The desert winds blew a lone tumbleweed through the empty town, bouncing around like a ball. There was a distant sound of wings flapping, seeming to be getting closer and closer. Night Shade glanced out the window of the abandoned saloon, waiting anxiously for Andrew's arrival. The wind was unusually strong, toppling over multiple cacti and even blew a door wide open. The saloon doors began to creek, Night Shade's ear twitched towards that direction, his head whipping around soon after. He squinted his eyes as he saw a single hand push the doors open, and in came four humans, wearing a digital desert colored uniform.

"Sorry we're a bit late, sandstorm came in faster than we thought," a masculine voice grumbled, "never knew I had to ever wear these again."

"That's quite alright boy, take a seat," Night Shade gestured to a rather large round table, pulling out a chair for himself to sit down in.

"Well let's get you people briefed on the situation," he started, "first of all, welcome to Appleloosa. I wish you could've been here under better conditions."

Andrew raised his hand to speak, taking off the ballistic goggles while doing so. You could see a very noticeable fine line where the dust blew him in the face.

"Leave your questions for last, Major," Night Shade sighed, "we're running low on time."

"A few miles out is a small backwater town called Dodge City. We have been informed by one of our spies that slavers are going to hit that town within the next twenty four hours. We need all the stallionpower we can muster, so that's why I called you out here. Your fire team will be defending the north entrance, we expect most of them to be coming from there. You have no specified targets, but if possible take prisoners for questioning. We cannot let them get through your defenses, the citizens of Equestria are counting on you to keep their families safe. I will be commanding forces in the south entrance just in case they try to flank us. Additional backup will be provided if needed. After all we expected the worse, so we also evacuated the residents to an underground facility in the center of town." Night shade stopped for a second, so the humans could take it all in.

"Gentlemen, and lady, I bid you good luck. The mission lies on your shoulders. Now, any questions?" Nick raised his hand.

"How many armed hostiles should we expect, sir?"

"About a few hundred, if not a few thousand. We don't know the exact numbers." Night Shade said, putting a hoof up to his chin, "anyone else?" no one raised their hand.

"Meeting is now dismissed." Night Shade concurred.

Andrew put his goggles back over his eyes, the tint of the lens changing the what should be sand colored environment, to an uglier mustard brown. Though he couldn't complain, it did however, dim the sun's effect on him, instead of seeing a massive ocean of radiating sand. He put his bandana over his mouth slowly, trying not to undo the loose knot he tied in it. He put it over his nose and mouth, to avoid breathing in particles of dust and sand. The rest of his squad did the same, though they must've had their bandanas tied tighter than his own.

"Major, what's the plan here?" Helena asked, "should I set up a nest on top of one of the buildings?"

Andrew nodded his head, "that would probably be the best idea."

"Alright Night Shade, how are we going to get there?" Andrew asked, which at the time was a really good question.

Night Shade pondered a bit, though he had something in mind. He had a little thing to showcase, perfect for those long, hot, and just plain annoying trips across the desert. He went towards the western entrance of Appleloosa, and slowed down when he came up to four hidden objects covered in beige tarps. The four human soldiers soon caught up to him, noticing him oddly stand there, in front of four objects. They had their assumptions about what they were, but kept quiet, they had a gut feeling that Night Shade was about to showcase them his stuff.

"I have a little present for you guys," he announced, pulling off the beige tarps with his magic, "I found these in the basement of the castle, I had them refurbished to pristine condition, and modified them with one of your electrical engines."

Andrew put his hand on the firm seat pad, noticing how the blue paint job shined in the summer sun. The actual frame was sturdy enough to take a few hits, made out of reinforced steel, and had a glossy finish to it, the glare was almost too strong to look at.

Andrew looked over to the other bikes, seeing that they all were a different color. Probably to match his team's favorite colors. He licked his lips, squiting his eyes as he looked into the distance, seeing a tiny, yet still visible place out in the distance. It had hard to see through the sand flowing through the air, but the darker tint to his goggles made it barely possible. He brought his leg slowly over the dirt bike, and he kicked the lever to make it start. The engine started on the first try, a sure sign that it was in perfect condition, though he couldn't guarantee the safety of what happened to it afterwards.

"Whoo, look at this baby purr!" Andrew complimented, making Night Shade proud of his work.

"I could almost kiss you Night Shade!" Helena said, causing Night Shade's cheeks to go red.

"It's not a big deal, we need to get going. I'll see you there." Night Shade teleported off, leaving a trail of smoke in his place. Jhon had a deadpan expression as he questioned logic once again.

"Why didn't he just teleport us with him?" He asked, Andrew rolled his eyes and laughed.

"It takes a lot of energy to teleport just themselves around, Jhon. Imagine teleporting all five of us about two/three miles away." He pointed towards Dodge City, which was a tiny spec in the distance from where they were.

Andrew mounted up on the dirt bike, and so he cranked the handlebars, which were stiff at first, considering that it was brand spanking new it was normal. He then rode off into the desert, leaving a little wake of dust behind him. As the rest of his team did the same, one by one they left Appleloosa for Dodge City.

"Lord Black Talon, are you sure this would be the best idea for a slave raid?" A minion asked.

"Yes, we need to strike fear into Equestria, make sure that they are aware of our presence. I also want to see their fighting force, how much resistance they can put up before they get outnumbered. Heheh, they're not going to stand a chance," Black Talon huffed, almost in an overconfident, arrogant way, "after all, we do have our secret weapon in case something bad does happen."

"Sir, should I start the raid?" Another minion asked, in a bit too enthusiastic way. Black Talon nodded his head.

"WOOHOO!" Andrew yelled to the top of his lungs.

Andrew got some big air while riding over a steep hill. He could see over the sand cloud, and what wasn't sand, was extraordinary beauty of what was formerly Appleloosa, all before the residents were evacuated. The sun sparkled in his eyes, though it wasn't too bright with the tinted goggles. Instead of sand blowing into his face, it was a crisp, dry wind, which felt cold on contact with his skin.

Once he touched down, he stuck the landing, speeding through the low clouds of sand and dust once more. Managing to meet up with his friends, who were far ahead of him.

"Sorry guys, I'm havin' a bit too much fun with these bikes." He sighed, the adrenaline finally pumping out of his system. He looked around to get a view of his surroundings, seeing that it was way smaller than Appleloosa, he assumed that the town population was smaller.

"Well get your ass in gear, I'm not losing another town." Night Shade adjusted the sights on his crossbow, using a modified ACOG sight he borrowed from Andrew.

"Alright people, let's get dug in: Helena, you get to a good sniper's position. Jhon, you're with me, Nick, man that mounted machine gun." Andrew pointed out their designated spots, and they quickly followed out their orders.

"General Night Shade!" A rather small pony, with a medium sized build came into view, called out for Night Shade.

"Yes, what is it?"

"They're here!"

"Andrew, looks like we're gonna have a little fight on your hands, as well as my hooves." Andrew silently nodded.

"Get ready for the worst, because I sense a shit storm coming."

Author's Notes:

LOL