Andrew was at his desk, reading a letter specifically from Princess Celestia herself. He was drinking his coffee as he sped through the letter.

Dear Echo Team,

I am assigning you to be my personal security escort while we are in the Griffon Kingdom. We will be picking you up in the next hour or so and from there straight to our destination. Why I am choosing you is because Shining Armor and his team are training a handful of new recruits, and I need someone with fighting experience. Do not take this assignment lightly.

Princess Celestia

He finished the letter and almost choked on his coffee, he threw the letter down and got himself cleaned up. He then went into the barracks, where the rest of his team were hanging out. Once they took notice of him they stood up straight and saluted him. Lined up on one side of the room, Andrew paced back and forth as he talked.

"Listen up you apes! We've been tasked with a Tier 1 Objective by Princess Celestia. You heard me right, Tier One, that means no fuck ups. Get your ass in gear, because we are heading out in an hour." He commanded.

"Sir, yes sir!" They all said in unison.

Andrew went into the locker room to retrieve his stuff. He grabbed his Desert Eagle and his ACR, and slung them over his back. He put on his tactical belt fully loaded with five ACR magazines, as well as seven Desert Eagle clips. He wore his primary body armor, and put on sunglasses and a mask to cover up his mouth and nose. He walked down the hallway, being joined in the process by Helena, then Jhon, and finally Nick, each holding their signature weapons. It would be more dramatic if there was a background light shining behind them, and walking in slow motion.

They were just in time too, Celestia had just arrived in her Royal Chariot. They saluted her as she passed by, and she came up to them, smiling.

"At ease soldiers. Now, onto business. Come with me." She gestured towards her chariot, which had a stagecoach.

"Princess, is there a reason why you specifically assigned us to be your escort? If you don't mind me asking?" Princess Celestia chuckled.

"Why yes, I have assigned you specifically. I assume you want a reason?" They nodded.

"Equestria and the Griffon Empire are not in the best relationship as of right now. I'm going to negotiate a peace treaty with the Griffon Emperor, Emperor Grif Griffonson." Andrew, Nick, and Jhon snickered. Helena facepalmed and Celestia raised a brow.

"Grif Griffinson? That is so cliche'." Andrew laughed, Celestia rolled her eyes and continued.

"Anyways, me assigning you to be my security escort is no accident. Most Griffons are trained to kill, and seeing that most of my guards never had fighting experience, you were the next best thing. That, and the fact that you only use lethal force when necessary." She explained, Andrew put a hand on his chin.

"Well Princess, that's only if we're not ordered to kill. If we are, things can get ugly really fast." She nodded.

"Well, only use lethal force if it's a last resort. If possible avoid any violence at all."

"Yes ma'am." He said enthusiastically.

The ride was rather boring, and quiet most of the way. Once they were across the border, the scenery completely changed. The forests were dense, and the villages were less colorful unlike Ponyville. Once they had arrived at the castle, it towered above the humans as they arrived in the courtyard. Andrew and his team exited the stagecoach, the wind from the Pegasus guards blowing up dust like a helicopter. Andrew leaned down on a knee, Helena mirrored him, Jhon and Nick walked along side Celestia, with their guns pointed down to their sides.

"Hello Princess Celestia, I see you came prepared." A Griffon said, Andrew assumed that it was the Emperor, wearing a cape with an insignia of a Griffon on the side.

"Greetings to you as well Emperor, may we get started?" She asked, the Emperor gestured for them to come inside the castle. Celestia walked inside with Jhon and Nick, followed in by Andrew and Helena.

Andrew and his team stood around the perimeter, making sure everything was secure, communicating through their ear pieces. Nothing through the first parts of the meeting were out of the ordinary, but Andrew was in for a surprise, because the subject was now about them.

"So, Tia. Who are these companions of yours? I can't say I've met anything like them before." The Emperor asked, Celestia giggled.

"They are humans, Emperor. They risked their lives rescuing me from a reckless decision I've made. So, I rescued them, and they're just like any other Equestrian Citizen, with a paying job and everything." She explained.

"...and I assume that job is, being a bodyguard?" He asked.

"Oh no~ they aren't body guards, they're a Police Force in the small town of Ponyville. Somepony- I mean someone has to keep that town in check somehow."

"If they're a Police Force in this, 'Ponyville,' then why are they here with you now?"

"They're the best trained. They went through years of training back on their home world, and survived a month of Luna's Night Guard Boot Camp. They're not regular Police Officers." The Emperor nodded.

"Do you mind if I put that to the test?" He mused.

"As in a demonstration? Gladly. Captain Hartfield? Would you come here please?" Andrew walked to her side, and saluted.

"Sergeant Strong Talon! To my side!"

"Yes sir?"

"Bring me his heart." The Emperor said.

Sergeant Strong Talon swooped in on Andrew, but he side stepped him and grabbed him by the tail. Andrew pulled Sergeant Strong Talon towards him and brought his elbow down hard on his back, and then held him in a choke hold until he passed out from suffocation. He then saluted again, and walked back to his assigned position.

"That was interesting." The Emperor said, Celestia nodded as she sipped on her tea.

"Indeed. Now, where were we?" She said with enthusiasm.

"Most of the citizens in the Griffon Empire think Equestria is to blame, as the agricultural economy is not doing so well as of lately. We are not as skilled as your Earth Pony race when it comes to farming, and that they blame them for having all of the fertile land." He said, which made Celestia upset, just a little bit though.

"Surely you can't blame us, we've done nothing wrong. I'm sure we can work this out, establish a colony if possible." She said with a serious tone in her voice.

Andrew had intercepted an unknown frequency, and what he heard was quite disturbing. He listened in closer to the anonymous conversation.

"Yes sir, Princess Celestia is inside the castle, speaking with the Emperor. Do you want me to signal the assassin? Okay, the assassin is on his way."

Andrew's eyes widened as he saw a Griffon Guard in the corner aim his crossbow, pointed directly towards Princess Celestia. He started to run, and everything seemed like it was in slow motion. The bolt was fired, and already in midair, Andrew jumped in front of Celestia just in time to catch the bolt. He was hit right in the shoulder, and he fell to the ground with a thud. The Griffon Guard was then apprehended by the other Guards, and the rest of Echo Team formed a defensive triangle around the Princess. Helena dragged Andrew inside the triangle, and they left the scene along side Emperor Griffinson.

"Emperor! What is the meaning of this?" Celestia scolded.

"I am very sorry Princess, I do not know what happened!"

"Where's the nearest hospital? We need to get him to a hospital!" Celestia helped Helena load Andrew onto the chariot.

Andrew was disoriented, and he was bleeding out, quickly. He was dizzy from blood loss, and could barely make out what anyone was saying.

"Don't worry sir! You'll be okay!" Was the last words he managed to hear before going into unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was being loaded into a chariot, and the word, "Hospital," could be heard a lot.

"I thought he was wearing body armor!" Celestia worried for the boy.

"The bolt hit him in an exposed area ma'am. It was unexpected." Helena said with sadness in her voice.

They barged right in, straight into the Emergency Room. They loaded Andrew onto a gurney and rushed him down the hallway. He was likely long gone by now, but a nurse felt a pulse, and rushed him inside of an operating room.

"We're losing him!" They brought out the defibrillators, and tried to revive Andrew.