Chapter 3

The Elements & The Silver Bullet

(*****)

Sterling was just about to open the door of his home when he picked up the quite flowery scent of lilacs from a short distance away. He had smiled knowingly just after sniffing the lovely scent. Someone was right behind him. This was not a person who wanted to kill him with a lethal stealth technique, nor was the person behind him one that had any aggressive thoughts within them. This was a passive, empathetic person from what he knew during his years of training as a soldier. Female, young, shy & with a bit of fear within her. This was what he was able to figure out from the sounds that came from behind him.

"Um.... E-excuse me, please?", a soft, feminine voice spoke up from behind her. Sterling then turned around to see the face that he knew the voice belonged to. “Uh.... h-hello, s-s-sir,” the same voice spoke up from the woman that he was able to see after turning around.

"Good afternoon," he greeted the lady with a respectful bow to her as he smiled a warm smile. After lifting his head up, he saw that the woman was just.... beautiful. No other words than that could describe what he was seeing before him. Unless he could count 'heavenly' as a better one.

He was able to deduce that the woman had fair skin from the small amount that he saw from the dress that she wore, no blemishes or wrinkles on her face, and was also well-endowed by her hourglass figure that came with a bust, waist and hip measurements that made her very sexy to look at. Sterling may not have looked it, given his rigorous training in the military, but he just wanted to allow his jaw to drop to the ground below him as he took in the radiance that he felt emanating from the buxom beauty. But his training made him a gentleman, even though he had such wanton thoughts blasting through his head, to which he chastised himself for thinking of. But he was also able to see that the same woman was just shy and timid near him. He had to think of a way to help her warm up to him.

"I must give my most sincerest apologies for that tremor that you no doubt felt today. I only noticed how the people in Ponyville have not felt something like that at all, so... I'm sorry if I caused any kind of trouble for you and your town. I didn't mean to startle you. I'm sorry,” he apologized to her with a small bow from his head.

“Oh! Um... It-it's alright. No one got hurt at all,” Fluttershy assured the man in front of her.

“Thank the heavens for that. Now: How may I help you today?", he then asked her politely, hoping that his inquiry would help her out a bit.

"Uh.... Oh! Uh, m-m-my name.... i-i-i-is F-F-Fluttershy," she nervously answered him while hiding her face from him, hoping that he wouldn't hear her. She was still that timid around new people. It was fortunate for her that he kept his distance as he nodded to her. It was by his luck that his hearing was quite sharp, or otherwise he'd have asked her to speak up. And he was not the kind of person that demanded anything, unless it was a solution for some continuing fight to stop at once.

"Fluttershy, huh? It's a real pleasure to meet you," Sterling spoke up to the lady who just stepped back a bit. "My name is Sterling Caliber. How do you do?", he greeted the girl with his hand out to her. Fluttershy looked at the hand that was being offered but quickly looked away. When he took his hand back, Fluttershy had looked back to the man who simply said to her: "I understand if you don't wish to shake my hand right now. I only just moved into this town today before I started building this new house that you see here. And I do hope that we can be good friends, Miss Fluttershy. I certainly look forward to meeting you at some point so that we can shake our hands. Both you and your friends.”

Fluttershy could only make a small sound that he could only perceive as being just so adorable.

“D'awww! That sound just makes her so cute!”, he said to himself after listening to her squeak. “Oh, look. Some more people are coming here," he then pointed to a group of girls that had followed the path to his residence. Fluttershy looked to where the other people were and waved them over.

Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash & Twilight Sparkle had all decided, just minutes ago by Sterling's deduction, to see if the man was a danger to anyone. But what they saw between their friend and the mysterious man was just a simple meet and greet scenario. Fluttershy then walked up slowly to her friends and almost immediately hid behind the posh girl that Sterling saw in front of him.

"I see that your friends have all decided to come and see me now," he spoke to the timid girl as his gaze then went to observe the women that composed of the shy girls friends.

“Uh... y-y-yes. T-these are my best friends. Twilight,” she began to introduce them with the Alicornian being first. “Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity,” she listed off with her finger pointing at them. “Girls, this is Sterling Caliber, our new neighbor,” she introduced to them.

“Good afternoon!/Howdy, pardner!/Hi there!/How's it going?/Hello, new neighbor!”, the girls greeted him.

A sudden revelation hit his head immediately after gazing at the ladies for a moment. "Huh....", he breathed in the surprise that unraveled in front of him while taking a few steps back.

"Is there something wrong, good sir?", Rarity asked the man, concerned that something was wrong.

And with that asked, Sterling shook his head before pulling out a card from his pack and ran a spell through it. As soon as the spell was performed, the card had shown the Cutie Marks of the women in front of him, along with their bio's. He then looked to them once again to confirm his suspicions. And after double checking their identities, he softly hit the post that was nearest him with a thud.

"Elements....", he sighed to them lowly.

"Huh?", the ladies responded.

"Elements.... of Harmony," he spoke up to them with a nod.

Sterling looked at the women who were well known as the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony in awe. His own heroines stood there proudly before him with their own smiles. As far as he knew, not only were they a big part of his drive to keep on fighting with his unit, but they were also just the most beautiful women that he ever gazed his eyes upon. Both on the TV screen and in real life. But even he knew that the beauty that radiated from the group was only in second place, compared to both Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. But even then, the newest Princess was also shining out a beauty that seemed as great as the other Princesses of Equestria.

The same man then made a point to quickly observe the ladies for all of their physical attributes. Their different eye colors, their own hourglass figures, their personalities and even their neat choices of clothing. Well, in his eyes they were all neat. And he was only a man with the most basic of desires. Nothing wrong with that. But more than that, Sterling noted how each of the ladies had been given their Element due to their true nature in their hearts.

Twilight's Element, Magic, was still as much of a mystery to him as his own ability to summon spells, supplies or even monsters (if he really wanted to) from his intricate cards that he always kept in a pack that was clipped to his belt. Applejack's Element, Honesty, was earned to the woman who could never tell a lie, save for when Discord changed her many years ago, to save her life. Rainbow's Element, Loyalty, was earned from how she could never leave her friends behind for her goals in life. Pinkie's Element of Laughter was earned by the confectioner for laughing at everything that was already deemed to be fearful in her friends' eyes. And as for the Elements of Kindness and Generosity, Fluttershy and Rarity had both earned their necklaces by taming both a wild beast and a vain sea serpent. One of them had a thorn on them while the other was a thorn, according to some reporters that had done a small piece on the women. Sterling could only have one guess as to what was what, but decided to leave that bit of ridicule to the haters.

"I can't.... No, I don't believe it....", Sterling gasped from what he was seeing in front of him. "The former bearers of the Elements of Harmony on my property.... Th-this is.... oh, Goddesses! I need to sit down," he spoke to himself after shaking his head, hoping that he was just seeing a mirage or illusion. He had never believed that his heroines would even take the time to just visit him. Or even think of noticing him. When he was just eighteen, long after being officially signed up for the Royal Equestrian Marine Corps under an old alias name for his unit, he had just seen how the Elements of Harmony had already taken down Discord by encasing him into stone once again after defeating Nightmare Moon beforehand on the Equestrian News Network.

"Oh, my goodness! Oh, my goodness!", Fluttershy nervously spoke up after seeing Sterling was about to keel over from the excitement. And with a boost of speed, she caught the man before he could even hit the ground. She had just caught him, even though she was already nervous about even touching him. Somehow, she was able to see to it that the same man who was very polite to her was gently walked up to his door.

"Are you alright, Mister Sterling?", she soon asked after releasing him from her arms.

Sterling could only nod at her in his kneeling position. As he looked to her, he resisted the urge to go up and give her a big hug. Such a thing would've frightened her, for all he knew. And he was more of a gentleman than a big fan of his idols, given that his former commander had drilled being a polite man into his mind. The shy Auran named Fluttershy, being one of his personal heroines, had sighed in relief when she saw him give a bright smile.

"Oh, thank goodness!", Rarity spoke up as she stepped up to the same man. "I had thought for sure that you were about to faint before us," she spoke to him in a concerned tone of voice. "I am quite delighted that you're alright now," the same woman said to him with a relieved smile as her eyes fluttered to him. And after hearing those words, Sterling looked up to the lady who had taken her friend's side and made the same observations as before.

The same fashionista seamstress was already well endowed with the same physical features that always allowed Fluttershy to blush for just a moment or two. For it was the same measurements, from bust to hips of course, that allowed her to compete for 'Sexiest Body' against her timid friend; seeing her chest, abdomen and hips allowed him to believe that she was able to turn the heads of the many people that she either knew personally or not at all. Either way, she was a hot babe in his eyes. And those deep blue eyes nearly hypnotized him if not for his desire to compose himself back to his original state.

Sterling then looked at the women and nodded his head with a slowly rising goofy grin on his face as he got up from the wood floorboards below him.

"I'm feeling.... a flood of joy flowing through me," he answered after hesitating for a moment to find the right words to try to describe the moment that he was now a part of. When Fluttershy and Rarity had given him a confused look, he rubbed his eyes and said to them, “It means that I am very happy to see all of you ladies,” with a smile on his face.

The same women in front of him then gave a 'oh!' sound when they were given that small translation from him. They were soon joined by the other ladies that had taken their steps towards the door for a closer look at the man.

"And I really am happy, because there was just a very large amount of odds that were already stacked against me that I would finally be able to see my true heroines today," Sterling added after seeing the women gathered around him. "And all of the former bearers of the Elements of Harmony coming to meet me in one day? I thank my Goddesses in the heavens for such a momentous occasion!", he nodded to them, causing a giggle to escape from their mouths.

"Oh, do come along, Captain," Rarity playfully chided him. "We're only ordinary ladies, after all. Unless you count Rainbow Dash and Applejack here," she teased the Auran and Equian women near her.

"Yeah-- Hey!", the two shouted at her in some agitation. Rarity could only stick her tongue out at the two in her continued teasing as the others laughed at the snap that was made. This action caused Sterling to laugh almost very loudly. Rarity turned her head to the man with a puzzled look as she saw him laughing out loud.

"I-- Ha-ha!-- I am so sorry, but... that bit of comedy really got to me," Sterling chuckled as he cleared his action to the group. He then sighed after a few chuckles had been allowed to be released. "Aah-ha.... I really needed a laugh before I could even walk through my door," he said to them as he held his hand on the knob. A thought had then been planted into his mind: Inviting the same heroines, that he still idolized to this day, into his house would allow him to make new friends with them. But he had to approach the idea with caution. Even he knew that the women might have some job to do today.

"Is everything alright, Captain?", Twilight spoke to him, snapping him out of the thought that he was considering.

"Perfectly alright, your Highness," he said to the Princess in front of him with a small bow. This title-calling had made Twilight blush for a bit before composing herself again. "In fact, there's something I am wanting to ask you. That is, um... if you don't mind," he then said, remembering what it was that he wanted to ask them all.

"And that would be?", Rainbow wanted to know.

"Well, if you would all like to see the inside of my newly built home, then I'd be more than happy to give you all a tour," Sterling said to the spectrum-colored Auran while looking at the others.

"Really now? You're inviting us into your abode?", Rarity asked him curiously.

"I call it a bit of common courtesy to show my heroines the house that I built from the ground up," Sterling nodded before adding, "But I can't show the basement until I am sure that I've built a good friendship with all of you. Also, showing you all to my personal bedroom is out of the question, so don't get any funny ideas now," he pointed to them all. They all nodded to him, while Rainbow mumbled something that was incoherent to him. Sterling had thought better, after hearing that bit of mumbling, than to chastise the Auran for trying to protest against his instruction.

"Now where would we get such a thing, darling?", Rarity asked Sterling, while keeping a pseudo-sultry smile on her.

"Don't press your luck now, Lady Rarity," Sterling pointed to her, to which she pouted just a little bit. "So! Would you all like a tour of the 'casa de Caliber'? If you wish to see the inside, then I shall open the door for you. If not, then perhaps at a later time, when it's more convenient for all of you," he told them, knowing fully well that he was not going to pressure the ladies to come inside his house.

"Well, I'd love to see what you got, new buddy, but I still need to make sure that the weather team is doing their job. Being a Captain of the Ponyville Weather Team is a huge responsibility, and I'm not going to look like I'm slacking off in front of both my friends and my team," Rainbow said to him. "Sorry bro, but I gotta leave now," she spoke as her wings sprouted out from her back.

"See you later then, Miss Rainbow," Sterling waved to the girl before she bolted off to wherever she needed to go. "Anyone else needing to go somewhere? Because I actually understand if you all need to be somewhere," he told the other women.

"Well, I need to get back to my castle to see if I can get Spike to run some errands for me while I do some reading, but I'll be back in a few hours afterwards," Twilight said to him with a little smile.

"I completely understand-- Whoa!", Sterling was about to assure the royal one before being hugged by her. Even though he was completely taken aback by her gesture, he happily returned it with his arms wrapping around her shoulders.

"Thank you for defending us, Sterling.... Thank you very much," she softly said to him with a sniffle as a tear escaped her eye as it dripped to his shoulder.

"You're welcome, Princess Twilight....", he softly said back to her, paying no mind to the tear. And after looking into her purple eyes for a moment, he released her from his embrace and saw a purple aura glowing around her. And with a wave goodbye, which she gave back smiling, the Princess disappeared in a flash of her magic. He then nodded, thankful that the Princess had just thanked him for his service. "Miss Pie?", he was about to ask the party girl before he realized that she just disappeared. "Where did she just go now?", he asked the others.

"Here I am!" a voice spoke behind him, causing him to take a defensive position in the surprise that he just received.

"AAH! Gah! Good Goddesses, Pinkie! How did you--?" he was about to ask before being shown a cardboard box of cupcakes in front of him.

"Just wanted to give you a dozen cupcakes for you to enjoy before I went back to work!", she giggled at the guy with a big smile on her face. The man looked to the other women behind him and raised a confused eyebrow at them.

"It's Pinkie Pie, sugar cube. Don't question it," Applejack said to him.

"Right.... uh.... thanks, Pinkie," he said to the bouncy girl after taking the box from her hand. He then saw the treats after opening the box and almost drooled on them. "Wow.... these look quite delicious! You must be able to get a lot of customers with how you make such delicious treats like these ones," he smiled at the woman.

"Yes indeedy, Sterling! And I really need to get back to Sugar-Cube Corner so that I can fill out the order for an anniversary party for a client of mine! Gotta go! See ya!", she replied before doing the same thing that Rainbow Dash had done before. Remembering what Applejack said, he shook his head with a chuckle.

"Et tu, Applejack?", Sterling asked the farmer.

"Ah need ta git all of the apples that fell from the trees harvested before Ah come back here," Applejack told him. "But when Ah'm done, Ah'll get ya some barrels of mah best hard apple cider, along with some of mah best whiskey bottles to go with a bushel or two of my best crops," she promised him with a wink.

"You trying to tell me something, Applejack?", he smirked at her playfully. This query received a light slap on his face from the farmer woman who blushed quite a lot from what he just said, as indicated by her uneasy look. "I was only kidding you. There's no need for violence now," he calmly said to her while keeping a smug grin on his face.

"Just don't press yer luck, big fella. Or else Ah might just have ta call ya more than just that, sugar cube," she spoke firmly to him with a small smile of her own directed to him.

"I'll hold you to it. See you later, then," he waved to the farmer before his hand was given a shake by her.

"Later," she winked at him. And with Applejack leaving, Sterling turned his attention to the other two who were left behind.

"I suppose you all have something to do at the moment?", he asked the fashionista and the veterinarian.

"Oh, heavens no! I have just closed up my shop after filling out a big order for some fabulous dresses for Sapphire Shores today, so I am free to take a look inside your lovely abode," Rarity said to him with that same smile on her.

"Alright, then. And you, Miss Fluttershy?", he asked the light-pink haired lady.

"Oh! Uh... I actually have Angel bunny looking out for my little friends at my cottage, so... um...," she twirled her fingers in her hair while looking away for a moment. "M-may I see your home, if you please?", she then asked after looking at him dead in the eye.

"So you both want to see the inside of my new home, then?", he rhetorically asked them.

"Lead the way, good Captain," Rarity replied with a bat of her eyes.

"Y-yes, please," Fluttershy nodded.

"Let's go in, then. After you."

And within a few seconds, Sterling had opened the door and gestured for the ladies to enter first. This kind act had received a comment about being a gentleman from the posh lady before she entered the house along with her friend that slowly stepped towards the entrance. And after feeling satisfied that the women were able to go in without a hitch, he entered his own home with the two beauties in front of him.

(In the Everfree Forest....)

The unnatural darkness of the background was a perfect sanctuary for the dragon-gorilla hybrid named Leviathan. For he was a creature that only delighted in bringing in the shadows of evil against the natural order and harmony of the world. As he looked to where his latest kills, from stray cats and bunnies to giant manticore beasts and chimeras aplenty, had been piled up, he could only frown at how he felt insulted that only wild creatures tried to challenge him. And all with no successes for the wild animals. The stench of burnt flesh and fried wood, along with the growing pools of blood on the ground, was his incense.

"Now that I have enough food for my intended predators, I must find a person who will become the perfect conduit for the evil spirit that is a slave to my will," Leviathan growled lowly as he pondered who would become the victim of his evil scheme.

(snap!)

Leviathan heard the sound of a twig being broken from a good twenty feet away, while picking up a familiar scent that sent his malicious grin into a wider smile.

"A Zebrican shaman.... PERFECT!!"

.....

.....

.....

(*Gasp* *AAAAAHHHHHH!!!*)

(Back at Sterling's House...)

The time on the grandfather clock within the living room had shown that it was five minutes until 5:00 PM. Within the hours that Sterling had spent with the two ladies, he was able to show them all of the rooms on the ground floor while avoiding to speak about his unit as he spoke a few hilarious stories to them. And he was just about to make the conclusion to one of them, being a story that he went through himself within the university that he had recently graduated from earlier.

"And after I had taken my first few steps from my dorm room, I had been greeted by a person of interest for the same school," he began to tell the women. "And that same person was Mr. Fancy Pants." The girls stared with wide eyes at the mention of that name.

"Goodness, I had no idea that he took an interest in educating the people of Canterlot," Rarity spoke up, interrupting him for a moment from the surprise that she had felt in the moment. "Did you know about this, dear?", she then asked her friend beside her.

"Uh.... N-n-no, I.... I didn't know about that, either," Fluttershy shook her head in embarrassment.

"Apparently, he's not only an important person in the society of Canterlot, but he's also one of the board members of the university. I had just walked to the front gate to find out if I could get myself some food from Doughnut Joe's, when he stopped to tell me that I had been selected to be.... 'an early graduate of the finest education', as he told me," he spoke in his best impression of the same man, earning a few giggles from the women. "And after he spoke to me about it all, the decision between him and the rest of the board that is, I was handed a pair of Masters diplomas for Magical Theory, and Ancient Linguistics. And after that, I had taken the train to get to here," he finished speaking.

"Well now... It all sounds like you've had an interesting morning, darling," Rarity nodded to him with a smile.

"And you were only in the university for six months?", Fluttershy asked him with her eyes staying in the same position on him.

"I could have stayed there for a while longer, but.... apparently, I was meant to leave because of how the board wanted me to have the diploma's immediately. And all because of how.... 'I worked hard on a lot of things, including the defense of our country', as he described it to me," he answered the shy Auran. "I would've protested, but it seems that he had reported my progress to both of the Princesses, given that I was quite the fighter, as they once told me after I revealed myself to them six months ago," he then added to the finished conversation.

"And you haven't looked back on it at all?", Rarity asked him.

"Nope. I would've protested that I needed to stay, but orders are still orders. Even though I'm honorably discharged from the military," he answered the lady with a grin.

"Old habits?"

"Old habits."

The clock then rung out the hour of 5:00 PM. The tone of the ringing from the clock had been rather soothing to him, even if it was just a bit of a nuisance to have to listen to every day.

"Guess I should start making some dinner," he sighed out loud as he got up from the chair. "Hey, uh...."

"Yes, Sterling?", Rarity replied to the incoming query.

"Would you both like to have some food? I'd be more than happy to make something that you'd both like," he asked them both.

"Really?", Fluttershy then asked him, curious as to his intended kindness.

"Uh-huh. It's no problem," he nodded to the girl.

"Oh my....", the shy girl gasped, feeling a bit happier than before. This man wanted to make dinner. For both her and for Rarity. She then looked to Rarity, who had the same look as she did. "W-w-well, um.... do you know how to... um... make a--"

"DIIIIRRRRRE WOOOOLLLLLVVVES!!!", was the sound that came from the voice of Twilight Sparkle, who suddenly busted through the door in a panic. "Sterling!!", she yelled to him with a lot of fear emanating from her as she quickly hugged him tightly after getting up from the couch in a jumpy move.

It was just a second after Sterling released her when a six foot purple and green anthropoid dragon had begun to rapidly burst out some words!

"Spike! Pleasure! Ponyville! Dire Wolves! Just now! HELP!!"

Sterling, having heard the atrocious news, widened his eyes in shock as the other women from before had also entered the living room in a panic.

"Sterling, some Dire Wolves have been sighted near Fluttershy's cottage! And they're making their way to the town right now!", Twilight quivered to him, looking paler than normal from the events that had occurred just now.

"How many?", he asked her quickly.

"About fifteen dozens!", Twilight told him as she still tried her best to remain calm. But even Sterling could not buy how the sovereign in front of him was trying to look composed to everyone that she knew. For he knew, just from looking into Twilight's eyes, that if any creature in this world threatened his rulers and their lands, then he had no choice.... but to kill them all.

"Understood, your Highness!", Sterling grunted, pulling his card pack from his bedroom to clip it to his belt. "Princess, I want you to find the proper reinforcements so that I can get some help with fending off those wolves!", he said to her with an angered look. "Also, send an emergency letter to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna about the situation! I can only help this town if I have both the finest men and women to help me with putting them down! The Dire Wolves are a monstrous bunch, killing everything and everyone in their path. And the only way to stop them is to kill them, for they do not know of mercy, pity or compassion. They're a bunch of wild animals that have a rabid lust for blood", he explained to her as he pulled out a card that he needed to take from the pack as he stepped to the door.

"You know how to take them down, then?" Rainbow asked him, surprised by his knowledge.

"And I can tell you all how to stop them with no mercy on them!" Sterling answered her while looking at the other ladies. "I need all of you to come fight with me! If you were able to take down both Tirek and Sombra, after Nightmare Moon and Chrysalis, then who can say that all six of you can't fight," he commanded them firmly with a soft tone in his voice.

His body then glowed for a short while before revealing himself once again. Only this time, he was wearing the tactical gear that the Marines were known to wear in any battle. Somehow, all of the military-issued items on his battle garb had fitted him as perfectly as when he was first issued the uniform. Much as he wanted to speak to them about it all, he was in a rush.

"I'm a Card-Summoner and an Ethereal Possessor, if you must know. But, we need to help the town NOW!" he then loudly commanded them as he opened the door and moved them all out. "The details can be explained later! Let's move it! Move it out! Move it now! Go! Go! Go!"

The former Element bearers and the discharged Marine had begun to run towards the town as they heard the screams of many citizens being attacked.

(Meanwhile, at the castle in Canterlot....)

A scroll had appeared in front of Princess Celestia, who had the unmistakable feeling that something was wrong with the world. As the royal goddess of the sun unraveled the scroll, her fears were justified. In the letter, Twilight Sparkle had described, in detail, how the town of Ponyville was under attack from a pack of foreign beasts that kills anything and everything in their path: The Dire Wolves. Princess Luna had seen the contents of the scroll and gasped loudly. It was in Ponyville where she got her start in making herself known throughout all of Equestria as the benevolent princess that all societies now accepted into their lives.

Upon further reading, the moon goddess had remembered that the Royal Guard, Lunar and Solar, were stretched thin as it was. And she, along with her older sister, remembered their encounter with the same man from six months ago as the letter had described how he was going to help them in battle, much to Twilight's confusion. But as the scroll was wrapped up again for Celestia to write a reply, a few steps had been heard just about twenty yards away from her. The royal sisters looked to where the steps had stopped.

"Your Highness', we apologize for the interruption," a deep voice, Dragon in its tone, spoke up as eight distinct figures approached the Alicornian women with a bow.

"We felt the power of our Captain being activated," another voice, an Equestrian male, quickly said to the royalty. "And we wish to make a formal request that we be allowed to help him out," he asked them with a determination that the royal sisters only saw a few times in the past. With no other choices being present, Celestia and Luna had nodded to each other.

"Make thou way to Ponyville! Post-haste now!" Luna commanded.

"Help your Captain defend Ponyville! It is imperative that the village does not fall to the destruction of these Dire Wolves," Celestia added to the command.

"Dire Wolves?!", the taller figure growled with a sneer. The other seven looked to their fellow soldier and saw an ire that was on the same level with wanting to destroy the Changeling hives. "I've been waiting too long to get my claws on my natural enemies!", he growled again.

"Be careful to not allow them to kill you, Lieutenant," another tall man, a Viking from the Norse Countries as the royal ones were able to deduce, quipped to the soldier.

"I do not intend for those vile beasts to penetrate their claws through my dragon scales," the Dragon told the Viking.

"Let's all get to Ponyville, Royal Elites! Captain Caliber is in need of some proper reinforcements!", the Equestrian shouted out as the soldiers had moved away from the presence of the two Princesses.

"For the defense of Equius, and our people!" the Viking shouted as the individuals in the unit had cheered from the entrance before the door closed behind them. After seeing the large door closed, Celestia and Luna had only so few words to say as another scroll had appeared in their hands.

"If those people are truly the Royal Elites, then their Captain will be able to help out the town as he waits for volunteers to help him out. But we cannot allow him to fight a battle that will more than likely kill him, Luna," Celestia said to her sister.

"Even if thou are right, dear sister, Sterling Caliber will not stop until his entire village is secured. A very stubborn man, but loyal to the end. Just like Twilight's best friends, along with her brother," Luna replied shortly.

"I can only hope that nothing happens to the Captain of the Royal Elites," Celestia shook her head, hoping that the worst situation would not happen.

"As does thine, sister.... as does thine."

(To Be Continued....)

*****