Shining Armor was obviously fatigued and very tired. His eyes seemed red and puffy, almost as if he was crying for the night. His mane was a mess as he seemed... uncharacteristically weak. But as of the previous night and what was shown to me, I've come to understand what he's gone through and how his mistakes ended up making him who he is now. The only issue is that I can't just bring it up to him because that would shut him out or probably make him more aggressive towards me.

However, he's probably also one to understand that we all can fall victim to our mistakes or past transgressions. I know that I do owe him an apology, and that I want to understand him as well as have him understand that I would be willing to help him in any way. But there's one question that highlights all of this.

Where do I even start?

"...Morning." I responded uneasily.

"Morning." He parroted, seemingly disinterested in anything I would have to say. Aside from his drowsiness, there was a distinctive expression of resentment. Obviously, he's not too thrilled in learning that his little sister's first time came prior to marriage, thus endangering her political career and placing him in a rather precarious situation.

And of course, it's rightfully deserved. "So... long night for all of us?"

The disheveled prince deadpanned as his horn ignited, his magic manipulating the handle of the door. "You have five seconds to get to the point before I pull your face into this door as I slam it shut."

Since I was on the clock, I just blurted out any kind of response that would gain his immediate attention. "It won't be like last time."

His eyes widened as those words slipped out of my mouth. When I realized what I had said myself, I slapped myself in the face. I was cursing myself out for even thinking of the company he served with and the one individual he ran into that ultimately became the face of his sins and failures, the one visage he couldn't drink himself out of seeing.

Okay, maybe I need to shut off my brain because it's still operating off of the dream I was just given.

Yeah... that's definitely true. Perhaps I'll need to talk to him about the choice I've made.

I hate it when you speak the truth.

Dammit.

"What are you talking about?" Shining asked, seeming to become a little defensive.

And much like a deceased pony of interest, I started rambling on. "I mean... I'm sorry about everything I did. I know that everything that lead up to this point was all avoidable and that things between the two of us, I mean between me and Twilight, should've never gotten to that point, but I only ended up making things worse when I just let it get out of hand. And if I had responded with my brain instead of my body, our relationship would be in a much different place."

"Okay, maybe not because there are some other things that are in the way, like my job and whatnot. But still, perhaps if I had the discipline to talk this over instead of just running to the stables, we, you and I, would be in a much different standing than that of the now. So I know that my carelessness has caused you to see the scenario of your worst nightmare coming to germination, I can only ask that you─"

Shining paused me right away, holding his hoof up as he finally got a few words in. "Your time's been up. Why are you still here?"

I bowed before him and continued to ask for his forgiveness. "I'm sorry. I know we're in this position because of me. I only ask that you allow me to find a way to get us out of this mess. And I know that it would only be worse if we were to never talk about this at all. So please, just allow me to─"

The prince used his magic to zip my lips shut. I looked up to see a grimacing frown on his face. "I gave you a chance already. Now you're in a position where not only I can't do anything for my sister, but you can't do anything for yourself. The choices you've made are the ones you'll have to deal with. I can't accept any apology you make because you promised me that none of this would ever happen. I gave you a chance to carry Twily, and you dropped her. She's hurt because of you."

He's beginning to get aggressive. "I know. And I've done everything I could to make well of the situation. But now I'm stuck in something that only..." I can't say him. If he knows that I've been informed of his intimate past, there's no telling what would happen to me. I needed to keep a distance between him and his past. "... that very few know of now. And I feel that you would be best to tell me─"

"You're going to the mountain, aren't you?" He asked, cutting our conversation to it's bottom line.

"...I was informed of what I was walking into. I came here to ask you for advice, before I face what could be the thing that my ultimately final answer. What is man? What am I? What are the things I could've done to atone for my sins? Is there actually a God? Do I actually inherently believe in an eternal reward or an endless torment?"

Shining propped himself on his right pair of legs, leaning against the doorway. "You sound like you have a lot of questions on your mind, and not many answers for them."

"You seem like you have a lot of answers to give." I responded in kind.

"I don't." He quietly answered. "But the one piece of advice I can give you is that you should never walk into a dark cave. Monsters lurk there for plenty of reasons. Don't find yourself being one."

Judging from his answer, he was dedicated in trying to dismiss me. But I wasn't going to leave without an answer to one question. "Could I ever ask you for forgiveness?"

The stallion sighed heavily as he started to open up. "When I close my eyes at night, even when I so much as blink, I can see the faces of those without closure. And each night, I pray to the heavens above so that they'd hear me. All I can say to them, to the faces of those I've served with, is how sorry I am for living my life on without them experiencing the things I've come to enjoy since our parting. Tell me Nondis, what is their response? And don't think of any half-baked words that would be sufficient enough to replicate their answer."

To be honest, I don't know what kind of answer they would have. Some would be quite angry. Others would probably be sad that he's suffering so much. Maybe a few would see it otherwise. Maybe a select few would probably want him to be happy. But there's no way of saying how the collective of their spirits would bring about a unified answer.

"If you couldn't think of anything, and all you could do was allow the silence to reach your ears, you're right. That's exactly what they say to me each and every night, as they stare back into my face with lifeless expressions. Their answers are written all over their faces. Would you speak for them?"

If I could, maybe I'd answer him. But the conversation has already gone deeper than I was wanting it to be. Any deeper and I might just end up regurgitating his past experience. And being that it's a personal issue that he seems to keep to himself, I can't just out and speak. I don't have a place to. "...If I could, I would. But I'm not a shaman who can converse with the spirits of the long deceased. I just want us to have closure."

The disturbed prince seemed to look past me before he could answer, his gaze caused me to turn back to see what captured his attention. It was a unicorn mare with a black maid outfit and a rather stern look on her face. In her possession was a manila envelope. She walked up to me and flapped the envelope towards my face. "S'cuse me, captain. but Prince Blueblood had me deliver this to you."

I pulled the envelope from her and cracked it open. Already, I could see a few things labeled as damage reports, debriefing papers, collateral payment plans, settlement case files, and autopsy reports. As I slowly slid some of the contents out, a photograph of a small battalion fell from my grasp. As the image fluttered onto the ground, I could see the forty faces of all the guards that were assigned to the first excursion. Another thing I saw was Caramel rolling his eyes as Shining had his helmet placed in front of him. Obvious to say that on the row immediately behind him was the familiar image of a mare with green eyes holding her helmet to the side as she stuck her tongue out, closing one eye as she saluted.

She's an obvious standout in this picture. Honestly, I thought she was kinda cute.

But a groan from behind me indicated that Shining wasn't too thrilled to see the image on the ground. He pushed himself back onto all of his hooves, his magic once more manipulating around the door handle. "You fucked my sister, she's probably going to lose her wings and her job, Spike set you up for Count, you're going to the Arimaspi Territory, you could possibly die there. You know what's going on. There, closure."

The door slammed shut. Shining was beyond reaching at this point. I picked up the picture and stared at the group of ponies. There were quite a few faces I could make out. Unfortunately many of their faces here seemed so carefree as opposed to the images I was given. I can say that seeing them for myself was mildly unpleasant. I can't even begin to think about how it felt for Shining Armor.

"So... the residential human proved to be trouble for my princess. Tell me something new." The maid mumbled.

"Excuse me, but don't you have some other busy work to be doing?" I questioned. "If there's something that's not your business, then maybe you need to prop your nose in a different direction."

"Oh it's in a different direction now." She replied scornfully. "Then again, you've forcefully turned my nose once before. I guess that much hasn't changed about you, human."

She flicked her tail with a pout and walked off. As she did, she shook her flank from side to side.

"See? You didn't have to slap my flanks for me to take my leave this time. Guess we all learn a bit from a first encounter."

Though my brain was slightly hazy as to the topic of her remark, I did find myself taking note of her words. We all learn from the first encounter and try to make a change from what occurred in the first meeting. And it doesn't ever have to be in the view of the one who's already been there and back. Sometimes it takes a second brain to come up with an alternative and a response potent enough to override the results of the first encounter.

I suppose this envelope will hold some crucial details on what I'm dealing with.

An hour later, my brothers and friends from my world all stood in the library with me as we searched for any other information that could prove to be useful. Twilight managed to conjure up all the books that contained any information about the arimaspi beasts. But since studying them was often seen to be such a high-risk issue, very few specialists were sent to gather information. And it's withered fruit showed few signs of usefulness.

About three books, one being an encyclopedia entry, contained any information that pertained to the creatures. Anything else was laid out all over the table. Twilight and Sunset continued to pace throughout the library while the six of us talked at the table, going over the files that I was given.

"Okay, let's spot check." Melanie called out while holding the debriefing files. "These guys are apparently smart, big, and really fucking hairy. They rarely ever leave their borders unless provoked. They never go without watch groups in either the day or night. The mountain they live in is apparently a network of caves and tunnels much akin to an ant's mound. As far as their social interactions are concerned, they seem to pride in humiliating their trespassers. When one is hurt, it will call to others for aid. These creatures are said to be strong and very effective in neutralizing anything that's not of them."

"And apparently they're somewhat versed in psychological warfare." Rickey added, picking up an old tabloid with the picture of dead ponies staked on the top of a hill. "Seriously, this is some fucked up shit."

"They be on some Vlad Dracula type shit." Cliff pointed out while looking at the tabloid. "I think a few of these guards are female too. Damn, no fucks given for the fairer sex, I'll tell you what."

Melanie groaned with disgust as she looked at a few of the victims. "Yesh... True feminism is some really scary shit."

"Let's cut down on the issues that don't really matter, and let's focus on the shit that apparently exists." Alex stated as he stared at some of the mental health reports. "Apparently there were four survivors. I wonder if we can get in touch with them."

"Two survivors." I corrected. "Steelshoe and Windfall, the first two profiles in that record, they committed suicide. One jumped from the battlements of Canterlot and to the base of the mountain, no wings or parachute. The other one got in touch with a poison dealer and bit a pill. Not quite cyanide, but it removes oxygen from the cells throughout the body. They found him bluer than what he normally was."

Stanton shook his head. "All of this screams 'fucked up beyond all comparison.' So what about this Caramel guy? It says here that he was disavowed."

"Disavowed, dishonored, and currently detained in federal custody. He was caught with domestic abuse, assault, aggravated sexual assault, battery, violation of a restraining order, and endangerment of a protected species." I answered.

Rickey whistled at the list of charges. "Rap sheet running from Austin to New York City. I guess asking him is out of the question considering the time we have left. Who's left?"

"Shining Armor." Alex pointed out. "But asking him about this would be like asking gramps about how Vietnam went for him."

Stanton and I shuddered as we thought about that story. "Nope, can't even imagining myself in THAT kind of situation. That's the shit that would break a man." Stanton muttered.

"Well he screams himself to sleep like it, I'm not gonna even open up that shit." Especially considering the history behind his episodes.

All six of us sighed as Twilight and Sunset came back. "Anything new?" Sunset questioned.

"Nope." Melanie answered. "The only thing we didn't look at was the autopsy reports."

"Let's be real, who really wants to look at that shit?" Cliff asked. "We like sleeping too damn much to be peeking into shit like that."

"Well, the six of you got way further than I ever hoped to." Twilight responded. "Each time I look at that folder, I only start breaking down over how we had to look after my brother. Shining was never the same after that. He didn't tell Cadance or any of us about what all happened. We had to keep him locked up in a room. My mom even assaulted one of the members of the parliament and got sent to jail for a few weeks over this. My dad tried his best to reconcile with the families of the deceased, but when all they want is Shining's head, there's little he could do to please them. It took four months for all of this to clear up, or at least for my brother to start walking again."

"He had issues walking?" Rickey inquired.

Alex then read off Shining's medical report. "Five fractured ribs, one sprained hoof, one cracked leg, one orbital bone fracture, several cases of internal bleeding, spinal hemorrhaging, spinal fluid drippage, several other bruises, and extreme cases of post-traumatic stress. That's a hell of a diagnosis. I can see if he's been bedridden from this."

Rickey's jaw dropped from hearing Alex read off the list of injuries. "Jesus Christ, what all happened to the poor guy?"

"I don't know." Twilight muttered sadly. "He never talks about it to me."

"Would Cadance know anything about it?" Melanie asked.

"If she did, she'd be reserved in telling me. But it's obvious that she's just as clueless as I am."

I looked at the medical file, seeing a photo of a haunting image of Shining's thousand yard stare. "Has Celestia ever worked with him on this issue herself?" I asked Twilight.

"She has, personally. In fact, I think she's the only one who really knows what all happened to him. She shows that she has a knowledge of his issue. But when I ask her about it, she only tells me that Shining will tell us when he's ready. And of course, he's never been."

Alex shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. "Well we can't force him to speak on it. If it's his pill to swallow, then we can't get him to cough it back up"

I walked over to the one folder that any of us has yet to even touch. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before opening the folder and striving through the images. "No... Nope... Ugh... Damn, that's ugly... OH GOD..." Eventually, I landed on one name in particular, knowing that this individual was the primary suspect in Shining's ordeal. "Hello darkness, my old friend..."

As I closed it, I made sure that her file was bookmarked higher than anyone else's. Twilight watched me as I placed the folder down. "What happened?"

"Nothing you need to see." I quickly answered. "But I need you to get in contact with the railway maintenance union. I might need some materials that could help me out on this assignment. Take Sunset with you."

The two ponies looked to each other with uncertainty. "What are you trying to get?" Sunset asked.

"Some stuff to clear obstacles in the way, wink, so that I can get to my location a lot easier, wink-wink."

While Twilight remained a bit confused, Sunset lightly grimaced at my true intentions. She gave me a nod and quickly dragged Twilight along with her.

Meanwhile I tapped Melanie's shoulder. "Forbidden affair."

She looked at me with bewilderment as I walked up to Alex and pull out Shining's file from the medical records. Alex was left scratching his head. "What are you talking about?" She asked.

"Yeah, you're acting like you know something that we don't." Alex stated.

"Precisely." I rebutted. "Lesty and Luna didn't drag me down the hall to simply tuck me into bed for story time... Actually, that's exactly what happened."

"What?" The others asked in unison.

"To make a long story obscenely short, Shining, and this poor victim..." I moved Shining's file just above Songbell's photo quickly enough to where it hid the mess. Only leaving the profile picture of the mare in the corner visible. "...They were close."

Stanton walked up to the picture and tried to move Shining's report. "Really, how close were they?"

I slammed my hand on the report, stopping him before he ended up seeing something he wasn't prepared for. "There's a little thing in this marriage law that allows any suitor to go all 'dicks out' before the wedding day. She was such an example of the use of this clause. Unfortunately for him, it posed as a bit of a problem between the two of them because of some other issues I can't necessarily go into detail about."

"Well if you can't go into detail about it, then why are you explaining this to us?" Cliff inquired.

"Because minimal context is best suited for those of a third party. We are that party." I plainly answered. "Now to explain further, she was also the second-in-command to Shining, this following Caramel's demotion. She made a scouting report, Shining made a bad call, and shit went to hell after that."

Alex tapped his chin as he spoke. "Oh... Now I understand why you asked about Celestia working with Shining. She told you all of this, didn't she?"

"Well I'd be horribly rested if she just stayed up all night telling me this. She and Luna instead fed his memories to me in a dream. I can tell you the main reason why Shining's medical report is so extensive. In fact, I'm willing to bet that the orbital fracture he got was from Caramel giving him one good clock on the noggin to sit his ass down."

"A case of friendly fire, huh? What for?" Rickey pondered aloud.

"Because Songbell saved Shining from death. Shining wanted to save her, knowing that her wounds would be a cause for slowdown. She didn't like that, so she order Caramel to save Shining by any means necessary. And from what I could gather, Caramel didn't like that too much, but followed orders because she was above him in rank."

Stanton made the attempt to piece it all together. "So what you're saying is that Shining got with what's-her-face and the other dude got mad because of some specific reason that pertained to the girl because... What?"

Much like him, I was left at 'what'. "That's a question I've yet to ask."

Melanie picked up the papers and started reading on Shining's report. "Poor guy looks like he's been through hell."

You have no idea. "Quite a bit. Loss is hell to anyone who experiences it. That togetherness─"

"So what happened to her?" She said, looking at Songbell's picture.

I shook my head with pity as I warned her. "Well since you're the one with the medical knowledge, plus the constitution to be able to digest what you're gonna see, go on ahead and flip that page."

She rolled her eyes as she lifted Shining's medical report and stared wide-eyed at the autopsy photos. She breathed in sharply and arched her neck back with disgust. Her lips pursed with revulsion. "Uuuhaaa... Oh... God she got it bad."

The others were reluctant to satiate their curiosity by looking themselves. Alex and the others could already imagine the level of disgust she was experiencing just off of the look from her face. "That bad?" Rickey questioned.

Melanie shuddered as she started to read the report. "Victim was found impaled and without the rear section of her body. Tissue damage and scarring indicates that the victim's body was severed when alive. Abrasions and lesions shown on the underbelly, as well as the various disconnections involving the intestines, indicate that she had crawled for quite some time before succumbing to her injuries. Another wound was located on the back, cutting into the spinal area and severing many nerves that disabled her from walking and hindered flight capability. This wound was verified to have occurred prior to the composite abdominal tear."

Alex was on the verge of turning pale as he held his hand over his mouth. "Oh... *HURK* Shit."

Melanie quickly gave me the papers as she tried to calm my brother down. "Okay, whatever you do, don't vomit."

The others merely looked back at me as a grim expression showed on their faces. Stanton shook his head. "You're not going on that assignment, are you?"

"I guess I ain't got a choice." I said as I took a glimpse of the autopsy photo, quickly wishing I didn't. "What these monsters did last time won't happen again."

Rickey scratched the top of his head as he started to pace back and forth. "Yeah, cause the last thing we need to see is some picture of you with your shit fucked up. You need some extra shit."

"I got enough already." I argued.

He glared back at me with a deadpan look. "No sir. You're getting some extra shit. I mean EXTRA shit. Give me five hours and I'll come back with some shit my dad won't sell to anyone else. Just pray I don't get pulled over on some dumb shit and you'll be fine."

"Rickey─" I tried to debate with him on the matter, but he interrupted me.

"No sir. You. Need. Some. Shhiiiittt. I'm not talking about stuff that'll get you by. I'm talking about the shit that's redundant. I mean that good shit that you get when you need it. I'm talking about some shit that's gon fuck them to sleep. I'm talking about them getting the good dick up the ass so they stay sleep for a long time."

We all just stared at Rickey for a moment just digest what all he said. I just quietly placed my hands in a T-formation to indicate that he needed to stop for a moment.

"...Time out."

Two hours after our meeting, all the others set out towards our world while I made my rounds throughout the town in search of the one by the name of Cherry Berry. From what I remembered when Rainbow took me towards Cloudsdale, she was the renter of the sole travel balloon in Ponyville. And of course, anything that would give me the ability to scout the lands from high above would give me a sharp advantage. Plus it would give me a hell of a vantage point where I could snipe off any of the beasts blocking my path. All I'd have to do is stay high, look low, bomb and shoot from above.

That would make my job so much easier, if it wasn't for one tiny detail.

"DAMMIT!... Who rented the balloon?"

The pink mare with her blonde mane snarled back at me. "Hey bub, whoever I sell to is my business and not yours. I know you did a lot for the town, but business is still business. Somepony came around and rented the balloon out."

I could probably salvage from the situation. "How long is it being rented out?"

"Well, they paid me enough to rent it out for... I wanna say almost two weeks."

...Okay, now I KNOW that someone's fucking with me on this. Nearly two weeks and it just so happens that I have an assignment that's set to last for two weeks. It's entirely too much of a coincidence just for it to be mere happenstance. "When did they rent it out?"

"Just two hours before you came here."

That's automatically telling me that this was done as a means of interference. "Thank you, ma'am. Sorry for disturbing."

"Hey, I'm sorry somepony bought me out before you could. But business is business and I gotta eat." I wasn't going to argue with her logic there.

As we departed, I made my way towards the office of the local railworker's union. I could only hope that my fortune is a little better there.

"I can only hope that this will be enough to clear your problems right on out the way!"

Before me sat three wooden crates full of dynamite. Albeit it was all they had to offer without depleting their entire stock, the sticks themselves seemed a bit on the short end. I suppose they'll do some damage when a bundle of about seven or eight are used, but their output would probably only be enough to break a boulder the size of my body.

Still, it was a better outcome compared to my last venture. "I can work with this. Of course I'll be spreading it thin to maximize the usage, but I'd rather have this much than nothing at all."

"I only wish we could give you more. The princess told us that you were going to be headed towards Arimaspi Territory. That place is mighty terrifying, even to many of the guards we hire for our maintenance checks. Of course, the top of those rails are a little gritty, but they won't derail you if you insist on going at a moderate speed."

That means that we'll probably have to travel slow. This would give those monsters enough time to met us at a drop-off point. We'd be stepping off the train into a fight. That's more strife than I would like them placed under for their first day. I'll have to think of something that would lessen their load.

Whatever, it will have to come later. "I'll keep that in mind. But is there any way we could ride through there without being caught?"

"You'll have to come up with one, we haven't even so much as traveled a good two miles inward before seeing two or three stalking us."

"So what do you fellas do when they start stalking you?"

"Well they're often a cautious yet greedy type. You ride in slow, you stay inside, you'll minimize your trouble. Get out of the cart, be best to part with some bits. One or two bags will buy you a good ten minutes. You come with a large bag filled with bits, and you might clear yourself of some serious trouble for the day. They're like griffons in that regard. Share the wealth, and they'll share the peace, if only for a day. But going into their forest is often seen as a big taboo."

"How big of one?" I asked curiously.

"One of our boys tried to take a break in the shade one time. They leaned against a tree, only to find an Arimaspi in their face screaming at them. We had to end our job for the day before they decided to put us in permanent retirement. Waste of bits, that was."

They didn't give me any bits, so it looks like I'll be running in hot. "Thanks for the advice. I'll try to give them a tribute worth remembering."

As I walked out with the three crates stacked on top of one another, the stallion at the desk bode me farewell. "Good luck on your trip, sir. We're rooting for you."

Four hours later...

I hate that I'm doing this.

No seriously, I already don't like trains as it is. And I know this mission will require me to get on a train, much to my dismay of it. But I seem to be missing quite a bit of details pertaining to the creatures at large. And the only way I'm gonna be able to get more information on these creatures is if I take it from someone who's already had a meeting with them face to face.

So I made an express trip towards Canterlot on the next train smoking. By the time I had gotten there, press and photographers were blasting my face with flashes and questions. And I wouldn't be able to get rid of them until I was well on castle grounds. But my trip wasn't just to here. I had to make it past the security at the front gate, the security at the barracks, the security at the correctional hall, and finally the security checkpoint leading into the dungeons. Finally, I made my way through the halls, walking onto the level where Guto was detained and walked straight down the hall towards a brown pony sitting in a chair with a muzzle restraint.

Two of the guards gave me a salute before they one of them opened the door, the other guard walked inside and removed the muzzle restraint to allow him to speak. I finally entered the room last and sat before the brown stallion as he stared at me with a cold heartless glare. The other two walked outside and closed the door behind me.

"So..." I began. "I trust that the amenities have been to your liking?"

The stallion stared quietly at me.

"...I guess that's not much of an answer. But maybe I can get some sort of response from you."

"What do you want, creature?"

Honestly, this is the first time in a while I was referred to as that. Had he said monkey, I'd probably would've decked him. "I've got shit to do and it requires some serious planning. Doesn't help much that I'm looking at you."

He finally cracked a smile as he chuckled. "I suppose my hoof driving into your skull was quite the memorable experience? I would've suspected that you'd get nosebleeds at the sight of me, yet you're here with a guard's dog tag around your neck. Isn't it interesting how these things work?"

I shrugged in response to his taunt. "I guess so, considering that you're supposed to be wearing some yourself."

His grin disappeared as he put on a stoic face. "My days serving under that buffoon of a captain are over. Even Celestia's name is tarnished to me. All of my service and I walk away with memories that haunt me every time I close my eyes. The faces of my comrades all stare back at me at night... I could only save three, and two of them threw my courtesy back in my face when they decided to kill themselves. And you know... I'd sleep easier at night if I saw HIS FUCKING FACE with them."

"The captain, you mean?" I asked the slightly enraged stallion.

He looked at me with a foul disposition, much like he did when we first met back in the alley. "You're asking too many questions."

I lightly nodded, acknowledging my perpetual prodding of his past. "I suppose that it was a bit invasive. But you don't mind if I piss you off for a little bit, right?"

His eyes narrowed while his voice seemed to lower into a growl. "You should be cautious. I've been trained in ways that would terrify you. I have faced monsters you will never face."

"Before you start monologuing , maybe I should add a little context to what's going on now. See, while you were locked away, changelings attacked the city, killing off a decent amount of those in the higher chain of command. Prince Shining, who you hate so dearly, has been promoted from captain to brigadier general, leaving the captain's position open for a twenty-four hour period."

Caramel was quite infuriated in hearing of Shining's promotion. "THAT BASTARD GOT PROMOTED!?"

"Imma let you finish." I said, holding him off of his blood-fueled rampage. "But that position, the captain one, was filled the next day. Shining did the thing he did to you, to me. You know, on-the-spot ranking? He made me Captain of the Royal Guard."

Caramel remained stupefied as he tried to process the information he just received. "...Wha...tha... you?"

"Now, were gonna go back to that bit in your monologue, the thing about you facing 'monsters I will never face'?"

Caramel tilted his head as he squinted his eyes. "You're digging far too deep."

"Well... the politicians who sent you and your dearly departed platoon on their suicide mission... Well, guess where I'm going on Monday morning?"

He straightened himself up and gave me a lifeless stare. "You're all going to die. Tell me the reason why they send you to die."

"Well to keep it short, there's a princess who thinks highly of me─"

His stare was suddenly more intense. "How many are you sending to their graves?"

"I'm not necessarily sending them to their graves, but about thirty."

"So... Just like Shining Armor, huh?" He asked.

I shook my head. "That's the thing, I'm not like him─"

Once more, I was interrupted. "So, who do you have to quench your lustful urges this time? How many other comrades are you going to screw over because you decide to place your dick ahead of your duties? Or maybe you're going to rut them on the way there."

By this point, I had grown tired of him preaching to me over my moralities when he has shown his failure to hold any of his own. "So who else are you going to abuse? Pinkie didn't do anything to you, she only tried to make you happy. And yet you decide to beat her head in and tell her that she wasn't shit."

"We are not going to talk about her." He answered vehemently.

I pulled out the manila envelope, going straight to the autopsy files and pulled out Songbell's file and showed it to him. "Then talk about her!" As the image was brought before his eyes, he looked right at me. "Because I know you were protective of her, so why not the one who actually tried to give you a second chance?"

At that moment, he snapped. He jerked and pulled against his restraints as he shouted at me. "YOU BASTARD! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING! YOU JUST─"

"Songbell Highwind, given the role of second in command the night before the day of the incident. She's gone because you obeyed her final order, saving Shining while she volunteered for her life to be taken instead. She knew that she would slow you both down and decided to make the best of your chances. She decided that it was better if you and he lived. Quite the saint, actually." Bitch, better believe I know something.

This time, he raised his voice significantly higher. "SO WHAT? YOU GET A MODEST PEEK OF WHAT TRANSPIRED FIVE YEARS AGO, AND HERE YOU ACT LIKE YOU KNOW EVERYTHING! YOU ACT LIKE YOU HAVE ALL THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE WORLD! BUT HERE'S THE TRUTH, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT HER! YOU WANT TO PRETEND THAT YOU KNOW THE STRUGGLES WE GO THROUGH, BUT YOU HAVEN'T HAD THE CHANCE TO SIT WITH HER EVERYDAY, TO LAUGH AND HEAR HER RANT ON ABOUT HOW SHE SEEKS THE ATTENTION OF SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOU!"

Okay, so that confirms one of my suspicions. "I understand that you had feelings for her─"

"YOU SHUT UP!" He screamed. "IF YOU HAVEN'T HEARD HER SING, YOU'D HAVE NO RIGHT TO SPEAK OF HER. Shining had no right to use her in the manner which he did. Her heart was broken when she came back down to the ground, to realize that her emotional and sexual high was nothing but his relief method. And then to have someone later on down the line who tries her best to imitate her so that she could make me happy. You have not a single clue how it feels to have the one you love being replaced right in front of your eyes. It's insulting, IT'S DISTASTEFUL!"

Okay... that's something that I didn't know. Obviously he thought Pinkie was trying to replace her. I calmed my tone and spoke to him. "Okay. I know I can't change your mind on how you see that right now. But maybe we can come to an agreement here. Those furry bastards are bad news, and we both wanna do whatever it takes to get as many of our fellow guards out of that hell."

He shook his head, closing his eyes as he shuddered. "You don't know... How many have I tried to get out of there, including her. There were so many I tried to rescue, but failed because of my limits. And the politicians who sent us out there only called us failures because we couldn't find what they wanted. The berated us survivors for not doing enough, and Celestia did nothing for us... just him. We put our lives on the line and only he gets any sort of attention and reinforcement."

I knelt down to him, looking him in the eye as I spoke. "My guards will get all the praise that's due once we come back with our shiny-ass payload. But I can't go that far unless we talk."

He finally looked at me again, with a slightly softer expression. "You won't know. You won't know the weight of your words until the bodies pile up."

By now, I was done with exchanging pleasantries. I was running short on time, and I wanted to get to the bottom of what all he knows. "If the arimaspi has a weakness, what is it?"

He was quiet for a moment before he answered my question. "If there was anything that could kill them before they reached you, that would be to your advantage. But even our best crossbows will only be truly effective within fifty yards. The big catch... They can close that distance quickly, so it's pointless to go with all crossbows. Close quarters, your best bet is to not hesitate. They swipe with the anticipation that you would retreat, a critical mistake."

"I've also come to understand that you've taken a few down. So now I gotta ask, if you were to face one mano-a-mano, what would be the chances of survival should there be a guard who fights one on their own?"

Caramel tilted his head with a sigh and looked at me lazily. "That depends..."

"On what?" I questioned.

He looked to the autopsy image of Songbell, his voice grew somber. "If they feel like toying with you. Pray they're in a playful mood, or you might find your lights abruptly snuffed. Either way, you're better off bashing your head against the rocks before they get to you. Maybe the confusion would cause them to reconsider. At least then you'd walk away with only brain damage."

I shook my head at his answer, knowing an advantage that I have that they didn't during their deployment. I shrugged my shoulders as I questioned him. "Are your outlooks always so bleak?"

He looked back at me with an unamused expression. "Are you always so careless, fighting an opponent you know nothing of?"

I rolled my eyes and gave my response. "Why do you think I'm here?"

Another four hours later...

After the long train ride back to Ponyville, I started to go over in my mind the ways I could approach any encounter with an arimaspi. Throughout the ride, my mind was honed in on how I could be able to outmaneuver them. Not so much in the physical sense, because I'd be beat every time based on physical aptitude alone. Instead, I had to think about how to adjust my approach outside of shooting them right in the eye. And give that their eye takes up about forty percent of their face, it won't be that hard of a target to hit, especially if they're as straight-forward as Caramel mentioned.

So when I returned to the castle, I stayed in the library to cram for another two hours. I had Twilight put up a notice that I was not to be disturbed, no matter how important the situation may be. After that, I dedicated myself to another hour of explaining how they moved to Twilight so that she could manifest enough magic to run a simulation of sorts.

It didn't take her long to make a crude wooden doll shaped to an arimaspi's estimated anatomical proportions. In fact, she went the extra mile and provided me with three puppets, to better simulate what could happen if I were to be in a position where I had to fend off more than one.

For three hours, I did what I could in terms of fighting off the puppets... to very little avail. "Run the simulation again!"

Twilight appeared to be bored as her magic manipulated the first doll, which I affectionately named 'Jasper'. My body was soaked with sweat as I felt my hands being sore from swinging my sword at the puppets. My shoulders were burning from my constant swinging. My chest pounded as I continued to get my cardio work in from all the running, jumping, rolling, and somersaulting.

My body was telling me that I needed to call it quits, but my brain was so determined to see a fruitful result. So in my fit of insanity, I made a dash for the puppet and blocked the first blow that threatened to land a kill-shot. Following my block, I had to stabilize my balance as the strike was powerful enough to throw me off. The other claw came swiping in for another slash, but I dashed forward, running underneath the creature and in between it's legs. While the creature looked down to track me, I sliced for the tendons in the back of the leg, as seen from the dream I had last night. The puppet faltered, allowing me an easier access to it's neck.

Unfortunately, it wouldn't be realistic if this was a fair simulation. By the time the first puppet collapsed to the ground, the other two, named 'Horace' and 'Cruella', made a run for me with the anticipation of wrecking my shit... which they often did. To my left, another claw came sweeping in. I laid flat on the ground to avoid the blow, rolling underneath the creature's pinky. Quickly, I jumped back up to my feet and countered with a swipe at Horace's arm. It drew the arm upward as a response to the pain, but Cruella found her way to me. A shadow covered my entire body, indicating that another claw was sitting directly above me. Before I could escape, the palm of Cruella's hand came falling on top of my head, giving me a light bump to indicate that I had been subjugated.

Again, I lost.

The puppets were sent back to the walls as I was left a sweaty mess. "SHIT!" I screamed, expressing my frustration in my defeat. By then, I had to acknowledge that it was time to give my body a break. So I collapsed on the floor, sprawled out and took several deep breaths as I rested. Twilight relinquished her magical possession over the mannequins and walked over to me. She looked down to me with a saddened stare. I knew what that look implied. And honestly, I understood it's reason for being. back when I first started this exercise, Twilight was eagerly doing what she could to push me along. But somewhere along the line, her eagerness transformed to optimism, then slowly to boredom, and now to despair.

And the look on her face just screamed 'please don't do this'.

"Okay... In ten minutes... I'm gonna... get off of this floor... and we're gonna run... the simulation again." I panted out.

She closed her eyes and held her head back to stop herself from welling up tears. "Nondis, rest, please."

"I think I... got it this time..." I continued. "Just let me have... a few more times... and then we can stop."

She responded to me by laying on my chest as I breathed. The purple princess whispered to me. "It's late. You've had a long day."

I grunted as I noticed the sudden increase of weight on my rib cage wasn't helping my air intake. "You know... you sitting here... is not helping... my breathing."

She buried her face into my shirt, appearing depressed while she remained mostly motionless. Her hoof lightly rubbed against my abdomen. She then mumbled to me. "Have you ever thought there was so much going on, that you wanted to run away?"

I released the grip on my sword to pet her mane. She tilted her head towards my hand as I responded. "Not really. But I do think there's a lot of bullshit that comes equipped with my job."

She didn't show much of an emotional change. Instead she continued to express herself. "I don't think it's fair to you."

I continued to hold her head while I spoke. "Well, welcome to the life of the royal guard."

She didn't move much after that. "You're a guard, alright."

"Yup." I answered with a light sigh.

"...If I ordered you to come with me, would you?"

While my eyes stung a bit from the sweat, they opened wide at her question. For a moment it took me a while to process what she was saying. But after a while, I caught on to what exactly she was trying to get across. "You mean... like running away?"

"Going out to the west, to the ends of Equestria, you and me."

I raised my head to look at her. "This is a bit sudden."

She used her magic to push my head back down to the ground for rest. "I've been thinking about it since last night. I could hear my brother screaming down the hall and I thought of you. I thought about what could happen to you. Then Celestia came in and told me that you were asleep. We talked, she told me about her fears for you... And she told me that I should be ready to receive the reality that we would never see each other again. I couldn't sleep without crying."

At least I'm not the only one thinking about that possibility right now. Considering the beatdowns I've received at the hands of the puppets, there's no telling what an arimaspi will do to me in real life. And unlike these simulations, I don't get a do-over. "Do you think I'll die?"

Her hoof dug into my abdomen as she spoke. "I don't want to. I mean, I can't imagine a week from now where I get a letter telling me that you've gone before me."

"That's what I'm working hard to prevent." I stated with a little more energy.

She raised her head, demanding my full attention while she spoke. "If you loved me, you'd leave with me tonight."

Admittedly, her timing caused me to raise my head through my fatigue as if it was non-existent. "Twilight, c'mon."

"I mean it." She argued strongly. "We'll leave Ponyville, we'll go to the west. It might be a long journey, but at least I can do what I can when I get you someplace safe. When we arrive, we'll marry. I'm a princess, so I would automatically be a licensed overseer of ceremony. I know enough of the bylaws to make us official. No more politics, no more fighting, no more of us being in trouble. We could spend the days loving each other, all day and night long. And I can build another portal, it won't take me any time at all. I'll make sure that you can still see everyone in your world."

Although I was starting to see the benefits of her offer, I couldn't bring myself to agree to it just yet. "That isn't going to work, Twilight."

"I can still be a princess, I'll just keep you hidden until I finish with everything."

Now she was making no sense. Again, this was really unusual to see from her. "I can't just abandon─"

She didn't give me a chance to argue. She raised herself and lightly brushed her hoof against my cheek. "Your time in the guard has been memorable, and it didn't come without significant accolades. If you ask me, your service has been more than satisfactory. But if remaining in the guard is going to doom you for certain, then I won't allow for you to remain. I love you too much to see that happen."

"You're being selfish again."

"If we get punished, it might as well be worth something, right?" She jokingly asked with a nervous chuckle. "We'll just have our own little─"

"TWILIGHT!" I called out loudly, causing her to jump. She stopped ranting from that point onward and started to look down. I raised my arm and placed my finger on her chin, lifting her up to look at me. "You're asking me to abandon everything. I'd abandon my promises, my duties to the country, my duties to the other guards, the royal family, and you."

She shook her head, levitating my hand away from her. "I'm giving you permission! Just take it!"

By then, I had to be strict and forward with her. "I'm going on this mission. The reason is bigger than us both. I've already agreed, and they're sending the other thirty out there whether I'm leading them or not. Present or not, their blood is on my hands. At least I can be accountable for something I'm there to manage."

The purple princess took a deep breath before she levitated me off of the ground, her wings flapping open and sustaining her as she hovered a foot above the ground. She drew herself away from me for a brief second to allow me to stand on my own. While I started to flex my hand, I realized that my body was indicating that I was going to be sore tomorrow. But I chose not to let it discourage me. I reached down for my sword, getting my mind prepared for another run at the puppets, when suddenly...

"Oh no you aren't." Twilight said as she levitated the sword away from me. She slid the blade across the room towards the wall.

When I tried to chase after it, she used another one of her spells to petrify my movements. Next, she lifted up my entire body and politely toted me towards the bedroom. While I was suspended in mid-air, I watched as she marched towards her room, opening the door, and kindly lay me down on the bed. She then threw the covers over my body and rubbed my forehead and cheeks. Her eyes never left me for a second while she kissed me on the forehead, her lips lightly embraced me with a soft, dampened sensation. She drew away from me, looking at me with concern masked over by a gentle smile.

"I don't think your having magic to suppress me is fair." I complained.

"Tough love." She answered. "Now get some rest."

I groaned with frustration, trying to get myself out of the bed. But Twilight's magic held me down still. "Twilight..." I tried to argue.

"No. We're not having this conversation. You are going to get some sleep, you are going to wake up tomorrow feeling refreshed, and you are going to go out there and tell these ponies a grand old story and a rousing speech before you and them set out to..." She suddenly paused, swallowing whatever choked her words before she could get them out. But they failed to manifest from her throat, leaving her with nothing but quiet breaths suppressing sobs.

I finished her sentence for her. "Die?"

She clenched her eyes shut as she tried her damnest not to think about what could happen. "You don't understand. Celestia's already stated that you would... It's different now. These aren't changelings, they're huge beasts that nearly killed my brother. To this day he's tormented by them, and he won't tell anypony why or what happened. When you were screaming mad the other night, I felt like I had failed to protect you."

Her magic weakened as she went on to explain it. Obviously the stress on her mind was throwing her magic off balance. I was able to move my body more and more. Eventually, I was freed of her hold over me. What I did with my newfound freedom? I walked over, knelt down, and hugged the purple princess until she stopped shaking. She was acting the same way just last night at the party and when I came back from Canterlot.

I can only imagine what she's feeling at the moment.

Our moment became short-lived, a knock on the door that seemed to be too urgent to ignore. I stood back up to answer the door. When I opened it, I could see Rainbow Dash ignoring my presence to engage with her friend. Under her left wing was a letter with a broken red seal.

"Twilight, we gotta talk." The cyan pegasus quickly said as she pulled the princess along. I offered to go along with her, but she screamed at me. "I DIDN'T CALL FOR YOU, DIPSHIT!"

Twilight was taken aback by the pegasus' reaction to my accompanying her. "Rainbow Dash, you know better than to call him that."

"Twilight, it's a friendship emergency. The others are already on their way to the throne room. You need to be there." She stated as she looked at me. "I'm sorry. But this is Mane-Six business."

I was still left with a perplexed look on my face while Rainbow seemed to wear her worrisome frown. Twilight grimaced as she turned back to me. "Nondis, get some sleep. Tomorrow's a long day."

Well, it's not like I have much of a choice at this point. If this is between Twilight and her friends, then I not getting involved. "I suppose."

The two ponies quickly left the room, the door closing shut behind them. Left with no other options at the moment, I followed Twilight's instructions and got back in the bed. I know, all that fussing and fighting and NOW I choose to follow instructions?

Turns out that my mattress is the best thing since sliced bread.

So I laid down in the bed, dressed myself in the covers, turned to my favorite side, and let my thoughts wander until my eyelids got heavy. The fatigue from my training session wasn't really helping me stay awake either. Though I really could use a quick shower before I drift off.

Meh, I'll do it in the morning...

The sensation of a hoof being driven into my chest stirred me from my sleep. As I opened my eyes, I could see a purple blur standing just in front of me. She poked me with her hoof even more as I started to slowly come to. Twilight continued to shake and poke me until I was somewhat up and functional, albeit a bit cranky.

"Wake up. Wake up Nondis." She urged.

I yawned and wiped the blurriness from my eyes as I saw her standing before me, holding a familiar parchment with a broken red seal on it. Twilight continued to shake and poke me until I was completely sitting up on the bed. As I stretched, I tried my best not to sound grouchy. "What's going on?"

Next, the parchment was shoved into my face. I briefly flailed my arms as the parchment attacked my face. When I pulled it off, I could see Twilight with a devastated look on her face. She appeared to be even more shaken up than before. And the words she whispered seemed to be an indication on what it was that caused her to react so unusually.

"He's a monster."

By the time she said those words, I had to force my eyes to come out of their rest and focus in on the words of the parchment before me.

Dear E.U.P. Guard member,

In light of your service to our nation and your commendable achievements, we recognize your valor and acknowledges the sacrifices you have made throughout your service. Your unwavering professionalism and fortitude in the face of dangers to our nation shall forever be seen as a valuable and priceless to any and all who live in this great country.

With this being brought forward, we humbly ask of you to provide your service to our nation once more. You are hereby ordered by the account of the Equestrian Parliament and the Board of Domestic Affairs to engage in the AM-2 Deployment protocol. Your name has been provided in a list of others who's services would also be of optimal use throughout the course of this assignment.

UNICORNS
Heatwave
Shining Spark
Waning Moon
Dawnrise Twinkle
Glory Morning
Azure Sword
Aegis Shield
Sword Dancer
Blindside
Swift Justice

PEGASI
Nightwing
Falling Sky
Silver Rain
Downburst
Humbreeze Highwind
Rolling Thunder
Rainbow Dash
Stormfront
Cloudwall
Sunny Skies

EARTH PONIES
Cloven Helm
Strongheart
Warpath
Brave Fencer
Spearhead
Iron Clad
Buckwild
Rosey Hoof
True Valor
Strongleg

The one whom you will be commanded by is Captain Nondis P. Haines, Captain of the Royal Guard. Further information shall be provided to you at the Castle Charlie rendezvous point at approximately 1600 hours. Details and intel will be provided to you as well as information in regards to the assignment.

We thank you for your continued service to our great nation and wish you well. Our guards are always a valued part of our country's history and your account will forever be remember by future generations of Equestrian citizens. Your sacrifices as well as your achievements shall not be forgotten.

Glory's greatest; Equestrian Proud,

General of the Guards Stonehenge

...Okay, NOW I'm pissed.

Twilight looked at me, expecting me to say something to her about it. But my anger only made me realize that I couldn't say anything to her. The only thing I could do was grouchily wake up out of my sleep to some more bad news that made me even grouchier. Now I couldn't sleep, even my fatigue couldn't stop me at this point. I was ready to go on a rampage. At this point, I'm literally one strike away from packing my guns to Canterlot and using Count DuMonee's lifeless body for target practice and ballistics testing.

They pulled Rainbow Dash into all this bullshit. What are they trying to accomplish?

I could only look up to the ceiling to an imaginary deity as I expressed my grief the only way I could for the time being. "God, you win."

With those words, I walked out of the room towards the library to study up more on how the arimaspi functioned, the autopsy files, the mission debriefings, everything under the goddamn sun, from Al to Zed. Twilight initially tried to stop me, but I grabbed her horn before she could use her magic to freeze me again. And once more, I shut myself inside of the library and crammed like the college student I was. For another three hours, I studied every bit of literature there was on them, every tome, every anatomical finding, every fucking piece of scrap paper that had the word 'arimaspi' on it. Inevitably, I passed out from exhaustion.

A twenty-hour work day will do that to you if you're not used to it.

The next morning...

The sun beamed from the windows and skylights above the shelves, as the slight dust particles highlighted the strands of sunlight pouring onto the shelves and the table at the center of the room. While the door quietly creaked open, the silhouette of a pony walked through and looked back into the hallway. As they acknowledged what they were looking for, their eyes then locked to me.

I, however, was in no particular mood to care. I was sleeping.

"Arimaspi are the powerful members of the Bovidae family, being the only ones to have an ability to walk on their hind legs for extended periods of time."

...Sleep mumbling to be precise.

"Known as the Bovidae Daemonio Hircum, they are often associated with their demonizing nature should intruders or foreign species invade their territories. However, these creatures often felt entitled to roam regions, near or far, for gold and other illustrious treasures."

The silhouette then stood quietly as a soft clunking sound could be heard nearby. Again, I was more invested in my sleep.

"Fur often is thick enough to accommodate a wide variety of climates... *SNORT* Keeps heat from inducing a high rate of sweat production as well as keeping the body warm in cooler climates. These creatures are often attracted to rocky areas regardless of altitude."

The sounds of wood clanking eventually became so noisy that it stirred me from my slumber, causing me to dismiss the shadow in my extremely blurred vision.

"Ugh... Fuck off, Cruella."

...Cruella???

Opening my eyes for a moment, I could see a partially blurred puppet towering over me with it's claw raised. Without warning, the claw descended towards me. Summoning up whatever strength I had left in me, I leapt out of my chair and away from the desk with a shaken disposition. My mind was suddenly on full alert as the puppet removed it's hand from the remnants of the desk I once slept on. When my vision cleared, I started to make out the magenta aura that surrounded the puppet.

"Damn girl, I know I said to keep the simulations realistic but this is going too goddamn far!" I said in reference to Twilight.

The puppet didn't seem to care too much as it lunged for my position, swiping and swatting for me. I ducked and dodged as best as I could, but my ability to evade the blows was drastically reduced due to the fatigue my body experienced the day prior. It was like whatever bogged me down had chained my legs to the floor. So I was eventually knocked aside into one of the nearby bookshelves. From there, my body simply gave up while I watched the puppet run for me on all fours before sliding with it's claw raised high into the air to strike me down. The shadow of the Cruella's paw shifted into a sharp image as it closed in on me. I could only close my eyes as I was left helpless and disoriented.

While the puppet froze in place, I was aware enough to recognize that it was Shining who was talking with me for the time being. Of course, I was more than surprised to know it was actually him. He walked out from behind one of the bookshelves and looked down at me.

"If you think Twily's given you the experience you thought you needed for this mission, then you were mistaken." He said coldly. "The 'simulation' you experienced was wholefully realistic, with the exception of my sparing your life. You should be more wary of your surroundings, sleep lightly and with the intention to wake up ready to fight... Or you could not wake up at all. Choice is yours."

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes as I tried to stand on my slightly-wobbly legs. "Now... *yawn* ...to be honest, I dozed off while I was studying. I think it was three in the a.m. when I drifted off."

"That's not an excuse." Shining responded harshly, showing no sympathy for my lack of sleep. "You have to be ready for when they strike, no matter how much sleep you have." He then focused his attention to the puppet as he continued speaking. "Or else you could cost the lives of your subordinates. Now try to march in that parade should you come back."

Well, at least he's talking to me about it... somewhat. "Sorry. I have troubles braining when I don't sleep. At this rate, they're dying because I'm too tired to think."

Shining then grabbed my shirt and yanked me down till I was eye level with him. "Then you learn how to brain while you're rubbing the crust out of your eyes. If you can walk, if you can speak, you can think. Even second nature requires a thought process."

Geez, you seem awfully shitty today. Is it because Twilight and I did the thing? If it's that, then I kinda know where you're coming from. If not, then what the hell? Either way, I'm not in a mood to argue with him. I'll just nod my head and pretend all the shit he's asking me to do is humanly possible. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind, sir."

"Yup. Don't fuck up."

Honestly, I'm starting to think he's projecting a bit. "I've made the preparations to take on this assignment. I've did all my research on arimaspi and all of their unique abilities. Unfortunately, there's much to worry about when it comes to the fact that they can see in the dark."

The stallion scoffed as he started to make his way out of the library. "I noticed. You crammed till you were spouting the shit in your sleep. Both you and Twilight have those bad habits, only you do a lot less studying."

Hey! I was rocking a decent 3.0 GPA before I was suddenly dropped here, thank you very much. "I don't have the magical wherewithal to do all the multitasking she does. Allow me to have that as a fault, please."

"Then if you're so-well learned, what's your strategy for taking on these creatures?" He asked as we made our way out of the library.

"Well I'm trying to maximize my ability to take them on without the use of human weaponry─"

"Wrong." Shining growled. "Your strategy IS human weaponry. It will be the thing that saves your life, and others who follow you."

"Shining, it's one thing that you and Sunset know how to use human weaponry. It's a whole other ball game to teach them how to use human weaponry."

"You don't have to. You're short on time, you need an out, and there's something in mind that would fit you just fine."

...Okay, I already know that I'm not gonna like this.

After our small debate over my strategic approach, Shining and I made our way towards the portal room with 'Cruella' trailing behind us. Shining then notified me that the others had returned to speak with me yesterday, but could not get a hold of me. I asked if they had tried to call me, he said that everyone who had a phone outside of Twilight, who was in Sunset's world for the time being, had only heard my voicemail in lieu of a dial tone. I notified him that I'd usually kept my phone on at all times in case of emergency, but when I pulled it out to reach the home screen, I ended up finding out that it had died.

I guess I forgot to put my phone on a charger yesterday. Whoops.

I quickly activated the mirror and slipped over to my world. I stepped out of my bathroom and slid my phone onto a charger by the computer. By the time the screen came back on to the home section, notifications started popping up in my text feed. Obviously, I missed SEVERAL texts and even a few voice messages. I started to sort through all of them and see what was going on. I was going through message after message, some asking me what I was doing, others telling me that I had a surprise waiting for me when I got back. And then there were a few voice messages from Alex and Rickey. When I finished going through everything, I took a moment to wait for my phone to get a decent charge, but that was hampered by a sudden phone call.

I picked up the phone and saw that it was dad calling me. I wasn't too eager to speak with him at the moment, I had way too much on my mind as is and I already had a feeling that he was going to say something I wouldn't like. So I swiped the screen to ignore the call. I placed the phone back down but then he called again. Once more, I swiped the ignore option. And then he shot me a quick text telling me it was a medical emergency.

I'll be damned that I wasn't going to answer it this time. "Hello!?"

"Oh thank God above I can still talk to you. Guess I don't need to send the padded wagon for you after all."

I was still focused on the medical reason he had me calling for. "Yeah, but what happened!? You said you had a medical emergency, what happened!? Is mom okay!?"

He chuckled back as he responded. "Oh, that. I just wanted to see if my son wasn't crazy for ignoring my calls."

...Typical, dad. Real mature. "Well, I'm glad to hear that this was a false alarm. But I'm kinda busy at the moment. Talk to you─"

"Alright, now what time are you and Bella coming by today?"

...Wait what? "Come again?"

"Bella and you were supposed to be visiting us this weekend. You remember that conversation we had in the kitchen last Wednesday."

Sssssssshit! I know it was actually Discord who talked with them and told them all of that stuff, but I still can't be bothered to try and feed more lies to him and mom. I didn't have the time, I had more important things to do pertaining to life and death than to be hearing my father come up with all sorts of bullshit to piss me off. "Ugg-Goddammit!" I mumbled under my breath. I can't believe I let that one slip right by me.

"HEY, YOU WATCH YOUR TONGUE!"

Right, I forgot who I was talking to. "Sorry dad. But it seems that a few things came up and I need to be away for a while. Right now I'm at work and I'm not gonna be able to come around today."

He didn't seem too thrilled to hear it from the tone of his voice. "Well that doesn't seem like it would be good for you to skip out on your family for your job. I can understand that you're working, but you still gotta prioritize your time. You can always earn a wage, but you can't ever make up for the loss of a family member."

"Dad, please don't equate this to death." I groaned angrily. "It's bad enough as it is."

"Well can't you have Bella come by and visit us anyhow? I ain't gonna do nothing creepy to her. It's just that your mother and I are wanting to meet this young lady whom you allege saved your life."

"Dad, that's a bit of a stretch." Like a multidimensional stretch, as in trying to find the secret to traversing dimensions without magic and breaking every known law of physics and theory known to mankind. "Bella got called in on her job as well. She's just as busy as I am, we just got called in last night, and we're trying to do whatever we can to make it work. Maybe some other time, but not right now." Yeah, let's wait another three months before we open that can of worms. "But my manager is looking at me real mean-like, so I'm gonna have to call you later." I lied.

The truth of the matter was that Rickey was calling me on the other line. I swapped lines and then addressed Rickey. "Hey, sorry I missed you yesterday. I had to do some stuff."

"Hey, I get it. But next time keep your phone on so you know what's going on, dude."

Okay, who am I on the phone with again? "Yes mom. But seriously, my phone was dead. I was out and forgot to charge it since the whole birthday fiasco."

"Ohhh." He droned on. "Then I'll go on ahead and tell you what's going on. But only if you unlock your door first."

Smart, don't want the government to listen in on our conversation in case we start talking about guns and weapons. "If you were anyone else, I'd probably have you investigated for that request. But okay, I'm in the apartment now so you guys can come on over."

"Actually, we slept over Mel's for the night. All five of us. I lost out and had to sleep in the bath tub so I might be a little grouchy."

He's doing better than me. At least he could actually rest in the bath tub. Last time I did that, I had to sleep with all the lights on. "Okay, well y'all come on by, door's open so you guys can just walk in."

"See you in five."

"Okay then." I was about to hang up on my end but then a thought darted through my mind. I'm running on fumes right now and I hadn't had much in the ways of sleep. So it was obvious that my speech to the troops wasn't going to be that inspiring as much as it would be a chore-and-bore. Now was my chance more than anything to get what I have longed for since my disappearance. "Oh wait. Before you all pack in, can you tell Mel to get something for me?"

"Okay, what you need?"

"Tell her I need the after-midnight crammer's special: Final exams edition."

It's so good to be back.

While I waited for them to come back, I crossed back over and started to look over some of the weapons I could take with me as well as my choice of ammunition. Of course I was going to need some higher-caliber ammo but I was going to need to also have enough to where I can take on as many as needed, while remaining somewhat light on my toes. I also took into consideration all the sticks of dynamite that I was given. Unfortunately, I was looking at a whole lot more wick than I was the stuff that goes boom. Upon hundreds and hundreds of feet of ignition wick that I could possibly use to level off an entire treeline, but only so much explosive to collapse maybe destroy a moderate chunk of a cliff. In terms of rationing my explosives, I had a lot of number crunching to do.

Twilight, Shining, Cadance, Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack all watched as I sorted through my stock and set everything in place so that I could keep my numbers in fair shape. The last thing I needed to do was to miscount on something and find out that I could've worked with more later on, or discover that I packed too much and needed only a fraction less than what I had on person. While Twilight was eager to help, Shining knew better than to let her get too close for her own safety. Both he and I know that she has a knack for prying and neither one of us wanted her to do anything that would cause anyone harm. So she silently watched as the two of us loaded the table. Shining also pointed to two other boxes that sat at the other side of the room, but advised that we should wait until Rickey came around to tell us what it was.

And it was only minutes after that statement when his face came around.

Finally, the others came walking though the portal. It took them a total of thirty minutes before they came back with food in hand. Melanie was the first to speak. "Special delivery!"

As soon as she came through, the smell of the food permeated throughout the room, causing me to drool in my mouth by a substantial amount. "Mel, please tell me that's it."

With a smile, she handed me the bag and the drinks that came along with it. "Two sausage-cheddar-eggs, apple jam spread, one orange juice and a double expresso con panna, all straight from the local Starbucks."

I hath arrived. "Oh yes. Melanie Abigail Brewer, you give me so much life. I love you for it." I said as I rummaged through the bag and sat at a nearby table to eat.

"It's what friends do." She answered. "Now I'm wondering why you chose the Final exams edition of the cram pack. How long have you been up?"

"God knows how long." I answered.

"I woke him up at around 6:30 this morning." Shining said.

"And the last time I saw him awake was sometime around 2:45 this morning." Twilight added. "So that might not add up to much sleep."

"Yup, that's final exams for you." Alex stated with a light chuckle. "Nondis, what the hell were you doing up so late?"

"Like I said, cramming." I answered while wolfing down the two sandwiches and chasing it down with the orange juice. I finally slowed down when I got around to the double expresso, gradually sipping on it due to the fact that Starbucks usually made their coffee at SCALDING, SECOND-DEGREE BURN-INDUCING TEMPERATURES.

Aside from that only complaint, I was practically raised from the dead.

Meanwhile, Pinkie was giving Rarity a snarky look, who was not at all too thrilled seeing me drink coffee. Rarity glanced back at Pinkie with a bitter look. "Oh, now don't you stare at me like that, Miss Pie!"

With a prideful smile, she turned her head away from the unicorn mare. "Oh no, I didn't say anything."

"You were going to!" She argued with a slightly more aggressive tone.

Pinkie simply smiled and waited a while before she spoke again. "Non-Non looks so happy to get what he wants."

"PINK-A-MENA DI-ANNE PIE, YOU ARE THE BANE OF MY EXISTENCE RIGHT NOW!" Rarity shouted as Pinkie looked back to her with a hoof pulling down one eyelid while poking out her tongue.

Alex and the others looked to each other as Rickey was the first to ask. "What's up with those two?"

Everyone else shrugged. After I had finished my meal and coffee, I felt a monstrous surge of energy that could possibly be compared to that of a microwave being plugged directly into a fusion nuclear reactor. I was pumped, primed, and ready to power through the day. After a bit of stretching, I turned back to Rickey. "God, that was so nice. So, what was that thing you wanted to show me?"

"Things, compadre. I got things to show you."

"Yeah, we all did a little shopping around yesterday to see what we could find that would be of use." Melanie added. "Of course, if you're going against these beasts, I'm sure you're gonna need some ammo and weapons."

Apparently, I wasn't going to be fighting these things with an advantage while using swords, at least not the ones I'm using. "Okay, what do you got for me?"

Rickey walked over to the other side of the room, pulling out one black crate with the name 'Fabrique Nationale' engraved upon it. Along the sides were a series of clamp locks that seemed to keep whatever's inside safely secured. After undoing the clamps and opening the lid, what was revealed to me was a rather nice addition to the arsenal.

"Rick... how?"

"Twelve-thousand dollars, that's how." He answered nonchalantly. "This is the M240B G.P. Machine Gun. Uses for it can be for mounting, carry, or something nice to put inside of a glass case at your local gun show. Of course you're not putting this in a display case, so I can expect a few scratches to come up every now and then. Just don't be mean to her, she's rather timid."

She even has a smell. Hard steel and not a trace of gunpowder. Of course the foam that surrounds the weapon is something that definitely adds to the aroma. "Oh damn, Rick. You didn't have to throw yourself in debt over this."

"Did you not remember that my dad owns a gun shop back in Austin? And then on top of it, my uncle has one in Laredo. You'd be surprised what I ran across. Hell, I've ran into all kinds of fireworks you could only dream of shooting off in your average first-person shooter. You would be amazed."

"Okay, well that still leaves you with debt." I responded.

"Only if I didn't have the money you gave me. You landed me like over thirty stacks. Sure this ate over a third of it, but this is the least expensive thing compared to what I bought next, also taking into account the quantity."

"Ammo?" I asked with a head tilt.

Rickey chuckled before he walked over to retrieve yet another black box, this one quite a bit smaller than the other. As he placed the box down, he carefully opened it for me, pulling out a gray block with yellow writing on the tape. "Catch." He said as he tossed one to me. I barely caught it and finally had a chance to read what it said on the wrapper.

"Composite 4 explosive." FUCKING C-4!? "Warning: Store in cool areas. Do not expose to open flame or extreme temperatures. Do not ingest. Do not store near electrical appliances." That goes without saying. Like I'm gonna be stupid enough to shove this shit in a toaster and say 'I like my bricks nice and warm'. By the time I even shove the switch on down, the coils would probably set it off, causing me to be quite beside myself... among other places in the kitchen. It'll probably be the one time I can consider myself as omnipresent. "How the hell did you get this?"

"My dad and uncle are ex military. I thought I told you this shit the first time."

"Our granddad was ex military and he didn't get all of this shit for us to play with." Stanton mocked. "Now I feel like I didn't get enough as a child."

Melanie was the next to walk to another area of the room, pulling out a long cardboard box. As she placed it down, she peeled the seemingly-tampered postal tape away and cracked the top open. Next, she pointed the open end towards me. "Pull this, please."

I took a gaze into the box, seeing that much of the content was a bunch of newspaper and bubble wrap with the exception of something that seemed like a knob. My fingers gently traced out the knob, feeling a series of grooves and elevations in the form. As my hand traveled further within, it was soon realized that I was grasping at a handle. Getting a firm grip, I pulled back, hearing a soft metallic scrape lasting a while as the item was slowly revealed.

Much of the room was filled with gasps of wonder and amazement as I pulled out a Scottish Claymore. The length terrified me as I glanced at the enormous blade. As I held it, I could already feel that the weight would be enough to do damage to a creature such as an arimaspi. Slowly, I turned the sword point-down to the floor as I measured the weapon in comparison to my body. From blade to pommel, it stood all the way up to the mid portion of my chest. The handle was especially long enough to accommodate both of my hands and a third. The blade seemed to be as wide as three inches towards the base while the blade itself was sharpened only up to about a hand's length away from the hilt.

Melanie then pulled out the sheath and belt from out of the box as she spoke. "It's not the one that goes 'boom', but it should still do quite a bit."

I could only shake my head as I laughed at the absurdity of the blade in my hand. "Mel... This thing, it scares the hell out of me."

"Well it should. This is the nice pointy thing I threatened to poke you with." She said with a innocent smile.

"Please don't. This thing will run through me like a heated steak knife through room-temp butter."

Shining walked up to the sword and looked up and down it's length. "Is she trying to throw you a hint? Is she calmly saying you need to be compensating for a shortcoming of yours?"

"Oh no, he's fine on his own." Twilight mumbled to Cadance, earning a blush and a light hit from her sister-in-law.

Luckily for me, Shining didn't hear his sister's background commentary as well as I did... or maybe he's trying his best to ignore it. I'm personally hoping for the former. Applejack whistled at the blade as she saw her reflection on it's surface. "Hoo howdy, this thing's bigger than Celestia herself! Y'all sure this thing's fer totin' around?"

"Well it was used for about three hundred years." Melanie explained. "It was a pretty effective weapon against armor and a great blade for executions. Sadly, it saw it's use cut short with the rise of firearms in the eighteenth century."

Shining's magic started to wrap around the hilt as he spoke. "So... you said this could be used for executions. How effective is this thing really?"

I tapped his horn as I slowly slid the blade away from his curious grasp. "Ha ha ha ha... Nah. Not even going there."

"Well we better find out, it's not like you can judge it's effectiveness without applying some practice to theory." Cadance suggested. "Arimaspi are said to be a little thick in the hide, so you gotta have something that can cut into it."

Both Rickey and Alex stated in unison. "It's thick enough."

Melanie then added some perspective. "Well if you want to know a human comparison, then I can tell you of one historical account where there was a swordsman carrying a blade similar to this magnitude. He severed the heads of a few with one single swipe. And it swings so deeply that it cleaves from the shoulder well into the human chest cavity, bypassing several ribs and the sternum itself as it destroys the lungs, heart, and everything else in between."

"Basically not even a decent swing of this and your body is halfway separated from your head." Cliff added.

Cadance quietly got a little giddy as she pushed the matter further. "Well, can we get an arimaspi comparison? Humans are fine, but what can it do to one of them? If you're going to be toting this thing to the forest, you need to know if it's effective or not."

Stanton was quick to call her out on her activity. "You're just dying to see what it can do, aren't you?"

The pink alicorn smiled nervously as she hugged on Twilight. "It's for research."

Twilight looked crazily towards the larger alicorn, but complacently went along with Cadance's reasoning. "Well it would be nice to calculate your chances going from an Equestrian longsword to... well... that."

Now that Twilight's involved, there's no way I'm getting out of this without a demonstration. Guess I should get it out the way now before she starts to really push the matter. "Shining, can you bring me Cruella again?"

Shining and Applejack backed away from me, giving me enough room to swing as Shining's magic gave life to the clunky wooden puppet. The puppet charged for me, reaching it's claw out towards me. Without much hesitation, I swung the blade at the hand that tried to grab at me. The blade sunk into the wood for a length of five inches, causing me to stress a bit on trying to pull it back out. Shining was left stunned as his magic left the puppet. Somewhere in his mind, he had already simulated the realistic results of this demonstration. "...That thing's arm, it's either cut so deep that it's useless or it's just gone."

As I planted my foot into the arm, I slowly wiggled the blade free of the wood. "Yeah, and blood makes for a good lubricant when you wanna get things dislodged from bone and whatnot."

All the ponies in the room grew slightly paler at the image before them. Though there was no blood or proper material representing flesh and bone, it didn't take much imagining to piece together what Shining was thinking all along. However, I was thinking about how much I struggled to get things going in my simulations last night and compared it to the devastation this blade caused to the main puppet that caused me grief. I couldn't help but taunt the wooden effigy and cheer myself on.

"Well, I don't think this mission will be any more difficult from this point onward. Questions?"

After another two hours of setting up materials and cautiously prepping the C-4, I was taking inventory of what all I could bring in terms of my ammunition. At first, I was vouching for anything that was already out on the table, but then had a second thought of the supersonic reports the bullets would cause. But then I was conflicted with the possibility of sub-sonic ammunition not reaching deep enough into the body to cause significant damage due to a lower velocity.

Thankfully, Rickey had already thought of it. His opinion was to simply use whatever ammo and weapon that would be tailored to the situation. If it was the middle of the day, go loud. The downside to it would be that the reports would probably bring more attention to me than what I would be initially willing to take. But another side thought of that is the possibility of my dwindling their numbers during the day due to the situation possibly evolving into a hypothetical 'turkey shoot' scenario.

In terms of using subsonic ammo, that would probably be best for use at night. Even though they can see me at night, it doesn't mean that they have to hear too much of me. Being that my visibility will be decreased by then, it would be better that I use night-vision to match their advantage. Furthermore, the use of silencers and thermal sights would further enhance my chance of survival. Guess I'll be relying on my old hunting instincts to carry me through.

Also judging from what I had seen in that dream, it's best to avoid open spaces as often as possible. If I fight them in the safety of the trees, dwindle their numbers there, while limiting their mobility and simultaneously giving myself additional sources for cover, I can quickly and quietly dispatch any arimaspi I encounter. Plus being that I'm much smaller than them would give me another advantage: Swinging first. My swordplay might be limited to thrusting, but their ability to fight will be hindered by trees and branches. That would require them to clear the brush before accessing me, giving me more than enough time to run a few inches of steel into whatever body part is closest.

Now in terms of fighting in the tunnels, I've got the dynamite for closing off caverns and caving in ceilings to the degree of making passageways unusable. Then to top it off, I got C-4 that would be used to close off certain access points. Alex also made a comment on how I can use chalk to mark certain areas where I can go and others that lead into traps, dead ends, nests, et cetera. After that comment, Twilight made a run for the local schoolhouse to obtain some. She came back with around twenty-four different colors, claiming that the different colors could be a code for what's what. I attempted to argue her down to the use of three: Yellow for circling a path I'm traveling at the time, red for stating that a certain area was to be blasted or ignored, green for confirmation that the path was leading into somewhere useful. She insisted that I carry another three just in case I run out of those. Six is better than carrying the full Crayola spectrum.

By the time we came to a confirmation of our tactics, the recruited guard for the deployment started to slowly feed into the castle. Almost all of them had a gloomy look about them. Some with beaded eyes shook as they looked to one another for comfort. Others seemed angered by their assigned position, ultimately leading to their fate. Even as I looked among them, I could see Rainbow Dash staring at her deployment notice with a nervousness that seemed different from what I was used to seeing from her. While she glanced up to me, she grew angrier and turned her face away from me. Even her mane flicked a nearby pegasus pony harshly on the muzzle as he passed.

Shining walked beside me and tapped my leg as he whispered. "They look so despondent. It's like they're expecting to die."

"They don't know what they're facing. Hell, I'd be the same way if it wasn't for the fact that I prepped." I answered as I looked to a guard sitting on the wall, wiping his eyes as he looked at a photo.

"They didn't get a chance to, not yet anyways. If they went in as they are now, there's no doubt there would be casualties."

"That's not gonna happen."

"But can you tell them that? Maybe they'd be willing to listen to what you have to say. Probably sitting there on the ground hoping that something would change for them. But can you blame them if they believe that things don't work that way?"

I shifted my focus to another guard, a mare with a small golden locket in her hoof. After a light kiss, she dropped the locket down beneath her chest plate, using her mane to hide the golden chain around her neck. "I know I wouldn't believe me if I said it. But sometimes you have to say some things to sell the fact that we're going into danger. I know it seems cruel, but even we have to lie to ourselves to be able to make it convincing to others. You have to have faith in what you're selling."

"Even if it all goes wrong?"

"Even then. We lie in the faces of dying guards and citizens every time they take one more breath. If it eases them, then it's fine for them to accept what is to come."

"Even if it's terrifying?"

"You know, sometimes it's good to be terrified. It only amplifies the instinctual desire to live all the more. And in this case, we're going to take advantage of that terror. If they believe that they're going against the most devastating creature known to them, then it is my job to supplant that image with myself. Disobeying me would mean certain death, only because I will be the one thing that can protect every single one of their lives. If they obey me, they live. Simple as that."

"That's Chrysalis' line of thinking, isn't it?"

"She's poked around my head long enough for me to understand that fear is meant to be taken advantage of. I want to take advantage of that instinctual fear long enough for me to get them back home safely. It's dirty work, but I'll be damned if I have to write another letter to their family telling them how remorseful I am. My hand cramps after so many signatures."

Shining looked back towards Rainbow Dash. "So, do you think now that you have an element bearer in your company, that desire to get them home safely is amplified? Senator Count practically placed the fate of this nation in your hands. She dies, everything we are ends with her. She's just that paramount."

"Are you saying her life is more valuable than the rest of theirs?" I asked quietly.

"Unfortunately." Shining answered with brutal honesty. "You can't replace her."

"I won't have to." I answered before I walked off.

Shining proceeded to follow me for a short while. "So what about the dissenters? Will you make your case against them?"

"Fear and security drives the herd. Independent thinking breeds mischief, mischief breeds trouble, trouble breeds consequence. Is that not what you taught me in basic training?"

Shining stopped following as I descended the stairs.

"GUARDS, ATTENTION! CAPTAIN IS PRESENT!" One of the guards called out as I walked towards them. By the time I reached ground level, each of the guards scattered to their positions on either side of the hall. Quite a few broke their attention stance by watching me as I approached them. The ones who did quickly shifted their eyes back to whatever was in front of them. One of which I approached seemed a bit off in comparison to the others. Of course, 'a bit' was a total exaggeration. The helmet on his head was bigger than his actual head. So his eye holes didn't quite line up, nor did his ears, or his snout. His nose was practically carrying the damn thing on it's own. He was already a small-bodied guard, he didn't need anything that would've made it stand out even more.

"Isn't that helmet a little too big for you?" I questioned him.

"No sir. It's just the right size, sir."

Upon further inspection, I noticed that the metal was far more tarnished than any of the other helmets being worn. It was also scratched up to a significant degree, had a few notches in it, a couple of dings, and even a small crack at the side. It wasn't a compromising fissure, but it was noticeable up close. "What's your name and rank?"

"Humbreeze Highwind, sir. Private level two, Charlie company, 103rd Battalion."

I gave a quick nod as I thumped his helmet. "If I told you to find yourself another helmet in the armory and have it by sometime tomorrow, would you be able to do that?"

"Yes sir." He answered.

"Good, cause that's your order for the evening. Now drop and give me fifty wing-ups for that helmet."

He visibly cringed with dismay as he complied with my order. "Yes sir."

While he started counting off his wing-ups, the door opened to reveal an unwanted face, being accompanied by a unicorn stallion with a notepad and quill. The obnoxious stallion looked to the thirty guards and nodded. "Hmm... not bad. Not a bad company at all... Of course an element bearer elevates your status to that point."

I fucking hate this guy. "What do you want, Count?"

"Well I was here to see what the captain was up to. I just brought over an associate of mine to ask you a few questions in regards to your assignment. Also he wishes to have permission to ask some of the recruits about their feelings on the matter. You know, a sentimental piece on all the brave guards who selflessly throw themselves into harm's way. I mean let's be honest, the guards hardly get any good recognition nowadays."

Gee, I wonder why. "Denied. Mission details are classified."

"Well, that's the thing. Mission details are to be recorded at all times because of a certain somepony who's currently in your ranks. Might I also remind you that she is a hero of Equestria, along with all of her friends who saved this nation countless times from threats paramount?" He responded with a sniveling grin.

Must... resist... urge to kill... rising... "Count... Door, use it."

The senator chuckled as he refused to leave. "What's wrong captain, do you not want to tell them of their extremely slim chances of getting out of this assignment alive? Do you suppose the pressure to ensure their safety is too much for you to bear? Or is it that you want to rile them up before they take the plunge into the abyss, feeding them lies upon lies before you send them to their untimely demise? I figured that what you say to them should be quoted for the ages, something passionate, something thrilling, something cinematic! The more flamboyant, the more memorable it is, you know."

The guards around us started to grow even paler as they heard the senator dwell on their chances of survival. Unfortunately, it wasn't helping the morale much as opposed to their desire to abandon all hope and kill themselves right off the bat. "Do you honestly think their chances are so minuscule?"

"Well if you consider the results of the last attempt, it rings in about ten percent. That means one out of every ten of you will live. Of course that's counting before the other two killed themselves and also the other one before he became a criminal. So I'd say your chances are one-of-forty to come out of it virtually unscathed. But I'm not even taking into account the mental toll it takes out on─"

I grabbed the senator by his chin, leaned down to him and whispered. "I think our chances are good. So if you don't mind, can you take your puffy little cheeks out of here before I squeeze?" I asked as my fingers slowly started to dig into his cheeks.

He smiled innocently as he spoke. "Now captain, you know better than to assault a senator, especially in front of your subordinates. Think of the example you're setting."

"Yeah, just make sure you get your forked ear fixed, jackass." I answered with a flick to his injured ear.

"Might I also remind you that we are in front of the press?" He whispered back.

I took a deep breath and then looked at their faces, torn with grief and fear. Meanwhile, I had found a new means of shifting their morale to a higher plane. "You see this guys? This is the asshole who sent ALL OF US into danger. You hear that condescending tone he has whenever he refers to us as a unit doomed to failure? This is what he's paying the book for. This is who's in your parliament. This guy here, he doesn't care about you not one bit. He's so focused on getting you killed that he's not even looking at the consequence of his actions. He's looking at the result, he wants it all to crumble around him. He wants all of us to die. Are you going to accept that?"

Not very many of them said anything, not so much of a whimper.

"Maybe I worded it wrong. It could be a chance that you're not responding due to the lack of detail I'm putting in. This individual is sending us away from our family, our friends, our loved ones, our lives, into the uncertain. Everything we are and everything we've done would be nothing more than a footnote in the pages of history. 'They tried again, and they failed' it will say. The books will quote: 'They left this world to die in a desolate place, by the works of foul beasts and grave wounds. The blood that marks the stones will be caked and dried, only to become dirt and dust by the end. Only the stones will recall our presence, our warmth, our light. The wind will whisper our voices for all eternity. They fought for honor, and they perished with it.' Perhaps that is what you want to hear?"

Again, they were silent. Count looked at me with a raised brow and a smirk.

"Or perhaps you wish for something passionate, deep, thought provoking. Unfortunately, I've no words of my own... so let me start here."

Count turned to the reporter, who was scribbling away at his notepad. "This should be good."

"Do not go gentle into that good night. Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right. Because their words had forked no lightning they do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay. Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Count seemed amused by the words I borrowed. The others continued to frown with dismay as they took in those words. Fortunately for them, I wasn't finished.

"That is what I would leave you with... if our day were to come. But the dying light has long since came and went. Those who have gone before us, those who have sent their own spears into the mark, those are the ones who raged against the dying of their light! Star Trail, Feather Flight, Hard Case, Silver Heart, Songbell to name a few. Though their images have been remembered as unsightly, that was the cost of their sacrifice. They didn't die to become the personification of our inferiority, but rather the representation of camaraderie; Where many have failed, few shall live and tell of how their sacrifice became the reason for their still standing."

I then turned back to Shining Armor and continued speaking.

"And those few that remain, they tell their stories and teach us how to overcome our past mistakes, ancient sins, insurmountable odds to which lead us to a path much different from that of our predecessors. It is also their sacrifice in which we learn to remove ourselves from the precipice of failure. Failure is not marching into death or going headfirst into danger, it is the inability to move forward. Progress is the earmark of our evolution, the foundation of who and what we are now. Revolution is the upending of an order or construct built to suppress us and replacing it with a new method. And at times, our revolution comes in the darkest of the night. It comes with warning, but it comes overwhelmingly. And by the time the light of dawn spills upon the lands we walk, a field once silent for the fallen shall cry out with the sounds of a new generation beckoning for change."

Shining looked away from me and turned his head to the ceiling above, closing his eyes. Count grew nervous as my speech went on. The reported continued to scribble onto his notepad with a fiery passion for keeping up.

"So no, we do not rage against the dying of the light. We rage against the rising of the sun, the dawn of a new day. We rage against the expectation of things to remain the same, whereas our methods and bodies are different. If you are afraid, be just that. Be afraid enough to fight for the one standing next to you. They are the ones who are just as afraid as you are, and your lives will be in their hooves. Our being afraid is a sign that we are not only alive, but have a will to live. We have a desire to make it through our day, through our night, through sun, rain, wind, hail, sleet, snow, moved earth, fire, and brimstone. We persist because we are afraid, and we evolve through our fear into becoming that which is feared!"

What was once a look of dismay upon the faces of the guards had gradually changed. Each of their chests poked out a little further than the did earlier. The sweat that once formed on their brows were dried, their eyes now filled with determination. Count saw this and bit his lip with frustration as his facial muscles twitched.

"So with that all being said, I urge you to fear me. I ask you to do so because I am the one who will protect each and every one of you. If you follow me, do exactly as I say, each and every one of you will come back home without so much as a broken bone in your body. You will be sound in mind, healthy in body, and a little richer in your sacks. Let's be real, we're digging gold out of a hornet's nest, might as well get paid."

The guards all chuckled a bit with the exception to Rainbow Dash, just rolled her eyes.

"Today, we rewrite the story. This time, we're going in and coming out as a unit. And if you see an arimaspi, I promise you it will be a dead one. If it lives, it won't for long. We're all coming home in a week or so. Work with me, and that week will be short. All you gotta do is let me pave the road for you, and you can run that bitch as much as you like. We're coming back and we're coming back rich! All of us will, no matter what this stallion tries to put into your head." I said as I pointed to an indignant Count. "Fuck what he says, he doesn't have what we have. But we'll have what he's been getting."

By then, I turned my attention to the senator, who appeared to have a completely soured expression.

"You politicians believe you can dictate the course of history by money and wealth alone. But all it takes is the will of a single man and his sword." I looked back to Shining, who was still facing the other way from everyone. Twilight walked past him, levitating the claymore that was given to me. She offered me the hilt, to which I used to draw the massive blade before all of them. The journalist who scribbled away at the notepad had become frustrated as he ran out of pages. But upon looking back up, he jumped back in response to the blade I held in my hands.

"So did you get all of that down?" Twilight asked the shocked reporter.

"Not quite." He said as his eyes were still locked on the blade.

Twilight then summoned up another notepad for him to use and a fresh quill. Afterwards, she walked past me with a prideful smirk and whispered to me with a giggle. "Amateurs."

Count was stone-faced as the massive blade was then planted into the ground, standing up to about the middle of my chest. His face seemed relaxed while his eyes were larger than usual. The guards inevitably broke their silence with whispers towards one another and shared their thoughts on the sword. I turned back to them with a smile.

"Now..." I said as I gently rested the blunt of the blade onto my shoulder "If there are no further questions... COMPANY, FALL OUT!"

The guards dispersed back into groupings, conversing with one another on their thoughts of the mission. Meanwhile, Twilight walked up to her brother and saw that he still had his eyes closed, his head turned to the ceiling. She whispered to him. "Shining, you okay?"

"I'm okay, Twily." He answered softly.

She noticed that he was clenching his eyes shut the entire time, coming to one conclusion. "Are you crying?"

"Nah. Just... absorbing." He whispered lightly.

Twilight grabbed her brother's left hoof and turned him towards her. She wrapped her hooves around him, causing him to clutch onto her tightly. The strength of her brothers embrace caused her to briefly seize up, but she quickly returned the affection, knowing how he was feeling at that moment. "...Does it still hurt?"

"It never stopped, kiddo." He answered with a broken tone.

Their display went largely unnoticed as the guards continued to fraternize around the hall. Some were making comments about the senator's face while I was speaking, others were making wise cracks at the size of my sword. But in all, they seemed more at ease than they were when they initially came in. The only one that didn't seem too changed about my speech was Rainbow Dash, which I found a bit worrisome. I walked over to her and spoke. "So, how was it?"

She glanced back over to me. "It was... good, I suppose."

Honestly, I know that she's upset at the fact that she's being assigned to me for this assignment, but I didn't want her to be angry over it. I chose to confront her over the situation. "Then what's wrong? Is it something about me? Does my breath stink?"

She turned away altogether as she answered me. "You're doing things your way again, aren't you?"

I shrugged my shoulders with indifference. "What's wrong with that?"

She scoffed in response. "You do this shit all the time. You just go in without saying anything to anypony. 'Let me pave the road for you', that's what you said, right?"

"I'm doing this to keep you all safe. You're all in this position because of me, so I have to take responsibility for it."

She turned back to me with a scowl, her eyes cutting through me when she spoke. "So you're just gonna do it alone again, right? Just run in, do what the hell you wanna do, be the lone wolf howling to the moon on the mountain? Just you and you alone?"

"Rainbow, if you know what I know─"

"You do this shit all the time, and ponies wonder why you always get hurt!" She erupted, grabbing everyone's attention in the hallway. Everyone stopped their conversations and looked at just the two of us. Rainbow breathed heavily for a few seconds before she finally collected herself. "You don't get it! You can't just... You just run in by yourself, and you always get hurt. We just went through this three-to-four days ago. But obviously... you don't get it." She jumped into the air and hovered to where she spoke to me at eye level. "I thought you'd have a little more trust in me as a friend to help you, I guess I was wrong. Turns out you're more like Twilight than I thought. No wonder you two are perfect for each other."

As she hovered off, I was left with a lasting impression. I felt what she had said, and it resonated strongly within me. My exterior was made to show no change after her words, but my heart was hurt in hearing one of my complaints being thrown right back in my face. Unfortunately for the both of us, that bitterness was going to be what I'd be getting from her throughout this week.

Might as well get familiar to the taste.

...So, this was a challenge and a half.

I had so many distractions and interruptions while writing this chapter. Of course I've made a brief post about what had happened sometime in early September, but I guess I can feel more comfortable in elaborating on the symptoms and aftercare. Of course, spoilered for those who don't care.

For almost a week leading into my visit to the hospital, I had troubles sleeping. Not really so much as tossing and turning, but being completely incapable of sleep. For nine days straight, I could not so much as close my eyes and let the hours seemlessly transition to day. I was awake for every minute, every hour, looking at my clock while hoping I could close my eyes finally. But little had I known that my body was actually trying to prevent that from happening. The reason for my being unable to sleep is because my body was trying to tell me that I was VERY DAMN CLOSE to falling into a coma.

Yeah, that bad.

So upon being sent into the emergency ward, I was completely dehydrated, despite my drinking almost a gallon of fluids. And when fluids were being pumped inside of my body, I had started to develop cramps all over my body. My feet, my legs, my arms, my chest, my neck, everywhere. So I was treated to a stay in the hospital for three days before I was cleared to leave. Of course, I'd have nearly $10,000 to pay out of pocket because of health insurance ordeals, but that's another story.

But now, my condition has drastically improved. What used to be my having issues sleeping is now gone. I'm drinking almost 3 liters of water a day, and my body has rewarded me with the ability to have some of my life back again. Of course I'm a little more busy with my life because of that massive medical bill, plus the concurrent doctor visitations that I also have to pay out of pocket, lab bills, cost of medicine and supplies, and even more issues around the home in general. Hooray for debt!

Anyhow, I tried my best in getting this one out with everything that happened. And I know it took me one month longer than usual, but I finally got situated enough to try and regain my groove. Again, I thank each and every one of you, the readers, for sticking with me (and my inconsistencies thus far). I will try to do what I can to keep writing, because as some of you know, this is my secondary creative outlet. And I'm more than happy to write for you guys.

Again, you all make my day. Thank you for well-wishers and I truly appreciate each and every one of you. If I could hug you all, I would. But since I can't, here have a pony.

I hope that you will stick with me for the next chapter. Commentary's always welcome, even negative. I'm just happy to be alive and still writing.