"Alright, set it down here." Dean motioned for the group of ponies to place the crate beside the barracks. A few guards were out and about and watched the group as they slowly levitated the crate from the wagon. The skies were grey and Dean could feel a moisture building in the air; it was going to rain.

"Sergeant, glad you are back!" Dean turned and snapped a salute as Shining Armour trotted down the path towards him, the magenta pony known as Starlight following closely behind. His squad came to attention behind him, their bodies going ridgid.

"Glad to be back, Captain. Thanks for lending me the helping ha-- er, hooves." Dean and his squad dropped their salute and stood idle. The guards around the training centre went back to whatever it was they were doing, some continued to stare however.

"It was no problem. I hope you have all become well acquainted with your squad leader?" Shining addressed the squad directly; Midnight decided to step forward on their behalf.

"We are well situated here, Captain. Sergeant Forrester will make an excellent leader and trainer." Shining raised an eyebrow.

"Trainer you say? And will he be training the other guards' ponies as well?" Shining cast an eye at Dean, who was reaching to unclasp his helmet.

"I will be, yes. I intend to get started tomorrow, after the rain dissipates. I also have a question, Captain." Dean succeeded and slid his helmet off his head, letting his dirty brown hair get a breath of fresh air.

"What is it, Sergeant?" Shining lit his horn and caused a scroll to pop into existence. Dean regarded the scroll with interest, but what really caught his attention was how Starlight was looking at it. He also noticed that her front hoof was wrapped in what appeared to be a cast of sorts. Refocusing, he looked back to Shining once more.

"I was wondering if you had a smithy or armoury? I need certain materials if I am going to be of any use to you." Dean reached behind him and undid one of the straps on his container, his recruits watching him with interest. They had been standing rigid for the past minute, and it seemed Shining quickly took notice.

"At ease recruits," they relaxed and breathed a collective sigh, "Yes, we have both. What would you need from there? I have a feeling that the weapons you use are much more advanced than ours. If you are going to train the guards, then wouldn't you need more of your own weaponry?" Dean smirked as he undid the final clasp on his crate. He proceeded to lift the top off and toss it to the ground.

"That's exactly why I need stuff from your armoury, Captain. I intend to create some of my homeworld's technologies in order to help you all fight this war." He heard Starlight snort, causing him to look in her direction with a raised eyebrow. "Something funny?"

She scowled at his tone, her amusement becoming a growl.

"Watch your tone, ape, you are speaking to a superior." Starlight's eyes narrowed as Dean turned to face her. His eyebrow had raised even more and he was now frowning. The recruits watched him in silence, waiting to see his reaction. They knew the power that counsellor Glimmer held, but they also knew of Dean's battle prowess. It was now a matter of whose will was stronger.

Dean regarded the pony before him. He hadn't actually talked to the counsellor, but Twilight had. Technically speaking, the magenta unicorn before him held no power over himself. He was helping simply because he could, and it seemed she failed to recognize that. Dean really didn't care what the unicorn thought or did, so long as she didn't get in the way. He glanced back at his recruits in order to judge their reactions to the little standoff. They seemed a bit tense and Swift Spear had his ears pinned to his sides. Looking forward, he noticed that a few guards from around were also looking at the exchange in mild fascination. Shining Armour's reaction was by far the best. His look pleaded with him to apologise and avoid a conflict. Dean snorted, he hadn't even started this one, and the fact that she hadn't even addressed him properly already was a heavy decider on his reaction.

Dean suddenly grew taller, causing the counsellor to wince. Dean scowled and crossed his arms in front of him in order to appear even bigger, it seemed to work.

"Frankly put, I don't really give a shit. I don't have to do anything you tell me in reality, for I am not a part of your country. I am here to help your people fight a war and gain freedom. It is my duty as an American to fight for the oppressed. I could care less if you were a counsellor, or a goddamn Queen... I don't take orders from you." Dean suddenly pointed at Shining. "I listen and show respect to Shining because he earned it. He is a foreign officer, and one that is working towards the same goal as me. Maybe if you had addressed me properly, I would have shown a bit more... respect towards you, but you decided to insult me and try to boss me around. Now, if we are done here, I suggest you run along and do whatever the fuck it is you are supposed to be doing instead of trying to intimidate the guy who is trying to help you."

Dean's response was met with utter silence. He definitely could have worded that better, but at the moment, he just didn't care. He listened to people that earned his respect and camaraderie, not those who acted all high and mighty. He only helped the Equins because he was both forced to, and because he knew it was the right thing to do. If they wanted his help, then they would have to learn how to accept him.

The look the counsellor gave him held pure malice. Her ears were pinned to her side and her eyes were dilated to mere pinpricks. Her teeth were clenched and her tail swished back and forth. Had he had better eyesight, the Human likely would have seen a bit of steam streaming out of her ears.

Before the mare could begin yelling, Shining Armour decided to step in.

"Alright, alright, enough of that. I am sure that the Sergeant is merely tired from his expedition, hence the... blunt attitude. I'm sure he will apologise when he has gotten everything he needs to start the training." Shining glared at him, but Dean merely sneered. Starlight's eye twitched, but her demeanour soon switched back to the professional mask she usually carried.

"Very well. I will see you soon, Captain. Make sure the good Sergeant gets his head on straight." Starlights horn lit up and she disappeared with a pop. Her insult flew over Dean's head as he was now rummaging around in his box.

"Midnight and Spitfire, please go and fetch my fabricator. It is sitting by the foot of my bed." The two ponies nodded and sped into the barracks, pushing past any guards in their way. The rest watched Dean as he grabbed a few new magazines for his rifle and stuffed them in his tactical belt. By the time he had acquired all the necessary ammunition, Midnight and Spitfire returned with the fabricator. The jet black device seemed to absorb the light around it, and it seemed to be taking a physical toll on the ponies. Dean recalled how Twilight was unable to lift the device with her magic; he wondered if something similar was happening to the two Pegasi before him.

Dean grabbed the device and tucked it under his arm.

"Alright, you all can head into the barracks and get some R&R. Tomorrow, we will be beginning our training, and trust me, you'll want the rest." Dean smiled cruelly, he would finally be able to put them through the pain he had experienced with the drill Sergeants. Shining huffed and began walking back down the path, forcing Dean to tag along. With a little wave, the supersoldier trudged behind the irritated unicorn.

*****

Spitfire and Midnight trotted into the officers section of the barracks. After getting everyone else situated, the two figured they should figure out a good way to keep the guard forces in line as they are being taught. Even with the Human's new popularity, many still feared him and compared him to the Dark Elves.

"We'll need everypony to listen intently to the Sergeant. No doubt he'll teach us new tactics and formations." Midnight sat down on a chair designed for pony use. Sitting back, he watched as Spitfire walked over to a nearby sink and filled up two glasses of water. The water supplied for Maritime Bay was put through a magical filtering device located near the bottom of the cliffs. So long as the city had farmland, they would never run out of the proper nutrients and beverage. The city itself had enough supplies to last a four month siege, though that was taking into account the tactics of the olden days. When the Elves invaded, they brought with them new technologies.

Magical mortars, odd, boxy contraptions with a high calibre magic projector, weapons that solidified magical energies into a force so powerful that not even a unicorn's shields could withstand them... the list went on. Midnight briefly wondered how Dean's armour was able to withstand the bolts of energy the Elves possesed. He knew that the human's body armour could only take so much punishment before collapsing, as seen at the party, but even then, the Elven magic spears were many times more powerful than a unicorn's condensed magic. Maybe the time between hits was a factor?

Midnight wasn't able to think on it any longer as a large glass of ice cold water clunked on to the table before him. He looked up at the Captain and smiled cheerily. She nodded her head and sat down just off to his left. Various off duty officers milled about, but they largely ignored the two Pegasi in the corner of the room.

"So, I wonder what the Sergeant has in store for us tomorrow?" Spitfire took a sip of her drink and closed her eyes briefly, Midnight stared at her for a moment with a light smile before taking a sip of his own drink.

"I was able to learn a bit on how his kind fights whilst in the cave with him. Humanity, as we used to know it, fought with the typical weapons: Swords and spears, but in Dean's world, they fought with something called a gun. He'll likely train us on how to go against the Elven weapons." Midnight looked at the Captain once more, her fur looked very nice, even if they did just come back from trekking through the forest. He suddenly became slightly self aware of how he likely smelt, causing a small frown to appear.

"That long metal stick he had was a gun, right? I saw him pull out the smaller one on the Manticore, but I still don't know what it did other than make a loud noise and cause pain." Spitfire took another drink of her water and lifted an eyelid slightly. She caught the lieutenant looking at her and smirked lightly.

Midnight looked out the window, which held a perfect view of the cliffside. He briefly considered going for a little fly, but thought better of it. He'd likely need to get rested for the training Dean had in mind. His eyes suddenly widened when he felt a hoof rest on his side.

Darting his eyes to the left, he found that Spitfire had grown a little closer.

"Y-yeah, they were his guns. They shoot little metal bullets at high speed in order to penetrate their target. I actually kinda want to try one of them out." Midnight gulped as he felt his wings begin to stiffen slightly at his sides. His face started to heat up when he noticed Spitfires' own look, so he turned his head the other way. Quite a few of the other officers had left the room, leaving only a few in the far corner near the washrooms.

"Well, instead of his gun, why don't you penetrate something else with that nice, hard..."

"Midnight? Midnight?" Midnight found a yellow hoof waving in front of his eyes, which were fixed on a particular mare. Drool was starting to accumulate in his mouth, and his wings were slightly uncomfortable. Midnight shook his head and swallowed the saliva in his mouth. He blushed heavily as he tried to force his wings into their rightful position. He looked back at the mare beside him and saw her chuckling with mirth. Midnight blushed harder, his jet black facial fur becoming a good representation of a tomato.

"Y-yes, Spits?" He used her nickname in order to try and get her mind off of his blunder, but it only seemed to make her chuckle louder.

'Way to go, idiot.' He mentally scolded himself, his ears drawing back slightly.

Spitfire stopped her chuckling and looked at him with a playful smile.

"I was asking if you wanted to go and get cleaned up. We did just walk through a forest after all." Midnight nodded dumbly and moved to stand. His face was still flushed crimson as he shuffled towards his little room.

"S-sure! I-I'll be back in a few minutes, u-unless you were going to go and clean yourself up as well..." He paused as she trotted up beside him and playfully nuzzled his cheek before trotting past. He slowly followed in confusion, the mare in front of him moving with a bounce in her step. Midnight noticed that one part of his daydream had been real, and there were a lot less ponies in the room. The ones who were there were paying zero attention to their surroundings. Midnight got so caught up in looking around that he nearly bumped into his now open door. He looked back and forth, but couldn't find where Spitfire had gone. She must have slipped away while he was zoned out again.

Midnight trotted inside, glanced at the bed, walked towards the bathroom, did a double take, and then stared hard at the yellow pegasus standing beside it. His wings began to extend slightly as he looked back to the closed doorway. Spitfire giggled and trotted up to him, her hips swaying from side to side. Midnight eeped as the yellow pegasus' tail playfully smacked him in the face on the way past. He saw her own wings ruffle slightly and a light blush covered her cheeks. His mind was unable to cooperate with his mouth, and so he just stood there, staring at her in astonishment. He and Spits had been in relationship for almost two months now, but they could never find the time to just hang out. What was happening right now was by far the farthest either had gone.

"Well, I never said you were bathing a-alone." Spitfire turned and regarded the pitch black pegasus with an alluring smile. Midnight gulped and took a step forward, but hesitated once more. He turned his head and regarded the closed doorway; if the Captain caught them doing this....

"Common, slow poke. We don't have all day."

Midnight quickly came to decision and followed the mare into his bathroom, closing the door behind them both. His smile never left his face.

*****

Ponies moved off to the sides, their looks of fear and their pinned ears giving away their emotion to the seven and a half foot tall Human. He noticed a mother push her foals into a corner and promptly shield them from his watchful eye. These ponies were native to Maritime bay and likely didn't know about his exploits. Dean recognized a few folks he had saved from Ravenford, he noticed more than a few giving him a smile and wave, which he would promptly return.

"Why are there so many civilians around here, isn't this part of the fort?" Dean looked around and noticed quite a few vending stalls set around.

"The townsfolk usually expand the market here on weekends in order to reach the guards better. It's their way of saying thanks for protecting them." Shining gestured gestured to a large building off to the side of the road. A few guards were standing about and waiting while the sounds of clanking echoed from within. Judging from the smoke belching from a stack on the roof, Dean guessed that this was the forgery.

"This here is the smithy. What exactly will you need from it?" The guards moved out of the way while eyeing the towering Human. Dean side eyed the Captain as he moved towards the door.

"I need raw materials for the fabricator." Dean shuffled the fabricator under his arm so that it stopped sliding away. A quick glance showed that Shining was looking at the device with intrigue.

"And how does it... uh, fabricate stuff?" Shining opened the door for the Human and entered the piping hot smithy. The air was heavy with heat and moisture, and a quick look around explained why. An earth pony stallion was running pel-mel through the large room, moving between the various and currently ablaze furnaces. A younger stallion, bigger than a colt but smaller than an adult was sitting on a barrel nearby, watching the proceedings of the smithy. Before Dean could answer the unicorn, the stallion's eyes locked onto the duo, causing the young pony to hop down and trot towards them. The little pony had a look of fear when his eyes passed over Dean, but upon seeing Shining, they quickly lit up again.

"Hiya, Prince Armour! Welcome back to our little corner o' town." The colt stood from his bow and looked back towards Dean, who had moved off to the side in order to put down the fabricator. "Whose, 'ure friend?"

Shining motioned with a hoof towards the Human as he returned to his side.

"This is Sergeant Forrester, he's the resident Human."

"HA!" The earth pony from before caused all but Dean to jump as he suddenly appeared beside the teenage pony. His fur was covered in soot and his mane was a mess, but Dean could see the muscles brimming underneath all the fur and grime. His eyes were locked on Dean as he smirked. "Resident Human 'ya say? Never seen one before, but ah didn't think they'd look like 'dem dirty Elves!" The ponies' accent was familiar, and after a few seconds of processing, Dean figured it was Russian.

"Well, I can assure you, I am no Elf. I've actually killed quite a few of them." Dean crossed his arms as the Stallion chuckled.

"Well, that's definitely an accomplishment, son. With yer' elp, I'm sure that we can finally take 'dis fight to the Elves!" The Stallion prodded the younger pony. "Go and tend to furnace three, the metals can't go above a certain degree." The younger stallion nodded before cantering towards the designated furnace. The stallion looked back and smirked.

"Me' names Iron Mallet, What can I do yer' for?" Dean uncrossed his arms and beckoned towards his fabricator.

"I need raw materials for my... technology. It breaks down the required pieces and moulds them into something of my choosing. I just need a few things that your smithy might have." Dean crossed his arms again as the pony cocked his head to the side. "I don't need you to know how it works, I just need to know if you have certain metals I could use."

The stallion shrugged and trotted over to a door against the wall. With a light push, the device swung open easily and revealed a large, dark interior. Dean walked towards it and followed the pony inside.

"Well, we 'ave quite a few metals in 'ere and plenty of 'em. There are only so many guards so half my stock rarely gets used. In that corner is Iron, over there is lead, over 'ere is nickel..." Iron Mallet listed off the various resources at his disposal. Dean listened with rapt attention as he made a mental checklist. He knew the basic materials need to repair his armour and exo-skeleton, but there were some more advanced resources he would need to complete the set. He figured that with his armour being classified, the fabricator wouldn't be capable of replicating directly what he needed, so he would have to do it manually. It would take time, but he was sure he could do it with the right stuff.

"I will ensure that you are rewarded for your aid, Mr. Mallet. I am likely going to need a majority of your resources if I am going to help against the Elves." As Shining and Iron Mallet came to an agreement, Dean slowly walked through the various materials.

Upon passing a stack of cobalt, a shimmer caught his eye. Dean turned and moved a box of metals to the side only to reveal a strange purple tinted metal of some kind. He leaned forward and noticed that the metal seemed to be protruding from a large boulder the size of a wrecking ball. Dean became so transfixed that he didn't notice the younger stallion sneak up on him.

"Nullstone ‘catch your eye?"

Dean jumped and whirled around. Upon seeing the kid from the front of the Smithy, he let out a quiet breath of relief. The young pony was standing several feet away and had a nervous look in his eyes. Dean remembered the fear outlined on the pony's face when he had first seen him, but now it seemed that his fear was slowly dissipating.

"Seems so. What exactly is nullstone? I've never heard of it." Dean moved a few more boxes out of the way, exposing the rest of the boulder to the outside air. The teenager trotted up beside him, albeit a little warily, and pointed to the metallic purple material.

"That light purple metal is nullstone. It holds anti-magical properties within it, making it a great defence against unicorns. I'm sure you know what an inhibitor ring is?" The kid glanced up at him with a questioning look. Dean thought for a moment, and after combing through his memory, he figured that he did indeed know what an inhibitor ring was.

"I remember taking some sort of smooth ring off of Twilight's horn after rescuing her, pretty sure it was stopping her magic. So that's what it was made of." Dean was talking to himself more than anything, but the earth pony below him nodded his head anyway.

"You'd be correct. We haven't been able to figure out how to refine the metal just yet due to its complexity and, er... unique qualities, so it was chiselled into rings and other devices to be used as magic inhibitors." Dean nodded his head and turned away from the stone.

"Well that certainly explains a lot. I think I'll be taking a closer look into that nullstone in the coming days. Something just seems familiar about it, and not in the fact that I saw an inhibitor ring." Dean's hand passed over the surface of his helmet before coming back to rest at his sides. Something was very familiar.

"Sergeant, grab what you need and let's head on back, the sun will be setting soon and you need to prepare for training tomorrow." Shining's voice carried across the little warehouse, causing Dean and the earth pony to look towards the entrance.

"That's my que, thanks again for the help..." The pony smiled and his ears perked up.

"Iron Hammer, Iron Mallet's son. It was no problem at all, you are welcome anytime. Sorry if I offended you, you just surprised me when you walked into the shop." The two were walking back to the Prince and Iron Mallet as they talked.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it. Plus, it seems you warmed up to me right quick, so I can't fault you. If you ever need some heavy lifting down, just ask for Sergeant Forrester next time you go by the barracks." The two approached the Prince and weapons smith. The former smiled and began walking towards the door. Dean followed through and grabbed his fabricator on the way by. Upon reaching the front door, however, he noticed a wagon filled with raw materials. He briefly wondered how Shining was able to acquire all that in such a short time.

"Thanks again, you two. We will stop by again sometime in the next few days." Shining grabbed the handle of the wagon with his magic and steadily pulled it out the door. Dean followed closely behind and smiled at the two ponies as he waved goodbye.

With that out of the way, Dean now officially had one more stop left before he needed to prepare for tomorrow.

*****

Knock, Knock, Knock.

Twilight's ears perked up as someone banged on her door. She blinked lazily in confusion for a moment, the book in her magical grasp floating in front of her. A desk was cluttered with various pieces of literature, many of which were related to Dean's electronic book. Drawings of two legged dwarves, Orcs, black riders, and wizards decorated the wall before her. To say that Twilight had been a bit engrossed in the story may have been an understatement, and with the tac-pad temporarily disabled, she had to occupy her time using other means. She had never been that big into drawing, focusing more on reading and learning, but in the times that she had found herself overthinking, she found that she was able to visualise and copy down her ideas and thoughts.

The knocks sounded again, and Twilight heard Spike yawn loudly from his little basket. The baby dragon had been out with Shining while she was reading the Lord of the Rings.

Twilight blinked and found that her adoptive brother was now reaching for the door handle with his little claws. Twilight figured it would be a good idea to get up and quickly hopped off her stool. Her wings ruffled at her side and her tail flicked as she trotted towards the door just as Spike swung it open.

Sergeant Dean stood on the other side, his hand balled into a fist and ready to smack the door once more He wore none of his armour, and instead sported a black skin tight shirt and brown cargo pants. A thick vest of some kind was strapped to his torso, and his helmet was nowhere to be seen. His look of surprise quickly turned into a smile as he caught sight of the purple Alicorn trotting towards him. Twilight stopped in her tracks, her eyes widening and her ears perking up as she too caught sight of the Human. Her tail swished as she galloped forward and sprung into the air with a cry of joy.

Dean, for his part, could only open his arms and catch the excited mare as she tried to football tackle him out of the door. As soon as she collided with his chest, his arms quickly wrapped around her barrel as her own hooves found their way around his chest. He felt her nuzzling his shoulder and he could feel her smiling bright enough to give the sun a run for its money. Dean chuckled and looked down as Twilight snuggled up in his grip.

"Someone seems to have missed me." He carefully walked into the room, seeing Spike at the last second and stopping beside him. "Hey Spike, how's it going?" He let one arm go from supporting Twilight and balled his hand into a fist before reaching towards the little dragon. Spike jumped up and completed the fist bump with a happy smile.

"I've been great, Dean! It may have only been half a week, but the stuff to do here is incredible! I found some of the younger ponies and we went down to the beach just the other day. It's not as good as the Ponyville lake, but it was still fun..." The dragon blabbered on while Dean spotted a rustic old couch and moved towards it. Twilight hummed happily as his fingers scratched down the back of her neck and behind her ears, her little sighs of pleasure causing him to give her a bemused look.

As soon as he sat down, she opened her eyes and hopped onto the couch, though her head stayed within reach of his hand. Her eyes closed in bliss while Spike pulled up a chair and sat down.

"...and that's how I got myself stuck in a peach tree." Spike finished his tale and looked at Dean eagerly. "So what have you been up to? I noticed you went on an expedition yesterday, but I haven't seen you around the city all that much."

Dean chuckled as Twilight flipped over, giving him an obvious hint. Dean quickly began to work on her belly, the fur feeling like silk between his fingers. Dean focused once more on the dragon and smiled.

"Well, I've been stuck in the hospital for quite a bit just recently. I'm sure you heard what happened." Spike nodded, and Dean continued. "Well, as soon as I got out, I went back to the hideout that Twilight and I stayed in after rescuing her and got my stuff back. After I'm done here, I'm gonna use some of that equipment to fix my armour and resupply myself for the training exercises that are coming up." Dean heard a quiet squeak escape Twilight's muzzle, but upon looking down, nothing had changed. He kept his scratching as Spike rubbed a claw under his chin mischievously.

"Do you think I could come to this training too? You might need the help against the Dark Elves?"

The comment caused Dean's eyes to widen, and Twilight to suddenly jump into the air. Her form had gone ridged and her wings were extended at her sides.

"MOST CERTAINLY NOT!!" She screeched. Both Dean and Spike shied away slightly at the sheer volume the lavender Alicorn achieved. The Human noticed that her eyes were dilated and her ears were folded back.

"B-but Twilight, what if--"

"NO!" Twilight jumped off the couch and slammed onto the floor, causing dust to jump into the air. Spike hopped off his chair and placed it between himself and the raging Alicorn. Dean himself was growing concerned. The look in Twilight's eyes held anger, hate, and... fear. He saw tears beginning to form in her eyes as she paced back and forth.

"I WON'T LET THEM TAKE YOU TO! I DON'T CARE HOW NOBLE YOU THINK IT IS, YOU AREN'T DOING IT!"

Dean stood up and held his hands up defensively.

"Twi, why don't we take a quick breather here and think this through. I'm sure that Spike--" Twilight suddenly whirled in her spot, her eyes holding a manic plea as she stared into his very soul.

"You can't let him, Dean. Please, you can't let him! T-they'll take him away again, l-like they did to the others! I just got him back a-and they... they'll..." Twilight suddenly collapsed to the ground and began sobbing. Her front legs covered her eyes and ears as her tears streamed down her fur.

Dean sighed and looked at Spike, who was staring at the scene with his own teary expression. His look of regret caused Dean to look away and back towards the sobbing Alicorn. Thinking quickly, he knelt down and slowly began stroking her back and mane. Slowly but surely, Twilight's weeping dissolved into a few hiccups and shivers, but the tears remained. Dean hated seeing her cry, it was heartbreaking really. The poor girl had gone through so much, and even the thought of losing another one of her friends to the Dark Elves scared her beyond belief.

Dean got a bit of a surprise when Spike suddenly crept forward and tapped Twilight on the shoulder. She glanced up from under her hooves, and upon doing so, received a hug around the neck by the little dragon. Twilight sat on her haunches and wrapped her hoof around Spike, nuzzling the top of his head tenderly. Dean stood up and took a step back, but a creak on the floor boards caused her eyes to find his.

"Please, Dean. I get that you are trying to take the fight to the Dark Elves, but you can't let Spike join. He's been through enough, and I don't think I could ever bear losing him again." Her eyes were pleading as they searched his being.

Dean thought hard for a moment. Spike was by no means built to be a warrior, not to mention he was still just a child. However, the boy was obviously looking for some way to help. After another moment of thought, Dean had just the solution.

"I'll tell you what." Spike also looked at Dean, his face neutral. Dean sighed and rubbed his hand through his hair, it needed to be washed again. "I will not let Spike join the training, for he is too young." He heard Twilight let out a sigh of relief, but he held up a hand, causing her to focus on him once more. "However, I will teach him self-defence. The world today is hostile, and I think it would be beneficial if he knew how to properly defend himself should the need arise."

Twilight slowly let go of the little dragon and held Dean in a stare. He matched it with his own and raised an eyebrow. Twilight suddenly smirked as she glanced at the young dragon.

"I think that would be a much better idea."

Spike looked at her in astonishment before smiling a genuine smile. He turned to Dean and gave a mock salute.

"Private Spike reporting, sir!" Dean chuckled and crouched down beside the young dragon. He gave Spike a pat on the head before standing up and walking over to Twilights desk. He noticed quite a few familiar drawings resting on the walls and edges of the table, but ignored them; his gaze was set on a specific device sitting facedown on the wooden surface.

Dean grabbed the tac-pad and flipped it over, his eyes widening at what he saw:

SHUTDOWN PROTOCOL IN EFFECT. TIME REMAINING: 12:01:15...14...13...

Dean quickly slammed his right hand thumb onto the screen, causing a light blue circle to illuminate around it. The device beeped once before the shutdown protocol warning disappeared entirely and was replaced by a dead battery symbol. Dean sighed and shook his head.

"I don't know what happened to it. I thought it had died and something had gone wrong, or I might've pressed a button I wasn't supposed to and caused that to happen. It was fine when I left the room for twenty minutes, but upon returning, it was sitting where I left it, but with that strange shutdown protocol. What exactly was that about?"

Dean sighed and turned to face Twilight. He slipped the tacpad into a pouch on his vest; he would recharge it once he got his armour funcional again.

"The shutdown protocol is a program that is meant to keep the tac-pad out of enemy hands. These things, when connected to the mainframe, hold vital information that could give the enemy an advantage on the battlefield. When the Orithian's showed up, the tac-pads were enhanced to force shutdown upon being touched by their genetics. If the protocol isn't stopped on time, then the device self-destructs with the power to level a small house. I don't know how it detected Orithian biology, but it must've been a malfunction. I would know if the alien bastards were here." Dean scowled and made his way to the door, only stopping when the Princess didn't follow.

"Y-You don't think any of them came here with you, right?" Dean saw the dear developing in her eyes and quickly stepped over to her. He crouched down and dragged the little purple Princess into a quick hug.

"They aren't, and even if they were, I wouldn't let them hurt you or anyone else here. It was my job to combat them, remember?" Dean pulled back and smiled, Twilight mimicked his look.

Standing up, Dean walked towards the door once more, but not before giving Spike another fist bump as he passed him.

"Dean."

Dean turned around, only to be jumped on for the second time that day. He wondered where the sudden affection came from within the lavender alicorn, but thought nothing of it. It was likely due to the friendly bond they had; after all, life and death situations tend to bring people very close together. That's probably what it was. Dean smiled and patted Twilight on the back before slowly setting her down. He noticed her pout slightly and patted her on the head just above her horn. Her small pout turned into her sitting on her haunches and crossing her forelegs as she looked away. Dean chuckled and opened the door.

"Come by tomorrow if you would like to watch the training, but it probably won't be all that exciting. And Spike," The dragon looked up at him, "come see me after training tomorrow, there's a few things I'd like to teach you."

Dean scratched Twilight behind the ears one more time, causing them each to flick and her to smile, before finally departing. The door slowly closed behind him as he made his way back to the barracks.

*****

Dean typed away on the holographic keypad of the fabricator. He had used similar technology before, but the whole concept of a touch sensitive hologram was still very new to him. At the moment, he was searching for a particular piece of classified technology.

"Exo...suit... crap, uh, RSTF... AHA!" Dean let out a cheer as he found a folder labelled under the RSTF. He quickly clicked on it and began scrolling through the various options. He saw medical records, biological engineering ingredients, weapon designs, and then his target: exo-suits.

Dean tapped on the folder, but instead of words, the hologram expanded into a full on diagram, one that made his stomach fill with butterflies and his heart to pound with excitement. What lay below him was something out of his greatest dreams, and an enemy's worst nightmares. The best part: he had all the materials required... except one.

His suit wouldn't just be getting fixed tomorrow... it would be getting a full on upgrade.

Dean dragged the cart full of materials towards the fabricator and dumped the contents beside the device. The fabricator had a short range suction that used a complex form of nanotechnology too complicated for Dean to understand, but if it worked, then it worked. Dean pressed the large blue button and gave a quick prayer in the hopes that this would work. He then quickly stalked over to his beloved exo-suit. The device had been with him for five years, and it had kept him alive throughout the war. He was hesitant, and he felt a pang of regret as he hefted the mighty machine in his grip and dragged it to the fabricator.

He took one more look at the device that had been like a second skin to him. His eyes passed over the scratches, marks, and burns that showed its use throughout the conflict. His hand reached up and slid across the alloy of metals; he only had one shot, and if he fucked up, then he would be fighting without armour.

Dean's eyes snapped open and his gaze hardened. It was a worthy sacrifice to make, and should it succeed, then the ones he was fighting for would be safe. The Elves wouldn't be able to stop him, that asshat of a unicorn wouldn't be able to stop him. Dean was well aware that she was the one who shot at him and melted the back of his armour, and he vowed to never let that happen again. In the end, nothing but good could come from what he was about to do.

Dean dropped the armour in front of the fabricator and turned without a second glance. In exactly ten hours, he would find out if the choice he made was right. Dean made his way to his bed and layed down. The second his head hit the pillow, he was out like a light.

The Fabricator whirred as it created the single most advanced piece of technology the world had ever seen...