, fashion designer extraordinaire."
The orange pony walked up. "Howdy, I'm Applejack," she said with a tip of her hat.

"Nice to meet all of... wait, wasn't there another Pegasus earlier?" I asked looking around for the missing pony.

"Oh, you mean Fluttershy, she's right here hidin' from you, I'd guess" answered Applejack as she stepped out of the way
I kneeled down in front of the petrified Fluttershy and said "hey, it's ok, like I said earlier, you don't have to be afraid of me" as nicely as I could.

"Its not you I'm s-s-s-scared of, i-i-it's G-G-G-Guardian, h-h-he's scary" she stammered out clearly gripped with fear.
"Oh, is that all?" I replied reaching to the communicator on my left temple "Guardian, apologize for scaring Ms. Fluttershy, please"

"I am sorry for frightening you Ms. Fluttershy, it was not my intention" said Guardian through my armor's speakers.

"See? He didn't mean it. Come on, let's go get those elements." I said standing back up "Guardian, open the blast door"

"Yes, Captain." then a loud mechanical grinding signaling the door was opening to the outside world and what was sure to be the most interesting adventure in my life.

Author's Note

I am absolute crap at writing for Pinkie Pie.

The Adventure Begins

As I lead the way out of the base, I began to notice just how unaccustomed the ponies were to the level of technology I was familiar with as every automatic door startled them and the lights suprised them when they came on.
They should have seen this place when it all worked. I thought, That will totally blow them away

"Hold up a sec," I said as we approached the final door

"Why, what's wrong?" Asked Rainbow Dash somewhat uneasily. These ponies sure are jumpy.
As I approached the door, I remembered why this door was different: hidden on either side in the walls were a pair of flamethrowers, ready to incinerate anyone who tried to open the door.

"I booby-trapped this door so no one could escape this place once they entered" I explained, ignoring Pinkie Pie's giggling at the word "booby".

"Then how in the hay're we suppose ta git outta here?" Asked Applejack

"Relax, I got this," I assured them "G, override the door, security code Pyro"

"Door is now open and safe to pass, Captain."

"Thank you."
As the final door opened to this world, I was stunned by how, even at night, it was so vibrant and bright. Everything was the most pleasent shades of green and blue and even the black night sky was calming. But I couldn't stand around and enjoy the scenery, I had a job to do.

"Lead on, Ms. Sparkle" I said as we exited the base

"Ok. Follow me, everypo..." She started to say but caught herself before she said 'everypony'

"Don't worry about it" I assured her "Don't change how you talk just because I'm not one of you"

"Ok, if you say so" She replied as she turned and started walking with the rest of us behind her.
As we walked, I began to notice odd glances from my companions. Not in contempt, but of curiosity. I decided that the best way to make calm them was to talk.

"If you have a question, just ask. I really don't mind." I said

"Well, I did have a few questions." Said Twilight, "like first: What are you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked

"No, I mean like...like" She responded, trying to think of a way to explain the seemingly simple question.

"I think what Twilight is trying to say is, for example, I'm a unicorn" Explained Rarity

"Yes, exactly" Confirmed Twilight

"Oh, I get it" I said "I'm a human cyborg"

"A what?" Replied Twilight

"I'm a human that has had some systems and parts replaced or enhanced by machines and technology" I clarified

"What's a human?" Asked Pinkie Pie
Ok, they don't have any other humans here. This should be fun.

"A human is a decendent of primates that is characterized by a large, well-developed brain capable of high level reasoning and problem solving." Guardian explained

"Ok." Twilight replied a little overwhelmed "What did you mean when you said parts of you had been 'replaced'?"

"Take a look." I said as I extended my arms "It means just that. Parts were removed and enhanced ones were installed in there place"

"Wow...that's just...wow" Replied Twilight, clearly blown away by what she just heard. I gathered that this place was centuries behind the technology I had, so trans-humanism, or is it trans-equinism, was still science fiction.

"Ok, my turn." I said changing the subject, "What are those symbols on your sides? Are they like clan marks, or tattoos, or what?"

"You mean these?" She asked while shaking her hind quarters, "They're called Cutie Marks"
Cutie Marks.
Right.
Why does this not suprise me?

"What do they mean exactly?"

"Well, a Cutie Mark is a symbol that represents a special skill or quality that makes a particular pony unique." Twilight explained
"Then what does yours mean?" I asked, "Are you an astronomer or something?"

"No, mine's actually for my talent with magic." Twilight said

"Got it, so who else has a question?" I ask

"Um, I had a question," Whispered Fluttershy, "Oh, but you don't have to answer it if you don't want to"

"It's alright Fluttershy, I really don't mind," I assured her

"Ok, umm...why does your eye keep doing that," She asked. One of my eye's had been replaced with a

"Doing what?" I said but quickly realizing what she meant, "Oh, you mean changing color?"
She nods

"Well, you know how some animals can see different ways?" I began. The shy Pegasus seemed to perk up when I mentioned animals, "Like snakes can see things that are hot, and owls can see at night? Well, my eye can do the same thing, the color represents which kind of vision I am currently using"

"What kind of vision can you have?" interjected Rainbow Dash

"Well I have standard grey where I basically see what you see, there's green night-vision where I can see in the dark, I also have blue X-ray which acts like a hospital X-ray scanner, and I have orange thermal vision which detects heat from diffrent sources and shows me what it looks like."

"Are you, like, a spy or something?" Rainbow asked

"No, I'm not clever or good-looking enough to be a spy." I replied sarcastically. I'd been called a lot of things, but 'spy' was a new one.

"Ah got a question for ya." chimed Applejack, "What were those thing ya put on your back?"

"Oh, those were miniguns." I said, trying to think of how to explain what they are "They spin and fire tiny pieces of metal really fast. Let's just hope I don't have to demonstrate"

"I noticed you wearing clothes unlike anything I've ever seen." said Rarity "I simply must know, what is it made of?"

"It's made of a combination of depleted uranium, titanium alloy and carbon nanotubes all pressed together into a plate that is then placed on top of a layer of ballistic nylon." I answered
Rarity cocked her head to the side in confusion

"It's made of hard metals and soft fiber that stack together to form layers." I repeated simplifying my answer

"Oh, ok." she said still not really fully understanding.

"I'm just curious, where exactly are we going?" I asked Twilight

"Well, according to the book, the Elements of Harmony were last seen in the Palace of the Royal Pony Sisters which is located in there" She points to the wooded area I hadn't even noticed in front of us, "the Everfree Forest" she recites

"THE EVERFREE FOREST!" exclaimes the other five ponies

"Alright, I'll bite. What is so dangerous about the Everfree Forest?"

"The Everfree Forest just ain't natural" said Applejack

"Animals care for themselves" added Fluttershy

"And the clouds move on their own" said Rainbow Dash

Ok, now I'm confused. What the hell do they mean 'not natural'? Everything they just said IS natural in a forest. Well, I guess I should just play along and ask later.

"We have an important job to do here," I began, "and honestly, how bad could it be when the Ancient Warrior is on your side? Come on, lets show this 'Nightmare Moon' who's boss!"

"YEAH!" the ponies cheered in unison

"But...," whispered a soft voice, "it's really dark in there"

"Not to worry Fluttershy, I got it covered." I assured her as I reached to my right sholder. I pressed a small switch on the side of my head causing an LED flashlight to flip out and bath the area in white light. Switching to night-vision, I followed Twilight into the forest with the rest of the ponies close behind.
After a short hike, we came to a small cliff the overlooked the forest. I decided this was the perfect time to get a good view of the area from the air. I removed the metal cylinder from my hip and walked to the edge.

"Guardian, download into mobile platform." I commanded while throwing the cylinder into the air. In a second, the cylinder produced a pair of tandem rotor blades that spun with a hum, suspending it in mid air.

"Guardian, get me a good view of the terrain."

"Yes Captain." he responded. I hit a few buttons on my right arm and a holographic computer display materialized. I synced up with the drone and I could see everything he could, which amounted to no more than trees and a river.

"Can I help you, Ms. Dash?" I asked of the pegesus hovering just over my shoulder

"What is that thing?" she asked as she pointed a hoof at the green display.

"Its a hologram, like the one Guardian used back where you found me. Its linked to Guardian's platform up there," I answered pointing to the drone, "so I can see what's around here, but it looks like its just trees"
That's when I felt the ground move.

"Uh, did anyone else feel that?" I asked

"Feel what?" Asked Applejack

"The ground just shook a little"

"Nah, Ah didn't feel a thing"

Then the cliff face gave way. The four flightless ponies and myself began hurtling toward the edge. Thinking quickly, I stretched my right arm toward the mountain and launched my grappling spike. The spike drove itself firmly into the rock face and extended a series of serrated teeth that held it in place. I would be fine, but I still had to stop the two closest ponies from hurtling over the edge.

"I will catch the pink one, Captain." reported Guardian as he dove to snare Pinky Pie with his own grapple cables.
That's when I saw Rarity slide by but it was to late to catch her hoof so I grabbed the only thing I could: her tail. I grabbed the purple piece of silk and felt her pull against me and kept her from falling off, but I knew there would be hell to pay for this.

"I Gotcha!" I exclaimed as we ground to a halt inches from the edge. I let go of Rarity's tail and stood up, now it was just Applejack, Rarity and I on the cliff.

"Well now that that's over, could I offer you two a lift to the bottom?" I offered trying to sound relaxed

"Hmpf, well since it is the only way down" huffed the angry unicorn. Yep, I pissed her off

"Well , if it wouldn't be too much trouble" replied the orange pony

"Ok then, one of you climb on my back and hold on tight. I'll carry the other with my free hand" I said. Applejack quickly jumped up and locked her hooves around my waist, ensuring a tight hold, while I picked up Rarity and held her under my arm. Walking to the edge, I retracted the grapple from it's previous place and fired it again, this time near the edge of the cliff, I inched myself off until just my boots were above it.

"Uh, Captain," said Applejack nervously "Have ya ever done this before?"

"Calm down AJ, usually when I'm doing this I'm getting shot at. We'll be fine." I assured her and pushed off, repelling down the rock face. As soon as I pushed off, both ponies tensed up in fear, which I guess makes sense considering they probably never have been rock climbing. Two minutes later, we touched down and the both of them jumped to the safety of solid ground. I retracted the grapple spike and turned around to see a very pissed off cobalt-eyed unicorn staring at me.

"Hey, I'm sorry I grabbed your tail like that Rarity." I apologized. She stood up on her back legs and reared back her left hoof. I was too distracted by the fact that these ponies could apparently balance on there back legs, that I only just barely managed to back up and avoid Rarity's smack.

"Rarity, I'm use to dodging swords and bullets." I said as she fell onto her front two legs "You, I could dodge in my sleep"
She just mumbled something about her tail being ruined. I turned around quickly. I know I saw something just dart into the trees.

"Uh, are you Ok Captain?" Asked Rainbow

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said "Just thought I saw something. Why don't we get outta here before more stuff starts falling."

Author's Note

Longest one yet, Hooray. 10 points to whoever can guess what Captain Archangel thought he saw.

Manticores and Musical Numbers

After making sure everyone was alright and prying Guardian's drone away from a very thankful Pinky Pie, we continued on the path to the castle. I didn't talk much, as I was thinking about what I thought I saw and talking it over with Guardian.

"Hey G, did you see that thing from before?" I mentally said to Guardian

"Affirmative." he answered, "I did indeed detect an anomalous energy signature in the area you specified"

"Any idea what it was?" I asked

"Negative, the signature was only recorded for approximately .08 seconds before disappearing but its shape suggests that it may have mearly been interference as this area, as Ms. Jack so eloquently described, ain't natural."
I laughed a little at Guardian's imitation of Applejack's accent, but I knew he could have been right: this place was unnatural.

"Well, keep scanning for it." I ordered, "If it appears again let me know"

"Of course, Sir."
As we walked, the forest seemed like it was getting darker and more forboding and I could see my companions were getting nervous, but we had to push on. I still had some questions, so what better time than now to ask them.

"Hey Rainbow" I said "what did you mean when you said the clouds here move on their own?"

"I mean the weather is out of control, no pegesus can keep it in check" she explained

"Wait, you mean pegesi like you and Fluttershy make weather happen and not air currents?" I responded in amazement

"Well, Fluttershy doesn't really handle weather jobs, but yeah; me and a team of weather ponies take care of the weather in Ponyville: making it rain, clearing clouds that sort of thing" she continued

"Pegesus ponies are uniquly gifted with the ability to walk on and manipulate clouds." explaned Twilight "it's like a kind of passive magic they possess"

"Ok, so if Pegasi have weather magic and unicorns have...active magic I guess, then do regular ponies also have magic?" I asked.

"First of all, the proper term is 'Earth pony'." corrected Twilight "Second, yes they do, but it is even more subtle than the pegesus magic."

"How so?"

"Well, it is a kind of natural magic that has developed due to their close relationship with the earth and nature."

"Oh, ok, so Applejack and Pinkie Pie are capable of manipulating nature."

"Not exactly, it's more like they work with nature and help it do what it wants instead of forcing it to do what they want"

"Oh, I get it now" I say, not really understanding.
After a short break in the conversation, I heard a voice.

"Mr. Archangel, could I ask you a question?" Inquired Rarity

"Go for it."

"I noticed that there is a gem in the middle of your chest," She said "And it is unlike anything I have ever seen. I simply must know what it is"

"Oh this" I said gesturing to the glowing circle in the center of my chest "it's a Lapotron Emerald. I use it as my power cell."

"I've never even heard of such a gem."

"Well, technically its a composite of emerald and lapis lazuli, with some electronics to help monitor its energy."

"Oh you simply must let me take a look at it, it would go perfectly on the new dress design I have."

"NO" I blurted out accidentally startling Rarity "I mean, no, I can't let you see it. Once charged, a Lapotron Emerald has to remain in a special purpose containment unit. Removing a charged crystal causes it to destabilize and explode"

"Oh, I am sorry Mr. Archangel" she apologized, why I don't know "I had no idea"

"Not to worry, how could you have known" I assured her "actually, now that I think about it, I think I may have an uncharged spare cell back at my base that I could give you"

"REALLY!?" she exclaimed "that would be absolutely perfect"

"Sure, once this is over we can...wait, what was that?" I said

"Ah don't know, but it sure don't sound friendly" confirmed Applejack
Then out of nowhere a huge creature landed directly in our path

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?" I exclaim in confusion

"It's a Mantacore" explained a terrified Twilight

"Mantacore are creatures that combine a lion's body, draconic wings, shark teeth and a scorpion's tail" recited Guardian
It took a step forward and slashed at us. Ducking out of the way to avoid it, we all watched as Rarity delivered, I guess you could say a double-hooved buck, right into the Mantacore's face.

"Take that, you ruffian!" she said triumphantly. But her victory was short-lived as the Mantacore recovered and gave a mighty roar, which was apparently enough to send Rarities mane into complete disarray, making her run for cover.

"My turn" I declared "G, boost power to strength"
And with that I charged the Mantacore, intent on doing some damage. As I approached, it lashed out with its tail which, with the boost I received from my implants, were easy to evade until I got within range. In one motion, I sent an uppercut directly into the beasts chin causing it to recoil, leaving its ribs open to a left hook and a roundhouse kick. But just like with Rarity, the Mantacore recovered and fought back. With a swipe of it's tail, I was sent airborne over the six ponies and directly into the trunk of a tree which I collapsed against, stunned by the impact. When I finally regained my senses, I stood up and walked back to the group and watched as Applejack rode the Mantacore like a rodeo champion. I doubled over laughing at just how ridiculous this looked and apparently the Mantacore heard me, because when I looked up, a bright orange cannonball was flying at me at high speed. Bracing for impact, I caught Applejack, who was flying at terminal velocity, and was shot back into the same tree.

"Sorry 'bout that" apologized Applejack as she hopped off of me "thanks for catchin' me though"

"Ugh, no problem" I said dazed as I stood up a little shaky "this thing is going to get it now"
As I charged at the Mantacore I noticed that Rainbow Dash was making a multicolor cyclone around the creature. Perfect, that is the perfect distraction so I can get in a finisher. But, then the Mantacore deflected the Pegasus which was now rocketing toward me like a rainbow artillery shell.

"OH COME ON!" I exclaimed as I was hit by Rainbow Dash which flung us both back into my favorite tree again. Landing in the imprint I had been working on and slumped back down onto the ground dazed.

"Captain" said Rainbow concerned "are you ok?"

"I'll be fine" I said "just give me a minute"
As I stood up, Rainbow and I both looked on in fear as Fluttershy approched the manticore speaking calmly and softly, nuzzling its paw. Dumbstruck, the two of us rejoined the group and watched as the manticore turned over its paw to reveal a huge thorn, she then gently removed the thorn and was immediatly tackled by the manticore who began licking her like a happy puppy.

While Fluttershy had the manticore's attention, the rest of us picked our lower jaws off the ground and snuck around the creature. Once on the other side, Twilight and I waited eagerly for Fluttershy to follow us so we could ask her how she knew what to do.

"Fluttershy, that was amazing" said Twilight "how did you know ?"

"Oh, I didn't" she confessed "sometimes we all just need to be shown a little kindness"

"Captain, the energy signature has just appeared" reported Guardian

"Where?"

"Signal lost" said Guardian "I am sorry, Captain. It did; however, appear to be moving in the same direction as we are"
That's when I noticed the thorn was gone. What is going on here? I'm starting to sense something is wrong here.

"Captain, is something wrong?" inquired Twilight

"Huh, oh, no, I'm fine. Lets move on"
After the manticore, we all had a new-found respect for our gentle friend. I was still thinking about that weird entity that was apparently following us, but I tried to forget about it. I decided to ask Fluttershy a question.

"Hey, Fluttershy" I said trying not to startle her "you really like animals, huh?"

"Oh yes, I love all my little critter friends" she replied with a renewed energy "they are just like us, they like when you're kind to them"

"Well, you seem to have quite a bit of experience with animals" I said "is that what you do instead of weather jobs like Rainbow?"

"Yes. I take care of all the little animals" she said "I give them food, shelter, and medical help if they need it. Actually, that's how I met some of my little friends like Hummingway the hummingbird"

"Wow, you really are an animal lover" I said

"You have no idea" interjected Rainbow Dash "she's the only pony I've ever seen have a tea party with a bear, an alligator, and a snake"

"I'll take your word for it" I said with a laugh
As we walked through the forest, I could see the trees were getting thicker. As I attempted to make sure none of the ponies became seperated from the group, I heard a symphony of screams from the group.

"What? What's wrong?" I said as I drew out my tomahawk, ready to do battle with whatever came up
They didn't say anything, they just pointed at a tree in front of them which happened to have a mildly startling face on it. that's when I noticed that ALL of the trees around us had the same kind of faces. I just rolled my eyes in disbelief.

"Really? That's it?" I said "You do realize that it's just a tree, right?"

"Y-y-yeah, but the f-f-faces are s-s-scary" stuttered Twilight. I turned to face the tree

"Maybe so, but it's a tree" I repeated. Then in one swift motion, I raised my axe and sent it flying toward the tree, hitting it dead center with a satisfying THUNK.

"See? It's not going to hurt you"
That's when I heard the laughter. We all looked over and watched as Pinkie Pie giggled and made faces at one of the trees.

"Pinkie, why aren't you scared?" asked Fluttershy

Because it's a tree I thought as I retreaved my tomahawk.

"Oh girls, don't you see?" she replied. And that's when she started singing.

"When I was a little filly and the sun was going down..." she began

"Tell me she's not..." groaned Twilight

"The darkness and the shadows, they would always make me frown..." Pinkie continued, hopping around happily

"She is" confirmed Rarity

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding" I complained punctuated with a facepalm
Thats when Pinkie started to push everyone toward the trees and encouraging them to laugh. The crazy part (by comparison) was that as they laughed, the faces disappeared, and we were actually having a fun time defeating the army of scary trees. By the end of Pinkie's song all of the trees were back to normal and we were all laughing and having a great time, until I saw it. G warned me that the energy signal was back, which I confirmed with the sight of a very fast moving purple mist that disappeared almost instantly.

"You saw that, right G?" I asked mentally

"Affirmative" he responded "I confirm that that anomaly is indeed the signal that we detected at the cliff, as well as near the manticore. I also suspect that that entity is responsible for and will continue to be responsible for the troubles we face on this mission"

"I fully agree, let's not keep it waiting"

Rivers and Ravines

As the ponies and myself soldiered on, I began to think about my part in all of this: I was suppose to be an ancient warrior, a being of such power that, apparently, the ponies buried me in a state of suspended animation for a time when my skills were again needed. But I wasn't so sure. To these ponies, I may be a juggernaut but I'm still human.

"Partially human" Guardian corrected. I hate that he can read my thoughts sometimes.
Anyway, I also have no way of knowing when I was placed in that state, as all time logs are eather irreperably damaged or have been wiped clean.
My mind was jolted back to reality by the sound of running water. Sure enough, we approched a clearing the was bisected by a wide, fast-flowing river. Our group moved to the edge of the river to see if there was a way across, when I heard a faint sound upriver.

"Can you hear that?" I asked the group

"Hear what?"
"I hear something up that way" I said as I pointed upriver

"Come on y'all, lets go check it out" suggested Applejack
And with that we all moved toward the sound I had heard. As we grew closer everyone else could clearly see the source of the sound. Sitting in the river was a huge serpent, crying to itself and flailing its tail causing the river to flow faster and rougher. We all drew closer.

"WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE SUCH TORMENT?!" howled the creature in a slightly effeminate voice

"Excuse me sir, why are you crying" inquired Twilight

"Well, I don't know" the serpent began "I was just sitting here, minding my own business, when this tacky little cloud of purple smoke just whisked past me and tore half of my beloved mustache clean off, and now I look simply horrid"

"Are you serious?" groaned Rainbow Dash

"That's what this is all about?" said Applejack

"Hey, we could always just even it out by cutting off the other half" I offered as I brandished my axe. I quickly rolled out of the way as a large, scaly fist slammed the ground where I had been.

"DUDE, I WAS JOKING!" I yelled at the sea snake, then Rarity chimed in.

"Captain, maybe you should let me handle this"

"Good plan, I'll be over there" I agreed as I walked toward a tree and sat down.
After a few minutes of listening to Rarity and the serpent talk beauty and fashion, I decided now would be a good time to check my equipment. I removed my right sholder guard, grabbed my axe, and using the armor plate as a grindstone, began to hone the blade. As I began to fall into the familiar pattern of grinding the blade, I didn't even notice the purple unicorn who had walked up and sat down next to me.

"What are you doing, Captain?" she asked

"Huh?" I said as I was jolted from my trance "Oh, nothing much, just sharpening my axe"
As I continued to work, Twilight began staring intently at my weapon.

"Hey Captain, What does that mean?" she asked pointing at the inscription on my axe's blade.

"It says 'Don't Back Down'. It's part of the montra my partner and I followed in the Special Forces"

"You had a partner?" she asked intently

"Yeah, Codename 'Sword Dancer'. She was my closest friend" I said putting the axe and plate down "this axe was actually a gift from her"

"That's nice of her, I think" she replied "So that is a really special possession of yours, isn't it?"

"Yeah" I sighed "It's the only thing I have to remind me of her. That inscription was her part of the montra" I paused, the memories of Sword Dancer coming back.

"Whenever we were in a bind, I would look to her and say 'Don't Back Up' to which she would reply 'Dont Back Down'. It was like a rallying cry. When she gave me that axe, I gave her the custom sword I had made for her with the inscription 'Don't Back Up' on its blade. That was so we would always have each other even when we were apart"

"Wow Captain, I never pegged you for the sentimental type" Twilight said

"Hey, she was my closest and best friend" I said defensively "she always had my back, and she was amazing in every way: smart, strong, beautiful, funny... the list goes on"

"Ok, ok calm down" said Twilight "I was only joking. But still, she sounds like an amazing friend"
Then the question.

"What happened to her?" she asked innocently. My heart sank and my reminicent smile faded which Twilight noticed

"I don't know" I said somberly "the last time I remember being with her was when we exchanged those weapons. I haven't seen or heard from her since"

"I'm so sorry, Captain" she responded with genuine concern

"Hey, don't worry about it" I said pulling myself together "she's tough, she can handle whatever gets thrown at her"
I tried to change the subject before the questions got any more painful

"Looks like Rarity and the serpent are finishing up" I redirected "let's go see what's up"
As we walked back to the group, we were all shocked by what was about to happen.

"Well, I simply cannot let such a crime against fabulosity go uncorrected" the unicorn declaired
Then she grabbed one of the serpent's scales and tugged it off
"OW!" exclaimed the creature "What was that for?"

"Rarity, what are you..." began Twilight, but she was stopped by Rarity's actions.
In a single move, she used the scale to slice her purple tail off, drawing a gasp from everyone in attendence

"Well, it's not as beautiful as it usually is" Rarity said while glaring at me

"Oh, let it go Rarity" I said as the other ponies began chuckling to themselves
Then using her magic she fused her tail to the remaining portion of his damaged mustache, creating a seamless connection.

"OH...MY...GOSH" eclaimed the serpent "My mustache...it's beautiful"

"You look positively stunning" said Rarity

"But Rarity" said Twilight "your beautiful tail"
Rarity dismissed Twilights concern.

"Oh, it's fine, my dear" she said "short tails are in this season. And besides, it'll grow back"

"So would his mustache" whispered Rainbow to Applejack

"Hey" said Twilight as she jumped into the water "It looks like we can cross now..WOAH"
The serpent had mad a bridge across the river with its body

"Allow me" he said
After we all had crossed, the serpent shooting me dirty looks the whole time, I began thinking about the conversation I had with Twilight. Why did I tell her all that? I could have just told her my axe was from a friend and called it at that. But then I realized that it felt kind of good to share that with her. She actually reminded me of Sword Dancer in her demeanor, which I guess made it easier for me to talk to her. Then another though entered my mind.

"Hey Rarity" I said with a little smirk "Why did I get smacked for grabbing your tail to save you, but you just let that serpent have your tail?"

"Because, darling" she answered "You never touch a mare's tail without permission"

"Touché" I said defeated
"And besides, I did thank you for the rescue" she continued, making me blush a little at the memory

"All right, all right, I get it" I said "Just don't fall off any cliffs because now there's nothing for me to hold on with"
Everyone laughed at that.

During the hike, a very thick fog decended on us.

"Ok, everybod...I mean everypony" I addressed them "try to stay with me. I can use my systems to see through the fog"
Using my different vision modes, I tried to keep an eye on all of the ponies so nothing stupid would happen. I also had to contend with Rainbow Dash constantly trying to scare the others.
Using the fog, I quietly snuck around behind Rainbow so I could scare her into stopping the pranking.

"Hey, where'd the Captain git to?" asked Applejack
From directly behind Rainbow I calmly answered "I'm right here." This illicited a yelp from the blue pegesus and causing her to shoot straight up in the air. What happened next, I don't know, mostly because I was busy laughing my ass off. but when I looked up, I saw a very pissed off Pegasus.

"That's not funny" she said Angerly

"Hey, don't dish what you can't take" I replied still chuckling to myself "maybe now you'll stop scaring everyone"
I then turned my attention back to the path just in time to see Twilight about to walk into a canyon

"Twilight, don't move" I ordered "there's a cliff there"
She immediatly stopped and backed up. Then the fog started lifting around the remains of a rope bridge. On the far side of the ravine, I could see the untied rope that the bridge needed to support the ponies.

"So, how do we get over there?" asked Twilight

"Twilight?" answered Rainbow Dash as she unfurled her wings

"Oh" she said realizing here mistake "right"
As Rainbow left to retie the bridge, a familiar voice perked up.

"Captain, I have detected that signature again" reported Guardian

"Location?"

"Across the ravine interacting with Ms. Dash" he answered
I tried to use my advanced vision to locate the signature. As I switched to thermal vision, I saw it. The largest thermal image was obviously Rainbow who was talking to three faint pegesi-shaped heat signatures.

"Hey, Rainbow" I called out "You alright over there?"
Then one of the signatures turned its head and looked directly at me. It temporarily increased in temperature and then blocked my vision with the fog.

"Hey, what's going on?" I said out loud while frantically cycling through my visions

"Something is causing enough electromagnetic interfearence to create a barrier that your vision is unable to penetrate"

"Is something wrong Captain?" asked Fluttershy

"Something is keeping me from seeing Rainbow Dash and the other three ponies over there" I explained "I don't like this"

"Other ponies?" asked Applejack

"I think so but now I can't see anything"

"Can't you just send your little assisstant?" suggested Pinkie.

"Negative Ms. Pie, the problem is not that something is in the way, but that something is rendering the Captain's equipment ineffective" explained Guardian. All five ponies immediatly looked at me for a translation.

"He said that something is making my electronics not work, so G can't use his drone to investigate because it would break" I said causing a chorus of oh's.

"Maybe she can still hear us" suggested Twilight

"Good idea" I agreed as I turned back toward where Rainbow was "Hey Rainbow, don't leave us hangin'"
Using my boosted hearing, I isolated the sound of the two voices on the opposite cliff so I could hear them clearly.

"Wait, I can hear them" I said as I channeled the voices through my armor's speakers.

"Absolutely, I would love to join" Rainbow squeeled in joy "just let me tie this bridge back up and..."

"NO! It's them or us!" interrupted an unknown voice

"Who was that?" asked Pinkie

"Shh, their still talking" I said

"You...Thank you for the offer" said Rainbow "really, it means alot, but I have to say no"
Then the fog lifted enough so we could see the blue pegesus return to repairing the bridge.

"Alright Rainbow" we all cheered

"What can I say" Rainbow shrugged "I could never leave my friends hangin'"
I was scanning intently for the three ponies I had seen but they were gone. So, I just filed that away as the purple mist again and got ready to cross the bridge which looked like someone had photoshopped it in from a freakin' Indiana Jones movie.

"You guys go first" I said to the ponies "I don't know how well this bridge will react to six ponies and a 500-lb. super-soldier at the same time"

"Good point, Captain" agreed Twilight. And with that the six mares crossed the bridge with little more than a few creaking boards.

"Alright Captain, your turn" Pinkie Pie called back happily
Well, here goes nothing
As I carefully made my way across the single scariest bridge I've ever seen, I began to relax a little.
This bridge is way stronger than I thought
And as though the boards heard my thought the second my full weight was on the center of the bridge, the planks gave way.

"CAPTAIN!" screamed the ponies as I fell. Thinking quickly, I armed my grappling spike again and fired it into the far side of the canyon where it embeded itself deep in the rock. With a snap of the cable as it tensed under my weight, I hung from the wire for a few seconds until I regained my composure.

"Captain, are you ok?" asked Rainbow Dash

"Oh my gosh, Mr. Archangel are you hurt?" asked a concerned Fluttershy who were both hovering in front of me.

"Yeah, I'll be fine" I assured them "but there is no way in hell I'm going across that bridge again"
I then began to retract the cable slowly bringing myself back up to the where my spike landed. Then once I was there I used the spike as a foothold to jump up to the edge of the cliff, and with the help of Twilight and Rarity's levitation, I was once again back on solid land.

"What is it with us and fallin' off of crap?" I asked jokingly to the ponies around me "How much further is it to the castle?"

"It should be right through this last bit of woods" answered Twilight

"Good, because I am getting tired of this place"

Lock and Load

After the harrowing experience at the bridge, I was ready to find those elements and finish off Nightmare Moon, who I'm sure either is in control of or actually is the mysterious mist that's been ghosting us this whole time. I swear, when I find Nightmare I'm gonna fill her full of holes for what she's done to my friends. Wait, did I just call these ponies my friends? I can't believe it...I...I made friends. All the more reason to keep up the pressure and and keep them safe.

"Captain, BEHIND YOU!" shouted Twilight. I spun around grabbing my axe when I saw a large dog lunging at me. The force of the attack knocked my tomahawk out of my hand as the wolf pinned me to the ground. Oh god, that smells bad. Before any of the ponies could even react, I had already begun my counter-attack with a bone-shattering punch to the wolf's leg creating a spray of...splinters? while the wolf was stunned, I rolled it off of me and jumped back to my feet, ready to finish it off. In one motion, I ran to the wolfs side and stomped my armored boot through its chest, killing it and causing it to fall apart like a house of cards. After making sure it was dead, I turned to Fluttershy.

"What was that thing!?" I asked panicked

"T-t-that's a timberwolf" she answered

"Wolf? you mean like a pack animal?" I asked

"Affirmative Captain, I detect a large number of creatures in the immediate area and closing fast" said Guardian over my speakers
"Damn, ok" I said grabbing my shield and pressing it's deploy switch causing the origionally guantlet sized shield to unfold into a full-sized tower shield "we're going straight through right now, stay behind me, keep up, and don't stop" All the ponies nodded in understanding as I deployed Guardian's platform.

"G, pull up the rear and make sure none of those things get to us"

"Understood"
I grabbed my axe, which Rarity had levitated over to me, turned down the path and started the charge

"Let's move" I ordered and began running down the path. Using my shield to bash any timberwolves out of the way and break through the lines they were creating, occationally switching my vision to Guardian's camera to check on the group.
After exiting the forest, we were greeted by the imposing view of the Castle of the Pony Sisters. But celebration would have to wait, because there was an army of angry timberwolves pouring out of the forest. I had to make a plan, fast.

"When I say so, run to the castle" I ordered "I'll hold them off"

"Captain..." Twilight began to argue

"Twilight, this is what I do, remember?" I said "now get ready"

Activating OTS Weapon system

Voice key required

"May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't" I recited

Voice key accepted
With a mechanical whirr, the covers on my shoulder guns retracted exposing my custom miniguns. More whirring and hissing signaled the guns were moving into position and expanding to firing mode. With a click the guns locked in position on my shoulders, the motors spinning up momentarily to test the mechanism. I could see in Guardian's camera the looks of shock on the pony's faces as my weapons deployed.

"Fluttershy, these things are made of wood, right?" I asked

"Yes" she confirmed

"Perfect" I switched the mass fabricator on

"Fabricate tracer ammunition " I commanded

Fabricating 5.56 X 45 mm XM780 tracer ammunition

Updating HUD
With that, my helmet unfolded and reformed around my head, where I was greeted with the green and red heads up display showing everything I needed to know.
"G, go with them" I ordered

"Affirmative"

Fire control system online

Targeting systems online

Slaving armaments to helmet

All combat systems activated and ready

"Get ready" I said my voice now more like Guardians due to the helmet's voice modulator
As I looked out over the gathering horde of timberwolves, all I could think about was how many times Sword Dancer and I had been in situations like this: outnumbered, against impossible odds. A small smile crept across my face as I recalled my old partner and our exploits.

"NOW!" I shouted "Get to the Castle"
I heard the sound of retreating hooves and whiring blades, signaling that they were on the run to the castle. I took my stance.
I spun up the guns as the timberwolves charged me, and a second later the guns roared to life. A wall of flaming lead was raking the pack of wolves, lighting some on fire and generally causing havok. But they kept coming.

"Maximum fire rate" I commanded
The guns spun even faster, breathing fire and lead at a stagering rate. It was times like this I was glad I had that mass fabricator because I would have exhuasted any ammo I would have carried.
The wolves were determined, I'd give them that. I drew my sheild in front of me and drew my axe ready to finish off the lucky few who survived my 12-barrel barrage. At this point only a handful were left, but I had a problem: with the combination of increased fire rate and incendiary rounds, I was overheating the guns and needed to let them cool before the barrels melted. I compromised, deciding I could sacrifice one gun and stopped my left one, letting the right one Keep up its hail of bullets. That's when one of them did something unexpected: it jumped at the gun and severed the connection arm dropping the gun in a melting pile on the ground behind me.
I was stunned that it acted so intellegently, then I realized that the other gun was vulnerable, so I quickly retracted it and switched to my axe and sheild. I was surrounded by six timberwolves. I could see all of the wolves in my helmet, so I waited for them to make the first move.
The one directly behind me moved first. I sidestepped and smashed its head with the flat hammer-head of my axe. Dead.
The next to attack was to my left and he met his end when he rammed head first into my sheild.
The remaining four attack at once, all colliding with each other and crumbling into a heap where I had been.
As I surveyed the wreakage,I noticed some movement. Ssome of the parts were moving to a single pile where they were reforming into a giant Timberwolf.

"OH COME ON! What is this Voltron crap" I exclaimed in disbelief
The new super timberwolf looked at me in anger and charged. I dove out of the way and quickly fired back with my minigun, the rounds just impacting instead of igniting.

"Great, now it's too thick for the tracers to work" I observed "new plan"
Then I remembered how easy it was to break them apart. Maybe I could blow it apart from the inside with a demolition charge. I decided to go for it.
I waited for it to charge again, and jumped on its head driving my axe into it for a hand hold. As the beast flailed in an attempt to shake me off, I primed the charge and waited for the perfect moment to throw it into the creature's mouth. when the chance came, I took it and chucked the bomb straight down its throat. I quickly jumped off the creature and readied the detonator.
I turned back to the angry wolf and pressed the button starting the timer. That's when an idea hit me and I couldn't resist

"Bad dog" I said calmly as the timer expired
With a thunderous explosion, the charge blew the creature into shrapnel which bounced harmlessly off my armor.
I stood for a second, catching my breath, then I radioed Guardian

"G, do you read me"

"Affirmative, Captain"

"Give me a sit-rep"

"The elements are gone" he said "as is Ms. Sparkle"

"Where are they?"

"Transmitting location now. Be careful Captain, that signal is with her"
I started running to the location

"C'mon G, aren't I always?" I said sarcastically

"No" Guardian replied

"Hold position until I say otherwise, keep those ponies safe"

"Affirmative"

The Final Battle

I was in a dead run toward the waypoint provided by my assistant. I knew that Twilight was in trouble and I was determined to keep her safe. As I made my way, I analyzed the data and determined the exact position Twilight was in: she was inside one of the outer towers on the top level.

"Why can't they ever be on the bottom floor?" I complained sarcastically
As I approached the tower, I prepped my grappling spike, boosting its launch power to the max. I stopped at the wall and caught my breath for a few seconds before looking up the wall for a suitable entrance using my telescopic vision. After a few seconds of scanning, I found my point of entry: directly up the wall from me was a large stained-glass window, and even better was the crenellations on the tower's roof provided me with a suitable grapple point. I raised my arm and fired my spike which flew straight up and embedded in the hard stone, extending its teeth after impact for a better grip. I redirected power to the cable retracting motor and began to ascend the tower quickly reaching my destination. As I peered through the stained glass window, I could see Twilight trying to do something to a set of six spherical stones, which I assume are the Elements of Harmony, with her magic. That's when I saw a dark pony twice Twilight's size wearing an ornate helmet and chest plate of dark metal. That must be her, Nightmare Moon. She appeared out of a purple mist with a flash of light and was looming over Twilight, saying something, most likely threats. I had to act...now.

"Guardian, patch me through your speakers." I radioed Guardian

"Done."

"Girls, it's me, Archangel. I found Twilight and the elements, but Nightmare Moon is here to" I told them "Follow Guardian and get here as soon as you can."

"We are inbound, Captain."

"Good, see you here"
I planted my boots firmly against the glass, giving myself plenty of power to push off. I activated my helmet to block the glass flechettes that were about to rain down, I took a deep breathe and pushed back as hard as I could. As I swung out, I kept my eyes squarely on my target: Nightmare Moon. I swung back and made contact with the glass, shattering it. I detached from my cable and hit the ground with a roll, standing up and running headlong into a completely paralyzed Nightmare Moon. I dropped my shoulder and blasted full force into the evil pony, sending her sprawling into the far wall with a sickening smash. I positioned myself between Twilight and Nightmare, shield at the ready, never taking my eyes off the latter.

"Pick on someone your own size, Jackass!" I shouted as I clanked the bottom of my shield on the floor.

"C-Captain?!" said Twilight in amazement, "How did you...?"

"It's what I do, remember?" I replied, "Are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine," Twilight replied recovering her composure

"Good. Do you think you can make the Elements work?"

"I don't know," Twilight admitted, "But I have an idea"

"Do whatever you need to do," I said drawing my axe "I'll hold Nightmare off"
As soon as I mentioned her name, Nightmare regained her senses.

"How DARE you attack me!" she thundered "You will pay for that"

"And you will pay for attacking my friends," I shot back, "or did you forget about the cliff, the Mantacore, and the Timberwolves?"
Nightmare looked at me oddly, like she didn't quite understand what she was looking at.

"Who are you?" She asked

"I am Captain Archangel," I proclaimed, "And I'm here to put an end to this"
Nightmare Moon laughed mockingly at my statement

"You can't be serious, warrior," she said unimpressed, "I am one of the most powerful magical beings known to pony kind, and you are just one...whatever you are"
I just shook my head and laughed causing her to look at me in confusion

"What is so funny"

"You obviously have no idea who you are dealing with" I said, making sure I was clear "You don't scare me. Your magic doesn't scare me, and I highly doubt the two together will scare me either."
I activated my remaining minigun which swiveled into position, drawing another confused stare from Nightmare.

"Fabricate ammunition: FMJ" I commanded
Fabricating 5.56X45 mm full metal jacket ammunition
I aimed the gun at the wall next to Nightmare and unleashed a 30 round burst. She jumped away, clearly having no idea what just happened.

"Impressed?" I asked

"Your abilities are impressive but now it's my turn." she declared charging her horn. She reared her head back and then snapped it forward, sending a bolt of light at me. I threw up my shield which blocked the energy: Titanium, gotta love it.
I fired back with a stream of lead. As she ran to dodge it, I followed her, drawing a line of bullet holes along the wall. she ran behind a pillar, but she never came out the other side.

"What's the matter Nightmare?" I taunted looking around for the villain, "You scared?" I heard a noise behind me. I turned to see a pile of glass and brass casings rising into the air enveloped in a dark blue aura. I was confused why they were floating, until they snapped into pointing at Twilight.

"Oh no you don't!" I exclaimed as I jumped between the unicorn and the projectiles, deflecting the shards with my armor and shield. Then, I felt a burst of energy as Nightmare fired a bolt severing my gun from its mount, landing with a crash on the hard stone floor.

"GAHH, What the..." I exclaimed in shock, falling to one knee

"Captain!" Twilight panicked as she ran to my side, "Are you ok?"

"Yeah" I confirmed as I stood back up "Keep working with the Elements. Don't worry about me"
I charged at Nightmare with my axe drawn, and my shield ready. I slashed at the unicorn pegesus making her dodge and weave much faster than I thought she could, until I surprised her with a shield bash that sent her into a pillar. She recovered and attempted to stomp on top of me which I deflected with my shield, striking out with my axe, hammering her chest plate. she staggered a bit but recovered and fired three quick magic bolts: one struck my greave and left a burn mark, another made contact with my helmet but glanced off the adamantium reinforcement, the last struck my shoulder and knocked off my shoulder guard. I returned with a series of slashes and shield swipes. I realized this was getting me nowhere, so I decided to break out my secret weapon.

"Your CQC isn't bad, but this has gone on long enough." I declared, "Time to end this"
I opened the cover on my power cell and began the process.

Charging Lapotron Cannon
With a loud hum, my precious crystal began stockpiling energy, glowing a brilliant Rainbow Dash cerulean. This new development caused a wave of shock to wash over Nightmare when she realized the gravity of the situation. Then I heard voices.

"They're up here"

"Giddy-up everypony"

"Reinforcements have arrived"

"You lose, Nightmare" I said as my friends arrived through the entrance.

"No...NO, I will not be defeated!" then Nightmare transformed into mist and entered my power cell chamber causing my power levels to fluctuate wildly. I could hear the energy arcing over my armor and metal parts, my body flailing in response to the sudden spikes and dips in power. I fell to my knees. I could see the ponies all looking on in shock as I was torn apart from the inside by Nightmare.

Power systems unstable, activating safeguards
With that my systems cut the connections to my Emerald, and I fell flat on the ground, as Nightmare shot from my systems toward Twilight.

"Twilight, MOVE!" was the last thing I remember saying before I lost consciousness.

"Cap.... .. you ..ed me?"

"Captain ..n .ou he.r me?"
I was awoken by a voice in static

"Guardian?" I asked "That you?"

"Affirmative" he replied "I have stablized your systems, but the power fluctuation damaged your power cell. It will no longer recharge and is currently stablized at 37% capacity"

"Perfect" I said with equal parts relief and dread. I could hear Nightmare Moon threatening my friends behind me.

"You ponies have been a thorn in my side for far too long" she stated "and now it's time to fix that"
Guardian told me Nightmare was storing energy, for what I assumed was a magic attack to 'fix' the problem. With all my strength, I immediately pushed myself up and drew my shield. As Nightmare prepared to unleash her attack, I dashed in front of the mares intercepting the beam. After a few seconds, the attack stopped leaving my shield scorched but intact.

"I don't think so" I declared

"Captain! Y-you're ok!" exclaimed Twilight

"Hey, don't back up..." I began

"Don't back down" Twilight finished creating a warm feeling in me

"But..but that's not possible" stammered Nightmare in disbelief "you should be dead"

"While my friends are in danger, I will never be stopped." I proclaimed proudly. Nightmare shook her head and regained her composure.

"That is irrelevent. The Elements of Harmony are no more" she said gesturing with her hoof to the gravel on the floor.

"I don't care" I said "I will never let you hurt my friends" which I punctuated by stomping my armored boot on the ground.

"You just don't get it, warrior" she said triumphantly, rage building in me like a tightening spring "you have lost"
Then Twilight perked up and walked around me

"No, Nightmare" she challenged "It's YOU who doesn't understand. You think the Elements of Harmony can be destroyed just like that?" punctuated, stamping her hoof on the stone floor

"Well you're wrong" She continued "Because the Elements of Harmony are right here"

"What?" both Nightmare Moon and I asked. Twilight turned to Applejack

"Applejack, who reassured me when I was in doubt, represents the Spirit of Honesty."
As Twilight spoke, some of the stone shards levitated and began orbiting Applejack. Twilight turned to Fluttershy.
"Fluttershy, who tamed the Mantacore with her compassion, represents the spirit of kindness"
Again, more shards began orbiting the pegesus, eliciting a squeak of surprise. Twilight looked over to Pinkie Pie.
"Pinkie Pie, who banished fear by giggling in the face of danger, represents the spirit of laughter"
More shards, and a giggle from the puffy pony. Twilight addressed Rarity.
"Rarity, who calmed a sorrowful serpent with a meaningful gift, represents the element of generosity"
Shards again. Twilight turned to Rainbow.
"Rainbow Dash, who could not abandon her friends for her own heart's desire, represents the spirit of loyalty"
More shards orbited the pegesus. Then Twilight looked up at me.
"And Captain Archangel, who willingly risked life and limb to protect his friends, represents the Spirit of Courage"
Now there were shards orbiting around me. What's going on? Twilight turned back to Nightmare.

"The spirits of these ponies and this soldier got us through every challenge you threw at us"
Nightmare laughed

"You still don't have the seventh element" she pointed out "the spark didn't work"
I hate when the enemy has a point

"But it did! A different kind of spark" she began as she turned toward us "I felt it the very moment I realized how happy I was to hear you, to see you, how much I cared about you, and when I realized just how far you were willing to go for me. The spark ignited inside me when I realized that you all are...my friends! You see, Nightmare Moon, when those Elements are ignited by the spark that resides in the heart of us all, it creates the seventh element: the element of magic!"

At that point, the shards began glowing and spinning faster and the seven of us began to levitate off of the ground. A sphere of energy appeared above us and in a blinding flash, the shards converged on each of us. I could feel a power run through every vein and circuit in my body, then another blinding flash of light.
When the dust cleared, we were all back on the ground. Well, actually, I had been dropped on the ground again, everyone else had been placed there gently.

"Ow" I said as I stood up

"Oh, my head" said Rainbow holding a hoof to her temple.

"Everypony okay?" asked Applejack
An excited squeal was heard from Rarity.

"Oh Rarity" said Fluttershy "It's beautiful"

"I know" Rarity said admiring her tail which had magically reappeared "I will never part with it again"

"No" Fluttershy corrected "Your necklace. It looks just like your Cutie Mark"
She was right. Each of the ponies was now wearing a golden necklace with a crystal design in the shape of their respective cutie marks.

"Aw yeah" said Rainbow holding her ruby lightning bolt

"Look at mine, look at mine" Said Pinkie happily bouncing around with her new blue opal balloon

"Wow, you guys look awesome" I said. All the ponies began staring at me

"What?" I asked

"Captain, look at your armor" pointed out Rarity
I looked down and saw what she meant. The panel that covered my power cell was now surrounded by a slowly spinning golden gear, gleaming against the light of my dying power cell. I looked further and saw that the golden gear was repeated on the outer part of my upper arms, the back of my hands, and according to Applejack, the pupil in my optic unit had been replaced with the same shape.

"Wow." I said in disbelief "This is amazing"

"Gee, Twilight! I thought you were just spoutin' a lot of hooey, but I reckon we really do represent the elements of friendship" said Applejack

"Indeed you do." said a new voice
I grabbed my axe and deployed my shield, which was also emblazoned with the gear, and got ready to fight this new threat.

"Show yourself!" I called out. Then through a window I hadn't busted through, a tall pegesus unicorn with a pure white coat, a perpetually flowing mane and tail of four pastel colors, and wearing golden...uh...I guess shoes is the best way to describe them, a golden necklace and a crown.

"Identify yourself!" I ordered

"Captain!" hissed Twilight from behind me "What are you doing!? That's Princess Celestia!"
I looked to my friends, who were all bowing in front of the regal creature. I felt a metal hoof on my shoulder and turned to see the owner.

"At ease, Captain" she said in a soft, soothing voice "I mean you and your friends no harm" I panicked a little at the mistake I had just made.

"Y-your majesty" I stuttered as I backed away and snapped to attention "I meant no disrespect, I..."
A soft chuckle came from the Princess

"It's fine, Captain," she said calming me a bit "I understand your concern"
By this time the ponies had risen from their bow and had gathered around the Princess. She addressed her student.

"Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student" she said "I knew you could do it"

"Wait, you said it was just an old pony tale" I heard Twilight say but I was too busy to hear the rest. I heard a sound from behind us and fearing Nightmare Moon may still be a threat I moved to investigate. Sure enough, I saw a Nightmare Moon, but something was different. She was half her normal size and lacked the armor she had been wearing. Regardless, she was still a threat so I drew my axe and reported my findings to the Princess.

"Uh, Your Highness" I said "You may want to see this"
I heard the sound of wings and hooves as the princess and ponies all gathered around.

"Princess Luna" she began as she addressed the small unicorn pegesus "It has been a thousand years since I have seen you like this. Time to put our differences behind us. We were meant to rule together, little sister"

"Sister?" we all said in shock

"Will you accept my friendship?" asked Celestia

"I'm so sorry! I missed you so much, big sister" answered Luna as she hugged her sister

"I've missed you, too"
Then I heard someone blow their nose and say:

"Hey you know what this calls for?"

The New Beginning

"How do we get back?" I asked "'cause there is no way I'm crossing that bridge again"

"Simple Captain" answered Celetia "with the help of my sister, I can teleport all of us back to Ponyville"

"Wait, teleport?" I asked slightly worried "That sounds like it could end badly"

"C'mon Captain" Twilight interjected "this is Princess Celestia. I think she knows what she's doing"

"Ok, but if I come out of this messed up, I am going to be furious" I warned

"It's settled then" declared Celestia "gather around everypo..." she hesitated

"It's fine" I assured her "I really don't mind"

Then Celestia's horn began glowing a pale cobalt, while Luna's glowed a deep blue, surrounding all of us with a bubble of magical energy. I was trully freaking out as I had never teleported before, but I had heard that teleportation has usually ended badly. In a bright flash of light, I realized that we were all now standing in front of a large tree that had a door and windows in it.

So this is where the Keebler company headquarters is I thought to myself as I looked at the tree.

"Wait here everypony" said Pinkie Pie as she disappeared into the tree. I tried to follow her but I was stopped by the sound of power saws, pnematic wrenches, a blow-torch, and an elephant. Fifteen seconds later, the door opened and Pinkie ushered us all in.

"How...but...what the. huh?" I stuttered in amazement as I walked in. The building, which appeared to be a library of some sort, had been decorated with streamers, balloons, confetti, and had snacks, games,and other pony party-goers.

"Captain" said Applejack "there's one thing ya need ta know 'bout Ponyville: If Pinkie Pie was involved, don't question it."

"Got it" I answered with a smile.

"C'mon everypony" squeaked Pinkie "IT'S PARTY TIME"
A cheer rose from all the ponies as they began enjoying the party. Before I had moved from the door, a voice spoke in my head.

"Captain" it said "need I remind you that your power cell is currently at 10% power capacity and falling. I recommend replacing it now"
I threw Guardian's drone and he activated it.

"Good idea G" I answered "do me a favor and head back to base and grab one for me, would you?"

"As you command" he replied obediently as he flew out the door. Where would I be without you, Guardian
I began walking around the party, not really participating as I'm not really a party guy. I eventually found a small balcony that had a nice view of the town and was relatively quiet. I leaned on the banister and reflected on what had transpired. I soon began thinking about Sword Dancer again, just reliving old memories, when a cup of punch levitated its way in front of me.

"Woah" I paniced as I sliced at the cup with my axe "Oh, hi Twilight"

"Hi Captain" she said as she walked more cautiously

"Heh, sorry about that" I apologized nervously sheathing my axe "still not used to magic yet"
Twilight walked up to the railing and placed her forelegs over it.

"Don't worry about it" she assured me "I'm still getting used to what you do to"
She took a sip of punch and looked back at me

"What are you doing out here" she asked "the party is inside"

"I know" I responded "I'm just not much of a party guy. Don't tell Pinkie"

"Don't worry, I won't" she replied with a giggle "So, what are you doing out here?"

"Just thinking" I answered

"Thinking about your partner?"

"Yeah" I said realizing something "Sorry, I don't know why I'm always thinking about her"

"Hey, it's no problem" she said placing a hoof on my shoulder "the way you described her, she's worth remembering"

"I guess" I said as Twilight removed her hoof "I just hope this party doesn't end like the ones Sword and I use to go to"
Twilight looked a little curious.

"Why's that?"

"Well usually" I began "Sword and I would go to some little bar or club, just to hang out, have a few drinks, talk, that sort of thing. After a while, some drunk guy would stagger up to the two of us trying to put the moves on Sword. She'd reject him, but he would persist. I would intervene and be insulted for my augmentations, and then Sword would defend me. Then, he'd try to force himself on Sword, which is inveritably when I would punch them across the room."
I stopped to let Twilight stop giggling

"Yeah" I said shaking my head and smiling "I got us kicked out of alot of places like that"

"So you protected her"

"And she protected me"
There was a silence, which I broke with a question.

"Hey Twilight" I said

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking, if the Elements of Harmony all took the form of the cutie marks of the six of you" I gestured to the gear in my chest "Do you think that this would be my cutie mark if I was a pony?"
She thought it over for a moment and answered

"It is quite possible, although you ARE the first human to ever have an Element"
I turned my head slightly toward the entrance to the balcony

"Don't look now Twilight, but everyone else is watching us" I whispered

"Really?" she responded "I wonder why that is?"

"They all think we are in a relationship of some kind, since we get along so well"

She giggled again "Oh really? How can you tell?"
I pointed to my temple

"Computer Assisted Social Interaction Enhancer or C.A.S.I.E. for short" I explained "basically it enhances my ability to read social situations. An after-market upgrade allows my computers to even interpret brainwave patterns"

"Wow" Twilight said genuinly impressed "How many different gadgets do you have?"

"Enough" I said vaguely "Watch this"
I turned back to the balcony

"Hey Rarity, you can come out now" I said "I actually have something for you"
She walked out on the balcony blushing a bit from being caught as four sets of hooves retreated from the door.

"I have no idea what you mean, Captain" she said trying to save her dignity

"Sure. Anyway, I almost forgot that I said I had a spare Lapotron Emerald for you"
Rarity's eyes lit up at the mention of the crystal
I entered the release code into my arm, causing a hiss of air to signal the opening of my power cell chamber. The gear spun like the knob on a padlock until eventually the support frame that contained the crystal slid out of my chest, exposing the green and blue gem. I removed it from its housing and held it out to Rarity, who had a look of terror on her face.

"C-captain!" she stuttered "What are you doing!? I thought you said that removing that from its container would cause it to explode"

"Normally, you'd be correct" I began "these crystals are special because they draw in and store energy from numerous sources. The only problem is that, when they are left alone, they will keep absorbing power until they can't hold any more and vent themselves by expolding. That is why the electronics are in place: to regulate its charge pattern. But when Nightmare Moon entered my systems, she caused a huge surge of energy to bombard the crystal, which burn it out so it wouldn't recharge"
I looked at the unicorn who was looking at me with a familiar look of confusion.

"Long story short" I clarified "This crystal will not explode. Also, there is a little energy left in it, so it will glow on its own"
Rarity imediately took the crystal from my hand with her magic and began squealing to herself like a schoolgirl.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you" she cheered "This will be PERFECT for my new design" And she ran off.

"Well, that was not what I expected" I said a little shell-shocked

"But Captain" asked Twilight "don't you need that to keep you alive?"

"I already sent Guardian to pick up a new one from my base" I assured her "and besides all of the critical systems in my body have a back-up system that lasts for a few hours"

"Did someone say my name?" asked Guardian as he hovered onto the balcony, crystal in his grapple cables.

"Well" I said as I turned "speak of the devil"
Guardian dropped the crystal into my hand and realigned himself with my systems.

"You may want to take a step back" I warned Twilight, who complied
I placed the crystal into its housing and closed and sealed the chamber

"Here goes"
I channelled the energy from my emergency battery into the power cell, causing it to flash brightly as it was shocked into life.

"Power cell activation successful" reported Guardian

"Back in business" I said triumphantly

"Ms. Sparkle" Said a gruff voice from the door "The Princess has requested your presence as well as the Captain's"

"On our way, Sarge" I said
The guard-pegesus was shocked that I could tell his rank, but he kept his stone demenor and walked back to his post.

"How did you know he was a sergeant?" asked Twilight as we walked to into the library

"Lucky guess" I replied with a shrug
We where soon standing in front of Princess Celestia. Twilight bowed and I saluted.

"Captain Archangel of the Augmented Division of Special Operations" She began "I would like to extend an offer to you"
How did SHE know that

"As you wish your majesty"

"I offer you the position of leader of a new breed of defender. Your mission will be to stand ready to fight any evil that threatens Equestria or its inhabitants"
I was stunned. Was she really offering me the chance to use my skills for more than just petty squabbles?

"I accept your offer Princess" I answered gesturing toward the ponies "But on one condition: that I remain in Ponyville with my friends"

"And I would also like to remain in Ponyville, Princess" added Twilight

Celestia chuckled softly, then answered "Permission granted, both of you"

"Well, in that case" I said as I snapped to attention and saluted my new commander "Captain Archangel, Royal Equestrian Special Operations, reporting for duty ma'am"

This was going to be the best deployment ever.