Swords clashed continuously, meeting again and again as neither side gave up any ground to the other. Aaron firmly grasped the hilt of his sword while he stood before Bull Longhorn Jr. The snarling beast of a minotaur growled in an animal like fashion, swinging his massive blade about like a mad-man. There was no hesitation; Bull’s goal was to see Aaron dead by any means necessary. Even now, Aaron felt sweat drip down his forehead from the intense struggle he found himself in. After a particularly powerful hit, Bull knocked his opponent back a ways. Seeing the minotaur come in for a finishing blow, but Aaron’s instincts kicked in and moved to intercept. His actions lead him to being disarmed but alive; watching as the weapon flies far into the distance and beyond his line of sight. “Huh, I really should get a strap for that thi- WOAH!!!” Disarmed and with no means as to retaliate, Aaron had no other choice but to rely on his wits.

Waiting for Bull to swing his sword, the human ducked underneath a diagonal swing and slipped down and under Bull’s legs. Clawing his way through, Aaron had thought himself in the clear but he had thought wrong. Bull wised up to what he was doing and grabbed him by his opponent by the leg. Within seconds, Bull was dragging his prey back out and dangled the human upside down like a prize. The two met eyes, and Aaron could see the unnatural glow he was giving off. He knew that look and he physically braced himself for what was to come. Pulling back, Bull tapped into his bovine strength and through the lanky man into the distance. His flight did not last long; a building caught him mid-flight. Aaron went crashing through the thin, wooden walls with relative ease but that didn’t mean the impact wasn’t any less painful.

Dazed for a moment, the human climbed back up, trying to get his bearings back. Or better yet, try and find a new weapon. At this point, he’d take anything metal to help defend him against the towering bovine. Unfortunately, he’d have to put that plan on hold when he saw Bull come charging to his position. “Aw crap-baskets.” Ducking back behind a counter, he heard Bull tear through what little the wood and glass like a wrecking ball. Memories of how he thrashed Jubilee’s house filled his mind and knew that he had some issues maneuvering in tight spaces without causing damage. If he wasn’t careful, Bull could end up bringing the whole store down on top of them. It was best that he find a way out and soon. Turning around, Aaron found his out; a door leading to the back alley. It was as good an out as he could find. Aaron gathered his courage together and made his way for it. The sudden movement caught Bull’s eye and saw his prey open the door and dash out. Closing the door and pressing a small chair against the handle, Aaron started running for his life before hearing something large and powerful plow its way through the wall next to the door he had jammed. As he suspected, Bull was smashing through walls like the Kool-Aid man and from the way he was looking at Aaron, he wanted to drink Aaron’s red stuff.

Locking onto the target, Bull dropped down on all fours and started charging like a wild animal. Aaron was already running fast, no way to defend himself and now realizing that he was boxed into a dead end. There was no escape; it was just him and Bull’s long, sharp horns. Aaron felt his heart beating a million miles a second, sweat falling off of his brow; Aaron was going to find himself skewered by a pair of massive horns if he didn’t think fast. Time started to slow to a crawl, the sight of the charging bovine petrified him, keeping him from thinking properly. “Enough!” A voice echoed as time came to a full stop. Bull hovered over the ground with his massive horns inches from piercing Aaron’s heart. His saving grace came from the princess of the night, who descended from the skies like a guardian angel. “A valiant effort but there is still room for improvement.”

“Says you, I doubled my record.”

“Ten minutes of scurrying about like a trapped rat is not something I find worthy of boasting.” Before their eyes; Bull, the town, everything he had witnessed vanished before Aaron’s eyes. It was not real, it never was real. It was merely a training scenario Aaron had set up with the help of Luna. “Still, there is victory in failure if you wish to look at this in a cup-half-full sort of way. Without my aid, you will not be able to safely defend against the foul cut-throat.”

“Oh, look who’s boasting now.”

“Hold your tongue. I do this out of the kindness of my own heart and to see you safe; I will not have such rude interjections.” As much as he loved to poke and prod the mare, she was right. He owed her quite a bit to steal a few more hours in practice in his dreams.

“You are right, I’m sorry. Just… trying to work through the emotions of… almost dying… again.” Luna let out a small sigh as she took a seat in the vast void of space they found themselves in. Slowly, she turned to him with a smile.

“Apology accepted; if only because I know how it feels in the rush of battle. Swords clashing, your mind on edge, decisions having to be made in a second’s notice; truthfully I wouldn’t wish such a burden on another. But as I am confined to the castle, you now act as my only connection to the outside world, and beyond.”

“Rummaging through my mind yet again?” Aaron caught a small glimpse of embarrassment form on the princess’s face. “I hope you haven’t been digging through anything unsavory.”

“Your sex life remains untouched and unseen. Even if I did, I doubt there is anything I haven’t yet seen.” Aaron let out a small giggle.

“Oh, I bet that was always fun.”

“No it was not,” Luna said, failing to grasp the sarcasm in his voice. “The lewd acts carried out in reality pale compared to what dwells in the subconscious. No, I have not seen your private moments, yet I have indulged in a bit of your own world yet again.”

“More disco?”

“T’was merely the peak of a far more interesting ice-burg; but if I find your mood unsavory again, I shall not hesitate to dawn the funk once more.”

“Point taken, I’ll keep myself in check.” She nodded to the man, bringing up an image of Bull, standing tall and breathing like an animal. “Now, back to business; what have you learned of your enemy.”

“He’s big, mean and strong.”

“A broad generalization but it isn’t exactly false either. What else have you observed in your encounters with this Bull?”

“He’s clumsy. I remember the fight with Dash and I, he has some trouble moving in tight spaces, like narrow hallways.”

“Indeed. An enemy such as Bull will require you to use your environment to your advantage. Sheer strength alone will only end in your demise.” The two continued to examine him. “What is something you can do to slow him down?” Thinking things through for a moment, Aaron got to looking at the large creature.

“I could try attacking his legs. They’re pretty stumpy and they don’t look all that strong as is. Maybe I could slice the back of his knees?”

“An excellent strategy, you’re getting the hang of this.”

“But, that just means I gotta get behind him. After throwing me a block like I was garbage wasn’t a pleasant experience. I can only imagine that it’ll be worse with the pain on.”

“Then I suggest you start thinking of a way to avoid his grasp. What else?”

“He’s not very bright and prone to anger.”

“I doubt I need to run you through with what to do for that.”

“No, Bull almost did that earlier.”

“Ha! You make merry on the fact you were almost killed. Your strange Earth humor is quite delightful yet depressing.”

“I try to keep the darker stuff under control. Twilight and the others already have enough dreary events on their plate as is.” Shaking his head, Aaron got back into the planning. “All jokes aside, a distracting element wouldn’t be all that hard. But, speaking of skewering, I doubt I’d need to worry about such a thing. Bull was de-horned in our fight with Rainbow. I wouldn’t need to worry about that.”

“True, but do not let your assurance blind you. Plans can be a fickle thing, and life often smashes them frequently.”

“Preaching to the quire on that, but duly noted.” The visage of Bull vanished, leaving Aaron to review on his practice with fighting Bull. “How would you deal with this situation?”

“I’d petrify the beast; turn his body into cold cement and decorate the gardens with his hideous form.” Stunned, Aaron looked at the princess as a bit of her own dark side surfaces. “But, seeing as this is a duel of the blade and not magic, I’d match the bovine on my terms and not his own.”

“I think I already failed that part.”

“Maybe not. I never said I’d instigate the fight; merely ensure that the battlefield gave me an edge. A proper battlefield can be a weapon as well; things you may often miss can be used in ways you may never consider.”

“Are we going to go through another training montage?” Aaron asked with an annoyed mannerism.

“Do not be silly. Any training here is only mentally, not physically. All I can offer you at the moment is to be wary of your surroundings. Rainbow had taught you to fight dirty, she isn’t wrong in what she said. If and when given the chance, Bull will kill you without hesitation. It’s what he’s been dreaming about for the last few days… among other things.” Things got quiet fast as Aaron raised a brow at the dark blue mare. He had an idea of what he was dreaming about and he knew if Aaron failed, it’d probably become a reality.

“All the more reason to ensure that he doesn’t succeed.” Bull’s visage disappeared, returning to nothingness and leaving the two floating in limbo together. “How much longer until morning?”

“You have several more minutes; which grants you a few more days in here with me.”

“Perfect. I guess that gives me a little more time to spend with Applejack. Though, I do wish I could spend time with Twilight as well.”

“You say that as if these are your last moments. There are so many of those with a negative point of view these days. Even from my limited exposure to the outside world, I can tell that a somber wave has overtaken my former subjects. I had hoped you would be a much needed change to that.”

“I assure you I am not falling into a melancholic slump. I’m just accepting all outcomes as possibility. If I deny the fact that I can fail, then I am setting myself up for failure; if all I see is failure at every turn, then that is where I shall end up. I just want to keep myself grounded in reality.”

“Hm. That is quite profound of you. If that is what you say, I thank you for not bringing any form of negativity into our meetings. I have to deal with enough of that in the waking world.” Aaron chuckled softly and came to her side and wrapped his arm around her.

“Don’t worry; I can be your ray of sunshine if you need me to.” Luna found herself turning a bright red, recalling a certain pony regaling her with those same words before.

“You know it is a crime to lay your hands upon royalty.”

“What about laying your hands on a friend?” Luna sighed to herself and embraced the man’s sign of friendship.

“It escapes me how Twilight and Applejack put up with you.”

“They don’t, they drug me most of the time.”

“That is preposterous.”

“I know. it was a joke.” Luna suddenly fell silent.

“Your human comedy fails me.” Aaron merely chuckled and soon felt a bizarre shudder run through his body. “It seems our time together is being cut short. Rather unfortunate.”

“I guess you’re right.” Aaron smiled at the mare, feeling his consciousness drift off into the void as he watched her float in space. “I’ll come back. It’s a promise.”

“Do not make promises you cannot keep.”

“Alright, I guess that means I’ll just have to keep it. See ya later!” With that, Aaron vanished. Dragged back into the waking world and leaving Luna by herself; the still silence was all she was left with. The moment he faded off, her smile vanished, knowing that she was left alone once again. She hated this feeling and could not wait to see her champion once more.

~~~~~

Awakening to the subtle first rays of the morning, Aaron awoke to find himself in bed alone. He recalled falling asleep with Twilight, but she was nowhere to be found. Rising up from the soft pillows, he found a set of clothes laid out for him, washed and neatly folded. From the look of it, Twilight had left him something to wear for the day. They were his casual clothes; no fancy suits or special attire. It was all casual wear with his sword laid at the foot of the bed.

With his morning routine in motion, Aaron got himself ready for his last day in Dodge Junction, and he was going to make sure that it won’t be his last day at all. Tying the strap of his blade to his pants, Aaron took a deep breath and recalled everything he had learned in the last three days. It may not have seemed like much, but every little bit would help. Though it may have been quiet in his room, downstairs was far from quiet and serene.

Downstairs was a mad-house. Rainbow had gotten back into her commanding role and saw to it that every one of her soldiers was packed and ready with their belongings tied up and ready for transport. The other mares around the house would help where they could, but most were still helping with the clean up. It’d be some time before the house was fully repaired once more. “Aaron!” The man turned to see the scowl of the blue mare directed towards him. “Why are you up so late?”

“You guys kept waking me up. I thought somepony was going to get me.”

“What do we look like; your wake-up crew?”

“But you-“

“I don’t wanna hear it. Are you or are you not ready to go?” The sound of a carrying bag hit the ground beside them as Applejack came forward.

“We’re all set to go. Twilight n’ I have been running inventory on our personal storage. That girl’s wound up tight, ah’d suggest ya be wary around her.”

“I know how Twilight gets, AJ. For now, I gotta make sure these scrubs are packed and ready to head out.” Rainbow failed to see Shining stand tall and look at her with a cocked brow.

“You do know I used to out-rank you.”

“Duly noted, Shining Armor. Do you have your stuff ready?”

“All set. I’m just helping everypony else get set for the trip. For some reason Gilda and Bulk have been hording canned food.”

“I like to keep a high bit of rations.” The large pegasus responded. Shining and Rainbow only sighed to themselves, too busy with their duties to argue.

“Aaron, go get something to eat. I think Twilight managed to salvage something from the walking trash-compactor.”

“Okay, thanks Dash.”

“Don’t thank me. I would have let you starve.” Ignoring that last bit, Aaron ventured off with Applejack outside. Finding Twilight was no difficult task; the purple mare was sitting out on the porch with a bowl of preserved oatmeal and toast on a small plate. Aaron took the last chair while Applejack leaned up against the wall. Even so, Twilight failed to notice their presence, transfixed on something out in the distance. The look of worry on her was all too familiar with the two ponies at this point. Not wanting to face this with an empty stomach, he started to dig into the food that was left for him; a bowl of porridge and a slice of toast with jam. It wasn’t exactly bacon and eggs, but he was grateful.

After the first bite into his toast, Twilight’s focus deviated from her point of interest to the sound of Aaron seemingly chewing on gravel. Flustering a bit, he smiled at the purple mare and sat the toast down. “Good morning Twilight.” He greeted, trying to act normal.

“Morning.” She turned to Applejack, but saw her attention being fought over as she randomly looked out into the town. “Morning, Applejack.”

“Mornin’, Twi.” Curious to see what had gotten the mares wound up, turned to the town and saw why they weren’t in the best of moods. After a moment of focus, Aaron saw that Dodge was now overrun by the brutish band of bandits. Every few feet occupied a minotaur, harassing what few ponies bothered to stay in the town. They acted like they owned the place, making themselves at home and giving everypony they came across a hard time. “The nerve o’ those guys.” Applejack wasn’t too fond of watching minotaurs do as they wished, Twilight even more so. “Love to show ‘em some manners.”

“Easy Applejack. They’ll be dealt with soon enough. After, we can leave and put this behind us.”

“Oh, I doubt that, my little beauties.” The three were soon approached by one of the minotaurs, one that Aaron knew all too well. Bull had come forth, smiling a smug smile he had glued to his face at this point. Applejack recognized him from the days prior, and after what she was told, was not a fan of him at all. Though, as he approached, his sights were more set on Twilight than anything else. “Mmm, you are more beautiful than I ever imagined your highness.” Slicking his hair back, Bull came in to bow respectfully to Twilight. Yet, Aaron and Applejack knew there was nothing respectful about this bovine, and Twilight knew as well.

“Thank you for the kind words, but I’d like to know your business.”

“Ah think we all would.” Applejack stood upright, muscles flexed, and standing upright in a threatening manner, ready to get involved at the slightest notion of danger. Bull sneered at Applejack and Aaron.

“You be silent, mud pony,” Applejack’s eyes shot open, steam pouring from her ears as she turned a bright red. “My business is with this beautiful mare here.”

“What did you just call me you sack of-?”

“Applejack.” Twilight held up her hand, stopping any assault that would come. “While your anger is justified, no harm is to come to Bull as of yet.”

“That’s right, you can’t harm me just like my boys here can’t harm your little pet here.”

“Your horns look fake.” Aaron randomly pointed out, yet it struck a nerve. Bull was not too happy to find that his horns had been removed when he emerged from unconsciousness. Now Bull seemed to have carved out wooden horns, painted them white, and stuck them to his head… or someone did. Regardless, it was certainly a sensitive subject for the bovine.

“Regardless, you do know that even though they can’t touch me, I can guarantee you that I can still touch them.” Aaron stood alongside Applejack, mimicking her protective stance.

“You so much as touch a hair on anypony, and I’ll make sure eat through a straw for the rest of your life.”

“I got something that mud pony can suck on. Who knows, it’d probably be the best tasting thing she’s ever had in her mouth.” Bull sneered, knowing how to push Aaron’s buttons like he pushed his. Tightening his fists, Aaron held himself back, wanting to unload everything he had suppressed into their bout. “But, that aside, I did not come to stir trouble.”

“I think ya could be doin’ a better job at that.”

“My true intention is to come and woo my prize. Well, prizes that is.”

“What are you talking about?” Twilight asked, standing from her seat.

“Oh, nothing much. After I kill this whelp, I fully intend to turn you both into new members of my herd.” Applejack scoffed at the notion.

“I think ya may be getting’ ahead of yourself. Even if you win, there’s no way in Tartarus we’d ever be a part of your herd.”

“Your compliance isn’t exactly a factor, but it would be nice if you both would come willingly. I mean, we could have skipped all of this if you agreed to trade mares for the purple alicorn. In fact, I could be persuaded to cancel this whole thing… if you just give up the mares.” Twilight and Applejack turned to Aaron, who was currently staring down Bull. “We can end all of this, and no harm will come to you or any of the ponies. I’ll even make sure that you get a good mare in return.” Aaron stood statue-like, unwavering from Bull and his offer. Twilight and Applejack stood silent, unsure of what would come of this.

“Bull…” The bovine looked ready to barter, but he was going to be disappointed yet again. “You can take your deal and shove it.” Bull’s sneer faded, turning into a scowl.

“You’re making a huge mistake.”

“The only mistakes I see are those crooked horns of yours.” Applejack and Twilight smiled, moving towards their human and stood by his side.

“I’ll make you regret this.”

“Go suck a lemon. You and I can work business out in a while, for now… I got nothing further to say to you.”

“Fine,” Bull looked them over, seeing their solidarity sickened him to no end. Yet, as he looked them over, an idea formed. No, not an idea, a plan; a most heinous of plans. “If that is how you feel it should be, then we shall meet at a later date.” Taking his leave, Bull had some last minute preparations to make.

Free of the bovine’s presence, the two mares let out a sigh of relief. “So that is the infamous Bull.” Twilight stated. “I can understand why you got so emotional; he looks like he can get under your skin.”

“Yeah, but I can do the same to him. The guy has a bit of an ego and it is quite fragile. I can take advantage of it and use it to my advantage.”

“I hope a smart mouth isn’t the only thing up your sleeve, Aaron.” Wrapping an arm around both mares, Aaron couldn’t help but find amusement in her words.

“Nah, I’ve been spending the last three days learning how to Spiderman my way through a fight.” Twilight started to repress the memories of yesterday’s training session with Shining Armor. Still, if he could keep up with Shining, then Twilight had no doubt in her mind that the odds were in his favor. After the unpleasant visit, Aaron went back to his breakfast. His morning had been spoiled, due to Bull’s uninvited visit, but he figured he would have to meet the minotaur sooner or later. As bad as it was, no one was harmed so he’d chock that up as a win for him.

“So, I take it you got a plan?” Applejack asked, standing over the man, resting her breasts atop his head.

“I’ve got a number of strategies lined up. But the main plan, I want you guys and everypony else to get on the train. If I do manage to fail, I want you as far away from here as possible.” Applejack and Twilight looked to one another with worried expressions.

“Aaron, I know you want to look after us, but we’re not about to abandon you.” Twilight placed a small hand on his free hand. “We are going to be there for you.”

“Trust me, nothing would mean more to me. But you don’t have to get on the train at the last moment, but if things go awry, I need you both on that train. If nothing else, I want to keep you both out of that bovine’s clutches. I would never forgive myself if you guys came to harm.” Applejack enveloped him from behind.

“We appreciate that, sugarcube. It’s sweet you wanna look out for us, but we can take care of ourselves. It wasn’t too long ago when we were the ones protecting you, remember?” Aaron could recall when he was quite helpless in the past. It was a little embarrassing now that he thought about it, but he was glad for their care.

“I know, Applejack, and I couldn’t be more thankful. However, I’m still afraid that-“

“No, no stinkin’ thinkin’. You ARE going to win, and we are going on that train together. And we’re going to be with you the whole way through.”

“She’s right, we’re not going to abandon you. We’re all in this together; for better or worse.” Aaron felt his heart skip a beat; the loyalty and care they showed towards him was something he found amazing and couldn’t help but hold them close.

“I love you guys.”

“We love you too, ya big lug. You may get on our nerves, but ah can’t imagine livin’ without ya.” The three reveled in their tender moment, showing their affection towards one another. They only had so much time left on their hands. Finishing his breakfast, Aaron wanted to spend what little free time he had with the two most important mares in his life, unknowing that they were being watched by unfriendly eyes.

~~~~~

The natural silence of Dodge was brought to a disturbing halt when the sound of a horn roared through the desert. Smoke trailed through the skies with every pump and puff, signaling the arrival of the long awaited train. Already Rainbow, Draco, and Shining were waiting at the terminal with a mound of luggage to haul onboard. The minotaur bandit gang kept their distance, mostly due to the fact they didn’t want to mess with the mare who beat up the boss’s son.

With the train resting at the station, the others could gather themselves and ready for a trip home. In Rainbow’s absence, Spitfire had taken charge of the band of misfits they called a team. Ensuring that they were kept in line from either the bandits or Draco’s team. “Alright guys, the trains here so whatever you gotta do, do it now. I suggest you use the bathroom now. Cause I don’t wanna hear anypony complaining on the ride out.” Walking into the lounge, Spitfire would find their gladiator on the couch with two mares at each side. After breakfast, the three had found a mostly undamaged couch to spend some time in each other’s presence. Even if she found the sight to be a loving one, it had to come to an end. “Aaron, time to get up.”

“Mmph… five more minutes.” The man dug into the couch, holding the two mares close.

“Sorry, but ya don’t have five minutes. It’s almost noon and you gotta head out. You don’t want to be late.” As much as he didn’t want to, Aaron knew that he had to head out. Letting out a sigh, he rose from the couch. Following his rise, Applejack and Twilight awoke as well. The two yawning gently as they saw Aaron standing over them.

“Is it time already? That was fast.” Aaron could agree with Applejack on that, he wanted some more time to be with his mares, but there was nothing they could do. Grabbing his sword waiting at the side of the couch, Aaron psyched himself up for the duel.

“Any last requests?” Spitfire asked.

“I wouldn’t mind one more roll in the hay with my herd.” Twilight and Applejack wouldn’t mind that either.

“As much as I’d like to accommodate you, I’m afraid you barely have time to get through a quickie.”

“I dunno, I wouldn’t mind givin’ him a good ruttin’ before a fight.” Aaron chuckled to himself.

“Don’t worry, AJ. We’ll have plenty of time on the train.” Taking a deep breath, he was ready.

“Alright guys. Let’s head out.”

“Right behind ya.” Twilight held Aaron’s hand, smiling at him. She was going to stay with him the whole way through. Applejack would do the same, if nature hadn’t called.

“Actually, I recall Spitfire here sayin’ something about using the bathroom before we head out. I think ah’ll take ‘er up on that.”

“Seriously? Now Applejack?”

“Sorry, but nature’s a’callin’.” Spitfire shrugged to the two, unsure what to do.

“Alright, I’ll save you a spot, AJ. Just hurry.”

“Don’ worry. I’ll be quick, Twi.” Parting from her herd, Applejack made her way for the closest bathroom. Aaron and Twilight followed Spitfire, out but they failed to notice a strange figure lurking around the house.

Applejack was in a hurry, for more reasons than one. Finding a bathroom and hurrying out to watch her lover kick some ass was top priority and she wasn’t going to miss it for anything. Finding her target, Applejack was already undoing her zipper before opening the door, quick to turn around and lock the door. With her privacy secured, she turned around and found that she wasn’t the only one in the bathroom.

After a sharp gasp, a large, meaty hand covered her mouth to keep her from screaming out. Struggling and fighting back, Applejack would thrash about but this bovine was strong. “MMMPH! MPH MM MM MMMPH!” She tried to call out for help while finding a weak spot to kick, but her hands and legs were quickly subdued, only to be forced to the cold tile floor. Tying her down and fixing a muzzle on her, the bovine had his prize.

“Don’t worry. You’ll be getting your rut soon enough.” Her eyes widening, she did all she could to thrash about and free herself, yet there was no escape. Yet, even when she thought that things were going to be bad enough, she had no idea of just what was to come. Throwing her over his shoulder, Applejack was hauled out of the house, quietly and stealthily as to not alert the others of what had happened. They’d soon learn of the surprise coming their way in just a moment.

~~~~~

The town square was swarmed with spectators of all kinds. Bovines and equines all gathered around to watch what fate would become of this small, desert town. While the two factions kept their distance from one another, they couldn’t help but huddle around and wait for the show to begin. Aaron stood at a corner, making sure that he was ready. Aaron and his friends had huddled close together to discuss their exit strategy. “Yoo hoo! Aaron!” A hand waved over the crowd, its owner pushing through the cluster of ponies to meet with the human before things progressed. From the voice and call, it was quite recognizable as none other than Cherry Jubilee. “There you are sugar.” The mare came forward, holding a small box. “You are quite the jackrabbit, I was afraid ah’d miss you.”

“Nah, I’m still here. What can I do for you, Jubilee?”

“Well, ah wanted to give you a little somethin’ somethin’ before ya up n’ ran off. I managed to make another cheesecake for you n’ your friends. Jus’ so y’all got something to use for celebrating after you put that brute ‘n his place.”

“Thank you, Cherry. That’s very sweet of you.”

“It’s the least ah can do for ya. You’ve been a big help an’ I wanted to show my thanks.”

“We’ll try and eat it before it goes bad. I really don’t want to waste this.” Hearing the chime from the local clock tower, everything went silent. The chatter and fuss ended, ceased by the sound of bells echoing through the town. Bull looked ready, but Aaron was busy looking around for Applejack, yet to return. “Have you guys seen Applejack?”

“Don’ reckon ah have. Thought she was out with ya’ll.”

“We can’t just hold this off for one pony. It’s now or never.” Without Applejack anywhere in sight, Aaron let out a sigh. Rainbow was right, they couldn’t wait any longer. Besides, the sooner they got this over with, the better it’s going to be in the long run. Bull stood on the opposite end, impatient and itching for some payback. Drawing his own sword, Aaron walked over to meet Bull in the middle. While Aaron’s party watched with tension building among them, Bull had his father watching with a stone-like expression.

The ring of ponies stood back, watching carefully to see what became of this bout; whether they’d be running for their lives or celebrating their liberation. The fate of this town rested on the shoulders of a stranger, a stranger who had only stayed a week in its borders. To say that tension was high would be quite the understatement.

Staring one another down, Bull towered over the human and puffed out his chest to emphasize his bulging muscles. Aaron wasn’t afraid; he had faced worse before him. “We could’a avoided this whole thing. But you had to be sanctimonious about it and treat your herd like they weren’t property. Well, I’m going to show you what happens to heroes in my town.”

“By all means… educate me.” With the field set, Bull grabbed hold of the massive blade on his back and swung it immediately. Aaron barely had a moment’s notice to jump back before losing his head. Ducking and weaving around the bovine, the lone human unsheathed his sword and deflected the sword’s path. Aaron’s grip remained firmly held the weapon, making sure that Bull couldn’t disarm him with his superior strength.

The audience was in shock to see that Aaron was able see that he was lasting longer than a minute against Bull. He wasn’t some easy push over, and no one was more shocked to see this than Bull himself. Quick on his feet, Aaron managed to actually get a hit in on his opponent. After several swings of the sword, Bull was shocked to find that Aaron managed to cut him. The wound wasn’t deep; at best it was a flesh wound. Regardless, Aaron cut into Bull and had yet to return the favor. Already Aaron was making Bull look like a fool, and Bull was not about to have that. Not again.

Since Aaron was so keen on using his agility, Bull had the idea of swinging in wild succession until the human grew too fatigued to continue on. Rapidly Bull would swing and swing until his blade was nothing more than a blur. There was no physical way Aaron could maneuver through that; his best course was to keep his distance for the time being. Yet, that wasn’t to say that he couldn’t make an opening himself. Distancing himself a bit further, Aaron ducked down and scooped up a handful of sand. Letting Bull get closer, he swiftly turned around and threw the dirt directing into the bovine’s eyes. “GAAAH!!! MY EYES!!!”

His sword fell to the ground, leaving Bull open while he tried to sooth his now red eyes. Dashing forward, Aaron was ready to dig his sword into the opponent’s gut. The ponies of the town were cheering the man on, seeing he was going in for a killing blow. Twilight tensed up as she watched the man going in to end all of this before it even began. Holding his sword with both hands now, Aaron readied to gut the minotaur where he stood, but Bull reacted fast and swung his meaty arm to meet Aaron’s face. The man was swatted away like a fly, denied his victory by a mere muscle reaction. Not only that, but Bull recovered from the underhanded maneuver. “I’ll make sure you pay for that.” Bull snarled.

“Sorry, but I’m afraid I’m fronting the bill to you.” Bull raised his sword high, ready to impale Aaron on the ground. Reflexes kicking in, Aaron rolled back but forgot to pick up his sword. Seeing the short sword at the ground, Bull placed his hoof on the hilt to ensure that the man wasn’t going to get it back unless he came charging at him.

“Come on, String bean. Let’s see what you got, and that little sand trick ain’t going to work on me a second time.” Aaron tested this and threw another wad of sand his way, and much to his word Bull covered his face. “Ain’t gonna get me with that playground shit. You want this back, you gotta come at me.” Just by looking at him, Aaron could see that this was a game of chicken. He held onto his great sword with both hands, looking like he was about ready to swing a baseball bat. Even if he dodged, he was going to have difficulty getting a large cow off of his sword. He had to play this smart.

“Come on! You can take this guy!” Rainbow cheered. She and the others started to show their support, sparking the entire population of Dodge to goad him on. As much as he wanted to believe Rainbow, he needed that sword; which is why he found another opening he could exploit. Slowly kneeling down, he made sure Bull saw him scoop up a third handful of sand. The others were baffled why he would try this move yet again. Bull was fully aware of what he was planning and braced himself for it.

Breaking into a full run for his opponent, Aaron threw the sand at Bull’s face. As predicted, he let go of his sword to block his face, which meant he could easily throw a second handful at his open wound on the side of his body. The sudden stinging sensation jarred the bovine so much, he dropped his guard. Yet, Aaron wasn’t done yet. Still running forward, Aaron broke into a sliding maneuver, moving down between bull’s legs. Readying a punch, the human attacked Bull where he was most vulnerable. Combing the momentum of his slide and natural forces, Bull had no choice but to take several steps back when Aaron struck him where the sun doesn’t shine. At this point, going for the ball was an invaluable move to him. Now that the sword was free and Bull further humiliated, Aaron was feeling like he was on top of the world. Nary a scratch on him and he was wiping the floor with the bovine. “You know, I was kinda expecting more from you Bull. I’m starting to think I didn’t need all the training.” Turning around, Aaron’s face turned a pale shade when he found Bull snorting and growling with anger.

Grabbing the man with one meaty hand, Aaron felt his winning streak was going to come to an end. “Make a fool of me, go on… I dare you.” Talking was beyond him now. Bull was squeezing the man tight, forcing Aaron to exhale every bit of air in his lungs. Holding his breath, he used his sword to poke and prod at Bull’s thick hide. His arms were tightly restrained but he had no other way of freeing himself.

“Hey Bull!” They heard a shout. “What happened to the old horns?” Rainbow caught Bull’s attention, distracting from his real target in his hand. “It looks like you glued a couple of branches to your head.” Some of the ponies started to laugh, even getting a few chuckles from the other bandits. Seeing where she was going with this, Shining Armor got in on it.

“Your breath smells like the rear end of a hydra!”

“Who knows, maybe that’s where he eats?” Rainbow was getting more and more laughs, and further distracting Bull. “I mean, when I first met the guy, I coulda sworn he cacked his pants.” With this going on, it wasn’t long for the whole gang, even Twilight to distract the minotaur.

“Uhhh… Your… hair is… dumb?” She didn’t have a firm grasp on insulting on the fly, but she still kept his attention. Yet, after seeing the princess attempt at insulting the bovine, more and more ponies got in on the fun. Bull and his gang terrorized the town for many years. To finally speak their minds and vent a very long pent up grudge was a god send for the town.

“Your chin looks like a brick!”

“We all notice when you break wind!”

“I’ve caught you picking your nose… on multiple occasions!”

“Your hair is dumb!” Tossing the man aside, Bull walked up to confront the ponies of the land in a heated rage. Nopony talked to Bull like that and got away with it. Yet it was in this blind rage that he failed to notice his real adversary, who was now driving his sword deep into his shoulder. Falling forward onto all fours, Aaron held on tight as Bull went into full rampage mode. The ponies that made a circle made room as Bull went on the warpath with Aaron on his back. This duel turned into a rodeo fast, with bull letting out a long moo and even tried to thrash Aaron off of him.

“Get! Off! Me!” he screamed, charging through a wall and coming out the opposite end of the building. “Wh-What are you doing!”

“Tiring you out,” Aaron ducked under a sign. “Ya fat excuse for a daddy’s boy.” Letting out a strong snort, Bull finally managed to throw Aaron off of him and into a small a group of barrels. The large group of ponies and minotaur came to watch.

“You think you can make a fool outta me?” He growled, pulling Aaron’s sword from his shoulder. “Nopony, makes a fool out of Bull Longhorn Jr. and lives to tell about it.” Pulling himself out of the barrels, Aaron gasped to see Bull about to kill him with his own sword. Looking around, he found his saving grace and pulled over a lid. Bull went for a stabbing motion, aiming for the heart yet was intercepted by the lid turned shield. “Oh you gotta be kidding me.” Stab after stab, Aaron kept Bull from finishing him off in his most vulnerable moment. “Why won’t you die?” After a few more stabs, the human returned fire by throwing the shield like a Frisbee, hitting the minotaur in the nose. Captain America would be proud.

Disoriented and open, Aaron grabbed hold of the sword and went crawling under Bull’s legs. Just like in the dream scenario, he sliced his sword along Bull’s back knees, forcing him to fall to his hands once more. Recalling the dreams once more, Aaron was quick to roll back just in time for Bull to deliver a powerful donkey kick. Yet, he wasn’t going to stop there. Rushing forward, Aaron delivered his first massive blow. Moving fast, Aaron swung his blade in a diagonal arc and cut right through Bull’s tail. The pain was instant and Bull screamed bloody murder at the loss of his tail. “You animal! How dare you!”

“It’s quite easy actu-.” Cut off by a direct punch to the face, Aaron stood up to see Bull brought to tears at the loss of his tail.

“You’ve humiliated me for the last time.”

“I thought… ugh… the last time was the ‘last time’.”

“Shut up! Shut your disgusting mouth!” Bull huffed and growled, growing a bit tired from blood loss. Though the damage was minimal, Bull was feeling a bit fatigued after the charge through the buildings.

“Boss!” One of the minotaur came forward, throwing in the giant sword Bull used. “Kick his ass!” The minotaur all started to chant.

“Kick his ass! Kick his ass! Kick his ass!” They chanted, again and again. Bull felt their support flow into him, grabbing hold of the sword and readied to go in once more.

“I wanted to keep you alive, I desperately wanted to keep you alive so I can tie you down and make you watch me plow that whore of yours.”

“I’m sure you had such high hopes. I’d say I’m sorry for destroying them, but I don’t wanna lie to your face.” At this point, Bull had been driven into a corner. Humiliated and wounded, the panting minotaur would see to it that Aaron was killed where he stood. That is, if Bull could keep himself standing first. “So, where do we go from here?” Suddenly, Bull’s loud panting shifted into a low laughter. “That… wasn’t a joke.”

“Nah… it wasn’t, but you are.” Standing tall, Bull was done playing around. “Boys, bring out the new toy.” The row of bovine parted to show the ponies what he was talking about. Much to everypony’s shock and horror, out walked an orange earth pony shambling forth with her hair a mess and her hands tied behind her back. Around her neck was a pair of reigns strapped to her muzzle to keep her from escaping. Yet that wasn’t the worst part of it. Stripped naked and forced out into the open, the town would only stand still to see Applejack brought out like a recently tamed animal. “Truth be told, I never wanted that orange mud-slut. The alicorn was my real prize; I had no use for another earth pony cluttering up my herd. So, I offered to make her public use. Gotta keep the gang strong after all.”

Rainbow stepped forward out of the group, her face alight with raw anger. “H-How dare you!” She grunted. “How DARE YOU do that to my friends!” They could all hear her voice cracking, on the very verge of bursting then and there.

“How dare I? My little blue devil, I haven’t even touched her. My boys however… well, I can’t honestly control everything they do.” He let out a laugh, followed by Applejack letting out a harsh grunt. Her handler started to play with her pussy in front of everypony. She couldn’t escape; she couldn’t defend herself in that state.

“A-Aaron…” Applejack moaned. “W-… Wipe the floor with this idiot.” After her message, she let out a soft yelp when she felt a fat finger enter her back door. Ignoring Bull for a change, Aaron went in to rescue his marefriend. However, that was quickly stopped when Bull tackled him down. The impact hurt him more due to the shoulder wound, but keeping Aaron as far away from her as possible. Much like how he exploited Bull’s weakness, it was now the minotaur’s turn to start using his biggest weakness.

“Boys, give the mud pony a good rutting. She may as well get used to minotaur cock sooner or later.” Her handler was first in line, and hearing Applejack shriek from the unauthorized penetration shook Aaron to his core. Not only he, but Rainbow was just rearing to maul Bull. Her hands clenched tight, and her team was trying to keep her under control. They knew that they couldn’t interfere with the duel itself, but the anger rainbow felt pulsing in her was driving her into a mindless frenzy.

Getting back up, Aaron ran to her once again. And much like last time, Bull was there to make sure he never made it. In his distracted state, Aaron failed to notice Bull swing his great sword on time and felt the tip of cold steel slice into his chest. The man backed off, holding his chest as blood started to seep out. “Oh, that looks painful.” Bull chirped. “What’s wrong? No quips, no jokes? Come on funny-boy. Make me laugh!” Holding his short sword tight, Aaron ran in to attack Bull. If he couldn’t get passed him, he may as well go through him. Luckily, Bull thought of that as well. Applejack grunted after another bull struck her across the face. In seeing this take place, Aaron could barely keep himself focused long enough to find Bull smack him aside.

“Wh-What are you doing? I thought… I thought there wasn’t supposed to be any intervention.”

“They aren’t. It’s not their fault they’re having fun. They’re just doing whatever they want and it’s your fault that you can hardly focus.”

“Bull… stop this now or else I’ll-.”

“You’ll what? Go on, paint me a picture.”

“I’ll paint you, ya sack of shit!” Running out into the middle of the fight, Rainbow had boiled over and shoved the others aside. She was absolutely enraged with what he was doing.

“Rainbow, no!” Twilight was ready to take her down, but it was Aaron who ended up intercepting her.

“L-Let me go! I’ll kill him! I’ll… I’ll!”

“Rainbow, get a hold of yourself.”

“But he’s…” Aaron held the rainbow maned mare close, looking her in the eyes.

“I know, but you can’t hurt him. He’s off limits.” Rainbow’s attention was deadest on Applejack, watching the minotaur use and abuse her in front of everypony as a way to ensure Bull was victorious. “This is why I need you to direct that anger of yours elsewhere.”

“W-What?”

“You can’t hurt Bull… but that doesn’t mean that you can’t hurt Bull’s friends.” Coming to the realization, Rainbow got the idea of what Aaron meant. Cooling herself off, Rainbow already had a few ideas. “Please Rainbow. I need you to save Applejack for me.”

“Alright, I-I will.”

“Aw, what a precious moment.” Caught off guard, the two turned to Bull who quickly grabbed hold of Aaron and used him as a club to knock back Rainbow into her friend’s. “Ha! Oh that felt so good. Part of me wanted to get you instead of the mud-pony, but in all honesty I knew I’d get a better reaction out of her than with you.” Throwing Aaron aside like he was a toy a child would toss away out of boredom, Bull patiently waited to see what Aaron would do next.

“You okay Rainbow?”

“Ugh, been better, Draco.” Helping her up, Rainbow’s attention deviated to the small group of minotaur passing Applejack around. “Boys, it’s time to go to work.”

“Gladly.” Draco snorted, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. Gathering their forces, Rainbow leads the charge in rescuing Applejack from the clutches of Bull’s gang. While Aaron took his beating, trying to escape the jovial opponent, Rainbow, Draco, Shining, and everypony else maneuvered around the buildings and went to ambush them from behind. If they were caught, they’d more than likely use her as a hostage to keep them back. Even Twilight joined in, wanting to aid in the rescue.

Seeing his support gone, Aaron was left alone to face this menace. “Come now, aren’t you having fun? After all, this is what you wanted.” Grabbing him by the head, Bull dragged his opponent away and the local bar. “Though, you do look a bit thirsty, let’s fix that shall we.” Popping open a barrel, Bull grabbed the man by his other arm and forced his head under the liquid surface. Aaron struggled and fought to escape, but there was no getting out of this one without help.

As Aaron distracted Bull, the others were able to mount their rescue without their leader noticing the absence of a few particular ponies in the crowd. Everypony was more interested in the horror show that Bull was performing.

Backs to the wall, Rainbow and her team snuck around to where the Bulls had Applejack hostage. Using a variety of signals, Rainbow ordered Strong Heart, Gilda and Spitfire to scale the buildings for an aerial assault. As for the rest of them; Draco, Shining, and Bulk kept close to Rainbow. Two by two, Rainbow and Draco stealthily made their way closer to the first set of bovine. They had practiced this maneuver many, many times before. Minotaur were not to be underestimated, their strength easily dwarfed theirs tenfold. Which means they had to do this fast and quiet.

Giving a signal, Rainbow and Draco covered the mouth of two minotaur and drove their knives into the spine of the beasts. Their muffled screams were drowning out by various jeers and cheers coming from the crowd, unaware of what had just occurred. With at least a layer of muscle between them and their target, Rainbow gave the signal to the three hiding on the roof. Strong heart drew her bow and made their presence known. Two arrows dug their way into the thick bodies of the minotaur, only for Spitfire and Gilda to dive-bomb into the group with blades and claws digging their way into flesh.

Shining Armor rushed through, bulldozing his way through while Draco and Rainbow went to tackle down Applejack’s handler, letting Bulk untie her. “Sorry for the delay, Ms. Applejack.”

“Don’ worry about it. Where’s Aaron?” Pointing to the bar, watching as her lover was thrown through a window with shredded clothes with bloodied cuts and bruises. Slowly getting up from the beating he took, Bull came strolling out with a delighted smile. Yet when he saw Applejack free, that smile quickly faded. “Aaron!” Struggling to look up, he saw Applejack freed from her imprisonment.

“Get that filthy-Guah!!!” Bull was cut off, feeling something heavy knock the wind out of his lungs. Looking down, he saw an absolutely enraged human driving his foot into the bovine’s gut. With Applejack free, there was nothing to keep the human from claiming his victory.

All out chaos broke out, a small band of ponies were fighting a horde of minotaur to keep them off of their friends. Twilight joined with Applejack and Rainbow to keep one another safe; they fought together majestically, fighting back to back in order to keep their enemy at bay. Yet the ponies kept their attention on Aaron and Bull. After retrieving his sword from the ground, Aaron returned to Bull. There was no mercy; swing after swing lead to deep wounds, lacerations, spilling blood onto the sands. After a brutal beating himself, Aaron bounced back harder than before.

“S-Stop! I-… I’m done!” Bull panted, only to feel Aaron knock his enemy down.

“Say it so everypony can here you.” He barked. “Let everypony hear you!”

“I… I Forfeit!” The fighting among the minotaur came to an end, their attention fixed on the sight of the human standing over Bull. The human had done it; he claimed victory from the bandit son and now stood victorious. The ponies were left stunned, awestruck that they had been saved by this complete stranger. Yet what happened next came out of nowhere. Feeling his gut churn, Aaron felt a wave of black smoke pour from his mouth and wrap itself around Bull. The substance pulled Bull up and restrained him. “W-What’s going on? Father, what’s happening?” Bull senior watched as his son was bound in the black smoke.

“You forfeit, son. Now… your life is in the hands of your opponent.”

“WHAT!?”

“Ah told ya not to forfeit.” Turning to face his opponent, Bull was swiftly regretting his past life choices, more so the recent ones. Slowly walking around to face the minotaur, Aaron stood before his vulnerable opponent. All eyes were on them, waiting to see what would happen.

“L-look, I know I’ve made mistakes, done some… things that may not have been the smartest as of how recent events went. But, I-I’m sure we can make a deal.” There was no response from Aaron, he merely glared at the trapped bovine. “Come on, ya don’t have to kill me. You won, you got what you wanted. What more do you want.” Gripping the hilt of his sword, Aaron slowly started to raise it up. Bull’s eyes started to shrink as he watched what he was doing. “Alright! I’m sorry, what more do you want from me!?” There was a moment of hesitation; Aaron started to think about what he was going to do. Then, an idea crossed his mind.

“You want to live?”

“Y-yes! Yes I do!”

“How bad?”

“VERY!!!?” Lowering his sword, and bringing about mass confusion among the crowd, Aaron turned over to his friends and motioned for one of them in particular to come over. That pony was none other than Applejack. The nude mare made her way over to Aaron and the trapped bovine. “W-What are you doing.” After whispering something into the mare’s ear, he returned to face Bull.

“Say… her name.”

“W-What?”

“You heard me, Bull. Say her name, and I’ll let you live.”

“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh… um.”

“You don’t know it.”

“I-I know it, I know it. It’s um… Mu-.” Bull was cut off by a severe smack across his face from Applejack.

“That feel good?” He asked applejack.

“Extremely.”

“Every time he gets it wrong, you’re free to give him another.”

“Does it have to be open hand?”

“Only if you want it to be.” Bull didn’t like the sound of that.

“So Bull, what’s this mare’s name?”

“… is it… Orange… Coat?” Aaron let out a soft chuckle, amused at the terrible attempt.

“Oh that’s… that’s cute. Sweetie.” Bull saw Applejack’s fist fly into his eye, feeling the dizzying sensation wash over him.

“Sweetie! I-Is it Sweetie?”

“Come on, are you even trying?” Bull was punched in the other eye.

“We can stop this the moment you say her name. It’s just one word, and you can walk away with your life. After all you’ve done, I’m being quite generous right now.” Tears were starting to stream down the bovine’s face, followed by various whimpers. “O-Oh god, that’s just- Bull stop crying.” The fun out of this whole thing had been drained, even Applejack was starting to feel pity for this foul beast. Letting out a sigh, Aaron grabbed hold of his greasy hair and forced him to look at Applejack. “Bull, this is my good friend and lover, Applejack. Say ‘hello Applejack.”

“H-hello Applejack.” He’d whimper.

“Now say ‘I’m sorry, Applejack’.”

“I… I’m sorry.” Aaron drew his blade to his throat.

“I’m sorry… what?”

“I’m sorry, Applejack! I’m so very sorry.” As much as she wanted to watch Aaron gut the cow for what he had done to her, the levels of pathetic made it seem a little too hard to see it through.

“That’s very good, Bull. Guess what?”

“W-What?”

“I’m gonna let you live, and you’re going to remember this day for the rest of your life. Because if I ever find out you’ve been stepping out of line, we’re going to do this all over again, and I will not be so generous. Do I make myself clear?” Bull nodded, overly eager to do accept the offer he was given. Sheathing his sword, Aaron granted his opponent his freedom. He already got what he wanted, there was no need to have the bovine killed. However, fate had other ideas. Stepping away from the Bull, they soon heard a strange noise. It was like a flag flapping in the wind followed by… something else.

“LOOK OUT!!!” One of the ponies shouted. Looking up, they soon saw something falling from the skies. Before anyone could make out what it was, it impacted into the ground and exploded in green flames. The impact sent ponies flying back, some more than others. Aaron was flung far, hitting the side of a wall. After the beating he had sustained, this was the one that broke the camel’s back. He fell to the ground and fell unconscious; hear utter chaos play out in the background.

~~~~~

It happened so fast, no pony could have seen it coming. A blinding flash of light and an ear-shattering sound; destruction had come to Dodge, but it wasn’t from the minotaur bandits. Knocked aside from a powerful shockwave, Aaron soon regained consciousness to find that the entire town was in the middle of a panic. Both ponies and bovine struggled to gather themselves, unsure of what was going on. Still dazed, Aaron slowly sat up and was jarred back to reality when he found Bull’s half mauled and burned head lying upside down in the sand. “HOLY SHIT!!!”

Backing away quickly, Aaron got up to his feet to see the town on fire. The frightened crowd of ponies ran about like ants, gathering what they could and making a run for it. The bandits on the other hand wanted to look for what was the cause and see to it that it was killed dead. As for Aaron; he just wanted to find his friends and get the hell out of Dodge. “Twilight? Applejack?” Suddenly Aaron heard a strange sound in the air. It almost sounded like a whistle, but what it was left him perplexed.

“Get down!” Pushed out the way, Aaron was nearly the subject of a fiery ball of death but was soon rescued by a friendly face. The maroon pegasus brought him over to a building that was mostly not-on-fire.

“What the hell was that?!”

“We’re being attacked.” Draco shouted, trying to be heard over the screaming town and explosions in the background.

“No shit, I mean who’s attacking us?” Their answer was soon met. A pony clad in brilliant armor shoved and moved her way through the city. Her helmet was hidden by a helmet with the shape of a red dragon skull adorning her head. The hollow eyes of the helmet radiated a fearsome aura about her, putting the two on edge. “Okay, that answers one question. Any idea who that is?”

“Don’t know, don’t care; all I know is that she is going down.” Brandishing his own sword, Draco went in to take out the attacker, yet found himself floating into the air. His war cry shifted into a confused shriek, floating upside down and about to lose his lunch. The attacker’s hands manipulated Draco’s movements through the sky, only to straighten him out and bring him closer to her.

“Where is Twilight Sparkle?” The voice was mare-like, but held quite a commanding tone. “I know she’s here, now tell me where she is!”

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Growing more and more frustrated, the armor clad mare turned her attention to Aaron, immediately catching her attention. Done with Draco, she flung the stallion aside like a toy she was no longer interested in. Instead, she found a new specimen to interrogate.

“Well well, you certainly aren’t natural”

“And you… have some pretty amazing armor.”

“Thank you.” Her voice shifted from commanding to sweet. Aaron started to glow green towards the mare. “I don’t suppose you can tell me you know where Twilight Sparkle is?”

“N-Never heard of her.” Aaron said, following Draco’s lead; even though he knew full well where that road would lead him.

“You’re lying. I really don’t like it when ponies lie to me.”

“Well, good news is I’m not a pony.”

“Hm, clever.” Rearing back, the armored mare delivered a punch into Aaron’s chest, sending a strange aura through him. Blood erupted from his mouth, jarring the man a bit. “I won’t ask again, thing. Where. Is.”

“Hey tin-can.” Turning around, the armored mare found herself standing before a very naked and very angry Applejack. “That’s my bread n’ butter you’re fucking with.” The armored mare wasn’t so much as focused on her, but rather the massive beam of wood she was carrying. With a loud grunt, Applejack swung the burning slab of wood and sent the armored mare back. She had barely enough time to throw up and armor spell, but it only seemed to cushion the blow somewhat.

Falling to the ground with a cracked helm, the armored mare felt a bit of blood trickle down the side of her head. The impact wasn’t the softest, but it was better than taking it on at full strength. Slowly getting back up, the mare could see Applejack and Aaron run off into the crowd and escape her for the moment.

“Thanks for the save back there.” Aaron gasped, trying to keep up with his marefriend.

“Don’t sweat it. I got your back, remember?” Applejack shoved and bulldozed her way through the crowd on their way to the train. “The others are at the station; they all made a break for it when everything went south.”

“Even Twilight?”

“Not without a fight.” Aaron couldn’t help but chuckle at that. Still, with everything going on, he couldn’t help but turn to Applejack. Now wasn’t a time to ask if she was alright after what happened, but it did bother him greatly. “Duck!” The two heard one of the fiery buildings collapsing, falling over and into the crowd. Leaping out the way, the two managed to avoid being crushed by a pile of rubble. As much as they’d like to take a break, their destination was almost within their sights. “Come on, sugarcube. We gotta get the hell out of here!”

“Don’t gotta tell me twice.” Pushing passed the crowd, the two saw their destination in sight and with their friends waiting for them. The moment the two could be seen rushing for the train, their friends called out and cheered them on to reach them. Seeing their friends only brought out a small well of energy they had on reserve. Passing through ruble, pushing past the last bits of the crowd and staving off fatigue; Aaron followed close behind Applejack to reach the train. The moment they met their friends, Aaron came to embrace Twilight. He was glad to see she was alright, glad to see they were all still with them, and glad that he had somepony to lean on at this point; his legs felt like jello.

“Thank Celestia you’re safe.” Twilight chirped, overwhelmed to see that Aaron was alright.

“I’m glad you’re all safe. Now let’s get the hell out of here and-.”

“TWWWWWWWWILIIIIIIIIIGHT!!!” Hearing the loud, bestial roar of Twilight’s name, the group turned to see a lone figure standing in the forefront of the panic. They saw the being slowly approaching them, only to reveal it to be a tall, purple reptile. The look on his face radiated pure, unadulterated anger. Everything about him from the way he glared at them to the way he walked showed a pure, rage coming off of him. “I finally found you. After three, long years I found you.”

“S-Spike?!” Twilight was shocked to see her former assistant alive and coming her way. Letting go of Aaron, Twilight walked forward to reunite with the purple drake, ignoring the fact that his scowl was practically burning a hole in her. Twilight was just too overwhelmed to see him once more. “Spike, I can’t believe you’re- GUAH!!!” Twilight’s world came crashing down when her former friend knocked the wind out of her with a powerful punch to the gut. Aaron tensed up and reached for his sword. “S-Spike… w-why?”

“Twilight Sparkle; you are hereby under arrest by the will of Lord Tirek for treasons, crimes against the crown, and anarchist rhetoric. Come quietly, or I will see to it personally that you are put down.” The look in Twilight’s eyes showed a look of total dismay. The image she once held for her formers assistant was shattered when the reality finally hit her. This wasn’t her former assistant any longer, but rather an enemy to her and all she stood for. Paralyzed, Twilight felt herself jarred when Spike gripped her by the throat and lifted her up.

“S-Spike! P-P-Please!” Tears streamed down Twilight’s eyes, looking into the dark green orbs that glared back at him. There was no show of remorse in Spike’s expression, but there was a part of him that was enjoying this. Reveling in his arrest, the dragon failed to notice Aaron come barreling in and knocking the dragon away from Twilight. He wasn’t the only one to do so either; Applejack and Draco came in fast to restrain the dragon, putting him into a headlock.

“G-Get it together, Spike. This isn’t you.” Applejack gasped, trying to keep the dragon restrained. She wasn’t used to keeping something this strong under control. Turning back, Spike’s nostrils flared out with smoke softly puffing from it.

“This is me now!” Inhaling fast, Spike discharged a powerful torrent of green fire, scaring the two off of his back and turning the sands beneath them into boiling glass. With the two backing off for the moment, he turned to Aaron, now blocking his way to Twilight. “What the hell are you supposed to be?”

“I’m the guy who’s not going to let you hurt my friends.” Spike unsheathed his claws, knowing how this was going to go.

“I don’t care about the others; this is between me and Twilight. It’s not just business, this is personal.”

“Regardless, you aren’t getting to Twilight.” Keeping his weapon close, Aaron was ready to fight the dragon tooth and claw to protect the ones he loved. It was through this that Spike realized who it was that blocked his way.

“Wait a minute… you’re the stallion in her herd?” Spike dropped his guard and sighed. “Look dude, I don’t know you and frankly, I could care less. But trust me when I say this; you’re better off ditching her now before she throws you under the bus.” Aaron kept his guard up, knowing full well what he was capable of.

“What are you talking about? Twilight would never do that to me, to anyone.” Spike smirked, breaking into a hearty laughter.

“That’s rich. You’ll learn sooner or later dude, but if you value your life, you’ll give me the mare and we can go our separate ways. I won’t hurt Applejack, Rainbow, or any of the others over there. If you force my hand, I’ll see you all charred and incinerated.” Aaron turned to Twilight, seeing the fearful look in her eyes. After what they saw Spike do, he didn’t doubt that he was telling the truth in what he would do if he refused. And yet, knowing all of this, Aaron was ready to dig his feet into the sand and stave off this new threat.

Ready to make his choice, somepony made it for him. A familiar green aura engulfed the human and tossed him aside like he was nothing. “Enough games. We have our target. Spike, subdue the princess so we can leave.” Getting back up, Twilight slowly started to back away. If she had some magic with her, escape would be an easy task for her. But her supply had gone dry long ago, leaving her defenseless.

“Spike, please don’t do this. You’re my friend, I love you.” Spike only snorted, standing over her once more.

“No Twilight, we stopped being friends long ago.” Heart-broken, Twilight watched Spike raise his hand yet again, this time to render her unconscious. Before the attack could be dealt, Spike was yet again tackled to the ground. “Stop doing that!” The dragon roared, sick of his duty being obstructed; but instead of it being Aaron to do so, this time Draco and his team were the ones charging the front.

“No way. We’re not letting you lay a hand on her.” Seeing her companion being dog-piled, Sunset Shimmer focused her magic into a condensed energy for a potent concussive blast. However, Gilda was swift in her attack, knocking her hand aside.

“Gah, griffon bitch!” Hissing from a small bit of pain, Sunset’s attention was directed to the griffon only to get blind-sided by the large pegasus bringing her in for a massive bear hug. “Get off of me!”

“YEEEAAH! I mean, no.” Furious that what they worked for so long to achieve being wasted by this small band of ponies, Spike let out a long roar and started to transform before their very eyes. His body expanded and muscles flexed out as the purple reptile transformed into a purple, hulking reptile.

“Spike… SMASH!” Little energy was used when Spike threw off the annoying ponies, but that only drove them to fight harder. By this time, Draco’s entire time was working hard to subdue Spike and the strange mare. Spitfire joined her husband’s side, attacking the purple dragon’s soft underbelly while the others held down his legs and arms.

“Rainbow!” Draco called out. “Get everypony out of here, we’ll hold them off.” Hesitant for a moment, Rainbow knew full well what needed to be done. Turning to what remained of her group; she took command and issued her orders.

“Everypony get on that train. We’re leaving now.”

“What about the others?” Shining asked.

“They know what they’re doing. Now get on board.” Turning to his sister, Shining offered his aid to get her on the train. There wouldn’t be another chance for this, there wouldn’t be do-over’s; this was their final hour to escape. If only they could all do it together.

Aaron and Applejack were among the last to get on, but Applejack turned around and watched as Draco wrestled with the titanic beast. There was nothing they could do for them, but it was their wish for Rainbow and their friends to escape. And much to their relief, the train let out a bellow of smoke with the sound of its whistle. It was on the move and desperation grew in Spike and Sunset. “No!” The two cried out, forcing the crew of ponies off of their backs to run for the train. Draco wasn’t going to let them get away, at least not without a fight.

Restraining them with their combined weight, Draco and his team kept the unicorn and her dragon companion away from the train long enough for everything to fall apart for them. Their prey had escaped their grasp, so much hard work and left with nothing to show for it. Well, that wasn’t entirely true; they had a small group of resistance soldiers to take their aggressions out on; and make no mistake, there was quite a lot of aggression to go around.

~~~~~

They had done it, Twilight and her friends had escaped capture, but at a heavy loss. Aaron, Shining Armor, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were all that remained, sacrificing their other friends for their freedom. Twilight had gone through something like this already, and felt the heavy weight of it all hit her once more. Yet, this time that weight felt so much more intense, as the one who almost captured her was her former assistant.

The train crackled and shook, having seen better days on the tracks. Yet they would be calling it home for the duration of the ride, and with quite the heavy cloud dangling over head. Having lost good friends, the remaining group found a nice, empty car and made themselves comfortable. Rainbow didn’t sit; she was pacing around, a little uncomfortable with such a closed off space. Shining Armor was keeping his cool, at least on the outside; he was a veteran to this sort of thing, and knew better than most how to properly deal with this sort of situation. But what drew Aaron’s attention was seeing his herd. Twilight was shaken and Applejack was shaken by everything in general. Stepping closer, Aaron sat beside Twilight, wrapping an arm around her and bringing her in to let the mare lean on his shoulder. Applejack saw this and he offered the seat beside him.

Slowly, she stood up and took the seat and his other shoulder. This was indeed a dark time for everypony, but the least Aaron could do for his herd was be there for when they needed it most. He wanted to be there for them, he wanted to protect them, and he wanted them to be happy. While it wasn’t going to be a quick fix, he figured that now was as good a time to start as any.

Author's Notes:

Ha! Kept my promise this time. I think that's enough of an excuse to disapear for three months(Kidding). Anyway, things seem to be moving along now. Hopefully the team can keep themselves together after this... traumatic experience.

Next time; Chpt. 26: The Long Ride Home