“My god that was good!” I exclaimed before releasing a loud belch. With a satisfied smile I leaned back against the cave’s wall and picked out a few bits of remaining food from my teeth. Ace chuckled as she took a sip of her coffee and Splinter gave a quick bark before tearing apart one of those treats Ace had gotten for him. Man was he tearing those things up! That’s his sixth one he’s had! Ace smiled as she watched Splinter dig in and looked back to me.

“I’m glad to see you guys enjoyed it. I have to admit that Pinkie mare can cook,” she said and took a bite from her half eaten muffin. I swear I could hear a slight purr as she chewed her food. I chuckled and drank the last of my coffee. Jesus I’ve missed you! I tossed the empty cup to the side and sighed in satisfaction as I noticed Ace finish her meal. She gave her own satisfied sigh and hugged her knees as we sat in silence. I watched Splinter with a smirk as he laid on his back panting in exhaustion from stuffing his face. With a chuckle I shook my head and patted him on the stomach.

“Good huh buddy?” he barked in agreement, rolled onto his stomach and laid his head on my lap. With a small yawn he closed his eyes and began to sleep off his meal. I chuckled and gently scratched his head. I heard a chuckle and I glanced up to see Ace smiling at me and Splinter. I raised an eyebrow and spoke. “What?” her smile grew a bit wider as she gave a small shrug.

“Nothing, just thinking you two look cute together,” she chuckled and laid her chin onto her knees. “So, can I finally learn your name, or do I need to buy lunch to?”

“Jacob,” she cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

“That’s it, just Jacob? No last name? Any nicknames?” I chuckled and shook my head.

“Nope, just Jacob. What, hoping I’d have something fancy?” I asked with a grin. She gave a mildly disappointed sigh and shrugged as she looked towards the deeper parts of the cave with a pouting look.

“A little to be honest,” I gave a small chuckle as I watched her pout. I felt Splinter stir a little in his sleep and looked down to see him nestled against my leg with a peaceful smile on his wooden face. A soft smile formed onto my lips as I watched him sleep. I haven’t seen him this peaceful since I first met him. We’ve been on the run for days with hardly half filled stomachs and only a few hours of sleep. Two and a half if we were lucky. I’ve been able to handle it since I’m more used to it, but Splinter’s still a pup. He needs more food and rest than me to keep going. I’ve tried my best to keep his stomach filled, but rest is what he’s really needed. He’s tried to hide his lack of energy, but I’ve seen him stumble and move at sluggish speeds. Only time he had much energy was when we ate whatever we could find.

A smirk came to my face as I remembered us fighting over a damn frog. Little bastard wasn’t even dead and slipped away into a nearby river. Had to eat a few berries and bugs that night. A shiver went up my spine as I remembered the awful taste and feel of the insects. Splinter didn’t mind at all and gobbled those little shits up. Nasty bastard.

“So, Jacob,” I was taken from my memory and looked back to Ace. “How long have you two been living here?” I looked around the cave and chuckled.

“Just moved in actually,” she smiled and raised an eyebrow.

“Was this an upgrade from your last home?”

“Well it’s no prize, but it’s definitely an improvement,” I chuckled and rubbed the back of my neck. “Though I wouldn’t mind a mini bar.”

“Then maybe next time I should bring you a drink or two,” she said with a grin. “That cider vodka is really strong.”

“Yeah, I saw,” I said with a smirk. Her cheeks turned red as she glanced away from me.

“Yeah, that wasn’t one of my finer moments,” she mumbled in shame with lowered ears. I chuckled and shrugged.

“It’s fine, not like I haven’t embarrassed myself when I got pissed drunk,” she rolled her eyes and kept her gaze away from me.

“Bet it wasn’t as embarrassing,” I cocked an eyebrow and felt my lips spread a bit wider.

“There was one time where I woke up hanging by my underwear on top of a gay bar and covered in lipstick with a wig barely on my head and some dude’s number named Big Tom written on my stomach in sharpy,” Ace’s eyes went wide and she tried to stifle her laughter, but failed miserably. She was in a giggling fit and fell onto the ground holding her stomach. I sighed and lowered my head with a small smile. Same reaction every time. Tears ran down her face as she now struggled to breathe. Shortly she somewhat regained herself and sat up with red cheeks and a huge smile.

“That can’t be real,” she chuckled. I rolled my eyes and sighed.

“Okay it wasn’t Big Tom, it was Papa Tom, but yeah that happened,” I chuckled and scratched my chin.

“How did that even happen?” I shrugged.

“Not sure, my friends would never tell me what happened that night.”

“Why?” I gave a huff and mentally growled.

“They couldn’t stop laughing,” I mumbled. Ace laughed and I felt my cheeks heat up a bit.

“Okay, I guess that is more embarrassing than last night,” she chuckled while she whipped away a tear from her eye. “So, did you ever call up that Papa Tom?” she asked with a smirk.

“Nah, I wanted to leave that night in the past,” I said with a smile. “You said you were new in town right?” Ace nodded and laid back with her hands holding her up.

“Yeah, not really used to small towns like this, but it’s part of the job,” she sighed with a small frown.

“Job? What do you do?” her frown was replaced with a grin as she spoke.

“I’m actually the mayor’s new assistant. The last one retired and since I don’t mind doing some desk work I applied for the job. It’s a nice change of pace actually,” she chuckled.

“What did ya do before?”

“Oh I mostly did small odd jobs and traveled all over the place. I mostly did a few archeological jobs with a few scientist and dug up some cool stuff. Seeing the amazing sights and bizarre cultures of the past was awesome and all, but it was also dangerous.”

“How was it dangerous? Did some fossil come back from the dead and chase you around?” she chuckled and shook her head.

“Nah, nothing like that. Most of the archeological jobs were out of Equestria so the surroundings and locals weren’t as, well, safe or peaceful as they are here,” I raised an eyebrow and scoffed.

“Peaceful and safe? Are we in the same Equestria or is there a better one?”

“Oh come on, this place isn’t that bad,” she said. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. If only she knew. “Anyways, most of the jobs had a few risks, but I would always get out in one piece. Though the money was nice and the jobs were thrilling, I just couldn’t stay happy. I guess I figured out that I wasn’t up for that kind of life so I looked for something my style. That’s when I found the job as the mayor’s assistant and snatched it up! It’s not an exciting job, but it’s something I know is suited for me,” I nodded and smiled.

“I guess it’s good you found something to do,” she nodded with a small smile.

“What about you? What do you do?” my smile slightly died but I kept it up to hide my uneasiness. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed.

“I… I did odd jobs like you actually,” I said with a nervous chuckle. She raised an eyebrow and waited for me to continue. After a few seconds of silence she rolled her eyes and spoke.

“Like what? Come on I told you, so now it’s your turn,” I shook my head and chuckled.

“I just did small gigs okay. Nothing more and nothing less,” I said, hoping that she would get the idea and not pry any deeper. Thankfully she did and gave a heavy sigh as she pushed herself up to her hooves. She stretched her arms and let out a low moan as a few pops echoed through the cave.

“Fine, it’s no big deal I guess. Anyways it’s been fun and I hope we can hang out again some other time. Maybe when we’re both settled in our new homes. I can ask you a few more questions and bring some lunch or something. Sound like a plan?” I thought for a moment and stared at Ace. I’m still a little hesitant about the ponies. I mean my impression so far isn’t so positive and every pony I’ve met is sort of an ass. Though I’ll admit I may have deserved it a few times. But maybe they all aren’t dicks. Ace seems good and she hasn’t ratted me out, well not now anyways, but she seems like she actually wants to help me. Plus that food was the best thing I’ve had since I got here and that coffee? I swear I almost got intimate with that hot cup of joe.

Soon I came out of my thoughts and saw that Ace was still smiling at me, waiting for my answer. After a few silent moments I felt my own smile crawl onto my face and nodded. “Sure, sounds good. Plus I know Splinter would love to have more of those ‘Pinkie snacks’ ya got him,” a wave of relief washed over her face as her smile grew larger.

“Awesome! Well, I’ll head out now.”

“Want me to walk with you?” she shook her head and began to walk towards the entrance.

“Nah I remembered the path we took, I’ll be fine. See ya!” she said and lifted the net, but before she could leave I felt my voice speak.

“Wait!” she stopped and looked to me with confusion. My smile was still there, but it grew softer as I glanced down at Splinter and back up towards her. “Uh, I haven’t really thanked you for breakfast yet,” she smiled and waved her hand.

“No problem, I was just making up for last night. You don’t need to thank me,” I shook my head and looked down at Splinter.

“No I do, because you didn’t just feed me, but you filled up this little guy,” I looked back up at Ace. “He’s been a bit of a pain, but he’s pushed past his limits just so he could keep up with me. He could have left any time, but for some reason he stayed with my stupid ass,” a bit of guilt hit my gut as I thought about it more as I looked at Splinter. “He’s put up with a bunch of my shit, the least he deserves is a full stomach and a safe place to sleep,” I said and looked back at Ace. “Thanks for breakfast Ace.” her cheeks lit up a bit and she gave a sheepish smile as she rubbed the back of her head.

“Seriously it’s no big deal, I’m glad I could help,” she said and gave a nervous chuckle. “A-anyways I better get going, a few of my things should be arriving at my house soon and I want to make sure they don’t break anything. Later!” I gave her a quick nod and watched her duck through the net and leave the cave.

With a low sigh I laid my head back against the cave and felt my eyelids start to get heavy. Guess it’s from staying up all night. “Wonder if it’s safe to fall asleep,” I mumbled with a smirk. I didn’t want some golden dick sneaking up and dragging me back to town like last time. That’d just be embarrassing. I looked down to Splinter and smiled as I watched him sleep without any worries in the world. “Fuck it,” I mumbled as I decided to join him. With one last sigh I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.

[Outside of Jacob’s cave]

"Hm? Looks like his guest is leaving," Jack mumbled as he chewed on a twig. He laid on the branch of a tree that was a few feet away from Jacob’s hideout. His leg dangled lazily as he watched the blue mare quickly walk in the direction of the town. Normally he would start to hunt the mare, but right now he had a job. That job was to watch Jacob and keep him safe for the boss. With a frown he laid his head back and stared up into the sky. "What a pain," he sighed and raised his hand up to his vision. He focused for a few seconds and felt a slight smirk form on his face as green flames enveloped his hand. He chuckled and watched the flames dance around his hand. "Never gets old."

‘Jack give me an update.’

Jack’s smile instantly died as he rolled his eyes and groaned as a familiar voice came to his head. ‘Shit it’s the boss.’

‘Yes it’s your boss, now have you avoided Celestia’s forces and kept up with the other human?’ the voice asked.

‘Yeah, those goons are still looking for me in the wrong forest and I’m right outside of that guy’s hideout. He had a guest, but she left.’

‘Is this guest a threat?’

‘Not for now I think.’

‘Well just keep an eye on the human and make sure he stays alive,’ the voice said and gave a sigh. ‘By the way, how are you adjusting to your powers?’ Jack looked to his flame covered hand and gave a wicked smile.

‘Still weird, but I’m getting used to it,’ he said and snapped his fingers. In a few seconds an image of Luna chained down by green flaming chains appeared in Jack’s vision and he let out a low chuckle. ‘Still got that princess trapped.’

‘Good, Luna would be the first to find out about me, so keep her imprisoned.’ Jack’s smile grew larger as Luna let out a silent scream of pain.

‘No problem boss, I’ll make sure she has a pleasant time,” he snapped his fingers again and the image faded from his vision. The voice let out a heavy sigh and Jack could feel a sense of annoyance. ‘Something on your mind boss?’

‘That damn sex hungry goddess,’ the voice mumbled to himself. Jack raised an eyebrow.

‘Boss?’

‘Nevermind, just don’t listen to that damn sex crazed mare and make sure the other human doesn’t either.’

‘Didn’t you make some deal with her?’

‘Well now that Discord is popping in more often it’s too risky. Keep the other human away from her lair and you do the same. Understood?’

‘What if she decides to come and get him herself?’

‘She may be filled with lust, but she’s not stupid enough to try something like that. She knows what will happen if she attempts to pull something. Just stay away and keep an eye on the human,' Jack sighed and gave a slight nod.

‘Fine, but can I at least go hunting? My trigger finger’s itching,’ he mumbled.

‘No! Until I say so you will not harm any of the locals!’ the voice growled with annoyance. Jack scoffed and gave a evil grin.

‘What’s stopping from hunting exactly?’ in mere seconds Jack’s left hand was once again covered in flames, but instead of his green fire it was now replaced with a pitch black flame. Jack clenched his teeth at the sudden burning pain that engulfed his hand and he let out a hiss of anger.

‘Do not forget Jack, your life no longer belongs to you,' the pain increased and Jack’s body seized up in pain as the flames threatened to spread up his arm. ‘It belongs to me!’ Instantly the fire simply died out and Jack let out a gasp. He sucked in air he didn’t realize had left his lungs and felt a coat of sweat cover his body. His limbs hung limply from the tree branch as he attempted to regain his breath. After a few minutes of silence Jack groaned and looked at his left hand to see it nearly scorched. He gave a low chuckle and attempted to shake away the remaining pain.

‘Right, got it. No killing till ya say so,’ he mumbled and shook his head. ‘All ya had to do was say so.’ the voice scoffed and Jack felt his presence slowly begin to leave.

‘Do not let me down Jack, it’ll be a real pain in the ass summoning a replacement for you.’ with that Jack felt the voices presence leave his mind and let out a low sigh.

“Geez, he’s such an ass,” Jack said and laid his head back against the tree. “Well, guess I could see what’s on,” he snapped his fingers and the image of Luna screaming in silence returned to his vision. A large smile spread across his lips and he chuckled as a wave of flaming chains began to assault the suffering princess without mercy.

“Man that never gets old.”

Author's Note

Hey guys hope you enjoyed the chapter. So I'll make this fast and just say I'm looking for anyone who wants to help edit my chapters. I'd really appreciate it. If you're interested then just send me a message .

Guess that's it. I'll make the next chapter a bit more exciting. Later!