St. Petersburg, Russia, June 2020 AD

Ever since arriving in Russia, Yon-Soo had learned to expect the unexpected. Russia was always seen as a country of stark contrasts. Urban sophistication and consumerism in the cities greatly contrasted the poverty of rural, less affluent areas. People here were fairly amiable, even if they sometimes came off as a little shady. The soldiers Yon-Soo met at the outpost were tough, hardened people who actually had a sense of humor, even if it was dark at times.

Yon-Soo was surprised it wasn’t always cold in Mother Russia. In fact, this summer was actually a pretty warm one, with beautiful flowers blooming everywhere and bees buzzing around gathering their share of pollen and nectar. Yon-Soo had never tasted more delicious varieties of honey in his life.

But now wasn’t the time to savor sweets.

The outpost in St. Petersburg was always pretty busy. Aside from constantly having to patrol vigilantly for any Newfoals, PER, or Royal Guards, Yon-Soo and the other soldiers here had to keep their ears and eyes open for any new information on the other side of the battle and on the other fronts.

But possibly their most important duty was to train.

Word had gotten out about Porter’s ability to turn Yon-Soo and Hyong-Jin from scared civilians to good frontline soldiers, and the fact that the American and South Korean military were planning to implement some of his methods while teaching civilians how to defend themselves against anyone trying to ponify them.

Yon-Soo looked at the “class” he had in front of him, and had to suppress the urge to shake his head. The majority of them were fairly young kids, mostly in their teens. The youngest was a boy that couldn’t have been any older than twelve.

Yet another thing the Solar Tyrant would have to pay for; robbing these innocent kids of their futures, forcing them to take up arms and be a part of this horrible war.

Yon-Soo didn’t like it, but he would have to deal with it for the time being. Right now, they were all at war for a battle for humanity’s survival, and any and all able-bodied people would have to contribute in some way.

“Alright class,” Yon-Soo said to them in English, with the toughest voice he could muster, “my name is Yon-Soo. I’m from South Korea, and I’m your teacher in the ways of guerilla combat. I know most of you are scared-”

“Us, scared?” one of the kids, a fourteen year old boy interrupted. “As if! We all want to learn how to fight as soon as possible, right guys?!”

The rest of the class muttered in Russian to each other, for the most part disagreeing with this kid. They were scared and nervous.

Yon-Soo could understand. He was never really a fighter, but had to buckle down for the sake of this fight, and because he didn’t want to just be a passive load that got converted without a fight. Even though he knew he’d sooner die than be ponified. He reasserted himself.

“Okay, look everyone. I know you’re all nervous, with the exception of this one outburst. Trust me, I have been in your shoes before. I don’t like the idea of fighting either, but it’s something you all have to train for. The Solar Tyrant doesn’t care if you’re kids or not, she and her agents can and will shove potions down your throats and turn you into mindless pony-shaped drones that will worship her and blindly follow her like slaves. Do any of you want to die like that?”

The kids became quiet as they thought for a moment, a few of them collectively shivering with horror. A girl answered, “I certainly wouldn’t want to be. I like being human.”

“Me too!!” yelled the twelve year old.

So the class all listened as Yon-Soo explained different types of guns to them, combat strategies, and finally, being able to shoot.

The kids were clearly scared out of their minds handling the guns. It pained Yon-Soo in fact to see Maria, a girl no older than fourteen years old who was as sweet and gentle as any girl could be, struggle as she held her rifle, trying to fire at the target.

Children should never have to fight like this. They should be at school, be playing outside, with no worries or cares.

Yon-Soo swore to himself that if he ever met the Tyrant face to face, he would give her pain.

Porter hated to admit it, but he was worried, and Yon-Soo shared the same sentiment.

From what little news they could gather these days, as most communication lines were down due to the barrier’s expansion, the guys had more than enough reason to. The Ponies for Human Life were teaming up with the UN security forces to find ways to not only save as many people as possible, stop the Equestrians still loyal to Celestia from adding more to their number of newfoals, but also try to find a way to stop the barrier’s expansion.

He wasn’t a pessimist by nature, but he had a bad feeling that this was going to be nothing short of almost impossible.

But what really got Porter worried was the Human Liberation Front. News was rare, and rumors gotten from the grapevine was about as trustworthy as a bucket of sour cream that was a month past its sell by date, but from what he gathered, the HLF was definitely a pretty extreme bunch.

His family was capable of caring for themselves, thanks to his father having served in the Gulf War of the early 90s, and his mother learning self defense for herself. If the shit hit the fan, they had somewhere to go, know how to survive, and they wouldn’t go down without a fight either.

No, what really had him worried was Hyong-Jin. Even though it was very strongly discouraged on base, strongly anti-pony talk still went on frequently here. And Hyong-Jin usually listened to it and even agreed with those sentiments.

Of course, Hyong-Jin had good reasons to hate the Equestrians, but Porter knew from firsthand experience that letting your hatred of the enemy consume you was never a good thing. He had seen many good soldiers lose their lives by letting their hatred cloud their judgment.

He wondered too if Hyong-Jin had a death wish.

***
“Attention, everyone! Today, our facility is hosting some very important guests,” the main commanding officer announced. “I know this news has come on very short notice, but I expect things will still be neat and orderly when our guests arrive.”

“Who are these guests?” another Russian soldier asked.

“The head of the Ponies for Human Life, Ambassador Lyra Heartstrings, and the Commander of the United Nations Military Forces Marcus Renee. They will be accompanied by a few other ponies and soldiers.”

Upon hearing the name Marcus Renee, Yon-Soo noticed that a strange look cross Porter’s face, as if it reminded him of something. But his attention was quickly diverted to something else that was much more… aggravating.

“Ponies?” Hyong-Jin asked sharply. “Why let them here?”

Porter was about to tell Hyong-Jin to be quiet, but Yon-Soo was a step ahead of him. He angrily grabbed Hyong-Jin by the arm, dragging him out of the cafeteria and towards a quieter hallway, secluded from the other soldiers. When Yon-Soo was sure they were alone, he angrily glared at his fellow soldier.

“Seriously, what is up with you? Do you realize how you’re sounding?”

Hyong-Jin angrily shot back, “Well why should anyone give any kindness to the aliens trying to exterminate us all?”

“Because, I’ve read a lot of things about Ambassador Heartstrings and what she’s done, and she is, from what I can tell, the real deal. Did it ever occur to you that not every pony agrees with what Queen Celestia’s doing?”

“But-”

“Look, Hyong-Jin, I know you have a lot of reasons to hate the Equestrians, and I don’t blame you for feeling that way. But for God’s sake, you have got to let this prejudice go. Queen Celestia and the ponies that follow her cause talk about us humans as being a bunch of evil, hate-filled savages who need conversion to be saved. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to prove them right in any way.”

Hyong-Jin only scowled and Yon-Soo had to suppress the urge to pull out his own hair and growl in frustration. It really annoyed him just how stubborn the other man was. He had to admit, he really hoped maybe some facetime with actual ponies, ones that did support the humans, could change Hyong-Jin’s mind.

“Everyone, raise a welcome to Ambassador Lyra Heartstrings and her escorts, as well as to Colonel Marcus Renee!” the commanding officer yelled out.

A small group of ponies emerged from the bus. At the front was Lyra. Yon-Soo noted that the ponies, on average, were really small. Following Lyra was the mare Yon-Soo recognized as Bon-Bon, as well as three stallions wearing outfits reminiscent of a formal military uniform.

The first one was a pegasus with a stocky build, and he possessed a crimson red coat, blue eyes, and a short dual-colored mane and tail that looked like fire. He had a cutie mark of two swords crossed over a shield.

The other escort was an earth pony, and he looked a bit older with a weathered look to his green eyes, a tan colored coat, grey mane and tail, and a silver horseshoe cutie mark.

The last one surprised Yon-Soo the most - this one was like a miniature zebra, stripes and all. He was tall and lithe in frame, with dark eyes, a spiky mane that had blue streaks running through it, and a cutie mark of a spear.

Marcus Renee didn’t look like a slouch either. He was a tall, imposing man with short brown hair, and a very hardened look in his eyes that spoke of a man that saw more than enough horrifying things over his life. He wore a simple green US Marine uniform. A few other soldiers in similar camouflage uniforms came along, one black, two Hispanic, and another white.

They came up to the commanding officer, Colonel Renee shaking his hand and the CO giving a courteous hello to the ponies. They took their seats while Marcus went to the microphone and began to speak.

“Hi, as you all know, I’m Marcus Renee, commanding officer of the PHL and UN task forces, and I’m here as part of a tour I’m doing in order to evaluate everyone’s performance. I am personally grateful for everything that everyone here has done, from our pony allies that lay their lives down for the human race, and to the great people that are fighting the good battle to preserve our species. Thank you to all of you, and good luck out there.”

Everyone clapped for a moment until Lyra took the stand. She adjusted the microphone to her height and began to speak.

“Hello everyone. I am Lyra Heartstrings, former ambassador of Equestria. Like Colonel Renee, I’m very grateful for the great work everyone is doing here. I know it’s still pretty difficult for some of you to wrap your heads around this current situation, but if we all pull together, we can and will find a way to stop this madness and have true peace and friendship between us. Thank you, and good luck to all of you.”

The room clapped for her as she took her seat next to the Colonel and her other escorts. The CO of the base took the stand as well and announced into the mic, “Okay, everyone here is to demonstrate our capabilities as a defense base. Our civilian training division and offense division will be noted the most. Now get back to work!”

“YES SIR!” everyone saluted before scrambling back to their posts.

Yon-Soo himself got up from his seat and was about to go with Hyong-Jin back to their post and show Colonel Renee and Lyra their work as civilian trainers, but Porter almost single mindedly ran over to Marcus, who also approached them. The looks on their faces were strange, as if they were nostalgic or something.

“Marcus! I can’t believe it,” Porter breathed.

“Porter? It’s really you?” Marcus asked him, shocked.

“Yeah, it is. It’s been a long time, hasn’t it?”

Marcus nodded and replied, “Years in fact.”

Yon-Soo couldn’t help himself now. This was just like a plot right out of a soap opera and though he felt cheesy doing this, he had to.

“Will someone here please just explain what’s going on?! Just how do you two know each other?”

Porter sheepishly said, “Well, you remember I told you a while ago that my father was a Gulf War veteran?”

When Yon-Soo and Hyong-Jin nodded, Porter continued, “Well, Marcus’ father was also a veteran in that same war. They fought in the same squad, and well…”

“My dad gave his life to save his soldiers during a skirmish gone bad. Porter’s dad was one of them,” Marcus finished solemnly.

“Oh…” Yon-Soo whispered. He could easily visualize it, and it frightened him. He could see the clear grief in Marcus’ face, and the equally solemn one on Porter’s face.

“A couple months later, I went to the funeral with my family. My dad… he really didn’t know how to feel. He really felt like he shouldn’t have survived that. Everyone tried to be strong that day, but it was just too much. I was too young to really understand what was going on. It wasn’t until later that I understood the implications,” Porter reminisced.

“Wow,” said Hyong-Jin. He could understand the feeling; the survivor’s guilt, wondering why you survived when someone else died.

“He never forgot. Dad still pays his respects every year, thanking Marcus’ dad for saving his life at the cost of his own,” Porter added. “He still kept in touch with Marcus’ mom, on and off, over the years. How is she by the way?”

The look on Marcus’ face darkened, and the three other men all could feel the dread hit them. Bad news was coming for sure…

Marcus simply said, “She’s dead.”

“Oh God…” Porter gasped, “what happened?”

“It was when Celestia’s troops and the PER attacked the world’s top political figures. You remember Jacob, right?”

Porter nodded. Right now, he really hated that sick feeling developing in his gut; he just knew even more bad news was coming. He replied, “Yeah, your little brother. He was just a baby at the funeral, last time I remember.”

“Jacob grew up to be a Secret Service agent. He helped to get the President and his family to safety before the PER came, but…”

Everyone’s blood ran cold. They all understood too well what Marcus would say next.

Hyong-Jin was the first to find his voice. “He got ponified, didn’t he?”

Marcus growled, “Yes, by Celestia’s little drone, Twilight Sparkle. When we saw this on TV, mom was just completely heartbroken. The stress and strain were too much for her already fragile health, and she suffered a severe heart attack. The doctors did everything they could, but it was too late. She died about an hour later.”

The three other men became quiet. Marcus had lost the last two surviving members of his family in rapid succession thanks to this war. Hyong-Jin could more than empathize with that. Yon-Soo, meanwhile, had to admit that knowing this made him all the more grateful his own family was still alive and well.

Porter was too young to remember much about her, but what little he did remember of Megan Renee was that she was very kind and loving. The fact that she had managed to maintain that horse ranch all those years and raise her two sons by herself also spoke of a strong and resilient person. He now really regretted never getting back in touch with her.

‘After this war is over, I’ll visit her grave. Say goodbye and pay my respects to her,’ Porter promised himself.

Marcus decided to change the subject, “So from what I’ve been told, you three have been helping out with civilian training. Mind showing me?”

Yon-Soo piped up, “Of course, Colonel! Follow me!”

As they were about to go to the training quarters, one of the ponies suddenly ran up to them. It was the red pegasus.

“Hey, let me come along too! I’m very curious to see this stuff!” he said.

Marcus looked at the stallion and replied, “You sure, Firebrand?”

Firebrand nodded with assurance, and began to look over the other three men. Yon-Soo noticed the look on Hyong-Jin’s face. It was a rather hard, stony expression, but thankfully, he did hold his tongue.

“Well,” Porter said quickly to break the awkward pause, “let’s get going.”

As they walked Yon-Soo decided to try striking up a conversation with Firebrand, and hopefully, even get Hyong-Jin in on it.

“So, Firebrand, how did you get your cutie mark?” Yon-Soo asked.

Firebrand looked at him and replied, “Oh this thing? Well, I was a little colt at the time I got it. Basically, this new pony came to my school, and he was kind of an easy target for these bullies because he was very small and shy, and they would not leave him alone. I couldn’t stand watching them hurt him like that, especially because the teachers were so bad at being able to stop it, so I decided to stick up for him myself. They just laughed at me as well, and I was kind of small when I was a foal, but I fought them off as best as I could. Even though I did get hurt pretty bad during the fight, I was able to drive them away. When it was all over, the school nurse and the pony I defended pointed out that I had gotten my cutie mark, and I realized then that my special talent was helping those that couldn’t fend for themselves.”

Yon-Soo smiled at that, and said, “That’s a really noble thing to do.”

Hyong-Jin was listening to this, and he had to admit, he agreed with Yon-Soo. Bullies had always been a problem in his own school growing up. He remembered bitterly how some kids frequently would step all over each other just to get the others’ food or possessions…

They approached the training room, where several regular looking civilians of all ages and walks of life were waiting. They stood up, saluting the soldiers as they walked into the room.

Marcus nodded to them, giving them the go-ahead to begin. Porter quickly got to business and said, “Alright class, today, we’ll be going over close quarter combat situation training. This is not only a very physically demanding exercise, but it also requires quick thinking. Are you ready?”

“Yes, sir!” the classroom said in unison.

The class was divided into three sections for each teacher. Yon-Soo taught his portion of the class how to load and safely handle weapons. Hyong-Jin covered close physical combat. Porter went over movements, strategies and formations. Marcus closely examined each man carefully, watching how well their students were absorbing their lessons and how effectively each individual instructor went over their material.

Firebrand remarked to Marcus, “Seeing how humans battle in real life is really different from all those movies I watched with my friends when we first arrived here. Why is that?”

Marcus just shrugged and replied, “Dramatic effect and rule of cool basically.”

“Oh,” was all the pegasus could say in response as the class was being wrapped up for the day. Many of the students looked tired, but fairly satisfied with the training they had gotten, and said good bye to their teachers as they all left, ready to implement what they learned today outside should things go downhill.

Marcus had to admit that he was impressed. He clapped for them, nodding in approval. “You guys definitely lived up to the hype. Everyone will have to learn how to fight and defend themselves. I can definitely see your teaching methods being very effective for training civilian resistance fighters. Congrats.”

“Thanks,” said Yon-Soo, feeling a rush of pride.

Marcus replied, “No need to thank me. Just simply stating the truth.”

Firebrand pointed out, “We ponies are gonna need some training too, don’t forget that!”

Marcus cracked a slight smile and replied, “Of course, Firebrand. But you already have some training.”

Firebrand tapped a hoof at the floor and said, “Only training, Marcus. No experience.”

“Don’t worry Fires, you’ll probably be out there helping out soon enough.”

And with that, the rest of the visit went on without a hitch. A general test of the soldiers’ combat abilities followed as well as an examination of their readiness for when the war would inevitably escalate. Everything was perfect; equipment, information gathering, fighting prowess and soldier morale was all good.

As the inspection went on, Yon-Soo also noted that Hyong-Jin was interacting with and actually getting along pretty well with the ponies. He and Porter both had to breathe a sigh of relief that this visit did help their friend with his old prejudices. Firebrand in particular was someone they all really liked and they had to admit they would miss him when he left.

And so, with their own work done, the visitors were getting ready to leave. Lyra had joined with Marcus as he conversed with the guys to say his goodbyes.

“I’m really sorry about what happened to Jacob and your mom,” Porter sincerely said to Marcus. “I wish I could’ve talked to them again.”

Marcus nodded and replied, “It happens through war, though. Your folks are doing okay though, right?”

Porter replied, “Yeah, they know how to take care of themselves. So far, they’re alive and well, helping the Human Liberation Front with destroying the old conversion bureaus.”

Suddenly, Lyra began to join in, saying, “Wait, did you say they were with the HLF?”

“Uh, yes, why?”

Lyra looked shifty and apprehensive as she replied. “Well, if I were you, I’d contact them as soon as possible and let them know to be really careful. The HLF certainly mean well, but they have been known for going over the line. I’ve seen some reports that many innocent ponies, even those that publicly defected from Equestria, have been harassed, even killed, by the more extreme factions of that group. Also, keep in mind of the fact that information these days can be sketchy at best. Given how brash the HLF are, that could get them, and your family, in trouble.”

Porter nodded grimly, knowing where Lyra was coming from. He hated that he barely was able to keep much contact with his family; aside from contact channels being limited as they were, information in general was difficult to come by. He was willing to trust Lyra, but would his family be able to trust the ponies they came by?

“I’ll keep that in mind Lyra. I know my family is capable of handling themselves, but it won’t hurt to let them know. Thanks.”

Lyra smiled slightly before her gaze shifted to Firebrand. “What’s up, Fires? You look like you have something to say. Tell me.”

“Well,” Firebrand stammered somewhat, “Miss Heartstrings, you’ve always encouraged me to look carefully and chase after what I really want ever since I was kicked out of the Royal Guard training program. I’ve done some looking, especially during the tour, and I think I’ve realized what I need. I want to stay here, with these guys.”

Lyra and Marcus’ eyes widened at this, Marcus himself asking, “Are you sure, Firebrand? I mean, this is a little spur-of-the-moment here.”

“I know,” the stallion admitted, “but I just have a feeling in my gut that I’m needed here, and I want to be here. I want to help these people out. And I really like Hyong-Jin and Yon-Soo and Porter. I feel, no… I know I can help a lot here and help them. If I can, Miss Heartstrings, I’d like to stay here with the St. Petersburg base soldiers and help them here.”

Yon-Soo seemed a bit flustered by that revelation as he asked, “We really made that much of an impression with you, Firebrand? In such a short time no less?”

“Yeah,” the red pegasus answered. “You and Porter are really great guys and I want to help you. And I also really like Hyong-Jin too. I know he didn’t like us ponies much at first, but I can see he’s starting to realize we’re not all bad, and I want to help him with moving past that too.”

Lyra smiled. “Oh Firebrand, I am more than happy to let you follow your heart. If you know staying here will help you discover yourself and contribute to them, then it’s not my place to hold you back. You are free to be here. But that doesn’t mean we won’t miss you.”

Firebrand’s wings picked up with happiness and he grabbed Lyra in a hug, saying ecstatically, “Thank you so much, Miss Heartstrings! I will miss you too! Being your bodyguard was a great honor, and I won’t let you down here.”

Lyra returned the hug and added, “I know you’re a great pony, Fires. You go and be strong.”

“I will, Miss Heartstrings. You go keep doing your good work.”

“I promise.”

It had been a couple weeks since Lyra allowed Firebrand to stay at the base, and the pegasus’ stay here had a double-edged sword effect. One one hand, some soldiers took very well to him; others not so much.

“I mean, come on,” Cadet Markov whispered as he looked at Firebrand, who was eating his lunch peacefully across the mess hall, “why couldn’t we be told about him staying here? Didn’t that idiotic ambassador think about how we’d feel about a pony sharing room and supplies with us?”

“Hey!” Hyong-Jin cut in angrily. “What were you saying about Firebrand there? I don’t think he’d really like others talking about him behind his back!”

Markov rolled his eyes and angrily said, “Well, wasn’t your family ponified? It’s because of his kind that your home country is nothing more than a radioactive wasteland.”

“But your government was the one that launched those nukes!” the North Korean fired back angrily, really hating how Markov brought up such a touchy and personal piece of information against him.

It was then that nearly everyone in the mess hall began to turn towards the two, and there were scattered chatterings that a fight was about to brew. Markov and Hyong-Jin certainly looked like they were going to going come to blows on this one.

“It’s because of your country that my homeland turned into a desolate hellhole in the first place!” Hyong-Jin also added.

“Oh boo-hoo, and you all were brainwashed slaves of a fat tyrant. You’re no different from the newfoals in that way,” the Russian soldier sniped.

That got Hyong-Jin fired up. He angrily shoved Markov, who retaliated with a right hook to Hyong-Jin’s face. In a matter of seconds, things escalated, with the two men tackling each other, punching, kicking, pulling at and trying to beat the other. Although a few fellow soldiers were egging the two on, most of everyone else tried to separate them.

Yon-Soo and Firebrand were among them, as the former got between the two men while the latter tried to restrain Hyong-Jin.

“Hey, look, fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help matters! Stop this right now!” Yon-Soo sternly said to them, as he and a couple other sensible soldiers tried to hold Markov back. Firebrand wasn’t struggling too much to hold back Hyong-Jin either, but he certainly did not look comfortable.

“Alright, everyone, break it up!” a senior officer shouted at them. “Sergeant Park here is right; we should not fight amongst ourselves, especially when an enemy doesn’t care what nationality we are, as long as we’re all turned into the same as them.”

A few tense seconds passed before both men realized the senior officer was correct and backed off. Markov spat, “Well take it from me: be careful.”

Yon-Soo frowned. He could tell Markov wasn’t saying this out of concern for their well-being; he just simply wanted to get under everyone’s skin, especially his, Firebrand’s and Hyong-Jin’s.

The situation was diffused and everyone went back to their own work. But Yon-Soo had a few words to say.

“Look, Hyong-Jin, I’m glad that you’re giving the ponies a chance and sticking up for Firebrand, especially considering how you were a couple weeks ago, but don’t you think you should reign your temper in a little?” the South Korean asked.

Hyong-Jin shrugged, “Well, hey, they were talking trash about my friend here. I can’t let that slide.”

“Um, yeah, I happen to be right here guys,” Firebrand spoke up. He then hovered up to look at Hyong-Jin in the eye and continued, “And look, Hyong-Jin, I appreciate you’re trying to stick up for me, especially because most people are still suspicious of us ponies, but look, I’m not defenseless. I don’t want, or need, anyone to get mad on my behalf. If anyone talks trash about me, let me handle it myself. Okay?”

Hyong-Jin sighed. Maybe he was overcompensating a bit for his previous prejudices a bit. Still…

“Alright, Firebrand. But you are my friend, and one of the few I have. That’s kinda what we do for each other right?”

The fire red pegasus smiled and replied, “Of course. And I’d gladly stick my neck out for you too.”

Yon-Soo jokingly said, “Aw, come on now, you’re all being sappy!”

The trio couldn’t help but laugh, savoring the light moment.

A moment cut too short by Porter, who rushed towards them, with a look of urgency on his face.

“Whoa, what’s with you, Ports?” asked Firebrand. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost or something.”

The American soldier said, “Everyone here needs to go to the training room right now. The CO and I found out some really serious matters we all have to attend to. Come on with me.”

The other three looked at each other, similar looks of dread crossing their faces. What kind of news could get Porter so riled up like this. They, as well as all of the other soldiers working on the base, followed Porter and the senior officers to the conference room.

Everyone collectively shared that sick feeling in the bottom of their stomachs, a bad feeling all around.

The CO looked no better; in fact he seemed rather scared.

He took a deep breath and grimly said, “The barrier around Equestria is expanding faster than we thought. Within a couple days, St. Petersburg will be wiped off the map. We have to evacuate this base, and get as many civilians as possible out of the city before it hits.”

Author's Notes:

Finally got a new chapter posted! Took me long enough!

I hope this wasn't too rushed in its narrative pacing, but Red's blessing gave me confidence. This is setting up the guys' little calm/rest before the action really kicks off in the next chapter. And I have a main pony OC in there too! I modeled his looks after Dalek IX's OC Firebird from "TCB: Conquer the Stars", but his personality will be less Ax Crazy and more of a "dedicated to the right thing" sort. The Porter/Marcus connection was just something that came to me as a "Hey, how about freaky coincidences" type of thought, and Red approved since it would've just been fun, and as another piece for Porter's character.

Stay tuned for the next chapter, where another couple of pony OCs come into the picture, the guys show off their skills on the field instead of a classroom\, the barrier in action, and scuffles with Royal Guards, PER and Newfoals! Kizuna out!