With the rumors spreading wide of a fourth Alicorn existing, many more threats begin to lurk in the dark alleys of the world. Through countless streets in many dangerous cities, the crime rates have seemingly gone up, as more guards begin to lose their lives by the hands of overwhelming criminals... but that isn't the only thing that those guards lost their lives over. With the only known Alicorns existing in Equestria, the ponies soon find themselves in even more dangerous situations, as rumors turn to local tales in the taverns of their rulers hiding something from the world... something that COULD be a hidden weapon of war, should anything happen.

On the top of the mountains of The Highlands, things begin to get more challenging as Swift Justice, the son of their tyrant king, Goldheart, wakes up in a cage hanging over a dangerous-looking fall from the top of the mountain. In the same cage, Gilda slowly wakes up equally confused.

"Please... don't tell me... we were ambushed?" Gilda groggily asked Swift; who slowly stood up in the golden cage, and nodded his head.

"Unfortunately... it would seem that my father has... betrayed us all..." he replied with a sigh.

That statement caused Gilda's eyes to widen, before her expression turned into a glare. "Y... YOUR BUCKING FATHER DID THIS?!" She shouted; causing her voice to echo through the distant mountains. When she noticed the situation they were in, she gulped. "Wait... where are we?!"

Swift looked around again, before replying, "It would appear that we're in a... trap."

This caused Gilda to deadpan at him. "No... really? I would never have guessed that, Mr. Starswirl."

Swift deadpanned at her in response. "Well sorry! Kinda figured a featherbrain like you would've figured that one out!"

The second he finished his sentence, however, he found himself pinned to the ground by none other than Gilda who, by the looks of her expression, showed a sense of rage that he thought could literally make a Dragon wet itself out of fear.

Then, in a venomous voice, Gilda whispered to him, "Don't... you bucking... call... me that... again! UNDERSTOOD?!"

With a gulp, Swift nodded his head nervously, causing her death glare to remain on her face; yet she crawled off of him, and just sat there. "Sheesh... you didn't have to get aggressive like that, y'know... what do you have against that word, anyway? I haven't seen you get that pissed off back in Fort Shivercrest; even against the Black Wings!"

She huffed, before retorting, "Why the buck should I tell you, exactly?!" Before he could reply, she raised her right claw, and added, "Ah, buck it. Ya know what? I'm a bucking mercenary, so... I bet you could figure out why I'm the top of my class easily, if you put two and two together."

Swift hummed for a moment, before nodding his head. "Well... if you're the top mercenary... and you gave me a look that pretty much says that you want to brutally kill me because I called you feather-" He stopped himself once she looked his way again; the glare intensifying. "-that... bad word that I'm sorry for calling you, by the way... then that must mean..." Then he snapped his right fingers, and stated, "You must've been called that back in your fledgelinghood... and it was that word that made you the most skilled killer of the mercenaries!"

Slowly, Gilda started clapping her claws together... slowly, and in an unimpressed manner. "About damn time someone got the picture. So... ya don't wanna call me that anymore, huh?"

Swift waved his hands defensively, smiled sheepishly, and replied nervously. "N-nope! I'm alright with remaining alive, thank you very much!"

Gilda's expression finally changed into a weak, sly smile. "Good... then maybe you can quit buckin' around, and figure out a way outta this mess!"

With a sigh, Swift looked around the cage, and then replied, "Sorry to say this, G, but... this cage isn't just an ordinary one. It's been sealed off by a magic spell. The only way to open it would be to use a certain spell from an outside force."

Silence followed his last statement. Slowly, though, Gilda started to growl, until she slammed her right talon on the bottom of the cage. "DAMN IT!" She then shouted, before glaring at Swift. "WHY THE BUCK DID YOUR FATHER EVEN DO THIS?! AND WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US THAT HE WAS GONNA BE A BUCKING TRAITOR?!"

Swift glared back at her and replied in an annoyed tone, "Because I didn't know! Why do you think I'm in here, too?!"

More silence followed his statement.

Letting out a sigh, Gilda sat back down and placed her claws over her forehead. Then she looked up at him and asked, "So... what exactly did you do to cause him to treat you like this?"

Letting out a smirk, Swift replied, "I wish I could tell you that... but even I can't give you an exact answer..."

Gilda thought for a moment, before asking, "Then start from the beginning. What was it like growing up for you?" Swift looked up at her and was about to ask her something, but she already beat him to the point, and added, "I mean... if we're gonna die here, we might as well know who we're gonna die with, after all."

With a sigh, Swift nodded his head. "Alright, then... but I'll go on ahead and tell you that if you get bored of my story, feel free to stop me, so I don't make your ears bleed. Deal?"

Gilda nodded her head. "Deal."

With that, Swift took a deep breath, and began his story.

"It all started like this..."

Swift Justice was just five years old when he started training to become an Elite Knight. He was raised in a broken family; his mother having already died at his birth. His father, however, was as loving of a father as anyone could ever ask for.

His motivation for becoming an Elite was shortly after witnessing a pair of Elite Knights stopping a Minotaur from attacking a defenseless Earth Pony. Swift saw the Knights defeat the Minotaur without even bringing up much of a fight. One swing from the Minotaur's fists, and the next thing he knew, he was flipped onto the ground, and cuffed before he even landed.

With those thoughts running through his head, Swift exercised absurd amounts every passing day. It was when he was eight when his newly crowned father noticed him in the garden; kicking a boulder.

His father, at first, was wondering why his son was kicking the boulder, until he noticed the other half of the boulder, where his son was kicking it. His eyes then grew wide, as the boulder's other half was dented with clear hoof-prints covering the entire surface. He even gasped at the numbers that his son was panting after each kick.

"Four hundred, forty nine thousand and one..." *KICK* "Four hundred, forty nine thousand and two..." *KICK* "Four hundred, forty nine thousand and three..." For the next few hours, he continued to watch his son, who didn't even stop for a break between each number.

"Four hundred, forty nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety eight..." *KICK* "Four hundred, forty nine thousand, nine hundred, and ninety nine..."

"What are you doing?" Goldheart asked; catching Swift off-guard, and causing him to miss the boulder and land on his flank.

"EEK! Father?!" Swift shrieked before landing on the ground. "What are you doing here?!"

His father chuckled before replying, "Just wondering why in Celestia's Green Earth you're sculpting a statue with your bare hooves!"

Swift's cheeks turned red at that statement as he looked over at the boulder's countless kick marks. "I'm... not really sculpting, father... I'm just... practicing..."

Goldheart tilted his head in confusion. "Practicing? Practicing for what, my son?"

"W-well..." Swift began, until he stood upright, and saluted his father. "I'm practicing to become an Elite Knight, Your Majesty!"

Goldheart stood there silently, until his mouth formed a smile. Then the smile curled up, until he started chuckling. After mere moments of chuckling, he finally burst out in hysterical laughter.

Swift, however, stood back up and sighed. "I know, father... I'm technically a prince now, and have more rights, but..." he then curled his right fist, and held it up in the air with a serious expression on his face. "I still want to do something for the people of your kingdom! I want to become a hero, instead of sit around in a throne room! I want to see the world... and I want my name to be known across the lands, as one of the greatest heroes around!"

Goldheart's laughter didn't stop, though... much to Swift's annoyance. "What's so funny, father? Do you think I can't do it?"

Goldheart finally managed to stop his laughter, but his smile was still on his face. "That is correct! I think you can't do it!"

Swift then glared at him. "W-WHAT?! Why can't I-" Swift was quickly silenced by Goldheart covering his mouth with his hand.

"But... just because I don't think you can... doesn't mean you can't do it! That's why, from this day forth, I will train you to become an Elite Knight!" King Goldheart's words echoed through Swift's mind, and made his glare quickly turn into a wide, toothy grin.

"Really? R... REALLY?!"

Then Goldheart raised his right pointing finger up. "But... on one condition!"

Swift stood up again, and saluted. "Yes, sir! Anything for you, Your Majesty!"

"Two, then... one, you will still address me as 'Father'. I don't want you to grow up thinking I'm not!"

Swift nodded his head, and smiled. "Yes, sir! And the other thing, Your M-err... Father?"

Goldheart's smile instantly turned into a serious one. "You will have to prove me wrong someday... that will be your final test, in fact."

Swift nodded his head. "H-how will I know when I'm ready, though?"

Goldheart thought for a moment, before snapping his right fingers. "I know!" Then he reached his hands around the golden belt he wore, and pressed the button in the center of it, causing it to fall. Before it could reach the ground, however, he caught it in midair, and gently placed it on the ground; between his son and himself. "Get used to the weight of this belt, son... when you can lift it, I want you to practice with it on every single day! And then, whenever the weight of the belt becomes something you're familiar with, I want you to tell me that it's time to finish what we started!"

Swift stared at the belt, and smirked. "Really? That's it?" Then he reached down and attempted to lift the belt. The only problem, however, was that he couldn't even make it budge. "What the-"

Goldheart then chuckled again, before patting his son's mane. "You still have a long way to go, son... but you'll get there, someday!" With that, the king left his son to continue his training. "When you are ready, I will have a meal waiting for you, my son."

"Four hundred and fifty thousand!" Swift began, before nodding his head. "Y-yes, sir!" Then he continued kicking the boulder throughout that day.

King Goldheart searched the halls of the castle for any signs of his son, but to no avail. Then he turned to a pair of maidens and asked, "Has anyone seen my son?"

The maiden on the left shook her head and replied, "I haven't seen him get his lunch, Your Majesty!"

The king nodded his head and turned towards the gardens. There, he headed towards the boulder, and stopped in place. Then his mouth formed a weak smile. "Oh, Swift... what will I ever do with you, boy?"

He then chuckled at the sight of his son, who was sleeping... on his hooves. His forehead was rested on the rock, and his eyes were closed. He lightly snored as well, with a bubble hanging from his nostrils.

Goldheart shook his head with a smile before walking up to his son. Then he lifted him off the ground, and carried the young prince to his own bedroom; leaving the door slightly cracked open so he could hear him from his own room across the hallway. "Sleep well, my son... for you have a lot of work ahead of you." With that, he went into his own bedroom and rested on his bed. After just a few minutes, he slowly drifted off into a deep sleep.

Swift, now seventeen years old, stood tall and proudly, as his father drew his sword and gently placed it on both of Swift's shoulders. "Swift Justice... not only have you been training for this day, but you have also proven that you can face fear itself; having slain the ogre that nearly took a merchant's family away!"

Swift smiled as he heard the sound of applause behind his back. "And you have also proven yourself worthy of wearing the belt that I have left for you, as well! The 'Belt of Kings'... considered the heaviest belt in the world... and even with that on as a burden, you have proven that you can endure great challenges, and yield even greater results! That is why, from this day forth, I hereby declare you, an Official Elite Knight!"

More crowds began to cheer, as Swift looked down, and smiled at the belt that he was finally able to wear properly... the golden buckle in the center even looked like it shined for a brief moment.

"And after that, there really wasn't much left. I was sent to guard Druid Lake in Druathica a few months ago, and the rest... well, it's history." Swift finished, before looking down at his belt, and sighing.

Gilda hummed to herself, before nodding her head. "So I guess your father's change must've hit ya the hardest then, huh?"

Swift nodded his head again. "Yeah... and to be honest, I didn't really think I'd have to face him like... well, like this... if you know what I mean?"

She nodded her head. "Yeah, I hear you." Then she turned to her right and asked, "Hey... so what do you think will happen now?"

Before she could even get an answer, the sound of the front of the gate unlocking could be heard. When the two of them faced the gate, they gasped at the sight of Zula standing on the side of the mountain. "Zula! What the- where did you come from?!" Swift asked, before noticing three familiar figures standing next to her; the Diamond Dog named Topaz Claw, the Slithian, and the female Minotaur that worked alongside the Slithian.

"Topaz Claw!" Swift said while facing the Diamond Dog. Then he turned towards the Slithian and added, "Sand Barrier!" After addressing the Slithian, he turned to the Minotaur and addressed her, before turning to the other three. "Storm Light! You're all okay?!"

Zula nodded her head before replying, "Yes, Swift Justice... and I see we are on time, as well!"

Swift nodded his head and stepped from the gate. Then, with a loud bang, Storm's rifle blew the gate off, and dispelled the magic lock from it.

Swift then turned to Gilda and motioned for her to leave the cage first. "Ladies first, after all."

With a smug smile, Gilda nodded her head. "Y'know, ya ain't half bad, when ya treat a girl like a guy should." Then she stretched her wings and flew to the other group.

Swift chuckled lightly before moving towards the other end of the cage. Then, in one swift leap, he quickly landed next to the group, and joined them.

"So... where do we go from here?" Zula asked Topaz.

Topaz shrugged his shoulders before replying, "Now, we need to go find the others, of course! They've been scattered around the city... but since they know our faces, we'll have to stick to the shadows... and so, we'll need to figure out a way to locate them without being seen!"

"Then perhaps we could be of assistance?" Came an unknown male's voice from behind the group.