"Crystal Shine, reporting!"

"Ember Pearl, reporting!"

"Scarlet Map, reporting!"

The line of ponies all snapped a salute as the Captain passed them by. The small force of guards had been mustered by Spitfire and Midnight at the crack of dawn and called to attention in the training field. The sun was just starting to creep over the horizon, its light painting the sky in a red hue and signifying a storm to come.

Shining Armour finally got to the end of the line and about faced with a clack of his hooves. The guards followed him with their eyes he trotted towards the training grounds entrance before stopping not ten feet from it. The bell tower in town clanged seven times, and on the seventh toll, a bipedal figure appeared in the entryway like a wraith.

A few guards gulped, a few pinned their ears on their heads, but a few perked up and smiled. The Demon in metal was easily recognizable as he slowly walked into view, but as he came closer, something appeared off. He looked bulkier, and as he walked into the yard, the ponies could tell why.

A green and gray metal helmet sat upon his head, its design was sleek and had odd , symmetrical protrusions. On the side, a small, boxy device sat. The device was a flashlight and infrared sensor built to be compact and accessible via the neurolink inside the superhuman. Looking down, the ponies now realized that they could no longer see the Demon's pale, featureless face. Where eyes, mouth and teeth used to be, a dark gray and tinted visor angled in downwards in a triangular form. Its metallic gray surroundings made the Demon seem robotic and alien.

Underneath the terrifying helmet, the ponies could see various pieces of metals and alloys making up the bulk of his armor. Not an inch of skin was visible, and what sections weren't covered in armor were overlaid by a thick, forest green fabric of some kind. A metal and oddly twisting chest piece was firmly placed over the Demon's body, the portion near the neck being the thickest. Various pouches lined the front, and gray, woven armor seemed to outline the Demon's abs. Metallic limbs mimicked the Human's own and interconnected with the alloy like armor. All but the insides of his arms were covered in armor with sleek and durable design. On his hands, armored gloves outlined each and every finger, and a black mirror device was attached to a clamp just above the wrist. On his waist, the Demon wore a thick, tactical belt filled to the brim with various pieces of equipment. His P23 Equalizer sat upon his right hip and was firmly locked in place while the SCAR-H was clamped magnetically to his back. The Demon's legs were covered with plates of strange metal, but certain areas remained exposed in order to give mobility. But from the shin's downwards, he was entirely encased in armor, and if one were to look closely, they would notice only the slightest of gaps between the leg guards and steel toe boots.

All in all, what walked into the training yard was not a human. It was closer to an alien or a robot, but none of the guards voiced this; they were too scared. The ones who had heard his speech grew nervous, the ones who did not grew fearful. A dark cloud seemed to descend and the entire guard branch seemed to hold its breath.

Shining Armor gulped and shakily saluted the thing before him. He knew it was Dean under all that armor, but he was still intimidated beyond belief. If the first set he had worn had been scary, this new armor was downright terrifying. Towering over the ponies at nearly sixteen hooves (eight feet), the Human looked like a literal behemoth.

The Sergeant stopped a few feet from Shining and slowly reached up. A hiss emanated from right beneath the helmet and Shining swore he saw small puffs of air expel outwards. The helmet was slowly removed, revealing Dean's hardened expression. Tucking the helmet under his arm, Dean gave a crisp salute. The two soldiers dropped their salutes at the exact same time.

"I see you've gotten an upgrade, Sergeant." Shining looked over the metal armor and intimidating helmet. He noticed Dean give a subtle smirk and a nod.

"Indeed I did. Turns out that the old armor I wore was considered outdated by this point. I don't know how the fabricator figured that out, but I'll take the upgrade. This suit gives me more speed, mobility, agility, strength, and tactical precision. It also provides stronger and more effective armouring.

Shining nodded before gesturing to the recruits aligned on the field. He had grown used to Dean's Human technology by this point, even though he didn't understand how it worked.

"This here is roughly half the guard force. The other half is on duty at the moment, so you'll need to switch between them depending on their schedules. Think you can do it?" Shining looked up at Dean, who raised an eyebrow.

"Please, it'll be a cake walk... at least for me. I intend to put your troops through rigorous training in both the body and mind. You are welcome to watch if you would like to learn something, but I understand that being a captain as well as a Prince holds lots of responsibilities." Dean slowly walked down the line with a critical eye. More than a few ponies puffed out their chests, while a few shied away. He figured that some of them would see him as similar to the Dark Elves, being bipedal. There wasn't much he could do to change that other than gaining their trust.

"Guards of Maritime Bay, liberators of Equestria!" Dean made sure to use the title he gave them during his previous speech. "You are here, at this moment, because you are in desperate need of help. For the last two years, you have been fighting a losing battle against a technologically and numerically superior enemy. Today marks the day where you learn how to fight back. I am going to be honest with you, the training will not be easy, nor will it be fun, but in the end, I can assure you, it'll be worth it." Dean's voice carried easily across the yard as he slowly turned and paced back the way he came.

"I will train you in the art of modern warfare. Whatever knowledge you had on combat prior to today, is now obsolete. The Elves are years ahead of your current state, but I will bring you decades ahead of them!"

Dean heard a few mumbles spread through the crowd. He felt Shining Armor's eyes on the back of his head, but continued anyway. Raising his eyes slightly, Dean noticed a number of civilians and on duty guards watching from the fort ramparts.

"We will start with a quick conditioning exercise. Line up at the obstacle course and await my command. You have twenty minutes in total to complete the course. Those that make it through, you will complete one hundred pushups and one hundred crunches in the main yard. After that, you will wait beside the track until everyone is ready. I will explain the next exercise once there.

The ponies all looked at him as he went silent. A cool breeze blew in from the ocean, and Dean scowled.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU WAITING FOR, GET GOING!" His roar spurred the guards into action, and they took off at a dead sprint towards the obstacle course. Dean sighed as he turned to Shining.

"Your soldiers are unmotivated. Probably has to do with them being in hiding for the last two years." Dean began to walk after the guards, the Prince at his heels. The equines were starting their course, but it almost seemed half hearted and sloppy. Dean wondered how he would fix that.

"It's been all about survival for the last two years. With the invisibility generators, we have only needed our best troops to go out and about in order to fight or cause chaos. This late in the game, everypony believes we are on the verge of defeat. What you did in Ravenford brought a bit of hope back, but we are going to need to win a lot more if morale is to ever be raised." They stopped at the obstacle course and Dean crossed his arms. The ponies seemed to notice his and the Captains presence and picked up their pace ever so slightly, but it was still too slow in Dean's mind.

"I intend to win the next few battles against the Dark Elves, but I'll need help if I want to succeed. The team I have now will set out with me at the end of the week and we will raid another town. I have an end goal here and I intend to finish this war as soon as possible so I can return home." Dean didn't notice Shining gave him a confused glance before his face switched back into a professional mask.

"And what about Twilight?" Shining winced as a unicorn stallion tripped over a rock and face planted into a log pillar. Another guard helped him up before they both continued through the course. Dean looked at his watch, then towards the sun and squinted. He mumbled something incoherent and shook his head.

"What about her? I would consider her a good friend in this new world, and I will protect her with my life if it comes to it. But if you are wondering if I will stay for her, then you would be mistaken. I have a family back home and a country to protect."

The world blurred for a moment and Dean blinked. He felt eyes on him and quickly looked around for the perpetrator. He scanned the stone buildings off to his left, then the city to his right. The last spot he looked was directly ahead of him, and for the briefest moments, he saw two familiar bipedal silhouettes. Dean took a step back and blinked once more.

"Sergeant?" Dean looked down and noticed the Captain trying to get his attention. Dean stared back stupidly with confusion.

"Y-Yes Captain?" Dean slowly straightened his posture and slowly looked towards the cliff. He started to sweat and his eyes darted around rapidly, but he saw nothing.

"You seemed out of it there for a second; are you alright?" Shining's look bled concern, causing Dean's features to go ridgid.

"I'm fine. Let's focus on the trainees. I want to start lessons right after this, so I need your help to spur them on."

Shining Armor watched as Dean stalked towards the course with a mighty scowl. A Pegasus had just used his wings to hop over the climbing wall, and the Human wasn't having any of it.

"YOU!" Dean's shout caused all the guards to look towards him, but upon seeing the stallion he was addressing, he continued as if nothing had happened. The pegasus Dean was yelling at stopped and saluted. His salute soon found him on the ground as Dean swiped his one free leg out from under him. The stallion fell to the ground with a yelp.

"GIVE ME TWENTY PUSH UPS, RIGHT NOW!" Dean screamed into the stallion's face, causing him to shy away in fear. The other recruits looked at him in horror, but he ignored them. His focus was on the whimpering pony beneath him.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID I SAY, GUARD!" Dean prodded the pony with a finger. "YOU CHEATED BY USING YOUR WINGS, AND NOW, YOU'LL GIVE ME TWENTY GOD' DAMN PUSH UPS!" Spittle flew from Dean's mouth and the pony moved into action. His body stretched out and his front legs lifted up. This variation of the push up was very similar to that of a human's with the hind legs stretched out and the hooves planted on the ground. The pony began his pushups, but on the fifteenth, his legs became wobbly.

"COMMON SOLDIER, KEEP IT GOING! FIVE MORE! GET YOUR ASS MOVING!!" Dean continued to scream at the pony. If they couldn't take a verbal lashing, then they wouldn't be fit for fighting. Being creatures of prey, and him being a predator, probably caused the fear and lack of will in the first place. Dean intended to change that.

Finally, the stallion completed his push ups and slowly got to his feet. Dean didn't like that, so he began screaming again.

"GO, GO, GO! GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR!" The pony found the energy to move and took off like a shot. After that little experience, not once did he use his wings throughout the rest of the course.

*****

Ten minutes later...

"GET A MOVE ON YOU FUCKING DICKWIPE!" Dean screamed at a unicorn mare who was crawling under the logs. She was covered head to foot in mud and her movements were sluggish. She was the last pony on the course, and the other trainees were in the middle of their conditioning. He had no idea how she had lagged behind so much, but he would not let her get a break as he chased her through the course.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The mare hurried at a rapid pace, but this resulted in a lack of attention. Her horn bumped a log just above her, causing her neck to bounce backwards painfully. Still, she carried on.

Dean could see in her eyes that she was tired. The amount of running she had to go through was taking its toll. Dean realized that the ponies were far more out of shape than he had anticipated, and it angered him. If they wanted to win, then they would need endurance. Of course, there were the odd few who went above and beyond his expectations, but they were far and few between.

The pony was now at the wall, having used a huge amount of energy focusing on crossing the balance beam. She teetered slightly before shuffling forward once more. Upon coming to the end, she cantered towards the vertical climbing wall.

"MOVE IT, GET YOUR FUCKING ASS IN GEAR!!" Dean bellowed at the pony. This seemed to spur her into action and she began racing up the vertical wall. Surprisingly enough, she was able to get to the top in just under five seconds. Dean watched as the pony squinted, shuffled, crouched, and then flew through the air. Time slowed down, and Dean calculated the angle of her impact before it happened. He wasn't fast enough.

Snap!

The pony wailed in pain as her leg broke from the landing. Dean was afraid something like this would happen. If the pony didn't have the proper balance, focus, and depth perception, then accidents would certainly occur. Couple that with being dead tired, and you make a recipe for disaster. Dean had seen it while observing a few army recruits training. The young lad was laden down with his pack, and he had to jump down a small cliff. His drowsiness caused him to stumble and dislocate his ankle on a tree root.

Dean was about to move in to help, when something amazing happened.

Two ponies, one pegasi and one Earth pony, sprinted on to the either side of the unicorn. The mare whimpered as her compatriots lifted her onto their backs and began a brisk trot towards the finish line. Dean looked down at his tac-pad and found that much to his surprise, the time remaining for the course was almost over. Had anyone failed outside the time limit, he would have made them run till they collapsed. Obviously, the mare wouldn't be able to do that, but it was definitely a sight to see as her two compatriots helped her towards the finish.

He looked up again and saw one of the ponies stumble slightly from the weight of the pony, and two sets of armor. A third pony suddenly rushed in and took the Pegasi’s place and continued where they had left off.

At long last, they made it over the finish line, and Dean blew his whistle.

All eyes turned towards him with a variety of emotions. Some were exhausted, others looked ready to go. Dean glanced down at his tac-pad once more and checked the actual time. It read twelve forty five; lunch time.

"Alright you lot. That was a solid effort. You get twenty minutes for lunch, and then I will teach you a lecture for exactly one hour before the next group comes in. Dismissed."

He didn't bother seeing if they had finished the push ups and walked towards a large tent that had been set up. He spotted Shining talking to General Blight, and the discussion seemed heated. As he approached, his ears picked up the words of their conversation.

"And I'm telling you, General, we need to learn these new tactics. The Elves have us beat in most regards, but imagine if we were taught how to fight back properly!" Blight's eyes narrowed as his words came out with a growl.

"And I'm telling you Captain, we do not have the pony-power to be able to fight an extended war! Sooner or later, the Elves will find us and we will need every available soldier in order to defend while everypony escapes! I was able to get in touch with a Griffon ambassador the other day, and if we ever get in trouble, then they will send ships to transport our people to a safer area. They are the only ones still fighting the Dark Elves, and so our hope lies in their victory." Shining snorted and was about to continue when Dean interrupted.

"But what if you struck at the heart of the Elven Empire and took down their leader?"

Both sets of eyes turned towards him; one with astonishment, the other with suspicion.

"And how would we do that, hm? Canterlot castle was a stronghold of epic proportions before the Elves took over, and with their modern technology, they've likely made it nigh impregnable." Blight's tail swished in agitation.

"I actually used to specialize in taking down enemy leaders. Where I'm from, my people were outmatched in most aspects. But once we made my group, the RSTF, we were able to even the playing field. We trained in espionage, hand to hand, stealth, and so much more. We figured that if we couldn't simply stop the enemy's overwhelming numbers, then we would have to put them into a state of disarray. I got sucked here before we could start a mission against their top leader, but I guarantee that if it had happened, then we would have succeeded. I just need my group, a few select pieces of equipment, and we will be able to infiltrate the capitol." Dean crossed his arms as lines of guards made their way to the cafeteria to get food. A quick glance at his tac-pad showed they had fifteen minutes left.

"A frontal assault wont work, we need to draw their forces away from the Emperor. They have a small army stationed there." Dean was surprised to hear Shining speak against his plan, but his shock only showed for a second.

"I'm certain I would be able to--" Dean was cut off as Shining held up a hoof.

"Think for a second. Canterlot is filled with the best magic users in the Dark Elven Empire. The Emperor himself has power beyond imagination. Maybe you wouldn't get hurt, the ponies under your command definitely would. The main bulk of the Elven Army is fighting the Griffon Empire, so if we attacked multiple areas now, then we would force them to spread their forces. More forces being spread out means more forces leaving Canterlot. Less Elves in Canterlot means a higher survivability rate. I say we attack a few places, free the ponies there, and force the Emperor's hand."

Dean and Blight were silent as they took in Shining's words. On one hand, it would extend Dean's time on this planet, but on the other, that tactic would certainly give them a better advantage should it work. The more Dean thought about it, the more he realized that it was the right choice. He glanced at Blight, and saw that the stallion had likely come to the same conclusion.

"Alright, Captain. Your plan is sound. I'm sure that the Sergeant agrees as well. However, we still don't stand a chance against the Elves!" Blight turned towards Dean now.

"I know that you possess vast knowledge in the art of war, but with our outdated technology, I seriously doubt we would stand a chance against the Dark Elves."

Dean rubbed his chin for a moment. His helmet was attached to a strap on his waist in order to keep it out of the way.

"That depends on how the Elves fight. What are some of their more notable tactics?" Dean watched as the two leaders thought for a moment.

"Well, they use a devastating technique that creates death on an untold scale. Their soldier's line up in a long line several Elves thick and shoot volley after volley of magic towards their enemy. Our own tactics have focused primarily on charging head on and using defensive shields to keep attacks at bay, but their light spears are too strong. If only--" General blight was cut off as Dean started giggling. The giggle soon turned into a chuckle, and the General's ears folded slightly in agitation. "What is so humorous, Sergeant?" He growled.

"S-So, what you are saying, is that the Elves create a firing line?!" Dean sneered at the thought. Oh, this was just getting better and better. General Blight's face was priceless.

"Unless it is a unique circumstance, then yes, that is their main offensive tactic." Dean suddenly broke into laughter and nearly doubled over. Now it was Shining's turn to get slightly angry.

"Sergeant, many ponies died at the hands of the Dark Elves ! What could be so funny about this?" Dean stopped his laugh, but the odd chuckle still escaped.

"I'm sorry, that was disrespectful of me. The ponies that fought them were brave. What I find funny however is the similarities between this world and my own." Dean looked down and shuffled his feet slightly. A bit of dirt had accumulated on his lower half, but that was to be expected from running so much. He'd clean it when he got back to the barracks.

"So you have decent enough knowledge on how to counter them? If your people fight the way that they do, then we could develop a way to combat it!" General Blight scratched his chin with a hoof. Dean raised his eyes once more and raised an eyebrow.

"Actually, General, my people don't use that tactic. We developed new and better ones." He saw Shining cock his head in confusion, so he continued to illiterate. "The year in my world was around twenty thirty. The tactics that the Elves use right now dates back to around eighteen fifty. Nearly two centuries difference." Dean saw the ponies mouths open in shock at his statement. Shining was the first to recover.

"Y-You're saying that you've moved past such tactics one hundred and seventy-seven years ago?!" Shining began pacing. "No wonder your technology is so advanced. You must have created tactics to counter such formations a long time ago. How do you do it now? Explosive magic? Artillery?" Shining's eyes lit up in excitement at the prospect of new ways to wage war.

"It started with the repeating discharge weapon, a weapon called a machine gun. It was able to mow down infantry within seconds and could be wielded by one man." Dean saw their eyes light up in shock and awe. The General snapped out of his state and shook his head. His hoof raised shakily and pointed at the SCAR-H on Dean's back.

"Is... is that a machine gun that you speak of?" he cocked his head to the side.

"This is an assault rifle. It is similar to a machine gun, but doesn't hold as many--" Dean suddenly found himself with a pony clinging to his armored chest. Looking down in confusion, Dean noticed the General was glaring into his very soul.

"Sergeant, I need you to make these weapons for the guard."

Dean frowned and grabbed the pony by the scruff of his uniform. He wriggled around for a second before being gently set on the ground. The Human proceeded to cross his arms as he thought on the General's words. He had originally thought of such a possibility, but even with such advantages, it still posed a risk. If a rifle-pony died, then the Elves had a chance to capture a weapon. He was lucky that they never found his equipment in the cave, and if the Elves were to start mass producing rifles, it could be disastrous.

'But, what if they won't use them?'

Dean rubbed his chin. The Elves used their own ranged weapons in combat. In the raid on Ravenford, he had seen various interesting pieces of technology. The first were the light rifles, which seemed to use a person's magic in order to work. He had tried testing a captured spear just the other day, but it didn't work for him in the slightest. The next were those strange flying Asgard boats, one of which he blew up. There were likely other pieces of technology, and at one point he swore he had seen some sort of car, but he needed more information before he made any plans.

"I will consider it, General. It isn't easy to make a rifle, but I will do my best tonight to try and make a prototype of some sort. I'll need more raw materials if that is the case." Dean saw Shining's ears flick slightly.

"I will get those for you at the end of the day, Sergeant." Dean nodded as Shining smiled. A glint caught Dean's eye, and he looked down at his tac-pad. He was five minutes past the twenty mark, and it seemed that the trainees had not yet finished. He sneered as he saluted the two superior officers.

"I'll see what I can do, but if you'll excuse me, I have some soldier's to train." Dean about faced and began marching towards the cafeteria, a mask of rage covering his face.

Shining winced as Dean's voice boomed across the yard and caused a few birds to take flight. The recruits scrambled to get into formation as the Human screamed at them to move towards the barracks. Shining sighed and faced General Blight once more. Before he could say anything, Blight beat him to the punch.

"We need those weapons, Captain. The Elves have the advantage, but imagine the possibilities if we upgraded the military hundreds of years past their own!" Blight smiled brightly as Shining frowned.

"We can't rush things, general. It takes years to make the perfect soldier, and ours are very out of practice. I have no doubt that the Sergeant will whip them back into shape, but we need to wait for him to present suggestions. I trust the Sergeant, and if he says he needs to think on it, then he needs to think on it."

The General grumbled and stomped his hoof.

"We need this done soon. If the Dark Elves find us before we are ready, then we won't stand a chance. Our only help will come from the Griffons!" Shining groaned as the conversation came full circle once more.

*****

As the two debated, they failed to notice a certain fuschia coloured unicorn spying on them from the bushes. A certain earth pony, Sugar Belle, sat beside her.

"This is a threat to my leadership. If the Human continues to train the guards like this, then we will surely fall to the Elves." Sugar Belle's ears pinned to the side of her head as she thought of the implications.

"That's not good at all! How do we stop him?" She looked at her leader who wore a similar cutie mark as her. Starlight still had her hoof covered by gauze, but her magic was slowly recuperating enough to cover the exposed chitin. In another day or so, she'd be as good as new.

"Well, we can't at the moment, he holds too much sway. If we can get the ponies of the city to lose their trust in him, then maybe, just maybe, we could dispose of him." Starlight pulled a list out of her saddle bags and handed it to Sugar Belle. "Here are all the guards who are on our side."

Sugar Belle analyzed the list, her eyes darting across the pages at a rapid pace. Her tail swished as she read a pitiful amount of names listed before her.

"Starlight, I'm not sure this will be enough, I--" Starlight held a hoof to Sugar Belles mouth, shushing her instantly.

"We will get more in time, not to worry." Her eyes glinted green for a split second, and Sugar Belle felt a wave of drowsiness. She blinked once, and saw Starlight light her horn.

"W-what's going o--" She was cut off a second time as a thin beam of green magic pierced right between her eyes. Her drowsiness faded and her focus returned. Her ear twitched as she looked back at the list and smiled.

"You know what's best, counselor!" She whispered in a chippy tone. Starlight smiled as the earth pony kept going through the list. That had been a close call, and she couldn't afford to have any of the ponies break her influence. That damn Human was sending her focus every which way, and if she didn't dispose of him soon, then she would have a genuine problem on her hands. She also didn't have access to dragonfire, and the Emperor had yet to get back to her with orders. A gut feeling was telling her to wait a little bit longer... that something big was going to happen and an opportunity was to present itself.

With that in mind, Starlight turned back to analyze the guards as they trained under the Human. He had taken them to the side of the grounds and a massive whiteboard sat behind him. The cursed device of his was sitting on a table and he seemed to be reading off of it.

Scowling once more, Starlight shook her head. The time to strike would come soon, she knew it. And when that happened, her plan would finally come into effect.