Me and the others were standing outside of the Castle of the sisters, two days having passed since my arrival. "Everything ready?" I ask.

"Yeah," Mist, wearing his armor like the others, said. "We got enough supplies to last the three days, and if something happens, we plotted the route to take us close to a few towns, and we still have the bits we got from the Rich family, and since most of those towns are neutral, we can pay for what we need."

"Right," I said, nodding. "Anything else?"

"Yeah," Quick said. "One of those towns is on my list of places that might have a connection to my past," she said. "Even if you guys keep going, I'll be staying there until I know for certain if it has anything or not."

"Well, if you plan on staying there," Lone said. "So do I. We've stuck together this long, haven't we?"

"I'll stay behind, too," Onyx said. "We need to stick together, after all."

"Same here," Mist said.

"Third that," I say. "So, when will we get there?"

"Tomorrow," Lone says. "Of course, that's not taking any complication into account."

"And should there be anything else I need to know?"

"Yeah," Mist said. "Even before we left our respective armies, there's been word of spells not going right in the Everfree, and of patrols disappearing."

"I'll keep that in mind," I say. "Lone, how long will it take you to get the spell ready, and in what direction are we going?"

"Just need to get some concentration, not much, and due west."

I nodded. "Then do what you need to do."

"Right," Lone said before a green glow appeared on his horn, and then a flash of light that signaled teleportation. A teleportation that I was left out of. (Sigh) Go fucking figure.

I put a waypoint on my HUD's compass on the "E", and began to make my way there, drawing my BR. "Helljumper Helljumper, where ya been. . ."

A few hours later, I was at the edge of a clearing when I saw a small camp of tents. I stopped, and hid in nearby bushes, activating my armor abilities. As my armor began to blend in, the Promethean vision wave hit the camp, and I saw a total of twelve unicorn guards, I imagine invisible, as I only saw them with Promethean vision. What I saw, well, how best to describe it.

. . .

. . .

. . . Oh. It was, for it's size, a fucking fortress. The twelve guards were positioned behind rocks and other natural cover pieces. Behind them were a total of forty guards with swords and spears. The strange part was, though, that they had on a mix of Royal Guard armor, the type of Griffon armor that Quick wore, the same type of armor that Mist wore, as well as the type of armor Onyx wore. I think I found what happened to those patrols. Now, I could have easily just bypassed it, but what I saw next? Weeelll. . . let's just say that what it made me want to do would make, and I mean to disrespect to those who lost their lives or family members during this, D-Day look like a tea party. Yeah. That bad.

Specifically, what I saw was a group of mares, griffonesses, and female changelings, all nude, tied to poles being played with, among other activities, by damned Caribou. Looks like I'll be sending some individuals to hell while I'm here, after all. Thank god it's Caribou I'll be killing. Maybe the male guards, too, just to make it clear I could easily kill this many myself. All I need is a song.

A list of songs popped up on my HUD. So this thing has songs in the data storage. I can live with that. Okay, let's see. Rules of Nature? No, only in a sword fight. The Touch. No, only for the final fight. Wake up, by Story of the year. Maybe. Strength of a Thousand Men, by Two steps from hell? Nah. Not until an epic, climactic fight that is not the final one. Protectors of the Earth? Only if the fucking Covenant show up and I'm engaged in a hundred to one dogfight, me being the one. Oh, He's a pirate. May be for the Pirates of the Caribbean but a damned good action song. Unfortunately, no. Revival, from the Halo 4 soundtrack. No, this isn't the best moment for it. Oh, wait, I fucking know what song is perfect for this.

I got to my feet, and deactivated my camouflage, but kept my other ability going so that I could see the invisible guards, put my BR on my back, and drew my two swords, the black and red blades flashing into existence. Hit it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRkBJY1mua0

As I approached the small fortress, the invisible guards fired off arrows, also invisible, as there was no color to them, pretty smart, I'll admit, but no match for a Predator grade Spartan. I sliced each arrow in half as it approached, or just plain dodged them, if they didn't bounce off my shields. Just before I hit the impromptu wall, I jumped over it, and sliced both swords downward in an X fashion, killing two of the guards. Once i landed, I spun around, and stabbed two more through their chests. Two bad you can't duel wield swords in-game, huh?

Four down on the archers, eight to go, along with thirty six melee guards, and an unknown amount of Caribou. The guards with melee weapons surrounded me, those with spears, half of their number, pointed their weapons at me. "By order of King, Dainn, cease and desist!" one yelled.

"How about," I said, deactivating my energy swords and tossing them up in the air, as high as I can, and drew my battle rifle. "No."

(00:59) I fired off a burst from my rifle, the bullets being a deadly mix of Armor piercing and High Explosive. The first bullet of the burst would clear the way for the second, an explosive, to hit what's behind. If it was organic, it'd be blown to bits, and the third, the second Armor piercing, would kill a third individual. And that's exactly what happened twelve times over before I dropped my BR, and grabbed the knifes in my forearm compartments, throwing them at two of the guards, hitting them in the head.

I then reached up and grabbed my energy swords, putting the left tone away as I ignited the right and began to do a dance of death. I sliced to the left after pulling my arm to the right, spun to keep the momentum, bent my back backwards on the fourth spin, and stopped with the sword across and just above my chest plate, myself on a knee before I activated the thrusters in the front to propel myself back wards into a group of guards, but I didn't stick around long, as I reached down, activated a plasma grenade, and stuck it to guard holding a spear before grabbing him by the throat and throwing him into the air just above another small cluster, leaving just two sword guards left. One charged me, but I simply held my sword up to where it hit him in the face while I just pulled out my BR and shot the other guy in the brain.

That's why you don't mess with a Raider. But I wasn't done yet, as I had simply killed the forty eight guards I saw from the outside, and still had to deal with who knows how many Caribou. I drew my other sword and ignited it, and made my way to the center of the camp, where the females were being held.

Once I arrived,I saw only three Caribou in, I'll admit, pretty ornate armor. All three were fashioned like that kind of armor that Winters from the TMNT movie a few years back wore.

But the one in the center had a shot load of glyphs carved onto his armor, and had a huge ass war hammer. "King Dainn, I assume?"

"You would be correct," he said. "And you are trespassing on Caribou lands."

"No, you're trespassing on Equestrian lands," I say. "Not that I'm not, but I'm being honest about it."

"Well, even if we are, we will soon overthrow those pathetic females called Princesses, and put all females in their place."

"Then you'll have to get through me, asshole," I say, dropping my weapons. "I'm in a good mood, so I'll give you the advantage." I got into a fighting stance, and I can imagine the asshole grinned under his helmet.

"You will regret that," he said, hefting his hammer up, and rushing at me. Okay, no weapons but my hands, and I'm facing what is, essentially, a Brute. What can I use? Before I could answer, I had to boost to the left to avoid his hammer strike. I landed with a slide, and used my boost to the right to amplify a punch I delivered, but he easily caught. "Weaker than even these mares," he said before he swung his hammer.

"Oh, fu-" I say before his hammer hit me in the head, causing me to go flying. I hit one of the tents, which, a sit turns out, had a steel skeleton. Yeah, even with the augments, that hurt. A lot. Good thing my shields took most of the impact. "You will regret facing me alone, what ever you are," Dainn snarled at me, walking over to me, raising his hammer. "Now die!"

He brought the hammer down, but, somehow, I raised both hands, and stopped it, though with a shit ton of effort. "I. . . don't think so," I say strained as I pushed his hammer to the side, and then using my thrusters to slide on my back away from him, which allowed me to get back on my feet, and get into a fighting stance again. "You want to beat me, you're gonna have to kill me.

"Bitch."

"You dare to call me a female!" Dainn yells angrily. Perfect. "You will suffer!" He swung his hammer horizontally, but I ducked to avoid it, which allowed me to deliver a boosted punch to his chin, sending him flying.

"Try again," I say, making him even madder.

He roared as he got back up, and charged at me yet again, and I avoided each hammer swing of his, sometimes barely, even with my boost. Gotta give this guy credit, he keeps his opponent on the deffensive. The other two hadn't moved, but they did have their weapons drawn.

Lightbulb.

After one of his vertical hammer swings, I jumped onto Dainn's head, and leaped off of it, activating my boosters towards on of the two Caribou to deliver a punch to this face, shattering his helmet, and making him go flying, but not before I grab his sword, and spin to cut off the head of his companion, ending on the spin by facing Dainn. "Time to die," I say as I get up on both feet, sword in hand.

"No, it isn't," Dainn said in the absolutely most contrived villain voice ever before he charged me again, his hammer raised. I smiled under my helmet as I out both hands on the sword and pointed it behind me before activating my thrusters. Once we were close o one another, he brought his hammer down, and I swung. When we stopped moving, I saw an impact crater behind me, and heard something heavy hit the ground.

"Too fucking easy," I say before I dropped the sword, and limped over to where the females were. "You ladies okay, considering the circumstances?"

They didn't answer, but I did see that they were still breathing. "Can you hear me?" Still no reply, so I walked over to where they were, and that's when I saw that each of them had ball gags in their mouth, and, I don't know, but something in their ears I will not describe for my own sanity.

I removed the gags and the devices, with each one getting the attention of the one who wore them. Once I had removed everything, I said, "Are you all alright?"

"What do you think?" a mare with- oh god. It's Starlight. Answers my question as to what happened to her, at least. "Those animals raped us, and even the stallions!"

"I'm surprised you aren't complaining about the fact your with changelings, or whatever belongs to the opposite army you were in from before this," I say.

"We've been in this position for a few months," a female changeling said. "We've learned to live with one another."

"And besides," a unicorn mare with white skin and a steel black mane and tail said, "most of us were deserters, anyway."

I raised my eyebrows under my helmet. "Well, do you want to help end the war?"

Just about all of them said yes. "Then grab some armor and weapons," I say as I move to rip the knots holding them to the poles apart. Before you say I'm too trusting- would you, even if you were numbered about forty, try to take out a Spartan, even a wounded one, that took out fifty-one, including one who was probably on magic steroids? As they did that, I limped over to the western end, but my side flared in pain. I clutched it, grinding my teeth.

Fucking hammers, I think to myself, limping much slower to the western edge of the camp just as my radio activated. I face palmed with my available hand.

"Josh, you alive," Lone asked over the radio.

"Yeah," I say, "but that teleportation spell left me out, and I had to hoof it, no pun intended, that's just an expression where I come from, and I encountered a camp that was guarded by those missing guards. The male ones, anyway. The female ones were stripped and tied to a pole to be sex toys, and there were three Caribou here, including their king."

"Well, that's good," Lone said. "The Caribou were a third party in this war, but only three survived the first three way battle. It seems like you fixed that little problem."

"Where are you?" Mist asked.

"Clearing directly west of the castle," I say. "A few hours away on foot, or hoof."

"Can you do anything to help us get there," Onyx asked.

"Not that I can think of, unless you know of a spell that can help you guys find certain metals."

"No good," Lone said.

"Wait, Lone," Qucik said. "Can't you use your magic to trace the. . . Josh, you mind helping me out?"

"Trace the radio's signature?"

"Yeah, that," she said. "That, and use it to pinpoint his location, then teleport there?"

Lone was silent for a time over the radio before he eventually said, "Maybe. According to what you told us about these things, they work similar to telepathic spells. Not the best in those, but I can make do."

"We'll be waiting, then," I said.

"Copy that," Lone said. "See ya soon," he said before the radio went out, and my side flared up again.

"Damn it," I said in a near growl. "I'd prefer a Brute to Dainn. They at least use varied weapons I know how to counter."

Anyway, I stood at the edge of the camp for about ten minutes before I heard hoofsteps behind me. "So, what exactly are you?"

"Hello, Starlight," I say. "And before you ask, one of my companions told me of you, and what you did. To answer your question, I'm a human, and that's all you're getting out of me."

"I'm actually surprised you told me that," she said, wearing guard armor. "I guess you want to know what I'm doing, if you know my history."

"More why," I say. "Which is to say: why are you with, or, rather, why were in Celestia's guard when it was her student that revealed you?"

"I guess it's because I met somepony," she said. "He helped me see the benefits to being different. I still think equality is best, but he helped me see there's more than one way for that to happen." She sighed. "He went missing a week before I was captured. A reason I left was to find him."

"Anyway I can help," I ask.

"Not that I know of," she replied.

"So, what do you plan on doing?"

"Head to the Minotaur home country. I heard that place is nice this time of year," she said, which made me chuckle, which lit my side up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I lied. "You know, me and the rest of my group are on our way there, too, but to free it from Sombra's forces."

"It was taken over," she asked, shocked, which made me turn to face her. You know, she does have a sort of appeal in guard armor, but in an ironic way for me.

"Yeah," I say.

"How many do you have with you?" she asked.

"Four," I say. "How many females here, including you?"

"Ten times your group, which is fifty," she said. "Just about all of us had left the armies we were in for reasons personal, and to help stop the war, which is what I assume you want?"

"Bingo," I say. "How many of you wanted to go to the Minotaur homeland?"

"Right now, all of us," she said. "So, what do you think of getting fifty mares in your group.

"If you want to," I say. "Though, with that, the plan will be set off. By how much, I don't know."

"I'm sure we can manage," she said as a green flash of light appeared. I turned to face it, and saw Lone and the others.

"About time you got here, Lone," I say before I hear Starlight gasp.

"Lone?" I heard her say in a near whisper.

"Starlight," the stallion said in a similar tone before walking to her, stopping just in arms reach. "That really you?"

"It is, Lone," she said before she put her arms across his back, her head resting on his shoulder. "I thought you went missing."

"I left the guard, babe," he said, putting his hands on her waist and pulling back to look in her eyes as she put her arms around his neck. Jeez, this is romance novel sappy. 'Least it isn't Twilight. "What are you doing here?"

"If you mean away from the guard," she said, "to find you. Only reason I didn't try to kill myself when the Caribou captured me is because I knew you were still alive, and I didn't want to leave you alone."

"Good thing Josh got here, then," he said. "After all, it's thanks to him we're back together."

"Then how about our next date is to the Minotuar homeland?"

"Think it can be arranged," he said. "Josh?"

"You guys are the ones who know our supplies, not me," I say. "But I say we wait until tomorrow to move out, so that you two can get some, ahem, personal time."

"Thanks," Lone said.

"No problem," I say. "Come on, guys."

Me, Mist, Quick, and Onyx then made our way into the camp, me hiding my injuries well, letting the two reunited lovers have some time together.