I was surrounded by darkness. I didn't know where I was, or what I was doing there. The only thing I could see was my own two hands in front of me. I looked around, trying to find any sources of light. It felt like I was in there for longer than an hour, yet I didn't know how fast time was operating around me.

I looked around even more, until I spotted a small light in the distance. Quickly, I walked towards it, only for it to disappear.

Not wanting to lose my spot, I quickly backed up, and noticed that the light was re-appearing. While backing up, I realized that the light was coming from a distant object, and it was getting closer as I moved the opposite direction it was at.

Finally, after backing up even more, I realized what the object was... it was a large tree, but it was made of diamonds, and it had twelve large branches on it, and six of them had strangely familiar patterns colored on them.

When I backed up to where it was in front of me, I stretched my hand out, and tried to feel it, to see if it was real. As I stretched my hand out, however, it backed away.

Having seen it backing away when I reached forward, I backed away myself, which made it get closer to me again.

When it made contact with my hand, however, a sudden series of frightening images rushed through my mind in the matter of seconds.

The first one was a large dragon-like pony creature with an antler and an ice-blue horn, both crooked. He also had one fang, and his arms and legs didn't match. One arm was a lion's arm, while the other was an eagle's. His left leg was the leg of a deer, while his right one was a dragon's. His eyes were yellow, but his pupils were red, and one was larger than the other.

The second one was a large alicorn-like creature, but this one wasn't a pony... it had green eyes and cyan wings, but it's wings were like the wings of a giant insect. She was standing next to a humanoid creature that was covered in shadows, so I couldn't see it clearly.

The third one was a unicorn that wore dark iron armor. His horn was as red as blood, and his eyes projected black smoke from the sockets.

The forth one was too large for me to see completely. What I did see, though, was an eyeball the size of a massive skyscraper opening up, which caused me to close my eyes, and flinch. When I opened my eyes up, I saw the fifth figure.

It was wearing MY armor, but when the helmet lowered, it revealed itself to be a creature that had red skin, and no eyes. It's face was unrecognizable, and from what I could tell, it was looking at me with a sad expression.

Then, a white unicorn with a blonde mane and the top of a tuxedo appeared in front of me, and smiled, revealing his teeth. His teeth, however, quickly stretched out, and became the shape of fangs, while a set of bat wings grew from his back. Standing beside him were two cloaked figures. One was a gryphon, while the other was a pony. The cloak covered it's appearance, but it's hooves were a pale shade of blue or cyan.

Afterwards, a cat-woman that stood on two legs appeared, and pointed her right claw at me, while a brown eagle appeared from behind her, and shape-shifted into a brown pony.

Then, a trio of little girls appeared in front of me, and had demented-looking smiles on their faces. When they opened their mouths to smile, their teeth shifted into fangs that pointed up, and their bodies morphed into elderly-looking ladies with long noses, and moles all over their faces. It was clear to me that they must've been witches.

Soon after that, a puddle of purple sludge appeared below them while they faded into the darkness, and once they were gone, the sludge lifted itself into a mountain-sized creature made of the stuff. It had a pair of arms that grew from beneath it, as well.

When IT disappeared, a beehive appeared, and grew into the size of a house. Out of the beehive stomped a large bee that glared at me, and pointed it's left hand at me. As it pointed, a scepter appeared into it's hand, a red coat appeared on it's torso, and a red crown appeared on it's head.

Then, the area around me turned blue, with bubbles flowing up, as if I was underwater. In the distance, I saw an old, ruined castle that had holes in the walls that used to hold it's majestic roof, which now lied in ruin around the foundations of the floor. The castle zoomed nearer and nearer to me, until I saw a large red octopus rise from beneath the largest crack on the ground, and a purple lobster followed him through a smaller crack.

Finally, the watery area faded, and was replaced by darkness again. This time, however, I saw a large purple floor below my feet, and directly in front of me stood a human-shaped figure wearing dark blue armor, with a helmet that had horns on the sides. This creature clearly WASN'T human, but it was a male, and he looked like he was almost twice as tall as I was. He turned around, and glared at me with his glowing blood-red eyes. I saw that his skin was a lighter shade of red, almost orange, but still dark enough to be considered red.

He opened his mouth, but instead of speaking, he smiled, and started to maniacally laugh. His laughter filled my ears quickly, loudly, and it was, by far, the most demented-sounding laugh I've ever heard. His voice was low-pitched, and it echoed in an other-worldly way, while the echoes traveled around my head, almost like he was laughing directly in both ears, and around me in a full circle. Within his laughter, I could hear many voices screaming in agony, and torture... almost like he was in charge of the death of many innocent lives, and that he enjoyed their suffering like it was the funniest thing he'd seen.

Then... it all faded away, with the sound of my own name being called out by a familiar upper-class lady-like voice.

"R... Rarity?" I asked.

I could finally see the world around me coming back together. I was waking up from this nightmare... I was reaching back into Earth. Again, though, I was asking myself one question...

"W-where... am I?"

Slowly, my eyes opened, but the area around me was still dark. It wasn't as dark as my nightmare, though, which gave me a small hint of relief. I looked around, and noticed that Rarity and I were inside a prison cell. I was about to stand up, until I heard the sound of a chain moving on the ground. When I looked down to investigate, I noticed that my right foot was attached to a chain, which was attached to the wall. Then, I looked at Rarity, who was sitting on the opposite end of the cell, and was attached to the wall by a chain similar to mine, although HERS was wrapped around her back, almost like a saddle.

"Are you alright?" Rarity asked. She was looking worriedly at me with tears in her eyes.

I smiled, then replied, "I'm fine, Rarity. Thanks for your concern... what happened, though?"

She looked around the cave, and said, "W-well... we've been captured by Diamond Dogs... they've been at war with Equestria for a while now, but I didn't think they would go THIS far with their greed!" She looked around even more, and told me through my mind, "We HAVE to get out of here somehow! Do you have any idea how, though?" Well, I could PROBABLY melt these chains, but only if it's a weak enough metal. What's it made of? "Copper, I think." Yeah... I can EASILY handle that!

I lifted my left arm, and began tapping on the watch, which projected the monitor for me. Then, I tapped through my inventory, and materialized a laser knife from the menu into my right hand. Aiming the knife's handle carefully at the chain on my right foot, I pressed the button, and a red beam shot out from it, only reaching one foot far. Then, I slowly sliced through the chain, avoiding contact with my skin in the process... then I noticed that my boots were missing... and my pants were torn into shorts. They'll regret that... I freakin' HATE wearing shorts!

I heard Rarity's voice through my mind say, "Don't worry, Justin! I'll get you some NEW garments when we get out! Also, if it means anything... I'm sorry for-" No need to apologize, Rarity. I should've explained things to you better. I'm not the best for words, but I KNOW that I could've explained things better. Also, I'm sorry if I seemed grouchy... I just... don't like it when I'm held against my will, you know? I've had to live with it for a while, now.

When the chain was broken free, I smiled, but wrapped it around my foot again when I heard the sound of guards walking past the front gate. I also pressed the button on the laser knife again, which retracted the beam back into nothing, so the light didn't expose it.

Two guards looked inside our cell, one bigger than the other. Staring at me, they both smirked. "Well," the big one said in a low-pitched unintelligent-sounding voice, "looks like the weak one's awake again!"

The shorter one said in a high-pitched gremlin-sounding voice, "Excellent! We should report this to the boss! We can begin with the digging process with BOTH of them!" Both? Well, at least they didn't capture Spike! I sure hope he's okay...

I was confused why Spike was running towards me by himself, and yelling, but seeing the worried look on his face, I immediately knew right there that it was an emergency. Quickly, I galloped outside to meet him halfway, and could hear his panting from ten meters away.

"Spike?!" I asked. "What's wrong? What happened?!"

When he was close enough, I could see that Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack followed him up here, too. We all gave him a worried look, while he stuttered words quickly.

"Rarity, Justin, Jewels, Woods, Dogs, Hole, Taken, SAVE THEM!!!" He passed out there, which caused us all to gasp.

"Spike?!" I asked, alarmed at my friend passing out like that. I looked closer at him, and noticed a dirty paw-shaped mark on his back. The sight of it caused me to glare, and I said with clenched teeth, "Diamond Dogs... they've captured them!" I turned to the girls, who were staring at the mark on Spike's back, and looked worried. "We don't have much time! We HAVE to save our friends!" I picked Spike up, and placed him on my back. "I only hope we're not too late..."

Rainbow Dash flew close to me, and asked, "Do you happen to know which way they went, Twilight?!"

I nodded, then replied, "Rarity needed to make five dresses for Sapphire Shores, so I'm almost certain that they're in Diamond Hill!"

With a nod from my friends, we all galloped towards said destination, concern and anger covering our faces every step of the way.

I glared at our captors, who just wouldn't stop arguing over which of us would be the first to dig. I sighed, and thought about just going on ahead and tearing through these chains, then butchering every last one of them, but each time that thought popped up, Rarity would mentally tell me "no", because if I did that, we:
A: Wouldn't be able to reach the leader, and
B: Would probably get caught again, and our chances of both escape, AND survival would narrow down to nothing.

Finally, after what felt like ten MORE minutes of non-stop rambling, I told the guards outside the gate, "Y'know, if y'all would just SHUT UP already, and get your leader, I would probably volunteer MYSELF!"

I could tell that, after I made that statement, I managed to strike a nerve. The bigger one looked at me through the gate, and had a glare on his face. The smaller one, however, looked at me with a shocked expression.

"Well," the little one began, "it looks like THIS one has a slight attitude problem... RIGHT, Captain Fido?"

The big one looked down at the other, and replied with a menacing smile, "Indeed he does, Spot... go get Rover! I think he'd LOVE to see this one!"

Spot saluted, then ran deeper into the cave, all while Fido opened the gate, walked in, and locked it behind him. Then, he turned to me, and slowly walked forward, giving me an evil grin.

"So, you want to back that up?" he asked, towering above me eight feet high.

I merely smiled, and replied, "What? You can't take a hint?" Rarity! Are these things' tongues made of diamonds?

Rarity replied through my mind, "Let me check... ah! They ARE! Why, do you have a plan?" Yeah. It's just that I need you to tell me when the halls are clear enough to avoid getting spotted. "Ah, okay... well, the only one within this hallway right now is just the little one... Spot, I think was his name." Good. Please let me know when he's out of the area.

I kept my smile, while Fido continued to glare at me. "What's wrong? You lost your words there, hairless ape?!"

I tapped my noggin, then replied, "Um... yeah. I guess words CAN'T describe how smelly your BREATH is!"

He balled up his front paws into fist-like shapes after THAT statement. His smile also dropped into a furious glare. "Well... looks like SOMEPONY needs to learn some manners!" Status, Rarity?

"It's almost empty! Perhaps just a few more seconds!" Rarity's voice chimed in through my mind. Good... because I think this guy's about to get violent. You're okay with the sight of blood, right? "What?! Whatever do you mean?!" Rarity, if this guy starts getting violent, I'll have no choice but to fight back... I'm sorry, but it's the only way we'll be able to get out of here safely! I'll try not to kill him, but I won't make any promises.

I heard her sigh in my mind. "Very well, but PLEASE keep it to a minimum! We MAY be at war, but the Diamond Dogs could make POSSIBLE allies, should the need arise!" Understood... and sorry you'll have to see this.

While I was mentally speaking to Rarity, I didn't notice Fido's right paw slap me across the left cheek. He smirked, then said, "Where's your funny attitude NOW, worm?!"

Somehow, just THAT statement caused an unknown hint of rage build up, and angry thoughts filled up my mind. I didn't remember who's presence I was in, and I could care less. I just knew one thing... THIS dog is gonna get PUT DOWN!

I spat a small hint of blood from my mouth, and smiled again. "You call THAT a hit?! A FILLY could hit harder than that!"

He stared at me in disbelief, followed by even MORE rage, while he lifted his right paw again, but THIS time, it was balled up in a fist, instead of stretched out. Rarity... is it safe yet?

"Hmm... yes! It's clear now!" She said through my mind. Good.

This time, aware of the situation, I braced for the impact. I watched as Fido's right fist swung towards my head, closer to my left cheek's direction. Out of instinct, I quickly shifted my torso to the right, which resulted in his fist crashing into the wall, and leaving a small crater. I could hear his knuckles crunch after the impact, and knew he was going to yelp in pain, so I quickly kicked my right foot out of the binding, which caught him by surprise, and tripped him, all while I grabbed onto his neck with my left hand, and turned the laser knife on with my right hand, holding the blade backwards in an "I'm gonna stab you" type of position.

When he landed, he was about to yell, but before he could even make a noise, I already had the laser knife inside his heart, and my left hand over his mouth, to avoid any sounds from being heard. Slowly, his breathing silenced, until his eyes were closed, and in the matter of ten seconds, his movement ceased completely.

I sat there for a moment, completely shocked at the situation. I breathed heavily, and turned the blade off, then sat down near the corpse of the Diamond Dog. Rarity was staring at me with a worried look in her eyes while I sat there, nearly traumatized at the situation.

"Justin? Are you alright?" Rarity asked. I looked at her, then back at the corpse.

"I'll probably be okay... it's just..." I looked at her again, then said, "I didn't know what to do... I've never killed anyone before! This... it doesn't even... I could've just, y'know, knocked him out, or something, but..."

"Justin!" Rarity began, "It's okay! You did what you had to do, and quite frankly, I couldn't see any OTHER options that you had, myself! Either way, you and I BOTH know that he could've done WORSE to you, and surely he WOULD'VE as well!"

I didn't smile at that, but I did nod, and say, "You're right... we have to go. Spot and Rover SHOULD be getting here soon... we'll have to go the opposite direction Spot went... you know where the exit is, right?"

Rarity closed her eyes, and her horn glowed cyan again. Then, she opened her eyes after five seconds, and replied, "I do! It should be on the left side of this room!"

"Great," I began, "let's go!" I got up, and was about to head towards the exit, until I heard Rarity loudly clear her throat. I looked back, and smiled sheepishly when I realized that I forgot to unbind her from HER chains. "Sorry... forgot they binded YOU, too."

After carefully cutting through the chains, we headed to the gate, while I used the laser knife to cut the lock out, and, ever so silently, we both snuck through the hallways, and cautiously waited behind decor, which was mostly rocks and diamond sculptures.

"Ha, it looks like that pony and ape had some FRIENDS with them!" A passing guard said to another.

They were both larger and stronger than Fido was, so I decided to avoid attacking... besides, it sounded like they were saying something I needed to know. Friends? Oh crap, I hope they don't mean-

"Indeed," the other one replied, "it wasn't even SLIGHTLY difficult to catch them! Then again, it WAS just five little ponies and a baby dragon! Maybe when Captain Fido's done with the OTHER two, he'll give THEM company, as well!"

The first one smirked, then said, "Yeah, but he'll have to give them his company separately! After all, they DID defeat Nightmare Moon just a few weeks ago! Who knows WHAT they could do if they were to use that same power against us?!"

They both gulped at the thought. Then, they continued their chit-chat while they walked out of the area. "So they're in separate rooms for THAT reason, huh? Y'know... I heard that Captain Rover is ALREADY on his way over there now!" Then, their voices faded to silence. Any ideas?

"Yeah," Rarity's voice echoed through my mind, "we HAVE to save them!" Alright, then. We'll need to find a way to get to the others... maybe there's a secret passage that could take us to them... or wait! Rarity, do you know any spells that can make us invisible to everything but ourselves?

Her eyes widened, and she replied through my mind, "Of course I do, but it doesn't block off sound waves, so we would still have to be quiet. Oh, but it also takes up a LOT of my energy, though, so if we save our friends, we need to save them FAST!" Understood. Fire away!

I was starting to wake up, after somehow being knocked unconscious. When my eyes opened, however, I was greeted by a Diamond Dog who was tall, but slim. He wore a red vest, which was opened in the center, and had a spiked collar on. I recognized him immediately.

"Well, well," Rover began, "what have we here? Twilight Sparkle? As in... THE Princess's favorite student, AND Element of Magic? You could be our ticket to ALL the riches of Canterlot!"

"Rover... It's been a while..." I spat on the ground in his direction. "The LAST time we met, weren't you trying to take over Canterlot with your army... which led to us driving you down here?"

He glared at me, then walked towards my cell, and unlocked the gate. Then, he walked inside, closing, AND locking the gate behind his back as well.

After locking the gate, he slowly walked towards me, and gripped my cheek with his left paw. His nails felt like they were going through my fur, and into my skin, but I didn't show him any sign of pain.

"You use ANY magic in here, then you can say good-bye to that little dragon of yours!" He yelled that statement into my ears, which caused my ears to hurt.

My glare intensified, as I angrily replied through gritted teeth, "If you so much as hurt him, I SWEAR I will-"

Suddenly, I was interrupted with a slap on the right cheek. Not being used to that, my eyes instantly watered, but my eyes kept their angry expression.

"That's more like it... I prefer that you REMAIN silent during your visit here... or better yet... PERMANENTLY!" He slung his backpack on the ground between us, and pulled out a short, thick rope. Then, he wrapped it around my snout, and sealed my lips shut by tying it in, what felt like, a triple knot. The rope was too tight, and it felt like it was buried inside my fur, deep enough to leave a mark for weeks, if not months.

When he finished tying my snout, Rainbow Dash yelled through HER cell, which was across from mine, "HEY! YOU LEAVE TWILIGHT ALONE, YOU FILTHY MUTT!"

Rover smiled, then turned towards HER cell, and pointed at her. "You're next, feather-head!" Then, he walked away from me, and searched his keys for my cell's door.

Fury built up inside of me, just from the thoughts of his former actions that led to this painful moment... the memories of the day they were driven away. Even before today, the thoughts STILL haunted me day and night.

I was sitting in my room, reading a book on different kinds of magic, until I heard a door slam open. When I turned around, I noticed a Diamond Dog run inside, holding a spear. He was charging towards Princess Celestia, while I watched from behind the desk, nervously backing away, only to bump into a larger Diamond Dog. This one, however, had blue fur, and was twice as strong-looking as the light brown one that charged in holding the spear.

"Well, well... looks like the Princess has a little company here! What do you think, Rover? Should we take them BOTH?" The big blue one behind me asked, all while picking me up, and carrying me over to the other one, who was standing there with his spear pointed at Princess Celestia's neck.

"Good idea, Fido! We could USE an extra hoof for our mining operations, once we've picked the treasures from THIS city!" Rover said, looking at the tall one that held me against my will, while I tried breaking free, but to no avail.

Listen well, Twilight... I want you to focus ALL of your magic on the one that's holding onto you... think of a powerful gust of air that could protect you from any harm! One of my former lessons was running through my mind... a lesson about self-defense. While I didn't pass in Physical Education, I knew how to defend myself with magic, at least!

I closed my eyes quickly, and thought out the spell I learned that day. Slowly, my horn started to glow, which caught the attention of Fido, due to his grip tightening on my stomach.

"You better give it a rest, pony! I can, and will, KILL you, if you so much as TRY to cast a spell on me!" His threats meant nothing to me, since I knew he would just kill me if I gave up anyways, only more slower, and through labor.

When I opened my eyes, a large gust of wind blew him into a nearby bookshelf, releasing me in the process, and also sending Rover out of the window near Princess Celestia. She, however, wasn't affected by it, since she had a protective spell around her.

"Very good, Twilight! Now hurry! Get behind me!" I did as she asked, while Fido slowly stood up, and charged after the princess and I, all while a larger group of Diamond Dogs ran inside, following him towards us. They were about to strike with their diamond spears, until Celestia's horn glowed light green, and at once, the whole group of Diamond Dogs were gone in the blink of an eye. I looked around, surprised at the sudden silence.

"W-what... what was THAT all about?!" I asked her, looking up worriedly at my teacher.

Princess Celestia looked down at me, and gave a reassuring smile, replying with, "Diamond Dogs, Twilight, are known to live their lives out of greed and power. Yes, they just tried attacking us to take over Equestria, no they aren't dead, but they aren't coming back, either. Yes, this was the reason why I wanted you to read up on Air Magic, even though it isn't known to be very effective in subtlety, and even MORE known to be used in combat. Yes, you did well, and please, no more worries, Twilight! If you were to fail the spell, I would still protect you, no matter WHAT they did to me!"

She smiled at me while I just stood there, each time her sentence ending, my right hoof raising, and my mouth opening to speak. I was about to try to say something, but I realized that she just answered ALL of my questions I had right then and there, so nothing came out. I smiled back, then nodded my head, and continued with my reading, now feeling even MORE safer, since those Diamond Dogs weren't going to be around here anymore.

I saw them enter earlier that day, when they walked inside the castle, looking innocent. They were acting formal and polite, but I had a feeling that they weren't there to make friends... in fact, they eyed the jewelry of all the visiting mares and stallions that wore them. I even witnessed a couple of them pickpocket a few, as well, but I didn't confront them directly... and reported it to Princess Celestia, instead.

That might be why Fido was after ME, instead of Princess Celestia... since he was one of the pickpockets himself. Even though he was gone, perhaps permanently, I knew better than to trust the Diamond Dogs, ESPECIALLY after that day.

Any thoughts I had about possibly making peace with them were completely wiped ever since.

Rover was inside Rainbow Dash's cell when my thoughts went back to the current situation we were in. I saw him smiling menacingly at Rainbow Dash, who only continued to glare at him. He seemed to be whispering to her about something, but I couldn't figure out what... until he placed his backpack down, and pulled out a pair of gardening shears! He smiled at Rainbow Dash, who's glare turned into a look of shock and fear, while she gasped, and screamed in terror.

"No, please! DON'T!" Rainbow Dash folded her wings, and tried to back away from Rover, who's shears were getting uncomfortably close to her wings.

"If you don't tell me EVERYTHING you know about that creature," he began, "then I will make it so you WON'T join the Wonderbolts EVER, Rainbow Dash... tell me something... you're the Element of Loyalty...just HOW loyal can you be, I wonder? Would you SACRIFICE your wings... for your friend's LIFE?!"

Rainbow Dash remained silent, while the shears only crept closer to her wings. They were about to hover over the smallest points of her wings, the joints that attached them to her back, until a familiar voice interrupted him from progressing any further.

"STOP RIGHT THERE!" Justin's voice echoed through the area, which caused Rover to stop in place, and turn his head towards the iron gate. He couldn't see anyone, so he turned back towards Rainbow Dash, and glared at her.

"Who was that? ANSWER ME!" Rover angrily, yet silently, asked Rainbow Dash, who was now shaking with total fear, and confusion.

"I-I... I don't-" Rainbow Dash stuttered, which made Rover lift the shears again, and quickly bring them towards Rainbow Dash's wings. "No, PLEASE! I REALLY don't know!

Then, out of thin air, Justin materialized in front of the gate, and appeared to be holding a bright metal-looking pipe thing with glowing buttons and a handle on it.

I was tiptoeing my way through the hallway, while Rarity... tip-hoofed(?) her way next to me. While we were sneaking through, I had my plasma pistol holstered on my belt's right side, and my laser knife on the left. We were able to sneak through without being detected so far, and it seemed that we weren't discovered to be out of our cells yet.

Then, we found the little diamond dog, Spot, walking out of a large room. On top of the room, there was a sign that I couldn't quite read.

What does that say, Rarity? I looked at her confused.

"That," she mentally began, pointing her right hoof towards the sign, "says 'Prison Bay'. It MUST be where they're keeping our friends!" Alright, then... let's get them out of there!

Quietly, we sneaked through the gate before it closed, and looked around. Sure enough, there was one guard sleeping over a desk, with a single prison bay that held Spike and a few Diamond Dogs who looked like they haven't eaten in days.

"Spike?" I asked, motioning for Rarity to turn off MY invisibility for a second.

Spike saw me, and his eyes widened. "JUSTIN!" he yelled, which caused me to put my finger over my mouth, and point at the sleeping guard, who's eyes suddenly shot open. Rarity! NOW!

The guard looked at me, and glared, then walked towards my direction. When he made it just a few feet in front of me, he turned around, and looked at Spike. "SHUT UP, YOU LITTLE RAT! CAN'T YOU SEE I'M SLEEPING HERE?!" Thanks... I'm gonna have to lead this guy out of here, though, to keep Spike from seeing me kill him.

"Understood." Rarity's voice echoed through my mind. Quietly, I tiptoed out of the cell, and threw a pebble inside, which caught the guard's eyesight. Quickly, he jumped up, and lifted a sledgehammer, then ran out of the door, and stopped in front of it.

"Who threw that?!" He asked angrily. After looking around a little more, he sighed, then turned around, only to find me standing in front of him with my plasma gun pointed at him.

"Surprise!" I said quietly, but joyfully. When he opened his mouth to yell, though, I pulled the trigger, and watched his headless body fall to the ground. Then, I drug his body near a crate, opened it, and placed it inside there, hiding the evidence, besides the blood trail. Afterwards, I placed four mines that explode after the buttons are released under the lid, and closed it, carefully so that it doesn't activate on me. Whoever opens this will get a surprise, too!

After the deed was done, I quietly walked back inside the room, and tiptoed towards the cell. Y'know, Rarity... after seeing the way THAT one treated Spike, maybe these guys AREN'T worth crying over... "Agreed... NOTHING speaks to my friends like THAT!" Her voice was angrily speaking in my mind.

"Wait, Justin! You HAVE to save Twilight, first!" Spike ushered me.

I looked at him confused, then asked, "Wait, what?! She isn't here? Where'd they take her?"

"The Torture Chamber! You have to hurry, before they do something EXTREMELY BAD!" Spike yelled, which led him to cry.

My eyes widened at that statement. A freakin' TORTURE CHAMBER?! Now I KNOW those are bad in MY world, so I should guess that this will be just as severe, if not WORSE! Without another word, Rarity and I bolted out of the room, with Rarity cloaking me in the process. Then, we both quietly, but quickly, hurried through the hallways, until Rarity read the right sign to me.

When we got in there, the first thing I heard was Rainbow Dash screaming. That caused Rarity to gasp, and open her eyes widely. "Oh dear! I hope we're not too late!" Don't worry, Rarity... if Rainbow Dash can be heard, at least that's a sign that she's still alive! "Yes, but what if she screamed because she saw one of our OTHER friends get hurt, or WORSE?! I... didn't think about that. Okay, time to speed up!

We both hurried through the hall, until we made it to the Torture Chamber. Then, we silently opened the gate, and looked around. When I saw the room with Rainbow Dash in it, I gasped when I saw what was going on... a tall, slim Diamond Dog was holding a pair of Gardening Shears over Rainbow Dash's wings!

I pulled my plasma pistol from my belt, and yelled in the top of my lungs, "STOP RIGHT THERE!" He looked in my direction, but it was clear to me that my invisibility cloak kept him from seeing me, because he turned towards Rainbow Dash, and held the shears over her wings again, only this time, he was moving them faster. Rarity! Spell!

After seeing Rainbow Dash look towards me, and open her eyes wider, I aimed my plasma pistol at Rover, and yelled again, "I SAID STOP!"

THIS time, when Rover looked at me, he stood up, with his menacing smile still showing on his face. "Ah, the NEW creature! How nice for you to join your little friends here... but you must be mistaking this place for one that YOU can make the calls in!" He stretched his arms out, and said, "As you can see... I'm in HERE, with the door LOCKED, and the only key to this cell in my pocket, while you're out THERE!"

I smiled playfully, and lowered my plasma pistol. "Oh, yeah? You SURE you have the only key to this cell?"

Rover nodded, while I aimed the pistol at the cell's gate, specifically at the part that the key went through, and shot the door open, which caused Rover's eyes to open widely when I aimed it at him again.

"WHAT in the name of Tartarus is THAT?!" he asked, now sounding more frightened than Rainbow Dash at this point.

"Plasma Pistol... but that's besides the point. If you so much as move those shears an INCH closer to her wings again, then so help me, I will NOT hesitate to melt your F***ING SKULL!" The last two words I actually yelled, which made everyone in the room stare at me, caught by surprise at my statement.

Now usually I don't use language like that, but when my FRIENDS are in danger, I feel that I should take necessary precautions to intimidate the threat. It seemed to work for Rover, because he jumped when the outburst came out, and while he jumped, he dropped the shears.

"Excuse the language, ladies... but he had it coming. Now, then... slide the shears towards me, please." I said in a calmer tone, but my expression was still out of pure rage.

Rover grinned again, and lowered down to pick the shears up, only for me to shoot the ground near the shears, but on the opposite end of Rainbow Dash. It caused him to yelp, and jump back up.

"With your LOWER paws, mutt! What're you waiting for? An invitation?! MOVE IT!" He shook, then kicked the shears towards me, until they slid two feet away from my right foot.

"Good... now UNLOCK her cage!" Rover slowly reached his paws towards Rainbow Dash, but when he made it to the cage, he gripped her throat, and began choking her, while furiously shaking her, yelling, "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE, YOU FILTHY LITTLE-"

With no other choices available, I aimed my plasma gun forward, and blasted his head off, while leaving Rainbow Dash gasping for air, and wiping her face from the red drops all over her fur.

Quickly, I sheathed my pistol, and ran up to her, pulling a towel from my inventory. When I dried her off, she looked at Rover's corpse, and weakly said, "Oh gosh."

Then, she lowered her head, and vomited away from my direction, while I took the towel, and began drying her off. "I'm sorry, Rainbow Dash... I'm sorry you had to go through with that. No, I didn't like doing that, but I'm a man of my word, and I didn't hesitate..."

While she didn't smile, I felt her embrace me in a hug, which actually hurt my ribs, but I didn't complain.

"Oh my gosh, THANK you! You... you SAVED my life!" I patted her head, then replied, "No need to thank me yet, Rainbow Dash... I STILL have to take y'all to safety!"

After escaping her hug, I proceeded to draw my laser knife, and cut the chains from her. Then, I released the others from their cells, receiving thanks and hugs from them as well... until I made it to Twilight's cell.

She looked like she passed out already... but at least she responded when I called her name.

"Twilight? Are you okay?!" I shot the door open, and quickly rushed to her, only to gasp at the sight of her right cheek, which looked like it was swelling up, and had four cuts on it. Her snout was also tied shut with a rope, and her eyes were filled with tears.

"Good lord! What the heck HAPPENED to you?!" I asked in a shocked expression. Without hesitation, I untied the rope from her snout, and cut through the bindings. Then, I looked closer at her cheek, and realized that the area around the cuts looked dirty. Yeah, there's a BIG chance that her cut could get infected...

I went through my inventory, and pulled out a spare SHIELD generator, which was the circular thing that covered the chestplate of my armor. Then, I looked Twilight in the eyes, and said, "Now, you MIGHT feel a strong pain, but we NEED to get those cuts healed... this device I have here will do that, AND fix up any infections you might have."

She sniffled, but nodded her head, and weakly replied, "Okay."

When I held it over her chest, I said, "Now, I'm not sure what kinds of pain you've ever felt before, but I can probably guess that THIS will be the worst you've felt... but I PROMISE it won't hurt for more than a few seconds. After that, you'll be able to take it off freely." I put my knife away, and held her front left hoof with my right hand, and smiled reassuringly. "If it DOESN'T work, you won't have to worry about the pain... it won't kill you. I've programmed it to NOT do anything if it doesn't work with it's patient."

She smiled, then nodded her head. I could feel through her hoof that she wasn't as nervous as she was BEFORE I said that. I slowly moved the SHIELD generator towards her chest, and nodded my head when it started glowing. "It looks like it'll work on you... are you ready?" She nodded her head again. "Alright... here goes nothing..." Then, I placed it on her chest, while a circle of needle-like legs grew from the sides of it, and dug into her fur, causing her to scream in pain. Quickly, I held onto her hoof even tighter, and wrapped my left hand over her shoulder, and said, "Hang in there, Twilight! It's almost over!" I couldn't stand hearing her scream like that... and I even KNOW how she feels from experience. Imagine a needle being sent through all of your veins in the matter of seconds. THAT'S what the SHIELD feels like.

What it does, is it uses Anti Matter inside the body, speeds up the blood flow, and powers up the white blood cells by over one hundred times the speed, while also strengthening the internal organs, to avoid the straining speeds from causing harm to the body, like a heart attack, or more. Unfortunately, though, it isn't permanent, so it isn't capable of making someone invincible, but at least it speeds up the healing time by a landslide. The only way it could be used PERMANENTLY would be if the user wore the SHIELD for the rest of his or her life... and even THAT has it's limits.

Her screams slowly died down while I saw her right cheek's cuts oozing out bits of green dirt, before the cuts sewed themselves shut again, and the swelling deflated back into an ordinary size. Then, her screaming stopped entirely, and was replaced with a confused, "Huh?"

She looked at me confused, then asked, "W-what did you do?! What did THIS thing do?!" She pointed at the SHIELD generator.

I smiled, then replied, "It's a SHIELD Generator, just like the one on my armor. What YOU just felt is what I feel when I take damage BEFORE I wear it, and put it on... that's why I wear my armor as often as I do!"

She sighed, then hugged me, although THIS one was over my shoulders, and around my neck, instead of below the arms, and around the ribs. "W-well... thank you, Justin! We owe you our LIVES for this!"

I returned the hug, replying, "No, no! It's fine! What're friends for, after all? I sure as heck wouldn't have even LET him do that to you if I were there sooner!"

"I know... I believe you!" She said, while the others smiled at Twilight's successful recovery.

Finally, her ears perked up, and she asked me with wide-eyes, "Where's Spike?! Have you seen him?!"

I pointed at the entrance of the room, and replied, "He's still locked up, but he's safe, along with a few fellow Diamond Dog prisoners."

Twilight's eyes opened wide again, and she asked, "Wait, WHAT?! We HAVE to get him out of there, NOW!"

I agreed with her, and in the matter of seconds, we were already on the path to the Prison Bay, not caring about the sound we made in the process. At least the path there didn't have any guards.

When we reached the Prison Bay, we stopped when we saw a pretty large group of guards blocking the door to the room. They each held spears towards us, while we glared at them.

One of them smiled, then asked, "So, I take it YOU'RE the one who freed them?" He pointed his right paw towards me, to which I nodded.

"You must've done something with our watchman here, because we could hear the prisoners in here from QUITE the distance! Can't wait to tell the boss about how we captured ALL of you at once! I'd bet he'll give us QUITE the raise!"

Suddenly, an idea struck. I faked a sigh, and held my hands up. "Very well, then... I surrender..."

My friends looked at me with both shock, AND confusion, while Rainbow Dash literally yelled, "Wait, WHAT?!"

The guards smiled, while the one who spoke for them said, "Well, at least YOU know how to take a hint!"

I pointed at the crate that the blood trailed to, and said, "The guard's body is in there... if you want even MORE proof that I helped the others escape, I'm sure that you can use his body as evidence against me... now, since I told you that, can you AT LEAST let the ponies go? I'll do ALL the work!"

The guards looked at each other, and laughed. The speaker looked up, and placed his claw on his chin. "How about... no? Take them away, but LEAVE the foreign creature here! I've got a bounty to collect!"

The guards nodded their heads, and began walking towards my direction, while their speaker placed his paws on the crate, and lifted the lid.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a hefty-sized explosion took place where their speaker USED to stand. The explosion caused the guards that were near us to turn their heads quickly, while I drew my Plasma Pistol, and aimed it at one of their heads.

Not giving them any MORE chances, I pulled the trigger, which did it's usual thing, only THIS time, I aimed for the next Diamond Dog sideways, and managed two kills in one shot.

Now there was four left, and they managed to notice what was going on, and decided to swing their spears at me. Acting on reflex, I did a quick roll forwards, while only getting SLIGHTLY cut in the right shoulder, causing it to bleed, but not alarmingly. Then, I drew my laser knife, and sliced the blade off of the next spear that lunged at me.

The slice made the guard who swung stare in shock at his now "blunt" weapon, giving me time to stand up, aim the pistol at his face, and pull the trigger. Three more to go.

Two of them swung their spears at me, both high AND low, so I jumped up, and cut the high one's blade off, while jumping over the low one. Then, I stabbed the one who STILL had the blade with my laser knife, and shot the other one. One left!

I aimed my pistol at the other one, who stared at me in shock. Then, I pulled the trigger for the final blow.

Click...

"Ah, crap..." I said. My ammo was out, and there isn't time for me to get another clip from my inventory when there's an armed enemy just RIGHT in front of me. He took that advantage to swing his spear towards my head.

Suddenly, his spear was engulfed in a purple aura, and yanked from his paws by a magic aura. Now's my chance... thanks, Twilight!

Without any FURTHER hesitation, I held my laser knife in a battle stance, and waited for him to make the first move. Sure enough, he started swinging his right fist at me, as I thought he would. I swung the laser knife towards his right arm, and managed a clean dismemberment, while he yelped in pain.

Then, he swung his left fist after me, which gave the same results. Without any more arms available, he attempted a headbutt, which, as expected, resulted in a dodge, followed by another decapitation, only THIS time, his head remained solid, instead of spattered.

"Alright," I began, "NOW we need to get Spike, and get OUT!" Everypony nodded, and followed me inside, while I reloaded my Plasma Pistol, then put both weapons away.

When we made it inside, we were relieved to find Spike safely in the cell, having a friendly conversation with his cellmates. Apparently THESE Diamond Dogs were more nicer than the other... MUCH more nicer... which I found quite sketchy.

"Hey, Spike! We're back!" I said, which turned his head, and made the whole group of prisoners smile.

"Justin! Twilight! Rarity! Applejack! Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy! You're ALL okay!" Spike ran up to the front of the cell, and jumped happily. I couldn't help but smile at the little hyper dragon. Glad to see he can STILL smile in here, at least! Heck, not even PINKIE PIE is smiling, and I've heard about her rarely NOT smiling!

"Yep. Please step back for a second." I said, while drawing my laser knife from my belt again, and releasing the blade. Then, Spike backed away, while I stabbed the lock, and opened the gate. Afterwards, I put the knife away again, and motioned the group to follow me, all while I got the names of our new allies.

Now the whole group consisted of me, the Mane Six (as they seem to be known as, according to some of the Diamond Dogs), Spike, two large Diamond Dogs named Bane and Bone, four medium-sized Diamond Dogs named Marco, Polo, Lucky, and Maxwell, and three small ones named Duke, Freddie, and Lumpy.

When we were all circled around the Prison Bay's main room, I said, "First thing's first... we need to scavenge this place, find ANYTHING we can use that could help us in our escape. No doubt they should have emergency weapons, should the prisoners get out of hand... err... paw. Any ideas, anyone?"

The group thought for a moment, until Marco lifted his right paw up. "Yes, Marco?"

"I THINK I saw the guard carrying an extra spear near his desk!" he said. Sure enough, there it was, hidden underneath the thing.

"Great perception, Marco! What about you, Bane? You look like you might know your way around here, along with you, Bone."

They both replied in unison, "Indeed... there's an Armory just next to here, with perhaps some BETTER weapons as well!" Okay, NOW this whole sentence in unison thing is getting trippy...

I nodded my head, then replied, "Alright! Great work fellows! Now that we have a basic clue, we should AT LEAST get some weapons ready for the trip UP there!"

"But how? That spear was the ONLY one in this room!" Lumpy asked.

I smiled slyly. "Of course it is... but THAT'S why I've got THIS!" I pointed at my watch, and aimed it at the spear, which I placed on the desk. Then, I pressed the button, and picked it up with Anti Matter, which caused the group of Diamond Dogs to stare at it in awe. Then, in my inventory, I told my system to craft us fifteen Durasteel Spears that were shaped like the one on the desk for the Diamond Dogs to carry. In the matter of seconds, they were all completed, and neatly placed on the desk.

"H-HOW did you-" the whole group of Diamond Dogs began asking, until I held my right hand in a "stopping" manner.

"No time to explain that, just let me give y'all a fair warning. THESE spears are FAR more stronger than your average steel. They're made of metals from ANOTHER planet, after all!" I lifted a spear, and held it up.

"ANOTHER PLANET?! Just HOW sharp IS that thing, exactly?!" Maxwell seemed to be fascinated in the idea of a weapon that's a "cut above the rest", if you catch my drift.

"Well," I began, lifting the spear, "enough to cut through stuff like," I swung the spear downwards, towards a thick rock, and when it made contact, it cut the rock in half, which caused ALL eyes to widen, while I finished my sentence, "rocks, and diamonds."

After giving them that quick demonstration, I gave the Diamond Dogs a spear each, and stored the extras. Who knows? Maybe there's MORE friendly faces around here? Then, we all ran out of the door, and headed towards the Armory.

When we got there, there was a group of five Diamond Dogs just waiting for us, each holding spears of their own. I was about to rush towards them, gun blazing, but Bane and Bone BOTH stopped me, and said, "Thank you, but WE can handle THESE ones!"

I shrugged, then replied, "Alright, then!"

Then, the two largest of the group rushed towards the group of guards, and swung their spears in a sideways angle, which ended up cutting all five enemies in half.

Wiping the red from their chests, Bane and Bone smiled at me, then said, "Whoa! Now THESE are weapons! Now we KNOW we can protect you all!"

I smiled, then walked up to them, and patted their shoulders, replying, "Indeed y'all can, but just remember! You can't protect ANOTHER, if you can't protect YOURSELVES! Let's get y'all some armor, then we'll be out of here in NO time!"

They both nodded, while I checked the Armory, and motioned everyone in, since, thankfully, it was empty.

Inside the place, we found a LARGE assortment of weaponry, which I ended up taking into my inventory for blueprints, and duplicating for our new "guards". We also found a large assortment of helmets and shoulderpads, with chestpieces, gauntlets, and leggings. The only thing different about a Diamond Dog's armor was that they didn't wear boots. Instead, they wore thick, plated anklets that rose a little over halfway up their shins. Seeing the layouts of the armors gave me an idea.

"Alright, folks... I might be able to make some good armor for everyone, but I'm gonna need y'all to listen up first!" I rallied up the group of Diamond Dogs, and began explaining the methods of how my armor worked. I also gave them a fair warning about the painful procedure of installing a SHIELD, but also telling them the benefits of it, as well.

After the lesson was over, I explained the armor that I had my watch craft for them. Instead of separate pieces of armor, they would wear a full set that can only be taken on and off by a station that I had materialize in the center of the room... a large, metal pod that contained within it a vast array of sharp pins and needles, along with restraints and a lifted bed for them to put their backs on.

"Alright, Bane. I want YOU to use it first. Don't worry, I've used these things COUNTLESS times already, and NONE of them hurt, because it puts you to sleep first, THEN installs the SHIELD, and wakes you up in ten seconds, armored up and everything! Oh, and it's called an Armor Station, by the way. You will need to hop into it AGAIN if you want to remove your armor!" I pointed to Bane, then motioned for him to follow me to the Armor Station, which he did, albeit nervously, but I reassured him that it won't harm him in ANY way.

When he walked inside the circle, the restraints latched around his arms and legs, then his waist, neck, and forehead. Then, the bed lifted up, and the doors sealed shut, while a red light began to glow in the room, followed by a beam of brighter light moving from top to bottom, then back to the top, in the center crease of the doors. After ten seconds, the doors opened, and a large white gust of smoke blew from the inside of the Station, while Bane fell to the ground, but caught himself with his upper paws, which he stared at in awe.

His armor was a dark copper-looking color, but it was clear that it wasn't copper. It contained gauntlets that fitted him perfectly, and contained three sharp spikes where his knuckles were. His chestplate was rather high-rising, but it was hard to notice, since he also had a stomach plate under it, and a red SHIELD Generator in-between. His waist was covered in a thick metal belt, with a symbol in the center that had the logo of a paw with three spikes. Below his waist was a kilt that parted in the center, and lowered down one foot below his waist. He had leg braces on his ankles, which rose up to his knees, and his lower paws were covered in his undergarments, which was a long black layer of clothing that resembled a swimsuit. It covered all of his body, and even rose up to circle his head, leaving his face exposed.

Then, he stood up, and opened his eyes, while his helmet rose from behind his neck, and landed softly on his head, while the sides of the helmet expanded from behind his head, and covered his jaw. After that, the neck of the armor opened slightly, and a few thick metal strips unfolded over his neck, and extended to protect his neck from any damages. Then, a thick round breathing piece, attached to another long strand of metal, which was attached to the center of the helmet, lowered towards his mouth, and attached itself to the now unfolded neckpiece. Following that, red lenses lowered from the helmet as well, and attached to the bottom halves of the metal that unfolded, while the mouthpiece spun the helmet shut. In ten seconds, the whole helmet covered his face, and he was completely geared up.

Three quiet seconds later, the lenses slightly glowed, and Bane began to speak again, while staring at his armor even more.

"Whoa... and you JUST built this in mere SECONDS?!" He asked, while also noting that his own voice sounded like it was coming out of a pair of headphones, with a deeper voice to keep his identity safe.

I nodded, then replied with a smile, "Well, they DIDN'T call me a Technician for NOTHING, you know?"

He was about to hug me, until I backed away, and said, "Whoa there, big guy! Don't want to sound rude, but you do NOT want to hug someone with THAT armor on! It enhances your strength by ten percent, and can easily punch through rocks like plywood!"

He looked at his paws again, and said in a happy tone, "Well thank you then Justin, my friend! I'll be SURE to repay you someday!"

I shook my head, then replied, "No need for payments, Bane! I'm just doing what I think is right!" I looked around, then said, "Although I DO have a few questions, if you don't mind me asking..."

He nodded, then said, "Of course! Ask me ANYTHING, and I'll tell you EVERYTHING!"

"Very well," I began, "I was wondering if ALL Diamond Dogs are as hostile as the captains?"

He tilted his head, then said, "Hostile? Who? Rover, Fido, and Spot?" I nodded. "To be honest, I've been locked away for well over four years now, and I DID notice an odd change of personality between the three of them in-between the year before, and the day after I was imprisoned! They just... didn't act like themselves anymore!"

I noticed Twilight's eyes perk up at that statement, so I looked at her, and asked, "Twilight? What's up?"

She looked at Bane, and walked up to him, speaking in a tone that made me think that she might be able to connect some broken pieces together in this newly-found puzzle.

"Wait, did you say... FOUR years?!" He nodded at her question. "That's strange... do you remember the day, perhaps?"

He shrugged, then replied, "Not sure, to be honest... sometime during the Spring, though! Why?"

"Because," Twilight said, now placing her right hoof over her snout, "four years ago, in the Summer, a large group of Diamond Dogs attacked the princess and I in the Canterlot Castle!" The CASTLE?! What in the WORLD would they need in a castle?!

"I'm not sure why, but Rover and Fido were there, and Fido... he... threatened to..." Her eyes watered before she could finish her sentence.

I couldn't stand watching her suffer, so I walked up to her, and patted her shoulders. "He threatened to KILL you, didn't he?" I asked, which resulted in a tearful nod from her. I noticed that the other ponies were never told about THAT story, because they were all staring at her in shock, and had sad expressions on their faces.

I looked down, and sighed. Then, I embraced her in a hug, and said, "Well, you won't have to worry about HIM, anymore, at least... he was the FIRST one I killed."

Twilight cried on my left shoulder, and said in a heartbroken tone, "I... I understand. Th-thank you..." I patted her on the head, and stood back up, since I had to go down on my knees to reach her for the hug.

Then, I looked towards the entrance to the place, and saw a guard running towards us. This guard looked shorter than the others, and appeared to be breathing heavily, which made me believe that he was in some sort of trouble.

I drew my Plasma Pistol, and aimed it at him, while looking at Bane and Bone, who both shook their heads. "Don't shoot! He's a Rogue Guard, working in OUR favor!"

I nodded, then put my pistol away, while the little guard ran inside.

"Bone! Bane! You're both okay!" the little guard cheered.

Bone smiled, then said, "Of course we are, Runt! What brings YOU here, though? I thought you said the captain ordered you to meet him in his room?"

Runt shook his head, then replied, "I lied, my friend! I only used that as an excuse to see if I could find any signs of suspicious activity... and guess what I discovered?"

Now, almost EVERYONE in the room stared at the little guard with shocked expressions... except for Twilight and I, that is. We BOTH already had a hunch that something was NOT right here, and we both even said so in our minds.

"What did you find, Runt?" Bane asked in his lower-pitched radio voice.

Runt looked at him, and his eyes widened. He must've admired the armor, because he was looking Bane both UP and DOWN. Even so, he pointed outside of the door, and said, "I thought I heard the voices of our three captains INSIDE his room! They sounded like they were being tortured, or something, though! I swear, I've never ran so fast in my life! I'm afraid he might've followed me!"

My eyes widened, and I looked out of the door. Then, I turned towards the group, and said, "Alright, everyone! Change of plans!" I pointed at Bane, and said, "Bane, you're the one in the armor! I need you to escort everyone, and everypony out of this cave safely! Then, I want you to protect them from OUTSIDE the cave!" I turned to Twilight, and said, "Twilight, I need YOU to lead the group back to Ponyville, and explain what all you've learned in here to the Princess!" I turned to Spike, and said, "Spike, I need YOU to guard Rarity! Make SURE nothing happens to her!" I gave him one of the spears, which made his eyes widen with joy... although I gave him one of the basic copper spears from inside the cave, I had a feeling he'll need it more than anyone else. While Twilight DID give me a stare, I chose to ignore it, and turn to the other Diamond Dogs and Ponies. "I need the Diamond Dogs to circle the Ponies, and guard them from ALL directions!" I turned to Rainbow Dash, who seemed to STILL be shaken from her experience in the cell, and said, "Rainbow Dash! I want you to remain on GROUND level, along with Fluttershy! No doubt they'll be searching the SKIES for the two of you, after all!" Everyone nodded when I finished the game plan.

Then, Twilight stopped me from walking outside the door, and asked, "Wait, Justin! What about YOU, though? What're YOU going to do?!"

I turned around, and smiled, replying, "Simple, Twilight! I'm gonna go free the REAL Captains, and dethrone the Tyrant King, of course!"

Suddenly, Bane and Bone stood behind her, and blocked my path even more. "Are you CRAZY?! General Rex is, without a doubt, TEN times your size, and A HUNDRED times your strength! There's literally NO way you can beat him!"

I sighed, then opened my watch's menu, saying, "True, I WON'T be able to beat someone with THAT description at my CURRENT state..." With my serious expression turning into a sly grin, I said, "...And THAT'S why I brought my OWN armor with me!" Then, I pressed the "Gear Up" button on my screen, and within ten seconds, a thin black layer of undergarments materialized around my body, the center of my thick metal belt glowed, and lifted up from a pole, which thickened, and circled around my torso, and attached from the top, while on the other side, the back piece lifted, and attached to the front piece by circling over my shoulders, forming an entire chestpiece, and leaving a hole in the center that a SHIELD literally "walked" it's way over, slightly in a "spider-like" way, the SHIELD coming from within the belt. Beneath the belt, two thick bars lowered from the sides, while more bars came from within them, and circled my legs as the bars lowered. Then, they materialized into boots at the bottom, while the openings of the torso piece did something similar, only instead of forming gauntlets, my bracelet and watch already did that when the bars were released from the shoulderpieces, which thickened into the shoulderpads.

After the ten second "gear-up" moment, my neckpiece opened up, and from around my neck, the neck protectors lifted up to my chin, while my helmet rose from the back, and the sides. Instead of the sides lowering like Bane's, however, THIS helmet was built in layers that merged from the center down, so the side pieces actually lifted higher, and met in the center, while the lens of the helmet rose from the front, and merged with the piece that attached to my chin, and the whole helmet altogether. When the lens was on, it blackened, and hid my face completely. This was all done in five more seconds.

Now completely geared up, I said in my lower-pitched microphone-changed voice, "Now I KNOW I can handle him!"

Seeing my armor, both Bane AND Bone stepped aside, silence filling the air. Then, I said to the two of them, "Since everyone ELSE isn't armored up in the best gear, I want Bane to take the front-line, while Bone covers the back. The rest of y'all circle around the sides. I want them ALL in Ponyville safely, and y'all as well. Twilight will be in charge of making sure y'all are accepted in there for the time being... right, Twilight?" She nodded her head, while the group headed on in front of me.

Before she left, though, Twilight quickly jumped up, and gave me another hug. "Thank you, Justin... but you BETTER not die in there! We STILL have a tour waiting for you, when you get home! Okay?"

I smiled, and nodded my head, all while completely missing the fact that she addressed Ponyville as "home"... then again, it DID feel much better than the Earth that I came from. Who knows? Maybe if I have a REASON to stay here, I could just go on ahead and drop my bags here!

After she broke the hug, she ran out with the others, all while I followed shortly after, and tapped on my monitor. Then, I hit "Cloak", and at once, I turned invisible, leaving everyone else wondering HOW I just did that... ESPECIALLY Rarity, who couldn't even find my whereabouts at all, now.

I tapped on Bane's shoulder, and said through my mic to only him, "I'm still here, don't worry! WITHIN your helmet, you'll see a small map with a radar. The RED dots are creatures that appear HOSTILE, while the blue ones are friendly. The GREEN ones, however, are unknown, so don't attack THEM, but encounter them cautiously, or avoid them altogether. Our maps are linked, so it'll update what I find out, while mine will update what YOU find out... alright?"

Bane nodded his head, then replied, "Understood, boss!" Then, he saluted, and turned around at the ponies, who were now staring at him confused. "Justin spoke with me. He's still here, but he gave me instructions on what to do. Now, then... Justin? Where do I go, though?"

I replied, "Hold on... okay, NOW you should see a yellow arrow on the map! Just follow it, and it'll take you out of this place! Be careful, though, as the arrow COULD move to different locations, in case the current one gets swarmed, or closed!"

"Alright, thanks!" Bane saluted again, then motioned for the group to follow him. Then, all of them vanished within the darkness, while I stood there, still invisible, and turned on my recorder, in case I run into something that COULD be useful for evidence to prove the Diamond Dogs innocent. After a couple more seconds of taking deep breaths, I followed my OWN marker to this "General Rex" fellow... I only hope that he isn't as tough as they SAY he is... while this armor IS made of Titanite, I STILL don't know how sturdy it is compared to whatever THIS guy could throw at me... after all, this IS a different Earth I'm in!

I was in the front of the group, keeping my eyes peeled on the... "radar" thing that Justin spoke of. Thankfully, though, it would seem that the commotion has caused MOST of the guards to gather around the OTHER side of the cave. I continued leading the group, until Twilight stopped me, and asked, "So, what's YOUR story, Mr. Bane? Why were you locked away for four years, exactly?"

Without turning my head, I replied, "I was an Elite Knight, believe it or not! The reason why he had me locked away was because I disobeyed a direct order from him."

"Which was what, exactly?" She asked again, this time sounding more concerned than MOST would be towards me. So concerned and innocent, in fact, that I couldn't just lie to her about the reason... even though it would probably make our chances of a peace treaty zero out. Then again, our captains, or perhaps, our captains' IMPOSTORS, attacked Canterlot after I was arrested, so maybe explaining it wouldn't affect a thing, anyways... would it?

After a seven second delay, I looked towards her, and said, "I was ordered to assassinate your pink friend over there..." I pointed to the pink pony with puffy hair, which deflated after my paw reached her, while her expression changed from a simple smile to a look of complete horror. Everypony else seemed to follow through with that same expression.

"He... he wanted you to kill PINKIE PIE?! Why?!" Twilight was staring at me in disbelief.

Hesitantly, I replied, "He said that she was just getting on his nerves! I didn't agree with his statement, and attempted to attack HIM, instead! Before I could hit him, though, he... he changed..." I looked at my paws, which started to tremble in fear at the memory.

"His arms... they suddenly grew the size of my shoulders in muscle! Then, he grew to be about nine times my size! When I looked up at him, the FIRST thing I saw was a red diamond that had a black center in it!" I shook my head, then sighed. "When I woke up after getting hit ONCE, I was already in the cell... locked away with most of my comrades here... although, there were... MORE of us before."

Twilight looked puzzled, then asked, "Wait, so he... SHAPESHIFTED?!" I nodded. "That's odd... only UNICORNS and ALICORNS can cast magic! How could HE, though? And what if... oh, no... we HAVE to warn Justin!"

I shook my head, then said, "There's no turning back now, I'm afraid!"

"What? WHY?!" She asked, now glaring at me.

I pointed back towards the hallway we came from, and replied, "Because he's already there!"

I looked up, and saw a massive wooden double-door just lying in front of me. No doubt about it... THIS is the place. Slowly, I reached for the center of the doors, but before my hands made contact, I heard a deep masculine voice, and quickly hid to the side, recorder still on.

"My queen! Are you CERTAIN that we are ready to take on such a request? I mean, sure, we've captured the Elements of Harmony, but still! The PRINCESS could still be a threat to us!" Well, crap... THIS doesn't sound good!

An echoing, deep feminine voice replied in an annoyed-sounding tone, "Silence, you fool! Of COURSE we're not ready yet! I was talking about in a couple months! That IS, after all, when the time will be right, and MOST of Equestria will be gathering!"

"But Queen Chrysalis," the man began, "what about the Diamond Dogs? If THEY are to attack the ground, then surely they will ALSO attack the Changelings, since our kinds are STILL, technically, at war!"

"I'm well aware of that, Rex... that's why I had you capture YOUR Dogs, and allow MY Changelings to take over for the past four years!"

I could hear Rex sigh. "You're right, My Queen... please forgive my questions."

Chrysalis laughed lightly, then replied, "No need for apologies, my humble servant... you ARE, after all, under MY control, anyways!"

Then, they both laughed, which caused my eyes to widen. So THAT'S why they've been hostile! They aren't even REAL Diamond Dogs! Well, THAT changes EVERYTHING, now, doesn't it?

"So when, exactly, will we meet IN PERSON, my queen?" Rex asked.

"Soon, my little servant... we shall meet the day BEFORE we attack! Be prepared until then! Oh, and by the way..." She paused, which caused my nerves to intensify. "...you have a guest here!" Well... crap...

Seeing how my cover was blown, I decided to uncloak my armor, and walk through the doors. Then, I witnessed a change of scenery that I, without a doubt, was NOT expecting!

Instead of being an old cave room like everywhere else, THIS room had clean white walls, and what LOOKED like a window that led to the outside, although after CLOSER inspection, I noticed it was just a security monitor that was sitting outside the window. The window was at my left, while in the center was an antique-looking coffee table, with a sofa and a loveseat on both ends of it, both sofa and loveseat being red with golden trimmings. In the BACK of the room, I saw a large metal door, which didn't seem to go with the theme of the room. Obviously, it didn't look like it was opened much, if at all. To the left side of the metal door was, what looked like, a metal shaft that was covered with a door. Could THAT be where they've locked the captains? Then, to my right, I saw a computer monitor with a creature that looked SLIGHTLY like an Alicorn, only it was more insect-like, with green eyes, and light blue, possibly cyan fly-like wings. I also noticed that her wings, AND her legs, appeared to have an abundance of holes on them. In a way, I doubted if the term "Swiss-Cheese" would make sense to HER, but in MY books, she would fit the description quite well.

Then, the nightmare that I had earlier played again, and at once, I recognized her! She was the SECOND creature that I saw in that nightmare! But... how come I haven't seen the FIRST one, yet? I looked towards the monitor even more, and found ANOTHER figure there, only THIS one was in the room with me.

Standing in front of the monitor was a medium-sized Diamond Dog with red fur, and what appeared to be a black leather jacket, with black leather pants below. From MY form of Earth, he would probably be considered a "Biker", or a "Road-Dog" in this case.

The two of them stared at me, both with confused expressions. I looked at both of them, and couldn't think of anything to do, other than wave.

"So," the Diamond Dog began, "YOU must be the otherworldly creature my guards have spoken about!"

I nodded my head, and replied, "And YOU must be General Rex, I presume?"

He nodded his head, while I turned my gaze to the creature on the monitor. "And I'm guessing YOU are Queen Chrysalis?"

She smiled, then nodded her head. "I must say, for a creature from another world, you have QUITE an eye for details! Indeed, I AM Queen Chrysalis... RULER of the SWARM!"

Her voice's echo caused me to feel slightly creeped out, but I knew better than to show it. Instead, I smiled, then gave a slight bow, which again caused her to look at me confusedly.

"I gotta admit," I began, "it isn't EVERY day that I run into royalty!"

I could see that she was NOT expecting my "proper" manners, and said in a more casual-sounding voice, "Well, well! In all honesty, I have to admit that it's quite NICE to finally meet an enemy who STILL shows respect! Tell me... WHO, and WHAT exactly ARE you?"

"Justin Daniels... I'm a Human."

"Human, huh?" She placed her right hoof under her snout, and shrugged. "And HERE, I thought they were just a myth! Oh, well! Pleasure to meet you, Justin! Tell me... do you LIKE it here in Equestria?"

I nodded my head. "Of course I do! For once, I actually fee like the inhabitants here actually treat me like I'm a REAL person!"

"And what if I were to tell you that they're only USING you?" She stood closer through the monitor, which creeped me out a little more.

"I don't know what you mean by that... care to explain?" I tilted my head, while she sighed.

"Have you ever been to the Everfree Forest before?" She asked, to which I shook my head.

I replied, "No, ma'am... but I've HEARD about it! Something about that place being WAY too dangerous for ponies to be exploring in! Why do you ask?"

"Well..." she began, "they BANISHED me there, of course!"

I tapped on my monitor, and turned on the "Lie-Detector", which surprised me when it said that she was telling the truth.

"Why did they even banish you to begin with?! Was it something you did?" I looked closely at the green bar in the center of my helmet screen.

She shook her head, which caused the bar to turn red. I decided to play along with it, though, and see just HOW much she would lie about.

"So who exactly DID attack them? Was it the Captains of the Diamond Dogs?" She nodded her head, which made the bar turn even MORE redder.

"Last question," I began, while pointing my right finger at her through the monitor. "Are you telling the SWORN truth? Sworn being that should you lie, your LIFE would be on the line?"

She paused for a long moment, then asked, "Why would you even ASK that kind of a question?! OF COURSE I'M SPEAKING THE TRUTH!"

Then, I unholstered my pistol, and pointed it at the screen. "My armor has a built-in Lie Detector, you know... it can translate ANY language for me to understand... and Bullsh*t happens to be one of those languages!" I placed a FRESH new clip in my pistol, and made it glow. "It would seem that you're quite an EXPERT at that language, as well!"

"Ha! Well, it LOOKS like we have a clever one here! Rex..." he looked at the monitor, and saluted. "...Be a good boy, and SHOW this little pest some manners!"

Rex grinned menacingly at me, while Queen Chrysalis's image on the monitor disappeared, and the monitor shut itself off, while Rex walked closer to me.

He punched his chest, and revealed a glowing green diamond on his chest. The diamond... THAT must be what's causing him to obey Chrysalis!

After stretching his arms out, I noticed the green diamond project some sort of light around Rex, and at once, his leather jacket's sleeves ripped off, while he grew in strength, AND size! Thankfully, though, his pants were stretchable. THAT would've been awkward...

His eyes turned from green to red, and after his "growth spurt" was complete, he roared, while he revealed that he towered over me, literally OVER ten times my size.

Out of instinct, I shot the diamond directly with plasma shots, but what I DIDN'T expect was for the shots to have NO effect, and even vanish before they could even make contact! He smiled at my attempt, and cracked his knuckles, which revealed to me that his fingers were mostly the size of half my arms, which would be about one and a half foot long fingers on this behemoth!

At THIS condition of the situation, there was only ONE thing I could think of at that time.

Well, sh*t...

Author's Notes:

*SNEAK-PEEK*
Justin: And HERE I thought being a Technician would AVOID these situations!

Justin runs around the room, dodging flying debris, while trying to shoot the diamond from Rex's chest.

Rex: HOLD STILL, YOU LITTLE WORM!

Justin's eyes widen when he sees Rex lift a giant pillar from the room, and hold it over his shoulder, while he runs towards him, while Justin turns around, and runs away from his direction, arms and legs flailing.

Justin: WHY DID I EVEN VOLUNTEER FOR THIS SH*T?!

Announcer: While MORE than capable of winning this battle due to his armor being able to take MANY hits, Justin knows that he will NOT be able to bring peace to the Diamond Dogs and Ponies if he were to kill General Rex... which is why he must find a way to attack the DIAMOND on his chest... there's only ONE problem... HOW?! Get too far, and he'll get something THROWN at him, but get too CLOSE, and HE'LL be the one thrown around! How will he be able to succeed, WITHOUT involving death? Find out NEXT time, in The Outsider: Tales of a Space Technician, Chapter 5: Boss Battle: General Rex!

*MESSAGES FROM THE AUTHOR*
Finally! At first, I was wanting to write the battle scene in this chapter, but I decided "Dude! Where would the SUSPENSE be in that?!" So, I've decided to use the battle as the NEXT chapter, with the aftermath of the battle to go WITH it!

And, don't y'all worry! I'm not really THAT much of a potty-mouth through the story (AND in Real Life, now that I THINK about it!) Expect things like THAT to happen on a few more occasions, though!

Anyways, I'll TRY to make the next chapter either tomorrow, or late tonight, but I won't GUARANTEE a release! In fact, an ALMOST GUARANTEE that it won't be in another week or so! Don't worry, though, because that was an "ALMOST" Guarantee! You never know, though? Maybe I'll post it SOONER than even I think?!

Stay strong, stay sharp, my fellow bronies! It's a cruel world out there! If they get you down, and if ever you need an understanding shoulder to cry on after a hard day, REMEMBER that we're MORE than a community of "Odd" people, and I can be one of those shoulders! (Well, technically, I'm MORE than a shoulder, but an average human being, who has TWO shoulders, but... ah, YOU get the idea!) We're a FAMILY of "Like-Minded People"! With that in mind, I'd like to give you ALL a good ol' fashioned brohoof! /)

Keep up the support, my friends, and I'll be there to give y'all MY support, as well!

*PS* Holy Crap! I THOUGHT I sent this chapter in HOURS ago! I'm SO sorry, folks! I had this page open on my laptop, and headed upstairs for about four hours, then came back down here, ONLY to find it STILL on the "Edit" page, UNSENT!