"Lord Black Talon sir."

"Yes, what is it Captain?"

"One of our Diamond Dog slave camps have been raided, the tunnel caved in and the slaves were let free."

Lord Black Talon slapped his face with his own talons, using the center of mass to avoid scratching himself. He let out a depressing sigh as he walked down the steps, slowly making his way towards the Captain. Black Talon put his arm around the smaller pony, causing the pony to start stuttering in his speech.

"Captain, what do I pay you for?" Black Talon asked.

"Wh-What do you mean by that sir?"

"Is it true that I pay you for keeping the product safe? Or do I pay you for no good reason?"

"It's to protect you, sir. You also appointed me to be your informant." Black Talon had a blank expression across his face.

"Oh, okay then. Well, tell them to up the security details in the other camps. I don't want anything like this happening again. Besides, what kind of Equestrian would just decide to take on us?" Black Talon boasted, causing the smaller pony to shuffle his hoof across the floor beneath him.

"That's the thing sir, they're not ponies. They're humans. Rumors say that they don't hesitate to kill, and one of them even took out Queen Chrysalis at the wedding." Black Talon raised an eyebrow, he had a peculiar face as he continued to speak.

"I think I've heard of them before, I just can't remember where..." He trailed off.

"Sir."

"What?"

"Should I get the troops ready?"

"Yes, we head out for Dodge City in one hour."

Andrew threw more letters on his desk, wiping the sweat off of his forehead at the same time. He let out a heavy sigh and looked up to the ceiling, closing his eyes in the process. Nick looked over to Andrew, who could clearly see that he was bored to death.

"What's Celestia sending you this time?" Nick asked. Andrew shook his head to keep himself awake, trying not to fall asleep on the job.

"Nothing really, just the bills. Though it's not too big of a problem, considering how gereously she pays us. Not to mention the fact that all of our stuff was supplied to us by her. Other than that, the EBI, a.k.a. the Equestrian Bureau of Investigation, may have a lead on who's responsible for the slave camps all around Equestria." He said in a boring way, almost as if he was in playback mode.

"So that means we're getting shipped out for longer than a day this time?" Nick complained.

"It means it could probably take a few months before we see this place again. Though, I could use the change of scenery." He said optimistically.

Andrew got up from the desk he was in, looking down at all the finished paperwork he had completed. He was ready to toss it into the fireplace, but knowing he would get in trouble for that he left it alone. Nick patted him on the back and handed him a coffee, he smiled wryly as he took it from him. He said thank you and went into the armory, down in the basement.

Nick flipped on the lights, and the whole room began to fill with light. Andrew walked on over to the gun cages, and unlocked the metal cage door. The door wung pen with a screech, Andrew thought his ears were bleeding by now, but got over it once he pulled out his gun. He tossed Nick his HK416 at him, he grabbed it and slung the nylon strap around his shoulder. Andrew cocked the slide back on his Desert Eagle, the nickel plated finish glared into his eyes. He also grabbed for his ACR, placing it on the table.

"Hey Nick, toss me some ear plugs and a pair of glasses." Nick did as he was told, and Andrew caught it in mid-air.

"So, what's new with you?" Nick asked, before Andrew put in his earplugs. He only smiled back at him, hesitating to talk for a little bit.

"Well, I'm supposed to meet Rainbow for lunch, though I'm not so sure about it..." He looked down, in a sad, depressed state. Nick went over to him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be fine, man. You just need to let it go, stop worrying so much."

"I dunno Nick, maybe I'm worried for a good reason. It's not the lunch I'm worried about, I'm worried about something else."

"Well what is it then?"

"I have a gut feeling, that something bad's gonna happen." He put a hand on his head, his eyes wide open from all the stress.

Nick picked up Andrew's ACR, and handed it to him, placing it directly into his arms. The radiating light from the ceiling finally reached into the firing range. Nick looked on over towards the range, seeing that the environment changed. Someone must've changed it overnight, though he wasn't so sure who. The environment was very different, changing from an open, rocky desert, to a dense, urban area.

"Now, are we going to shoot, or are we just gonna stand here and look at them?" Nick asked, causing Andrew to snap out of his trance. He shook his head as he collected himself, placing the magazine into his rifle and pulling back the charging handle.

Helena and Jhon had the day off, wandering around town to gather stuff to make dinner for tonight. Though Jhon didn't cook often, he was the best cook in their squad. The reasoning behind that is because he didn't have time to start a fire and gather ingredients in the field, unless he was alone.

"Hey Helena, what should I make for dinner tonight?" He asked.

"I'm thinking you should make something that isn't made out of meat, got anything for that in your cookbook?" She chuckled, Jhon's eyes wandered around to all the various food stands, noticing that they were all vegetables. Typical for a pony's diet.

"I'm thinking some sort of vegetable stir fry, you think they sell rice somewhere near here?" He thought.

"I dunno, try using your super asian senses you keep bragging about." She emphasized Jhon's "super" abilities.

"Hey, no need to be racist here, that was just uncalled for." Jhon protested.

"I'm only joking *snicker* don't get your panties in a twist." She laughed, flicking away a tear drop. Jhon was not amused.

"Anyways, it should be around here somewhere. Try looking around!" Helena five starred Jhon's back, causing the hair on the back if his neck to stand up. His teeth clattered and he shivered, even though it wasn't that hard.

"Hey, I'm going to grab some lunch, do you want anything?" Helena nudged Jhon, who only shrugged as he picked up a bundle of Broccoli, inspecting to see if it met his standards.

"Yeah, just get me some fruit, I'm not that hungry." He mumbled. Helena nodded and headed towards the cafe, where she saw a few familiar faces.

Helena sat down at the very same table, where Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle were also sitting at. They both looked up to see Helena sit down with them, causing them both to crack a smile. Helena quietly sat down and picked up a menu, figuring out what to eat for herself, and picking out something for Jhon as well.

"Hey Helena, how are you?" Twilight asked formally, causing Helena to clear her throat.

"I'm doing well Twilight, and you Rainbow?" Helena asked, Rainbow only nodded to keep her cool.

Helena veered her eyes towards the ground, tapping her fingers together as she looked for a topic of discussion. This was certainly getting awkward for the three, until the waiter decided to break the silence by asking for their orders. It gave Helena some breathing room, because both Rainbow and Twilight were looking at her as if they were looking for words of wisdom from a miracle worker.

Helena pulled up her sleeve to reveal her PDA, and got Andrew on the phone. "Andrew? Weren't you supposed to meet Rainbow for lunch?"

"How did you find out about that?!" He said in a surpsied state.

"Because it looks like Rainbow's waiting for someone, I'm sitting here with both her and Twilight right now. They don't look too happy either."

"I'm not supposed to be there for snother half hour, they must be early." He said, unsure of what he just suggested. Helena then heard multiple gunshots, and her face deadpanned.

"You're in the gun range, aren't you?"

"No~" He said, trailing off, an obvious lie to begin with.

"Just get your ass over here." Helena sighed, hanging up the phone on him.

As Andrew strolled on over to the busy table full of his friends, his wrist started to vibrate. He frowned, not wanting to pick it up. Knowing that he could lose his job and be thrown back into scientific study, he picked it up anyways.

"Hello?" He asked. The transmission started out with a lot of static, causing his ears to start ringing.

"This is Major Andrew Hartfield, correct?"

"Yes, this is him."

"General Night Shade has personally requested you and your team's immediate presence in Appleloosa. A private chariot will be sent to Ponyville to pick you up. You have three hours to gather your things." Andrew went silent, his pupils shrinked and he started to look around frantically.

As he approached the table he was met with multiple familiar faces, including Jhon and Helena. He was also met with none other than Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash, who were rather happy to meet his acquaintance.

Andrew moaned, he had finally just sat down at the table, only to be called out on orders from Night Shade moments later. He was not happy, and neither was anyone else. He couldn't complain though, when there's trouble afoot, he's always going to be there to stop it. He wished he could have stayed, but he couldn't because he had to pack his gear.

"Guys, we're headed out to Appleloosa, wherever that may be. Anyways, we might be gone for a few days if that's alright." He looked to the left of him, seeing a saddened Rainbow Dash sitting next to him. Andrew let out a heavy sigh and put his arm around her.

"It's going to be alright, you know we don't die easily."

"Don't jinx yourself Andrew, there are too many variables within a fight." Twilight pointed out, causing him to look at her with discontent.

"That's not helping Twi." He deadpanned.

Andrew looked up at the sky, seeing it was only an hour past noon. The sweat droplets started to fall from the side of his face, causing him to get annoyed. He took the sleeve of his shirt and ran it across his face, leaving it wet and a slight brown color. He placed a gold bit on the table and went back to his quarters.

"What am I to do about all this?" He asked to no one in particular.

"If you need help all you have to do is ask." Someone else walked- more like trotted into the room. He looked over and saw Rainbow, who seemed rather confident at the time.

"Help with what? I have everything under control." He mumbled.

"You know, I thought at one point that the great Andrew Hartfield came straight from the depths of Tartarus. Now that I've gotten to know you, you're a big softie, aren't you?" She teased.

"First of all, I have no idea where or what Tartarus is, and second of all, I never said anything about being some super tough guy. Finally, something tells me that you're here for another reason." He mused, causing her to shift her eyes away from him.

"I want to get back together." She blurted out in a really fast pace.

"I'm sorry?" Andrew didn't seem to catch anything.

"I. Want. To. Get. Back. Together. With. You." Every time she stopped she poked Andrew in the Sternum, harder and harder with each hit.

"I can't say at this given moment. I'm not in the greatest of moods right now." He admitted, causing Rainbow to swallow her sadness.

"-But I'll tell you what, when I come back, I'll take you on a date. If it goes well, we'll get back together, if not, we'll still be good friends. Aight?" He booped her straight in the muzzle, causing her to look cross-eyed for a brief moment.

"Sounds good! I'll see you then! By the way, you gotta tell me one of those stories one of these days!" She said in an excited tone. She then gusted out the door, causing it to slam really hard. Andrew smirked as he gathered his things from his footlocker.