"So where are we going exactly? I've never heard of a Maritime Bay, and I've been all over Equestria!" Princess Twilight skipped along beside their guide, Midnight. Behind the two walked Sergeant Dean and Prince Trignar, the latter of which was grumbling in irritation to himself as he scratched lightly at the violet anti-magic ring upon his neck.

"Well, Maritime Bay is located near the North Luna Ocean. It was a small city with a small population before the invasion, and not very well known. When Canterlot fell, communication was lost with most major settlements. My unit was stationed in Maritime Bay at the time due to an increase of Krakens in the area, and when we received word of the attack, we prepared. We waited and waited for days, but no attack came. We thought that we were in the clear, that maybe it was a false alarm." Midnights eyes caught sight of a bird taking flight from a nearby tree and he paused. He tracked the bird for a few seconds before wincing when some sort of large snake sprung from a branch and gobbled it up. His eyes cast over the group, but they seemed to have not noticed.

"So the elves never found you; are there any other settlements like Maritime Bay?" Twilights face had morphed into a frown and her eyes stayed straight on the path., the thought of the invasion springing back to the forefront of her mind.

"Not that we know of. We had contact with a few other small towns further inland, but they went silent after a while. Upon scouting their locations, we had found the elves occupying the settlements. The last settlement we had lost contact with was just two hundred kilometers away. We were actually able to predict the elven attack and were able to get a few ponies out, but we didn't have enough time. That was two weeks ago. At this rate, the elves will find Maritime Bay by the new year."

"Speaking of which, how far is Maritime Bay? You said it was nearby." Midnight barely turned his head as Dean spoke from behind him.

"To get to the town itself, we must exit the West side of the Everfree, cross a plain and major train intersection, and enter Whitetail woods. From there, we head north a few kilometers before we reach the border

Dean stared at the Pegasus; something didn't add up.

"The city you speak of doesn't seem all that far from civilization, so how have the elves not discovered this place?" Dean glared at the Prince as he started to lag behind.

"Well, a few refugees from Vanhoover had brought with them some illusion generators, and we set them up just in time. The generators had apparently been a secret project that only Celestia and prince Shining Armour knew about. The only downside to the generator is that it needs a magical refill every five hours, something only unicorns can do." Midnight raised a hoof to his chin as he thought. "That, and the fact that anyone or anything can pass through it. It's not exactly a physical barrier." Midnight Flow's nose twitched slightly as he deeply inhaled.

The group continued to shuffle along in silence, the mood having taken swing downwards. The sounds of the forest constantly reaching their ears, causing them to jump slightly at any noise louder than a rustle. Dean wasn't all that worried though. His nose and ears had grown exponentially powerful in their senses, so much so that they apparently outclassed certain animals. If a predator was nearby, he would know. They traveled for another two hours before the signs of fatigue started to appear. Dean noticed and decided to call a rest.

"Alright, take ten minutes," Dean smirked as the group all but collapsed in the small clearing they had entered. Looking around, Dean speculated that they didn't have that far to go before reaching the plain Midnight had mentioned.

"Sergeant Forester."

Everyone turned to regard the prince, who had stood back up.

"What? I said take ten. If you want food, then to bad. We need to conserve it." The glare that Dean tossed in his direction would likely have melted solid Titanium, and the Dark elf visibly flinched from it.

"I-I need to relieve myself." The elf gulped and stuck his nose in the air ever so slightly, though Dean smirked when his pointed ears visibly drooped.

The group had successfully washed the prince of piss and blood before leaving, making his smell tolerable for the travel. Dean didn't want to be the one who killed the groups nasal cavities by making the Elf piss himself once again.

After a minute of contemplation, Dean sighed softly and nodded. He stood up and stretched his arms, the armour plating rubbing slightly from the movement.

"Fine, turn around, take ten steps, and I will release you from your bonds. Your magic collar stays on and if you make any attempts to run, I'll put a piece of lead right through your brain." Dean watched as the prince did as he was requested, and with a quick whistle later, the metal coil flew from the elves arms and reattached itself to Deans armoured thigh. He crossed his arms slightly as his attention stayed fixed to the Dark Elf.

He was carrying as much of his equipment as he physically could, as well as Midnight and Twilight. The latter's leg had healed due to "Alicorn Magic" as Twilight called it, so she was able to carry some equipment on her back. The reason she wasn't using magic as a method of lifting was due to his equipment somehow nullifying its effects. Dean had chuckled when the little alicorn tried in vain to lift his fabricator, only for the aura to fizzle out. This had ended in an adorable pout, which only encouraged his and Midnights mirth.

The tell-tale clop of a ponies hooves reached Deans ears, causing him to look down into the hate filled face of Twilight. Her glare wasn't directed at him however, but instead at the tall bipedal being some ten yards away. He cringed nonetheless at her look.

"I was forced to watch my friends fall around me when we tried to escape their soldiers. The five other mares that had laughed with me, cried with me, supported me, and loved me. You saw how their kind treats mine, especially if they are of some importance." A tear trickled down her fuzzy cheek as her glare lessened. It was filled with what seemed to be loss, though Dean wasn't sure. He briefly wondered what had brought these thoughts on, but decided to let Twilight talk it out.

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"I have been entirely alone for the last two years. My adoptive brother Spike was taken, the Princess who took me under her wing was slain before my eyes... all because of them."

Dean placed his hand upon Twilights back, hoping to provide some measure of comfort. He found it good that she was starting to grieve. Her pain and her emotions had been bottled up to long; Dean knew how it felt... how it feels.

"I guess... I guess the reason I'm telling you this is so that I can say thank you." Dean looked down in surprise at the purple pony. Her face was matted with tears now, but she held a small smile that warmed his heart ever so slightly. "I would've died if it weren't for you. Even though this other Discord stuck you here, you still had no reason to help me. You could've set out on your own, trying to find another means of returning home. But when Trignar's soldiers came and took me, you followed. When you went to take on the entire camp of elves, the look you gave me showed just how much you cared, even if it was downright terrifying." Twilight chuckled slightly. Dean didn't dare say a word. He could feel Midnights eyes on them, observing their conversation. "This probably isn't the best time to talk about this." Twilight must've sensed it to. "Just know that I am truly thankful for everything you have done."

Twilight looked up into Deans face, and he looked down upon hers. Her smile held a relaxed and trusting feel to it, and he couldn't help but smile back.

"Uh, guys? I think I smell something, it's pretty fam-"

Dean heard a snap off to his left. His pistol was out of its holster in under a second as he aimed into the underbrush. He heard Midnight and Twilight tense behind him in anticipation.

'Is it the Elves? Another scouting party? Wait, when did it get so quiet?' His augmented eyes scanned through the trees and foliage, but found nothing. Dean began to lower his pistol, when he heard a scream that he recognized all to well.

"Fuck! The Prince!"

He took off like a shot in the direction of the scream, all-the-while berating himself for letting the Dark Elf leave his sight. His heavy steps crushed the vegetation underneath as if it wasn't even there.

'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.... How could you get so distracted?'

His eyes narrowed as he began to see light up ahead, a light from a campfire. His legs pumped faster as the light grew larger and larger, and before long, he was in a clearing. Time slowed down, and every detail was taken in.

The Prince, his target, was lying on his back, hogtied. Standing over top of him were three ponies in ragtag armour. He noticed that each were one of the three pony types. On the pegasus, he could make out the glimpse of metal in its wings, the appendages themselves were an orangish yellow. The ponies mane was spiky and contained trails of darker orange, making its head appear to be on fire. It wore a black bodysuit not so different from Midnight's.

The Earth pony wore a rusty, roman-esque helmet upon its head. The colour may have previously been gold, but it was obviously too worn down to notice. The pony wore chainmail armour on its appendages while an iron breastplate was strapped to its chest. A short gladius was being held in its teeth.

And lastly was the unicorn. The pony wore no armour whatsoever, but a black metal rod was strapped to its side. It's alabaster coat was matted with mud and grime, but that wasn't what caught his attention. What caught his eyes were the massive, purple, round goggle glasses attached to its face. That, mixed with the crazy purple hair, threw him off guard.

'That has got to be the strangest getup I have ever seen, especially on a horse!'

He saw the orange Pegasus ponies eyes widen in surprise, her wings beginning to unfurl in an aggressive manner. The other two whipped around at his grand entrance and took up defensive stances. Dean stopped and raised his pistol until the iron sights were aligned with the Pegasi' head; his SCAR would be of no use at this range. He placed the winged pony as the leader of the small group and glowered at it from under the rim of his helmet, his bulky armour hopefully providing some form of intimidation.

"Lay down your weapons and release the Elf!" Dean called to the trio. He was beginning to wonder where Midnight and Twilight had gotten to, but that didn't matter, he needed to get the Prince.

The Earth Pony snarled at him and took a step forward, the gladius held in an offensive manner.

"We half you suwaunded, euff! hute down ve heupon!" Dean stared at the little pony in bewilderment, not understanding a single word it had uttered.

"I suggest you comply long ears, or else we will use force!" The Pegasus yelled at him. Her feminine voice was scratchy and hoarse, like she yelled to much. It almost reminded Dean of his drill instructors.

Dean looked back and forth between the two ponies before his gaze landed on the unicorn. He noticed its eyebrows were scrunched together in what seemed to be anger, and its mouth was parted slightly in a silent snarl.

"Dean!" The far shout from Midnight echoed through the forest, it didn't seem that far. It seemed that the others had heard it to for their ears folded back slightly.

"Der ish mowre humming Sthpits! Wha do we do?" The sword wielding pony asked through the sword handle.

Dean saw the Pegasus snarl in obvious frustration. There was a pause before her eyes locked with his own.

"Vinyl, take him down." Dean's eyes widened as the Unicorns horn suddenly became as bright as the sun. His gun whipped around, the laser sight training on the horn of the Unicorn. He fired just as an almighty crack sounded, and for a second, he thought that his silencer had malfunctioned. He blinked once, and found the Unicorn was gone.

'Did I vaporize her?'

Dean could only stare at the spot where the Unicorn used to be... and it wasn't until he heard an intake of air behind him that he cursed is idiocy.

He started to turn, but the feeling of many thousands of volts had other ideas. His entire body seemed to seize up, his chest cried in pain as his limbs and back caught fire. His heart felt ready to explode and all the air escaped his lungs. And lastly, his Neurolink started to fry inside of him. Dean had been struck by a taser before, but the ones back on Earth had nothing on this!

"AAGH!"

His scream of agony caused nearby birds to take to the skies and the surrounding ponies to jump. His knees gave out and he collapsed onto them. The electric flow had stopped as soon as it had begun. His rifle clattered to the soft forest floor and his pistol dropped from his hands.

Breathing heavily, Dean found the strength to push himself to his feet. Rage burned deep inside of him, though most was directed inward. He had failed to react, something that should have come easy. He snarled as he whipped around, his metal hand already wrapping around the stunned Unicorns throat. He saw it's horn light and quick as a snake, he grabbed the bony protrusion with his free hand.

A gurgle of pain erupted from the unicorn as it tried to cry out. He could feel the fear behind the purple glasses as his hand began to squeeze around its throat. These ponies must've been mercenaries of some sort, looking to make a profit off of capturing the Prince and himself. He had to put and end to them before they went after Twilight and Midnight. He'd be damned if anyone touched his only friends in this fucked up world.

"Dean! NO!" Dean's head twisted around at Twilight's panicked shout, but he wasn't able to spot her as something heavy smashed into the back of his head. His helmet was launched right off of his head as the strap broke against his chin. Something heavy glanced off the back of his skull, but it was enough.

Dean felt blackness surrounding his vision and tried to blink it away. The back of his head was throbbing dully and his heart hammered in his chest.

"Damn teleporting horse shits." Was all Dean was able to mutter before his consciousness faded to black. The last thing he saw was a flash of purple before his eyes finally closed.