Serenity, Ember and I watched from the rafters as the Battle of the Bands nomination took place below us. Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had announced the start of the competition while also thanking the Sirens beneath us fro their suggestion to change the event. From there, everyone deluged into a yelling match. It was nothing but anger and accusations from the students. As I watched, my sensors picked up a minute change in energy readings within the room. It was tiny, barely enough to warrant anyone attention. But because of what we’re dealing with, it was enough to garner my attention. I couldn't see anything and quickly flicked through my night vision, and was damn near blinded by it, then through my inferred.

That’s when I picked it up.

There was this strange haze on the floor. Tracking it, I watched as the stuff moved like water across the floor and towards the three trouble makers and into the gems around their necks. That was how they were gaining power! It was through those necklaces and everyone else was none the wiser as they fed those three through their aggression. Now that explains how these sirens acquired their power back in Equestria.

Discord would be proud.

…

Probably if I hadn’t cut his arm off and nearly gutted him like a fish.

Hmm…

Anyway, all these three had to do was stay in the background and let the chaos ensue. Clever. I too would have never noticed if it were not for the facts that I knew who they were and the power I possess. I continued to watch before the first two kids took the stage. The second the beat boxing started, I muted my helmet. No. Just no. I was not going to listen to that bad rapping. It looked like nobody else wanted to either, everyone in the room winced when those two idiots dropped the microphones as though they did an amazing job. Guess it was a good thing I wasn’t listening.

Looks like the competition pool just got smaller.

As the girls took the stage, I moved my way towards the stage and took a seat above the girls. When they started to sing and play their music I did get a little bit into the song. I tapped my foot in the air to the beat of the music as I relaxed a little. As I bobbed my head, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. On the radar, I saw three more dots just below my position. Glancing down between my legs, I could see three girls leaning over the rail at the girls on the stage. They must have been part of another band. I didn't like what they were going for. As I watched on, the two girls on each end pulled something out from behind their backs. Lifting my head, Ember and I locked eyes.

The metal scaffolding clanged loudly as I landed. Drawing my sword as I stood, all three girls could only stare in horror at me. All three of them took a tentative step back as I held up my hand and shook my finger back and forth.

“Bad idea girls!”

Run little rabbits run. They dropped their little objects and made a beeline for the ladder. They scrambled down that thing so fast it was like watching rabbits making a run for it. The sound of a fun cannon caught my attention below me. Confetti fluttered down from the stage as I watched Twilight choking on a piece. My eyes went wide before Fluttershy stepped over and smacked her on the back with her tambourine. She quickly coughed it up and both looked awkwardly towards the crowd.

But they had the band mentality and played through it.

As I watched them, Fluttershy suddenly got really self-conscious when a flood light landed on her. Stepping out of the way and into a darker part of the stage… the light followed her? I looked to me might only to see nothing, looking to my left, it was those two boys that were rapping before the girls took the stage. Upon closer inspection, it was the two boys that Sunset had conscripted and the two horrible rappers.

They must not have seen me in the dark with their sunglasses.

Sheathing my sword on my back, I approached the pair and grabbed them by their collars. “Boys! You looking for another ass kicking!” I threatened as both of the gasped in terror.

“W-What are you doing here!?” the shorter, fatter kid panicked.

“I’m about to hang you from you nutsac’s that's what!” I whisper shouted before slamming their backs hard against the railing. Both winced in agony as they gave out a silent shout of pain. “Now unless you want to see how fast you’ll hit the stage, I suggest you listen closely.” Changing my grip, I wrapped my gloved hands around their mouths as to keep them from screaming for help. “If you know what's good for you-which seems to be lacking in a number of areas- you’ll leave them alone you got that?” Both vigorously nodded as best they could within my grasp. “Good. Because you’ll both live longer.”

Pulling them back, I smashed the back of their heads against the railing. It wasn’t hard enough to knock them out, but it was definitely hard enough to send my point across. Both screamed into my gloves as tears welled up in the corners of their eyes. “Get out of my sight!” I ordered as I shoved them away and onto their hands and knees. The two teens sat on their knees and held the backs of their heads as they actively sobbed. “Go!” I said even more firmly as I kicked the taller of the two in the ass, forcing him towards his feet. “You too!” I shoved the shorter kid with my boot to get him going.

The two boys scrambled down the ladder and out of sight. Walking over towards the other side of the scaffolding, I glanced over the edge and looked down. The girls seemed to be finishing an argument before Sunset said a few things and had them leave the stage. She must have felt me watching her, because she lifted her head and looked up at me worryingly. Waving my hand in a placating like gesture, the girl looked away and grabbed her elbows.

Jumping down, I removed my helmet. “Stay confident.”

“What about the spell?” she quickly countered back.

I gave her a bemused look. “I said… ‘stay confident!’” She sighed, which caused me to sigh and relax slightly. “Look kid, you have to learn how to take the punches as they come.” Grabbing my helmet with both hands, I slipped it back over my head. “And coming from me, that’s saying something.”

With a bullet jump, I grabbed the edge of the scaffolding and pulled myself up before jumping back into the rafters to overlook the rest of the show. Celestia and Luna seemed to be taking down some notes when the next band took the stage. “Hey, it’s Derpy!” I smiled as she pulled out a sheet of metal and a music bow.

Now, it was time for the Siren’s.

The music played.

They took the stage.

It was when they started singing that I felt something. There was this dark feeling at the back of my head. It was like… another voice. Like when Sombra’s dark magic molded its way into my mind. But this time, I felt a lot more aggressive. I was feeling angry and annoyed at a lot of people all of the sudden.I was over come with anger and frustration. I was angry at Sunset for what she did. I was angry at my sister for everything she has done. And worst of all, I was angry at Twilight for making me agree to this BULLSHIT!

“GAH!” I screamed, grabbing my head with both hands.

I needed to leave!

I NEEDED TO LEAVE RIGHT NOW!

“Get out!” I ordered. “Everyone get out now!”

Jumping from the rafters, I landed full body against the scaffolding like a sack of rocks and a bounce. The sound I made must have been drowned out by the music since no one in the crowd moved. It was a struggled to push myself towards my hands and feet as I crawled pathetically towards the ladder. With a struggle filled grunt, I jumped onto the stage where my legs gave out on landing. Ember and Serenity slammed down next to me as well, but I ignored them as I made a run for the doors. Slamming through both doors, I ran down the hall like a madman. I felt weak in the knees when I slammed into a locker clutching my head.

Pushing off, I just headed towards Twilight.

THE SAME GIRL THAT DID THIS TO ME!

FUCK!

Ember grabbed me by the shoulder, but I forcefully shoved her away. “Get off of me you bitch!” My fingers curled in anger and frustration as my emotions began to overwhelm my judgment. Pulling my arm back I punched a locker with enough force that my arm went through the door and it came off when I pulled my arm out. Tearing the thing from my sleeve, I screamed out in anger yet again as I sped away from those two whores behind me.

I placed my hand on the wall of a crossway before pushing myself away. I was so close. So close. So close to chewing out THAT BITCH OF A GIRLFRIEND!

When I came to the door, I damn near kicked it off its hinges when I stumbled inside. Everyone gasped as Twilight shouted my name. I ignored all those little pathetic sluts and their damned opinions! They brought me into this, they did this to me! Running up, she took a knee next to me and rested her hands on my back.

“Get off me!” I screamed, causing Twilight to back away in fear. “Don’t touch me you whor-raaaAHHHH!” I screamed at her, cutting myself off before grabbing my head and falling backwards. “YOU DID THIS TO ME! IF YOU HAD JUST-NO!” I cut myself off before I let it get out of control. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” I breathed. “I’m not in the right state of MIND!”

Breathing deeply, I took several breaths before I held it. I did that several times before I pushed myself to my feet and stood up, pulling my helmet off in the process. Nothing I was doing was seeming to work. I just felt angry!

“YOU BASTARD!” Serenity shouted as she jumped towards me. Instinctively, I threw my helmet at the berserker, silently hoping it would do something. It hit her in the chest but did little to stop her as she tackled me to the ground. The crazy woman tried to punch me in the head with her claws, but I dodged the attack, causing her fist to shatter a tile on the floor. Punching her in the side of the head, I grabbed her broken helmet. She in turn grabbed my wrist as we struggled for dominance. Punching her in the gut, her shields flashed blue, but this allowed me long enough to get my foot in place against her chest. Pushing Serenity off me, she fell backwards as her helmet came off in my grasp.

I threw it at her head, which caused her head to recoil back before I grabbed her by her collar. She clawed at my arms as she tried to break free, but I was too strong as I held her at bay. Holding on with both hands, with every ounce of strength I could muster, I smashed the girls head against the floor. Her shields flared as I did it several more times. With on last flash of her shields, they exploded in a flash of bright blue sparks. With one last grunt, I drove her head against the floor, shattering the tile.

Serenity groaned against the floor as she went limp underneath me.

Movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention as I had enough time to dodge the knife aimed for my chest. “YOU SON OF A BITCH!” Ember screamed at me. “I HATE YOU!” With another swipe, she slashed at me again, which I learned away to dodge. She continued to swipe at me wildly several times, each attack wilder as the last. When she went for a stab towards my gut, I grabbed her wrist with both hands. Ember tried to pull away, but I pulled her into an arm lock and punched her in the jaw.

With a disgusting crack, I twisted my sister's arm, forcing her to drop the blade. It clattered loudly against the floor. Grabbing her by the horn, I tugged at her helmet, peeling it off her head. I grunted when she lifted a leg and kicked me in the stomach. I doubled over with a grunt before leaning back to dodge another one. Diving forward, I tackled Ember and lifted her into the air. Grabbing onto my wrist with one hand I lifted my arms and pulled down with all my strength.

Ember screamed in agony and surprise when her back cracked loudly. Placing both hands on my shoulders she tried to push herself free from my grasp. Lifting her right arm, she elbowed me in the back of the neck. She did it a second time, whereas I turned and threw her to keep her from doing it a third time. Ember slammed into a stack of chairs. I opened my shield to block the chair that came hurtling towards me. Just as I lowered it, I grunted when Ember collided with me. My boots scraped across the floor as she pushed me.

Elbowing her in the back, she grunted in pain as our shields flashed blue. Ember stood up and threw another wild haymaker. I blocked it with my forearm and punched her in the side, then I followed by grabbing onto her hair and pulling. She screamed as I pulled her down and to the side. Pulling my head as far back as I could.

I headbutted her.

The dark haze in my head was quickly replaced with a haze agony as the sounds of our heads knocking together like wood filled the air. Both of us stumbled backwards, her with her hands on her head and me going cross eyed. She stumbled backwards and impacted against the drum set, the bass and cymbals clattered loudly as I lost my footing and stumbled against a chair and fell over.

“I think you broke my nose…” Ember mumbled into her hands, blood seeping from between her fingers.

I sat up and held my head in my hands. “...ow… that was not my greatest idea.”

Serenity sat up and held a hand to her head like the rest of us. Resting my arms on my legs, I found it best to just not do anything at the current moment. It felt nice not to move. I just needed a minute, promise. Well… that was a thing that just happened…

“Come here,” Twilight said softly as she sat down next to me on the floor, moving a stray chair out of the way. Gingerly, she wrapped her arms around my head and pulled me close to her bosom. She ran her hand through my hair as I closed my eyes and relaxed against her warm, soft breast.

“Excalibur?” I heard Sunset say tentatively. Opening my eyes, Rainbow, Fluttershy, and Pinkie were tending to Serenity as the girl was doing her best to control her bleeding forehead. Nearby, Applejack was tending to Ember as I looked towards the red head. “What was that about?”

I gave Twilight and exhausted look while she gave me one of concern. Sitting up straight, I grabbed my head again with my right hand and rubbed that half of my face. “Those girls… I now know why those girls are such a problem now…”

“What happened?” Twilight questioned.

“Their music,” I replied while taking a deep breath. “Their spell. Its music based.” I turned to face the rest of the attentive teens. “It triggered an anger response.” I rubbed my face again, this time with both hands. “I thought I was doing good with keeping Nyx out of my head… clearly I was wrong…”

Then again, there is a clear difference between a subtle and blatant mind control.

“I was suddenly overcome with anger,” Ember admitted. “I don’t know what came over me… you owe me for breaking my nose though.” There was a disgusting cracking noise as she reset the break, which made everyone wince in disgust. Fluttershy nervously stepped over towards me and offered me a bottle of water, which I gladly took.

“How were you able to correct it?” Sunset pressed.

“Cognitive recalibration.”

“What?”

“I hit ‘em on the head really, really hard,” I answered. Leaning back, I just fell backwards against the floor and went limp. That was exhausting and I was ready for a break. “Ember?”

“Yeah?”

“We need to check something… but we can do that later…” I waved.

The halls of Crystal High were near jet black, save for a few lights doting the halls of the school. One lone human being and her pet wandered the halls of the barren building. With her destination in mind, she pulled her key from her backpack. Her footsteps and the soft jingle of her pet’s collar reverberated through the darkness. In a few minutes, she was at her destination. A lone door in an obscure area of the school. Out of the way, but still easily accessible. Pulling a key from her backpack, she ignored her little puppy as he clawed at the door, she stuck her key in the lock, turned the knob and entered the room.

At her feet, her little dog growled into the darkness, as though he sensed something the girl couldn’t see.

“Spike!” she chastised the green and purple puppy. “What are you growling at?” she questioned as she reached for the light switch. Flicking on one of the lights, she illuminated part of the room. The part of the room that held a corkboard full of pictures, sheets of paper with notes, and red string connecting them all. The dog continued to bark loudly. “Spike, will you stop-AH!”

I slowly turned my head away from the board and over my shoulder towards the girl that just entered the room. “I told you not to do it… and you did it anyway!” Turning around, I crossed my armored arms over my equally armored chest. “I distinctly remember telling you not to mess around with stuff like this.”

Reaching over, I plucked a picture of myself from the board and examined it. It had Drax and I exchanging blows during our battle in city central from weeks ago. It was one of many pictures that covered the board. Many of them had notes written on them or sheets of paper near them with notes as well. Turning around, I pulled an extra pin from the board and placed the picture back where it originally was.

“Wha… What do you want?” the girl stammered as she took a nervous step back. The dog at her feet stepped forward and growled angrily at me in turn. I commend the little guy. When I looked down at the growling pup, the girl looked down at him, then up at me, and back down at him. Quickly, she stepped forward and scooped the pup up and held him tightly against her bosom. The little guy yipped and barked more aggressively as he tried to break free from her grasp and come at me.

"You don't know what you're getting into here, Sweetheart," I told her.

"I-I know what I'm doing!" she tried to defend.

"No! You don't!" I replied firmly. "You are trying to mess with forces outside of your control." On a nearby table, I held up a shield like object similar in design to Drax's Aegis. The defensive weapon was much too heavy and had wires hanging off it that attached to a rather large battery. It was one of a few objects in the room that were based off our tech.

There was a crudely made metal helmet painted red and gold on the table next to a more accurate plastic representation of my own. Next to where the shield I was holding had been, there was a round one with a white star in the center. On the same table was a gold painted rope attached to a separate battery via wires and some throwing stars in the shape of bats. In between everything were small parts to other objects. Just above that table was a chalkboard full of notes. She also had several stacks of paper notes that littered the place on what everything did and what she had been observing.

Tossing the excuse of an Aegis on the table, the hunk of metal shook the table violently, bits of metal clacked off each other as the shield banged loudly off the wood.

"You're trying to recreate a force that could easily kill you," I stated yet again. "This tech was delicately made by the hands of master metal workers. You are not them!"

This time, the girl glared at me hard. "I-I am the smartest person in this school who has been given and earned her way into being accepted by the top science and technological based colleges in the world! I know exactly what I'm-"

I shot forward and grabbed the girl by the collar of her uniform.

"-doing?" she squeaked. "Please don't hurt me!"

I continued to stare down at her through her now unadjusted glasses and tightly shut eyes. Slowly, I released my grip and let her go and carefully readjusted her collar and tie. I gave the dog a friendly pat on the head, but he continued to growl at me angrily. As I was pulling my hand away, he nipped at it.

My intimidation tactic may have been a little bit much for what I intended.

It did work though.

“Sweetheart…” I started, softly poking her in the center of her forehead. “Curiosity…” I then poked her just above her chest. “Is going to kill this cat!” The entire time, she had followed my finger, even as I adjusted her glasses.

She swallowed hard when I stepped away. “I-I know what I’m doing…” she said softly.

No… you don’t.

“I know how to tear a hole in reality itself,” I stated, causing the girls eyes to go wide, both in fear and fascination. “I know secrets of the universe that no one else will learn of for quite a long time.” I leaned in nice and close, making her lean back to get away from my intrusion. “It would take lifetimes for you to know as much as I do.” I leaned back, while she leaned forward. “You best stay out of it.”

Stepping past her, I pulled a red object from underneath a table next to the door. Setting it down on the floor with a metallic tink, I slowly laid the cylindrical object on its side. Standing up straight, I placed my foot on the side of the object. “You’re going to need this,” I said into the girl’s ear as I pushed the object forward with my foot. It rolled down the hallway with a metallic clacking sound.

“Torch it!”

As I walked out the door, there was a snapping sound as a ball of flames appeared from the darkness as my sister ignited her palm, illuminating her hidden form not two feet from the teen. Her mohawk of a flame atop her helmet ignited as she examined the flame within her grasp.

“Stay out of it, Honey,” Ember warned before she slowly lowered her arm. As she rested it against the table, the flame within her grasp was extinguished…

Before the rest of the room burst into flames.

The teenage girl screamed as her dog yelped loudly in fear. Her notes, experiments, and probably weeks of information went up in smoke in front of her own eyes. Alarms sounded and the sprinklers in the room exploded, showering the room in cold water. It did little to smother the flames that soon grew out of control. Dropping her dog, the girl ran into the center of the room with her hands on her head in panic.

Exiting the room, Ember quickly caught up with me around the corner of one of the adjacent hallways. Once she was next to me, we walked side by side as we headed for the exit. “When will the flames go out?” I questioned.

“In a few minutes, when everything important is destroyed,” Ember replied. “I’ll cut the flames when I feel that everything is sufficiently destroyed.”

“I didn’t want to do that to her, but I couldn’t have her pushing her luck,” I admitted as we exited through the front doors of the school. Turning towards Ember I held up a finger towards my sister. “I'll check up on her tomorrow.” I could hear the sounds of emergency sirens coming down the street, causing me to look past my sister and towards the flashing red and blue lights racing towards us. “Come on,” I ushered, slapping my armor storage device against my chest as Ember did the same. “Let's head back home.”

Just as emergency services arrived at the school, our armor had fully faded, and we were nothing but a couple of people who were none the wiser. Ember grabbed my arm and rested her head against my upper arm. I was really looking forward to getting back, laying down, and snuggling up with my girlfriend.

The losses to the building was a single room. The flames had been snuffed the night before. Thankfully no one had been hurt. It had been discussed by the higher ups to close the school, but the damage was minimal. So the decision to keep the school open and the incident quiet was made and upheld. It was called an accident and nothing more.

So to say that Twilight Sparkle was nervous was a serious understatement. The girl was very clearly terrified. The fate of her future rested in the hands of the woman sitting not four feet from her. Across the desk sat a tall chair hiding the girl’s future. Nervously, she glanced over her shoulder at the concerned looking woman standing next to the door to the office.

The silence was killing the teenage girl.

“Miss Sparkle,” the hidden woman said from the other side of the chair. Turning around in her chair, the green skinned woman adjusted her glasses as she glared down at the teen. “I agreed for you to use that spare room to further your research because of the benefit it had to this school. But this transaction!” she continued, giving the ‘R’ in transaction a heavy roll. “Cannot go unpunished!”

“But Principal Cinch please-” the teen attempted to defend but was immediately silenced.

“Must I lower your grade young lady?” The Principle threatened. “Perhaps revoke your college submissions and cover letters? Hmm?"

Twilight wilted under the glare of her superior.

"I do not like it when people lie to me, especially when it is one of this schools’ top students," the principle continued. "I am afraid if you are to learn, you must be punished."

The woman opened a drawer in her desk and pulled out a lengthy sheet of paper. Without taking her eyes off the girl, she placed it in something hidden behind her desk. Twilight went pale as the sounds of paper shredding could be heard from the other side of the oak desk.

"Your cover letter to Oxford."

"Your cover letter to Oxford."

All eyes in the room went wide when the woman repeated her sentence, even though her lips didn't move.

"Blackmailing students? I wonder how long that has been going on?" I wondered aloud as I stepped away from the wall I had been leaning against, my Arcane Trickery fading away as I held my band out, palm up, with the video recording of the principle making threatening remarks. "How scandalous. I wonder what the media would say?"

Twilight gasped loudly before she started to shake violently in fear. This Principle Cinch narrowed her eyes at me whereas Dean Cadance made a move for the door.

"I would do that Cadance," I said, pointing towards the pink skinned woman without looking at her. "In fact, if I were you, I'd come around so that I can see you properly." When she didn't move, I waved her over with a roll of my arm. "Come on. Don't be naive. Chop, chop."

The nervous looking woman hesitantly hurried her way over as fast as she could in her heels before she stood next to the seated principle. Once I felt she was in a good spot, I stared at the green skinned woman.

"Who are you?" Cinch demanded.

"I'm The Dude!" I answered immediately. Cinch tilted her head slightly to the side and raised an eyebrow, clearly unamused by the reply. "Okay, I'm Iron Man." This time Cadance gave me a look of confusion. "Okay that was lie too. I'm actually a mystical being that goes by the name Red Mamba!"

"I demand to know who you are, this instant!" Cinch demanded yet again, this time her voice rising in anger.

That's what I get for trying to lighten the mood.

I glared at the woman from behind my helmet. "You can call me 'X'. And that's about all you're going to get out of me as far as a name goes." I crossed my arms indignantly. "Happy?"

The woman raised an eyebrow at me. "I am calling the police!" Grabbing the conveniently placed phone on top of the desk, she held it towards her ear. Just as she was about to dial, a loud beeping noise reverberated from the device, causing her to hold it away from her face and look at it in confusion.

"Man, that would be really awkward if someone was jamming all signals in the area," I smirked. "Pretty convenient for me though, am I right?"

Everyone's eyes went wide as Cadance reached into her jacket and pulled out her cell phone before gulping loudly. I turned my head slightly to the side knowingly.

"Well?"

Cinch glared at me. "You will not get away with this!"

I uncrossed my arms and held them out. "Get away with what?" I questioned, playing stupid and stepping forward. "Mind if I take a seat?" I asked with a point of my finger towards the chair next to Twilight, ignoring whether or not the woman approved. Pulling the chair out I sat down and got comfortable, crossing one leg over the other. "Ahhhh! That's better!"

“I will have you know that I have quite a bit of power in this city,” the woman informed me. Yeah, I don’t care. “You will regret-” I stopped caring after that. The woman closed her eyes as she continued her rant. Sitting forward, I opened my palm and a holo-screen. After a quick search and some hacking through firewalls, I found what I was looking for. Cadance and Twilight watched on as I did my thing. Once I was set, I placed a holo-device on the table. “And I-what is this?” the woman questioned in confusion.

She glared at me as I opted to sit in silence. “I hold more power than you could ever imagine.” I gestured to the screen with a hand. “I can ruin your life at the press of a button. I can foreclose your house, repossess your car, get you fired and empty your bank account. All… at the press of a button!”

The woman's eyes went wide before she steeled her resolve. “You will not-!”

There was a soft clicking sound as I rested my pistol on the table. All eyes were on that in a heartbeat. No one dared to move, no one dared to speak. “I admire your willingness to fight back. But you’re an idiot for trying to challenge the man that holds your life in his hand. I can ruin your life at the press of a button. I can end it with one pull of the trigger.”

The principal glanced down at the gun, then back up at me.

Don’t do it…

Just as her hand came out from under the desk, I stood up forcefully. Twilight screamed when I my chair shot out from under me, colliding loudly with the opposing wall. The claws on my right knuckle opened with a metallic scraping sound as I slammed my fist forward. Cadance screamed and covered her mouth with both hands and glued her eyes shut in terror. Principal Cinch didn't make a sound and could only stare in horror at the three claws buried near to the hilt in the wooden desk. Her hand shook violently with fear, her fingers gently tapping against the cold metal between the digits. Her hand nearly made it to the gun before I stopped her.

Ever so slowly, as a show of intimidation, I pushed my knuckles forward. Wood and metal scrapped across each other as I buried the blades deeper into the wood as our knuckles touched. The woman’s shaking came to a final halt when my knuckles pressed her open palm flat against the table.

“Don’t fuck with me. Or I’ll gut you like a fish!” I warned in a dark tone. “I suggest correcting a few things. otherwise , it’ll come crashing down on you. That’s a promise!” Grabbing the gun with my free hand, I held it at my side. “Got that?” With a loud metallic scraping noise, I pulled my Venka free and closed them before accentuating my point with a point of my finger. Adjusting my gun in my hand, I placed it on my thigh and turned towards the even more scared girl still seated in her chair next to me. “You’re coming with me.”

Grabbing her by the arm, I helped her to her feet and eased her along and out the door. Ember and Serenity had been at the door to the office, keeping guard and students at bay. In all honesty, the school should have been on lockdown, but having us in here had to have been exciting. Students were hidden around corners and in classrooms, even a few were farther down the hallway leading to the main office. Many of them had phones out and trying to get a good shot. The two girls stared at me before I gestured for them to take the lead with a head tilt. With my hand still on the girl’s arm, I led her along, much to her dismay and fear. She was shaking in my grasp and did everything she could to avoid eye contact, hiding her face behind her hair. Students whispered worries and guesses as to who was with us.

Ignoring them, I continued forward through the halls. When we got close to classrooms, students would pull themselves away from the door and slam it shut. Teachers could be heard further down the hall screaming at their students to get back. I had made sure that our weapons were hidden, so we were not visibly armed, but should we need to be, guns were merely one grab away.

“Please don’t hurt me,” Twilight whimpered softly, pleadingly. “I-I promise I won’t do anything again!”

I glared down at the teen for a hard second before I sighed and rolled my eyes. Releasing the girl, I nudged her along.

“I’m not going to hurt you, but we need to talk,” I assured. “I wasn't lying when I say you are making a mistake by trying to replicate my equipment. It took decades of testing and failures to get to where this suit is now. People died before this thing was perfected.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she ran them from the tip of my helmet down towards my waist.

As we were approaching the main doors to the school, Ember and Serenity exited and kept watch outside while I turned towards Twilight and looked down at her. The girl avoided eye contact by staring down at the floor, prompting me to reach up and cup her chin and make her look up at me. She continued to avoid eye contact for a few seconds before she finally looked back at my helmet.

“I’m trying to keep you safe kid,” I explained. Grabbing her hand, I placed a phone in her grasp. “If that woman tries anything stupid. Here’s you ‘dagger’ so to speak.” Lifting my head, I glanced at the numerous spectators that were watching us. “Advice is what you pay for it,” I said as I spotted the group of teens from the day before. “I suggest you take mine.”

Patting the girl on the top of the head, I made my leave.

Exiting the building, I waited for my archwing to attach before taking to the skies. In the background, I had a program running searching the internet for any potential videos of us. I also had a nonthreatening virus seeking out every device in the building. I don’t want any further problems to appear. With that in place, I focused on my flying.

As Ember, Serenity, and I raced our way through the skies with no real destination in mind. Twilight was hanging out Maud and Limestone, Pinkie's sisters on the farm while the rest of girls were at school. Thankfully I didn't have to worry about the Siren's tonight. As we went along, I failed to notice the two objects take up chase behind us.

"Unidentified aircraft, this is the United States Air Force, you are flying in restricted airspace! Cease your activities now or you will be fired upon!"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion and looked around the immediate area. Ember and Serenity did the same before they looked to me and I them in confusion. As I glanced back, I caught something out of the corner of my eye. Rolling over, I stared back at the two planes that took up chase behind up. They were grey in color, had a twin tail with two large engines on them. Scanning them, I pulled up a holographic picture of it on the inside of my helmet. The A-10 Warthog was the name.

"That thing is armed to the teeth," I addressed. Air to air missiles, heat seekers, and a thirty-milometer main cannon made that thing formidable. "I like that cannon though," I mused. Wouldn't mind having one for myself. Multiple barrels allowed for rapid cooling and it was powered via the vehicle’s battery. I wonder why the Orokin did away with such a weapon? This thing is amazing! Saving the components for a later date, I rolled back over and continued forward.

The pilot addressed us again, but I chose to ignore it. If they want to follow, they can follow.

"What do you want us to do?" Serenity questioned as she watched the pair of vehicles from over her shoulder.

"Leave them," I replied. "If they want to follow let them follow." I banked down and adjusted my trajectory towards the farm. "All we need to do is-"

I was cut off when several rounds crept their way up my body, impacting against my archwing, crept up my back and finally, the last round hit me in the head.

"OW!" I cursed, glancing back at our two pursuers. "Son-of-a-bitch shot me in the head!"

Ember glanced back at them then back at me. "Can we shoot them now?"

I rubbed the back of my head as my shields recovered. "No, I'll deal with them. You two head back to the farm. Just stay low."

Both girls nodded and gave their affirmations before banking off and diving rapidly. Reaching back with my right hand, I grabbed my arch-gun and pulled it free. Rolling onto my back again, I grasped the gun with both hands and feathered the trigger. Placing my crosshairs over their cockpits, I sprayed over the back of the planes.

They reacted just as anyone would expect.

Both planes opened fire with their main guns, the 30mm tracers tore through the sky right at me. Bright red bullets whizzed and flew by me as they returned fire. Several of the rounds impacted against my shields, making them spark violently and me bounce around violently. Putting my gun back, I rolled over and accelerated. As I pulled ahead, I tapped into their comms.

"Bogey just went supersonic!" one pilot addressed.

"I got a lock!" the second addressed. At the same time, a lock-on warning appeared on my H.U.D. in bold red letters. Firing a series of flares, the red balls of flame shot high into the air above me, confusing the missile and throwing it off target. It exploded in a bright ball of flame harmlessly behind me.

"Bogey deployed flares!"

One plane rolled to avoid the smoke of the explosion while the other simply avoided it.

"Raptor One if get a clear shot take it!" a third voice ordered. It must have been their command.

"Firing!" Raptor One stated as he fired. Several rounds impacted against my shields from his main gun, making me bounce yet again with each impact. I cursed under my breath before pulling my arch-gun back out and ready to re-engage. Guess I'll see if I can disable these guys.

Rolling back over onto my back, I returned fire from between my legs. Raptor One immediately stopped firing when my rounds struck true against his wings and hull. I know for certain they they impacted against the wing and left engine of the vehicle, which is why he backed off and dove with a roll.

"I'm hit!" Raptor One shouted.

Raptor Two, which I assumed to be the second plane, fired two missiles and a volley of bullets as he re-engaged. I deployed more flares, which dealt with the missiles, but the strafe of bullets hit me in the chest, knocking the wind from me. I was rather surprised to see that Raptor One ascended back into the fight.

"Raptor Two, status on Raptor One?" Command requested.

"I'm still here," Raptor One assured. "Bogey just winged me."

"Shit!" I cursed my misfortune.

With a roll, I flooded the engines with as much power and speed as I could muster. It didn't do much as my pursuers matched my speed. Each time I banked, rolled, climbed or dove, they were on my tail, firing every chance they got.

I needed to do something to lose them

Pushing the engines forward, they roared on each side of me, nearly deafening me as red-hot flames pushed with all their might as I came to a roaring halt. One of the planes banked away to keep from hitting me while the second one came straight at me. Holding my hands out, I grunted when I caught a hold of something.

"Woah!" Raptor One yelped as he searched the skies for his target.

"No way that's a U.A.V." Raptor Two added. The two continued to search the skies as the flew along. Everywhere they looked, the skies were clear. Other than the occasion bird or commercial plane in the distance, their target was gone.

"You see anything Raptor Team?" Command questioned.

"Negative," Raptor One added.

"Whatever it is it's gone now," Raptor Two added.

"Radar is clear," Command said. "Skies are clear. Head back to base."

The two planes opted to continue to search for a little while longer before deciding to head back to base. Finally, the duo set off. One of them was in need of repairs anyway. They would let Command deal with watching the scanners for anything strange. Raptor Two banked and started to turn back towards base while Raptor One followed.

"On your belly! It looks like a… man? Roll roll!" Raptor One yelled at his partner.

"Awe shit!" I cursed when I heard that, lifting my head off the belly of the jet to look over my shoulder at Raptor Two. I was barely able to hang onto the bottom of the plane as it was, rolling was not going to do me any good. This was only going to make it worse! I struggled to maintain control of my grip as the plane rolled violently. When the first roll came full circle, my legs came lose as I lost control of them, unable to keep my feet in place. I screamed as I struggled to keep my grip during the second roll. "Fuck!"

I lost my grip.

I tumbled violently through the air end over end as I was thrown from the bottom of the plane. Turbulence took over as I lost all control. Just as I was about to correct myself, I grunted painfully when I impacted against something hard and metallic. Metal sheared and buckled as I tore through it like it never existed. It was enough for to knock the wind out of me, which caused me to just go limp as I fell. I was fairly high in the air, I had time to recover.

"Raptor One's down!" Raptor Two shouted. The response from Command was garbled and broken, so I couldn't hear it. "Negative! No chute, no chute!"

With my back facing the ground and arms, legs, and wings pointed towards the sky, I looked over my shoulder. I could only watch as one of the planes lost control, spiraling wildly before impacting against the ground and exploding in a ball of flames and smoke. Closer towards me, I could see a small dot sailing through the air.

"My chutes jammed!"

My eyes went wide. I may not have liked having those guys on my tail, but I didn't have any intention of killing them. Rolling over, I went into a controlled free fall before activating my engines and diving towards the dot. The unfortunate pilot was falling fairly quickly, but I was significantly faster.

Reaching out, I grasped the back of the chair and pulled myself onto it, placing my feet against the top of the back rest. Ignoring the man strapped to the thing, I crawled over him and reached down, grasped the jammed handle as hard as I could and pulled. With a hard tug, I freed the jam, releasing the parachute. I was forced to lean back, lest I get tangled in the parachute. The seat went taught as it rapidly decelerated from its free fall. I grabbed the side of the thing and hung on tightly as the two of us fluttered gently down to the ground.

Staring down at the ground, we had quite a way before we would land. Looking up, the man in the seat had a death grip against the chair as his uncovered and wide eyes stared down at me.

He blinked at me and I blinked at him.

"I'm not your enemy son," I said with a shake of my head.

His terror filled eyes turned into ones of anger and annoyance. "You just destroyed a multimillion-dollar plane!"

"In my defense… you hit me!" I countered. "Good luck having that hold up in court!" Letting go of the man, I ignited my engines and slowly hovered down with the guy. "At least you're alive. That has to account for something."

The guy sighed and looked down at the burning husk of a plane below him. "...you're right."

Staring down at the wreckage myself, I quickly calculated in my head that the guy was going to land awfully close to the flames. Hovering around to the back of his seat, I gently pushed the guy away from potential injury. He yelped and shouted at me, but I ignored him until he was a safe enough distance away.

"You don't need to try and die again when you land," I explained as I released the seat. "Good luck." I heard a roar of a jet as the second plane flew overhead. "And call off your friend!" I pointed.

With that, I dove towards the ground and opted to stay low and below radar as I headed back towards Sweet Apple Acres.

As I flew, I took a second to think about something that came to mind. I came to a hover I watched the descending pilot as he fluttered towards the ground. “I swear I’ve seen this exact situation from somewhere?” I mused while holding a finger to my chin. “But I can’t remember where.”

The sounds of the planes main gun roar as dirt was thrown into the air all around me. Reflexively, I curled up into a ball in order to protect myself. "Woah!" I yelped as I nearly impacted against the ground. "You prick!" I shouted as I took off, desperately trying to dodge and weave my way out of the area and to safety.

Looks like I had a little more to deal with!

Author's Notes:

Can you find the easter eggs?