The roar of the engine was the only thing that could be heard as the bus barreled down the desolate road.  The driver, an old pony that went by the name of Marcus sat at the wheel.  His light orange coat stood out against the dark leather seat he was sitting in.  His light brown mane gave away his age, since it was greying in many spots.  He brought a hoof up to his face and scratched his beard as he looked around the flat landscape surrounding the road.  Bandits usually patrolled this area, and although the bus he was driving was reinforced with steel plating and bullet proof windows, he knew it wouldn't stand a chance if they were attacked.  He let out a sigh of relief after seeing that there were no signs of any patrols nearby.  He took a peek into the rear-view mirror so he could get a look at the four ponies riding in his bus.

The first pony that caught his eye was a very frail looking Pegasus with a pale, yellow coat.  He looked as if he hadn't eaten a thing in months.  He was wearing a strange mask that covered the majority of his face, leaving only his mouth and a small goatee out in the open.  His eyes were covered by a pair of red-tinted goggles that were just dark enough to hide his eyes completely.  His black mane stuck out of the back of his mask.  He held a sniper rifle in his hooves, which surprised Marcus, since the Pegasus didn't look like he would have the strength to hold the weapon, let alone fire it.  Marcus then noticed a black bird with red feathers on the tips of its wings.  The bird rested on the back of the Pegasus's seat, lightly cooing as it's owner fed it something from his bag.

Marcus then glanced over at the next passenger.  She was a young looking Unicorn with a light purple coat.  She just sat and watched the landscape go flying by as the bus continued down the road.  She looked over towards the driver, and met his gaze in the mirror.  Her bright, yellow eyes seemed to be staring straight into his soul.  She smiled a very soft, caring smile at him.  Marcus watched as her horn started to glow very lightly, and she suddenly winked out of existence.  She reappeared with a small pop two seats ahead of where she was sitting.  She looked at Marcus again through her blood-red mane, and smiled again.  She then turned her attention back to the window, and continued to watch the scenery.  Marcus was a little confused with the unicorn, since there weren't that many female ponies on the planet.  The only females that come to planet were either researchers that explored the alien ruins scattered across the planet, or they belonged to the Crimson Lance.  

The next pony that he rested his eyes on was a very big and bulky Earth pony.  He was darker than the other ponies riding the bus.  His coat was a sandy brown color, which contrasted against his light orange mane.  A small hat rested upon the pony's head, with a pair of goggles resting on the brim of the hat.  Marcus noticed that this pony was the only one wearing any armor.  He wore the chest piece and a shoulder piece that engineer's in the Crimson Lance often wore.  This pony either killed a member of the Crimson Lance and stole his armor off of him, or he used to belong to the Crimson Lance and deserted them.  Either way, he was probably a fugitive, but then again, who on Pandora wasn't a fugitive these days?  The pony sat motionless, his big amber eyes focused on the floor of the bus.

The final pony on the bus was the largest and scariest looking one of them all.  He was a large, grey earth pony with ice blue eyes and a very short, black mane.  The pony wore strange looking thing's on his hooves.  They looked like bracelets with nuts, bolts, and screws attached.  Marcus wasn't too sure what they were used for, but he guessed they were more of a weapon than a fashion statement.  The large pony just sat there, watching the landscape with a troubled look on his face.  Marcus could tell he was eager to get off the bus.  He then noticed a strange object dangling around the pony's neck.  It looked like a dog's paw.  He didn't pay much mind to it.    

Marcus suddenly jerked his eyes forward as he felt a massive thud that caused the bus to shake and rattle.  His heart skipped a beat as he thought that bandits might be attacking the bus.  He looked in both side mirrors, and then saw a small creature tumbling away from the back of the bus.  He must have hit the poor thing as it was trying to get across the road.  He shrugged it off, still a bit paranoid, and continued onward towards their destination.  He could see the small town off in the distance, no more than 5 minutes away.  He was relieved that he was able to make this trip without any problems from the local gangs of bandits.  He let a small giggle escape as he began to approach the bus stop right outside of the town.

    The bus came to a screeching halt on the outskirts of a run-down village.  Marcus looked up, stretched his sore limbs, and turned to face the four passengers.

    "Alright, here we are.  The wonderful town of Fyrestone.  Lovely place, isn't it?"  Marcus smiled as he swung the door on the bus open.  He sat and watched as the four ponies stood up and made there way to the front of the bus.  As the Pegasus stepped off, he watched as his pet bird took flight and started circling around above the bus.  Marcus continued to wait while the last pony made their way off of the bus.  He hopped off of the bus, right behind the grey pony, and quickly walked to the back of the bus.  He pulled a small lever on the side and a ladder extended from the top of the bus to allow Marcus to climb up.  He quickly clambered up to the bus and unstrapped all of the luggage loaded up.

    He was surprised at the amount of luggage that the four ponies had brought along with them.  Most of the travelers that he brought to Fyrestone had weeks worth of supplies, but these four seemed to have only packed enough to last them a few days.  He shrugged it off, not caring, since they had already payed him to drive them out there.  The grey pony walked over to the side of the bus, and helped Marcus unload the crates and cases that were stored on the top of the bus.  As the last crate was passed down, Marcus climbed back down the ladder and flipped the switch on the back of the bus again.  The ladder slowly retracted as Marcus walked casually back to the door of the bus.

    The four ponies were unloading all of their respective supplies, stuffing them into saddle bags.  Marcus noticed a strange mechanism on the side of each pack.  A metal bar extended from the side of their packs, extending up to their mouths.  A small slot sat on the side, and it looked as if some sort of weapon, most likely a gun, could be slid into it and fit snugly.  The ponies looked up at Marcus as he began to speak again.

    "I hope you four enjoyed the ride.  If you need any help, head into town," he raised a hoof, pointing towards the collection of dilapidated buildings, "and talk to some of the locals.  They should be able to help you in whatever it is you would need."  Marcus walked back on to the bus and closed the doors.  They heard the engine roar to life, then watched as the bus slowly became nothing more than a speck off in the distance.  The four looked at each other awkwardly, then went back to loading up their supplies.  

    The unicorn was the first to break the silence, "So...what brings you three to Pandora?"  Her voice was very soft and soothing.  A few minutes passed, and none of the ponies spoke back.  Her smile wavered a little bit, but she pressed on.  "You three don't talk much, I'm guessing?"

    "Listen, why don't you just mind your damn business.  What I'm doing here is my business, and mine alone."  The Pegasus's voice was harsh and raspy, but still contained a trace youth, as it cracked a little as he said it.  He coughed to clear his throat.

    "Hey, lay off of her.  She's just trying to be friendly, jerk," the brown armored pony spoke.  His armor was shining in the bright noon sun.  His voice was very deep and commanding, like the voice of a drill sergeant.  

    The Pegasus scoffed at Armored Pony's attempt to defend the young unicorn.  "Well, well, well, what do we have here?  A big tough guy from the Crimson Lance?  What'd you do, buy your armor from some back-world pawn shop so that you could try and intimidate somepony with it?"  

    "You hold your tongue, young one," the pony walked over to the Pegasus.  He was a few inches taller than him, just to the point where the Pegasus had to tilt his head back to look him in the eye.  

    "Oooooo, I'm so scared," the Pegasus said in a sarcastic tone.  The armored pony feigned a lunge at the Pegasus.  The fake attack was enough to scare the Pegasus, causing him to flinch.  He stepped back, recoiling from the shock, and slipped on a loose rock in the ground.  He fell flat on his back and looked up at the Armored pony.  He watched as the pony failed to suppress his laughter.  He started to crack up, a deep, booming laugh echoing through the town.  

    "Aw, is the little filly gonna cry?  Did I hurt your feelings?"  The pony said in between chuckles.  He was too distracted by his laughter to notice that the Pegasus had rolled over and gotten back up on his hoofs.  The Pegasus walked back up to the armored pony, and looked up at him.  Out of pure anger the Pegasus reeled back and rammed his head into the bottom of the pony's jaw, full force.  The armored pony stumbled backwards, dazed by the attack.  He slowly started working his jaw around, making sure nothing was broken.  

    The Pegasus charged at him again, this time trying to kick the armored pony in the chest.  He propelled his hoof as fast as he could, attempting to connect with the un-armored portion of the pony's chest.  The Pegasus yelped with surprise as the armored pony gripped his leg, stopping it in it's path.  The pony smiled, realizing the sudden advantage that he had.  He yanked the Pegasus towards him and threw his armored shoulder forward.  The metal plate connected with the Pegasus's face, causing a light ring to echo out from the impact.  The pony then grasped the Pegasus's leg with both of his hooves and threw the Pegasus with all of his might.  The Pegasus landed a few feet away, tumbling along the ground.  

    The Pegasus struggled to stand up.  He spat a conglomeration of blood and spit on the ground.  He shook his head, trying to get his vision to stop flickering due to the attack.  He looked back at the armored pony, and stood up again.  This time instead of charging he lifted up his left wing.  Underneath of it was a small leather sheath with an elaborate wooden handle sticking out of the end.  He turned his head towards the sheath and quickly unbuckled the strap holding his sword in place.  He pulled the blade out and held it in his mouth, teeth bared.  The blade had three words written with eloquent lettering etched into the side.

    The armored pony quickly pulled a combat knife out of a slot in his armor.  He held the knife in his mouth, ready to attack.  He watched as the Pegasus sprinted at him, attempting to slice his throat.  He parried the attack, locking blades in place as they both tried to over power each other.  They struggled for a few minutes, neither one letting up on their attacks.  A few seconds passed, with neither pony showing a sign of giving up.  

    A dull thud rang through the air.  The two ponies that were standing there moments ago were skidding across the ground, kicking up small dust clouds as the bounced.  They came to a halt a few feet away.  The armored pony lifted his head up, looking for what had just attacked him and the Pegasus.  He met the piercing gaze of the grey earth pony, who was standing a few feet away, staring at the two of them.  The earth pony walked over to the two, then lowered his head so he could be eye level with them.

    "This fight is over," the Grey pony's voice sounded like the voice of a god punishing his followers.  "Do you two know what your little scuffle has caused?" He asked, motioning over towards the unicorn.  She was sitting down on her hind legs, two wet streaks flowing down her face.  They could hear a few shallow sobs coming from her.  "She was just trying to be nice.  There is no need for you two idiots to try and kill each other because of that.  Now, the two of you are going to make up, apologize, and then we can finally head into town together.  If either of you have any fight left in you, then fight me.  I’ll gladly fight the two of you if you’re still willing to.  And I will drag both of your asses into town if that’s what it takes."

    The Grey pony watched over the two ponies like a hawk.  Neither of the two ponies were showing any signs of moving.  His scowl slowly turned into an angered frown.  He let out a small growl, which was enough enough to make the Pegasus flinch.  A few more minutes passed, and the only sign of movement was the Pegasus's pet bird swooping in and landing on his back.

    The armored pony slowly slid his knife back into the slot in his armor, and stood up.  He dusted himself off and made sure that nothing was broken.  As he finished checking himself, he slowly walked over to the Pegasus.  He stopped in front of him, and held a hoof out to him.  The Pegasus looked at him, then grabbed his hoof.  The armored pony slowly helped the Pegasus off of the ground.  The Pegasus slid his sword back into it's sheath underneath of his wing, then looked back at the pony who had just helped him up.  

    The Pegasus stuck his hoof out, waiting for the armored pony's reaction.  The pony gripped the Pegasus's hoof, and shook.  

    "Now see, isn't that better?  Now go and gather up the rest of your things.  I want to get into town as soon as I can," The grey pony walked over to the Unicorn who was still sitting there, tears streaming down her face.  She looked up at him as he sat down in front of her.  "Look, they're done fighting.  Nothing to worry about."

    "It's a good thing you were here," the Unicorn said, her voice still a little shaky from crying, "I thought those two were going to kill each other."

    "Hey, it's no big deal.  I'm not about to let anyone kill each other just because somepony was trying to be nice."  He watched as the Unicorn slowly stood up, wiping tears from her eyes.  She looked up at him, and smiled.  "Alright, go finish loading up.  I want to head into town as soon as I can, and I don't want another fight to delay me again."  He looked over to the two other ponies as he finished off what he was saying.  He walked back over to his supplies, and finished stuffing them into his saddle bags.  After he finished loading up his bags and making sure everything was secure, he walked over to check how the other three were getting along.

    The three remaining ponies double checked their bags, making sure everything was tied tight and secure.  "No use in waiting any longer.  Let’s go."  The grey pony slowly started making his way into town, the three other ponies walking by his side.