Once Luna had hung up I had to take a moment to collect myself. I don't want to be separated for this long, but if she believes that this will help make Celestia understand, then I'll support her on this. I take a final few breaths before heading back inside. I walk to the living room to see that Storm and Twilight are now missing. Fluttershy, Big Mac and Applejack are in a group hug as the others are just talking to themselves quietly.

"Where did Storm and Twilight go?" I ask.

"They went upstairs a bit ago." E'Claire says quietly. I nod to her before I go around and head up stairs. I swear if I find them fucking in my bed again I'm going to kick Storm's ass. I go to my room and open the door to find Twilight and Storm sitting in the middle of the room, hugging. Storm seems beyond happy while Twilight is crying lightly.

"Uh.... everything alright?" I ask as I step in.

"Yeah... better even." Storm says as he gives Twilight a kiss on the cheek.

"Is there any way Storm can stay behind..."

"Absolutely not. I'm going to need my lieutenant on this one. Sorry, but we're all going on this one." I say, making Twilight hug him a little tighter. "I'll give you two a few moments, but we leave in.... forty five minutes." I say before I leave the room. I head back down stairs and go straight to the map. I really need to learn to read Pony text, I have no fucking clue what I'm looking at.

"So... is this the end of the meeting or is there more?" Butterscotch asks as she approaches me.

"Well, basically. Hey, you know where Beakton and Flionence are? I cant read pony text..."

"You cant read?" She asks in astonishment. Ah fuck... its orientation all over again. I shake my head and continue to stare at the map until she uses her magic to make two points appear on the map. "Beakton is here, at the top of the Griffin state Birtalia. Flionence is at the bottom of the peninsula. You're going to have to cross the Divide, get over the Bridge and then either cross through the Great Lake or through the Griffin Colonies. At best... five weeks."

"Hmm... I'll do it in three days." I say as I turn away from the map and head towards the back.

"Three days! That's physically impossible! There's no way you're going to be able to get through the Divide that quickly... its just... impossible!" She says as she follows after me.

"Hows Moosden? Is there anything that needs to be brought to my attention?" I ask as I step out back and head towards my jeep.

"Are even listening to me?! You will not get there in three days..."

"Have you and E'Claire taken all of the supplies from the guard barracks to re-supply Moosden? I don't want you guys running out while I'm gone." I say as I pop the hood and check over the engine.

"AAAGH, yes! We did that yesterday. Food, blankets, and basically everything that we were able to put on our back are now in Moosden."

"Good. I want you to take all of the weapons and set them aside. When we get back I'll be taking most off them. Other then that, keep an eye on the surrounding area and stay out of trouble." I say as I shut the hood and begin to head back to my house. Butterscotch mumbles something to herself as she follows after me. I head inside and find everyone talking loudly to one another. I walk past them and head upstairs to my room. I walk inside and go to my closet where I begin to put my armor and weapons on. Once I have everything on, I grab my satchel and fill it with some spare clothes and some money.

"So... are we expected to defend Moosden or is that a figure of speech thing?" I look back to see that Butterscotch is still standing there, looking around nervously.

"Your life will fall before Moosden. That is the price of your error..."

"But I didn't do anything wrong!"

"But you didn't do anything to stop something wrong from happening." I say, silencing her. "You were a guard. You were suppose to protect them from people, not let them be extorted. If you can't do this, then I'll be sure you learn your lesson the hard way. And one more thing." I say as I approach her, making her shy away from me. "Running, is a very bad idea. Can you do this?"

"Well..." She says as she looks away and rubs her arm. "I don't know. This is a lot to take. I don't know right now becuase I've never had to deal with anything like this before. Being a guard was... I didn't really work ever..."

"Then I think you should stay." I say, making her look back up to me. "You lack responsibility. Discipline. This will force these things onto you. You will fail at first, but in time, I believe that this will help forge a strong foundation for your life. You need this. Can I count on you?" She looks away again as she thinks deeply about what I said. I place my hand on my revolver as I wait for her answer, hoping she doesn't do something stupid.

"*sigh* I'll try." She says as she looks back to me with a smile.

"That's all I ask." I say before I glance down at my phone. "I need to get going, think about what I said." I say before I walk past her and head down stairs. "Suit up." I say to Big Mac and Storm, getting the girls to tear up as they walk away from them. "I'll keep an eye on them, do my best to get them back in one piece." I say to them as they hug each other.

"Thank you." Fluttershy says as she holds onto Twilight and Applejack.

"Ya better bring mah brother back." Applejack says as she wipes her tears away.

"You're all going to miss Spikes birthday." Twilight says she looks up to me.

"Well... we'll just have to do something special when we get back." I say as I glance back to see Bantler and the others leaving. "You just tell Pinkie to save her party *shiver* A-game for when we get back, alright." She just wipes her tears away and nods to me. I sigh as I go to the kitchen and fill the rest of my bag with food. Once I finish, I hear the armored clanking of the others walking down the stairs. I walk over wait for them to say their final goodbyes.

"Just.... remember what I told you and make it back here, OK?" Twilight says to Storm as she hugs him.

"I will. I'll be back before you know it. I love you." He says as he hugs her back lightly, trying to keep his grieves out of her mane.

"You'll be OK without me fer awhile. Iffin ya get lonely, just go ta the farm and find AJ." Big Mac says as he hugs the both of them. "AJ, Imma countin on ya ta watch after Shy while Ah'm gone. Keep her safe fer me."

"Ah will big brother. You just stay safe and get here before the next harvest." Applejack says as she holds onto him.

"Big Mac..." Fluttershy whimpers as she holds him.

"Spartans." I say, getting their attention. "It's time." They both nod to me and follow me out back, leaving their crying families behind. We get into the jeep and take off without saying a word.

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

We sent the trip in complete silence. I don't know about them, but I'm just trying to keep a clear head about the mission. I don't know what to expect, but if its the Darkness, I can only hope to find one of their leaders. If we can take one of them out or even capture them, we could avoid something traumatic in the long run. But, that's just hopeful thinking. I expect some kind of twist where those assholes slip through my fingers, which is why I need to get there as soon as possible. The sooner I can get there, the sooner I can spring their trap.

The trip was made longer by my stopping periodically stopping to create communication towers. I think I made some eight or nine, which should be enough. These things help boost each others signals, so after four or five I was fine, I just wanted to make sure. Not only do I want to be able to speak with Luna, if Moosden calls, I need to be able to answer.

Luna. I seriously hope she knows what she's doing with Celestia. I don't like having to keep my distance from her... though I'm leaving anyway to another country to go fight the very people threatening us... its different. This is to stop someone evil from hurting others. What Luna wants is... to... well... its different.

"There's Crescent Cove." Storm says idly as we come to the top of a hill. Below us is a fairly small village. Most of the wooden houses or businesses are crammed together near the shore, where three long walkways stretch out into the shore. The only ship connected right now is a fairly large ship. Spotted all around the ship are griffins going about their work. Cleaning, tying down ropes, moving supplies.

"We'll get out here." I say as I turn off the engine and step out. I move to the back where I open up the benches and hand out their weapons. Once done, I bury the jeep a foot underground and set the Spartan logo on the ground a marker. "Hold on guys, I need to speak to you." I say, stopping them from walking off to the ship.

"What's up?" Storm asks as they face me.

"I suspect that there is going to be a fight, a real fight, in Flionence. Remember your training and keep your causes at heart. They will keep you alive. Trust me on that." They both nod to me so I continue. "Now, if you happen across any possible leaders, first priority is to capture. But if your life is at risk, do not hesitate to kill them. I prefer live soldiers over live prisoners. We're still on mid alert, so fire when fired upon. Watch each others backs, and make them suffer." They give a final nod before following after me.

As soon as we walked into the busy little village, everything seemed to fall silent. Everyone just watched us walk through the main street of the town, heading towards the docks. Some ran inside, but most just watched with wide eyes as we marched on. I can't really blame them though. A human and two armored and buff as fuck ponies just walked into their quiet little town.

"Miles!" Regina yells as she flies down from the ship to greet us. "A day early, I like that. So, where'e the rest of your squad?" She asks as she looks over Storm and Big Mac.

"This is it." I say, getting a confused look from her.

"Really? Well... OK then. Um... we just need to wait for... the... Equestrian forces to show up and... wow you are buff." She says as she walks up to Storm. "Hi, I'm Regina."

"I'm married." Storm replies flatly.

"Is it an open marriage?" She asks hopefully. Storm just shakes her head and flies up to the deck of the ship. "Is that a no?" She asks as she looks back to me.

"Yeah, its a no." I say as I walk past her.

"Eeyup." Big Mac says as he follows after me. We walk up the plank and take a look around the massive ship. It looks about two hundred meters long and twenty meters wide. Oddly enough, it has no masts. Instead it has two large nesting areas that have some cloth folded up inside. Below the nests of cloths are large stone furnaces. Judging by the height of the ship, I'd say there are three floors below us.

"Impressive, isn't she?" Regina asks as she lands beside us. "Say hello to G.C.S. Moonless."

"Where are the masts?" I ask as we start to walk around the deck.

"Masts? Miles, this is an airship. Those cloths will act like balloons and lift us into the air. We'll be able to move at about forty miles an hour." She says as I look into the large furnaces, that now make sense.

"Forty miles... so... about sixty kilometers then. Beats going by sea." I say as we move to the next one.

"Would this happen to be a war ship?" Storm asks.

"Yes. We have sixteen windless crossbows on the second floor and four drop hatches for alchemic bombs..."

"Whats yer load out?" Big Mac asks as we walk to the left side of the vessel and look over the edge, seeing the hatches for the cross bows.

"Incendiary, high explosive, stuff like that. The crossbows are standard bolts on them, though they can fire anything that'll fit really. Not to mention that every crew member is a soldier of the Griffin Colony air force." Regina says as we look over the edge.

"Miles?" I look back to see Shinning Armor walking up the plank in his purple Armor. "What are you doing here?"

"You can always find Spartans in the fight for good." I say as I walk over to him and shake his hand... hoof. I look behind him to see a group of about thirty ponies walking up the plank. Twenty of them are royal guards, ten are in Day armor while ten are in night armor. There's also a group of ten in what looks like black Kevlar armor... what the...

"I assume that you are Miles Eremita." Says a unicorn as he walks up to me. He's seems to be mostly dark red with a few random blue strips on his legs and face, with black hair. His thick black clothing covers up his mark. His horn seems to have been filed down to end in a point... ow? He has bright yellow eyes and seems... aloof.

"You found me." I say as the rest of the ponies get on board. "What can I help you with?"

"Princess Celestia had hired my outfit to assist you. Both here and later on."

"Wait... what?" I stare at him for a second, trying to see if he's serious. Damn... Luna must work fast if Celestia's already trying to protect me. "Well... thanks for the assist, but I don't think you'll be much help..."

"Trust me. We can get any job done. The names True Will, and we're the Ursas' Mercenary outfit." He says as the rest of the black armored ponies rank up behind him. I glance back to Storm and Big Mac before looking back to him.

"Contractors." I say bitterly. "Right.. look, here's the deal. I allow for your assistance on this, just be sure to stay out of our way. We wouldn't want anything to happen to you civilians." I say as I pet his head a few times. He just glares at me as some pegasis mare behind him giggles at him. I glance back at their ranks and then back to him. "Well..."

"Don't worry about us. We always get the job done, no matter the cost." He says before walking past me. I just laugh to myself as the group walks past the three of us. This is going to be interesting.

"What was that about?" Shinning asks as he walks up to me and follows me over to the railing.

"Ends up Celestia hired some private contractors to watch over me."

"Really.... that's... odd." He says as we both lookout to the horizon. "What do you know about the mission so far?"

"That its a farce. I know Steelwing, he's smarter then this. He only showed up to reel me in."

"Then why are you going. If it's obviously a trap, then wouldn't it be smarter to avoid it?"

"Sometimes. But they forgot something important." I say as look back to him. "What good is a trap, if the one being trapped knows there's a trap?"

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

Once everypony had left, we decided to hang out and try to comfort one another. So now we're raiding Miles's fridge for lunch.

"Ah could use a drink." AJ says as shut looks through the shelves. "This is too much fer me. What about you Shy?"

"Oh.. um... maybe a bit.. just a sip... maybe." Fluttershy says as she slowly hides behind her hair.

"What about you Twi? Want ta get something light?"

"Uh... I can't drink right now." I say as I try to avoid her gaze. Please don't push this AJ.

"Why not?" Of course.

"I just can't."

"Uh... is there a reason? Or do ya just not want ta get a drink? I mean, it is early an all.."

"I don't want to, sorry AJ." I say as I look to her and try to convince her. She stares at me for a second before she glances to Fluttershy.

"Really. You don't want to." She says as she steps towards me. Oh dear...

"Yes." I say as I step away from her.

"Really?" She says as she continues to approach me.

"Maybe."

"Really."

"OK fine! I would love a drink right now! But I can't." I say when I had touched the wall behind me.

"Why can't you?" Fluttershy asks as she walks up beside Applejack.

"Well....cause...*mumble*..." I say as I look away and rub my arm.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asks as they both step closer.

"I said...*louder mumbles*."

"Dangit girl jus spit it...."

"I SAID CAUSE I'M LATE!"

.................................................................................................................................................................................................

Once everyone was settled in it was decided to leave early. I was a little excited to see this hunk of junk move. I've got the princible down, its a dirigible. Or at least I think it is...

"Give me some lift griffins!" Yells Lars Sharpbeak, Regina's commander. He has brown fur and all black feathers with grey eyes. He's marching around the deck yelling orders at the griffins as the fill the balloons with hot air. They've actually expanded all of the way, making the length of the ship triple. As the furnaces send massive plumes of fire into the openings of the balloons, griffins would throw in different materials made to not only burn hotter, but for longer.

"Miles, could you come with me please? We need to form a plan of attack." Regina asks Miles as she heads to the stairs below. Miles looks back to me and Big Mac before heading after her.

"OYE! Earth pony, mere." Yells one of the mercenary unicorns as soon as all of the commanders disappeared. Big Mac and I look to one another before sighing. This won't end well.

"You mere." Big Mac yells back to him, making him roll his eyes. Him, along with four of his mercenary friends, came trotting right up to us, wearing smug smiles.

"What are you doing here? You're going to get hurt earth pony." I look around and notice that Big Mac is the only earth pony here.... unless you count Miles... actually, he's more of a unicorn.

"An whys that?" Big Mac asks.

"Dude, this thing isn't going to land. Without magic or wings you're kind of useless...."

CRACK

Before he could finish, Big Mac had grabbed him by his shirt and headbutted him, knocking him out.

"Anypony else gotta problem with me?" He asks as he advances on the others.

"Yeah, I do." Says a sandy tan pegasis mare. She has a mane that has several shades of tan in it, light grey eyes, and ha her mane up and under a black hat. As she walks up she blows a bubble from her chewing gum until it pops; then continues to chew. When she gets in Big Macs face the other just groan and look away.

"Dammit newbie, get out of here Dust Devil." Says one of the other unicorns to her. He's all black with red hair and yelloow eyes.

"Newbie?" I ask as I look over to Big Mac. "How much experience do any of you have?"

"I've..." Start Dust devil, only to get pulled back by one of the other mercenaries.

"None of your business! Look, we've been hired to watch after the three of you, and we think that it would be best for the earth pony to watch the ship. You're just going to get in the way." He says as he glares at Big Mac.

"Boomy, you're being an ass." Dust Devil says, only to get mean looks from everypony.

"Whats going on here?" Asks an orange pegasis with golden tipped wings, the black armor, and a green cap. As he walks up, all of the mercenaries stand at attention. "Well?"

"Just some friendly advice for the earth pony Camo Flash sir!" Says the unicorn.

"Your subordinates seem to think that my private here can't handle himself here." I say as I look to Camo Flash. "Lieutenant Storm Cloud, Spartan Regiment." I say as I shake hooves with him.

"Lieutenant Camo Flash, Ursas' Mercenaries." He says as he ends our shake. "I've heard about you fellas. That Diamond Dog attack sounded like hell."

"It was unfortunate, but we ended with a mission success." I say matter of factly. I look over to see that Big Mac is still staring daggers at Boomy. "Stand down Big Mac..."

"You don't want to get hurt." Boomy finishes. Here we go...

"That it. Imma kick yer ass." Big Mac says as he starts to take his grieves off, making the unicorn laugh.

"Boomy, shut the buck up. Storm Cloud, control your pony..."

"Mmm... naw. I'd like to show everypony what a trained Spartan can do." I say as I back up.

"What!? But..."

"Dude, Camo, I've got this." Boomy says as his back up backs away from him. Big Mac undoes a few latches and pulls his armor off....

FWOOSH

Everypony looks back to Dust Devil as she stares at Big Mac, eyes wide and wings erect.

"Dust Devil! Control yourself!" Barks Camo.

"But.... muscles." She says as she continues to stare. Big Mac ignores her and gets in Boomy's face, dwarfing the doomed pony.

"Make your move." He growls at Big Mac, who only snorts at him. They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, until Boomy made his move. He started to have his horn glow, but stopped when Big Mac had grabbed it and started to punch him across the face. As soon as they started fighting a crowd formed around them, cheering them on as they placed bets. After a few powerful punches he twists around and slams him onto his back. From there he backs away and waits for him to get up.

"Git up maggot!" He mocks as Boomy slowly gets up. Before he could get to his hooves. He lets out a primal scream as he charges at Big Mac, who only waits for him to close the distance. Boomy had meant to tackle Big Mac, but once he slammed into him, he just fell back onto his haunches. Big Mac just shakes his head as he rears up and picks his up by his horn. He walks over to the railing where he holds him off the edge.

"WHAT THE BUCK! THIS ISN'T FUNNY, LET ME BACK ON!" Boomy yells as he tries to latch onto Big Macs arm.

"Wheres yer magic now bitch?!" Big Mac yells at him as he continues to hold him out there.

"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! LET ME BACK ON NOW!" Big Mac yells out as he tosses him across the deck. He rolls a bit until he comes to a stop. He tried to get up, but stopped when Miles had stepped on his throat.... oh shit.

..................................................................................................................................................................................................

I sigh as I look down at the pony beneath my foot. I want to feel bad, but he was getting pretty racy, so I think I'll teach him a lesson.

"What's your name." I ask as I add pressure to his throat. I as add pressure to him, I pull out my trench knife and start to look it over, making him go wide eyed.

"I.... can't..... breath..." He gurgles as I choke him.

"OK I can't breath, let me give you a little friendly reminder. You're a private contractor. We're soldiers. You get paid too pretend to do the things we do on a regular basis. Make that mistake again, and I'll teach you the difference, are we green?"

"Super green." He mumbles back to me. I slap his cheek a few times before getting off of him. He gasps for air as he crawls away from me.

"GET BACK TO WORK!" Yells Lars as he walks past me and towards all of the griffins.

"SPARTANS! RUNNING SETS, GO!" I yell, making the two of them start running along the edge of the ship.

"URSAS! MOVE YOUR WORTHLESS FLANKS!" Yells True Will, making all of the mercenaries start to move.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT? GET MOVING!" Shinning yells as all of the gawking guards.

Once we had gotten everyone moving, we all stepped back under to get back to the meeting. The first floor is basically a long wooden hallway with doors lining the both sides of the hall. We all walk down to the fist door on the left and head inside to the meeting room. The room only has a large, low, round desk that has a map of the Griffin Colonies on it. Red tapestries cover the walls as well as a few chairs.

"Now that we're all back, lets get back to the task at hand." Regina says as she gets out her chair and looks over the map. We all take positions around and look on with her.

"Our scouts spotted him moving from Beakton, crossed off here, towards Flionence, circled here. Our course will drop us off below the city and we'll march in from there. Our plan is to pincer the city and, if time allows, wait for him to show himself. If in a day he doesn't show up we'll have to meet up with the city guard and scour the town. If not, then we move in on him. Any questions?"

"Any intel on the forces he moving with?" I ask as I look over the map.

"He was spotted with twenty other members. We have no intelligence on what to expect at... where ever it is that he's going to." Lars says.

"The Griffins will take the left flank while the Equestrians take the right." Regina says, looking around the room. "The Terradisians will... what will the Terradisians do?"

"Hmm... I will send my private with the griffins while my Lieutenant goes with the Equestrians. I will drive through the center and attempt to gain access from the side. If that fails, I'll regroup with the Equestrians."

"Ok, I'll assist you." Regina says as with a smile. "What about the Ursas?"

"We will split evenly to assist the Terradisians. I'll go with Miles while my lieutenant goes with the Equestrians and the rest with the griffins." True Will says from his chair.

"Excellent. Since this operation is taking place in the Griffin Colonies, we get priority on the prisoners. We will share any and all information gathered. It should take us about three days to get there, rest up... you'll need it."

A/N: Shout out to Camo Flash, BBB, and Fyreghost for having the first OC's appear in the story. If you wish to submit an OC, go to my blog. Please read the entire entry before submitting and please do not chat there. Brony on!

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