Bright and early they awoke to the sound of birds and squirrels. Within no time at all Twilight's group was all packed up and raring to go. All except one.

     "But it hurts…" Spike groaned and clutched his stomach. Poor little dragon.

     "Then you shouldn't have eaten so many marshmallows!" Twilight stamped her hoof impatiently. "Now get up, come ON!"

     "Oh, I'm sure there's a certain marshmallow he'd love to eat. If you know what I mean…" Rainbow poked Rarity in the side. The unicorn became immediately flustered and stared at Rainbow, absolutely horrified.

     "Rainbow Dash! Why I never! How unladylike. I… well I ought to… um… ugh!" Rarity threw her snout in the air once again in an attempt to calm herself. But Rainbow wouldn't have it, not yet.

     She fluttered over to her lazily. "♫Somepony needs to get laid…♫"

     "RAINBOW DASH!" Rarity pursued the cyan mare around in a futile endeavor, while the instigator herself laughed uncontrollably. She spun through the air and dodged Rarity's stun spell over and over again.

     Meanwhile Shot, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie played Go Fish on one of Rarity's suitcases.

     "Bullshi-"

     "We're not playin' that game, consarnit! Stoppit!" Her nerves already piled upon by the happenings around her, this soldier was just shoveling more and more on top.

     "But it is! We shouldn't be able to hold these cards!" Almost on cue, they all fell from the ponies' hooves, even Pinkie Pie's.

     "Screw it. Ah quit."

     Six hours later…

     "Well, the Whitetail Woods. Certainly no Everfree, but uh…" the entire group turned to Silk Shot. "I'm pretty sure nopony's ever been here recently, am I right?"

     This sudden unfortunate turn of events was a severe miscalculation on Twilight's part, and she actually paled. Through. Her. Coat.

     Through the frantic pacing and speedy mumbling of the violet egghead, the others made a plan. Even the Airlocks got in on it.

     "We can scout ahead for any structures, and Spot On can relay info between  us." Windshear grinned at his own plan, and Noble Force nodded in appreciative silence.

     "If we need help, I'll just fire off my party cannon!" At that moment, a grayish blue cannon materialized out of a void and into Pinkie's hooves while she giggled and snorted. The plan was pretty solid; just trail-blaze the damned forest and find the blasted city. They all agreed on the plan and Force gave a nod to Spike, who walked over to Twilight and gripped her by the tail.

     Showing impressive strength, he dragged Twilight with the group, her mane disheveled and her eyes bugged. Spike merely sighed with his eyelids half closed. "Typical Twilight…" He sighed unenthusiastically.

     The group disappeared into the brush while the two Airlocks burst into the sky. The trek had begun.

     "♫They tried to make me go to rehab, I said, 'No, no, no'

Yes, I've been black but when I come back you'll know, know, know

I ain't got the time and if my daddy thinks I'm fine-♫"

     "Private Shot, shut up." Noble Force continued to trudge ahead of the group, his eyes fixated about eight meters in front of him. The Private held up the back, with Twilight behind Force, now over her panic attack. Just behind Twilight was Spike, then Fluttershy, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie.

     Spot On burst through the canopy, his wings slowing him down just enough to allow him to hover next to Lieutenant Force.

     "Anything?"

     "Nay sir, but we have found evidence of civilization."

     The posse's ears all perked up, well except for Spike, that earless wonder. What do canals do? Do they suck in to block out sound, or expand to allow more sound in? Like an adaptable anus? Food for thought.

     Anyway… "Civilization?" Twilight pushed Force aside and into a tree, eliciting an "oof!" from the pegasus. "Take me there immediately!"

     "Yes ma'am." Spot did his best to keep a straight face at the sight of watching Force get mare-handled, but this wasn't the time. Plus, he valued his future children and his dignity, so he had a pair to keep safe.

     As Force picked himself up out of the brambles and bushes, he just saw Twilight Sparkle led into a clearing up ahead.

     The clearing was massive, but strange. Clearly it wasn't natural, and several tree stumps were left  peppering the green grass.

     "Hmmm. Clean cuts, as if they were sliced in one fell swoop. Spike, take a note."

     Spike obediently grabbed a notepad and began scribbling away furiously as Twilight continued to count off completely useful information. After all, the grass wasn't a perfect shade of green, but more of an alfalfa with a hint of coconut flesh color-

     "Lady Sparkle! Look at this!" The Airlock cried out from across the clearing, his jaw agape at the sight before him. Twilight darted over immediately. "What? What is- oh my…"

     The trees were scorched in some areas, many leaves were withered and dry, and the ground had tracks not unlike a carriage. But the tracks were strange indeed. Instead of being two perfect lines, they were spaced, but evenly, and deep. The tracks were so deep, in fact, that Spike's leg went half-way through the dirt.

     "What in tarnation…"

     "Woah."

     "My goodness!"

     "I hope the birds are alright…"

     Pinkie Pie was literally speechless, there was no cheer among them, only awe. What could have caused this? It went on through the forest, and the group concluded that this would lead straight to their goal.

     Spot On hailed Wind Shear back to the group, and they resumed their journey on hooves, with the trail literally blazed for them.

     Thirty-seven minutes later…

     The sun was now lower, making the time just about 5:30. Give or take the time spent BSing in the forest.

     "W- what is th- that?" Fluttershy shook in her hooves, her tail tucked between her legs and her head bowed low to the dirt. The grass line had ended long ago, and a road had begun to define itself, yet all was still dark. Until now.

     A single light shone upon them with the radiance of the sun, and they threw their hooves and wings around their eyes to shield themselves.

     "Identify yourselves!"

     "Whadya mean, "identify"?! Let us in!" Rainbow Dash snarled offensively. A click was heard. Then a loud CLANG. A huge metal arrow, at least three feet long, impaled itself only inches from Rainbow Dash's hooves. Her eyes went to pins.

     "O- okay. I'm sorry, I'll just, back up now…" She retreated slightly. Now it was Twilight's turn.

     "I am Twilight Sparkle, emissary of Princess Celestia and an Element of Harmony. I vouch for the others in my party. We come with greetings!" The air suddenly grew tense as the light winked out and scrambling was heard from about ten meters in front of them. Panicked whispering was heard, and then a few curses.

     The light came back, startling the group. "Alright, but keep your weapons to yourself and stay with your escorts. Any deviation or act of aggression will be seen as an attack on the city. Do you understand?" The voice was pretty rough, but definitely male. It sounded big.

     Twilight conversed with the group, and after staring down Pinkie and forcing her to Pinkie Promise to behave herself, she turned back to the light. "We understand."

     The light dimmed considerably, and a great groan was heard, then a huge creaking. Apparently, they had been facing a massive wall the entire time. The wall itself was inlaid with stone and wood, with metal infused along with it. It cracked open and swung outwards.

     Doors rarely make ponies gape, but for this, they made a special exception. It was at least ten meters tall, and each door was four meters wide. The wall was thick, and at a glance, it seemed to be at least twelve feet thick. Now I'm saying this in both the metric system and the Americanized system, because I like variety. Anyway, the door was friggin' ginormous, and each member of the group could have swallowed a foot long sub in one go, what with their mouths so wide.

     Once they were inside, the doors closed softly, then were followed by a huge metallic clang and the sound of gears ended by a chorus of locks. They were inside the Mysterious City.

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     WHAT? You think I'm gonna be that big of a dick and leave this chapter on a cliff hanger? Haha, no. It's about to go down, so put on your battle caps and strap into your couch. Shit's about to get real, fo' realsies.

:::-----::::::-----::::::-----::::::-----::::::-----::::::-----:::

     They heard him before they saw him. Soft little 'paft-paft-pafts' were heard from above to their left, and they saw something they truly didn't expect. It was bipedal, tall, and had two sharp canines. Yes, ladies and gentleman, it was a Dog.

     The group still didn't drop their face from before.

     "Meh… Figures." Shot shrugged him shoulders nonchalantly.

     The figure continued to descend, and… he wasn't tall at all. He was actually only a little taller than Spike. He strode over to the Elements and company uneasily, as they did the same. As Force looked around the room, he noticed dozens of much larger Dogs lined up along the top, their heads and green eyes poking out.

     The Dog below and in front of them in question was actually built differently than the mares remembered them to be. This Dog stood straighter, and the arms were actually a bit more muscular as well. The tail was more pronounced, and the eyes didn't have the distinct yellow discoloration. This Dog in fact had emerald irises with two dainty pupils to boot. He wore a small (standard for him, mind you) duster with a blue scarf that trailed to his ankles. On top of his head he wore a curved helmet with a single yellow stripe running diagonally across one side of his helmet, originating in the front and stretching up to the back left.

     The guards among them recognized this as some sort of rank, one which they couldn't discern, however. This was entirely new to them.

     "Hello." The Dog spoke in a deep, gruff tone that echoed off the walls and reverberated around the room. "My name is Orion, and I will be escorting you with several other Gate Guards. I am the Captain of the Guard here at Sanctuary. For now you are under my supervision and jurisdiction, until of course you get my lord's audience."

     "Oh sweet Celestia he is just precious! Don't you agree, Fluttershy darling?" Rarity knelt down to the scowling Dog. He reserved himself, his face contorting so much it seemed it would swirl into itself and swallow up his features. He patted down the white fur of his coat, and let his stony expression return. "Follow me."

     The group, lead by the Dog, took note of the structures. All made of stone, with glass windows in all, they seemed extremely sturdy. Spike furiously scribbled down notes while Twilight blabbered on and on, and to be frank, it's a pain in my ass to talk about all that, so screw it.

     Force was suspicious, however, and trotted a bit faster to catch up to the small biped. "Where are all the citizens? I see no signs of population, other than you and your guards."

     Orion nodded. "Hiding. We don't really know how you'll take us, so we chose to keep all of the public in hiding, to which they gladly agreed to."

     "But why would anypony be afraid of us? We're the Elements of Harmony, forces of love and tolerance! That's just silly that you would be afraid of us!" Pinkie bounced up and down, circling the Captain.

     The Dog's face sobered. "Yes. Your… reputation proceeds you. Especially around here." The way he tasted the word 'reputation' really left a bad feeling within the group.

     "'Round here? What in Sue Tartarus are ya blabberin' about?" Applejack's eyebrow rose in grand suspicion, almost equivalent to Bond-villain style.

     The Dog remained silent as they came to a great stone archway inlaid with metal-work and gems. A large yellow sign that read: NO STEALING... OR EATING, lined the grass to both sides. Spike's head drooped. When he looked up, however, he saw a grand palace, carved into the side of the mountain, nearly like Canterlot. Except that great archways held over-hanging shelves of rock that created a great shade across the courtyard, which was filled with trees and flowers, as well as many singing birds.

     The singing had begun to die down however, much due to the sun. Shot heard Orion mutter something about somepony "being early". Private Shot had a random guess. "Um, shortstack, are we interrupting something currently?" Orion's neck hairs visibly bristled.  

     One solid punch later, and Silk lay on the floor in agony, clutching his aching family heirlooms. "My nads! Oh Sweet mother of Cadence!" Noble Force didn't even make a move to help him. "Get up, numb nuts, we're still going."

     Silk whimpered in reply and dragged himself after them with his magic, his fore hooves still clutching his groin. They entered another set of marvelous wooden doors.

     Shot struggled with the stairs, multiple times.

:::-----::::::-----::::::-----::::::-----::::::-----::::::-----:::

     The group was seated around a long cherry wood table, all bunched up at one end. Orion left to fetch some waiters, and the group chatted idly.

     "The spires are just magnificent! The statues atop them just scream royalty." Rarity's eyes had stars in them as her hooves bunched up in front of her like a begging dog. She began to giggle.

     "Shouldn't we be focused more on the fact that there are friggin' Diamond Dogs romping around?" Rainbow exclaimed, bursting out of her seat and unable to keep her voice down. A few guards shot her looks, their jade eyes piercing into her cyan ones. "Heh heh, sorry…" She floated back down into her seat, smiling nervously.

     "It is suspicious, isn't it?" Force kept a single hoof on the circular grip of his blade. Blue eyes darted back and forth underneath the guards' helmets. Sizing up the opposing guards, they were severely outnumbered and possibly outmuscled. The Dogs wielded spears and a few had rapiers.

     Force slid into his seat but kept his grip on his sword.

     The Lieutenant swiveled his head over to Shot, who caught the glimpse and pulled out his heavy crossbow, letting it impact the table with a floor-shaking THUNK. The Dog guards straightened up a bit more and their eyes widened slightly. Shot let a smirk streak across his face.

     Force nodded. Job well done, Private.

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     A few minutes later…

     Waiters flooded the room, serving their guests bread and steamed vegetables. The guards professionally abstained from the feast, while the others dug in.

     "Oh! This pea soup is just splendid! Please give the chef my condolences… if that's not too much to ask… of course…" Fluttershy looked over at Rarity, who winked happily. The handsome stallion waiter next to Fluttershy raised his eyebrows, but then nodded and sped off.

     Force's brow twitched. As the waiter went back to the kitchen, the veteran eyed him maliciously. The second the offending pony left his vision, the veins in Force's neck receded, and he calmed down.

     The meal went back to being a quiet endeavor, and the group quite enjoyed it. Even the guards had began to nibble on food. In fact, Private Shot lifted a chunk of bread to his mouth, and began to chew.

     A door could be heard being thrown open, and they all looked behind them. A monstrous black creature loomed behind them, and stomped a few times before letting out a guttural growl. What they assumed was its head looked down upon them with two solid black eyes, its silvery mane remaining static. It was bipedal as well.

     Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, and Silk screamed, all at the same pitch.

     Then all the waiters flashed in green, and reverted back to their changeling forms. The jig was up. Force and the two Airlocks drew their weapons, Silk Shot choked on the bread, and the brutal beast in front of them took out a very large hatchet.

     Force engaged.

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A/N: Mmmmm… This cliffhanger is flawless, and delicious. I know I said 20% but I'm bad at mathematics, so cope with the circumstances. At least you can look forward to a fight scene to open Chapter 4.

     And yes, Gak. It died really fast, and was a total pain in the ass. But I couldn't resist, once again, CWTC. I indulged you with a super long chapter (in my opinion, anyway) so quit your bitching. Also, the tag will change from Teen to Mature very soon most likely.

     No clop or anything of the sort, but most likely violence and cuss words here and there. The story will also adopt a dark tag later on for some scenes. Some gore will be present in the pretty distant future, so a massive heads up.

     Fight scene next chapter. Place your bets. And NO ONE DIES, so get your jimmies unrustled immediately.

     I still need an editor. PM me if you are more competent than me for the job. Thanks. Next Chapter: HELP Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 56 Minutes