"So, what you are saying, is that you can't locate their hideout?" The elven guard at the door looked at his friend, then back to the hallway before him.

"Yes Emperor," a voice whispered, barely audible, from the other side of the door.

"Even with the best battle Mages the Elven Empire has seen in generations?"

"Yes Emperor." The voice was barely audible now. The two guards slowly shuffled to the side, already knowing what was to transpire.

"THEN YOU HAVE FAILED ME!" The door was blasted open and a plump elf flew through the doorway, skidding down the grand hallway on his back. "Take him away."

The two guards gave each other one more look before moving in and grabbing the poor general off of the ground, their destination: the dungeon.

Inside the thrown room, light shone through the pastel windows, each one depicting a certain event. Several hundred feet down the hallway, a throne sat upon a raised platform, its foundations made of warped swords and spears, its seat, arm rest, and back rest made from bleached bones. Draped over the backrest and spilling down the rear rested the final piece, custom made by the Emperor himself. An ethereal rainbow coloured mane stitched together with a similar midnight blue one was draped across the backrest and seat, providing comfort for the one sitting.

Only one being dared to sit upon this throne. He was the uniter of an Empire, the conqueror of the once thought unconquerable equines, and the single most powerful magic user in the world. He was Emperor Dommik BlueBlade.

By his side lay a chest, a chest full of unattainable power, a chest containing the relics of the nations would-be heroes. The Elements of Harmony. Dommik smiled at the thought of something so powerful being wielded by lowly peasants. The equines would have at least been a challenge for his armies if they had the common sense to use them within their military ranks, but no, the peace loving, magic hoarding, primitive horses were to dumb to even think of such an idea.

"Stupid animals." Dommik grumbled as he stood from his throne. He closed his eyes and waited... then waited some more... then a bit more. He huffed in irritation when he heard the wild gallop of his servant as she tried to reach his position on time. Never before had she been late, so why was she now? He glanced down as the alabaster unicorn mare who was supposed to be serving him as she stopped by his side and began to pant.

"S-sorry I am late your highness! One of my fellow servants had been choking on a date and I stopped to help her. It won't happen again," the poor mare shriveled back as he leaned down to her level, analyzing her face.

After several seconds of studying, he stood up, all the while keeping his gaze upon the equine before him.

"I don't believe that for a second," before she could react, Dommik brought his leg up faster than should have been possible, and smashed his heel into her ribs, the bones shattering under the powerful blow.

The unicorn flew through the air before smashing into a pillar where she lay still. He could hear her pathetic whimpers as he stalked towards her.

Upon reaching her curled up form, he reached down and wrapped his long fingers around her neck and lifted. The unicorn began to gasp for air as she feebly kicked at him with her hind legs. It was almost as if a toddler was poking him.

"You are lucky I need you and your pathetic friends alive if I want to steal the harmonic magic from the elements." He used his other hand and jabbed into her broken ribs. He smiled ferally as she began to squeal in pain and thrash even more violently.

After a second, he released her. Her body shaking from the abuse as she cried on the stone floor.

"I am done with you for now, don't be tardy again." At that, he turned and left through the front doors to the throne room.

He walked along for several minutes, admiring the flags and standards upon the wall. A sick smile spread across his face as he heard the sound of screaming and a repetitive slapping sound come from a barely closed door. His final destination however, was his favorite area to meditate: The gardens.

As he reached the doors, the two guards saluted him and pushed the doors open. A soft breeze blew through the hallway, causing him to shiver. It would seem that autumn would soon be upon them. Dommik slowly walked through a path holding a variety of statues, some of which sent shivers up his spine.

One statue held his interest however. It was a portrait of a bi-pedal being, much like himself. The statue actually was very similar to his own appearance, causing him to move closer. He peered at the being. Its eyes were wider than an elves but smaller than a ponies. Its ears were rounded were an elves would be pointed. And last but not least, the clothing.

They were unlike anything he had seen before. Elven clothes tended to be more lightweight and loose, but this beings clothing seemed to be stiff. Just by looking at the detail in the statue, he could tell that the knee length jacket was made from an expensive material. The being wore a hat Dommik was unfamiliar with, and the statue's footwear seemed downright enormous.

"I see you have found one of my favorite statues, your highness," a snooty but smooth voice broke Dommik's gaze from the statue. His head turned slightly towards the unicorn stallion as he clip-clopped towards him.

"This here is an ancient statue, one predating even the princesses! According to legend, this being was able to level mountains and cause the sky to split. It could summon objects into existence and destroy somepony simply by looking at them," the unicorn was beside him now. He had a well kept blonde mane and sported a strange black and white chest piece, a bow-tie sat neatly in the middle. A red rose was tucked into a small hole in the miniature suit and his fur seemed to gleam in the sunlight.

"Prince Blueblood, how nice to see you again. I wasn't expecting you back from Zebrica for another three days. I trust negotiations went well?" Dommik returned his gaze to the statue before noticing a plaque.

"Oh yes, the Zebra kingdom is now our ally. Their terms had started out as ludicrous, but after some convincing with those elite guards you so heavily love, I was able to coerce them to change their silly trade agreements to better suit our needs." Blueblood looked up to Dommik, noticing his frown of concentration as he read the plaque. Snorting in irritation from being ignored, Blueblood decided to drop the subject.

"What language is this? I don't recognize it and I own half the bloody world for makers sake!" Dommik tried casting a translation spell, but that didn't work. Wherever the language originated from, it didn't use magic, thus nullifying his attempts.

"We actually don't know what it says, but according to myth, it was a being of power, a Human." Blueblood snorted before turning to leave.

"No need to worry though, these creatures are only myth and legend. Even if they were real, they likely existed eon's ago. Gooday Emperor, I must retire to my chambers. A certain alabaster mare is calling my name," a devilish smirk crossed his face as he retreated. Dommik simply nodded his head.

"Bumbling buffoon. Why did I let him live?" Dommik sighed before moving away from the statue of the human. After several seconds of walking, he felt a shiver crawl up his spine; he was being watched.

"What news do you bring of the princess?" Dommik didn't turn around as his informant slithered towards him. The slithering stopped and Dommik felt a hot breath on his neck.

"A battalion had cornered her on a cliff, but she was able to escape by jumping. I also felt a foreign presence enter the land via an unknown means," the being's voice was hoarse as it talked. It was like it hadn't drunken anything in years.

"Keep tracking her then. I want her captured by the end of the week or so help me, I'll have your heads on a platter," Dommik felt the being behind him shiver slightly and smiled.

"Very well..."

As the beast retreated, Dommik continued on his walk, uninterrupted. However, something was nagging on his mind. Something he felt he should be wary of. At the end of his walk, Dommik passed by the statue once again, but this time, as the doors closed behind him, he swore he felt its eyes follow him until he was gone from sight.

*****

Twilight awoke with a start, her eyes and brain taking in minute details as she tried to to figure out where she was. She forced herself to breath as if she was sleeping so as not to raise suspicion with whoever had put her there. Consider she was bound in some sort of metallic rope, whoever had captured her was still around.

Speak of a demon and it shall appear, her ear twitched slightly as she heard somepony enter the cave, a grunt followed by a clang signaled something metal being dropped behind her.

"Bloody monster and its bloody schemes. This is all bullshit. Taking me from my home, but not returning me? Mother Fucker is going to get it when I'm done here in magical wonderland," the grumbling voice moved further away, its steps sounded like they belonged to feet, confirming Twilight's fears: She was captured by the elves! One thing she didn't understand was the soft clank every time the foot hits the ground, almost like it was made of metal.

"Y'know, you don't need to pretend to be unconscious, the BAI(Biotic-Anti-inflammatory) Foam should have worn off by now."

It took Twilight a second to realize the elf was talking to her and she cringed. Better get this out of the way and make an escape before he decides to stop playing nice.

Before she could move, a soft whistle caught her ears and she felt her limbs loosen as the rope thing fell away. What truly dumbfounded her was that it didn't just fall away or loosen off, no. It uncoiled, recoiled right in front of her, and flew past her head towards her captor.

Scrambling to her hooves, Twilight twirled around and got low to the ground, spreading her wings and prepared for an attack. Her mind didn't register that her previously burnt wing was actually working.

Her eyes scanned over her captor who was sitting off to the side on a green crate. Bundles of metallic gadgets and gizmos sat around him. He seemed to be wearing some form of metal armour that covered the majority of his body. It was a gray and dark green shade, causing him to shimmer with the stone of the cave. A similarly coloured helmet sat atop his head, covering his ears and hair. He had a long, forest camouflage metal stick laying over his lap. Twilight's eyes drifted up to his, causing him to cock his head to the side slightly.

"Alright, enough gawking, time for introductions." Twilight jumped slightly at his deep voice. "I am Sergeant Forester of the United States Special Rangers Task Force," the elf held out it's hand towards her, obviously expecting her to be fooled.

"Stay back Elf!" She growled at him. Sergeant Forester gave her an odd look and retracted his hand.

"Y'know, I had a hard enough time learning that horses talked here. Now you say there are elves? Did I get thrown into some sort of fantasy world?" Twilight couldn't help but feel slightly confused. What was the elf talking about? He had all the same facial features of his brethren as well as the same body type, if not, bigger and with more muscle. The only part of him she hadn't seen were his ears, both of which were covered by that strange helmet.

"Take off your helmet." Twilight demanded, not moving an inch. She was growing anxious as she glanced around the room, looking for a quick exit.

"Sure thing, if it'll help me convince you. Also, I wouldn't leave just yet, I don't know how well that wing of yours has healed," she watched as he reached up and slowly grabbed the strap under his helmet. With a soft click, the strap came undone and he used the other hand to slip it off. Twilight felt her eyes widen as the Sergeant revealed his flat ears. They were actually closer to what one would see on a primate. She wasn't fooled however.

"What happened to your ears? Did you magically enhance them? Where are the rest of your kind? This is some sort of trick isn't it?!" Twilight slowly backed away from the... thing, sitting in front of her. Her horn started to glow as she prepared to knock him out.

"Look, lady, I don't know what you are doing with that horn thing but-"

"No! I won't let you take me or my magic away! Your kind already took my friends and my mentor! I will beat you!" Dean Forester was struck with the full might of the Royal Canterlot Voice, causing him to cringe and take a step back. Then he felt the hairs on his neck stand on end, causing him to cast an eye to the crazy purple Pegacorn. Her horn was sparking, obviously building up an immense amount of energy; he had to make her see reason!

"I'm a Human!" Dean roared as he stood up. He noticed the Pegacorn's eyes widen, but apparently, she had built up to much energy.

The last thing Dean saw before falling into unconsciousness was a purple beam and a panicked shout, then, it all went black.

 

*****

 

Twilight stared at the body of the sergeant. His armour and hair smoking slightly from her blast. Tears spilled from her eyes at the sight, but it wasn't because she had misplaced his species... it was because she had killed a sentient being... on purpose.

"W-what have I done?" She sniffled to herself as she sat back on her haunches. Her ears were splayed back and her pupils were mere pinpricks. Her legs shook slightly and she felt the almost overwhelming urge to vomit. Then she came to a realization.

The being before her had fixed her wing.

She gasped slightly and her pupils seemed to dilate even more. Her breaths came in raspy and uneven heaves as she looked around the cave.

'He had set his weapon down. He had obeyed me when I demanded he do something! He tried to shake my hoof!' Twilight couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground, sobbing into the hard rock. That was the first time she had ever truly killed somepony with intent. But upon realizing her mistake, it made it ten times worse.

She wept until the tears stopped coming, and then she sniffled to herself while laying on the stone, not able to find the strength to lift her head. Then she heard a cough.

At first, she thought it was herself. But she soon realized that was not the case. Her sadness started to creep away as she slowly lifted her head and looked towards the human.

'Maybe I was just imagi-' the human coughed again! This time his arm moved towards his chest and he rolled slightly, a groan escaping his lips.

"Fuckin' hell, what hit me? Jenkins, I'm getting you back for this," sergeant Forester mumbled to himself before sitting up, groaning once more.

Twilight could only stare in shock at what she was witnessing. This creature, this...human, took her single most powerful and lethal magic straight to the chest... and lived!?

The human's head turned towards her and stopped. His eyes widened before a grimace crossed his face. He mumbled something incoherent before standing up.

She could only watch as he strode towards her with purpose, only stopping a few feet in front of her, causing her neck to crane almost ninety degrees.

'He has to be at least eighteen hooves tall!'

Then he spoke.

"Little missy, I think it's time you and me had a little chat. One without trying to kill each other," he slowly sat down in front of her and looked her in the eyes. She gulped slightly before feeling her face heat up in embarrassment. She saw him smirk out of the corner of her eye and slowly turned back to face him. Looking down, she saw his arm was once again extended towards her in a friendly manner.

"Hello, I am Sergeant Dean Forester of the United States Special Rangers Task Force, and I... am a human."