YHaY: The Ballad of Nasty Jack

Chapters

Chapter Two: Curiosity Kills
Chapter Three: Wartime Necessities
Chapter Five: If You See Me Running
Chapter Six: Smoke Banshee
Chapter Six Point Five: Banshee's Wake
Chapter Seven: Blood, Sand, and Ballgowns
Chapter Eight: Field Note
Omake the First: Dark Side of the Moon
Chapter Nine: Deep Black Sea
Chapter Ten: Universal Problem Solver
Chapter Ten Point Five: Tokyo A GoGo
Chapter Eleven: Hoodoo Operator
Chapter Twelve: A Mare and Her Human
Chapter Thirteen: The Deep Black Sea
Chapter Fourteen: Dance of the Macabre
Chapter Fifteen: Overzealous Asset Protection
Chapter Sixteen: Handle With Care
Chapter Sixteen Point Five: House of the Rising Sun
Chapter Seventeen: Front Toward Enemy
Chapter Eighteen: While You Were Out
Chapter Nineteen: In Enemy Hooves
Chapter Twenty: Devils Don't Do Captivity
Chapter Twenty One: The Devils Dues
Chapter Twenty Two: Baba Yaga
Act Two, Chapter Twenty Three: System Shock
Chapter Twenty Four: The Little Things
Chapter Twenty Five: The Act of Forgetting
Chapter Twenty Six: Once a Devil Dog
Chapter Twenty Seven: Of Morals and Judgement
Chapter Twenty Eight: Rage and Reparations
Chapter Twenty Nine: Fallout
Chapter Thirty: Pig Iron Juggernaut
Chapter Thirty One: Discovery
Chapter Thirty Two: Reparations
Chapter Thirty Three: Green to Drop
Chapter Thirty Four: Condition Red
Chapter Thirty Five: Brewing Trouble
Chapter Thirty Six: Stalwart Liberty
Chapter Thirty Seven: The Grandest of Galas
Chapter Thirty Eight: The Snake of Regret
Chapter Thirty Nine: Training Day
Chapter Forty: Beginners Luck
Chapter Forty One: Snowblind Part One
Chapter Forty Two: Snowblind Part Two
Chapter Forty Three: Unsuspecting
Chapter Forty Four: Jackie Boy and the Main Characters
Chapter Forty Five: Mailed Fist of the Empire
Chapter Forty Six: Shadow of the Eagle
Chapter Forty Seven: Cry Havoc
Chapter Forty Eight: And Let Slip the Hounds of War
Chapter Forty Nine: One Quiet Moment
Chapter Fifty: Fate of the Innocent
Chapter Fifty One: Spooks and Infiltrators
Chapter Fifty Two: Harmony
Chapter Fifty Three: Not an Inch Further
Chapter Fifty Four: Desires and Old Memories
Chapter Fifty Five: A Fist Full of Chaos
Chapter Fifty Six: He Who Walks
Chapter Fifty Seven: One Small Step for a Man
Chapter Fifty Eight: A New World
Chapter Fifty Nine: An Old Home
Chapter Sixty: Sauerkraut & Vodka
Chapter Sixty One: Arms Dealing, and Other Business Ventures
Chapter Sixty Two: Trickle Down
Chapter Sixty Three: A Promise Made
Chapter Sixty Four: Drive and Progress
Chapter Sixty Five: A Taste
Chapter Sixty Six: Mounting Pressure
Chapter Sixty Seven: Flashpoint
Chapter Sixty Eight: The Darkest Hour
Chapter Sixty Nine: The Rise of Dawn
Chapter Seventy: Reprieve
Chapter Seventy One: Again and Again
Chapter Seventy Two: Shit Hot Operator
Chapter Seventy Three: Operation Blacksun
Chapter Seventy Four: Blood and Thunder
Chapter Seventy Five: The Martyr
The Part Where the Story Ends (AKA Epilogue)
Chapter One: Falling Face First
Chapter Four: Sheepdog in Wolves Clothing
Chapter Twelve Point Five: Curiosity Killed the Horse

Chapter Two: Curiosity Kills

For the past two days, Flitter had been in a reclusive haze. Most of Ponyville’s residents didn’t question the reason, having assumed it was a byproduct of her brutally close brush with death. Only one pony had any kind of idea what was actually happening. Cloud Chaser landed deftly on the front porch of her cloud home. Quickly pushing through the door; she readjusted her bag and made her way towards her little sisters room. She took in a deep breath, and knocked lightly on Flitters door.

“Flits, it’s me…. I brought you food.” Cloud Chaser listened intently, but no answer came. The mare pursed her lips together, and forced her way through. “Flitter? I’m coming in.” Cloud Chaser trotted into Flitters room, expecting the worst. Instead, she found her little sister buried muzzle deep in a very thick book, and surrounded by her drawings. Flitter was laying on her bed, with her hind legs tucked under her as she read. “Flitter!” Cloud Chaser called out in annoyance.

“Muh?” Flitter looked up from her book; her trance broken. “Cloudy? What’s up?”

Flitters sister’s annoyance only grew. “What’s up!? Flitter, you’ve locked yourself in here for two days! Everypony’s worried sick about you!” Cloud Chaser tromped over, and pulled her bag off her flank. “You haven’t eaten either.” The younger mare smiled at her sister, and took the food she was offered. After eating, she dove back into her book. Cloud Chaser growled, and pulled the book away.

Flitters eyes went wide, and she dove for the book. “Hey, give that back!”

Her older sister simply shook her head, and refused her sisters grabbing hooves. “No way! This is stupid Flits! I know what happened must have been scary, but you need to come outside! I’m not letting you do this!” Cloud Chaser was practically screaming now.

To Cloud Chasers surprise, Flitter didn’t back down. “No! I have to do this! I need to understand!” Flitter had jumped off her bed, and was circling around her sister in an attempt to flank her. Cloud Chaser simply defeated her tactic by always holding the book away from her sister as they circled the quaint, poster covered room.

After several minutes of shouting and wrestling, Cloud Chaser saw the desperation in her sister's eyes. Cloud Chaser let out a defeated sigh, and hoofed the book back to her sister. “Why? What are you trying to understand?” She plopped down onto Flitters desk chair.

Flitter smiled broadly, and swiftly gathered her artwork off her bed. She stacked them quickly, and all but shoved the pile into Cloud Chasers muzzle. “This!”

Cloud Chaser blinked, and took the stack of drawings. It was Flitters usual kind of artwork; with her usual obsessive attention to detail and flourishes. The drawing itself was of some kind of human, but everything looked off about it. Flitter had somehow drawn the human in a way that seemed to radiate power. Its face was hidden behind some kind of mask that was incredibly…. Alien. Cloud Chaser furrowed her brow. Flitter has a terrible imagination; what the hay is this!? Cloud Chaser glanced through the stack of dozens of other drawings; some of which were very graphic in nature, causing Cloud Chasers stomach to flop. Her eye lingered too long on one particular drawing; one of the human ripping the leg off what looked like an infected human. Feeling the bile rise in her throat, Cloud Chaser shakily tore her gaze away from the drawing. “Flits… What is all of this?”

“Research!” Her sister answered diligently. She carried on, as if knowing the next question. “I was saved by a golem in the woods, but it’s like nothing any of the books I’ve read.”

“Flitter….”

The mare continued unabated. “I first thought it was a Griffonic Golem, but Griffons have no magical powers! This golem shot magic beams out of its arms, and that put up red flags for me. So I thought, maybe it’s a unicorns golem, but it turns out that Princess Celestia made Golem creation illegal two hundred years ago!” Flitter continued on and on, despite the utterly confused look on Cloud Chasers face.

“Flitter, please…” Cloud Chaser rubbed her own cheek lightly with a hoof.

“-So I thought ‘Maybe it’s an imported golem, or even an illegal one! But it turns out that it’s far more advanced than anything we, or the Griffons could ever make! It’s amazing! I-”

“FLITTER!” Cloud Chaser gripped her younger sibling tightly by the shoulders and shook her violently. Flitters eyes went wide and she yelped in surprise. Cloud Chaser eased back her grip on Flitter for fear of hurting her. “Flitter, please… You’re scaring me. I’m… I’m really worried about you.” Cloud Chasers ears had folded against her head, and tears had begun to well up in her eyes.

Carefully removing her sisters grip; Flitter smiled encouragingly at her older sibling. “I’m okay Cloudy. I promise that I’m not losing it, like Lyra.” She hugged Cloud Chaser tightly. “If you want, I’ll go out and get some fresh air today.”

Letting out a sigh of relief; Cloud Chaser composed herself and smiled. “Good, you've been making everypony worry about you.” She stepped out of the way, and ushered Flitter towards the door. Cloud Chaser ensured that her younger sibling took off towards Ponyville. Turning back towards her home, Cloud Chaser smiled to herself. Her plan had worked out better than she’d hoped. She then went about making herself presentable for her date later on that night.

Flitter landed near the end of Poplar street; her wings folded up as she started trotting down the street. She trotted merrily towards her favourite place to eat with a light spring in her step. She pulled out her bits sack, and started counting her money as she trotted. Flitter smiled to herself, before putting away her money. The mare started humming quietly as she neared her destination. A couple ponies stared at her as she went, but she should have expected that. Flitter stopped humming, and her smile slowly dimmed the further she went. The ponies were whispering to each other about Her.

“-gerous…” “-killed-” “Just terrible…”

Flitter slouched her shoulders and picked up the pace. Her ears pinned themselves snugly against the side of her head to block out the whispered words This trip outside had turned out to be a very bad idea. As she neared her destination, somepony abruptly bumped into her, despite the street being fairly empty. Flitter’s hooves shot up in apology anyways. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you there!”

The ruddy stallion sneered ever so slightly before turning away. “Just watch where you’re going Feather Brain.”

Frowning even more, and with tears threatening the corners of her eyes, Flitter barely avoided barreling into Miss Oakenbaulm’s human. She ducked past the older mare as she walked her pet, and with the graces of Celestia, Flitter finally reached Sugar Cube Corner. The doorbell rattled as she pushed inside.

“Hiya! Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! What can I get for you today Miss Flitter?” Mr. Cake smiled happily at her as he manned the counter.

Her smile finally made a return as Flitter made her way to the counter. She quickly wiped her eyes with a forehoof. “H-hello Mr. Cake. I uh… I’d like something sweet. Surprise me.” Flitter smiled softly to the stallion, who nodded in turn. Flitter reached for her bits bag, but couldn’t find it. The mares eyes widened slightly, and she started searching for it. “Oh no…. nononono…. I must have-”

“Is something wrong Miss Flitter?” Mr. Cake asked as he set her treat gently down on a plain ceramic plate.

Flitter’s smile had disappeared completely, finding itself replaced again by a sad frown. “I can’t find my bits…. I just checked them on my way here though!” The mare whined quietly. “Sorry Mr. Cake, I… I can’t pay for it. I’ll just go.” Flitter turned towards the door to leave.

Mr. Cake scrunched up his features in thought, before swiveling his head around. “Miss Flitter?” The mare turned around; still saddened by the loss of her bits and her lunch. Mr. Cake smiled in kind earnest. “Listen, I heard that you saved the Crusaders a couple days ago from those nasty infected humans. Take this as a thanks. Those three are adorable, and I’d hate to see any of them get hurt.” He slid the plate over to Flitter, who was now smiling in sincere thanks.

“Thank you Mr. Cake, I’ll pay you back as soon as I can!” Flitter took her snack, and moved towards one of the many empty stalls.

“No need!” Mr. Cake called, before disappearing back into the store’s kitchen.

Taking her seat, Flitter dug into her food with gusto. Despite the snacks Cloud Kicker had brought her, Flitter was starving. As she ate, her gaze wandered outside, and inevitably to the few humans wandering about with their owners. A couple were tied to posts as their owners shopped; not many shops allowed humans inside. They all look so… small. Flitter thought as she observed several in detail. One had been trained so well that it was able to carry groceries. Flitter snorted. It has to be a golem. Humans are just so… Stupid. No human could ever act like that. Humans also don’t laugh, and the golem did. Flitter furrowed her brow in thought. I need to see the golem again. It has to be wandering around Whitetail Woods still.

Flitter sat up, and scarfed down the remains of her food. Her plans for the day had just been set in stone. She got up quickly, and ran out into the open street. Several ponies looked her way, as did some of the younger humans. The mare took off as quickly as possible to avoid any unwanted attention before heading to Whitetail woods. I’m going to find that golem, and prove to myself that it couldn’t possibly be just some stupid human. Then, I’ll prove to everypony else that it exists.

______________________________________________________________

Come on down you furry little shit, daddy wants real meat in his supper tonight!

Jack watched his squirrel trap with antsy anticipation. His hunting trip had turned south, and now he was reliant on this trap for the much needed food. His stomach growled in agreement as he sat crouched under his ad hoc hunting blind; deep within the forest he was trapped in. He cracked a toothy grin as a fat squirrel slowly climbed down; its tiny little nose twitched as it caught the scent of nuts in the open. Having used the last of his trail mix, Jack was heavily invested in his trap. Come on you fat little prick…. Take the nuts…. Take my nuts god dammit!

The squirrel slowly descended towards his clever trap. The furry creature stopped short of the spring, and seemed to take in what it was looking at. Jack grit his teeth openly, and willed it to just go for the nuts he had laid out. To his surprise and disbelief, the squirrel grabbed a tiny rock off the ground, and tossed it into his trap, setting it off. The little creature jumped forward, and snagged the nuts sitting in the now defunct trap. Its victory was short lived however; when an enraged Jack burst from a bush, screaming gibberish at the top of his lungs and cursing it out vulgarly in his head.

"WWRAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!*"

*I’M GOING TO KILL YOU, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT SQUIRREL!! WHEN I CATCH YOU, I’M GOING TO CRAM A STICK UP YOUR ARROGANT ASS!!

Jack opened up with his laser carbine; the low power setting lasers danced around the squirrel, setting the brush on fire. The squirrel squealed in panic, and bolted off with Jacks nuts in tow. Jack howled in anger, and gave chase like a rabid animal armed with a laser rifle. The squirrel knew the forest, but Jack would never give up with so much on the line.

Over an hour later, Jack sat inside his humble cavern dwelling, with a freshly caught squirrel and its family cooking over an open fire; a sharpened stick crammed up each individual ass. A small pan caught the grease below, which he’d use later for something that required arrogant squirrel grease.

The soldier sat back on his folding cot, and sharpened his mono-edged Ka-bar idly as he waited. His earbuds dangled over his ears, playing music quietly. His cave home was a quaint one. It has rocky accents on the walls, and a few stalactites to bring the room together. Or was it stalagmites? He didn’t know. He’d fastened one of his camouflage tarps up over the entrance, and another was used to create a lean-to for him to sleep under. The boxy fold out solar power collector sat near the entrance so it was hidden by the tarping, but still caught the needed rays. Jack planned on moving it outside and hiding it under camo netting, but that was a job for Future Jack. His watch beeped once quietly. Jack groaned, and proceeded to open up a small container. Pulling a number of small pills from it; he downed them without gusto. Giving his head a shake; he stuck his tongue out in disgust.

His armour stood ready near his bedding, and his exoskeleton and clothes lay in neat piles by the fire so they could dry. He smiled to himself as he pulled the cooked squirrel out of the flames. Before he could eat, a painful shudder ran over his body, and his vision went fuzzy. Shakily setting the cooked rodent down, Jack clutched his head with one hand, and frantically searched his belongings for the cure. Even if he’d been able to speak, it only would have come out as strained hissing and pained groans.

Jack grit his teeth together, and blinked the pained tears from his eyes. Eventually, he found the small steel case he was searching for. Jack frantically pulled it open, and gripped the syringe with his right hand. Without any ceremony or pomp, he lined it up with the pock marked meat of his arm and depressed the plunger. A lurid groan escaped his lips, and Jack found himself slumping slightly as the morphine flooded his system with bliss. His hands returned to normal after a minute; the shaking having finally subsided. Jack shuddered, and ran a hand over his sweaty, shaved head. The only voice in his head was his own. For now.

Eight shots left.

Jack shook his head again, and picked his meal back up. He blinked rapidly, before finally being allowed to chow down. He washed it down with water and crackers; before setting to his most important tasks of the day. Fixing his UAV, and finding a way out of the forest. Breaking out the duct tape and tools, Jack set to work.

_____________________________________________________________

Flitter landed in the lakeside clearing; her head swiveled around, surveying the scenery. The town guard had done a stellar job cleaning the area up, returning it to its former glory. But, in her minds eye, Flitter could still see how it used to look; and she doubted that she’d ever forget. The mare let out a quiet sigh, before moving over to where the golem had crashed through the trees on its way out. The trail of destruction was surprisingly difficult to find, considering how big the golem had been. Yet, there it was. Flitter swallowed thickly; her ears flicking nervously as she looked over the trail with trepidation. She gave her head a shake and slowly started following the trail that had been blazed through the thick trees.

The trail seemed to go on forever, but it was growing much harder to follow. It was like the golem had suddenly stopped its running, and was now headed in a completely random direction, opposite of it’s original flight path. It also seemed to be avoiding the easy paths; especially the pony-made ones. Flitter felt like she’d been trotting around in circles for hours, but it couldn’t have been that long, no matter how insanely random the tracks were. Despite all the time she’d spent following the trail, she hadn’t found anything to link to the golem, besides the intricate patterns its feet left in the ground. Flitter sighed quietly, before sitting down on a fallen log. A faint buzzing noise filled her ears, and she swatted at whatever bug was circling her head. The buzzing didn’t disappear right away, but it got much fainter, until she could no longer hear it. That must have been a very big bug…. She thought to herself.

Jack sat back down on his cot, and guided the drone through his helmets live feed. The quad rotor drone was fast once it’s engines with horizontal, and the range on his receiver was around one hundred and fifty clicks. Jack focused, blocking out the sound of the rippling of the tarp that covered the entrance to his hideaway cave. His fingers twitched and jerked, eliciting the proper commands. The fact he couldn’t use voice commands was irksome. It pissed him off to no end.

The drone buzzed onwards, and nothing but a carpet of trees spread out around it. Jack narrowed his eyes, and set the drone up higher. Off in the distance, somewhere to the supposed North East, was the end of the forest. Jack let out a fulfilled chuckle as he marked the area on his map as ‘Boundary Line’. He pulled the drone around and continued building his local map. Just as he was about to order the UAV back to base, he spotted something odd. Jack cocked his head, and zoomed the UAV’s camera in. No doubt about it, he wasn’t hallucinating again. The UAV had spotted a farm. Jack set the farm as a destination, and ordered the drone to proceed there at full tilt. He leaned forward, even though the helmet just stayed where it was on his head.

The stereotypical red barn and quaint farmhouse rose up out of what he figured for an orchard. He marked it on his map with ‘Cliche Farm’, before piloting the drone into a slow loop in the airspace over the farmstead. Jack kept the drone at a minimal two kilometre distance, and zoomed in with the camera. Right away, he spotted several people milling around; or carrying buckets and headed towards the barn. One of the horses was standing off to the side. It was wearing an old stetson hat. In fact, that was the only clothing he saw. On anybody.

Fuckin weird… But I won’t question the luck of being this close to a nudist ranch.

Jack watched idly as the people filed into the barn. His eyes widened, and he zoomed in again to watch as the horse thing closed the barn doors. His mouth fell open, just as a larger horse dragged a thrashing man over. Without pause, Jack engaged the audio pick up.

“-on Big Mac. Let’s get this over and done with.”

“Eeyup.”

The horses led the man over to an open air stockade, where they strapped him down. Jack stared at the situation intently, not moving or making a sound. The surreal was too much, even for him. He had officially entered the Twilight Zone.

“Pass me that there rod. And make sure ya hold him down this time!”

“Eeyup.”

What…. What the fuck are they doing?

Jack cocked his head and his nose flared in worried anticipation. He sat and watched as the larger horse grabbed an incredibly odd glowing rod. The horse circled around to the human, who’s junk was sitting out in the open. Jack face faded into the mask of incredulous disbelief, before the horrid realization hit him; at the same time, the audio pickup broadcasted the gelding into his ears.

“AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!” Jack screamed in tandem with the man who’s balls had just been sheared off without any anesthetic. Jack jerked away with revulsion from the horror show he was victim to watching; accidentally flipped his cot over. The sudden movement of his hands sent the drone up and over itself, doing several loop-de-loop backflips, with Jack stuck along for the ride. Jack flailed his arms, and ordered the UAV to cut feed and return to base. Ripping off his helmet, Jack shakily got to his feet, before almost getting floored by vertigo as his eyes span about in his head.

WHAT THE FUUUUUUCK!?!?!?! WHAT THE FUCKING SHIT FUCK KIND OF CANDY LAND HELL AM I TRAPPED IN!?

“AAAHH!” Jack screamed again as the mental image seared itself into his brain. His lean meat lunch refused to stay down; he soon found himself retching out in the fresh air of the forest.

He came up coughing and sputtering; the horror still etched on his features as his world continued to spin violently. Ever so slowly, his sanity came out of its hiding place, and found an excellent spot to offer a needed statement.

I am in enemy territory. Humans seem to be like slaves, and these fucking horse things cut the balls off anyone who opposes them.

He wiped his chin, before dumping a bottle of water over his face.

I need to get the fuck out of here.

________________________________________________________________

At the sound of the terrible scream, Flitter had frozen in place out of sheer terror. Memory of the lake came rushing back, and her brain had shut down momentarily at the thought of dying horribly, where nopony would ever find her. She was now hiding behind a log, looking about frantically. The scream had come from somewhere very close by. The mare lifted herself up very cautiously, and slowly moved towards the sound. After a mere minute, she found herself staring at a sheer rock face. The scream couldn’t possibly have come from there.

“AAAHH!”

A second scream came from the rock face, causing Flitters wings to spread with fear. This is bad… This is really bad…. Flitter got up from her new hiding place, and took off towards the skies. With tears in her eyes, Flitter took off at high speeds towards her quaint cloud home. In doing so, she failed to see the very man she was looking for stumble out of the seemingly solid rock face and puke his guts out all over the forest floor.

It was probably better that way.

Chapter Three: Wartime Necessities

It had been three days since Jack had witnessed the farm horses castrate a young man; he had not stopped working for a moment since. His cave had become entrenched to the extent of his capabilities and resources. He’d dug deep earthworks, set up wooden barricades that reached the cave roof near the entrance. Several fall-back positions were now daisy-chained deeper into the cave. He was as ready as he’d ever be for these tiny furry horses if they ever came for him. When they came for him.

There was only one thing missing. One integral part of his plan. Food.

Jack grimaced as his stomach knotted up again; the emptiness making itself known, just as it had not ten minutes ago. His disgruntled sigh was drowned out by the growl of his stomach.

Haven’t even see so much as a squirrel in days… Whole forest is silent. This is total bullshit.

Running the back of his grungy hand over his bristly face, Jack let out a quiet sigh. His hand shook ever so slightly as he set it down. Jack grimaced slightly, and gripped the shaking hand tightly; pressing it against his chest until the shaking stopped. He picked up his PDA, and unplugged it from the solar charger. He silently flipped through his options, ignoring most of the useless tabs that lacked any kind of outside connection. Opening the journal tab, he started typing; as he’d done for the past few days.

Day Six in Pastel Hell, Sept 27, 2032

Food is getting scarce. I’ve been keeping a tight leash on my supplies, but It looks like that won’t be helping much anyways. The colours in this place make my eyes hurt, just with how vibrant they are. I keep finding myself rubbing my eyes whenever I leave the FOB. Every time I rub my eyes, a small part of me begs for a shot. That worries me more than anything.

If I’m able to find any kind of plus to this place; is that time seems to move normally, at least in a rough 24hr rotation. Makes me wonder if I am still on earth, just not on /Earth/. You know? This whole place is just straight up weird. Like Disney took an acid drop and was locked in a room with only pastels. Seems to be getting colder though, which worries me. Isn’t hell supposed to be hot? I’ve heard theories about different hells for different folks, but this place is just a little too ridiculous.

I’m going to take a risk tonight. Going to recon that village I spotted yesterday when night falls and search for food. I really hope that these horse demons eat proper food, and not dead people. I wonder if I’ll see anybody I know when I get there. It would settle some arguments.

Journal of Specialist Kessle-

At that, Jack shut off his PDA, and set it down. Taking in a deep breath; he pushed himself upwards and meandered towards the entrance of his cave. Sticking his head out, he could see that the sun was over halfway through its spin across the sky. Shaking his head, Jack fell back into his daily schedule. As usual, his traps were empty; the forest was quiet, and his left leg needed another tune-up. His stomach growled and protested when he went through his light work out. He pinned his feet under a small log, and laced his fingers together behind his head. As he went through his first set, his mind raced while it could over the tactics he’d use in his raid. The tight knot in his stomach only grew worse as he stretched out his muscles.

Night time couldn’t come soon enough.

______________________________________________________________

“Any luck today Flits?” Cloud Chaser asked as she splayed out underneath the last rays of warm sun. She didn’t look up at her sister as the mare sat down next to her on the fluffy cloud.

“No… Nopony seemed interested.” Flitter let the thick stack of resumes fall onto the cloud beside her. “There weren’t any part time openings on the job board either.” Flitter slouched, before pawing the cloud. She shivered slightly as a chilly breeze blew through Ponyville. She sister seemed largely unaffected, or she was simply better at hiding it.

Cloud Chaser rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you just go back to work for Founding Mares?” She stretched out her wings as she lounged back even further onto the cloud, as it hovered over Ponyville.

At Cloud Chasers words, Flitters body froze up completely. Her stomach threatened to rebel violently as she practically vibrated. Flitter shot Cloud Chaser a disapproving gaze as she struggled to recompose herself. Flitter smacked the stack of resumes with her right hoof as she gestured wildly with the other. “B-because the manager is a weirdo! I don’t like him at all... I don’t like working there.” She rubbed her fore leg lightly as she glanced around quickly. She wasn’t exactly lying, but the outburst made her feel as if she’d lied through her teeth.

Flitters ears pressed against her head when he sister snorted in annoyance. “Well, maybe if you’d take care of yourself; I might have been able to get you a spot on the weather team.” Cloud Chaser prodded Flitters belly; the soft furry flesh depressing without any fight. Flitter squeaked loudly, and pulled away from her sisters prodding as she covered up her pudgy belly.

“S-stop that! It’s not my fault!” Flitter rubbed the tender spot where Cloud Chaser had poked her roughly.

“Oh stop being such a baby, for f-” Cloud Chaser cut herself off by pressing her lips tightly together. After a moment, she spoke again, albeit in a quieter tone. “Listen, just… Keep trying, okay?” Cloud Chaser was staring at Flitter now, her magenta eyes boring into Flitters light pink ones. “Promise me.”

Flitter cowed immediately; her head hanging low. “...A-alright… I’ll… I promise to put a resume in at Founders….” She pawed gently at the clouds surface as she continued to keep her gaze low.

Cloud Chaser smiled at her younger sister. “Don’t be such a downer, at least you’ll get a discount!” She smiled jokingly, but it quickly turned devious. “ A discount at the best sports bar in all of Ponyvile…. And you could always give your favourite sister in the whole world a discount too! It’s the perfect place for you to work!” Cloud Chaser grinned broadly as she sat up. She patted Flitters back lightly. “You definitely need to work there again.”

Flitter simply nodded as she gathered her resumes up. “S-sure… Yeah.” She forced a smile as she started towards the edge of the cloud.

“Hey, Flits.” Cloud Chaser stood up, and stretched her wings. She turned around, and smiled honestly to her sister. “You’ll find a job, don’t worry so much!” Cloud Chaser giggled to herself, before hugging her baby sister. “Oh, and if you could maybe get out of the house around twelve, that would be just awesome.” Cloud Chaser smiled broadly as she rubbed Flitters back.

Said mare only slumped more. “Yeah. I’ll uh… I’ll find something to do.” Flitter dove off the cloud, and flew lazily back down to Ponyville. Her mind was racing, and her stomach felt like it was going to rebel. There was bound to be a place other than Founders hiring. There just had to be.

Several hours later, Flitter had found herself staring at the gaudy wood sign hanging over the ‘fine’ establishment of Founding Mares; the one and only sports bar in all of Ponyville. Her resume stack was still weighing her down more than she’d thought it would. Flitter had hoped that by the time she made it to Founders; she would be out of resumes. Her hope had been popped like a cheap party balloon on a date with Pokey Pierce. Flitter rubbed her eyes, and forced herself towards the threshold. She had a promise to keep.

The mare at the counter looked up and smiled, while her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Heya Flitter! What’re you doing back here? I thought you said you’d never set a hoof in here again.” The mare smirked a bit.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Fliter reached into her bag and pulled out her thin resume. “I’m coming in to put in a resume, Jewel.”

Jewel’s smirk grew two-fold as she grabbed the resume. “You’re coming back? Is it really that bad out there?” Jewel shook her head a bit, and stowed the resume away in the front desk. “Well, I’ll tell Mr. G.” The mare tossed a glance over her shoulder. “I hope you find something else.” The mare returned her focus to trotting off and finding the manager.

Flitter simply nodded, and waited as Jewel trotted off to find her manager. Flitter didn’t bother looking in the mirror or fixing her mane; like she had the first time she’d applied here. She didn’t have to. If Flitter was going to be completely honest with herself; she would have rather been anywhere else. Anywhere that wasn’t where she was right at that moment. She’d rather be on a wild goose chase in search of a golem in the woods than be sitting in that incredibly uncomfortable seat; with the shoddy cushion causing her pain in her plush flank. Flitter frowned slightly, and shuffled a bit in her seat. It didn’t get any more comfortable, and the irritation only increased.

“She can’t even sit still she’s so excited to see me! I’m flattered!” The familiar stallions voice set Flitters nerves on edge, like a knife on a chalkboard.

She looked up at the stallion and forced a well trained smile onto her lips. “Hi Mr. G.”

The white stallion scoffed, and ran a hoof through his shiny mane. “Mr. G? After all the time we spent working so closely together, you still call me ‘Mr. G? I’m hurt Flitty.” The stallion smiled coyly at Flitter as he closed the distance between them..

Flitters fur crawled when he smiled at her, yet she managed to keep her smile up. “Sorry Gaze. I’m… I’m looking for a job. Are there any server positions open?” Flitter asked hopefully; begging silently that he would say no, and that she could leave. Her fur crawled again, and the taste of bile rose dangerously in the back of her throat.

Gaze smiled a bit wider, which made his head look just a little too small. “Well, no server positions are open, but we do have a dishwasher slot open. Five bits an hour.”

Flitter sputtered like a fish out of water, before clamping her mouth shut as quickly as possible. Five bits an hour was a lot less than she would have gotten working as a server. It was less than she’d get working anywhere else. “I-” Flitter looked back up and smiled painfully. “Well, I’ve got a few other places that were interested in hiring me, so I’ll get back to you on that offer Mr. G.”

The unicorn stallion didn’t even flinch. His smile never turned down a decibel, even for a second. “Well, you best get to it Flitty. We’ll be waiting for ya!” The stallion chuckled. “Come back soon, alright?” He winked at her as he wore his trademark grin.

“Kthnxbye!” Flitter focused intently on simply trotting out the door. It took all her willpower to wait until she couldn’t be seen from the restaurant window before bolting off into the clouds.

By the time she reached her home; Flitter had managed to calm down, if only slightly. The mare shook her head heavily, before making a beeline towards her room on the upper floor. Flitter trotted into her room and flopped down on the bed. Curling up and rested her head in her hooves, Flitter shivered heavily before lifting herself up. She found herself headed for her small bathroom. Pulling her bow off, Flitter started up the shower and climbed in as quickly as she could.

The water was pleasantly warm and inviting. Resting her head against the wall for a moment; Flitter sighed quietly, and went about lathering up her soft fur and mane. Before Flitter soaked herself down; she grabbed the scrubber and started trying to scrub the grime off that her conversation with Mr. G had left behind. Flitter grit her teeth together, and started scrubbing harder, and harder, and harder. Flitter clamped her eyes shut as she scrubbed, a solitary whimper escaping her. Having rubbed her forehoof raw, Flitter let out a pained yelp as the coarse scrubber raked against her raw flesh. Blinking back tears, Flitter finished cleaning up before shutting off the now cold water. She quickly toweled off, and limped back out into her room.

Flitter fell onto her bed, and spread out weakly as she stared at the cloud ceiling. The world around her went fuzzy, before falling into complete darkness. Flitter shuddered unintentionally as she opened her eyes, and looked around. She was in the clearing again. Getting up off her bed, Flitter looked around curiously. The clearing was exactly as she remembered it, but it felt... Off.

A thick branch cracked loudly somewhere out in the trees, causing Flitter to squeak in surprise. She flared out her wings, and pumped wildly to escape the clearing. Her hooves didn’t even leave the ground. Flitter tossed a quick, frantic glance over her shoulder, and found that the reason why she couldn’t fly. Flitters wings were gone, with only a pair of bloody stumps left behind. Flitters eyes widened in terror, and her gaze was snapped back forward when another branch snapped under the weight of… Something. Before she could react, something rustled in the bush next to her. Screaming, Flitter whirled around to face the bush.... Only to have a pair of metal gauntlets grip her head.

The metal hands hefted her off her hooves, and towards a blinding white light.

“HOLD STILL.”

Jerking violently back into the land of the living; Flitters wings snapped outwards as she gripped her sheets out of sheer terror. As the feeling of her cool, smooth sheets overcame the feeling of dread and terror, Flitter mustered the courage to look around. Finding herself in her boring little room filled Flitter with relief; if only for a moment. Letting out a quiet sigh, Flitter rolled over in bed to stare at her little alarm clock.

11:30

Flitter groaned loudly as she rolled over onto her back. “Shoot.” She cursed lightly, before sitting up. “Where did I put my ribbon?” The mare slowly got to her hooves and glanced around. Furrowing her brow lightly, Flitter started searching a bit more anxiously. “Come on, where the hay did I put that silly thing…”

As time ticked on, Flitters search grew more futile. Despite her best efforts, her ribbon was nowhere to be found. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, Flitter glanced once again at her alarm clock.

11:58

Running a hoof down her face, Flitter accepted her fate, and started towards her bedroom door. Just as she pushing it open, she could hear her sister coming in through the front door. Flitter silently cursed her luck. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to get all uppity over her still being here. That, and Flitter had no interest in Cloud Chasers newest coltfriend. Flitter turned away from the door, and headed straight for her window. An errant giggle cut her off as she straddled the window sill. Flitter bit her lip lightly, and slowly got off the sill. She was only slightly curious. She was only going to check and see which stallion she would have to avoid dating if things with Goldie fell through. Treading silently back across her room, Flitter peaked out through the crack left by her door.

Cloud Chaser trotted into the living room, with a tan stallion in tow. She turned, and wrapped her hooves around the stallions neck. Flitters expression turned sour, and she turned to head for her window when the stallion spoke.

“Are you sure Flitter isn’t home?” He asked before descending on Cloud Chasers neck. Flitter couldn't quite place his muffled voice.

Cloud Chaser squeaked, before flopping onto the couch. The mare shuffled back, her wings spread wide in arousal. “She’s gone. She does what I tell her.” Flitter could tell Cloud Chaser was grinning by the tone of her voice.

The stallion laughed, and walked into view of Flitters hiding spot. Immediately recognizing the stallion. Flitter felt an unfamiliar feeling build up inside her; a red hot burning that welled up in her ribs. The burning forced tears into her eyes; her hooves shook violently as she looked away. She couldn’t bear to watch her coltfriend do this to her. Cloud Chaser had said that Goldie was only dating her so that he could get close to Cloud Chaser, but Flitter hadn’t really believed it. Now she had proof. Flitter pressed her lips together as tightly as she could and trotted slowly to her window. Even a fall nights chill couldn’t quell the burning pain in Flitters chest. The mare flew towards Ponyville; dead to the world.

As Flitter flew aimlessly through the nights chill, another creature crept towards the same location. As husbands and wives laid their foals to rest; as even the most night owlish pony placed their heads down on their pillows; a dark figure stole into Ponyville. While the figure may have been slightly lost, it still had direction.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jack readjusted the spare shirt he was using as a balaclava, and peaked around the corner of a particularly impressive stone building. There wasn’t a single pony in sight. Slowly slinking out of the darkness; Jack drew himself up, and scanned the lane.

Looks like a small restaurant there… A Sofa and Quill shop… Why the fuck would… Nevermind. Jack shook his head lightly, before sticking his head out a little further. His exoskeleton clicked near-silently as he extended outwards. Is that a gingerbread house? What, do they stuff people in ovens and burn them alive? A shudder ran down his spine, and he immediately turned away from the place. Ain’t nobody got time for that again.

Jack sighed quietly, and turned his sights on the small restaurant. Stalking quietly across the street, Jack maneuvered around towards the establishments back door. He held his breath, and jerked his head lightly; listening for any signs that he’d been spotted. Having heard nothing, Jack turned his attention back to the door before him. He reached out tentatively, and tapped the handle. Nothing happened. Satisfied that the door wasn’t rigged with some kind of hellspawn voodoo magic, Jack stood up and looked over the door.

Looks like wood… I wonder if it’s unlocked? Jack reached forward and tested the handle. It only jiggled ever so slightly in his grip. Grunting, Jack rolled his shoulders, and grabbed the handle with both hands. His muscles tensed, and his titanium exoskeleton flexed in tandem. The metal door handle let out a quiet groan, and snapped off in his unarmoured hands. Jack looked down at his hand and pursed his lips in frustration. Shaking his head, Jack backed up, and delivered the solid bottom of his boot to the space just beside the door knobs remains.

The door didn’t budge an inch.

Backing away, Jack furrowed his brow in disbelief. It appeared that his original assumption that the door wasn't rigged with hellspawn voodoo magic had been wrong. This shouldn’t be so fucking hard... What the fuck? He shook his head, before rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fore finger and thumb. Giving up with a light shrug, Jack booted the door again. And again. And again. The door refused to budge, but it did have an impressive imprint of his boot heel inside it now. Taking a deep, calming breath, Jack started rooting around in his tactical vest in search for a very special something. Allowing himself a small smirk, Jack pulled the small spool from his vest.

Gonna show you, you stupid fuckin door.

Threading the small line into the lock; Jack snipped it off so just a tiny amount was poking out. Quickly pressing his leads into the soft gel insides of the wires; Jack took cover near the door. Taking one last glance around, he pressed the wires against his battery.

KOOF

The muffled explosion didn’t even register a flinch from Jack, who quickly moved in to assess the damage. It took all of his willpower to not hoot and holler in triumph as he stared down at the pulverized door handle and frame. A light push from him sent the door open; the gateway to the dark eatery was now open. Stealing inside; Jack went to work as the door fell off its hinges and clattered to the floor.

Is that rum!? HAHA! YAR!

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Nearby, someponies night was going much, much worse than Jacks. Flitter wiped at her eyes with her raw forehoof, but the tears refused to stop their flowing. Her jaw was clamped down as tightly as possible, but even then she couldn’t stop the odd whimper from escaping. Stumbling through the dark; Flitter didn’t run into a single soul.

Coming across a vacant bench; Flitter collapsed onto it, and sobbed quietly into her hooves. The burning pain in her chest had all but disappeared, but she could still feel it deep down, as if somepony had stuck her with a fire poker. Despite her best efforts, the tears came in hot and heavy. Flitter curled up and hugged herself as her body racked itself with pained sobs.

___________________________________________________________________

Come- ON! Off- the- wall! Jack tugged and pulled with all his might; he was soon rewarded by the sound of crumbling drywall. Looking down, he found himself the proud new owner of a fair sized metal first aid box. Grinning as he stuffed the box into his massive pack, Jack turned towards the freezers. The large metal doors were locked up tight, but that was hardly a problem. Lifting his cybernetic leg up, Jack pistoned the flimsy padlock clear off the handle. A large grin threatened to break out across his features as he pulled the door wide open.

Come to Papa!

Jack entered the freezer, and immediately went for the closest boxes. The writing on them made him pause for a moment. It’s written in English Standard? I… What? I suppose… They were /speaking/ English, so I guess it makes sense. Shaking his head to disperse the shroud of mystery, Jack grabbed the first box he saw. Again, it made him pause. Upon the box; it had a black and white caricature of a young man. Said young man looked rather dazed as he ate some kind of food-stuff. Curiosity gaining the better of him, Jack drew his knife out of its sheath and ran its edge across the top of the box.

Buffalo wings? FUCKING BUFFALO WINGS!???

Jack stared down at the opened box in stunned silence. After a moment, he threw his hands in the air and wordlessly repeated his mantra: Fuck it. Grabbing two of the unopened boxes; he stuffed them into his pack, and grabbed several other boxes without reading the labels. Having take at best a random selection of goods from the first freezer, Jack moved to the next one. Popping the lock off with contemptuous ease, Jack entered the second freezer.

More a fridge, really….

This fridge seemed more geared towards fruit and vegetables; while Jack didn’t mind, he didn’t exactly trust any unknown foods. Without much rhyme or reason, Jack grabbed whatever he could fit into his bag. He quickly left the second fridge a destroyed mess of fallen fruits and squashed vegetables. Despite having already broken into both lockers, his pack was only half full. Hang on. Jack paused on his way to the door; pulling out his flashlight for the first time, Jack spotted the mother-lode. The restaurants stock of non-perishables stood before him on three separate shelves. Can after can went into the pack, and Jack soon found himself fully loaded. Switching off his flashlight, Jack turned and made for the door.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Out on her bench, Flitter didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary as she buried her muzzle deep into her hooves. She’d gone past the point of sobbing, and was now spiraling downwards into self-loathing. Flitter shivered violently; the cold biting deep into her. To Flitters surprise, somepony sneezed very close to her bench. Flitter popped her head up at the sound. “Huh?”

“AHH!”

Flitters head snapped to the side as Jacks fist pistoned into it; her world went dark on impact. Jack stood in a tensed position, his fists drawn back to combat his sudden attacker. Only, the attacks didn’t come. Lowering his fists, Jack slowly edged towards the bench. On the ground beside it, lay one of the horse creatures.

I just sucker punched a demon horse in the face....

Carefully approaching the fallen creature, Jack gently toed it with his metallic boot. The creature didn’t respond. Against his better judgement, he knelt down next to the small horse, and pressed two fingers up under its jaw line.

Where’s the Grud damned pulse on this thing- Oh, wait. There it is. Not dead apparently… Lucky my strike plate's weren't on. He pondered quietly as he stared down at the comatose horse. They speak english… Maybe I can question it? Or maybe I should just take my shit and run.Before Jack could think of any better plan; someone called out in the night. “Hello? What’s going on out there?” A light flicked on in one of the many houses, and was followed by several more. Additional voices sounded out, and doors were unlocked. Cursing his luck and lacking any better options, Jack scooped the tiny horse creature up in his arms, and bolted out of the small village.

Thankfully, the trip back to his base of operations went smoothly; none of the village's inhabitants made any attempt to follow him. As Jack neared the entrance to his cave, the sky split open violently, and rain began to pour down in earnest. Cursing silently, he picked up the pace. He eventually arrived in the blessedly dry cave, and immediately set to work. Setting down his overstuffed pack; Jack pulled out a long line of rappelling rope. He carefully set the small horse down, and secured it against one of the caves stalagmites.

Funny looking little critter… Staring at the horse for a moment; Jack shook his head, and pulled off his impromptu balaclava. Running a hand over his bristly high and tight haircut; Jack set about putting everything he’d taken in an appropriate spot. His stomach tensed painfully, causing him to grunt quietly. Instead of putting everything away; he set out an assortment of random foods that he’d pilfered. Jack started his fire, and laid his soaked clothing down on the rocks near his fire pit. A box of the buffalo wings was dragged over, along with a couple fruits.

Before Jack could start cooking, his captive stirred; a pained moan escaping her bruised lips. Slumping his shoulders in annoyance, Jack stood up, and pulled on his spare clothes. Wait… He paused for a moment as he pulled on a wool sock. It may be incredibly dangerous. I may need my armour. I should cover its eyes too, Just to be sure. He nodded to himself, and quickly slipped into his heavy body armour. The full face helmet fit over his slightly soggy noggin without any difficulties. Treading over to the squirming horse; Jack wrapped his last dry shirt around its eyes. The horse pulled away at the contact, a terrified whimper escaping it.

__________________________________________________________

Flitters vision swam sickeningly as the small trail of flickering light was nearly blotted out by a black cloth wrap. Whimpering quietly; Flitter tried to pull away the cloth wrapping. She quickly found out that her hooves were bound tightly, and that she couldn’t get up. Terror coursed through the small pegasus. “P-p-ple-please…. Please don’t hurt me…” She barely managed a whisper, but no answer came.

Jack had taken several steps back from the blindfolded horse. It had just spoken to him, and it sounded terrified. Lifting up his hand; Jack tried to speak. Once again, nothing but pained coughing. At the sound of his coughing and hacking, the small horse cowered away, and started sobbing quietly. A disgruntled groan escaped Jack as he looked down at the crying thing. This is not what I had in mind. Demons aren’t supposed to beg for mercy and sob. This is fucked up. I can’t even talk to this damn thing. Tapping his fingers lightly against his helmet; Jack let out a defeated sigh. Wait. A small grin spread across his features, and he tromped away from the sobbing horse. Rifling through his bedding, Jack let out a satisfied chuckle when his armoured fingers came in contact with his PDA.

__________________________________________________________

The side of Flitters head pounded mercilessly; it felt utterly unbearable. Sniffing sadly, Flitter let her head fall downwards. She didn’t know what this pony wanted with her; the sorrow of the night only made the ideas worse in her mind.

“Hello.” A tinny voice sounded out around the cave, causing Flitter to shrink as far as she could out of terror. The heavy hoof-falls came closer, before stopping just in front of her. “What are you?” The tinny voice asked unemotionally.

Looking up; Flitter swallowed nervously. What am I? Flitter closed her eyes as the pain throbbed through her head. “I-I’m a p-pony…”

There was a long pause before the stallions voice came back. “Are you going to hurt me?”

Now THAT caught Flitter off guard. Hurt him? Whaaaa? Flitter blinked in confusion, before shaking her head gently. “N-no. I-I… I don’t want to hurt anypony... “ She sniffed back tears as the pain in her head increased.

The stallion huffed quietly, and seemed to trot off. It returned moments later, and sat down in front of her. “Hold still. Will be cold.” Flitter opened her eyes in confusion, and opened her mouth to protest. Her words were cut off by a surprised squeal that escaped her own throat as the ice cold thing pressed against the injured side of her head.

Pulling away from the biting cold; Flitter twisted, and fell over. Something pinched tightly against her body, causing the small mare to gasp and whine in pain. The stallion emanated some kind of disgruntled noise, and grabbed her. Flitter gasped at the touch. The stallion didn’t have hooves. As the hands pulled her up and unpinched the rope, Flitter cautiously sputtered out her own question. “W-what are y-you?” To her surprise; the hands pulled away from her, and the voice didn’t answer. As Flitter held her breath; the hands returned. Gently grasping her head, its fingers deftly untied her blindfold. Flitter blinked rapidly as her eyes readjusted to the dull lighting in what looked to be a cave. Looking over to her captor; Flitters eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

Flitter knew that mask. It belonged to the golem. The Golem that she’d obsessed over for over a week before losing heart. She was staring into the single slit that passed for its eye. If she’d been paying attention, Flitter may have noticed her heart skipping a beat.

The golem chuckled, shaking her out of her trance. Its fingers danced over a small square of metal; to Flitters amazement and surprise, the tinny voice sounded out from the small metal square. “Was it something I said?”

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Flitter looked back up to the golems blank visage. “I-it’s you… You.. You saved me! Down by the lake!” A small smile had begun spreading across Flitters muzzle, betraying her excitement.

Slapping its metal hand off its armoured haunch; the golem pointed at Flitter. A moment later its voice sounded out from the square. “So that is where I remember you from.” The golem turned its head towards one of the cave walls and sat perfectly still; before returning its attention back to Flitter.

The golem drummed its fingers against its helmet, before making some kind of gesture Flitter had never seen before. Its free hand tapped at the square again.“Sorry I hit your face. You surprised me.” It held up a hand to silence Flitters excited response. “Promise that you won’t cut my balls off.”

The sheer oddity of the golems request struck Flitter unexpectedly. “W-what? But I…” She bit her lip, and looked down. “I promise I won’t hurt you if you untie me.” She smiled weakly up at the metal giant. The golem tapped its jaw twice, before shrugging. It got up a bit faster than Flitter was expecting, and walked around behind her. Flitter waited patiently as the golem fiddled with the rope it had bound her with. Her smile only broadened when the rope fell slack, and she could stretch her wings again. Taking the moment to look around the cave; Flitter found herself slightly confused. Why would a golem need a bed? Or all of those food cans? Turning her attention back to the golem with the intention of asking it why it had all these things; Flitter found herself struck silent.

Pulling his helmet free, Jack squeezed his eyes closed, before blinking rapidly to dispel the electric ghosts the helmets heads up display left on his eyes. He smiled lightly, and looked back over to the shocked looking pony. He cocked an eyebrow, and tapped out a message. “What? Do I have something on me?" He wiped his mouth lightly with an armoured gauntlet, before looking back up at the pony.

Flitter shook her head slowly. “N-no… You’re… You’re a human.” Flitter rubbed her eyes, and peered at the unexpected visage. The human made a face and rolled its eyes. It acts like a pony… Flitter smiled weakly. “This is…. Amazing.” She sat down on her haunches and stared up at the human. Memory of her promise arose within her mind. Flitter furrowed her brow, before looking up at the human. “I don’t… I don’t even know where to begin…” Flitter rubbed her bruised face accidentally and let out a pained yelp.

To her surprise, the human leaned forward, and pressed the cold pouch up against her bruise again. It then gently grasped her hoof, and pressed it against the cold pouch. “Hold the gel pack there. Will reduce swelling.” The human ran a hand over its bristly cheek before standing up. Flitter did as she was told, but her eyes followed the heavily armoured human as he walked over to his bed. It spread out its arms slightly, and stood stock straight. Flitter jumped when a series of clicks sounded out from the humans metal body; the primary plates sliding open to allow the human to leave its confines. The mares mouth fell open slightly as the impressively tall human stretched out; grunting as its spine popped back into place as it stretched. Flitter couldn’t help but notice that several intricate looking lengths of metal were seemingly attached to the humans limbs and body.

The human walked over quietly, its legs making strange clicking noises as it did so. Pulling her own legs in a bit closer; Flitter watched as the human crossed its legs underneath itself and sat down opposite to her. Now that it was much lower down to her, she could see many of the details on its face. His face. She realized. The human had a very angular jawline, and it looked as though the usual human facial hair was just starting to come in. He seemed to have some kind of nasty old wound on its forehead; one that went from its brow to the back of its skull. It looked as if the flesh had been ripped up, and had never properly been healed. Flitter looked over at the mans face as he made a gesture with his hand. The mares eyes went wide when she found herself locked in his gaze. Its eyes were like nothing she’d seen before; not even close to the dull eyes of normal humans. Its sharp green eyes were much smaller, but they never seemed to stop moving. They almost felt predatory as his gaze went over her, then back up to meet her wide, pink eyes. How they locked onto her made her feel as if the human was sizing her up so it could hunt her down.

Shattering another human normality, he smiled lightly at her as his fingers danced on the square.“So, what is your name. Are you a boy, or a girl?” His smile became a smirk as Flitter's cheeks went red.

Flitter managed to smile ever so slightly through the burn of an embarrassing blush.. “M-my name is Flitter, and I’m a mare.” The mare shook her head and looked around. “I… I don’t understand… Who… Who are you? Where are you from?” She asked quietly as her eyes fell on the humans armour and belongings. Much of it didn’t even look Equestrian, or Griffonic.

The human stretched lightly, before leaning forward. “Well Flitter, my name is Jack Kessle, and I am a long way from home.”

Chapter Five: If You See Me Running

Sept 30, 2032

Okay, only a small update today; I’ve got some work to do around the FOB. I suppose I need to name my base, don’t I? I’ll come up with something eventually. Anyways, food is holding steady, but I had to throw out most of the frozen foods. Managed to eat a fair share of it, but it’s still a waste. I’m genuinely worried about my med-stack. Down to two syrettes of morphine, and maybe four to six days worth of my pill battery; that’s if I take half doses the whole time.

I’m thinking that I should ask Flitter if her people have even invented morphine. But at this point, I’ll take whatever I can get my mitts on.

Speaking of Flitter, she hasn’t been by for the past two days. Not sure If I should be worried about it or not. I hope she pops by soon, if only just so I know that she’s not dead. (Or worse.)

At any rate, that’s all I’ve got to write about for today. I’ve got a wasp nest to deal with.

Signing off, he tucked the PDA back into his pocket before stretching. Slinging a small bag over his shoulder, Jack set off into the forest; leaving his armour and exo-skeleton behind. The heavy optical camouflage tarp brush past his head and hands as he wandered outside. Sucking in a deep breath, he started slowly letting out the cool air through his nose. Adjusting the straps on his bag, Jack allowed a satisfied smile break his countenance. His features seized for a moment; a barred tooth snarl escaping his lips. Jerking his head violently, Jack rubbed his face furiously, before blinking rapidly. Uttering an uncontrolled growl, Jack swatted at the empty air. JUST SHUT THE FUCK UP.

Setting off in an agitated jog, Jack quickly found himself disappearing into the trees.

____________________________________

“Flitter! I don’t care what you think anymore; you’re taking that job and that’s final!” Cloud Chaser roared up the stairs as Flitter treaded away from her. The already displeased Cloud Chaser screamed in outrage as Flitter slammed her door shut. The mare ascended the stairs in a fit of rage; muttering foul words under her breath.

Ignoring the furious pounding on her door, Flitter paced through her room, picking up all of her drawings of Jack within the mayhem that was her room. A flustered scowl crossed Flitters features as her sister continued to try and scream at her through the door. Cloud Chaser hadn’t given her a break since she’d returned from Jack’s early in the morning, two days ago.

“FLITTER! OPEN THIS CELESTIA DAMNED DOOR!”

Screwing her muzzle up in distress, Flitter turned hotly towards the door. “I HEARD YOU THE FIRST TIME!” Flitter let out a shaky breath as the pounding on her door ceased. She quickly returned to gathering all of her artwork up, before quickly stuffing the pages into her designated box without any care.

“Flitter, please just open the door.” Cloud Chaser’s voice was muffled dully through the door. The mare sounded like she was still fuming heatedly, but Flitter could tell that her sister was stuffing it deep down once again.

Sighing quietly to herself, Flitter trotted back over to the door and cracked it open ever so slightly. Peeking through the crack, she could see that Cloud Chaser was still red in the face from all of her yelling. Her mane was disheveled well beyond its usual messy state, and her pupils were tiny pinpricks of rage. Cloud Chaser took the opening as an invitation; forcing her way into the room using her superior size. “Hey!” Flitter cried out as her sister forced her way in. “C-come on Cloudy! Just leave me alone!”

The mares menacing glare shut Flitter up immediately. Taking a moment to compose herself, Cloud Chaser coerced a smile out of herself -if only for a moment-. “Listen, Flitter-” Cloud Chaser trotted over to Flitters bed and sat down. “We need to talk.”

Flitter shook her head, and refused to meet her sisters gaze. “No, we don’t. I heard you the first time, and I definitely heard you yelling for the last twenty minutes.” She gestured back towards her door. “So you can just leave me alone.”

Jumping up abruptly, Cloud Chaser stormed over to Flitter. Pressing her muzzle against Flitters; Cloud Chaser’s fury filled eyes drilling into her sister's terror stricken eyes. “Just shut the fuck up Flitter. Sit down, and shut the fuck up.” Cloud Chaser jabbed violently towards Flitters bed. “NOW.” The smaller mare scrunched up her soft features before shakily sitting down on her bed. Pacing over before Flitter; Cloud Chaser shook her head in disgust. “I’ve had it with this, Flitter. You’re acting like a foal.” She glared at Flitter bitterly.

“W-what!? Cloudy-”

“Flitter, shut up!” Cloud Chaser snarled out as she paced in front of her younger sister. Flitters mouth hung agape for a short moment, before she clamped it shut. The older mare shook her head. “I’ve had it with all your crap. You’re acting like a brat!” The mare huffed angrily as she continued to pace. “You’ve had over a month to find a job, but you haven’t tried at all! What are you going to do when rent is due? Huh? Are you going to sell your silly art?” She glared down at Flitter, who wilted under the intensity of her gaze. “I had to cover your share of rent last month, and I’m not going to do it again!”

Flitters stared up at her sister in pained disbelief. “But I gave you bits! It’s not my fault mom is so greedy!” Flitter’s wings flexed anxiously as she held back tears. Without warning, Cloud Chaser’s hoof slapped across Flitters cheek, sending the smaller mare reeling in shock.

“You do NOT talk about Mom that way! She’s given us everything since Dad went and got killed!” The mare grabbed Flitter by the shoulders and pulled her back up. “Flitter, you’ve got to grow up. I’m sorry that I have to do this, but Mom told me to take care of you, no matter what. It might not feel like it right now, but I’m helping you.” Cloud Chaser placed her hoof under Flitters quivering chin and lifted it up so she could look her younger sibling in the eyes. Flitter hiccuped weakly; refusing to meet her sisters gaze. Despite this, Cloud Chaser carried onwards. “I’m doing you a favour. I went in to Founders yesterday and talked with the manager; he said he’s willing to take you on, but you need to work hard to keep this job Flitter. I know that may be hard for you, but-”

“NO!” Flitter cried out, back pedalling away from Cloud Chaser. “You can’t make me work there! The manager is- is a pig!” Flitter hiccuped again; tears streaming down her cheeks. “You can’t-”

“YES!” Cloud Chaser followed after Flitter; her cheeks flushing red again. “You will work there! I don’t care what kind of pony your manager is! YOU- ARE- GOING- TO- WORK!” Cloud Chaser punctuated every shrieked word with a forceful prod to Flitters heaving chest. The mare quickly collected herself; pulling off her smaller sibling in the process. Running a hoof through her messy mane; Cloud Chaser let out a weak sigh. Leaving the bawling Flitter on the floor, she calmly trotted out of Flitters room and quietly closed the door.

Stomping loudly down the stairs, Cloud Chaser growled in annoyance before heading into the kitchen. Pouring herself a small glass of water to ease the pain in her throat; she found she could barely hold onto the glass her hoof was shaking so badly. Setting the glass down, Cloud Chaser covered her eyes with a hoof and gently set her head down on the counter. Sucking in a cracked breath, she could only shake her head softly. If she pinned her ears hard enough against her head, she could just barely block out the sound of Flitter snivelling in her room. I better go and see if she`s alright… With a disgruntled sigh, she pushed herself up and off the counter; towards Flitters room up the stairs. As she approached Flitters door, she chewed the inside of her cheek restlessly. Cloud Chaser closed her eyes, and forced her hoof up.

“Flitter?” Pushing her way past the now open door, Cloud Chaser looked around the empty room. Uh oh…. Biting her lip nervously, Cloud Chaser trotted in cautiously. I can’t hear her… Did she leave? The mare scrunched up her features in worry as she checked the room over. Having no luck; Cloud Chaser exhaled a tired sigh as she looked over at the open window. “Damn it all Flitter.” The mare shook her head; her eyes flitting about through the chaos that was Flitter’s room. Her eyes fell on Flitters art box, which had fallen over and spilled its papered contents everywhere. Slouching somewhat, she trotted over and sat down before the art pile. Cloud Chaser reached out, and started gathering the scattered pages; she froze stiff a moment later. Her eyes were stuck with the gaze of an inked predator; whose tiny, intense eyes pinned her down. Blinking, Cloud Chaser looked away from the artwork and rubbed her eyes roughly with the back of her forehoof. The mare looked back over at the page with intense curiosity.

Carefully picking the page up, Cloud Chaser scrutinized it with more interest than she’d ever shown much of Flitters work. “A human?” She asked herself quietly; said human stared back at her. Cloud Chaser furrowed her brow heavily. This isn’t what humans look like. The humans cheek bones were too sunken and sharp, it’s entire face seemed just a bit too long. It’s forehead was quite a bit larger too. Cloud Chaser scrunched up her features tightly in confusion. It’s not like Flitter to make a mistake like that. The mare looked over the artwork, but her eyes always wandered back up to the humans eyes. They were almost half the size of a normal humans, but they held an intensity that Cloud Chaser had never seen in anything before. Somehow it felt like the human wasn’t even looking at her, but at something beyond her. The look on the humans strange face made her fur crawl anxiously. Breaking away from the humans gaze, Cloud Chaser spotted another image of the human, then another, then another. Setting the artwork down, Cloud Chaser stood up and looked over the scattered artwork as a whole. As she stood up, Cloud Chaser’s eyes went wide astonishment. “It… looks like Flitter has a new muse….” The dozens of pages spread out across the floor; the odd human at the forefront of every single scrap. Shaking her head in bewilderment, Cloud Chaser trotted out of the room, not noticing the drawing of a pretty blue-green ball as seen through a thick window, even as she stepped on it. She didn’t notice the group of floating humans in that drawing, nor did she see the title, ‘TERRA’ inked with care above the artwork. Flitters door closed with a quiet click.

__________________________________________________________________

Flitters hooves made little sound as she landed on the soggy forest floor; the only sound being the crunching of dead leaves underhoof. A weak sniffle escaped her as she slowly treaded through the quiet forest. Nobody came out to meet her as she drew closer and closer to her destination. The rockwall soon came into view, but Flitter stopped short of the hidden doorway. The mare sucked in a laboured breath as she tried to compose herself; she wiped her eyes again as she whimpered. Sighing weakly, Flitter trotted forward, and pushed the camouflage tarp out of the way with her wing. She blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted to the dim lighting within the cave. Flitter sniffed loudly, catching the cave’s occupants attention. The human smiled, and lifted one of his hands out of a bucket to wave; water splashed off his waving hand as he did so.

Managing a weak smile, Flitter trotted forward, and slumped down onto a stump that sat before the crackling fire. She watched as Jack held up a single finger, before focusing again on his bucket of water. The mare scrunched up her face in pained confusion as she watched the human work at something. “W-what are you doing?” She asked, before sniffling again. Jack glanced over towards her and opened his mouth to speak, only to devolve into a coughing fit. Watching the human hack his lungs out made Flitter arch her eyebrows in concern and scooted closer to him. He held up one of his hands and waved it back and forth as he covered his mouth with the other. Flitter stared at him worriedly until his coughing slowly ceased; he gave his hands a violent shake, before drying them on his pant legs. Jack quickly typed in a message for Flitter on his PDA.

“I’ve got a teeny tiny bug problem; I’m making something to deal with it.” Jack’s smile faded swiftly as he looked over at Flitter. “You alright Sparky? You look like hell.”

The mare weakly waved a dismissive hoof as she forced a smile onto her face. “I-I’m fine. Just… had a small fight with my sister today…” Her smile wavers slightly as he stares at her; Flitter quickly averts her eyes towards the ground.

A quiet sigh escaped from Jack’s lips as he shifted his body towards Flitter. “You know, I can usually tell when someone’s lying. Trust me, you aren’t any better at hiding it than any of my sisters.” He smiles softly at Flitter. “You can tell me if you want. It’s not like I’m going to talk to anybody else any time soon.” He grins slightly at her as a sign of good faith. When Flitter clamped her mouth shut and kept her gaze locked onto the ground, he rolled his eyes melodramatically and returned to his bucket of water. After a minute of working quietly, Jack pulled his hands out of the bucket, and brought a large tin can out with it. He grins happily, and gives it a light toss in the air before catching it.

Looking up from her spot of ground, Flitter cocked her head in confusion. “W-what is that? It looks like a coffee can.” She said as she scooted a bit closer to get a better look at the mans creation. It was a coffee can, but it had some kind of now hard foam sealing the top of it, and a small stick of metal poking out the top.

Smiling, Jack carefully tucked it into a large pouch on his webbing. “It’s a little homemade solution. I ringed the can with RDX, filled the center with white phosphorus, and used a bit of lexfoam to seal it up.” He taps the little strip of metal. “That’s my detonator.” He grinned happily, like a foal who’d just won second place in the science fair.

Seeing Jacks jubilant smile, Flitter found herself smiling softly. “I-I don’t know what any of that means… But it sounds…” She rolled her hoof as she searched for the right word “Um… Neat?” She couldn’t help but smile a little bit more as the human chuckled; his cheeks tinging red.

“Come on, walk with me.” He slipped his PDA into a rectangular pouch on his webbing before standing up; his curious little creation in tow. Despite herself, Flitter smiled, and got up to follow Jack out of his cave and into the forest. As they passed through the hidden door, Jack turned to Flitter. He pointed at her, then mimicked as if he were talking; he then pointed at his own ears, before giving Flitter a double thumbs up. Jack promptly turned around, and started weaving his way through the forest. After a moment of thinking over what he meant by his hand gestures, Flitter grimaced as she pinned her ears against her head. She couldn’t make the words come out, which resulted in the walk being a peaceful one; The human ahead of her would occasionally toss a glance over his shoulder to check and see if she was still there.

Eventually, the words did come to Flitter; “I… I had a really bad fight with my sister today…” Flitter said as she kept her gaze locked onto the ground and Jacks tromping boots. “She-” The mares words caught in her throat for a moment. “She hit me… And… She’s forcing me to work for a… A very foul stallion.” Flitter sighed quietly, just as Jack crawled up onto a small berm and laid on his side. The man turned his head toward Flitter, and beckoned for her to join him on the berm. As she lay down next to him, Jack held out an odd cylindrical object to her, with a dull, worn red button on top of it. Out of curiosity, Flitter reached forward to touch it, only to have Jack grip her hoof and hiss quietly as he shook his head.

Going to kneeling from prone, Jack reared himself back and hurled the coffee can off into the forest. There was a dull crack as it hit something; it was swiftly accompanied by the exponential increase of incredibly pissed off buzzing. Flitter stuck her head up over the berm to see a boulder sized wasp nest several dozen meters away.

“Get your head down Sparky.” Jack said as he slid down to the bottom of the berm.Once Flitter had done so, the human grinned broadly and messed her mane with his spare hand. “You know what always makes me feel better after a shit day? Copious explosives. You can hit that button now.”

Cocking her head in confusion, Flitter looked back down to the cylinder she was holding; the red button beckoning her like a caring friend. Nervously, she lifted her other hoof up, and depressed the button.

KRA-KOOOOM

The morning sky lit up vibrantly as the fireball reached up and capped over the forest; tiny glowing shards of metal flying in every direction. Flitter gasped as the shockwave struck her in the chest; the glow of the fireball cating on her face and flaming debris rained down in every direction. Past the ringing in her ears, she could swear she could hear somepony laughing maniacally. Looking over, Flitter watched as Jack pumped his fist in the air and whooped in victory. The glow of the fireball was fading quickly; Flitter turned her head to capture its beauty as best she could. A large grin started to break through her shocked features. A joyous giggle escaped the depressed mare as she surveyed what she’d done.

The aftermath was nowhere near the beauty and majesty of the fireball she’d witnessed, but it left her in awe all the same. A welling sensation filled her breast as she stood up; Flitters smile spreading to comical lengths. Looking over at the mare, Jacks grin become one of pride.

“Nicely done Sparky. Now let’s get the fuck out of here before someone comes to investigate. Come on, chop chop.” Jack started herding the glowing mare back to his cave as the sound of angry buzzing filled the air; the wasps returning from abroad to find their home nothing but a smouldering crater of crushed hopes and dreams.

“That. Was. AWESOME!” Flitter pranced in place once the pair reached the relative safety of Jacks cave. Flitter squeed as she pranced about, her wings flared out.

Watching as the mare danced about, Jack smiled softly and shook his head as he chuckled. His fingers danced across the PDA screen for a moment. “Thanks for not blowing us up back there. I’m glad I don’t have to pull phosphorus from either of us.” He grinned at her. “So, feeling a bit better?” He ventured.

The mare looked over at him and blushed lightly; her wings deflating slightly. She nodded sheepishly before taking a seat by the fire. “Y-yeah. I am.” She smiled honestly to the man across from her, but quickly averted her attentions to the crackling fire; her smile slowly fading. “I’m… Still kind of scared to go back to Ponyville. I mean, after my sister… And now I’m working for Gaze…” She trailed off on a harsh note; her eyes flicked up to Jack for support.

Scratching at his beard, Jack leaned forward and prodded the fire with a stick. After a moment, he tapped up a response for the timidly waiting mare. “I think you should do the work.” Flitter let out a choked response, but was cut off when Jack held up a single finger. “But you shouldn’t take any guff. Something my Dad told me and my siblings a long time ago, is that you should always be willing to stand up for yourself and others, but know when to do it.” Jack repositioned so he was looking directly at Flitter. “You should take the work, because having money is good. However, if this Gaze pony gives you shit, you break his ass in half.”

The words of bravado earned a mirthful giggle from Flitter as she slumped. “I wish I could do that…” She trailed off before poking the fire.

“Why can’t you?”

Flitter blinked, and turned her head to regard the human, who simply stared at her and made a light ‘Well?’ gesture with his hands. Flitter sputtered lightly as she stared at him. “W-well… I’m small, and weak. Everypony can push me around. I’m not tough, like my sister.” She grumbled the last part.

Jack sat back a bit and started chewing the inside of his cheek. “Is that it? You don’t think that you can be tough enough? Listen, plenty of-”

The mare suddenly seemed to become much more animated as she bolted up, as if struck by revelation. She closed on Jack quickly, her eyes wide. “C-could you make me tough?” She asked desperately.

“Uh… I probably could, but-”

“Pleeeeaaase?” Flitter sniffled a bit, and batted her eyelashes several times. It looked as if tears were beginning to well up in her eyes; just waiting for the opportune moment to strike. “I… I just wanna be more like my daddy wanted me to be. I’m tired of everypony pushing me around. I wanna be like you.” She stated finally. Jack reached up and scratched at the scruff that was slowly growing in on his face; his eyes regarding Flitter critically. The mare squirmed under his scrutiny, but otherwise stayed still and quiet. After what seemed like eternity, Jack leaned back and smiled toothily.

“I think we can make it work.”

Chapter Six: Smoke Banshee

Oct 7, 2032

Staring at the empty journal entry, Jack found himself at a loss for what to put down. His eyes flicked over to his disorganised hovel, and the empty pill bottles that lay scattered around like cheap confetti. His lower jaw twitched as he thought; his eyes unfocused and his fingers moved about at their own volition. With a start, he shuddered, and everything seemed to refocus in a snap. Standing up with sudden purpose, Jack emptied out his rucksack and grabbed his limp exoskeleton by the metal D-ring. Pulling the construct over his body like a heavy trench jacket, Jack grit his teeth in anticipation.

The exoskeleton whirred quietly, it’s probes connecting with the plugs running across Jacks body. He winced at the pain of the skeletons anchors shooting into his body; pulling it in tight against his exposed flesh along the inset titanium anchor points buried within his muscle and bone. The sharp bite of agony vanished when the plug behind his head made contact with his brain. An insuppressible tremor ran through his body, causing his exoskeleton to clatter and flex in response. Setting his jaw tightly, Jack flexed and stretched; the skeleton mirrored every movement perfectly, working as an exact extension of his body. A quiet sigh escaped Jack as he sat back down on his cot; his exoskeleton clicking almost inaudibly.

Cocking his head to check the entrance to his home; Jack saved his empty journal update and locked his PDA. As he stood up, a slight breeze made it through the tarpaulin and sent a shiver through his body. Jack shook his head as he pulled on some of his warmer gear and started setting up for his night run. Checking the charge level on his night vision goggles; Jack’s features split with a slight grin. Maybe I should go pay Flitter a visit at her work instead of waiting. A quiet chuckle escaped him as he stuck his knife in it’s sheath. Yeah. That’d go over great. Might break her managers face while I’m there, and get some wings to go. Hah.

With an enthused laugh, Jack stood up and adjusted his nearly empty pack; his small smile remained on his face as he pulled his ad-hoc cloth balaclava over it. Silently slipping out into the night; The human was unaware that he was in fact being watched as he passed his boundary stakes, and moved towards the outskirts of Ponyville. Jacks legs propelled him across the distance between the forest and the town at a prodigious rate; an enthused cackle escaped the human as he ran as fast as he could bear. The wind ripped past him, tousling the stubbly ends of his hair and ripping tears from his eyes. He was quickly forced to cut his speed, and favour a lower approach, one that wouldn’t get him noticed. Little did he know, he had already been noticed.

__________________________________________________________________________

Flitter glanced up at the bulky wall mounted clock as the clunky steam cleaning machine ran through the most recent wave of dishes the mare had just sent through. Steam washed over Flitter, matting her fur and causing her mane to cling to her head like a damp mop. Brushing her damp mane out of her eyes, Flitter sighed quietly and rested against her work station. After a moment, Flitter stood straight, and poked her head out again. A small smile spread across her features as she looked up at the clock. Before she could get too preoccupied with anything, the machine behind Flitter ‘dinged’, forcing her to go to the other end and open it up. Steam poured out excessively, bathing the poor mare from head to chest as she pulled out the steaming hot rack of dishes. She winced as she put them away; her shift slowly ticking away in tandem with business hours. After what felt like eons, Flitter pulled off her apron and let it hang on its set hook. Turning to the cook, who was busy cleaning; she waved idly. “Bye Custer, I’ll see you tomorrow.”

The cook offered the smallest of nods to the mare before going back to scrapping the flattop clean; obviously not caring as Flitter exited the restaurant through the back door. Once outside, Flitter reveled in the cool fall air, as it was a lovely far cry from the sweatshop that was the dish-pit of that wretched establishment. Subconsciously, Flitter realized that the new, heavy metal door hadn’t closed behind her. Just as she started turning to check it, somepony cleared their throat. Flitter glanced over her shoulder, only to find her manager standing at the door with a barely hidden lerring smirk.

“Evening Flitter. Leaving us already?” He asked; his voice like slimy silk. To some unsuspecting mare, he would sound like quite the gentlestallion. Flitter knew he was anything but.

Nodding, Flitter turned her flank away from him as swiftly as she could. “Yep, just finished up my shift.” She tried to suppress the urge to fidget.

The stallion smiled. “Well, I have an offer for you Flitter.” Her ears pricked up slightly, and Flitter found herself nodding slowly. Gaze smiled at her again before continuing. “I was hoping that you would join me for some wine; once I lock up of course.” He propped up an award winning smirk.

Flitter failed to hide her cringe; thankfully it was quite dark out already, so Gaze hadn’t caught it. “I… I would love to, but I promised my friend that I’d meet him after I finished work.”

Gaze dropped the smile in favour of a displeased frown. “Oh? And what about your coltfriend? Goldie was it? Meeting somepony behind his back?”

But it’s perfectly fine so long as I’m meeting you. Flitter thought bitterly as her wings fidgeted. “No, Gaze. I’m just meeting a friend. And I really shouldn’t keep him waiting. He’s a little… Flighty.”

“Right.” Gaze looked over his shoulder, before looking at Flitter again. He cocked his head in such a way that Flitter knew what he was going to do before the words even started to leave his lips. “Listen Flitter, I know that you’re off shift, but I couldn’t help but notice that you forgot to mop the floors. Again.” Gaze set his jaw as he stared at her expectantly.

Fighting the urge to flip him off with both wings and take to the skies, Flitter grit her teeth before speaking. “We both know that I mopped the dish-pit. The front is Jewels job.”

“And Jewel has already left for the night. You however, have not.” He smiled again, but there was no charm in this one. “But, if you really don’t want to, I’m sure I can find somepony else who will clean dishes and mop the floors properly when told to.” He turned, and trotted back to his office.

Flitter had to bite her tongue to stop herself from screaming in frustration. She trotted back into the kitchen, and began filling up a mop bucket. slapping the mop against the grubby floors did little to abate her anger. With some small spots left completely untouched, Flitter managed to slip out the back door twenty minutes after her shift had ended. I’m soooo late… Jack might not even be there! The thought caused an uneasy stirring in Flitters stomach as she flew to the park.

Landing on the soft green grass some few minutes later, Flitter glanced around furtively. The park was almost completely blacked out, save for a few stray lampposts that followed the main trail. To her chagrin, the park was much more populated than she had hoped. Cloud Chasers boss was napping in a tree -Flitter hoped the prismatic mare was unconscious- and a couple ponies moved too and fro through the dark park. The knot in Flitters stomach tightened further as she moved towards an empty bench near a large collection of bushes. Just before she could reach said bench, she noticed Miss Oakenbaulm out, walking her human as usual. The old mare stopped by the bench, and waited patiently as her female human wandered about, sniffing lazily. She suddenly seemed to become incredibly interested in the collection of bushes, going as far to start pulling the withered old mare along so she could simply get better access at what was inside. Miss Oakenbaulm snapped quietly, and yarded on the leash. The human female yelped, and fell back in step with the old mare, only to stop and relieve herself on the bench Flitter was aiming for.

Sighing to herself, Flitter picked up her pace as soon as Oakenbaulm had moved on. As she approached, the bushes shook, and a tall human stood from them, gesturing rudely and wildly at the mare and human. Flitter giggled quietly as she watched Jack; waiting for him to come to his senses.

Shaking his head, Jack pulled his PDA from his clothing, and tapped at it as Flitter closed the distance. /What the flying fuck was that./ The voice asked, lacking much of the emotion Flitter assumed Jack would have prefered to use for that statement.

Flitter giggled again, her stress slowly dissipating. “What’s a flying f… Fudge?” She asked with a half cocked smirk as Jack pulled himself from the grabby bush branches.

/That, apparently./ He answered, adding in a huff of disbelief. /She was like a dog or something./ Jack made a face, before shaking his head. He beckoned for Flitter to follow along behind him.

“Jack, that was a normal human.” Flitter answered as she flapped her wings to catch up with the humans long strides. “Haven’t you seen one before? They all act like that. Well, kind of.” She looked up at him, smiling. Her smile faded slightly, seeing his dark expression and fidgeting fingers. He had a small weapon clutched in one of his hands; it was like the bigger ‘laser’ ray gun that he had shown her several days ago, but much more compact. Flitter frowned. “Why did you bring a ray gun with you?” Jack glanced over at her and scrunched up his face and starting to tap something, before a stallions voice caught them both off guard.

“Flitter! Hey, Flitter! Wait up!”

Barely managing to smother an exasperated groan; Flitter looked up at Jack. The human had tensed; just standing next to Jack as he coiled up like a spring caused the fur on Flitters neck to raise in an attempt to give her flight or flight instinct a kick. Swallowing, Flitter smiled weakly at Jack. “Act natural, and let me do the talking.” She said in a low voice as the pegasus stallion landed by them. Flitter forced a fake smile and moved forward to hug her colt-friend. “Goldie!” She exclaimed as she embraced the cheating stallion.

Goldie grinned happily as he embraced Flitter; one of his wings draping over her back as they broke off. “I’ve been looking all over for you! It’s almost like you’ve been avoiding me all week or something.” He smiled happily, before blowing a golden lock out of his eyes. Said eyes drifted to the rather imposing human standing next to Flitter. “What’s with the mean human?” He asked quizzically.

Maintaining her fake smile, Flitter found herself relieved seeing that Jack had slumped, and taken on a dazed look. If it weren’t for his unnatural bulk and the rather intricate clothes, he could have passed for an Equestrian human. “Who? Jack? I’m looking after him. For a friend.” She batted Goldies side rather roughly with a wing. “And I wasn’t avoiding you! I was just super busy with work and trying to work around Jack.”

“Is he safe?” The stallion asked as he moved a little closer, inspecting the so called ‘Jack’. “What a weird name for a human. Jack. It’s almost like half a name.” As Goldie reached out to touch Jack, the human turned his head and stared directly at Goldie with heated malevolence. Goldie immediately drew back, looking startled and worried. “Did you see that?”

Flitter sighed quietly. “He’s a pit human, my friend bought him from some griffons during her last trip north. Jack is actually very pleasant.” Flitter trotted over to his side and nuzzled the human. “He’s a big softyyyy. Aren’t you Jack? Yes you are!” Jack grumbled quietly in response, and scratched behind Flitters ears.

His worries somewhat abated, Goldie approached Flitter again. “If you say so Flitty.” He smiled at her, before rubbing her side. “Are you busy right now? Want to go somewhere?”

Flitter tore her attention from Jack to give Goldie a knowing look. “It’s almost eleven Goldie. Somewhere is closed. Are you just trying to ask me if I want to go home with you?” She smiled again, and almost meant it.

“No! No, well… Yes.” Goldie nodded in defeat. “I haven’t seen you in days; is it wrong to want to spend time with my lovely marefriend?” He smooched her cheek, before letting his eyes flit nervously to the almost impossibly tall human. Had Flitter said that he was a pit fighter? Goldie swallowed. Pit Fighters were killers, especially if they were still alive.

Running a hoof through her bangs, Flitter couldn’t help but sigh. “I really wish I could, but Jack needs to go for a run, and I need to clean up-” Flitter wracked her brain for a name she could get away with using that she wouldn’t be called on. “-Blossomforth’s. Since Mister Gaze has me working so late, I don’t get to do any of the house sitting that I’d promised to do for her while she’s out of town. Sorry Goldie.” She frowned sadly.

“Oh? How long would that all take? The walk I mean? Maybe we could-” The stallion smiled coyly. “-Maybe I could help you with the cleaning.” He nibbled Flitters ear, making her gasp quietly. “I would love to spend some time with you. Give anything in the whole wide world for a few minutes” The human shifted, his movements holding a strange feeling to them; it set Goldie on edge whenever he did so much as look at ‘Jack’.

Flitter could feel her blush burning brightly at her cheeks, and all forethoughts and plans went out the window. “O-oh.. W-well… Um…” She pawed the ground as her wings fluttered “I-I don’t really know how long Jack’s run will take, a-and-”

“And?” Goldie asked as he kissed the point where her jaw met her soft neck.

The only sound Flitter could make was a flustered squeak; her wings fidgeting uncomfortably against her sides. “W-well.. B-blossomforth d-didn’t…” She melted a little as Goldie nuzzles her again; he was making his cute little face again. Flitter couldn’t resist the cute little face. “I… I suppose I could-” Flitter stopped as Jack’s head snapped to the side, his eyes locked onto the treeline. His visible hand fidgeted oddly; tapping rhythmically at his side. Flitter bit her lip as she thought. I’m supposed to be angry with Goldie, not going on a date with him! OHHhh… He’s the nicest stallion I know though…. I-It might have just been a one time thing… yeah… Cloud Chaser must have… Wooed him… Because she’s pretty, and she ‘knows’ stallions…. But Jack… Flitter looked up at Jack, who seemed mildly distressed as his eyes roved the landscape. He didn’t do so much as glance back at the two. Flitter swallowed. “I-I suppose we could just bring him back to Blossomforths and get him in her yard…”

Goldie kissed Flitters jaw again as he smiled. “Sounds like a plan Flitty.” He motioned towards the entrance of the park, the one that led back to Ponyville. Flitter nodded dumbly, and followed beside Goldie. Just as they started moving, Flitter made a loud click with her tongue. Jack was pulled from his thoughts, and back into the moment. He started following beside Flitter and her colfriend, albeit with confusion as to what exactly they were doing. As they walked, Jack lightly swatted Flitters tail as it swished back and forth in front of him, before picking up the pace to be beside the mare. He looked down at her, waiting for her to look at him and give him an explanation.

Flitter felt a hot blush spread across her muzzle, and so she ignored whatever it was that had moved her tail, and focused on getting to the right house. The mare finally breathed a sigh of relief as they reached Blossomforth’s dark home. Flitter led Goldie and Jack around the side, and opened up the gate. She motioned for Jack to enter. He simply stared at her, then at the gate.

What the fuck is she doing… Maybe… I don’t fucking know. She better not be leaving me here. Jack frowned as Flitter motioned again, and the gold maned pegasus eyed him nervously. You want a piece of me boy? Jack suppressed the urge to snarl at Goldie.

“He doesn’t seem to follow directions very well, and-” Goldie stopped, and looked around the dark yard. “It doesn’t look like Blossomforth has a human house. Does he sleep on her porch or something?” Goldie clicked his tongue as he looked over Jack.

“Hmm? O-oh. Yeah, Blossomforth doesn’t have a house for him yet.” Flitter shuffled nervously, and gestured a little bit more aggressively for Jack to enter the yard. Jack frowned heavily, and finally complied. As he entered, he kept his eyes locked onto Flitters; silently asking ‘What are you doing?’

Flitter mouthed ‘I’m sorry’ and turned away. She started trotting away, with Goldie at her side and an incredulous Jack behind her. As the pair trotted just beyond the home and out onto the street, Goldie popped his question.

“Have you thought of renting him out while Blossomforth is out of town?”

________________________________________________________________

Jack was fuming mad.

To be truthful, Jack wasn’t just mad. There were many thoughts and emotions rattling around in his mind. Anger was simply the loudest as he trudged through the dark fields towards the forest. He growled angrily, and kicked a small rock with aggressive force. He didn’t watch as the stone sailed off and rang off a small cottage’s thatched roof.

That traitorous BITCH! He growled; his right arm vibrating in its socket. I was stood up for a BOOTY CALL! His arm bounced off his side, and he was finally forced to grasp his hand tightly to hold it still. A burning sensation coursed through his bicep and across his right shoulder. Jack grit his teeth, and did his best to ignore the sensation.

As he stomped along, something black and shapeless flitted across the edge of his vision. Jack stopped dead in his tracks, and drew his sabot pistol. He started scanning the area slowly, trying to spot whatever was hiding in the dark. The spot snapped past again, only closer. Jack tensed, feeling something cold and sharp dig into his shoulders. -jack-

The voice was feminine and keen-edged; sending a bolt of terror shooting up his spine and into his brain. He knew that voice, and yet, he didn’t. Whirling around, Jack fired wildly. -KRAKOOM- The super-heated steel spike hurtled out of the pistols muzzle; snapping through the air, and only the air. Breathing heavily, Jack backed up along the field; he paid no attention to the light coming to life in the cottage and in the village. The fingers of fear slid up his spine and laid down on his head and shoulders like a shawl. Jack coughed roughly as a course curse tried to force it’s way through whatever was blocking his speech. His feet maintained their heading; though, when he saw nothing but life awakening in the cottage, he turned tail and bolted along the trail. His enhanced limbs pumped to their fullest as adrenaline pumped through his veins, and the air rushed past his face. Jacks boots dug deep into the frozen earth, churning up tracks in his wake as he ran pell-mell into Whitetail Woods.

Barreling into his cave, Jack forced his ad-hoc wooden palisade against the entrance before bracing it with a large log. To ensure that it was in and solid, Jack slammed his shoulder into it, sending it deeper into the palisade and the earth; it sent a bolt of swiftly ignored pain in return. Stepping back and looking around feverishly, Jack found himself at a loss for what to do. He had to do something though. His eyes darted to his armour, and a crazed grin split across his features. He practically threw himself into it, setting the heavy metal coffin into its emergency state. The frontal plates and clamps slammed home and locked in place as his read-outs and HUD came online. A quick jerk of his head saw that his radar was completely empty, save for his own blue dot; it sat quietly and calmly in the center of the circle.

Now having his rifle propped against his shoulder, a rock wall at his back, and thick infantry armour draped over him, Jack found the niggling feeling of pain worming its way back into his skull; the fear slowly edging it’s way out in tandem. To keep his arm from jerking and shaking, he pinned it against a rocky outcrop. His rifle muzzle tracked across the blocked exit, waiting for a target that wouldn’t show. He checked his local map again and mentally cursed.

There was absolutely nothing.

Not a single thing.

What the fucking fuck was that!? He thought with worry, before slumping against the wall. I’m… I’m losing my mind… Oh, God help me… Jack pulled his helmet free, and switched the armour on to ‘safe’ mode. He rubbed the tweaked bridge of his nose roughly, but with enough caution to not crush it between his armoured fingers. Without further fretting, he reached over, and yanked a random bottle of alcohol from his stash. The top came off without any effort, and the muzzle of the bottle found itself turned upside down within moments. Jack chugged the hard alcohol, before pulling the bottle away from his lips to cough and hack. He bared his teeth in disgruntlement; the look swiftly turned into a hate filled sneer.

“RAAAAHHH!!!” Jack roared in frustration and hurled the bottle against his palisade, causing it to shatter into a million shining shards and to scatter across the earth and rock floor. He curled up against the wall, and rested his armoured arms across his raised knees. Six fraggin years out of the Corps…...Сукин сын… Sorry Mum. Jack rubbed his face and sighed quietly, before grabbing another bottle. He worked this one a little bit slower than the first. Semper-fucking-fi.

__________________________________________________________________

“Wake up! For God’s sake! You’re a mess Jack! Look at you!” Guy Kessle bellowed as Jack rubbed the remains of sleep from the corners of his eyes. Guy threw open the shades, and let the blazing prairie sun in.

“Fuck’s sake Dad!” Jack tried feebly to shield his eyes from the harsh glare of the sun. Everything was fuzzy. Everything hurt. His chest ached badly, and his thighs itched like mad where the metal met inflamed flesh. “Just give me a minute to wake up before you blow up on me!”

“It’s two in the afternoon!” Guy ground his teeth together, before lowering his voice. His worry became apparent immediately. “Jack, please. Just… Listen for a moment. I’m sorry I blew up on you. It just kills me to see you like this! You’re living like an animal! A drunk! You’re a Marine for God’s sake!” Guy placed his well worn hands on Jacks shoulders, causing the younger man to slump them in shame.

“Dad… I’m sorry… I just… I just can’t. I can’t do anything anymore… I can’t think straight when I’m on these… These FUCKING PILLS!” Jack grabbed the orange pharmacy container and whipped it across the room that he’d spent his childhood in. “Everything hurts! All the time! I can’t think, I can’t breath, I can’t feel my fucking legs!” Jack wailed in anger and frustration.

The dream-memory twisted, imperceivably to Jack. Somebody tried to open a very small door, in the very back of the dream, but found that they couldn’t.

“Jack.” Guy said with strength as he stood, his face altering ever so slightly. “You’re a filthy disgrace the Corps. Look at you. Half a man with no legs.” The DI that had made Jack’s life hell in boot camp was snarling in his face, but only for a moment. It was replaced with another; this one far more painful. Jack recoiled at what was happening before him.

“It’s not working Jack. I left you for Paul.” Ellissa stared into Jacks wavering eyes with her steady emerald eyes. “I’m not sorry. You should have seen this coming. I mean come on! Look at you! You were never anything more than a passing fling!”

Jack roared in anger, taking a swing at his ex-fiance’s smug face. He wanted to see it shatter into a million pieces. The dream warped, shifting invisibly. The door bowed as great force was pressed against it from outside.

Ellissa laughed as Jack’s fist passed straight through her. She lashed out, and struck him across the chest; Jack suddenly felt himself flying through the air as all the air in his lungs left him. He hit the ground gracelessly, and swiftly found he couldn’t stand to meet the threat. Heat blasted sand surrounded him; blood and debris littered the area liberally. Jack blinked in shock, before shakily looking down at his legs, or where they should have been, in place of blackened bloody stumps..

He loosed a blood curdling scream just as the tiny door was blown off it’s hinges.

”ENOUGH!”

Chapter Six Point Five: Banshee's Wake

The morning sun shone through the wide open window in Goldie's cloud-home, casting a pleasant shade of orange over everything. Unfortunately for one individual, the sun was shining directly in her eyes, and she was currently pinned under her coltfriend's wing. Meaning, she couldn't do anything. Flitter mashed her eyelids together in the vain hope that her retinas could stop being fried for a single second. When that failed, she buried her face into Goldie's feathers. The stallion stirred; a quiet mumble of something incoherent and pointless spilled from his muzzle. After a long moment, he managed to slur a ‘Good Morning’, and nuzzle Flitter's neck.

“Morning.” Flitter said weakly as she shifted about to remove the sun from her face. As she moved, Flitter winced in pain. Last nights session had been… Rough. Sighing quietly, Flitter fluttered her wings; batting Goldie's aside as she did so.

As Flitter stood and stretched, Goldie sat up in bed. “So, what do you have planned for the day?” He asked as he wiped sleep from his eyes. Goldie stretched his wings, before fluttering them daintily.

“Oh you know, stuff.” Flitter answered plainly as she stumbled into the en-suite bathroom. Goldie started preening himself idly as he waited for the mare to finish up. Within a minute, he heard a sharp shriek of pain.

“What the buck did you do to my mane last night!?” Flitter exclaimed angrily from the bathroom. Goldie cackled in response, and received a flying manebrush upside the head, courtesy of Flitter. The mare glared at him half-heartedly, before shaking her head. “Butthead.” As Flitter turned back towards the bathroom, her flanks were grabbed from behind, and she swiftly found herself being pulled backwards to the bed. Flitter managed a surprised yelp, before being smothered in coltfriend.

____________________________________________________________________

About an hour later, and with much prodding from Flitter, the pair found themselves outside and trotting down Main Street. To their surprise, there seemed to be a large gathering of animals in front of the library. The ever recognizable Twilight Sparkle seemed to be speaking to a thoroughly rattled Fluttershy. Flitter perked an ear. If anything ever interesting or dangerous happened around town, the Elements were Always involved.

“I wonder what emergency it is this time. Maybe she ran out of bird feed.” Goldie chuckled quickly at his own joke, before looking at Flitter. He arched an eyebrow at the mare at his side with curiosity. “What’s up with you?”

Flitter shushed him immediately, and resumed listening in on the conversation. She didn’t enjoy eavesdropping, but something the cowardly pegasus had said had caught her attention.

“I’m sure of it Twilight, it looked exactly like a human. Twilight… Have you ever thought that maybe there’s more of them out there? Like M-”

Twilight immediately shushed Fluttershy as her eyes flitted about nervously. Flitter hid her expression of interest with the look of a kicked puppy.

It sounds like Jack might have gotten into trouble last night… I definitely need to see him, and soon. Flitter winced at the thought of confronting a possibly aggravated Jack. She knew he was capable of violence, and she had no idea where his boundaries lay. He wouldn’t hurt me, would he? We’re… Friends? As Flitter thought to herself quietly, she was suddenly jarred from her line of thought as Goldie batted her side.

“Equis to Sky-cadet.” He grinned at her. "I said, You want to grab breakfast?” He asked as he smiled faintly. He gestured towards one of Ponyvilles dining establishments with a wing. It was one that Flitter had eaten at before, but hadn’t enjoyed.

Flitter was about to nod yes despite herself, before she caught Fluttershy raising her voice above a whisper. “B-but there was an explosion… All the animals are scared, and I can’t make the poor dears stay without me there when they’re like that..”

Immediately thinking of Jack, and the worst possible situation he could have run into walking home in the dark; Flitter shook her head no. “I have to do my run. Maybe I’ll catch up with you later?” She offered as a consolation prize.

Goldie made a face that said he was both skeptical, and entertained by the mere idea of what Flitter had said. “Run? You don’t run Flitty. You fuzzy little jokester.” He grinned, before draping a wing over her side in an attempt to lead her to the restaurant. “Come on, I’ll buy.”

To his infinite surprise, Flitter shook her head, and broke off from his side. “Sorry, but I’ve got to go.” She smiled softly at him, before pecking his cheek. “Rain-cheque?”

Sighing quietly; Goldie nodded confirmation, before pecking Flitters lips with his own. “Rain-cheque. But you owe me for this. Standing me up like that. Hump and Run.” He pouted cutely at Flitter, before bowing a lock of golden mane from his eyes..

Suppressing her giggle, Flitter waved good-bye to Goldie. “I promise I’ll make it up to you!” She flapped her wings hard, and took off towards Whitetail Woods. Once she was outside the villages limits, Flitter allowed her intense worry to finally show through.

________________________________________________________

Landing just shy of the entrance to Jacks ‘FOB’ -As he’d called it-, Flitter went to trot through the camouflage tarp- And promptly ran muzzle first into what felt like a wooden wall. Scrunching her face up in surprise and pain; Flitter regarded the shimmering tarp before her. She cautiously brushed it aside with a hoof, and found that there was indeed a wooden wall blocking her path. Flitter pouted slightly, before searching for a way around it.

Several minutes later of searching and fretting, Flitter finally managed to find a relatively loose point in the wall. Pressing against it with all of her might, Flitter found herself sliding down it and into the frozen dirt. A disgruntled growl escaped the flustered mare, who got back up, and tried again. This time, the point shifted, ever so slightly. When the point shifted, it opened up a small spot where Flitter was sure she could slip through if she sucked in her pudge. Sticking her head in through the hole, Flitter realized that she couldn’t see anything in the pitch-black cave. Biting her cheek nervously with trepidation to the unknown; Flitter flapped her wings, and forced herself through the small opening.

Flitter landed on her flank, and immediately regretted it as a shard of glass dug into her soft flesh. A pained squeal escaped her as she hopped up- And promptly stepped on another piece of glass. “Gaaaah!” Flitter cried out in pain, before flapping her wings rapidly to take her off the glass covered ground. Flitter hovered forward until she could no longer see any more pieces reflecting the light from outside. Landing carefully, Flitter lifted her hoof and gingerly removed the small hunk of glass from the center of her hoof with her teeth. Just as she pulled the bit from her hoof, something large and metallic moved, catching the intruding rays. The mare’s eyes went wide, and she froze in place. The only sound that was made was the bloody bit of glass falling from her lips.

“Jack?” Flitter asked cautiously, only to receive no answer. “Hello?” Edging forward discreetly until she was in front of Jacks armoured form; Flitter scrunched her muzzle again. “you smell like a brewery…” She muttered toward the clearly snoozing human, who had several empty bottles littering the ground around him. Jack moved slightly, his right arm shaking strangely; like it had a mind of its own.

“Iz-fuh…”

The mares eyebrows shot up into her fringe as Jack muttered something completely incoherent in his sleep. His voice was softer than the electronic voice that Flitter had come to assume as his own voice. Currently Jack was making random-esque noises, in place of words. His face twitched, and he seemed to be scowling. Flitter smiled weakly as she trotted closer to Jack. “Jack? Wakey wakey.” She was about to poke his face, but the human jerked violently; his facial and neck muscles vibrating and twitching erratically.

“nuh…”

Flitter furrowed her brow in worry as Jack started breathing heavily. “Jack?”

Before Flitter could press any further, Jack’s eyes shot open as if on springs. Jack spasmed upward, and loosed a scream of terror and pain that froze Flitter’s blood in her veins. Lunging forward, Flitter barely managed to avoid being crushed as the armoured Jack sprang to his feet. He stumbled around in a violent haze, before lurching. He stumbled quickly to the entrance, and door-kicked the wall out of its place. The entire construct blew outwards, and Jack followed behind it swiftly. He didn’t make it far, and Flitter was right behind him.

Hitting a tree shoulder first mid-stumble saw the old oak groan and shake; it then saw Jack fall to his knees to dry heave. When nothing came out, He rolled, and fell onto his armoured ass. Alighting near his feet, Flitter watched on in silent horror as Jack stifled a long, pained yell with his hands. His armoured fingers raked across his face as he shook.

“J-jack? A-are you alright?” Flitter moved up to the near-catatonic human as he pressed the palms of his hands against his face. “Jack?” She asked again, her voice cracking in fear.

Jack?

The mare’s voice echoed through his skull; a second rode it in like a stow-away. Jack grit his teeth painfully, and lunged at Elissa’s voice. Grasping her by both sides of the head, Jack glared down at the fiery redhead with all the hatred and pain that had swam up at the sound of her voice.

I’LL CRUSH YOUR SKULL, YOU JODIE-FUCKING WHORE!!!

Jacks fingers dug in, but something in him held back. It demanded that he relent, and it demanded loudly. It was like somebody stronger than he was was holding his hands where they were, all while screaming white-noise in his ears.

Jack! P-please! It’s me! The scared voice cut through the static, the hatred, and the pain. .

For a small moment, Jack didn’t see his ex-fiance in his hands. Instead, all he saw a small, terrified little girl, begging for her life. He was going to kill her. Could have. Should have. Hot shame flooded Jacks mind, and he immediately loosened his grip and pulled the small mare against his armoured breastplate.

Flitter sucked in a ragged breath as Jack recognised her and released his death-grip on her skull. Sucking back a sob of pain, Flitter suddenly found herself in a tight hug. Closing her eyes, Flitter wrapped her hooves around the shaking figure without a single word. Jack took in a shaky breath as he petted the mares mane and back in a weak attempt to calm both Flitter, and himself.

After several minutes of the pair sitting there, Flitter weakly nuzzled against the humans chin. “Y-you can let go now…” Jack complied without hesitation; his hands falling limp to his sides. When Flitter looked up at him, she found he couldn’t meet her gaze. I didn’t think a human could look so sad… Flitter wiped her eyes, before looking back up at Jack. His visage was twisted with sorrow and regret. His eyes wavered, and he didn’t seem to be quiet there. “Jack.” Flitter said with a sturdy voice. “I’m okay. You didn’t hurt me.” She said, a weak smile spreading across her muzzle.

Finally, Jack turned his head and looked straight at the small mare. He returned the weak smile, before rubbing his face. His shoulders slumped, and he seemed to relax a bit more. A quiet sigh escaped him; his mouth opened again as he looked down at Flitter. “-!” His eyes went wide again; he turned his head to the side just as he started to cough and hack. His armoured hand went to his throat; it rubbed away ineffectively, resulting in a disgruntled roll of Jacks eyes.

Smiling weakly, Flitter stood up and got off of his lap. “I-it’s okay… I think I know what you wanted to say.” She offered a hoof to the human. There was no possible way for her to pull him up as he was, but the gesture carried its own weight and message. Jack smirked apologetically as he took the offered hoof and pushed up. He staggered up to his feet, and barely managed to keep from falling over as all the blood flooded from his brain to his thighs. Jack shook his head, before working a thumb into his temple. His eyes wandered over to Flitter, and were followed by a light smile. He beckoned for her to follow.

Jacks cybernetic feet crushed the glass underfoot as he trodded into his home. As the broken glass cracked and snapped loudly, he looked down and lifted an armoured boot. He made a face, and started to brush the sharp mess to the side of the tunnel with his foot.

“So… What was that all about?” Flitter asked quietly as she hovered across the entrance’s floor. Her hoof ached painfully at the mere thought of additional shards that were most definitely scattered around the cave. Her head still pounded painfully, but it had thankfully died down to a dull ache. Flitter landed by the fire, just as Jack was pulling up his PDA and rubbing sleep from his eyes. To her surprise, Jack didn’t answer right away. His right hand flexed and moved about as he seemed to stare off into nothingness. Flitter furrowed her brow in concern. “Is it because I… you know…” She pawed the ground as her shame caught up with her. This might be all my fault…

“I had a bad dream.”

The answer caught Flitter both off guard, and completely by surprise. She stared at Jack for a long moment, before scooting slightly closer. “S-so you didn’t do… All of that, because of me?”

“Oh, I’m still really mad at you, but I think we’re almost even after all of that.” He grinned at her, his usual personality finally showing through.

Flitter pouted as she sat down on the little pillow that she’d brought into the cave several days ago; despite that, she was still curious as to what was going on in Jacks head. “Okay, okay… So I made a dumb decision… Sorry.” Jack snorted lightly and gently knocked her over with the toe of his boot, just before backing up against the wall. Flitter grumbled as she pushed herself back up, but her attention was again taken up by Jacks armour unfolding to let him out. Her ears twitched in tandem with the systematic ‘click-clack’ his armour made. Within short order, the human stepped out of his armour and stretched. The odour that followed him made Flitter gag and wheeze. “S-sweet Celestia! Jack, when was the last time you bathed!?” She flapped her wings rapidly, before shielding her face with her soft feathers.

Arching an eyebrow, Jack lifted one of his arms and sniffed. He grimaced, and swiftly lowered his arm. He pursed his lips in embarrassment, and drummed his fingers off his thigh. “Not recently. Cold sweat and alcohol also do not agree with each other.” He smiled weakly, before looking around. “One of the things I lack here.” He chewed the inside of his cheek, before shrugging.

“No.” Flitter shook her head as she approached the human. Jack squawked with indignation as she started herding him towards the exit by butting her head up against his ass. “You’re going to the lake to wash up right now.” She said with a stern voice.

“But the people.”

Jack protested, but was shot down immediately by Flitter as she moved from behind him. She gently bit down on his fingers, and started leading him like that. “Der’sh nawpawney dere.” She said around his beaten-up digits. Jack grunted in displeasure as he reached out and grabbed something on the ground. He quickly gave up, and started keeping pace behind the small mare. After several minutes of leading Jack along by the fingers, Flitter released his fingers. She tried clean the taste of alcohol, sweat, and gun oil from her tongue as Jack followed along behind her. She failed horribly at her attempt.

The walk to the lake wasn’t a long one, and thankfully, the lake was deserted completely. Being a week-day, and in the morning, it was liable to stay that way for a few hours. As Flitter broke away from Jack, she noticed that he had a small bag in his free hand. The mare cocked her head in curiosity. “What’s in the bag?” To her chagrin, she didn’t receive an answer as Jack knelt down by the waters edge. He stuck one of his fingers into the water; he swiftly pulled it out and shook it. His typed answer would have been scathing if it hadn’t been for the emotionless voice of the PDA.

“That shit is fucking cold.”

Giggling as she approached him, Flitter motioned towards the lake. “Come on Smelly, it can’t be that cold.” She grinned at him, and received a foul scowl in return. “Go on, jump in!” She urged Jack on, only to get another odd look. He shook his head, and sat down on the sand. Flitters brows shot up into her fringe as the human started pulling off his clothes. I forgot about that… whoopsie! She smiled weakly at herself, before taking a seat next to Jack and his bag. As he stripped down to what she knew to be his undergarments, Flitter found herself with another set of surprises. Her eyes flitted over Jack’s ripcord musculature, and the inctricate imagery that was seemingly pressed into his skin. The images were only broken up by the criss-crossing scars that riddled almost every major joint and movement point. There were several others, but they looked much less… Surgical, in origins. On top of that, they all lined up with the perfect circles of metal that dotted his body. His metal exo-skeleton was attached to said circles of metal. She was about to question their meaning when Jack popped his left leg off. Flitter squeaked in surprise as he placed the removed limb by his side. His right leg soon followed, and by then, Flitter had managed to calm down. “I-I didn’t realise they came off…” She said quietly.

Jack shrugged noncommittally as he disconnected his exo-skeleton; letting it fall onto the sand like a lifeless husk. He then unzipped the small bag; pulling two rubber disks from it, and several small rubber plugs. He grunted in displeasure as he reefed the disks over the metal connectors that ended his flesh and blood thighs half way down. Next, he started popping the plugs in where the exo-skeleton had attached to his body. Jack reached back into the bag, and pulled out a small bar of soap, and a small bottle.

A cross frown formed on Flitters muzzle. “You had soap and stuff, and you didn’t use it? Jack, you-” She squeaked in surprise, before shrieking as Jack grabbed onto her barrel, and rolled into the frigid lake with her in tow. Flitter thrashed in panic as the stinging cold soaked straight through her coat. She was not much of a swimmer. And neither are humans! She thought, and a pang of panic coursed through her. If Jack wasn’t paying attention, he could drown and take her down with him! Suddenly finding herself free from his grip, Flitter whirled around in the water-

-Jack had already distanced himself from her, using some strange way of moving his body to propel himself about without using his legs. He seemed to be almost at home in the water, unlike his Equine counterparts. Flitter felt the panic draining from her system as she surfaced. A quick shiver escaped the mare, and she suddenly remembered that she was freezing. Paddling to the shore as fast as she could; Flitter coughed and shivered violently as she flopped onto the sand and grass. Definitely a bad idea to go swimming. Jack returned to shore shortly after. He was shivering as well, but his visage was a smug grin, while Flitters was one of smoldering displeasure. “I hate you.” She said without bite.

He didn’t respond; choosing instead to lather up his skull with what Flitter assumed to be shampoo. He dunked his head in the lake, and started running his fingers through his stubbly hair with rapid urgency. He shook his head, before pulling it from the cold water. Flitter shivered at the mere thought of going back in the water. She may have also shivered from being soaking wet as well. To her surprise, Jack turned to face her. He held out the bar of soap, and gestured at his scar-ladden back.

Flitter swallowed lightly, before nodding without a word. She scooted over, and started scrubbing the human clean. It might have come across as comical too anypony watching, seeing a small mare like Flitter have to stretch to reach the looming humans shoulders. He slouched for the first time since Flitter had met him, and his eyes seemed to go slightly dim. Flitter frowned in concern, but carried on until the suds stopped coming off as a dark grey.

Looking over his mostly nude form, Flitter found herself even more curious about Jack. Why does he wear so much clothing? Do all humans like him wear that much? Rarity would have a heart attack if his entire society is like this. She chewed her cheek as she tested her boundaries and started cleaning behind his ears. And what are these pictures? Are they cutie marks? She eyed the tattoos that ran across his shoulders. They don’t look like any I’ve ever seen. I didn’t think that humans even got cutie marks! Flitter cleared her throat, and managed to stir Jack from whatever he had been doing. “So… When did you get your cutie mark?” She asked curiously. “Have you found out what it means yet?”

Jack turned to look at her, a look of concern and utter confusion etched across his features. He blinked at her, before shaking his head. Jack reached into his bag, and pulled out a small towel to dry his hands off with. His rebuttal came soon after. “What the shit are you talking about. Cutie mark.”

A confused smile crossed Flitters muzzle. Of course they call them something else. Silly. “The pictures on your shoulders. Your cutie-mark.” She smiled happily as she finished scrubbing his back and neck.

“Ah. Not ‘cutie mark’. Tattoos. And of course I know what they mean, I had them put on for a reason.” He rolled his eyes, before swifty cleaning his chest and mid-riff. His legs were next; Flitter noticed that he didn’t go anywhere near the rubber disks that capped them.

“You… Had them put on?” Flitter raised a brow in confusion. “How does that even work?” She shook herself, trying to dry off.

“Simple. You decide what you want put on, go to a tattoo artist, and have them put it on.” He glanced over at her, before grunting in displeasure at her clear misunderstanding. “The artist loads a needle full of ink, and rapidly punctures the flesh with it, dabbing a small amount of ink into it as they go. Tends to be painful, depending on where you get them.”

Flitter stared at Jack with abject horror; the thought of a hypodermic needle full of pen ink, punching into her skin and injecting the ink into her made Flitter shiver uncomfortably. “A-and you do this why?”

Setting his jaw, Jack ran a wet hand through his stubbly hair. “To commit to flesh what the mind may forget.” Flitter’s brows raised in surprise, but quickly lowered as she nodded. She was about to launch into her next set of questions when Jack lifted himself up with his arms, and plunked into the water. He started washing off the soapy suds without comment or so much as a glance at Flitter.

Sighing quietly to herself, Flitter grabbed the towel Jack had used earlier and started to dry herself off as best she could. As she did, her eyes and mind began to wander. Goldies words from the night before suddenly rang through her mind.

Have you considered renting him out?

Flitter had scowled at the thought, and had the night before even though she was nearly broke. She would never do that, even if Jack wasn’t what he was. I would never do that. It wouldn’t be right. Flitter scoffed to herself, and drew Jacks attention. He raised an eyebrow at her as he sat halfway in the water. Flitter went red in the cheeks, and started to come up with a believable lie when Jack’s eyes went wide, and he dived under the water.

Feeling a trickle of trepidation and terror leak into her mind, Flitter turned to look over the small path that led to the lake. What she saw definitely was a surprise, but it wasn’t a dangerous one. Or so, she hoped it wasn’t. A small off-white filly was slowly moving towards her; the fillies head swivelled about, and her ears flicked from anxiety. Looking up, the filly smiled weakly as she spotted Flitter sitting at the lakes edge. Smiling lightly despite herself; Flitter waved, and beckoned the filly over. “Hello Sweetie Belle. Shouldn’t you be in school right now?”

“O-oh, um.. no…” Sweetie answered quietly as she trotted closer. Standing awkwardly near Flitter and the waters edge, Sweetie rubbed her forehoof as she avoided eye contact.

“Why not?”

“Rarity doesn’t want me going outside… Cause of what happened…” The filly blinked, her one milky eye refusing to focus.

Flitter winced, and nodded in understanding. “Because of what happened here? At the lake?” She ventured, before glancing at the water. I hope Jack can hold his breath.

Nodding almost imperceptibly, Sweetie approached a little closer. “I-I saw you flying out here this morning… I-I w-wanted to say- I wanted to say… Thank you.” She sniffed, before wiping her eyes with the back of her forehoof. “Thank you for saving me and my friends…”

“For… Saving you?” Blinking dumbly, Flitter felt the familiar sensation of a hot blush creeping onto her cheeks. Pawing the ground lightly, Flitter looked away from the scarred filly. “I… It wasn’t much… I just… Did what anypony else would have done.” Chuckling weakly at her own words, the mare found herself feeling almost like a fraud.

“Nopony else helped though Miss Flitter.” Sweetie stated quietly; the words almost had a resolute feeling to them. “You came and got us to run. B-but I didn’t run as far as Apple Bloom and Scootaloo… I saw the human.”

Flitters eyes snapped up to lock with Sweeties, causing the small filly to recoil ever so slightly. “Y-you saw him?” Flitter asked nervously as her ears flicked. “Have you… told anypony about this?” She fought to keep her eyes from floating to the lake. To her relief, Sweetie shook her head.

“No… I know you didn’t either.” Sweetie smiled sweetly at Flitter, but looked tired all the same. “I know a lot of ponies are saying mean things about you… Which isn’t very nice.” She set her jaw and grumbled something acidically about Rarity. “B-but I know the truth.” She smiled again, even though it looked forced. “P-please tell him that I said thank you. If he’s… Different.”

It was if a lead weight had just been dropped onto Flitters stomach; filling her with worry. “I… I will.” She nodded jerkily to Sweetie. “You should be heading home, it’s not safe for you to be out here alone.” Flitter forced a smile, and received an equally forced one in return. As Sweetie tottered off, and back onto the lakes wide trail, Flitter heard the sound of large bubbles breaking the waters surface loudly. She turned just in time to see Jack break the surface and flail about.

Dragging his soaking body back onto the sandy shore; Jack hacked and coughed violently. A vicious shudder ran through his body, causing his stumped thighs to jerk. Moving to his side with worry; Flitters hooves hovered uselessly above his back. “Should I do something?”

Still coughing, Jack dragged himself from the frigid waters and dried off him hands long enough to type a message. “Don’t take so damn long to talk.” He glared hotly at Flitter for a brief moment, before shaking his head. A quiet harrumph escaped Flitter as she fluttered her wings and crossed her forehooves. Jack pulled the caps from his legs, and started re-attaching his disembodied titanium legs. Flitter ceased pouting to watch as Jacks deft fingers popped several pins back in place with the practiced ease of someone who’d done it a million times before. After a moment, his boot shaped foot flexed and moved. Jack grunted in approval, and moved onto his other leg.

Kicking at the sand, Flitter eyed the surrounding forest. Her ears twitched, and she found herself looking around with a hint of worry. It feels like I’m being watched… Flitter glanced at her friend, only to find him toweling off and changing. A hot blush crept across her cheeks, and she quickly averted her gaze once again. I must be going crazy. Shaking off the feeling of unease, Flitter fluttered her wings and eventually stole Jacks towel to dry herself off. A cold breeze rattled through the trees, causing Flitter to shiver lightly. Her shiver was accompanied by the chattering of metal on metal. Glancing over, Flitter raised an eyebrow as Jack pulled on his clothes and gripped his arms. The human shivered heavily, and his exo-skeleton chattered in close response.

With a small grin, Flitter fluttered her wings and looked up at Jack. “Cold?” He responded in kind with a scowl before turning to his bag. Flitter giggled to herself, and looked up towards the cloudy skies. “The weather report said it would be raining a lot today- EEiK!” Flitter squawked indignantly as something bound her wings neatly to her sides. Looking back at Jack with panic, she found him grinning dangerously as he tied off the end of the rope holding her wings down. “W-What the heck!? J-jack-” Flitter sputtered as he picked up a branch that was devoid of smaller branches and leaves.

“When I was growing up, my brother Jacob used to chase me and Julian around with a bug zapper. I got pretty good at running because of that, but I eventually got used to the feeling. I don’t have a bug zapper, so this stick will have to do.” Jack grinned toothily and slapped the stick against his open palm. Flitter flinched, and drew back as panic overtook her.

“A-are you crazy!? What brought this on!?” Flitter tried to flare her wings, but swiftly remembered that they were bound tightly to her sides. Feeling the ebb of panic slowly overtaking her heart, Flitter started to hyperventilate.

“You wanna get tough. If you make it back to the cave with less than ten hits, you can have breakfast.”

Squeaking in terror, Flitter backpedaled across the sand as Jack tapped up another sentence. “Y-you’re a psychopath!” Jack blinked, and looked up at the mare with an undesernable expression that muddied the line between a deadpan and a thousand yard stare. Flitter’s ears pressed against her head; she felt her chest tighten painfully as he cocked his head and stared at her. The corners of his lips turned upwards ever so slightly, but Flitter felt no compassion in the expression. He suddenly lifted his hand, and held up three fingers. He then dropped one, and then the next. As he started to drop the last, Flitter made the painful realization that it was a countdown. Wheeling on the balls of her hooves, Flitter bolted towards the bushy trail that the pair had followed out.

Crashing through the underbrush and keeping her eyes firmly locked on the treacherous trail; Flitter thought she could hear the faint sound of booted feet pounding across sand. With the veins of terror creeping into her mind, she risked a quick glance over her shoulder-

-Only to find Jack right on her tail, with his augmented arm raised in the air; the stick held high. Flitter screamed.

__________________________________________________________________

Barreling into the clearing in front of Jacks cave, Flitter hit the ground and slid. Coming to a stop in the dirt, the mare curled up and pulled her hooves over herself to protect against the painful stinging strikes that had ravaged her during the entire run. A choked sob of terror and pain left her lips at the same time as Jack stepped into the clearing. Flitter lifted one of her shaking hooves to look up at him.

Grinning down at the dirty and bruised mare, Jack prodded her welted flank. He extended all of his fingers, retracted them, and then held up another one. He started laughing as he cast the branch aside and offered a hand to Flitter.

Sniffing as she wiped her nose with a forehoof, Flitter gingerly took the offered hand. She was swiftly pulled up and freed of her bonds. Her wings flared open and flapped several times. Flitter winced in pain as she followed Jack into his cave. Looking over her shoulder again, she could already see the neat red welts rising against her coat. “Y-you’re a jerk Jack….”

“Probably. Come on. Food.”

Flitter sighed in defeat, and limped into the cave. Despite her reservations, stepping out of the nipping cold and into the cozy cave was a fair improvement. Fluffing her wings again out of habit, Flitter gingerly sat down on a log. A pained squeak left her lips, causing Jack to chuckle as he stoked the fire. “I-it’s not funny!” Flitter protested weakly as her tail swished about.

“Kind of is.”

“S-shut up…”

_____________________________________________________________________

Flitter found herself ravenous as Jack had doled out portions. Her frantic run had made her work up quite an appetite. She scarfed down the small meal, barely stopping to do so much as taste it. Flitter raised her eyebrows in surprise when she looked up, and saw that Jack had only ineffectively poked at his own plate. “You going to eat that?” She asked with curiosity. Jack chewed his cheek lightly, his previous good mood having evaporated. He shook his head, and slid the paper plate over to Flitter. Smiling happily, Flitter dug into the fresh portion with vigor.

Once finished, she tossed the paper plate into the fire and wiped her muzzle clean with the back of her hoof. “You know… You could have just said we were gonna run. That was a really nasty thing to do Jack.”

Snorting hotly, Jack kicked up his prosthetic legs and laid back with his PDA. “Nasty. Right.”

“What?” Flitter furrowed her brow as she turned towards him. “It was!”

Jack rolled his eyes and extended his middle finger at her. “If you call me Nasty Jack, I will hit you. i put up with enough of that.” He shifted uneasily, a deep frown creased his features and raised Flitters interest.

“What do you mean?” Flitter readjusted herself in an attempt to get the ebbing pain in her flanks to go away. “Somepony else called you Nasty Jack?”

Jack growled angrily, forcing Flitters hackles to rise in alarm. Oookay… Remember that he almost killed you this morning… Flitter shuffled nervously as Jack sat up.

“Drop the subject.”

Despite wanting to push it, Flitter suddenly thought better of it when Jack cast a dark glare at her from the corner of his eyes. Raising her hooves in a placating manner, Flitter smiled weakly. “O-okay. Consider it dropped Jack.” The human grunted in response, and started tinkering with his metal leg. He soon stopped, and set down the screwdriver he was using. A deep and unpleasant look crossed his features, and he did his best to cover it by rubbing his face. Flitter watched him nervously, the events of the morning still painfully fresh in her mind and on her neck.

“My ex-fiance coined the nickname.”

Blinking in surprise, Flitter scooted a little closer and lifted a brow in curiosity. “You were engaged?” She smiled lightly, but it disappeared swiftly. Ex-fiance… Oh dear.

“Yeah. Didn’t last long. She didn’t want to wait, and I was in no position to say or do anything.” Jack grunted quietly, and rubbed his neck slowly.

“Why?” The question slipped out before Flitter could stop it. She internally cursed herself out for asking. Her surprise only increased when he actually answered.

“I was a prisoner of war. MIA. Missing in Action for just shy of a year before I was rescued. Came home without my legs and found out she’d sold the condo and moved in with another man.”

Flitter covered her mouth with a hoof as Jacks expression grew solemn and withdrawn. “I-I’m so sorry… What happened after? Did she come back?”

A quiet huff that could have been a forced laugh came from Jacks nose, and he looked away. “No.” Jack set down his PDA and rubbed his eyes roughly.

I get the feeling that this conversation is over… Flitter thought with a frown. She refrained from reaching out to him. That might be who he thought I was this morning… That would explain a lot. Flitter opened her mouth to ask a different question, but was cut off as Jack jerked. He clamped his mouth shut tightly; only a pained hiss escaped his vice tight lips as he gripped his right arm. An intensely pained expression settled on his features as his right hand vibrated. Getting to her hooves and moving to his side, Flitter abandoned her earlier worries. “Are you alright!?” Within a moment, Jack somehow forced his shaking to subside. He refused to answer Flitters question as he worked his fingers into the meat of his arm. He furrowed his brow deeply, and grit his teeth. Flitter frowned in return, and placed her right hoof on his shoulder. “Jack? What’s wrong?” The human quickly waved her off before standing up straight.

“Nothing. Fine. Just a cramp.”

The response was stilted and chopped, even for the electronic voice relaying Jacks words between the two. Flitter shuffled, and glanced at the cave entrance. “Jack… I… I need to go.” She smiled softly up at him. “I’ll see you after work though, right? We can do that ‘Tough Stuff’ like we planned yesterday.”

A short nod and a weak smile was all Flitter got for an answer from Jack. Slowly turning away from him, Flitter started towards the entrance. She found herself frozen at the threshold on the cave; carefully glancing over her shoulder, Flitter saw Jack resting his face in one of his hands. “I’ll see you later… okay?” Flitter asked quietly, her wings fluttering nervously. Jack nodded again, and waved lightly without removing his face from his hand.

Trotting out of the cave and back out into the near-frigid winds, Flitter suppressed a shiver that wasn’t from the cold. She took off to the skies; throwing the occasional look over her shoulder at the cave.

Chapter Seven: Blood, Sand, and Ballgowns

The trailing hours of the day turned out to be some of the hardest physically in Flitters entire life. Returning from work, she found Jack waiting for her. Flitters ears flattened against her skull as she caught sight of his visage. Jack had painted his face with some kind of paint, rendering it the same colour as the surrounding forest. He wore only his fatigues, and he had not pulled on his exo-skeleton. Despite the paint, his features looked oddly drawn; his eyes having sunken into bruised hollows within his skull. His teeth glowed white against the darkness.

/Ready?/

Flitter swallowed nervously and nodded. She immediately regretted it. Jack grinned even broader, and waved her to follow in his wake as he walked. Galloping to catch up to Jacks whirring strides; Flitters mind drifted.

I wonder what we’re going to do… How do humans even get tough? I hope he doesn’t chase me with the stick again… I-

Flitters train of thought ground to a halt as ran face-first into Jacks rear. The human turned and shot her a disapproving look that forced her ears to fold against the side of her head again.

/Listen up Flitter. You want to be tough? I’ll make you tough./ Jack ran a hand through his hair and scratched his stubbly beard. /It’s going to hurt. Are you sure you want to go through with this?/

The flat out truth surprised the mare, but she quickly squashed the feeling. “Yes. I want this.” She smiled. “I’m ready!”

The corners of Jacks drawn mouth jerked upwards for a moment. /Well then, welcome to Camp Kessle, where the weather sucks and life is hell./ He pointed at a rough trail that winded off into the bushes. /Run./

_____________________________

Hours later, after Jack had sent the battered and bruised Flitter home with a nod of approval, he pulled off his sweat soaked shirt and laid down on his cot. Once his eyes closed, he began a journey that he knew all too well.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The MRAP lurched slowly side to side as it trundled across the desert sand. The oppressive heat blared through; slowly cooking the soldiers within the vehicles protected compartment. One particularly violent dip in the road awoke Jack as his kevlar helmet bounced off the steel roll bars. Jolting up in surprise, he looked around to try and discover what had interrupted his nap. PFC Krammer smirked at him as he stretched out on the opposite bench. “Well well well! Look who finally decided to wake up from his beauty sleep! Welcome back Jackie boy.” Krammer chuckled as Jack blinked, and rubbed his sleep filled eyes. The burly Kansas boy turned his head towards the front of the vehicle. “Hey Sarge! I hear we got bucked for detail on Mars! What gives?”

A snarl of an answer sounded from the front. “High Command decided that the cancer that is your ass shouldn’t be allowed off earth! Besides, not like the desert there is any fuckin different.” The sound of the familiar, jovial attitude of his squadmates put the still half asleep demolitions expert at ease.

Sitting up with a deep yawn, Jack rubbed his eyes again and looked around. “Are we there yet?” He asked loudly so he could be heard over the sound of the crackling radio with it’s blown speakers and bombastic rock music.

“Nearly, why don’t you take a cat-nap there, Sleeping Beauty!” Somebody Jack couldn’t see called out from near the front of the vehicle.

Erecting his middle finger at his squadmate, Jack sat back and stared at the bouncing ceiling of the vehicle. Various bags and boxes rocked back and forth against the netting that held them back. Looking back down, his eyes passed over a strangely pale young woman with vibrant blue hair. At a glance, she seemed to be wearing an untarnished ballgown that was such a deep blue it was almost black. She seemed to be staring intently at him; her mouth was moving as if she were saying something to him. Blinking in surprise, Jack furrowed his brow and leaned forward. After blinking, he found himself staring at Corporal Helsy. The small woman in dirty camo fatigues grinned, and held out a half empty water bottle. Realizing her intent, Jack took the bottle, and nodded his thanks before knocking back the tepid water.

He nearly spat it out. The water tasted like heavy copper; almost like blood. Looking back down at it, he found plain, clean water. Jack sighed weakly, and rubbed his eyes again. “I feel like I’m going crazy.”

His quiet self proclamation was lost unto itself as the armoured vehicle slid to a stop and the driver blared the horn. “Alright fuckheads! Evaaaryboody out!” The back door glided out on its well greased pneumatic arms, and a small step ladder was slid out by Krammer. The six man squad piled out without much hurry; their gear bouncing back and forth as they pulled themselves from the cramped confinement of the MRAP. As usual, Krammer started complaining the moment he was in the sun.

“Man, I can’t believe we lost out to the Two Oh Fourth for serving on the UDE Dauntless. And then Mars! What do we get instead?” Krammer lifted his arms and gestured at the oppressive desert. “The fucking sandbox. We should just glass this place and be done with it.”

Jack pulled his tan ballcap down over his eyebrows in a feeble attempt to shield his sunglassed eyes from the belligerent sun. It felt like his body was on autopilot as his boots dug into the soft dirt and sand; his reaction to Krammer’s bitching was just as automatic. “Shut the fuck up Krammer.” His feet were already sweating as he set off in a plodding course over to the small army patrol that sat sheltered from the suns rays behind some old ruined building. The army Sergeant stood stock straight as he chewed the fat with Gunnery Sergeant Simmons. After a moment, the sergeant waved Jack over. As he complied, Jack spied Helsy poking at the MRAP with her boot, and looking around the area with vested interest..

Her hair is very blue today…

The thought was foggy, and soon forgotten as he came to a stop in front of the pair of noncoms.

“Staff Sergeant Kessle here is our EOD tag-along, he'll clear out this little problem of yours. Just tell him what you told me, and get your boys to keep a fucking eye open.” Gunnery Sergeant Simmons idly fingered his long range sabot rifle as he glanced over at Jack. He blinked three times whenever he started a new sentence. He would blink four times when pissed off.

The army sergeant simply nodded, and placed a gloved hand over Jack’s shoulder to lead him off. The sergeant started talking about how they’d found the IED and called it in, but Jack couldn’t quite make out the words. It felt like he'd heard it all before, time after time after time.

Feels like I’m thinking through cotton… fuck.

Jack rubbed his eyes again in a poor attempt to clear his head. Unfortunately, the sergeant had apparently finished his explanation of the situation. Clapping Jack on the shoulder again, he grinned. “Good luck. We’ll watch for trouble makers.” As the sergeant sauntered off, Jack felt lost. With the sun cooking his head, and the taste of the coppery water still lingering in his mouth; Jack was slow to respond. With what felt like great effort, he plodded back over to the MRAP. Lightly kicking open a large green case, he started pulling the painfully heavy bomb suit over his uniformed body. To his surprise, Corporal Helsy walked over and started helping him pull on the armoured suit, albeit with unskilled fingers. The visor of the mammoth helmet flipped closed; leaving him with a flash of Helsy as the pale girl in the blue dress again. Helsy stared at him intently and with great interest. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She frowned, and touched her throat, her eyes breaking contact with Jack’s.

Not taking the time to wonder about the strange happenings that were fluttering around before his eyes, Jack picked up his toolkit and started his long walk towards the supposed IED. Helsy followed along, even though she wasn’t allowed. Furrowing his brow with annoyance, Jack made a deliberate motion with his hand to try and shoo her off. After one motion he gave up; his eyes met hers through the thick protective visor of his suit. It felt appropriate that she follow him to his destination.

Silently thanking the lab-techs for the built in cooling fans and chilly liquid tubes inside his suit, Jack sank down to his knees in the boiling, disturbed earth. With a gloved hand, he gently brushed aside some of the dirt until his fingers tapped up against a large metal cylinder. Helsy watched him work intently over his shoulder, her eyes following his deft movements as he uncovered the large trap.

“Shit. One twenty fiver's. three of them…” Jack hummed to himself as he looked the crude bomb over. Several mismatched wires were protruding from the detonator caps of the tank shells. “That’d be ten point two kilos…” Chewing the inside of his cheek, Jack brushed off more sand.

His heart skipped a beat, and his breath hitched in his throat as he stared down at the detonator. It was armed, and ready to receive signal. Several blocks of C4 laid around it, with the shells arranged around them. Before he could move to disarm it, a painfully familiar whip-crack echoed through the air, and somebody yelled for cover. A lightning fast projectile slapped against his heavily armoured torso, but didn’t come close to penetrating. Cursing loudly, Jack flattened himself out, and started fumbling with his toolbox. Helsy laid prone next to him, her vibrant blue hair spilling out from under her helmet. Dirt kicked up around them as angry lead wasps filled the air over and around them. The sonic howl of incoming iron spikes punctuated the air as well, filling his heart with dread as the echo of the Spiker rifle’s call sounded out on the wind. Insurgent forces usually waved around painfully outdated fudd guns, not bleeding edge tech. Finally yarding out a pair of well worn side-cutters, Jack ripped off the detonators faceplate.

“JACK! Get to cover!”

Taking the moment to look over, he watched with muted horror as Krammer was hit by a four round burst from a Spiker rifle; the six inch long iron spikes blasting through his armour and body as they stitched upwards, the last round smacking him between the eyes. Krammer’s head split in half like an overripe melon; his eyes blown from their sockets by the concussive force of the round. Bits of grey matter and bright red blood splashed across the desert floor as Krammer slumped; his body pinned to the side of the MRAP. Helsy laid next to Jack, her eyes wide with terror and confusion. Her own spiker rifle laid in the sand, untouched and unfired. The pairs eyes met, and a strange, electric feeling passed between them. Jack started laughing nearly hysterically as he stared at her; the woman’s eyes went even wider with worry as he did.

“Your dress is going to get ruined!” He started cackling madly as she stared at him and bullets and spikes ripped up the ground and his squadmates. He could hear the army gunny yelling for them to fall back, and he felt his arms pushing him up despite him having not told them to. His legs started pumping, pushing his lead laden legs through the sand. The glance back at the bomb and Helsy felt like it was in slow motion; just as Jack made eye contact with Helsy, the little red light turned green, and his entire world went white.

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP

Jack bolted upright with a stilted gasp; his heart beat steadily and heavily against his ribs in a nearly successful attempt to jump out of his chest. He groaned loudly as he sat back against his bed, which he’d fallen out of. Wiping his hand across his sweat covered forehead, Jack glanced down at his PDA.

4:37am

Jack grunted disapprovingly. This isn’t when my alarm is supposed to go off. He swiped the lock, and found himself staring at the map. Three red blips were slowly entering his territory. Jack cursed, and bolted upright; his earlier confusion and fog washed away under the succulent feeling of adrenaline. Pulling his exo-skeleton on and tossing his sweater over top; Jack grabbed his laser rifle, and pulled his balaclava over his face. His boots rapped off the rocks as he swiftly exited the cave.

The chilly winter air met him immediately as he crossed past the insulated tarp. He felt goosebumps rising against his clothes, but he paid them no heed. A quick glance at his PDA sent him east, through the lighter brush. The darkness would have completely consumed him, had he not brought his night vision goggles. The dreary green overlapped everything, making it possible for him to see more than a foot beyond his face. Slowing his advance as the blips grew closer, Jack kneeled down next to a large tree. His PDA vibrated several times again, and he felt his heart sink as he watched another eight blips enter his detection radius. Silencing his PDA; he slowly pressed through the brush and bush. With his rifle muzzle up, Jack waited for his targets to enter his field of fire.

As the first off green form entered his ironsights; Jack’s trigger finger slid slowly into the trigger guard. He slowly started to depress the trigger as he lined up the shot with the center of the target. Just before lancing the target down, he paused, and watched. Squinting against the green tinted darkness, Jack could now tell that the target was a short woman. A human. The woman cautiously treaded over the forest floor with bare feet. It didn’t take long for Jack to realize that she was completely naked. As Jack pulled his finger out of the trigger guard, the small woman chirped musically, and another six figures followed along behind her.

That’s… five female, four male, all mid twenties early thirties, all naked. One smaller male, probably fourteeen if I’m any guess… Now, where’s number eleven?

Jack panned his vision around, trying to spot the eleventh mark that had entered his territory. As he did so, the group took shelter under a massive fallen tree. Before he could question their reasoning, the sky split open, and rain started pouring down in a steady torrent. Huffing in annoyance, Jack rolled his shoulders in a weak attempt at trying to keep the rain from pouring down his neck. Despite his best efforts, the rain made it in. Casting a disheveled look at the huddled humans, Jack found his vision taken up by a wall of muscle.

What.

Pulling back, Jack couldn’t help but stare at the massive mammoth of a man who was standing before the huddled group. He snipped and snarled at them, before grabbing one of the skinny males by the scruff of the neck. The larger male tossed the smaller one out of the small alcove, all while making guttural noises. The smaller male chirped weakly, and slunk off into the woods.

So that’s the Alpha…. Big fucker.

Chewing the inside of his cheek, Jack slowly pulled away from the group of humans. As he silently walked back to his warm, dry cave; he cast glances over both his shoulders as he went.

Not alone anymore… Could get interesting… bad bad bad.

A shiver passed through his body, causing his exo-skeleton to clatter quietly

Stupid thing, shut the fuck up. shut up shut up!

He scratched at the connectors where the exo plugged into his body. A fiery itch was beginning to spread from them. Biting the inside of his cheek until the taste of bitter copper slowly filled his mouth; Jack trekked back home. The rain was swiftly becoming relentless; beating down upon the Jacks form. To keep his mind off of the incessant itching in his flesh, Jack forced his thoughts to the feral humans.

Who are they? Are they smart? Escaped slaves? Questions. Need answers. Maybe Flitter? Flitter would know better. Should watch, be careful. Should scratch itch. NO. Should not scratch the itch.

The tarpaulin covering his caves entrance whipped loudly as he pulled it against the heaving winds; it’s flapping was only silenced when Jack pinned it closed against the wooden palisade. Now soaked to the bone and sodden; Jack plodded into his cave and started stripping down, before rekindling his fire. laying his soaked clothes out on some select rocks and his sitting log, Jack laid back on his bed. His eyes sagged slightly, before jerking back open.

NO. No, nonono… Don’t want to see Krammer. Don’t want to see Helsy. Helsy…

A worried giggle escaped his lips as flashes of his dream surfaced. Not much remained, other than what he already knew by heart, and a midnight blue ballgown covered in sand and blood. Jacks eyes fluttered again, and he squeezed them shut as he silently prayed.

God… please, don’t let me dream again… please.

__________________________________________________________

Jack awoke with a start, having just placed his head down on his abused pillow. His alarm was chirping quietly, marking it as his normal time to rise. A quiet groan escaped him as he sat up; his bleary eyes failing to focus immediately. His stomach churned violently, and was swiftly accompanied by intense withdrawal cramps. Jack clutched his sides and forced the pain back down until the cramps were a simple throb inside his abdomen; they were swiftly ignored in favour of a simple breakfast.

Don’t have much food left. Should try and fix that problem.

Rubbing his eyes in an attempt to clear away his morning funk; Jack plopped down onto his log. The cooking food smelled heavenly, despite being mostly vegan. His stomach growled angrily in need, despite it’s earlier agonies. A curious glance down at his local map confirmed one single thought.

They haven’t moved. Odd. I’ll have to check on them.

The smell filling the cave swiftly filled his nostrils, and fueled his stomach’s want for sustenance. Leaning forward, Jack pulled his small pan off the fire and brought out his mess kit fork. The small breakfast was swallowed without much thought or care for taste. For a moment, Jacks stomach was silent. Then without warning, it lurched violently, throwing him to his knees. Bile rose in the back of this throat, threatening Jacks cave floor with his breakfast. Rising with wobbly urgency, Jack barely managed to stumble out past the tarp before his stomach rebelled, and his breakfast hit the forest floor.

Jack remained on his hands and knees as long as he could, before being forced down onto his side as his body was wracked by lancing pain that threatened to rip him apart. His heart beat like a trip-hammer as he writhed and shook on the forest floor; the last of his breakfast and bitter stomach bile coming out with a wheezy cough. The pain was too much; it ripped into his muscles and tore at the bioconnectors for his exoskeleton, it threatened to kill him dead, and leave him to rot on the forest floor.

Rage and pain built up, and burst through his mind. Jack reared up on his haunches and howled in anguish; his cry echoing through the forest and surrounding hills. Startled birds fled from the trees, and numerous ponies close to the forest rethought entering it that day. Jack shook violently, his body shivering from the exertion. Slowly, his lips twitched upwards into a crazed grin. A quiet giggle escaped his lips as he forced himself back to his feet. His prosthetic legs refused to shake, and carried him back to his cave without a single issue. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Jack started throwing on his clothes; the heavy exoskeleton lifted itself up and slammed into place on his body. His rifle practically shouldered itself, and several spare magazines found themselves inside his chest rig. Acting on autopilot, everything seemed as if it was being done by someone else; Jack’s mind was far detached from the movements of his body.

With a jerky start, Jack set off into the brush, towards the dots that occupied a tiny section of his local map. His lunatic grin died, and his eyes narrowed and started scanning the forest.

Purpose. I have purpose. I want this.

He repeated his mantra over, and over again inside his head until the searing pain crept away in fear. He repeated it again as he crushed brush and scrub under boot. His Exoskeleton whirred and clicked in tandem with his legs; his trigger finger played across his rifles trigger guard. It was a silent threat to any who could understand it.

Chapter Eight: Field Note

This is Researcher Field Note, documenting day 73 of my field assignment. Being away from Canterlot for so long has given my spirits the rise they so desperately need. The quiet, and it’s accompanying splendor is doing wonders for my soul.

I have managed to stay on the tracks of the nomad human tribe I mentioned in my earlier notes; they seem to be taking cover within the vast viridian deciduous forest the locals call ‘Whitetail Woods’. After recasting my invisibility spell, I chanced closer to their camp around mid morning. I soon found my worst fears to be confirmed; Sojurn did not survive the tribes journey. He was quite ill when I last saw him, so it does not come to me as a shock. Winter is swiftly setting in, and as we are dangerously close to the Everfree; I highly doubt that Sojurn would have survived the cold in his pallid condition. As much as I wish I could have aided Sojurn, it is not my place to intervene. My work continues, despite their hardships.

Sojurn’s death has visibly reduced his mother Tanja’s will to go on. What is exciting, however, is that most of the tribe seems to be supporting her through the trial of a lost child. This phenomenon is rarely seen amongst humans, and even less so in true documentation.

There seems to have been a power shift in my absence; one I scold myself for missing. The brute, Algeron, seems to have regained his strength and has overthrown Aram as alpha. For reasons I can not understand as of yet, Aram still lives, as does his brother Molmir. It will be truly riveting to witness the coming attempts to regain power and dominance within the tribe between these powerful males. The tribe’s well-being hangs in the balance, and I will be here every step, documenting the fascinating intricacies of Nomad Human culture.

From the journal of Researcher Field Note

Rubbing his slightly chilly cheek, Field Note looked over the entry, scanning for errors and missed information. Finding it satisfactory, he brushed a length of his dull steel blue mane from his slitted eyes and looked towards the humans camped under a massive fallen tree. The rhythmic chirps and clicks that the tribe used for communication was terribly primitive, but it still caused Field Note’s tufted ears to flick and a soft smile to cross his muzzle as he found a more comfortable position to watch the humans from.

Algeron grunted aggressively at the ex-alpha, Aram, causing Field Note’s slitted auburn eyes to narrow slightly. His deep gray horn glowed softly, bringing up his notepad. The pair circled each other, snapping and snarling at each other like braying dogs. The smaller humans chirped and squawked in disapproval. As the pair grew more aggressive, nearing their peak before physical violence, a violent whip-crack echoed through the forest, and was followed by a howling scree. Woodland creatures scattered; birds took flight amidst cawing displeasure, and the human tribe froze in it’s tracks. Even the mighty Algeron hunkered down, and took cover near a large bough of the fallen tree.

Field Note held his breath, his senses on the razor’s edge in hopes of understanding what could send the forest into a fearful frenzy. Another whip-crack sounded, off in the distance. It was swiftly followed by a similar staccato rattle; one that caused young Blunda to start bawling into his mothers bare chest as the whip-cracks were responded to by a high pitched keening noise. Field Note managed a weak smile of approval as the matronly Akasha curled her arms around her young to protect him from what events shook the forest. Lifting his notepad up to start taking note of the occurrence, Field Note found himself shocked and terribly startled as a long cacophony of noise sounded out, before a shrill whistle that was followed by a concussive boom that echoed on and on.

Using the moment to mutter a rare curse, Field Note wiped the sweat from his winter chilled face. “What on Equis…”

___________________________________________________________

Jack cackled enthusiastically as bits of flash-cooked carapace landed around the forest next to steaming hunks of arachnid flesh. The barrel cowling of his rifle steamed, as it had threatened to turn cherry red when he’d turned the rifle’s power setting to full, and then had pinned the trigger down with vehemence. The lasers had danced off and cooked the VW bus sized spider’s thick carapace as it screeched and lunged at his armoured form with razor tipped legs. When Jack had smashed its left eye cluster apart with his boot heel, the creature had hurled him across the forest with the strength of a monster possessed.

Now, Jack didn’t have a fear of spiders, however, his human instincts had kicked into overdrive when the monstrosity had charged out of it’s hidey hole in the forest floor. That instinct had originally been ‘Run away as fast as possible, with optional screaming.’ Unfortunately for the rampaging spider, the Marine Corp had removed that particular instinct and replaced it with ‘KILL THAT FUCKER UNTIL IT’S DEAD’. And thus, Bus Spider had been introduced to the Russian made HEDP-22 ‘Krikun’ micro-rocket. The rocket had lept off Jack’s shoulder, and swiftly taught the brown carapaced monstrosity the meaning of both ‘High Explosive Dual Purpose’ and ‘Superior Firepower’. The end result was gruesome, gory, and utterly spectacular.

“HAAHAAhahah!!!” Jack laughed energetically as the bits of spider stopped raining down. Fuck you! He grinned, before his eyes fell on the trap door to the spiders nest. Edging towards the covered pit with his rifle at the ready; he toed the thatch out of the way. Peering over the edge, Jacks eyes went wide and his features twisted in surprised disgust as hundreds of smaller glossy black eyes stared up at him, unblinking. Without pause or thought of the woodland critter he’d been chasing for dinner; his right hand went to his webbing, and pulled a red banded cylinder free. Pulling the pin and letting the lever twirl away, Jack dropped the white phosphorous grenade down the hole; without a second though, he about-faced, and started a swift nope-march away from the hole, even as the grenade made a muffled ‘Fwoomp’ing sound. Chemical smoke and white hot flames burst from the entrance, along with the muffled skrees of the spider’s young.

As Jack marched away from the burning slaughter, his boots crushed the morning frost under tread. The cold winter air didn’t penetrate his armour, and inside he strode along as his heaters kept a well regulated temperature. As he threaded his way through the trees towards his home, Jacks mind began to wander in an attempt to ignore the painful throbbing that coursed through his body.

Who was that woman last night? I’ve never seen her before… Hmph… Never remembered a nightmare that vividly, come to think it. Jack sighed gently as his eyes flicked over his HUD read out within the helmet. His stomach grumbled aggressively, demanding his attention as it threatened to double him over. Oh god, fuck me…. He coughed weakly, and his armour VI advised him to seek medical aid. The notification was closed almost as soon as it opened. Gotta try and keep something down when I get back. A series of facial movements and twitches brought up the armours operations menu. A clench of the jaw, slightly to the left, locked the armour on his left arm, keeping it from jerking spasmodically. Would be so much easier with voice commands. He huffed quietly. Thank god for secondary options. He clicked the small dimple under his jaw using his chin, and thus locked the options down.

After several minutes of walking, he brushed the optical camo tarp aside, and walked into his home cave. Stripping out of the armour felt like shedding a second, massive skin. His exo disconnected with rapid clicks and snaps, and he was soon free to feel feeble and exposed. Rubbing his face wearily, Jack threw some of the last of his food onto the pan and slumped down against his log.

I hope I can keep this down, I don’t have enough left to put up with this bullshit…

____________________________________________________________________

The concussive boom had awoken Flitter with a terrible start; she bolted up in her bed, dislodging her art supplies and various in-progress pieces. She jerked her head around furtively in worry. “Jack?” She questioned softly to nobody in particular. After a moment of comparative silence, Flitter slowly crawled out of bed. Every single move she made caused her abused muscles to cry out and a quiet whine to escape from her. Setting her calloused hooves down on the soft cloud floor, she trotted over to her window to look out over the fields and towards Whitetail Woods.

Is it just my imagination, or is there smoke out there?

Flitter chewed her cheek thoughtfully, before tearing herself away from the window. She sighed quietly as she looked over her messy room and the disarray of artwork. A very large majority of it was of Jack, and his accommodations. Picking up one of the pieces of Jack’s expressions, she found herself smiling.

His expressions are so… Inequine. But he’s got almost as many as any pony. She added a bit of detail to his eyes; they seemed to hold her, even when on paper. The look of… prey, who became a predator. She smiled to herself, before titling the piece exactly that.

As Flitter was collecting her scattered artwork and pencils, she heard the door to the house slam, and angry noises echoed through the cloud home. Rolling her eyes at Cloud Chaser’s antics; Flitter finished cleaning up, and soon wandered downstairs to clean up.

Flitter’s hooves had scarcely been on the bottom floor for a moment before Cloud Chaser screamed. “Where the heck is rent Flitter!?” She came storming into the living room, her face flushed red. Flitter’s hackles rose slightly at the aggression, but she found with a bit of personal pride, that she wasn’t phased in the slightest. Cloudy is ‘all bark and no bite’ as Jack put it. Hell, Jack’s been rougher with me and he’s /playing/. A small sardonic grin spread easily across Flitters features as she about-faced and trotted back into her room to retrieve the small bag of bits that would pay for her ‘rent’.

By the time she’d grabbed the bag and started towards her door again, she could hear Cloud Chasers hooves pounding furiously up the steps. Cloud Chaser started her tirade the moment the door opened.

“FLITTER!! Where in the ever loving-” The mare’s eyes went wide and a squeaky wheeze escaped her lips as Flitter’s rent bag smacked her in the center of the chest. I’m glad Jack made me throw rocks for an hour yesterday. That felt /GOOD/. A giggly grin split across Flitter’s lip as she passed her startled sister.

“I’m going out for my run, see you tonight Cloudy!” She smacked Cloud Chasers shoulder a little bit rougher than was necessary, causing the mare to yelp a bit in surprise.

Turning to watch Flitter quick trot down the stairs, Cloud Chaser could only manage a weak and breathless. “O-okay… see you later…”

Flitter grinned happily as she spread her sore wings and took off towards Whitetail Woods. “Oh yes, today is gonna be great!” The mare giggled giddily to herself as she sailed with the cold pre-winter winds.

Alighting down onto the morning frosted grass field that lined the edge of Whitetail Woods, Flitter started toward the tree line with a brisk trot. While she could fly straight to the mouth of Jack’s home, he’d urged her to gallop, or ‘jog’ as he’d put it. She’d done so for almost a week; a week of blazing trails and leaping over fallen trees, but she could feel the changes in her body. Flitter smiled to herself as she ducked past a low hanging branch. I’d like to see any personal trainer in all of Equestria get better results. I wonder if all Terran Humans are like him. She scoffed lightly as her hooves treaded dirt and frost. I don’t think the universe could handle a billion Jack’s. The one I’ve got is enough of a trouble maker. Flitter grinned softly as she slowed her pace. She’d just galloped past one of Jacks boundary stakes, and she didn’t want to worry him.

Swallowing lightly, Flitter glanced around as she trotted through the woods. Celestia, it is really, really quiet here… Forest critters probably avoid Jack. Heh.

Without warning, something small scurried before her tracks. Flitter froze as the small human child paused in its playing to look up at her with wide, terrified eyes. The child stood slowly, and started backing away fearfully. Cocking a brow in confusion and slight worry, Flitter took a tentative step forward; the child chirped in fear before turning tail and pelting off into the woods. Watching the child flee, Flitter doubled her pace to reach Jack’s cave.

Pushing the tarp aside, she treaded cautiously into the cave. I hope he’s awake… I don’t like waking him up. Poking her head around the slight corner, she breathed a small breath of relief when she saw Jack sitting on his log, the fire crackling before him. He glanced up and cracked a smile, which was followed by a light wave and a pat on the log. Flitter smiled a little bit brighter, and took a seat next to him. “So! I got a little bit of revenge on Cloudy today.” She started as she glanced over the spartan portion within Jack’s pan. He turned his head toward her and cracked a toothy grin that was followed by an eyebrow wiggle and a roll of the hand; Body language for ‘Go on’, as Flitter had learned. She took a moment to sigh, before recounting her run in with her sister.

‘SNrK!” Jack bit his knuckle to keep himself from bursting out laughing; he failed to stop the amused snort. He looked over at Flitter with bright eyes and a broad grin.

“That’s my pony. Way to go.” Jack offered a closed fist to Flitter, who bopped it with her hoof as she giggled at the recollection. “I’m glad you’re standing up for yourself, but this only means one thing.”

Uh oh. Flitter blinked, and looked over at the now incredibly serious looking Jack. “W-what?” She stared at him, watching his facial expression shift from serious to mischievous.

“I’ve gotta teach you how to defend yourself.” Jack tapped away at his PDA, before setting it on his thigh so he could crack his knuckles for emphasis. The sound sent a tingling shiver down Flitters spine, but she didn’t show it.

“Defend myself? But… why?” Flitter cocked her head to the side slightly in confusion. Her eyes drifted to his left arm, which twitched occasionally and spasmodically. “Isn’t standing up for myself enough? I mean, I’ll learn anything you want me to, but I just-”

While Flitter had been talking, Jack had picked up his PDA again, and had been rapidly tapping out a rebuttal. “Because, when you finally stand up, there will always, /ALWAYS/ be some prick ass prick who wants to shove you back down onto your ass. I’m going to teach you how to grab anyone who wants to do that, break their arms, and make their face and the ground good acquaintances. Sound good?”

“Fu- Heh… Yeah!” She grinned, but it died a little when Jack shot her a disapproving look. “W-what?” Flitter blinked in confusion.

“Say it.” Jack continued to stare at her with his sunken, predatory eyes.

“Say what?” Shifting nervously, Flitter fought the urge to look away.

“Swear. Let it out. You’ll feel better.” He grinned lightly, and pulled his pan off the fire.

Blinking several times as the order rolled around in her head; Flitter swallowed lightly. “O-okay… F-fuck.” She planted her hooves around her mouth and blushed hotly. To her chagrin, Jack groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

“Once more, with feeling.”

“I can’t!” She protested quietly; her wings fluttering lightly. Jack growled lightly, and his fingers danced across his PDA’s screen.

“Listen Flitter, there’s pent up aggression in there, I can see it. Use it. How did you feel when you saw that sack of shit fuck your sister? How did it make you feel?”

The question caught Flitter off guard, and caused her to cringe inwardly. Not meeting his gaze, she slumped slightly. “H-hurt… sad… m-mad…”

“Mad. You felt, mad.” Jack stared at her oddly, and his left hand was clamped tightly around the tough casing of the PDA. Flitter shifted and frowned heavily.

“Y-yeah. I was mad. He-”

“Did it piss you off? Seeing them screw around behind your back?”

He wasn’t waiting for her excuses. Flitter furrowed her brow and nodded. “Yeah. yeah it did. It made me pretty angry to see them doing that.”

Jack nodded, his brow furrowing as he kept staring at Flitter. “They thought you were stupid, weak, worthless. They thought, that even if you did find out, you wouldn’t be pissed right the fuck off.”

Flitter swallowed hotly. The burning shame she’d felt earlier had increased, but it had changed. It wasn’t shame anymore. It had lifted into her throat, and into her mind. The edges of her vision almost seemed to tint red. “They’re wrong. I am pissed off.” She grit her teeth a little, and Jack’s smile began to spread.

“Oh, you’re pissed off now. How pissed off are you, that your scum-fuck boyfriend is fucking your sister?”

“I’M PISSED RIGHT THE FUCK OFF!” Flitters hackles rose as she yelled at Jack. The human grinned ear to ear, and pumped a fist.

“Damn right you are. What are you gonna do, next time your pussy ass boyfriend tries to shmooze up next to you?”

“I’m gonna punch him in his fucking throat!” Flitter cried, the hot angry flowed through her like a drug. “I’ll drag his worthless hide through the mud, and beat him till ponies start calling him Bruisy!” Despite the heat coursing through her head, Flitter found herself grinning hard enough to match the soldier across from her. Jack nodded his approval, and bumped her extended hoof.

“Hell yeah sister. You’re gonna kick his worthless ass.” He took a breath, and straightened up. “Ain’t nobody gonna ever tread on you again. You’re gonna be a girl your Daddy woulda been damn proud of.”

His last words caused her breath to catch in her throat, and the fiery anger to simmer. She stared at Jack, who smiled back softly, before nodding to her. Flitter swallowed slowly, and nodded in return. “Yeah…” She smiled at Jack, and hoped he wouldn’t see how watery her eyes were becoming. “I’ll make my Dad proud of me.” To her surprise, Jack reached over, and scratched her between the ears with his calloused fingers. Flitter scooted over, and rested against his side. Jack rested his arm on her shoulder, and kept scratching her ears and head while he picked at his food with his free hand.

After a couple quiet minutes with Flitter rested against Jack’s side and his steady breathing and chewing, Flitter finally spoke as she wiped her eyes. “Thanks Jack… I really mean that…” She said softly as her ears flicked at the ministrations of his dexterous fingers. His hand broke off from her head for a moment to give her a supportive squeeze around the shoulder.

“We’re in this together Flitter. You and me.” He smiled softly, before finishing off his breakfast. He soon stood, and pulled on his well-worn military sweater. “No rest for the wicked. Come on Flitter. It’s time to get smoked.”

Hopping to her hooves, Flitter couldn’t help but grin hard enough to match Jack. “Bring it on Jack.”

______________________________________________________________

This is Researcher Field Note, documenting day 73 of my field assignment, Addendum One. I find myself more worried about the tribe now, as it seems that Whitetail Woods may be a more trafficked area than I had originally believed. Blunda had a close run-in with a local out for a trot. I wasn’t close enough to get a very good look at the encounter, which is bothersome. Alas, there is nothing I can do, or could have done. Thankfully, nothing of note happened to Blunda. What is strange, is that Akasha almost seemed to scold him for running off on his own while the tribe was occupied.

I’ve begun to set up a more lasting camp; one nestled up in the trees. Thankfully I still have the flight talisman that Chief Wandering Trot gave me, so I can touch the skies like the rest of my kin, and creating an above-ground camp makes detection much less likely. I managed to find a pair of tall trees that would give me satisfactory view of the general area, which I will use to my benefit.

Field Note paused in his writings to look down towards the human tribe. Algeron was abusing Gover and Kiara while the hunters are out; the sickly male and spritely female no match for the alphas towering bulk. Field Note furrowed his brow, and started writing again as he peered at them through his looking glass.

Algeron is proving to be a cruel bully; what is odd however, is he only abuses the smaller humans of the tribe when the hunters are gone. Does he fear they will kill him if they feel he goes too far?

Taking another pause, Field Note adjusted his spy glass to enhance the image before him; the quill floated just above the parchment as he worked. Tanja simply lay on her side, unmoving as always. Algeron shoved the frail Gover to the dirt; up in his suspended camp, Field Note could hear the fearful mewls of pain being emitted by Gover, and the rapid chirps and whistles being spoken by the others. The tiny scout Isotta bounded to her feet to stop Algeron as he pulled his hamfist back to strike Gover. Field Note winced in sympathy as she was smacked across the muzzle and sent to the ground.

“Oh Celestia, just leave it be Algeron…” Field Note groaned quietly as Algeron grabbed the much small female by the hair and pulled her close. I already know where this is going… He cringed as Algeron hunkered down over the fallen Isotta, who squawked and shrieked in protest. One of her flailing limbs struck Algeron across the jaw, and on reflex he mashed his fist into her face. The lithe scout went limp instantly, and the tribe went suddenly silent.

Gently pressing his hoof over his mouth, Field Note gasped quietly and blinked back surprise tears. “o-oh… oh dear… Algeron, what have you done?” Algeron gripped Isotta by her muddy red hair and pulled her up towards him- only to be interrupted by a sudden, shrill shriek of authority. Akasha stormed towards Algeron as the others mewled plaintively; beside her, the old alpha Arma, his brother Molmir, and the female huntress Dala. A storm of hisses, shrieking, chirps, and whistles followed. Field Note couldn’t help but take numerous notes of the events, but his eyes remained on the fallen Isotta. A small smile crossed his muzzle when Blunda snuck over to her and cradled her head. “I hope-” Field Note cut himself off when the small scout stirred weakly, only one of her eyes opening slowly. He breathed a sigh of relief, and smiled a bit more easily. “You’ll be fine Isotta, your tribe will protect you.” Field Note nodded to the tribe as Algeron backed off; thoroughly chastened, but visibly furious.

I believe that while Algeron is the Alpha, the tribe respects Aram and Akasha far more. They are treated as de facto leaders on important decisions, or when Algeron is not around. This tactic is fascinating, and I do hope to see much more of it in the times to come. If the tribe follows Algeron through the winter, I believe they will not survive. However, with Akasha and Aram running the show behind his back, they have a much better chance. Even if leadership weren’t an issue, they will still need better shelter, and a place further from civilization.

Setting down his quill to allow his magic a rest; Field Note sighed quietly and rubbed his eyes. He suddenly blinked owlishly, and pricked his ears at the sound of incredibly faint music playing off in the distance. Though he could barely hear it, it almost seemed to offend his higher senses with its musical belligerence. “That… what kind of music IS that?”

____________________________________________________________

The lead singer growled loudly into the mic about a legendary battle and the heroes within it as the band set out their heavy metal melody, all of which played through the speakers on Jack’s PDA. He gave Flitter a swift bunt to the rear as she lagged through the impromptu obstacle course. Her muscles burned as lactic acid filled her veins from the exertion; the large, heavy pack that was strapped firmly to her back rattled and thumped with each step.

Don’t think about the rocks in the pack Flitter, focus on the path!

Flitter mentally coached herself as she jogged and weaved between the trees, the frosted ground crunching loudly beneath her hooves; the sound was nearly lost against the torrential pounding of blood in her ears and the bombastic music playing from Jack’s PDA.

Shit! Dive!

Flitter doves for the deck as Jack released the tree limb, which whipped over her at general chest level. Jack grinned in approval as she commando crawled like she’d been shown. The frost and dirt matted her coat and tinged her to look like the surrounding environment. Jack had bounded off ahead of her again, and was waiting at the end of the winding, torture-run. She skidded to a halt before his boots; her breath came raggedly and heavy as she looked up at Jack.

He smiled cruelly, and cut the song just as it was about to end.

“Nicely done. Now, pushups with the pack on, until the next song ends. Copy?”

She nodded, and pulled the straps a bit tighter. “Crystal!” She dropped down, and started pumping away as Jack started the next song. It was more aggressive than the first few, the singer practically screaming into the mic as Flitter grit her teeth in exertion. The twenty five kilo pack strapped to her wasn’t helping matters. She could feel every muscle in her upper body screaming for the pain to stop. Flitter ignored the screaming, and focused intently on the music and the crescendo that told her the end was near.

After what felt like hours, the song ended abruptly, and Jack gave a clap of approval. “Good. Now, drop the pack.”

Sighing happily in relief as the heavy pack clattered to the ground, Flitter stretched out and grunted as her limbs popped. She swiftly looked up at Jack for further instructions, but found him to be busy. Arching a brow, Flitter cocked her head in confusion as he pulled off his sweater and shirt. “Uhhh… J-jack?” She smiled weakly as she blushed a light red. “What’re you-”

“A fight for your life often comes at the worst possible time. Like when you’re so tired you think you could drop dead at any moment.” He cracked his knuckles, and sunk into an aggressive posture. Flitter blinked, and stared at him in surprise as she watched his numerous tattoos shift and bulge with his whipcord muscles flexed. “You’re going to try and hit me, and you’re going to try and stop me from hitting you.” He grinned at her, and tossed the PDA onto his sweater and shirt.

Swallowing back the bile her run had forced up into her throat, Flitter growled at Jack and mimicked his aggressive stance. I’m glad he’s not wearing his Exo. I suppose he wants this to be fair? The moment Flitter took to think was all Jack needed to weave forward and cuff her roughly upside the head. The mare reeled in surprise at the sudden smack, and swiftly failed to see the armoured boot speeding toward her. Instinct took over and she flinched away from the blow.

The next moment Flitter registered, she was tottering dangerously on her hind hooves, and her chest thumped painfully. Jack moved in for the kill; sweeping her legs out from under her as he drove her to the ground with a hand near her throat. The air was forced from Flitters lungs as she hit the ground hard, and Jack straddled her. He jabbed two fingers forward to her neck, but didn’t make contact. Looking down at the two fingers, Flitter had the fleeting realization they were hovering just above the major artery. Her eyes flicked up to Jack, who simply grinned in return, and prodded her nose with the two killing fingers that were meant to mimic a knife.

“Bah.” He chuckled to himself after the prod, and got off her chest as he pushed back a cough brought on by making a simple noise. Jack offered her his hand up; it was one she took. Flitter shook herself after having been pulled to her hooves. Shooting a glare at Jack, she found he’d sunken into his attack stance again, and was making a hand motion as if to say-

‘BRING IT ON.’

Flitter barred her teeth and flared her wings; she failed to keep the grin from spreading across her muzzle. “Come and get me if you think you’re hard enough Jackie.”

____________________________________________________________

Breathing hard through her open mouth; Flitters body was all bruises, scrapes, and dirt. Jack held her hoof, and brought it up and forward in a mimic strike. He helped guide her through the basic moves, all without speaking a word. A simple grunt, swat, or laugh was enough for the pair. Flitter smiled broadly as she mimicked the move she’d been shown; her hoof arced like lightning, and she followed through with a pair of kicks that she used her aching wings to aid. Jack nodded once, and clapped lightly. He walked back over to his sweater and grabbed his PDA.

“Last lesson for today. Headbutts.” He walked forward, and squatted before her. “A good headbutt will break your opponents nose, disorienting him and giving you the opportunity to follow up with something more deadly, or make an escape.” He grabbed her by the chin, and pointed to a point on her head. “This is the spot you hit them with. hit them here, with a motion like this.” He jerked his head downward in an arcing motion. “It’ll hurt, but it could save your life. Never be afraid to fight dirty Flitter. Remember that if you ever show up to a fair fight, you didn’t come prepared.” He ruffled her thoroughly ruined mane before going to pull his clothes back on.

Panting heavily, Flitter nodded and swallowed before looking up at him. Upon seeing his back fully, she furrowed her brow. “Jack, we’re did you get all those scars from?” She couldn’t help but wince as he suddenly tensed, and swiftly pulled his shirt back on.

“I’d rather not talk about it right now.” He glanced over at her, then back down to his PDA. “Besides. Don’t you work in a half hour?”

Flitters eyes went wide and she cursed roughly. “Shit! I gotta go wash up!” She fluttered her wings, and crossed the distance to give Jack a dirt covered hug around his barrel. He smiled lightly, and scratched her ears before shooing her off. Without much ceremony, Flitter pumped her burning wings for all they were worth and shot off towards her home.

Watching as Flitter disappeared into the distant skies, Jack waited until he couldn’t discern her coat from the mid-morning skies before turning back towards his home. A shock of pain coursed through his left arm and spread through his shoulder and chest. Forcing down the taste of bile in his throat, he wiped his dry lips and shook his head.

Focus.

The single word was repeated as he placed one heavy metal boot before the other and made his way to where he kept his water. Failing to keep his balance as his head swam, Jack shook his head again and blinked rapidly to try and dispel the sparkling stars that swam before his eyes. He reached out hamfistedly, knocking over several empty bottles until he found his canteen. The creek water tasted faintly of iron, but it was ignored blatantly as Jack lifted the canteen and drank greedily from it’s mouth. The water splashed out around his cracking lips and onto his heaving chest. Unable to swallow anymore, he retched forward and started coughing roughly as his left arm shivered violently.

He shuddered, and clenched his eyes shut as if the swirling black could block out the pain. He opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the remaining bottles of hard alcohol he’d borrowed from the restaurant.

Kill it. Kill it with fire.

He grabbed at one of the bottle with clumsy hands, and struggled to open the top. Snarling angrily, he smashed the lid off with his K-bar. The razor edged combat knife stayed clutched in his vice-like hand as he brought the bottle up to his lips and let the burning liquor spill down his throat and chin. The fire coursed down his throat and into his stomach, where it spread through his veins. The pain didn’t abate in the slightest; instead a vacant, psychotic expression crossed his features as he slowly looked down at his jerking left arm and the titanium plugs that dotted it. His eyes slowly flicked to the knife in his other hand, and his thoughts wandered back to words a scientist had spoken when he was being put through the Longbow Program.

These skeletons require a direct link to the wearers body, which is achieved through these titanium-housed tantalum bio-connectors. We will be replacing almost all of your tendons and ligaments with a lab grown bio-steel, so your body will be able to keep up with the herculean feats of the Longbow Exo-skeleton. Unfortunately, the surgeries are incredibly complicated, and have a dangerously high risk factor, as well as the remote possibility of longevity issues. Of course, if any issues arise, you all will have a truly expert staff on hand to render any and all aid possible.

Jack shuddered at the memory, and one phrase continued to echo around in his head.

Longevity issues

Snarling with fury, Jack pressed the tip of the blade against the edge of the plug.

Longevity issues my fucking ass. I’m dying because those fuckheads made me into a goddamn metal monster.

He grit his teeth together tightly, before closing his eyes slowly as the tip of the knife dug a little furrow into his flesh, drawing a line of bright crimson blood.

Focus. Focus Jack. Focus.

Slowly, he pulled the blade away from the plug, and thumped his head against the rock wall before him. Features twisting in sorrow and pain; he thumped his head against the wall and crumpled until his head was against the rock floor. After several long moments, he slowly opened his eyes, and turned towards his pile of gear. At that moment, he saw his modified chest rig, with it’s payload still inside. He blinked, before cursing his stupidity.

IDIOT. I need to find a place to bury that damn thing… I can’t leave a two megaton bomb just laying around… Fuckfuckfuck.

He shuddered and rolled so he was sitting against the wall.

I need to get my shit straight. I’m nearly out of food, I’m almost out of water, I’m probably dying because of some stupid bulllshit, there’s some random ass band of people camping in my turf and I have a fuckhuge bomb sitting by my cot.

Dying.

Am I dying?

I don’t think I’m dying. It kinda feels like it, but I’ve felt worse…

He furrowed his brow, and took another drink from the bottle. He scoffed at it, before setting it aside.

No. I’m not dying. I refuse to die like /this/. I go out on my own terms.

He set his jaw, and nodded to himself. A sardonic grin spread across his drawn features. He moved over to his bed, and pulled off his heavier clothes. Kicking his feet up, he did his best to rest up for when Flitter returned.

I’ll talk to her. She can help.

He clamped his right hand over his other wrist, locking it in place. Just as his eyes closed for his brief power nap, his plugs started to itch, and his eyes opened in annoyance.

Fuck right off.

Omake the First: Dark Side of the Moon

Command, I am locked in on my final approach vector. Target should appear soon on scope. Jack wiped the back of his hand across his sweaty forehead so he could focus one the dangerous task at hand.

He steadied his breathing as he passed the last obstacle, and his target came into view. A quiet awed gasp escaped his lips as the brilliant crescent moon came into view. "mother of god...." It was so close, and yet, so far. Jack set his jaw tightly, and willed himself forward towards it. Deep inky blackness seemed to surround the pale crescent moon, as if it threatened to swallow it whole. He edged closer, until he could practically touch the moons surface.

Swallowing thickly, Jack uttered the hallowed words of his people. "This is one small step for man, and one, giant leap for mankind."He lifted his hand up high, and focused intently on the task he was about to complete at the risk of his own health and safety. To his infinite horror, the moon shifted ever so slightly. Without a moments hesitation, Jack brought his hand down in a swift, decisive motion.

Luna's head jerked up out of her bowl of coffee in sudden surprise and she failed to suppress her whiny of shock as a rough hand slapped across her cutie mark with enough force to cause her flank to jiggle for a moment and for a stinging numbness to spread rapidly. The Lunar Diarch whipped her head around and stared at the offending human with a shocked expression as hot coffee spilled from her hanging mouth.

Jack met her shocked gaze with a slowly spreading shit eating grin. The grin died ever so slightly when the mare's face exploded in anger, and she clattered off her pillow so she could strangle him with her bare hooves. "FIEND!"

Cackling madly as he turned on his heels and bolted; Jack screamed over his shoulder as he barged out beyond one of the castles ornate doors. "I REGRET NOTHIIIIIING!HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!" He vaulted over a startled maid, and pressed on down the hall as Luna's door crashed open, and the red faced alicorn followed in hot pursuit. Tracking Jack wasn't hard, as his rubberized boot heels squeaked and squealed across the polished marble floors. On top of that, he was still laughing his ass off, much to Luna's chagrin.

"I SWEAR ON MY ANCESTORS, I WILL MURDER YOU, HUMAN!!!!" Luna bellowed with her fuming mad regal voice as she galloped after the trouble-making marine. Passing by several shocked, worried, and bemused ponies, Luna turned another corner, only to find that she'd lost him.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jack pressed his back against the door and bit his knuckle hard to keep from laughing and giving his position away. His body shook with suppressed laughter, and his hand still stung from the righteous ass-slap he'd delivered upon the lunar princess. Flitter looked up from his PDA and pulled the earbuds from her head. "Jack, what-" Her features scrunched up as he skipped over and clamped a hand over her muzzle; he made a silent 'Shhhh' motion, before turning his head back towards the door.

Just as the pair looked to the door, said door boomed, and was nearly blown off its hinges. Jack let out a terrified squawk and bolted for the window. "SHE KNOWS WE'RE HERE, ABANDON SHIP!"

Flitter gaped in horror, her eyes going from the door, then to Jack as he attached a carabiner to his 'emergency castle de-ass line'. He motioned for her to move to him, but she stayed where she was. "Jack, what the fuck did-" Again, Flitter was cut off. Unfortunately, this time a large axe split the door into splinters. Flitter shrieked at the same time and decibel as Jack, she practically leapt into his arms; her wings spread wide in terror as Luna beat down the door with a battleaxe. "JACK WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DOOOOOOO!!???" Flitter shrieked as the human propelled them out the window and down the line.

Both human and pony screamed as they dropped; the line straining as Jack rappelled face first down the four stories of smooth stone that made up the castles exterior. Just as they were about to reach the bottom, the pair were enveloped in a deep blue aura. They were lifted up painfully slowly, until they both hung upside down before a steaming battleaxe wielding Luna. Jack grinned at her as his scraggly black mop of hair hung before his eyes.

"Salve Moonbutt!"

Flitter's lips pressed into a thin line as she looked at Jack, then at Luna. She flailed her hooves a little as the blood rushed to her head. "I swear I'm not with him."

Chapter Nine: Deep Black Sea

Jack’s world turned from brilliant white to blue in a matter of moments. It then shifted rapidly between dull watery blue and heat-scorched sand as his body was sent tumbling like an armoured ragdoll. He barely felt the impact his body made against the dirty roadside ditch. His eyes rolled around in his head, causing his new world to spin continuously as the taste of salty copper mixed with the burning tang of cordite in his mouth and a high pitched keening noise consumed his hearing. The single note screeched in his head as blood leaked out of his burst eardrums. The world slowly began to stop spinning, and he was idly aware of a light pounding that surrounded him. Whether it was automatic gunfire or his own heart failing, he couldn’t tell. The only thought he could fully form was about the swansong in his ears.

Without warning, the world flooded back in through the shattered faceshield of his EOD armour. Tracers streaked over him, and he was faintly aware someone was tugging at him. Jack slowly blinked, his vision tinted a foggy red from the blood dribbling into his eyes. He tried to blink it away, before a familiar face appeared inside his slowly darkening cone of vision. A faint, delirious smile crossed Jack’s blood smeared features.

“hi mark…”

The man hunched over him looked panicked, and that was an incredibly bad thing. Mark jerked a look over his shoulder, before firing off a short burst from his spiker; the weapons barrel steamed in the midday heat. He turned back, and yelled something silently at Jack. Jack blinked hard, and slowly became aware of his body. Swallowing dryly, he managed to mumble to the other soldier.

“mark… mark, i can’t feel my legs… i can’t feel my legs man…” Jack coughed roughly, and his cone of vision flickered black. Mark squeezed his eyes closed; what looked like tears streaked his sooty cheeks, mixing with the foreign blood that was spattered there. He grabbed Jack by his thick kevlar collar and said something mutely. Whatever he said, it seemed to be incredibly important, but Jack couldn’t make out even the faintest of sounds; his own voice was mute, save for the reverberations it sent through his chest. Mark’s face disappeared from his vision, and Jack felt the edging knife of panic work its way deep into his heart. “mark? mark where are you man… please don… please… don’t..” Jack blinked rapidly as his vision continued to darken, and he found himself falling into the abyss.

Within moments, he became keenly aware of his body. Arching his back with a howl that would haunt his own dreams for years; Jack found his senses returning without any subtlety or tack. The smell of burning meat and cordite filled his nostrils, and the lance of thermic pain grew even hotter around his thighs. Thrashing and writhing in pain, Jack felt two pairs of hands holding him down as the pain increased two-fold. Another calm thought crossed through the back of his mind.

The Med-Gen Thermic Patch is designed to cauterize lost limbs so to allow wounded to survive long enough to reach proper medical care. Some activists pin them as ‘unethical’.

Haha.

A long, whimpering moan escaped his parched throat as the burning pain subsided, only to be replaced by a throbbing crackle. He felt somebody cutting open his body armour, but he couldn’t find the strength to lift himself up to see who it was.

“just hold on! i’ll get you out of here man! just hold on!”

The words sounded as if they were a mile away, and coming through water. More likely through blood. Jack was barely conscious as his thick chestplate was peeled back, and his sweat stiffened fatigues were ripped open. A needle jab punched into his chest, and a tingling sensation spread through his body like wild-fire. Abruptly, his senses flooded back once again, and the world burst into brilliant colour. Tracers whipped overhead like psychotic wasps, the MRAP was a blazing wreck, bodies littered the road and sand like discarded toys; in all the chaos and confusion, somebody shoved an abused Sig Sauer 226 into his clenching hand. Somebody lifted him up by his pull strap, and started pulling Jack away from all the death and fire.

Dark figures moved around near the edge of Jack’s vision; armed with deadly looking rifles, they moved forward to claim their final kills. One of the figures grew too bold, and pulled out from behind a mound of rocks with his rifle raised. Jack’s arm jerked up as potent adrenaline flooded his system and his trigger finger pulsed three times. The figure jerked as if palsied, before flopping over backwards like a puppet whose strings had just been cut. The .40 cal pistol bucked and barked in Jack’s adrenaline fueled grip. His eyes were saucer wide and his pupils were mere black pinpricks that darted to and fro to lead his iron sights.

Bang bang bang

Another three shots rang out nearly mute to his bleeding ears, and another figure stumbled behind cover.

Bang bang bang

Pink foam started to collect on Jacks lips, and was soon flecked across his chest and ruined fatigues as he heaved breath after breath through the searing pain.

Bang bang bang-clack

The slide stuck back, leaving the action smoking and exposed to the open air. Jack’s eyes widened in adrenaline fueled fear as another figure appeared. Tracer spikes arced over his head, and the figure went down in clumps and pieces. Mark stepped over Jack, and took a knee inside the ditch. He fired off another swift burst, before jerking a look over his shoulder to motion and yell something to whoever was still dragging Jack’s body. Mark turned his head back to the fight just in time to see the man who’s rifle would strike him down. The steel spike punched into his left hand, shredding the tough skin, shattering the bones, and blowing the trigger assembly of his spiker to hundreds of bits. Mark screamed as bone and machined aluminum shrapnel perforated his cheek; he fell over backwards, clenching the spurting, ruined stump where his mechanic’s hand had been only moments ago. His wide eyes met Jack’s, just as the figures set upon them.

In that moment, the world froze. Everything stopped, and the pain went away. Jack blinked, and looked around. The keening in his ears was gone; replacing it was the sound of a woman heaving and failing to hold back tears.

“i said… Enough.”

Rolling onto his stomach, Jack pushed up until he was standing on his two feet. A glance down confirmed that they were still the surgical steel and composite ceramic legs Hades Int. had given him. Slowly looking up, his eyes fell on the woman in the deep blue ball gown. She was shivering, and looking beyond him. She shuddered, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. Jack quirked both brows as he stared at her. With cautious worry, Jack took a single step forward as he spoke softly.

“I… God?”

The woman blinked, and looked over to him, as if it was the first time she’d truly looked at him. She stared at him almost equally before answering. “No… No human, I am not your… God.” She looked around at the frozen carnage before shivering. “what god could allow this-”

“If you’re not God, then who the fuck are you?” Jack’s tone had an edge of bite to it, to mask his own confusion and intense worry. He stayed still, with his boots planted firmly in the sand.

She looked up at him, her expression growing softer; more calm. The look had a calming affect on him as well, as he felt his hackles lowering. “My name is Princess Luna. You are… Jack?”

Nodding, he took another few steps forward; mindful to step over the headless corpse of the squad driver. His grey matter was plastered across an old mud-brick wall; a piece of his jaw and what could have been anything rested inside a split open combat helmet. One of the drivers brown eyes was intact, and staring blankly at the pair. “Jack. Specialist Jack Kessle.” He did a misplaced curtsey as he started to grin. “Yer’ Majesty.”

The lunar princess smiled graciously at his misused formal greeting. “I am… pleased to make your acquaintance.” She swallowed as she looked over the carnage. “so much blood… You lost so much blood, I didn’t think it would be possible to survive something like… this.”

A sardonic smirk spread across Jack’s face. “Well, I mighta lost a lotta blood, but they found most of it!” He laughed weakly at his own joke; it was a laugh the princess couldn’t bring herself to match.

“Of course… Jack, do you know why I have such difficulties with your dreams?” She looked him over; her eyes flitting across his body with intense curiosity.

“My dreams? What? Are you some kinda… Dream.. fairy… princess?” Jack asked as his features screwed up in confusion. Luna lifted a finger, before curling it up so she could rub her face with annoyance.

“So you do not know then…” He simply shrugged, and started looking around the area with vacant interest. The cold detachment sent a shiver down her spine as she opened her mouth to speak. “Jack, forgive my asking, but… What happened to your friend?” She pointed at the still-frame screaming Mark. She frowned as he turned away and pinched his nose with two fingers. Luna’s eyes went wide as the scene snapped forward. Several men wearing shemaghs were circled around a seated Jack and Mark, who was tied to a short pole. Mark looked as if he’d been severely beaten, and was close to losing consciousness. A pug faced, narrow eyed short man walked over to the bound pair with a pistol in his hand.

Jack frowned heavily as he kept his eyes closed; he was oblivious to the scene unfolding. “He didn’t make it.”

The short, slant eyed man grabbed Jack by the mouth, and wrestled the pistol into his hand. Forcing Jack’s fingers around its lacquered wooden grip; the man grinned with perfect pearly white teeth. The pug-faced man cackled silently as he gripped Jacks head, forcing him to look at the silently pleading Mark. The legless Jack screamed silently and ineffectively as the short man pulled his finger back, and the pistol flared bright. Mark jerked on the post as a bloody blossom sprouted from the left of his chest. His eyes widened with shock and betrayal as he look slowly up from his sucking wound to the silently sobbing Jack. The pug-faced man ripped the pistol from his grip, and shoved Jack's head hard enough to bounce it off the old concrete floor. Turning her back on the scene, Luna pressed a hand against her smooth, porcelain-esque face.

“I…” She took a moment to compose herself. “I apologize for your loss, Jack Kessle.” She opened her mouth to speak again, but found the words catch in her throat as Jack turned, and stared at her. What Luna found staring at her wasn’t in any sense of the word ‘Right’. Whatever passed behind his eyes for that split moment was wild. Wild, furious, and deadly. It was snuffed out in a mere moment; submerged within a emerald sea of off-putting calm.

“Yeah.” He rubbed his stubbly cheek for a moment. “So now what? Are we gonna stand here awkwardly, or is something gonna happen?” He shifted from boot to boot in annoyance.

Luna blinked, before smiling weakly. “Well Jack, I do believe I have partially answered my earlier question. These are not dreams, nor are they nightmares. They are simply memories, playing onward and onward without changes or bias. My magic has difficulties forcing change into such a constant.” She regained some of her regal grace; her movements looked seamless and completely fluid as she closed the distance between them.

Stiffening at the growing closeness, Jack twisted his features up. “Magic? Are you-” He paused, and let out a groan. “Of course you’re serious. Outstanding! Fuck me.”

Luna jerked away from him as if she'd been slapped. “I shall do no such thing!” She squawked indignantly, and crossed her arms protectively over herself. A snorting laugh escaped from Jack as he looked over at the woman, only to start laughing harder. His face flushed red as he doubled over and continued laughing. Shifting in confusion, Luna blinked at the sudden outburst. “I… do not understand…?”

Jack’s laughter diminished to enthused giggles and the odd coughs. “Oh god, that’s great. I swear, you’re worse than Flitter.” He chuckles again, and straightens out. “This whole world is like some messed up PG kids show, complete with good ol’ zombies and human slavery; it’s fuckin hilarious!” He grinned, and assumed an enthused, vacant look. “Today’s special guest is an Ex-Marine, he’ll teach you all how to cuss and draw dicks on everything!” He chuckled again at his brand of humour; Jack barely noticed that Luna was not laughing along.

Staring at the giggling marine, Luna couldn’t help but shake her head in disbelief and rub her face. A quiet sigh was breathed out from between her slight lips, and was soon followed by a question. “Jack, I need you to think of something that makes you happy.” She rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

Jack immediately stopped laughing, and regarded Luna with a curious look. “Happy? alright… happy… happyhappyhappy…” He closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate hard. He lifted up a hand and started counting on his fingers. “Alcohol-” The landscape of his dreamscape shifted, becoming a swirling mass. “Recoil-” The imagery began to take shape of what looked to be a cave. “New titty mags-” A small fire crackled before Luna and Jack, with two indiscernible figures seated before it. “Uhhh… Soft beds, warm showers, and good steak.” He grinned, and nodded as if to agree with himself. “Yep! That’s what makes me happy.” His eyes wandered to the fully formed picture.

In the dream, Jack was seated on his log before the crackling and snapping fire, with Flitter fidgeting in his lap.

“Ouch.”

“Stop fidgeting.”

“OUCH!”

"Stop whining."

"Ow."

"Stop moving."

"Make me! OW!"

The dream Jack chuckled lightly as he pulled prickly burs from the mares mane and coat. He flicked them into the fire as he worked, causing it to pop and crackle. Watching the exchange, Jack smiled weakly as he looked over at Luna. He looked away from her once again to rub his cheek. As Luna watched the quiet exchange as a small, appreciative smile crossed her own soft features.

“I see…” She turned to Jack, and took a step towards him. “I can force your dreams away from your memories; allow you to sleep peacefully once more.” She laid a gentle hand down on his shoulder.

Turning his head to regard the regal princess; Jack nodded once. “Just black will be fine. A quiet rest would be better than anything else.” He sighed quietly, before looking around the expanse. “So this is the inside of my head?”

Luna nodded once in confirmation. “A glimpse into your subconscious. My magic is allowing you to remain here and comprehend what is happening. You are still sound asleep.”

Quirking a brow, he couldn’t help but laugh shortly. “Sounds hinky. Like one of those threads on tulpas and other bullshit.” He continued to look around, before closing his eyes to focus. The dreamscape shifted, depositing them onto the sidelines of what seemed to be a high school rugby game. Jack opened his eyes, and grinned happily. “This is fuckin wicked. That’s my first rugby game!” He coughed. “Also last…”

Watching with bated interest, Luna’s eyes wandered to the sidelines, where a large group of humans were gathered. Around eight of them were holding up a homemade banner that read ‘Go #82!’ A quick glance saw a much younger, and more stringy looking Jack wearing a #82 jersey. Luna regarded the group with increased wonder. “Is that your family? There’s quite a few of them.”

“Yeah, some of em. George and Sophia weren’t born yet- Oh shit, it’s uncle Dim!” Jack’s eyes shone with boyish excitement. “I didn’t even know he’d shown up.” He pointed at one of the largest humans Luna had ever laid eyes on standing behind the rest of Jack’s family. He was roughly 6’7”, and easily three hundred pounds. The man's head was shaved down to a clean high and tight haircut. He looked like a bear, and had the presence of a mean one. Luna watched as a rail thin man wearing reading glasses slid into ‘Uncle Dim’s' arms, before pecking him on the bottom of the jaw. Dim smiled happily, and held the smaller man close as they watched with the rest of the Kessle clan as the game kicked off. Jack leaned over as his eyes remained fixed on the opening of the game. “Uncle Dmitry is an ex-Spetsnaz bruiser. Married my Uncle William when I was eleven, after he emigrated from Russia to Canada, five years prior.” He grinned as the scrum started, but it was swiftly swapped for a scowl as a thicknecked opponent elbowed the younger Jack in the nose. Even from the sidelines, it was obvious it was broken. As fast as Luna could Blink, Jacks elbow caught the offenders jaw and set him to the ground. The whip-like younger Jack pounced on him, and started raining blows down upon the stunned teenager. The opposing team grabbed at him, only to have the scrim devolve into a full-blown fistfight. The younger Jack scrambled over the thrashing bruiser; locking his opponents ankle into his hands and rolling onto his back. The larger teens eyes bulged, and he let out a shriek as his calf was crushed and his leg broken. Whistles were being blown, and teachers were flooding the field to break up the fight.

One furious adult, presumably the teens father, tried to storm onto the field to accost the bleeding Jack. He didn’t get far. Luna blinked, and noticed that Uncle Dmitry and the other teens father were suddenly nowhere to be found. By the time she returned her gaze to the field, the teen who had started the entire altercation was moaning in horrid pain and Jack was being escorted off the field as his family watched on and his mother rubbed her eyes in frustration. His brothers cheered him on and his sisters smirked in approval.

The image distorted, leaving the pair standing in what seemed like nothingness. Jack chuckled lightly, and rubbed his nose where it tweaked over so slightly. “They had to put sixteen rods and pins in his leg for a year just so he could hobble straight. He lost two teeth, and had to get a plate in his jaw from where I introduced it to my elbow.” He chuckled darkly. “I was banned from any and all school sports teams, including the ping pong team. Got threatened with expulsion, but... he started it.”

Shaking her head, Luna looked over Jack incredulously. “Why would you do that? It was simply a game.” She cocked her head ever so slightly, and waited with interest for his reply.

“Because nobody fucks with the Kessle’s. He was a bully, so I gave him a reminder.” Jack set his jaw, and the image of a sniveling little boy covered in bloody scrapes and purple bruises came up. “Prick used to bully my little siblin’s when Jules, Jacob, and myself weren’t around. Got his sick little kicks out of beating the shit out of kids.” He smirked. “So Uncle Dim taught us all Sambo, and I joined the rugby team. I knew we’d face off eventually. We did, and I won.” His smirk spread into a shit-eating grin. "Totally worth it."

An appreciative smile spread across Luna’s lips. “I see. Family is very important to you…” She creased her brow as she considered something. “What is Flitter to you Jack?”

The question made Jack blink in surprise, before turning to stare at the smaller woman as he tried to weed out exactly what she meant. “She’s a great kid. Good heart-” He paused, as if considering his next words. “Soul of a true marine.” He thumped his chest. “That makes her family. She looks out for me, and I look out for her. Simple as that.”

Luna smiled, and nodded once again. She looked up at Jack, a curious look on her soft features. “A true marine? What do you mean by that? What is a marine-” She jerked as a loud bleating noise overcame them, and the dreamscape fell apart around them. The princess tried to yell something out to Jack, but he was already waking.

Jerking up in bed, Jack slapped ineffectively at his PDA in an attempt to at least hit the snooze button. A quiet groan escaped his lips as he finally found it, silencing the alarm for a few minutes. Jack fell back onto his cot and rubbed his eyes with his calloused fingers. As he thought over his terribly odd dream, he could only muster one single thought in return.

What the actual fuck.

Chapter Ten: Universal Problem Solver

It’s days like today that make me glad to be a pegasi.

Flitter soared high above Ponyville on a winter thermal; the chilly wind nipped at her wing tips, but the heat spreading through her muscles kept her comfortably warm. Below her were the winter weather crews; they seemed to be busy building up some kind of weather front that would bury the area in fresh snow. Flitter sucked in a breath of frozen air, and reveled in the feeling of what felt like a completely new body.

Hoorah for crazy pegasus metabolisms and fast muscle gain! Flitter giggled to herself as she hunched her back and swooped down towards her home. The front door was unlocked, as it always was. Stepping beyond the threshold, Flitter found herself in a seemingly empty house.

“Cloudy? You home?” Please don’t be home.

Nopony answered Flitters call, and her smile returned once again. “Shower time!” Flitter pranced up the stairs to keep her blood pumping. She flung open the door to her room, only to come to a jerky stop.

Somepony’s been going through my shit….

A quiet growl of annoyance passed her lips, until her eyes fell on the spread out drawings of Jack. They were all spaced out, placed down on the bed as if each one had been studied intensively. And the pony who had done it hadn’t bothered to put them away or hide what they’d done.

They wanted Flitter to know what they’d done.

“Fuck.” Flitter cursed quietly as she trotted over, and looked over the detailed drawings of hi-tech equipment that looked more at home in a science-fiction comic book. Jack’s laser rifle, his massive powered armour, his bulky sidearm, and some of his more technical gear. On top of that, there were several other drawings of Jack himself, wearing the armour, hefting the rifle; moving, striking, killing, laughing. A shudder passed down Flitters spine.

I shouldn’t have drawn any of these.

Her eyes fell on one of her latest drawing; one of Jackès face. He had a massive grin on his face; Flitter had just told him a joke that he’d enjoyed, and his cheeks had creased upwards, pushing his eyes into happy green slits. His teeth were bared, and his canines were prominently featured. Flitters thoughts on the sharp pointed teeth were that they had originally looked like the fangs of a vampony, but she’d come to see them as more wolfish; causing his features to appear more animalistic when he bared them for any reason. A real Canis Lupus, as he’d coined it when she’d asked.

Flitter rubbed her muzzle and thumped a hoof against the side of her head as her ears flattened against her skull. “Stupid Flitter, stupidstupidstupid! Shit!” She started piling the drawings back into their little strongbox. “I’ll just… keep them at Jacks. Move all my art stuff there after work.” She let out a calming breath; steadying herself as she’d been taught to. “We’ll be okay.” Flitter spoke softly, and nodded her head in consensus. The niggling edge of fear remained in the back of her mind. I hope we’ll be okay… I’m gonna have a… talk, with Cloudy… Yeah. A talk. Rubbing her muzzle lightly; her eyes went to the strong box, and her mind went to its contents. Shaking her head lightly, Flitter crammed the box and almost all of her art supplies into a pair of saddle bags. “Okay… shower time.” Setting the saddlebags down by her door, Flitter trotted off towards the shared bathroom.

____________________________________________________________

The sides of the massive cleaning machine steamed away as Flitter allowed it to cool. Wiping a damp hoof across her sweaty forehead, she watched as the kitchen staff hurried to finish up for the night. A light smile crossed her sweat streaked features as she started to hum the lyrics of a song she’d heard on Jack’s PDA. As the minutes ticked by, and the massive machine cooled; Flitter started pulling the contraption apart for proper cleaning. Most of the kitchen staff had already cleared out, but a couple cooks were still cleaning. The last waitress, Jewel, was out in the guest area cleaning up the tables.

As Flitter sprayed down the inside of the machine, she heard the telltale clink-clatter of dirty dishes being left at her station. Turning to stare at the large stack of dirty plates and bowls, she watched as Jewel tried to slip away undetected.

“Hey! Jewel!” Flitter called out, stopping the other mare in her tracks.

Blowing some of her pink mane from her eyes, Jewel stared at Flitter flatly. “What? I’m kinda busy Flits.” She shifted idly, and kept her features nearly vacant and obviously annoyed.

Furrowing her brow in displeasure, Flitter pointed at the large stack of filthy dishes. “What, are these?” She made sure to keep her voice level and calm. Seeing the pearl white unicorn blink in confusion nearly brought a smile to her lips.

“They’re… dishes.” Jewel answered slowly as she stared at Flitter.

Flitter leaned forward on the ledge to stare at Jewel. “Dishes? Are you sure Jewel? Because I’m pretty sure that you said that you’d brought me all of the dishes ten minutes ago. You know, when we closed.” Flitter started glaring at Jewel. Let’s see if I can pull off an Angry-Jack face.

The unicorn mare shifted uncomfortably as she wilted under the glare. “W-well… I missed some, that’s all-”

“Oh, I see.” Flitter cocked her head to the side and stared at Jewel incredulously. “So you just happened to miss three racks worth of plates and dishes? Like how you forget to mop your floors every night?” Flitter could feel her hackles rising in anger, and she fought to keep them at a manageable level. A smug feeling of satisfaction flooded her system as Jewel wilted further; her perky ears folding against her head.

Jewel pawed weakly at the floor and bowed her head on instinct. “S-sorry… I-I’ll um… I won’t miss them next time.” At that, the unicorn started backing out toward the lounge area, where she could easily escape without finishing her tasks.

Knowing Jewels tactics firsthand, Flitter narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in disappointment. “Jewel, since you’re forcing me to put the machine back together again, you’re going to help me finish these dishes.” Flitter pulled one of the heavy cast iron covers from the industrial sink and let it slam down into its place in the machine. Jewel flinched at the sound, and from fear as she watched the slim pegasus manhandle heavy hunks of metal.

“B-but, I have stuff to do Flitter, you can’t keep me here.” Jewel swallowed, and straightened up to try and match Flitters newfound courage.

Big mistake Jewel. Flitter set her jaw and stared hotly at Jewel. “Oh, I see! You’ve got stuff to do! My mistake, let me just do your job for you, and let you get to it then!” Some of the remaining cooks turned their attention to the dish pit as Jewel sputtered and balked. Flitter didn’t stop her frustrated tirade. “Did it ever even occur to you that I might have shit that I wanna do? Huh?” She fumed angrily at the waitress. “Because every fucking day, I have to clean up after you, stay late and finish your job. So why don’t you trot your skinny ass in here and help me out for once?” Flitter fought to force her anger back down, and succeeded. In return, Jewel’s mouth worked like a fish without water as she stared at Flitter. After a moment of sputtering, the waitress hanged her head and trotted into the steaming dish pit, where she immediately started to sweat inside her stuffy uniform. Smirking to herself, Flitter adjusted her dirty bandana and finished setting up the machine. The first blast of steam struck Jewel in the muzzle, causing her to squeak and backpedal. Spraying down the first rack of dishes; Flitter crammed it into the machine and smiled to herself as the griffon cook, Kaiser, shot her a pair of impressed claw thumbs up. Not too shabby Flitty. Flitter smiled happily, and carried onwards, much to Jewel’s chagrin.

_________________________________________________________________

The reinforced rear door of Founders swung easily on its hinges as Flitter trotted out into the frigid night air. A surprised shiver rolled through her body; from ears to hooves it shook her unclothed body. “Holy crap is it ever cold…” Flitter flapped her wings to work up her blood before she could take off. I hope they weren’t planning on that snow-storm being tonight! Flitter shivered again, and silently cursed herself for bringing nothing in the way of clothes save for her bandana for work. Well, standing here won’t get me any closer to a fire and it gives Gaze more of a chance to fuck me over, so let’s go! Without further pause or extra needling from her own thoughts, Flitter pumped her wings and took off like a rocket into the frozen skies.

Nearing the edge of Jack’s FoB, Flitter was forced to land early as ice started to build up on her fur and wings. “Crapcrapshit!” Flitter landed roughly just at the edge of the woods, and took a moment to shake herself free of ice. A coarse shiver ran down her spine, forcing her into a run to stay warm. As Flitter weaved through the trail, her saddle-bags bounced and struck against her flanks and odd branches. To confirm her ever worsening fears of the weather, it began to snow heavily; the thick white snow carpeted the ground in no time, and stuck to nearly everything. Flitter sighed in relief as the rockwall came into view despite the heavy snowfall. Trotting alongside it, Flitter stopped just before a small clearing to catch her breath. Moving to the left, Flitter passed through the seemingly solid rock wall and into Jack’s home.

Jack was sitting up on his cot and rubbing his bristly cheek as he thought. That was… weird… Really, really, /REALLY/ weird… He made a slightly amused face as he flicked his hand as a sign of giving up. That Luna Princess lady is pretty smokin’ though... He grinned lecherously. She can invade my dreams any time. Oh baby! Jack’s thoughts were put on hold just as Flitter pressed past his doorway. He smiled at her, but his wave of greeting stopped halfway. The mare shivered heavily, sending clumps of thick snow to the stone floor. Jack groaned in understanding. “I take it winter is coming.”

Shaking her head as she plopped down by the fire; Flitter stuck her hooves and wings out to thaw them. “N-nope! Winter i-is here!” She shivered again, causing Jack to raised his brow in worry as he swung his metal boots over the side of his cot.

“Don’t you have winter gear? You look like a pony-sicle.” He chuckled at his own joke as Flitter rolled her eyes.

“Nothing for this kind of weather, I nearly froze my tail off flying here… I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it back tonight.” She bit her lip in worry, momentarily forgetting her saddle bags. Jack furrowed his brow further, before tapping out a message as he started digging around in his bedding.

“Why? Is it that bad?”

Flitter shook her head, even though he wasn’t looking at her. “Pegasi are taught from an early age to seek cover if they’re ever caught in a snowstorm. Our wings are super sensitive, and can freeze up really badly.” She cocked her head in curiosity as Jack cackled in victory as he pulled out what Flitter recognized as his pillow. He stood, and treaded over to her; the pillow unfolding to reveal some kind of hooded clothing. Jack grabbed her forehooves, and motioned for her to hold them up. Flitter’s features screwed up in confusion, but she did as she was ordered. A meep of surprise escaped her as Jack pulled the hoodie down over her hooves and head. Within a moment she found herself engulfed in a comfortable cotton hoodie; the hood sat skewed on her head. Jack took a step back to admire his handiwork.

“Looks like I’ll have to cut some holes in it for your wings. It’s not much, but with your fur it should be more than warm enough.” Jack smiled at the surprised mare, before stretching out languidly.

Pushing the olive drab hood away from her eyes, Flitter looked over herself with curiosity. “ACMC? What does that stand for?” She asked quietly as she snuggled herself with the toasty hoodie. The smell of old sweat, Old Spice, alcohol and cordite hung off its every fiber, creating a faint musk that screamed ‘Jack’. A faint blush worked its way onto her chilly cheeks, and Flitter was suddenly glad her wings were trapped within the wonderful cotton prison.

“Arm-Can Marine Corp.” Jack plopped down beside her, and started stoking the fire with a long pointy stick.

Flitter blinked in surprise, and regarded the hoodie with a bit more awe. I… I am soooo keeping this… “No take backs…” Flitter mumbled as she reveled at the broken-in softness. Jack chuckled at her antics and shrugged noncommittally, causing Flitter to giggle in response. “So, what’s the plan for today then? I don’t think running is a good idea with all this snow… and-” She went silent as Jack pressed a single forefinger against her muzzle; her eyes crossed to stare at it.

“Today you’ll be learning out the Marines second best friend, your universal problem solver.” He pulled the monomolecular-edged Ka-bar and offered it to her gingerly, handle first.

Taking the blade carefully in her hooves, Flitter took a moment to look it over. “It’s… it’s your knife…?” Flitter looked back over to Jack, before turning back to regard the weapon again. The edge of the blade was ridiculously fine. I think the guard would kill to make swords this sharp… except all those idiots would probably die from cutting themselves on real weapons.

“Be really fucking careful with that, monomolecular blades are not for shaving. Seriously, don’t even try.” Looking over, Flitter found that Jack was being incredibly serious. The mental image made Flitter shudder involuntarily and shake her head to dispel the thoughts.

“So you’re gonna teach me how to use this?” Flitter asked as she set the utility knife down on a flat rock. At Jack’s nod, she looked to his hands, then to her hooves. A small pout appeared on her features, causing Jack to chuckle lightly.

“I’ll do my best, it’ll be like fist fighting. We aren’t the same, but I think we can work around it. Just need to work on your bipedal stance.” He grinned as he prodded her in the side, only to receive a flat-hoofed prod back.

“I am working on it! And I don’t see how it’ll help with me not having hands.” Flitter crossed her cotton covered hooves and fluttered her wings within the hoodie. A quiet sigh passed through her lips. “Sorry Jack, I had a rough day at work. Let’s just get started.” She pushed out and small, honest smile, and found it readily accepted.

“Alright, so try holding it like so.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Flitter jabbed at the target log with the knife, leaving a sizable rent in its bark. The blade passed through the wood like butter; and with the long stick Jack had duct-taped it to allowed Flitter to stand and use it as a kind of ad-hoc spear. Every so often she would wobble on her hind hooves; the unnatural stance threatening to topple her over. Every time she would reach the edge of controllability, Jack would grab her sides and right her. He would circle her, giving encouragement and gentle readjustments to her technique. Flitter was idly aware that he was always seemingly holding his left arm when he wasn’t holding her steady or showing her how to sever a man’s jugular, or telling her how taking out tendons and arteries could end any fight fast. At some point they’d cut two holes in the hoodie, allowing her to wear it and use her wings to help with balance at the same time.

One final stab with her rifle-esque spear saw the small log fall to pieces and crash down onto the stone floor. Flitter giggled happily and clopped her hooves together in victory as she cradled the spear. “That was awesome! I’m way better at this than hitting stuff with my hooves. Hey Jack?” A pained grunt greeted her, causing Flitter to furrow her brow and turn towards the source. “Jack?”

Jack clutched his side and pressed against the cave wall; his features a mask of twisted agony. Flitters eyes shot open in surprise, and the spear clattered to the ground as she dropped to all fours and galloped to his side. Supporting him as best she could, Flitter was forced to hold onto him as he slid to the floor. Worry and fear practically burst into her mind as Jack shook spasmodically and grit his teeth tightly. “Jack!? Please, please tell me what’s wrong!” Flitter felt a shiver work up her spine as she watched his eyes water up from the sheer pain. A horribly pained whimper escaped through his clenched teeth; his right hand gripped at her tightly as it seeked for support. His left simply clenched down until the bones and artificial tendons pressed through his taut, clammy skin.

Knowing any kind of answer was far beyond him, Flitter did what she could. Pulling the shaking marine against her chest; she held him close and tightly as she stroked his matted hair. A quiet, forced hum came from her lips; a song barely remembered that her father had sung to her before he’d deployed for the last time. A pained moan passed through his gritted teeth as he clutched at her for support. Flitter was forced to close her eyes, so she wouldn’t have to look at his skin pulling tight, making the plugs in his flesh seem like great gaping metal sores. Eventually the sounds of agony and retching pain slowed, and Jack eventually regained control of his body. He remained pressed against Flitter; his breath coming in laboured and slow. Flitter continued to hold him down and do her best to calm him; she wiped her own tears of worry away with the sweat matted sleeve of the marine corp hoodie.

“Thank you.”

Flitter rubbed her eyes again, and knew that the PDA had a much steadier voice than either of them would have had at that moment. Hugging Jack gently, she nuzzled his neck in support. “O-of course… What.. what happened? I.. I didn’t hurt you did I?” She fought back the edge of panic in her voice as he lay against her. The relief was small but noticable when he shook his head and plucked weakly at the screen of the PDA.

“No. Need morphine. Peak of withdrawal. Shouldn’t be much worse.”

Swallowing heavily, Flitter readjusted so Jack could be more comfortable. “Morphine? Was that.. some of your medicine?” She shifted nervously, but didn’t dare stop holding him. Again, Jack shook his head.

“No. Not anymore. I’m addicted to it, and not having any hurts a lot. I should be getting better soon though.” With great effort, Jack forced himself into the sitting position, allowing Flitter to scoot out from behind him with reluctance. He smiled tiredly at her, before pulling her into a long hug. “Sorry about that. I can’t really teach when my body is trying to turn inside out.”

Flitter furrowed her brow a little as she shook her head. “You’ve been like this for weeks, haven’t you… why didn’t you tell me?” She paused for a moment as she thought. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

The wince from Jack told her enough, but thankfully he relented. “I don’t like talking about it. I’ve never had it this bad either.” He scratched the back of his neck slowly. “I haven’t eaten properly in six days. I keep puking my guts out and I can’t run for more than a minute without my exo. I have recurring nightmares, and I hallucinate occasionally” The details made Flitter cringe and inwardly berate herself. “That all sounds really fucking bad when I say it out loud.” He pursed his lips and looks slightly off-put.

And this has been going on for days? Weeks? How didn’t I see this?

Am I a bad friend?

The question froze her in place; the idea swirling around her brain like a poison. The thought was banished when Jack pulled her over and held her again, his head resting on hers. “I’m sorry Jack… I don’t know what I can do, but I will help you.” She managed a smile as his fingers slowly ran through her mane as he hugged her. “We’re in this together.” The light nod and weakly pained chuckle from Jack was all she needed in return.

The pair stayed like that for a couple of minutes; the fire crackling away cheerily before them. Jack’s PDA broke the silence.

“What’s in the bags?”

Flitter blinked in confusion, before realizing what Jack meant. She smiled happily, and opened her bag to reveal her strongbox. Jack cocked his head in a curious fashion, before arching a brow at her. Flitter grinned happily, and popped open the lock. “It’s my art. I uh… I’m going to keep this stuff here, if that’s alright with you. Cloudy keeps breaking into my box, and um…” She trailed off as Jack lifted up a stack of artwork. He whistled and nodded as he leafed through. He occasionally lifted a brow at certain pieces, but didn’t question it. After a minute, he spoke.

“These are amazing, how’d you get so much detail into them? I don’t remember seeing you work on any of these.” He carefully set down the artwork and turned his attention to Flitter.

Blushing in embarrassment, Flitter nervously pulled on a bit of her long mane. “W-well… I have kind of… have photographic memory… slightly…” She stroked her mane, and avoided his eyes.

“That. Is fucking bad ass.” Jack grinned happily, as if he hadn’t been keening in her hooves minutes ago. He started leafing through the artwork again; he reminded Flitter of an amazed foal. Kind of like how I was when Daddy showed me his medals… Jacks PDA spoke again, breaking her away from the thought. “That would explain how you’re able to learn so fast. The DI’s would have loved you. Well, probably not, but maybe.” He wobbled a little, and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

Frowning in worry, Flitter crossed over to where Jack was seated before his cot. “Jack, you should rest… I don’t need to learn anything else today, I just want you to rest and get better.” Flitter smiled weakly as Jack pouted in defeat. She pulled back in surprise as he suddenly grinned like a maniac. Jack sprang to his feet; albeit a bit wobbly. He pulled his helmet from his stoic armour, and fell back onto his cot. He gestured for Flitter to join him there and take a seat beside him.

“You can learn theory. Watch modern battles. See real time tactics. Since you’ve go photographic memory, you’ll be able to get more out of it too.” Something told Flitter that the PDA did no justice to the excitement Jack felt as he cradled the massive helmet in his still shaking hands.

That… that sounds awesome. Flitter smiled brightly, and nodded. “I’d love to! And I can see more of your planet too.” She prodded him, and instantly regretted it as he winced with obvious strain. “Sorry… And um.. You can rest too.” She smiled at him as she pulled the hoodie closer and fluttered her wings with barely contained excitement.

Jack nodded, before placing the helmet down over her head. Flitter flicked her ears to make them fit properly within the padded confines of the encompassing helmet. For such a big helmet, it sure is tight!

“One warning though. You’re going to see some pretty messed up shit. Don’t feel bad if you need to take the brain bucket off once in awhile. I won’t blame you at all.” The mechanical voice sounded even more tinny when coming from outside the helmet.

Flitter couldn’t help but snort derisively. “Jack, the first time seeing you, I watched you rip the leg off of an infected human and bludgeon another to death with the severed limb. I can handle a little bit of gross.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Those were the last words that came from Jack’s PDA, the rest came from all around her as the video feed appeared, and consumed her world entirely.

Jack clambered onto his cot and sprawled out onto his canvas cot; a quiet, tired sigh leaving him. He carefully pulled the hoodied pony down to lay next to him. She squirmed a bit, before accepting it once she understood what he was doing.

Last thing I need is you flipping out and running into the fire.

He pulled her close, and used her as a replacement for his lost pillow. I’m gonna miss that hoodie. A small smile spread across his lips as he relaxed. She earned it. Wear it with pride Flitter, that’s the closest thing to a uniform I can offer you. You can forget about getting your class A’s. The thought caught him with a start, and caused him to frown with light depression. Man I wish I’d kept my class A’s… I was natty as FUCK. Dammit, now I’ve made myself sad.

Chapter Ten Point Five: Tokyo A GoGo

The buck of turbulence woke Jack, and initiated the start of the combat video. Groaning quietly, he lifted a hand up and rubbed at his eyes; his fingers drifted down to worry at the oxygen mask he’d be forced to wear for majority of the flight. The edges of the thick rubber half mask had dug bright red furrows across his face, but it kept him alive, so he didn’t voice his complaints. He also knew every movement, every vital, every facial expression was being recorded by his employers; he knew better than to complain.

Shifting out of his harness, Jack stretched his sore limbs out before pacing over to where his armour was locked in place within a large metal rack. The armour clicked quietly as he approached; it’s access panels sliding back in segments so he could slip into its confines. The armour padding and probes pressed down on him until he was encased; a short moment later saw the large armour segments clicking back down into place. His HUD came alive across his eyes as the probes burrowed into his uplink points; he blinked rapidly to banish the electronic ghosts that played and span across his vision. A quick glance around saw about a dozen other Longbow survivors doing the same; they all went over their gear and armour, ensuring equipment failure wouldn’t be an issue in the field upon drop. Slapping the one hundred round helixical magazine into his upgraded Spiker rifle- Dubbed Grizzly Series v4 - the magazine seated cleanly, and the action slid on well oiled rails. “Armour, administer half dose of medication.” Jack blinked once for a flinch as a needle jabbed into his bicep, and the cocktail of drugs flowed into his system. The soothing embrace of morphine caused him to sigh in contentment. He panned the camera view around the AC-150’s massive cargo bay; the darkened cigar-tube was alive with movement as large armoured soldiers loaded weapons and worried over every aspect of the death dealing devices and life saving apparatus’.

“Head’s up boy and girls, boss man’s on comms.” The pilots voice was scratchy and tired. Unlike everyone in the cargo bay, he’d had to stay awake for the entire harrowing journey from Camp Bellen to Berlin, then over Easter Europe and what was left of China. Jack knew everyone would be paying attention, just as he was. The corner of his HUD shifted, and a small box appeared with an older gentleman within it.

Lee Chalmers, Operations lead of Hades Int. Experimental Longbow battle group was seated in what was probably a well furnished and air-conditioned bunker somewhere in Nevada. The man’s face had been shredded hamburger when Jack had met him years ago, but Hades had given him a new face, as they’d given Jack new legs. Lee’s fresh aquiline face smiled at him on the HUD. “Welcome to Japanese airspace ladies and gentlemen. Let’s begin our briefing.” He brought up a dataslate, and shifted through its contents. “You’ll all be splitting off into teams of two. Your current partners have been graciously lended to us by Germany, hence the pitstop in Berlin while some of you were asleep. Treat em’ well, they’re Panzer Elite.” Jack’s eyes shifted to the massive walker that was crouched down; hugging its knees to fit inside the cargo-plane’s hold. Its sensor module tilted toward him and bent in a form of greeting as the pilot sent a simple audio message to avoid interrupting the video briefing.

“Guten Tag.”

Operations Lead cleared his throat as he ran a pair of fingertips across his widows peak. “You’ll be acting as heavy cavalry, working interdiction on Slug lines and running smash ‘n’ burn operations. You will be given operational autonomy on this mission, but we will be watching. Cripple Slug supply lines, sow chaos, and give them hell.” Lee leaned forward a bit, and set down his slate. “All pertinent data has been fed to your armour’s VI. Any questions?”

Scanning over the info swiftly; Jack’s eyes didn’t lift when one of the panzer pilots spoke up. “Mein Herr, call on ze non-combatants?” He sounded young and his heavy accent skewed his standard, but there was no mistaking the timber of a trained and proven combat pilot.

“Do what you can, but do not, I repeat, do Not risk Hades Int property in pointless battles.” The statement left a bad taste in Jack’s mouth, and it left the observing Flitter with a painful thought. Does that man mean Jack when he says ‘property’?

Another question. “Sir, any blue dirtside?” Jack snorted derisively as he ensured his shoulder mounted micro rocket launchers were fully loaded with an assortment of high explosive party favours.

“Okinawa Marines, Second Battalion Dog Company, and Japanese City Defense Force. CDF is in a bad way, and Dog Company marines are in a staggered holding pattern to protect civilian EVA’s and Strat points. They are fighting a losing battle.” Jack made a face as if he was running a mental note as Lee concluded the briefing and closed the channel. Mid-thought, Jack felt a prod against his armoured shoulder. Cocking his head, he found himself staring at his heavy metal partner. The pilot opened a vid-com to Jack’s helmet without difficulty. He was older, easily in his early forties; the man seemed to hold himself with a calm, cool confidence of a seasoned veteran. The older man sparked a thin stogie, and puffed on it for a moment as the smoke was sucked away by a small fan.

Jack smiled as he looked over the walker; even hunched it made an imposing silhouette. His armour VI requested schematics, and was rewarded with a long list of technical information and military jargon. The King Battle Frame XR-97 was around four meters tall, weighed roughly one thousand kilos, and had an inch of Ceramisteel reactive armour over most of its chassis. The frame could lift half a tonne as easily as Jack could lift his rifle; all thanks to a complex hydraulics and biosteel ‘muscle’ cable. Weapon systems were varied per operator preference, but all of it was far beyond Jack’s pay grade, as it was all high end mil-spec German weaponry. If the frames ranged weaponry failed, pilots could easily transfer to melee combat, as the frame worked off of a cutting edge uplink system that afforded a near zero delay-time from order to output by connecting directly to the pilots brain via a plug at the base of the neck. The downside was a four hundred million Euro price tag, not including cost of weapons, upkeep, and the cost of the pilots themselves. Impressive. Flitter thought quietly as both she and Jack finished skimming the technicals. “So, battle-buddies on loan. Glad to see you guys are getting into the fight.” Jack stretched out his limbs; causing his armour to move in tandem.

The pilot nodded, a smarmy grin splitting his features and causing his cigar to bob and spew acrid bluey-purple smoke about. “Ja. I am Oberfeldwebel Hans Drescher. You may call me Hans, if it pleashes you. This is my König Kampfrahmen, Irma.” He patted the console before him with tender care; his control gauntlets were off, meaning he wouldn’t pat a hole in the planes fuselage.

“Well Hans, the name’s Jack. Gimme a run-down on the heat you brought today and I’ll do a quick check on my side of things.” Jack treaded over, and popped open a maintenance panel. Hans shifted in the video feed. He seemed almost uncomfortable with the fact another man was placing his hands on his frame.

Hans pulled the smoldering stogie from his mouth and pinned it between two fingers as he spoke. “Two one twenty millimeter spent matter projector cannons-” Jack whistled quietly as his eyes went up to the two compact cannon barrels that poked out on either side of the mech’s armoured shoulders. “-One Aegis Field Suppressor, you know it as ‘Chain-Bolt Ballista’.” A happy grin split over Jacks features, even as rough turbulence give the AC-150 a sharp kick in the ass. “Standard terror abilities, and a special something for close encountas. Plus, Irma had her servo’s upgraded last week, so we can tread at fifty kee-licks.”

Nodding in approval of the load out and general upkeep of Irma; Jack closed the panel and clambered up onto Irma’s back. A simple voice command mag-locked his legs and hips into the rider harness. His armours VI played nice with Irmas, and thus Jack was afforded a full 360 degree multispectral field of view thanks to his armours cameras, and Irma’s sophisticated sensor suite. “Right on Hans. She’s beautiful.” He patted the pristine warmachine, before muttering quietly to himself with his comm chinned off. “Riding goddamn Kraut space magic. I shoulda signed on with them for fucks sake.”

“Danke! I named her after my daughter.” Hans smirked, before both men’s attentions was taken by the appearance of a dim red light that bathed the cargo hold in an eerie crimson glow. The Crew Chief walked between the rows of Panzer Elites and Longbow soldiers, checking magnetic lock and slider release. He gave each pilot and rider a thumbs up when he finished. Hans swallowed, and attached his control gauntlets. When he rolled his shoulders, Irma mirrored him perfectly. “Ready, kompagnon ?” He grinned at Jack through the video feed.

Jack secured the mag-harness for his Grizzly rifle, before glancing to the image of Hans on his HUD. “I’ll be hammered on rice wine and chasing kimonos by this time tomorrow. You in bro?” He grinned a little too wide, but his enthusiasm was quickly met by the veteran frame pilot.

“Natürlich! Cannot wait to kick some fucking slug tail! Jak, let us go show these filthy creatures how humans fight and we get scheiße faced after while their corpses cool!”

“Hoo-Fuckin-Rah brother!”

Both men roared as they worked their blood up; the glowing red light shifted to a sharp green, and the door began to lower slowly. Air rushed out of the cargo-bay, and left everyone within it with a topside view of thick brackish grey clouds. The Crew Chief stood to the side and activated the sliders. Each Panzer Elite Combat Frame and its rider began a swift slide towards the ramp, before falling out. Jack’s heart rate raced as he and Hans slid forward, and the Crew Chief gave them a sharp salute. His heart jumped up into his throat as they plunged out of the plane, and Irma assumed a more aerodynamic position.

The air roared past his helmet so loudly even the audio dampeners couldn’t block it out; the sound of a massive beastial entity that wanted nothing more than to bat the HALO jumpers off course and send them hurtling to their deaths. Flitter sucked in a breath as Jack and Hans plunged through the thick cloud layer, revealing the literal hell that they had willingly jumped head-first into.

__________________________________________________________________

Tokyo was burning.

Simple as that, a city that once housed twenty million plus souls and led the market on Terran technology was now a tattered warzone. Even high up in the cloud layer, both Pilot and Rider could see the blazing fires that consumed entire skyscrapers; the plumes of smoke curled upwards like roiling black grave stones. Gargantuan towers of steel, concrete and glass jutted up to the sky like uneven grey tombstone teeth. Faint lancing anti-air fire could be seen arcing from all heights; some of it was focused solely on swatting the HALO jumpers from the skies. Pulling himself tight against Irma’s bulk, Jack could only pray quietly that they were lucky enough to reach the ground in one piece. Getting there alive would be a bonus.

The thick black-gray clouds flashed a brilliant lavender, and one of the jumpers was reduced to a flailing, blazing scrap that painted the clouds a brilliant orange and crimson. The rider was even less lucky, as the shot had fully penetrated the frame and blown him to bits. His legs and lower torso remained magnetically clamped to the falling dead frame; strings of entrails fluttering after the pair like streamers.

“There goes a billion euros!” Jack called out to Hans, before tucking further down between Irma’s cannons. Lances of iridescent light streaked past them, but soon the first building top gave them cover. Despite the cover, the fall lasted another full minute; the cover of sky-scrapers and choking smoke giving them a readily improving chance of not meeting any AA fire.

“Engaging chutes! Hang fast kamerad!” Within a moment, two massive stealth chutes deployed from Irma’s body, and her disposable repulsors fired a short brilliant burst to choke their rapid descent. Irma’s legs swung down to meet the ground with a muted thump; the broken pavement shattered under her weight. “Releasing chute and repulsors. Still with me Jak?” Hans’ pronunciation of Jack’s name was harsh and clipped; it felt appropriate.

“Still kickin it, Hans, outstanding drop. Conferring with higher for our position, hold for a tick.” Jack’s eyes flickered over the incoming and outgoing data as Hans piloted Irma through the broken japanese streets. After twenty seconds he knew everything he needed to. A quick burst to Irma’s VI shared everything he’d gleamed with Hans. “Looks like we’re right on target. Wanna go smoke those AA bats?” Jack checked his gear, and unlimbered his Grizzly.

“Jawohl! Let’s go clean the skies.”

_________________________________________________________________

Hans was forced to pilot Irma slowly through the debris strewed streets; micro-cars were abandoned everywhere, and hunks of destroyed buildings would sometimes block off entire streets. Occasionally they would skirt around clumps of bodies where unprotected civilians had been hit by hostile fire. The skies were a dull slate gray that blended in perfectly with the towering concrete monstrosities that pierced them. Fires burned in most of the buildings, but some stood like silent sentinels; they watched as their previous inhabitants were slaughtered.

Jack stared hard at the bodies that lay piled before the blocked entrance to an emergency shelter before speaking. “Hold on a sec Hans, I wanna take a look at em.” Without waiting for Irma to slow, he disengaged the magnets and dropped to the cracked concrete with the ease of an acrobat. His rifle jumped up; its muzzle followed his eyes as he paced forward towards the dead civilians.

“Fever Darts?” The German sounded incredibly uncomfortable speaking the words.

Carefully yanking a crystalline shard from one small childs shoulder, Jack sighed quietly and nodded. “Yeah. Looks like a cop took one and popped those four in cover before he succumbed.” Jack placed the toxic shard on the ground and backed away from the group cautiously. There were dozens of dead bodies laying in various positions; all of their faces were twisted in agony and bloated from the alien chemicals that had taken their lives. It was apparent at a glance that some had rather kill themselves rather than live with the agony the shards promised, as their bodies were the most intact; the least bloated and foul.

Hans growled quietly as he panned his Field Suppressor over the packed streets. Energy crackled across its pronged muzzle, causing the odd raindrop to sizzle upon impact. “Feiglinge!” His features twisted in unbridled fury, and he looked ready to spit and frothe at the mouth. “Even ve would never do something like zis!”

“Yeah.” The simple answer was all Jack could muster as he clambered back onto Irma’s harness. A chill passed down Flitters spine as Jack’s emotionless eyes lingered on the bloated, desiccated corpses of unarmed civilians. They hadn’t stood a chance.

“Let us move kamerad. We do no good standing here.” Hans nodded in agreement with himself, and once Jack was magnetized, he sent Irma’s armoured bulk plodding further down the street.

The pair travelled in silence for a few minutes, before the sound of Corvellan weapons fire echoed through the silent streets. Jack popped up from between Irma’s shoulder cannons, and fired up his quad-rotor drone. “Drone is up, homing in.” The drone hummed away as Jack piloted it with finger twitches and eye movements.

“Laz me the feed Jak.” Hans brought Irma under the cover of a small building whose roof somehow managed to remain standing despite its guts having been blown out.

“Right, one tick.” Jack turned his head ever so slightly, and triggered the light burst. The drone swooped between fluttering clotheslines of soaked and ruined clothing. The sounds of weapon fire was growing louder, but now it was being answered. The Zip-Pop of the alien guns seemed to be in a heated argument with Terran firepower that barked and snarled out echoing reports and chattering staccato beats. Jack sent the drone into a steep dive; swooping into a bombed out sushi restaurant. A bleeding CDF soldier was laying down impressive covering fire with what was normally a vehicle mounted weapon as a marine medic tried to stabilize a badly wounded civilian. A couple other CDF militiamen were scattered through the building, returning fire when the alien beams weren’t eating the air around them. Jack tilted the drone to get a better look at the forces they would be facing as the medic looked up at the buzzing drone.

“Hey! Reinforcements?” The medic sounded exhausted and far beyond the end of her rope. The thought of real aid looked as if it would be worth a lottery win to her. Jack didn’t respond through audio; a simple light laz to her helmet was enough. The medic licked her dry lips behind her cracked full face visor and nodded at the drone. “Hurry the hell up.”

Setting the drone onto automated low altitude recon of the battle, Jack glanced up to the vid-screen within his helmet. “Hans, if we head up two blocks and hit them through this building here-” He pinged their shared map. “-we’ll be behind the corvellans and their heavy weapons, some of their AA is camping here apparently.” The keening howl of Corvellan anti-air echoed through the streets, and the high powered beams disintegrated a micro-car on the drones feed.

The older pilot mulled the plan over, before shaking his head to scrap it. “Nein. We move up a block and a half, and come at them laterally from this building. Come down on their fucking heads.” The map was marked up with a bright green squiggle that marked the proposed route through what had been someone's home.

Jack set his jaw as he looked over the plan. “Both. We split up. I’ll take some of my charges and distract them from behind. When they turn their attention away from blues to me, you hit them from above, and then we both press in and catch them in a pinch.” A blue line was added to the map, and Hans pursed his lips as he nodded.

“Ja. Time for some revenge! Let’s go kill some slugs, Jak.” Irma’s Field Suppressor wreathed itself within the increased energy; it seemed like the entire frame was itching for purple alien blood.

“Initiate terror protocols when you hit the dirt, let’s break them!” Jack snarled, and Irma took off running.

__________________________________________________________________

In under a minute, they had reached the point where they would split up. Jack disengaged his harness and dropped to the street below; his legs flexing to absorb the shock with their built in hydraulics. The drone was still continuing its sweep, providing them with up-to-date data and positioning. “Come on Hans, let’s boogie!”

As Jack sprinted down the street, he could hear Hans laughing weakly in his ear. “Apologies, but… what is a boogie?” Jack snorted in response, and shook his head as Hans grinned. “I am in position. Blue will not hold much longer.” The joking attitude had all but disappeared; the sound of worry filled the pilots voice.

Coming to a halt near the edge of a ruined building where the Corvellan’s took cover, Jack tapped his comm twice, to signal he was in position. Without pause, he snuck forward from behind the enemy line. A light AA crawler was squatting on top of a large neon sign; it's repeating energy cannons were tearing the restaurant apart. Numerous light troops, and two Corvellan light walkers were present. The aliens were completely focused on wiping out the beleaguered squad, and were obviously not worried in the least about opposition. They were only light troopers, and they were notoriously cowardly, like the rest of the Corvellans. So when Jack tossed a magnetic AT shape charge onto the rear panel of the crawler, the troops before it were completely unprepared for the sudden crump of armour piercing high explosives; nor were they prepared for the sudden burst of chaotic energy that ripped the crawler to pieces from the inside. Jack burst from cover, and opened up with his Grizzly, just as Hans and Irma impacted the ground before a confused pack of light infantry.

Irmas armour plates shifted upwards and out, making her look like an even bigger target. The heat sinks within her armour glowed cherry red, giving the huge humanoid walker a truly menacing visage. The snarling roar of pure fury that emitted from the built in loudspeakers was icing on the cake. The light infantry panicked, and fired their weapons ineffectively as they retreated directly into Jack’s arcing line of fire. His rifle snarled and spewed death; super-heated sabots carved the avian-esque slug creatures to goopy chunks, and steam rose from their cooking bodies as he advanced. His own terror protocols made his armour mirror Irma, and also make him a massive target for any incoming fire. Jack advanced steadily through the weak hail of enemy fire; the muzzle of his rifle would buck and howl whenever it found a target, and a lightning fast steel dart would lash out to meet the enemy before introducing the broiling ball of plasma that followed in its wake.

The Field Suppressor whined just before it discharged a massive chain bolt of pure white energy; one that slammed into the first walkers torso plating. The bolt boiled through the armour, and the second chained bolt coiled around the target to strike its rear armour panels. The walker jerked and seized as its weapons fire arced up high into the empty air. Hans fired another two bursts into the mech, causing it to crumple into several slagged pieces. Another shot into its pilot compartment saw the end of the threat it posed.

Corvellan infantry scattered in every direction as they made their terrified warbling squawks. Very few escaped, as they were forced into CDF firing arcs and Jack's hunting gun muzzle. “Hans! Keep your eyes up for that second walker, I don’t see him on scope!” Jack pulsed the trigger of his grizzly once, carving a fleeing Corvellan in twain with vehemence.

“Ja! Eyes on! He’s mine-” Hans snarled savagely as the suppressor folded back neatly over Irmas right arm, and a large tower shield extend outwards from under the thick armour of her left. The second walker bounded over a massed pile of rubble and unleashed its weapons upon Irma. It’s energy bolts smashed into the shields surface, and merely marred it with cooking liquid metal and boiling paint. Jack grinned as he watched Irma deploy a massive 200 kilo flanged mace at the flick of a servo. Irma charged forward with savage human grace as Hans roared through the loudspeaker. “Komm zu Papa Hündin!” He smashed into the second walker shield first, forcing it to topple over backwards. Irma swung across with her flanged mace, shattering the delicate energy weapon the mech still clutched. Jack relaxed as his circling drone registered no smaller hostiles on his scope, just as Irmas mace began to cave in the mechs pilot berthing. The Corvellan mech keened as it was systematically dismantled; its broken pilot pulled from its seat to be dashed against a wall like an unwanted toy.

Fire from the ruined restaurant slowly ceased, and Jack could see the survivors poking their heads out to see what was up. “Yo! Hans! I think it’s dead!” Jack quickly checked his current ammo count, before resting the large weapon on his shoulder.

“Ja, ja. I am getting carried away...” Hans chuckled as Irma straightened and the ‘close encounta’ weaponry folded back up. “These worms were hardly worth the charges.” The mech’s articulated fist opened, dropping the bludgeoned remains of the mech-pilot. It hit the ground with a muted wet splatter; what passed for its guts spilled out in stringy heaps.

Jack rolled his eyes and shook his head. “Yeah I can tell, you feeling medieval today or something? “ He couldn’t help but grin as he treaded over the broken alien bodies towards the restaurant. “Come on Hans, let’s go chat up the locals.”

The broken remains of the defenders cautiously stuck their gunbarrels out, before following with their heads. One of the CDF militiamen waved the all clear; and was soon followed by little more than half a dozen wounded soldiers. The combat medic that Jack had seen on his drone’s feed was the one who approached him, and seeing as how she wore the stripes of a buck sergeant, it pegged her as the highest ranking soldier in the group. She approached slowly with a limp; her body armour supported with a scrap metal brace. “Sir, Oni Squad at your service. Thanks for the save.”

Smiling behind his heavy ceramic faceplate, Jack rolled his shoulders. “Afternoon marines. You seem to be having issues with the new neighbors.” He chuckled lightly, but when he saw the dark expressions and dead-on-your-feet looks in the squads eyes, he cut the jokes without a word. “Right. We’re running interdiction on the Slugs. You have uplink with any ranking officer?” His eyes flicked over to watch Hans pilot Irma into a proper overwatch position. Between him and the roving drone, Jack felt safe enough to stay out of cover.

The medic shook her head, and rested against a hunk of broken concrete. “Not since the Slugs dropped in mass. We lost our comms booster to a Ripper. Last I heard, Colonel Wsu was leading a combined attack on their build-up points, but he was getting bogged down by fleeing civilians and lack of air-cover.”

Jack shook his head. “I get the feeling that they aren’t in his way anymore.” Chewing his cheek, his eyes swept over the squad. They all looked ragged; their weapons running on fumes and wisps. One of the older militiamen had what Jack assumed to be a Nodachi strapped to his back. He prayed it was mono-edged, but he doubted that it was. “Are you mobile?” The answer felt obvious.

The answer he received wasn’t what he expected, but it was better than nothing. The medic nodded, and jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “Wombat combat car’s behind the eatery. We couldn’t run for it with those heavy weapons, they would have shredded us.” She straightened up with some effort. “Wherever you’re going, we’ll follow. If there’s anything left of Colonel Wsu’s forces, you should be able to pick them up fast on comms.” She forced a bloody-toothed grin as she hefted her own weapon.

Nodding, Jack eyed his radar, but was swiftly interrupted by a heavy german voice. “Jak! Head’s up, we have multi-contact!” The one-two hypersonic boom of Irma’s matter projectors vibrated the shattered concrete around their boots; every shot screamed out to meet hostile targets. The split-second retort of impact was like a sledgehammer blow against a drum of nitroglycerine; the acrid smell of burning ozone and hunks of debris were tossed back by the ferocity of the dual cannon impacts.

Wasting no time, Jack waved the beleaguered squad onward. “Go! Get mounted and lead us to Colonel Wsu’s LKL! We’ll follow up behind you!” Taking off at a lightning sprint; Jack bounded over the fallen hunks of concrete and strewn debris. “Hans! Fighting withdraw, we gotta buy the CDF boys time!” One last bound saw him zapped to Irma’s massive backside; a swift info-laz delivered the walkers data to him. A number of red blips appeared on Jack’s scope, and none of them were intent on going down quietly. Return fire was already dancing about; keen on striking anything Terran down.

Irma’s matter projectors spoke, and the babbling alien weapons suddenly went silent as the miniature mushroom clouds roiled out from between broken buildings. “Jak! They are taking cover, can you send heat?” The dust from the four spent matter shots was already screening them from sight, but Jack’s enhanced sensors picked the aliens with ease.

“Yeah, got just the thing!” He grinned maniacally as his shoulder launcher sprang up and swiveled on auto-target. A swift order saw a trio of HEAT rockets whip off his shoulder and into the smoke above him. Within seconds the rocket's arced down, and smashed into the tops of the Corvellan weapon platforms. “Hans, get our asses out of here!” The near silent whirr of rockets reloading into the shoulder launchers numerous tubes was eaten by the wailing sound that the matter projectors retort left in its wake, of air rushing back in where it had been violently evacuated from.

The medic sergeant's voice popped up on comms. “We’re mounted, are you coming or what?” The sound of roaring engines and rapid Japanese echoed through her call, but both Hans and Jack could hear the fight returning to the Sergeant and her bloodied squad.

Pursing his lips, Jack couldn’t help but chuckle thinly. “Why do I always get stuck with the mean ones?”

Hans rolled his eyes in the video feed as Irma pounded through the rubble and onto the street below. “Maybe you have poor luck, ja?” He smirked. “It seems you will need my help chasing Keemonos after all.”

“Oh fuck off!”

_________________________________________________________

The bruised convoy carried on through the broken streets of Tokyo; the Wombat combat cars bounced and jostled on their abused suspension, while Irma treaded smoothly behind them; weapons primed and scanners pricked for trouble to put down like a rabid dog. To Jack’s annoyance, the militiamen prefered to use their native tongue over Standard, and he didn’t feel like listening to his translator squawk about how their shit days were going. Passing by shattered store-fronts and numerous broken bodies; Jack fell into a lull, and allowed himself to catch a short catnap in Irma’s harness. Just as his eyes closed, he heard a much more authoritative voice speak in Standard over squad comms.

“This is Colonel Wsu, all surviving elements, report.” The Colonel sounded calm, cool, and collected. It was forced, obviously. Jack rolled his shoulders and blinked his eyes to focus.

The nameless sergeant keyed her comms and hailed the Colonel. “Colonel Wsu, this is Oni Squad Lead! Sir, we’ve picked up a pair of shit-hot operator's, grid A-23 AA is scrap, and we’re smoking. What’s the loc on our wire sir?”

There was a brief moment of silence before the Colonel spoke again; he sounded completely different. “Out-fucking-standing. I read you Oni Actual. I see your IFF. Sending co-ords to you now.” Jack’s eyes flicked to the shared map, and managed a smile as a green zone, or ‘wire’ appeared not six blocks ahead of them.

Opening a private channel to Hans, Jack steadied himself in the harness. “What do you think? Should we move on or see what’s what?” He checked his ammo count for the umpteenth time out of habit; his skin was starting to crawl and that was never a good sign.

Hans seemed to mull his options over on cam. “I say we see what is what. If they are all fucked up, then we move on. If they can help, we get said help, and finish objectives.” He wiggled his chin, before cocking his head down to scratch it on a strip of velcro that sat on his chest rig.

The blocks were starting to count down, and the green zone was drawing closer. Jack frowned to himself. “Have you gotten any comms at all from the others? Our guys, I mean.” He already knew the answer, but there was the slight chance.

“Nein. Not a peep. It is possible we may run into some when we attack these batteries, but… I do not know. Something feels off. There was eight of us dropping, there should be some contact.”

The ‘Wire’ was a ramshackle attempt at creating a safe zone for Terran forces to lick their wounds and deny total area control from the Corvellans. The area had once been a park, if the signs were any indication; it's playground now served as a raised lookout-tower that mounted quad anti-infantry weapons. Various tents and vehicles sat about with laser holes burned into them, and numerous troops shuffled around and guarded the makeshift compound. Shifting uncomfortably as the warped barrel of a Japanese main battle tank came into view; Jack couldn’t help but look away from the build up of damaged vehicles and injured personnel. “Yeah… we’ll keep our eyes on, keep in touch Hans.” Jack watched as the combat cars slowed, and the injured squad piled out. A jackbooted officer paced over, and started immediately debriefing the Sergeant. Disengaging his harness, Jack hit the pavement smoothly, and started toward the squad. “Keep eyes on Hans, and don’t let these guys chooch your smokes.”

“Ja, ja ja…”

Irma’s armoured bulk manouvered easily through the twisting lanes between vehicles and tents as Hans piloted her back to the front lines. Jack switched on his translator, and focused it on the officer and the sergeant. The officer was getting red in the face, and looked as if he were about to lose it. The sergeant's squad spread out behind her and edged forward like rabid dogs.

“You foolish Gaijin! You bring them down on us! Shame on your family, shame on-” The officer stopped mid sentence as a cybernetic hand gripped his shoulder, and a grizzled Colonel leaned over his shoulder.

“This is not your Sergeant to berate. She is mine. Now, leave before I remove you.” Colonel Wsu’s voice betrayed a lifetime of tobacco abuse and a love for western whiskey, it also told of how these luxuries had been painfully forgotten in the forge of war. As he closed in, Jack could tell that the officer on the receiving end of the ass whooping was air-force; if his ripped flightsuit was any indication. Said officer set his lips into a furiously thin line before coming to attention and swiftly marching away. The Colonel placed his gleaming black metal hand on the Sergeant’s shoulder as he spoke quietly to her. Wsu’s eyes flicked up to meet the power armoured form that was the approaching Jack; he patted the Sergeant’s shoulder, and ordered her to go rest. The unnamed Sergeant nodded tiredly, and waved her squad on as the Colonel turned to meet Jack. “I am Colonel Wsu, and I believe I have you and your partner to thank for saving Oni squad.” He waved Jack towards a large tent before he could answer. “Come, we have much to discuss.”

___________________________________________________________

The inside of the tent was filled with computers, physical maps, and the Colonels aides. The Colonel was a short, stocky man; like the rest of his people, but before the Jack he seemed pint sized. Placing the throat of a crinkled water bottle between his lips, the Colonel drank greedily and wiped his lips with the back of his hand before speaking. “Listen Soldier, I don’t know who you are, or what you’re doing here, so to start I would prefer some explanations.” He held a stylus between his fingers like one would a cigarette; it tapped idly at the desk that he leaned against.

Popping the seal on his helmet; Jack breathed in the smell of thick body odour and the acrid smoke of burning plastic and rubber. He let out a content sigh before speaking. “I’m Specialist Kessle, with Hades International. The heavy metal bastard tromping around outside is Oberfeldwebel Hans Drescher of the Panzer Elite. As for why we’re here, well…” Jack trailed off as he patted down his armours combat webbing, and produced a home-rolled cigarette. He stuck it between his lips and sparked it with a little battered zippo that proudly displayed the marine corp insignia. “We’re here to kill some fuckin' Slugs.”

Smiling thinly, the Colonel turned and placed his hands down on the table that dominated the center of the tent. Upon it was a holographic emitter that portrayed the city of Tokyo. “I see. Mercenaries.” He let the word hang in the air for a moment. “Regardless of your loyalties, I believe we can help each other.” He pointed at a glowing red point on the map. “That is Corvellan anti-air. They are keeping our air-cover grounded, and that means we are getting our shit pushed up around our ears. You’ve already destroyed one of four such vehicles, opening up this sector. I need you to kill those AA batteries so we can mount an assault on the Corvellan base of operations.”

Jack couldn’t help but smirk, causing the smoldering smoke to bop slightly. “Well, isn’t that helpful. We just so happen to be hunting AA bats.” He approached the table and scanned over it slowly. “You said you have air-cover? Intel said Japanese air got wiped when the Slugs dropped.”

“Your intel would be right. The air is from Brisbane.”

Blinking hard in surprise, Jack pulled the cigarette from his mouth and stared at Colonel Wsu. “Brisbane? That’s over seven thousand kilometers from here, how the hell are they gonna help any time soon?” Jack opened a channel to Hans, allowing the frame pilot to listen in.

Wsu smirked as he looked over the map. “Normally I would agree, but Australian Command has informed us that they have a full flight of High Altitude Hypersonic Ground-Superiority fighters fueled up and armed to the teeth. They can be here in a half hour once those batteries are silenced.” He looked up at Jack expectantly.

“Hags? The Aussies have Hags?” Jack chuckled. “Well then. I think we can lend a hand with your op, sir.” He snuffed the stub of a cigarette on his armoured greave before donning his helmet. “Is that location data up to date?”

Nodding, the Colonel focused the map on the area where the AA was based. “They have no reason to leave. We don’t have the forces to push them off their point, and they know it. Our main forces are still regrouping, so unless you can take care of them, they will continue to be a threat to all of us.” Wsu bowed, and set a hard look upon Jack. “Descend upon them like Hachiman, wipe them off of our planet.” He nodded, before picking up the snubbed end of Jack's discarded cigarette. “Good fortunes, Specialist Kessle.”

Exiting the tent, Jack found Hans already waiting for him. He opened a full vid-com before speaking. “You get the specs and update your map?”

Hans nodded on cam, and brought up the updated map. “Ja, Slugs have superior ground and emplacements, but their defenses are weak from above. This parking garage should give us an excellent view of the entire area.” The holo-ghost of a large parking garage pinged on the map before both mens eyes.

A wolfish grin spread across Jack’s features as the bones of a plan rose from his mind. “I got an idea. Tell me, how fast can you rain fire those cannons?”

_______________________________________________________________

“Mein Freund, I am in position. There is a lot of ugly down there.”

The connection crackled slightly as the thick concrete impeded the signal for a split second. Jack edged along through the burned out ruins of a coin laundromat; his Grizzly slung over his back in favour for his mono-edged Ka-bar and a suppressed sabot pistol. “Copy, can you see all of the batteries?” He asked as he peeked out beyond the back door frame; the door lay in a melted heap on the ground before the frame. Ahead of his hiding place, Jack could detect the large build-up of Corvellan forces around their anti-air batteries.

“Nein, the third is out of my view. If I move, I fear they will detect me and open fire with the batteries. Irma will not survive that.” The statement was flat and heavy; leaving the rest of the responsibility upon Jack’s shoulders.

“Right. I think I can see it from here. Fire on my mark.” Jack pulled back and took a steadying breath. Chinning his mic off for a moment, he spoke. “Armour, administer half dose of morphine.” The needle pricked his bicep again, and his nerves calmed immediately. Chinning his mic back on, he stowed his pistol and produced a cylindrical shape charge with three magnetic ‘claws’. “Fire when ready Hans.”

ku-KOOOOOOOOOM-KOOOOOOOOOM

The blastwave from the one-two suckerpunch nearly floored Jack; the building around him spewed ash and dust as it threatened to collapse from the sheer explosive force it had endured. Not wasting a single moment, Jack bounded out from cover, and into the smoke filled intersection. The Corvellans opened fire in every direction, only to have another pair of one hundred and twenty millimeter spent matter shells crash down onto them. A split-second report emitted from the first AA battery, just before its containment failed and the vehicle went up like a self-destructive tesla coil; arcs of incandescent energy lanced out and struck down anything within reach. Despite the rolling ground under his boots, Jack carried on forward and the charge flew from his hand. It landed solidly on the rear exhaust panel of the third AA battery, and began its short timer. As he bounded between burning wreckage and pulverized alien bodies, Jack spotted something odd pulling itself from one of the more intact vehicles. The Corvellan hit the ground, and its six tentacle-esque legs coiled to cushion the fall. It soon pulled itself up to its full height, which put it well above Jack. The new creature warbled loudly, and Jack felt and tasted coppery blood fill his mouth. Without pause he sprang upon its back; his knife plunged down into its neck, and the creature keened in surprise and horror. Jack grabbed it by its un-armoured beak, and ripped the mono-edged blade through its soft flesh. The aliens keening noise was replaced by a wet gurgle as it flopped to the ground; it’s disembodied head followed with a wet slap. Turning on his heels, Jack bolted from the area just as the Corvellans were regrouping. The AT charge exploded the very moment he was out of sight; the pondering bulk of the AA crawler flipped over, crushing several troopers under it.

“Hans my man! That was beautiful! Come pick me up and let’s get back to Wsu’s forces. I don’t want to miss the party.” Jack grinned like a madman as adrenaline pumped through his veins.

His partner cackled into the vid-com. “Was für eine Anzeige! I’m on my way!” He laughed again. “Fucking beautiful!”

___________________________________________________________

Flitter pulled the helmet from her head and blinked rapidly as the electric ghosts of the burning city and terrible aliens faded from her vision. “wow…” She blinked slowly, before setting down the heavy helmet on the ground. Her eyes eventually wandered down to the snoozing Jack, a soft smile began to spread over Flitter's features as she watched him sleep peacefully. Without warning, and cold draft blew through the cave, causing the waning fire to tremble and for Flitter to shiver heavily. Her body was stiff and practically frozen from sitting still for so long; she pulled herself in close to the furnace-like warmth that was Jack. Smirking to herself a bit, Flitter stole some of the covers and cuddled up against her friend. She nuzzled him gently, and was pulled in closer by one of his tattooed arms. A brief sigh escaped her as she closed her eyes. “goodnight…”

Chapter Eleven: Hoodoo Operator

The sound of quiet breathing and softly blowing snow caused Flitter’s eyes to flutter for a moment before opening fully. She could feel the slight chill rolling in through the cave from the entrance; it nipped at her hind hooves and the edges of her wings where they laid splayed out from under the thermal blanket. Behind her, Jack huffed quietly in his sleep and shifted on the cot. She stretched her stiff limbs, before tucking back into the cozy warmth of the shared blanket. He’s like… the old wood stove granpa had… Pulling up the worn cotton hood of her hoodie, Flitter nuzzled into Jack’s warm chest before letting out a content breath. Closing her eyes; Flitter rested her ear against his sternum and listened to his heart beat away without pause. It was steady and strong, albeit a bit faster than she’d thought it would have been. As Flitter hugged against Jack to avoid the cold; she felt him shift, and twitch; the metal tags and strange cross he wore around his neck jingled ever so slightly from the movements. Such a small motion, she may have completely missed it had she not been paying attention to him in the first place. Again, he twitched, and his cybernetic legs whirred quietly as he moved.

Frowning ever so slightly, Flitter looked up at him to find his face slowly pulling into a look of displeasure and concern. His lips curled downward ever so slightly, causing the long scars on his head to stretch and change colour from the pressure. Shaking her head, Flitter nudged Jack lighty. “Jack? It’s alright. I’m here.” She had to suppress a squeak of surprise as he curled his arms around her and pulled her in as if she were a stuffed animal. His twitching continued onwards.

________________________________________________________________

“Jack? It’s alright. I’m here.”

The words rebounded around him as he clenched his fists and grit his teeth. Across from the table from him sat a tall, auburn haired woman with severe cheeks, a small nose, and startling blue eyes that absolutely refused to meet his.

“Jack… Why do you have to make this difficult?” The woman asked as if she’d spoken it a thousand times, and had grown tired of it. On her ring finger was a small engagement ring that she idly fiddled with like a scab.

Running a damp hand down his drawn features and two week old beard, Jack couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. “Make this difficult… Yeah, right, sorry.” He snarked slightly, before slugging back some of his nearly cold coffee. The rain slammed against the coffee shop windows, framing an ugly night for an ugly talk.

The woman rolled her eyes and rested against the back of the booth. “Fine, fuck it. We both know that this isn’t working out, so let’s just get it over with.” She tugged the ring off and let it clatter onto the table as she started getting up. She paused as he eyed the removed ring with disbelief and shock. “Oh, what? You didn’t see this coming?” She fumed slightly as he gripped his cane tightly. “Just look at yourself for fuck sakes. You think you’ve got it the worst ever? Grow the fuck up Jack.”

Jack clenched his hand tightly around the head of his cane. He hated that cane. Hated that he needed the support just to walk around on his spindly prosthetics that pinched every time he stepped too far or too short. He felt his body coiling up like a spring, save for his legs. He closed his eyes for a moment, and willed the muscles in his calves to flex, to tense, to let him bound up and grab his fiance by the shoulders and shake her. Ex-fiance. His subconscious reminded him, before he spoke. “Who.” He turned his head and regarded her with smoldering, sunken, bloodshot eyes. “Who were you fucking Elissa?”

Letting out a long, hot breath through her flared nostrils, Elissa let the ghost of a begrudged smirk cross the beautiful curvature of her lips. “Paul. Paul Harten.”

His hands shook with fury; his dirty nails dug deep into the wood of the cane as he gritted his teeth. “How long.”

Snorting, Elissa adjusted her small bag. “Six months.”

Jack chuckled to himself and looked out the window as he turned the ring over in his fingers. He wanted to wrap his fingers around her neck; to strangle the life from her; to impart upon her the pain he’d felt while she’d been riding dick. “Fuck you, Elissa.”

Flipping her middle finger upwards towards him, she sneered. “And fuck you too, Nasty Fuckin’ Jack.” At that, she turned around, and strode out of the small coffee shop and into the pouring rain.

Jack. Wake up.

He blinked in confusion as the familiar voice echoed around, and the world warped. Jack blinked again, but now he was laying on his cot, with a concerned Flitter staring up at him from over his chest. Letting out a small groan, he stretched out and yawned.

A small smile crossed Flitters muzzle as she nudged him. “What was that all about? Having bad dreams again?” When Jack flicked his hand up in the air, in his ‘I fucking guess so’ motion, Flitter couldn’t help but giggle lightly and lay back down to rest against him. “I wonder why Princess Luna doesn’t help….” Sitting up slightly to look down at her, Jack raised one brow up into his fringe. He blinked hard, before blowing air. He gestured again and rolled his legs out of the cot. Flitter whined quietly, and pulled her haunches up onto his lap to keep them inside the blanket where everything was cozy and warm. Jack shivered a bit as the wind blew through the cave; his eyes went to the dead fire, but his mind remained on his dream. Giving his head a shake, he gently lifted Flitter off his lap and deposited her into a pile of hoodie, blanket, pony, and wings. The mare grumbled quietly before sticking her hooded head out from under the blanket. “It’s cold as balls in here. You should try and make that door better before it gets really cold.” Jack shrugged as he yawned; he flicked the flint of his zippo lighter repeatedly, but to no avail. An angry murmur was issued at the empty lighter, and his eyes remained on the logs and cold coals.

Before long, a spark lit up behind Jack’s eyes, and he snapped his fingers loud enough to startle the still sleepy Flitter. She poked her head up and watched as he treaded over and pulled one of his rifle’s boxy magazines from the solar charger. He crossed over to where his rifle lay next to the cot, and stuffed the fresh magazine into it. Setting the power as low as it could go, he point the muzzle at the cold logs and pumped a three round burst into them. Flitter giggled lightly as he grinned in triumph and flipped off the now crackling fire. Setting his rifle down gently against the large log he used for seating; Jack grasped for his PDA and tapped out a quick message.

“Want anything for breakfast? I have-” There was a brief pause as he looked over his meager supplies. “Water and bandages. Also rubbing alcohol chasers.” He smirked slightly, before rubbing his fast growing beard.

Flitter rolled her eyes as she remained in the blankets. They were slowly cooking off without Jack to keep them toasty warm. “I think I’ll pass on the bandage sandwich…” She trailed off as she tapped her chin. “Maybe we should go into town, get you some real food. What day is it anyways? The thirteenth?”

“Thirteenth of October. And is that a smart idea? I mean, look at me. I don’t exactly play the metal gear theme wherever I go.” He gestured towards himself, before prodding the fire.

“Well…” Flitter rubbed her cheek lightly as she thought. “I can easily lie and say you’re… from the Griffon Empire. Some kind of pit-fighter turned rescue human!” She grinned. “It’ll work, almost every single one of the ponies in town have never gone further than Canterlot. They get scared of new things, the Flower Sisters freak out and scream ‘Monster’ when they see Zecora for fucks sake. She’s just a pony with stripes!” She shook her head and rolled her eyes. “Anyways, so long as you behave, and don’t carry any huge weapons and laugh, I think we’d be able to sneak around well enough.” She smiled at him, hoping to pass on her faith in the plan.

Jack chuckled lightly as he rubbed the nook of his left elbow. “So we gotta do this sneeki beeki like, huh? Alright.” He pulled on the small metal necklace around his neck, and rubbed the little cross and the tags that hung there. Flitter furrowed her brow lightly with curiosity, before brushing it off in favour of the question that plagued her mind.

“Jack, what were you dreaming about?” Frowning, he waved a hand, as if he could shoo the question away like an unwanted pest. Flitter furrowed her brow and pouted lightly, before pawing at him. “Jaaaack…” He turned her head away from her and squeezed the little metal beads on the necklace. She in turn pouted even further and resorted to nudging and nuzzling against his stomach. “Jaaaaaaaaaaaack.” His eyes flicked over to her, and his features contorted as he beheld the adorable wide saucer eyes that begged him for an answer. She rolled over onto her back with the help of her wings and nudged at his stomach and chest as she looked up at him. “Plllleeeeeaaasse?”

He cringed and tried to look away as his defenses crumbled bit by bit. “I don’t wanna.”

That only spurred her on further. Bringing her hooves up to rest on her chest as she continued to stare up at him. “But Jaaaaaaacck… We’re a team… How am I supposed to help if you won’t tell me?” She sniffed theatrically, and suppressed a broad smile as he groaned loudly and threw his hands up in defeat.

“Fine, just stop with that diabetes crap. Got enough wrong with me.” He stretched his hand for a moment as he stared at the PDA’s screen. Flitter smiled smugly to herself as she sat up and resumed a more becoming position. “I had a dream about my ex-fiance.”

“Oh.” Flitter winced as if she’d pinched a nerve. Maybe I should have let that one lay…. “I’m… what happened? I mean, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.” She waved her hooves in a placating manner. To her relief, Jack glanced over and cracked a weary smirk.

“Things went south. We split but she managed to make life fucking miserable for me regardless. More than half the reason I’m here right now. Let’s just put it-” He paused for a moment, before continuing with a grim look about him. “If she were to appear here, now, there’s three things I would give her.” He tapped the center of his chest twice, before tapping between his eyes once.

In response, Flitter arched a brow of concern and mild confusion. “Oooohh..kay. I’m umm… Wow.” She smiled a bit. “Well, at least we both know how crappy relationships are, right?” She grinned a little bit wider, and found it returned weakly by the human seated next to her. Snorting into the chilly air, Jack started chuckling as he circled his index finger around in the air above his head. A, ‘woop-de-do’, if you would. Flitter returned his enthusiasm by bouncing up. “Come on, toss on your sweater. We’re gonna go to town!” She clopped her hooves happily at the prospect as Jack groaned and stood up with effort. Her smile dimmed slightly as he dug around within his plate carrier, and produced a snub-nosed revolver that was sprayed matte black with a dark wood grip. He stuffed it into the side pocket of his fatigue pants, and it was followed by several small shining brass cartridges. Flitter cocked her head, and furrowed her brow. “What’s that?”

“.44 Magnum insurance policy. I won’t use it unless I absolutely have to.” At that, he adjusted his belt and donned his worn olive drab pullover. He seemed to regard his knife belt for a moment, before pulling it off and offering it to Flitter. “Put that around your waist, under the hoodie. You can keep it, I’ve got a spare somewhere around here.” He prodded at his pack with his boot, before shrugging.

She looked up at him with mild shock; her eyes drifted down to the dangling leather sheath and sturdy canvas belt. “Are… are you sure? I mean, It’s your knife, you should carry it.” Her eyes didn’t leave the knife. Jack smiled lightly, and nodded. He pushed the belt at her again, and thankfully she took it this time. Flitter smiled happily as she used her wings to secure the canvas belt around her waist, where it would be covered up by the hoodie but remain easily accessible. “Thanks Jack. This is… probably the coolest birthday present anybody has ever gotten me.” She leaned over and nuzzled his side.

Jack looked incredibly surprised; his eyes wide and his eyebrows up in his fringe. “It’s your birthday and you didn’t say anything?” He made an unhappy groan, before scratching between her ears.

Cooing softly at the ear scratches, Flitter shook her head. “I-it’s tomorrow.” She sighed softly as she hopped up off the log and stretched out. “Mom’s gonna send me some unsigned birthday card and Cloudy will… probably forget again.” She glanced over at Jack as they walked together toward the entrance to the cave. “So uh… I’ll probably hang out with you tomorrow for the most part until I gotta work. I mean, if that’s alright with you.”

“Course’.” Jack gave her a toothy grin, but inside his scarred head, the cogs were turning. Shitty birthday? Girl, you ain’t had a birthday until you’ve had one with a Kessle. Mom would have a conniption fit if she heard about unsigned cards. He smiled a little bit more broadly as a plan started to come together within his mind. Flitter relaxed, and fell into step beside Jack as the fresh snow crunched away under their steps. The entire forest seemed paused in time, almost as if they were the only living beings within it. A soft breeze rattled the barren branches, occasionally dropping small clumps of snow onto the ground below. Stuffing his hands into his fatigue pockets, Jack blew long motes of icy breath into the air. Within the pocket was the comforting form of his hold-out revolver. He slowly drew a finger over the end of one of the loose .44 magnum shells. Super hand load, Trident series hollow points. Reciting the words in his head gave him comfort. Comfort in the familiar, comfort in the reliable.

Flitter turned her head to regard him, her ears flicking under the hood. “So, remember. Don’t smile, don’t flip anyone off, don’t show your PDA, and don’t look as if you understand anything, alright? Also, aggression would be bad.” She chuckled quietly. “Yeah, this should be fun, right?”

“Right.”

The corner of her muzzle tugged at the single word answer. “Something up, Jack? I-” She clammed up the second Jack stopped in his tracks, and placed a hand over her barrel. Her ears perked, and her eyes quickly scanned around for trouble. “What-”

Before she could finish voicing her question, a young, naked human burst through the bushes with a screech, the lone forest critter echoing the noise as the child plunged down onto it, bludgeoning its skull inwards with a pointed rock. Flitter and Jack froze in place, watching the display with wide eyes. The child froze in response, and slowly turned its head to regard them. It’s eyes went wide as it regarded Jack’s towering frame; the child mewled quietly, and grabbed its kill with grubby paws. Jack took a tentative step forward, his hand outstretched in a placating manner. The child froze up again as he neared, its eyes narrowing as it growled. The sound of cracking branches and harried breathing broke through the sounds of winter, and before either Jack or Flitter could react, a nude human woman burst through onto the trail and grabbed the child. She shot a wary glare at the pair on the trail, before freezing.

Jack’s eyes wandered down for a scant moment, before he mentally forced them back up. She’s… kinda cute? In a uncanny-valley nude hippie kinda way… Ehhhhhhh… He mentally cringed at the myriad thoughts that ran through his head. The naked woman cocked her head, sending her greasy dread-locked black hair cascading about as she eyed up Jack. The woman released her child, and took a tentative step forward towards them. She made a strange little chirping noise, before swaying her upper body side to side. Eyes up! Come on man, this could be important! He mentally cursed himself, and lifted his hand up to cautiously greet her. The woman tilted her head to the other side as she regarded the hand with open suspicion and barely hidden curiosity. behind her, the child squawked and mewled in protest. She seemed to shush the boy by making a series of harsh clicks and chirps, before turning her attention back to Jack. It was almost as if she didn’t even register anything save for him. Jack slowly arched a brow and leaned back as she got uncomfortably close and sniffed at him like a dog would. The woman’s features shot up in confusion and she backed away. She chuffed quietly for a moment, and seemed utterly confused; within a mere moment her confusion melted away to blatant fear. She scrambled back, and grabbed hold of the boy. Letting out a terrified cry, she turned away from them and shielded the child with her body.

Jack turned to look at Flitter; the sudden rush of air past his head nearly knocked him over, and the horrendous roar that followed shook the teeth within his skull. The pair whirled around, and found themselves face to face with the largest lion Jack had ever laid eyes on. It’s massive scorpion tail lashed about as it drew back from the failed strike. Flitter screamed- “Manticore!” -and took flight immediately to avoid one of its heavy pawed swipes. Jack let out a startled grunt as the blow meant for Flitter found his side and catapulted him through the trees and into the snow.

High up above the altercation, Field Note sat with bated breath as he watched the wayward manticore attack the strange human it had knocked over. The creature lunged forward, grabbing the humans leg between its teeth. It dragged him back into view, and started trying to rip the leg clear from its socket. To his surprise, Field Note watched as the human lashed out with its other leg, smashing the manticore in the nose with his heel. The massive amalgamation keened in pain as the human rained down kicks onto its muzzle.

“The domesticated human male is fighting on, despite receiving an obviously grievous wound! It seems more concerned about inflicting as much damage upon the manticore as possible before it is killed than surviving. The male appears to be incredibly aggressive, which raises doubts about it being domesticated… Speaking of, I still cannot see the mare… She must have fled.”

The manticore released the humans leg and shook its broken face in anger; spraying its freely flowing blood over the snow. The human pushed itself back with both of its legs; trying to create room between them. Field Note watched as the Manticore’s tail lifted up high, poised to strike down and end the humans struggles.

“JAAACK!”

The mare's voice carried through the woods as she crashed down onto the manticore's tail, throwing the strike off as she slashed at it with a small knife. Field Note blinked in surprise, and resumed taking notes. “Interesting. The human male must be a loved pet for the owner to risk her life in such a futile-” Field Notes jaw fell as the manticore's tail was severed cleanly by the slashing blade held in the mare’s grip. The creature howled in horrendous pain as its tail stump spewed blood, only to receive a powerful stomping kick to its front left paw. Even high in the trees, Field Note could hear the thick bone shatter; he watched as the manticore collapsed into a heap. It snapped and snarled at the offending human as he planted his foot on the it’s muzzle. The human then pulled some kind of small black object from its clothing and pressed it against the manticore's swollen eye.

“What is it do-”

KRAKBOOOM

The black object in the humans hand bucked, and spoke of thunder. The brilliant flash of light and thunderous boom emitted from its barrel caused Field Note to emit a high pitched bat-shriek of terror. The manticore slumped to the ground, obviously dead. A large, smoking, bloody crater was all that remained of its left eye socket; the other side of the manticores head was a bloody pulp that had been sprayed across the disturbed snow. Field Note’s magic barely held as he hyperventilated. “I-I-I d-do believe t-that I’ve discovered a-an anomaly wi-within White Tail W-woods…” He swallowed meekly and tried to catch his breath. “Goddesses protect me…”

Back down on the forest floor, Jack pumped a fist and hooted in exhilaration. He practically vibrated in place as the snub nosed magnum smoked in his hand. Galloping over, Flitter started looking him over with wide, worried eyes. “Are you alright?! Oh please be alright!” She propped herself up on his leg so she was near his chest. “Are you hurt?”

Waving her off, Jack retrieved his PDA from where it had fallen and tapped out his message. “That lion hit like a bitch.” He grinned, before gingerly touching his ribs and moving his leg to confirm his own statement. A slow testing kick from his chewed leg confirmed that titanium did in fact, beat enamel. “Scared the bejesus out of me though.”

Letting out a relieved smile, Flitter hugged him tightly. “I was terrified… I’m so sorry!” She nuzzled apologetically into him as the massive corpse cooled at their feet/hooves. Jack lightly patted her shoulder, before giving her an appreciative squeeze. She managed a weak smile, before noticing that he was pointing at the creatures stumped tail. He gave her a happy grin, and a jerky thumbs up as he laughed excitedly. “Well… It was the only thing I could think of… You did all the work, distracting it.” She blushed at the praise, and watched as he pulled a spent brass casing from the exposed wheel of the gun. He slid a fresh one into its place, gave the wheel a spin, and clicked it closed. Flitter swallowed lightly, before looking around. “It looks like your friend is gone… Huh.” She huffed as the excess energy bled from her system. “Enough excitement for today, let’s go to town.”

“Right. No more mutant lions or crazy naked ladies. Questions later.” He chuckled alongside Flitter and stuffed the revolver back into his pocket. Without further delay, they both made their way towards town; completely unaware that they had an invisible observer following them and documenting everything.

___________________________________________________________________

Stopping just on the outskirts of Ponyville, Flitter glanced around furtively to check if the coast was clear, before looking to Jack. She smiled up at him, hoping to pass on some of her faith to the clearly nervous soldier. “It’ll be alright. Just pretend to be like the other humans. I’ll do the talking.” She patted his leg, and watched as his eyes shifted down for a moment to regard her. His smile took a moment longer than normal to appear, and it only lasted a scant second before he resumed scanning the area. Flitter sighed, before jerking with a start. “Crap, I’m gonna have to leash you....” She cringed inwardly as his gaze snapped down at her, and the corners of his mouth created harsh downward lines. “Just… hold on for a moment… Bylaws are getting crazy…” She looked around, trying to find something that could work. To her surprise, a coil of thick earth coloured cord was held out before her. Jack pressed the coil into her hooves as he fiddled with his belt.

His fatigues slid down lower on his hips than he’d remembered; his bony hips pressed through the skin at his waist almost alarmingly. Jack did his best to suppress a heavy frown as he cinched the loose fitting fatigues in place as best he could. By then, Flitter had managed to uncoil the roll of paracord, and was waiting for something to tie it to. Rolling his eyes, Jack looped the belt slowly around his neck. He closed his eyes as the metal tongue clicked through the sizing holes. Fuck does this ever feel familiar… He shivered lightly, and immediately loosened the belt up by two holes. Taking the offered end of paracord, he quickly tied a loose knot around the old leather belt that sat limply around his neck. Sighing quietly, Flitter took the cord in her hoof and motioned forward. “I’m really sorry about this Jack… Just tug three times if I pull to hard or something, okay?” He swiftly nodded, but didn’t meet her gaze as his head swiveled around, taking in the village.

By the time that the pair had entered Ponyville, most of the town had woken up, and another lovely winter day was starting. Ponies wearing snow gear trotted around, happily chatting each other up and discussing the news, the weather, and other useless garbage. Jack rolled his eyes as Flitter helped weave through the streets and gathering crowds. His ears pricked over one bit of news, overhead from a dull orange mare wearing a stetson.

“Gee, ah sure do hope Max is aw’lright. Can’t believe Rainbow and Pinkie just up and skedaddled on him during the storm.” She shook her head as she set out several buckets of fresh apples. “And infected humans, inside town! Talk about rotten luck, hey Big Mac?” She prodded the massive stallion’s side, and earned a grunt and a ‘Eeyup’ in return.

Jack perked a brow with interest when the mare mentioned infected. His mind went to the psychotic humans with dribbling black puss that leaked and sprayed from their bodies as he bludgeoned them to death. Maybe a natural effect on the locals… like an organic fever dart toxin. The connection send an electric shiver up his spine. If I catch that… His fingertips went to the solid form of his revolver as it sat in his pocket. He set his lips into a thin line and resolutely stuck by his mental choice. He felt a soft tug on the leash, and his eyes returned to Flitter. She smiled weakly. “Come on, we’ll get some groceries, and then maybe… go check out the new pet-store? Yeah.” She smiled a bit wider, before moving along with Jack in tow.

Watching Flitter dump what seemed like random assortments of fruits and veggies into bags from the vendors, Jack’s eyes went a little wide as she hoofed over several hoof-fuls of golden coins. He watched as several thousand dollars worth of gold was traded for forty dollars of produce, almost like it was nothing at all. He shook his head, and resolved to start gathering some of the coins if the chance arose.

Feeling his hackles rise up uncomfortably, Jack glanced around, only to find several sets of eyes watching them with open curiosity. More than a few ponies were staring at him, which sent a cold shiver down his spine. A sparse few domesticated humans were wandering around behind their masters; a select few were well trained enough to carry bags of groceries. A small male human, no more than sixteen by Jack’s guess, skittered out of their way with a quiet, frightened chirp as it stared at Jack. In response, he furrowed his brow and made a harsh click with his tongue. The young male mewled, and swiftly turned its attentions elsewhere.

“Here, hold these please.” Jack blinked, and looked back over to Flitter, who held out several bags of groceries. He grabbed them, and took the weight off of the mare leading him. She smiled in thanks, before leading him further into the markets.

The shopping felt like it dragged on for hours on end, like a lousy patrol in the asshole of some backwater country. Having figured that the locals posed absolutely no threat, Jack relaxed, and did his best to memorize what was where, and cross-reference it with what he remembered from his night raids. There was the bakery, which looked much less threatening now that he knew fuzzy pacifist ponies ran it. There was a library apparently situated within a large tree, and several odd businesses strewn about. Just off the corner of the main drag, Jack could make out the ‘fine’ establishment that he’d raided, and the bench where he’d first knocked out Flitter. He took note on how Flitter blatantly avoided that stretch of road as she made her way to some kind of pet store. When nopony was close enough to hear, she slowed down and whispered. “That’s the old store, they don’t let humans inside, so you’ll have to wait on the bench.” He arched a brow at her, as if to ask what she planned on getting in the store. Flitter simply smiled, and patted his metal leg. “It’s a surprise. Just hang tight.” Flitter lazily lashed the cord around a small post that was situated by the bench, before trotting in through the door.

Plopping down onto the thankfully cleared bench, Jack carefully set the groceries down onto the snow before him and stuffed his hands into his pockets to keep them warm. Ponies trotted by, crunching the snow underhoof as they went about their daily business.

It’s real peaceful here. Too bad I have to act like a retard, or risk getting dissected. He watched with idle curiosity as some of the horned ponies lifted things around without touching them. Some kind of… psychokinesis? Some Fantasyland crap right there… He huffed quietly to himself, and let his body relax further into the wooden bench.

“Hellloooo, what do we have here?” An older mares voice filled his ears, and caused his skin to crawl. Lowering his head back down, he could now see a well defined mare with, what pained Jack to admit, was a very attractive young woman at her heels. He eyed up the girl for a long moment, before tearing his eyes away. The mare smiled crookedly. “My my… Aren’t you quite the specimen. Where on Equis did you come from boy?” She asked him, as if she expected an actual answer. Jack tried to ignore the fact he was being eyed up like a hunk of meat at the butchershop. She tilted her head this way and that, but didn’t touch him. “Maybe an alpha, but so well behaved!” She tittered quietly, before cupping his chin in her hoof to force him to look up. Jack jerked away and shot her a needle-filled glare of vehemence, causing her to back up a step and the female leashed to her to whine quietly. “Oh my… Very rare eye colour, and… such an odd eye shape. Very toned muscles... You aren’t from around here, are you?” The mare licked her lips wantingly as she spoke and ran her eyes over his form. Jack’s fingers went to the solid frame of the weapon within his pocket, and mentally cursed.

Before the earth pony mare could draw any closer, the door of the pet-shop jingled merrily, and Flitter exited with a small bag. She paused for a moment, before forcing a smile. “Miss Oakenbaulm, how nice to see you.” She trotted over, and gave Jack a nuzzle on the neck as she dropped the small bag inside one of the larger ones.

Oakenbaulm arched a brow and watched. “Yes, hello. I take it this is your human? I’ve never seen him in town with you before.” She glanced back over to Jack, and smiled. Her female shifted closer, cautiously edging towards Jack.

“Well… I’m watching him for a friend, but it sounds like my friend may just let me keep him. He’s such a big softy, isn’t that right Jack?” She nudged his side and smiled warmly. In return, her gave her a brief scratch between the ears.

The other mare started to slowly circle them, eyeing up Jack. “He’s very well trained… Solid stock, excellent posture; a prime breeder to be sure.” She clucked her tongue as she thought, and before Flitter could get a word in edgewise, she spoke once again. “Four thousand.”

Flitters jaw dropped and she sputtered. “I-I… what?” She shook her head, once she realized what Miss Oakenbaulm was talking about. “No, no he’s not for sale.”

“Fine, five thousand.”

Five thousand… Flitter paused and mentally recited the massive price-tag, before looking to the ground. “T-that’s um… a lot of money Miss Oakenbaulm, but-”

The older mare sighed derisively. “I’m terribly sorry… Flitter, was it? You’ve got a prime breeder here. Gold medal even. You’re wasting its potential by just keeping it as a pet. I’m willing to give you five thousand bits if you let me put it to proper use.” Jack’s lips began to part in an open toothed sneer of disgust, which he barely kept hidden.

Flitter blinked owlishly . “I’m… No. No, I’m sorry, but he’s my best friend and he’s not for sale.” She nodded resolutely and fluttered her wings as the older mare snorted.

“That human must be nearing sixteen, he won’t live much longer. Are you sure you want to pass over my offer? I assure you, you won’t get another one like it.” Oakenbalm pawed at the ground hotly, as if her offer couldn’t possibly have been passed up by anyone sane. “And I know that you need these bits. Everpony in town knows that your sister is going to lose that hovel.”

Setting her jaw into an angry flat line, Flitter shook her head. “No, not everypony in town knows, and regardless, I don’t give a fuck.” The older mare gasped and held a hoof to her chest as Flitter took Jack’s leash. “Come on Jack.” She smirked at Oakenbalm. “Have a nice day.” She started trotting away with Jack in tow; as the older mare stared at them with wide eyed shock and disbelief, Jack turned to face her, and delivered a dual flipped bird in her direction. A tinge of regret played the edge of his mind as the attractive young woman pouted sadly and preformed a tiny little finger wave good-bye; it was one that he mirrored when the mare fumed and whirled around to trot away. The woman cooed and chirped happily, before getting tugged along by the collar that sat firmly over her slight neck. Jack’s eyes lingered lower as she skipped after Oakenbalm, before someone jingled his own leash.

“Jack, come on.” Flitters features were set into a painfully flat, neutral expression, and she refused to look Jack in the eyes as she held the leash. “I’m sorry about that, I…” She trailed off and closed her eyes; she didn’t jump when Jack softly stroked her mane. Leaning up into his hand and fingers, she let out a soft sigh. “I wonder what else Cloudy isn’t telling me…” Without any warning, Jack leaned over and scooped up the mare. She squeaked in surprise as he managed to maneuver her so she was on his back. Flitter wrapped her hooves around his shoulder and held on for dear life, until she realized that he was easily carrying her; his hands holding her steady by the nocks of her hind legs. A light blush worked its way up onto her features, and was swiftly followed by a relieved giggle. “Onwards then, noble steed.” She leaned forward, and could swear she saw his cheeks crinkle upwards into a pleased smile that lasted only for a scant moment.

Many of ponies stopped to stare as the bulky human carried the little known Flitter around on his back with no complaints or difficulties. A certain fashionista would be given a near panic attack when she heard about the ungodly clothing that Flitter had worn, or the utilitarian fatigues that her human had. A lot of questions were asked that day, and in the days that followed. Few were ever answered.

Chapter Twelve: A Mare and Her Human

“The forest is so beautiful like this…” Flitter smiled lightly as she trotted next to Jack; who carried most of the bags from the market. In response he rolled his eyes and readjusted his grip in the bags. Near-fresh powder crunched and squished under their hooves and feet, and those few remaining forest creatures that hadn’t gone into hibernation scampered and flitted about as they squeaked and chirped. They’d taken a different trail in, in hopes of avoiding the manticore corpse. Chancing a second glance up at Jack and away from the trail, Flitter found him looking around slowly; the faintest hint at a serene smile tugging at the edges of his bearded features. Suppressing a welling feeling inside her chest, Flitter returned her gaze to the trail and kept it locked forward until they reached his abode.

Placing the bags down on the stone floor, Jack rolled his wrists and rubbed at them to regain feeling. Without much pause, Flitter stretched out next to him, and started putting away what she could. Her ears flicked at the sound of his PDA ticking away as he typed.

“So, what did you get me?” He plopped down on the smooth log next to her and peered over her shoulder.

Glancing back over at him, she smiled lightly and showed him. “Well, I got you some produce, some bottled water, some ‘human’ vitamins…” She placed the items aside and stared at the next two items. “I um… got you a new hat, I’ll um….. heh, I’ll understand if you don’t like it. I saw it and I thought it was really cute and I kind of bought it on impulse, so I’ll understand if you don’t-” She winced as he reached over and grabbed the gaudy orange and yellow knit hat by the tassels and held it up. To her complete surprise, he grinned broadly and laughed happily as he tugged it on and pulled it tight. Flitter grinned and squee’d as she looked over at him. “You like it?”

He batted one of the orange tassels over his shoulder and nodded. “How's it sit? Pretty cunning, don't you think?” He ruffled her mane lightly, before scratching between her ears. “What’s the second thing?”

Ripping open the packaging with her hooves, Flitter whipped out a skinny length of dried pseudo-meat. “Treats!” She grinned broadly and looked back toward him; her smile faded slightly when she did. Jack sat on the edge of the log, hands on his knees and his eyes wide. He sat stock still, not a single muscle did so much as twitch as his eyes remained locked onto the treat. “Jack?” Flitter furrowed her brow a bit, but kept up her smile. “Is-” She paused, and peered forward at him. The mist of magic swirled inside his eyes; little hearts within a swirling pink and green. Flitters mouth fell open in shock; she jerked the package out of the bag and scrutinized the wrapper. “Want it Need it Treats! Oh… DAMMIT!!” She slapped her forehead and groaned. “Flitter you dummy! Crap!” She cursed herself out, before glancing back at Jack. He cocked his head like a puppy; his eyes remained locked on the prize. Perking a brow, Flitter lifted the treat up, only to have him follow it. A small smile crossed her features for a moment as she held the treat up. “Sit.” She giggled as he plopped down onto his haunches as ordered. “Umm… Roll over!” Her giggle became an enthused laugh as he slowly rolled over as per her order. “Speak!”

Jack immediately made the attempt; all that came out was what looked and sounded to be horribly painful hacking and coughing. He continued to try and speak, only to sound as if his throat were being ripped out. Waving her hooves about, Flitter winced at the sound. “Stop! Stop, it’s okay, you don’t have to…” She winced at her own stupidity, before turning away from him to look at the package again. “Enchanted to ensure complete obedience in stubborn humans and instill loyalty. Please use caution when using Want it Need it Treats, as humans are often unpredictable, and sometimes react adversely to magic. Huh…” A blast of hot breath on her neck suddenly reminded her that she wasn’t alone, and that she’d been waving the treat around. Jack was almost on top of her; his body radiated warmth all around Flitter. Feeling something press against the small of her back, a burning blush spread across her entire face and her wings grew stiff as she recited the words in her head. Enchanted to ensure complete obedience in stubborn humans. They’re… sex treats… Flitter giggled nervously, before whimpering quietly as her stiff wings ached for attention. Now his body was pressed fully against hers; the warmth, musk, and pressure between them created a very real, stiff problem. Swallowing thickly, Flitter failed to hold back a full body shiver as his hands slowly pushed over her back and across her barrel; the calloused fingers digging electric furrows across her coat. Oh… oh wow… She bit her lip and closed her eyes for a moment to revel in the feeling. This is amazing… No, nonono, this, this is wrong… he doesn’t have a choice, I can’t do this… only a coward would force something like this with magic. Prying herself away from Jack’s heated form, she all but jammed the meaty treat into his mouth.

Now suddenly off balance, Jack fell over the log onto his back and let out a grunt-squawk of surprise. He sat up immediately, a look of utter shock and complete confusion was etched into his features;the treat hung halfway out of his slack-jawed mouth like a square tongue. His eyes flicked up from his own body to Flitter; his brows arched in worry and confusion.

Cringing inwardly, Flitter offered him a hoof up. “I’m… I’m really sorry Jack, I thought they were normal treats but they’re not and I’m so stupid!” She pressed her hooves against her temples and squeezed.

“What happened? I don’t remember.” Jack set down the PDA and chewed idly on the treat, but his brows remained knitted in confusion. One of his hands drifted to his throat, which he rubbed gently; a look of squashed pain crossed his features for a scant moment.

“You… don’t?” A wave of relief washed over Flitter as he shook his head. Stuffing the package into her hoodie pocket, Flitter forced a broad smile. “Well, um… let’s just pretend that nothing happened, alright?”

“Okay.” Flitter had the feeling that his real answer was more drawn out and distrusting, but the appearance of his smile did wonders to dispel her worries. “So was the jerky the second thing? I think I missed that part. Thanks.” He pulled idly at his orange hat tassels and chewed as Flitter nodded in response. She watched as his eyes drifted down for a moment; he shifted uncomfortably and reached down to readjust the crotch of his fatigues. He coughed lightly, before clapping his hands together, startling Flitter out of her short daydream. He shucked out of his upper fatigues and started swinging his arms about to get them stretched. Sighing in realization, Flitter joined Jack for his morning fitness routine.

____________________________________________________________

Stationed high up in the tree tops, Field Note prepared himself mentally for the task that lay ahead of him. “Okay Fieldy… Okay okay… you can do this! This may be the biggest break of your entire career…” He swallowed nervously and shuffled in agitation. “All you have to do is talk to a mare. And… possibly come face to face with an intelligent human, who has proven a propensity for extreme violence… Oh sweet Goddesses, please give me strength!” He groaned in self-pity as his gaze fell onto his notes. “It’s alright, I can do this.”

As if to test his own self-assurance, the very mare he was looking for popped into view. She trotted forward for a moment, before casting what appeared to be a longing look over her shoulder at the spot in the brush she’d appeared from. Lifting his note pad up, Field Note spoke quietly. “It appears that the anomaly has an established territory. I am loath to believe that I missed something so obvious. Upon close inspection, there is very obviously a well defined perimeter that circles this particular area. To an untrained eye it would be practically invisible, but one can see the faint outlines of what appears to be a patrol path, and possibly boundary markers. This theory can be given weight by the humans mare, who seems to hesitate at the border.” He took a deep, calming breath before placing his notepad back into his little knapsack. His talisman granted wings flexed, and sent him off ahead of the mare. Dropping down onto the snow covered trail, he had just enough time to dispel the wings as the mare rounded the bend and spotted him.

Stopping almost immediately, she eyed him up and down; suspicion blatantly apparent on her soft features. Field Note swallowed and started trotting toward her. He cleared his throat, and spoke. “Excuse me, miss? Can I talk with you for a minute or two?”

To his chagrin, she shook her head and tried to skirt around him. “Sorry, I have to get to work soon. Excuse me.”

Having successfully skirted around him, Field Note watched as the mare started to trot away a bit faster. He bit his cheek and spoke the exact words that Flitter didn’t want to hear. “I know about your human.”

____________________________________________________________

About ten minutes after Flitter had left his cozy hovel, Jack was up and about; a mission on his mind. Tugging his new hat over his ears, Jack shouldered his light pack and set off out the door. Taking the path that he and Flitter had taken earlier that morning; he kept his ears pricked and his eyes peeled. His heavy mechanical boots sent tufts of snow flicking out before each step; his exo-skeleton clicked and whirred quietly as it mirrored his movements perfectly.

Within a few minutes, he reached a spot where the trail was heavily disturbed; the place where the manticore had ambushed them. His eyes scanned over the spattered blood and bits of blown out grey matter. The body was nowhere to be found, save for the severed scorpion tail, which sat in the bushes where it had fallen. Quirking a brow in curiosity, Jack moved forward on the trail; a blatant path was marked where the feline corpse had been dragged off to places unknown. He crouched down, and peered closely at the marks in the snow; within were barely noticeable human footprints under the drag marks. Jack smiled to himself as he adjusted his bag and flexed his fingers as he started to follow the newly created path.

Droplets of coagulating blood flecked the path; the crushed snow was marred with small pools of it, marking where the scavengers had stopped for a breather. The butt stock of his rifle found its way into the familiar nook of his shoulder; the weapon held at a low ready in case of trouble.

He came across the remains near the edge of his territory.

The manticore had been stripped, literally. Fur and flesh had been flensed away, leaving the starch contrast of ivory bones and glimmering blood against the snowy forest. He slowly circled the remains, noting how the guts had been dragged off to the side so as to not spoil the meat or fur during harvesting.

Smart.

Resting on his haunches, he pulled out his PDA and cross-referenced his location to the marked point of the ‘nomad’ encampment. With a small frown, he stuffed the device back into his chest rig and pulled out a small tin in its stead. Opening it revealed the earth-tones of camouflage face paint and a small mirror. Jack quickly covered up his pale, gaunt features with a smattering of forest colours set in no particular pattern. Picking up where he’d left off, Jack carried on through the brush and snow; his movements smooth and sure. Like a wolf, he stalked up upon the human encampment. Calling it an encampment was a serious exaggeration. Several nude people could be seen huddling underneath a massive fur pelt; not as many as he’d originally seen, but still a good portion of the group. Going prone within the cover of the bushes and snow, Jack scanned the group with bated interest. Spotting the youngest child, he narrowed his eyes and looked for his caretaker. Yeah, there she is. Can’t be more than twenty six, kid looks to be about fourteen-ish? They all look pretty young, come to think of it. He furrowed his brow lightly in thought as he tried to recall every equestrian human he’d seen so far. His brow furrowed even further in curiosity and worry as all the pieces clicked into place. They’re all young. Late twenties at the most. God, am I the oldest human in this place? I haven’t seen a single one with grey hair. Wait, shit, do I have grey hairs? I fucking better not.

His eyes fell back onto the young woman from earlier that day. She was a slight thing, with what would be considered a slim pear body type. Her black hair was long and matted into tangled dreadlocks; not unlike the other humans that were in the group. She had a more sickly, whippet-esque girl seated in front of her. The older woman picked at the smaller girls hair, seemingly picking out twigs and thorns. Jack shifted in place, and let out a muted breath as his eyes flicked over the group. His eyes immediately flicked back when the dark haired woman perked up, and sniffed at the air like a hound. She quirked her features oddly, before getting up to her feet. The younger girl chirped quietly, as if to question the older woman. A short click silenced the questions; her nose going up again to sample the air once again. It was at that point that Jack realized that a slight wind was blowing at his back; almost at the same moment that the dark haired woman’s eyes locked onto the very bush he was using as cover.

A smarmy smirk spread across Jack’s features as he slowly rose. That’s it, you caught me. He rose to his full height, causing nearly the entire group to recoil in primal suspicion of the newcomer. Letting his rifle rest in its sling, he raised both hands in a placating manner as he stepped to the edge of the tiny clearing. All save for the dark haired woman pulled back. She approached slowly; a quiet, questioning chirp escaping her thin lips as she drew near. Lowering his hands, Jack in turn looked over the short woman; he felt the beginnings of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips. The woman leaned in and chirped curiously; her bright eyes searching his features for something. This works on Flitter, so maybe…? Jack slowly lifted his hand up, causing the woman to flinch a bit and eye the hand with open curiosity. Seeing as how his exo-skeleton plugged into it, there was little wonder why. Once the woman was calmed toward the presence of his hand, he moved it forward, and rested it on top of her head. The woman squawked in alarm, and went to pull away, before his fingers started to move. Working deep into the dirty scalp, Jack slowly scritched the woman as he would Flitter. The woman cooed softly, and thumped her head against his chest. She started rubbing her face against the coarse fabric of his sweater; the tandem feeling of the fabric and his fingers causing her to mewl quietly in pleasure. The rest of the group edged forward, ever curious as to what was going on.

The stance of the group immediately shifted from one of curiosity, to one of fear; a split second later something massive and muscular slammed into Jack’s back. Pitching forward; he propelled himself into a rough roll and a snap turn that saw the muzzle of his rifle pointed between the pecs of Mr. Universe. The Alpha chuffed and snarled at him, flecks of foam and spittle spattering out from his lips. The curious woman backpedaled from the center of the conflict; she made sharp chirps and snaps at the snarling Alpha, but they went unheeded.

You want a piece of me, punk? Okay.

Unslinging his rifle and pack, Jack set them down gently on the snow, before rising to his full height and bringing his curled fists up for a defensive stance. His strike plates disengaged, leaving his knuckles open to the air. The alpha stamped hotly and snarled at him once more, before charging. The Equestrian human easily outweighed him; had the height advantage, and the home ground advantage, but it lacked where it mattered most. The alpha closed the distance, it’s arms spreading wide to catch him in a tackle. With cybernetic assistance, Jack easily bounced out of the way, letting the alpha crash into the snow. Without pause, the alpha lept up and roared; It’s roar was cut short when Jack’s arm wrapped around his neck, and his left arm was snatched up roughly. Using his right leg as a pivot, he used the other man's weight and brought him hurtling down to the ground with a powerful hip toss. The arm popped from its socket from the sudden, violent change in momentum; its owner had enough time to widen his eyes in fear before he hit the ground. In the blink of an eye, Jack had scrambled on top of his startled opponent and slid into high mount to pin his burly arms down. The first hammer-fist strike smashed into the orbital bone, causing a hairline fracture, even as skin split and bright crimson gushed forward. The second impacted his temple; the third spread the orbitals hairline fracture and impacted the soft tissue of the eye. A savage exo-skeleton driven hook dislocated the alpha’s jaw so badly that his mouth was forced open into a permanent lopsided blood filled ‘O’. Jack barred his teeth and grinned ear to ear as he brought his augmented fists down again and again and again onto the alpha’s head. Finally, once his opponent flopped limply with every strike, Jack grabbed him by both sides of the head and lifted his battered skull off the ground. He then roared into the alpha’s bloody face; the man's one semi-good eye widened in instinctual fear as Jack’s canines were barred and a bestial roar sounded out mere inches from his ruined face.

All the anger, all the hatred, all the feelings of betrayal bubbled up in a split moment; Jack saw nothing but red and a poor facsimile of the face that belonged to the man Elissa was sleeping with. Boiling fury overcame him, seeing his enraged bellow turn into a skin crawling blood raged howl. His lungs burned, and his entire body flushed red as he vibrated. He sneered down at the whimpering excuse he held in his hands, before slamming his forehead down onto the bridge of the other man's nose. The result was a vicious crunch as nasal cartilage gave way and the alphas head snapped back like a speed bag. It didn’t come back up.

Releasing the bloody mess of a man, Jack wiped under his nose with a bloody hand, before standing up. His eyes snapped up at the sight of movement, and his fists tensed as if aching for something else to break. They began to pulse sharply; he wasn’t entirely sure where the alphas blood stopped and his own began. Through the brilliant scarlet, he could see the ivory of three of his knuckles poking through ruined skin. The rest of the group stared back at him; it seemed that several other large men had rejoined, but they made no move to approach. Jack’s eyes flicked over each face, scanning for something, anything.

Anybody else?

_______________________________________________________________

Ice water flooded through Flitters veins as she stared at the strange stallion who stood before her. His words echoed inside her skull, causing her breath to catch in her throat. The cold stone in her stomach turned hot, and her features twisted in anger. Flitter narrowed her eyes and glared at the stallion, who had the decency to cringe. “And… what do you know about him?” Flitter licked her teeth and felt her muscles tensing.

The stallion swallowed, and took a tentative few steps forward, effectively closing the distance between them. “I know he’s intelligent. Please, I don’t mean any ill-will towards your or your human. I’m a researcher from Canterlot.” He tried to smile confidently, but it felt and appeared wooden.

Flitter frowned heavily, and looked the stallion over. “Who are you?”

The smile became more relaxed, and the stallion let out a quiet sigh. “I’m Researcher Field Note, from Dynamic Research and Medical Sciences International, Canterlot branch.” He beamed with pride. “DRMSI for short.”

“Okay Researcher Field Note from DRMSI…” Flitter slipped the mono-edged ka-bar from its sheath and twirled the blade with her feathers; Field Note spotted it immediately and froze in place, his slitted eyes flaring wide in shock and terror. Closing the distance, Flitter set her jaw and tightened the grip her wing had on the knifes handle. “What do you want with Jack?”

Backpedaling rapidly until his flanks impacted wood, Field Note brought his forehooves up to shield his face. “P-please! Please don’t… don’t hurt me, I’m just a scientist!” He shivered in fear and shrank away as Flitter towered over him.

Frowning heavily, Flitter leaned forward and spoke quietly and evenly. “What. Do. You. Want. With. JACK.” Her anger washed over, spilling into the conversation and turning her demeanor mean in a moment. The stallion cringed away, and emitted a tiny bat-like squeak before answering.

“I-I-I… I j-just want to study him, I promise! I promise, I promise that I won’t tell a soul! It’s just… he’s… he’s important, I know it! I just… Please, miss…?” He looked up at Flitter with wide, terrified eyes that snapped from her face to the knife.

“Flitter.” She said as she slid the knife back into its sheath. “I’m… going to take your word Field Note. Jack’s… He’s… He’s very, very important to me. Do you understand?” She reached forward, and pulled the stallion to his hooves. “I’ll try and talk to Jack about speaking with you. I can tell you right now that he won’t be happy.”

Nodding, he brushed off snow from his flanks and straightened up. “I understand, Miss Flitter. You have no idea how much this means to me, let alone my career, and the scientific community. From what I’ve observed, this… Jack, as you call him, is incredibly unique.” He laughed, and ran a hoof through the frock of mane that fell down before his skewed glasses. “This, added with the observations of increasing nomad human intelligence, could mean many great and wonderful things for Equestria, and possibly the treatment of humans everywhere.” The stallion tittered excitedly. “This is my life’s work that I’m watching come to fruition Miss Flitter. You have no idea how much this means to me!”

Flitter smiled softly and cast a long look back the way she had come from. “Humans are pretty important to you, I take it?” She eased up, and shifted in her hoodie as the stallion nodded rapidly and excitedly.

“Oh yes! There is so much potential within them, I can just-” He closed his eyes and licked his lips before sighing. “I can feel it. The field of anthropology is unfortunately a very difficult one to succeed in. I…” He sighed quietly and fixed his skewed glasses with his magic. “Mother always said I’d have better luck herding cats than making a life learning about humans.” He muttered quietly, before shaking his head. “Apologies, when will you speak with Jack the Human, on my behalf?

“Probably when I get off work. I always come back after work.” She fluttered her wings to try and stave off the biting cold that surrounded them, invading through every weakness it could find.

Field Note shook his head and pawed at the snow. “No, nono, that simply won’t do. I need to speak with him soon rather than later!” He pulled over his knapsack and started rooting through it. “Is it money that’s the problem? I’m given field acquisition bits every month. I can pay you, if you help me with Jack.” He pulled up a sack full of bits, and practically shoved it into Flitters hooves. “Take it! Take it, I barely use even a quarter of the bits they send me, please, just help me with this.” He edged forward and bowed his head a bit as he begged.

With her mouth working slowly, like a fish out of water; Flitter opened the sack and peered inside. True to his word, the sack was filled with shiny Canterlot Mint bits. That’s more than I make in three days. Flitter abruptly pulled the drawstring tight and crammed it into her hoodie pouch. “Well Mr. Note, I’ll be happy to help.” She smiled at him, and almost meant it.

___________________________________________________________________

Chapter Thirteen: The Deep Black Sea

Omake The Second: Electric Boogaloo

The smell of Saskatoon Dextri-wheat mid-june; winds blowing softly across the plains, carrying the tunes of summer. Jack closed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath as he stood on the edge of the long dirt road. Home. This is what home smelled like. He opened his eyes again, and stared off at the small collection of buildings at the end of the road. A robo-combine harvester rumbled along through the field, harvesting the fresh dextri-wheat without pause. With a quick pace, Jack set off down the dirt road, leaving the recently repaired highway behind.

He couldn’t remember how he’d gotten home; it was all a jumbled blur of long flights, cramped bus rides, and bleak ruins. None of it mattered; he was home. Tightening his grip on his olive drab duffel, he focused on keeping his heart inside his chest. It felt like it had been years since he’d seen his childhood home; it was heartening to see it so intact, considering the beating the surrounding area had taken. The dirt crunched loudly under his boots, and his treads kicked up little puffs of baked dust as he walked.

Someone was moving around inside the home. He could see them through the windows. Jack smiled softly as he recognized his youngest brother, George, running around. He started counting the heads he could see, hoping to possibly find out how many siblings he had left. Soon enough, his rubber boot heels were thumping up the short set of stairs on their front porch. The front door was open, guarded only the thin screen door. Jack stood on the porch for a long while, staring at said door. He closed his eyes again, and listened to the sounds of his family’s voices echoing through the house. How long had it been since he’d seen all of them in one place? Before the war? Years before he’d left the house for good? He regretted every moment he spent away from them, every Christmas spent alone, every single birthday and holiday that went by silently.

“Not one more.” You say that like you have a choice.

Jack clenched his jaw, and strode forward; grasping the old metal screen door and pulling it open.

“Sounds like someone’s at the door! I should oil that damn squeaky thing.” Jack’s heart skipped a beat. The sound of his father's voice, unwavering, unchanging before time, filled him with joy as the wood floor squeaked under his weight. Ten pairs of shoes sat scattered around the shoe rack with the one pair that belong to his mother and her dainty feet within; the mess being something his mother would have a fit over later. His father’s voice sounded out again. “Well, whoever it is, come on to the kitchen!” The scrape of chairs across the old beaten wood floor echoed above the sound of his metal legs whirring and his boot heels thudding down like clockwork. The last few steps saw Jack round the corner, into view of the dining room. Everyone was there. Everyone was there. His parents, his uncles, all of his siblings. Just as he remembered them last. His mother Sandy looked up just as she was about to set the roast down on the table; the short sun-kissed woman let out a gasp of surprise when her eyes fell onto him, and dropped the plate with a clatter to cover her mouth. The clatter of the plate cause everyone at the table to jump in surprise, and to look at the culprit. Jack smiled through the pain in his heart, and lifted one of his plugged hands in a feeble wave.

“Privet...” Real smooth doofus.

“Jack!” His father bounded out of his chair with speed belying his age and worn out joints; Jack’s kin all stood, shouting their surprise and happiness as they tried to close the distance. Spreading his arms wide, Jack stepped closer to embrace his family. Then his foot passed through the floor, sending him tumbling ass over tea kettle. He let out a terrified yelp, just before his titanium plated skull bounced off the marble floors of Canterlot Castle.

He laid there, face planted in the floor and legs hanging lopsided over him for a long few minutes, before loosing an anguished howl.

“GOD, FFFFUUUUUUCK! DAMMIT! Сын чертов сукин!”

Jack snorted and kicked his legs, which sent them clattering loudly against the marble floor. He laid there for a few minutes more, staring at the gilded banding going around the room. “I need a fucking smoke…” He started patting himself down, before realizing that he was wearing nothing but one of the ‘gifts’ given to him, which were an unprofessional pair of polka dot briefs. Groaning quietly, he stretched for the top of his nightstand; naturally it was just out of his reach. Rage boiled over inside him as he gripped the edge of the nightstand and pulled it down to the floor, sending his belongings on it skittering across the floor. Grunting in exertion and displeasure, he commando crawled across the floor to his crumpled pack of 1950’s Marlboros cigarettes and a horribly abused pre-vietnam zippo lighter. After lighting the cigarette, Jack rolled onto his side and puffed away; imagining that the puffs of smoke was all of his anger and stress just floating out of his body like little fluffy clouds of carcinogen and bad decisions. Four cigarettes later, He forced himself up onto his ever-steady prosthetics and wandered into his en-suite bathroom.

The mirror inside it was still cracked from the center outwards, but there were enough intact pieces for him to know that he looked like boiled garbage. Great posturing. Maybe I should clean up before breakfast. A quick glance at the ornate clock that stuck to the wall despite everything corrected him that it was well past noon. Or… Dunch? Linner? ...Fuck it. Feeding time at the stable. He snorted a derisive laugh as he shook his head. Stable… heh, cuz they’re horses… Heheh… Still chuckling to himself, Jack splashed his grizzled features with a conservative amount of crystal clear water; his beard was getting unruly, giving him a gaunt Grizzly Adams look. Sighing lightly, he turned on his heels and trod into his room.

The room itself was definitely the fanciest he’d ever stayed in, excluding one night spent in a bombed out Hilton Presidential suite. The room itself was a repurposed storage room, as Celestia had thought better than to prop him up anywhere where he could disrupt proper ponies. Suits me just fine. His eyes went over the fully loaded shipping container that dominated the room; the varied and near miscellaneous assortment of weapons, equipment, and junk crossed his mind. It always made him think; apparently when he, and all the other intelligent humans had been sucked up from various points in time, a lot of Earth tech had been sucked up by the magical Hoover. What was the point of it all? Was there even a plan? Why was there a half buried Federation M142 HIMARS in the Everfree with a full compliment of VX nerve agent munitions loaded into it? He didn’t know, and it was likely he never would. Eventually, with the usual lack of answers drifting about, his mind wandered back to the weapons within the baby blue shipping container. Visions of arcing tracer fire in the night and ignorant sword wielders being shown a mere fraction of the firepower of Man sent pleasant shivers up his spine, followed by grouchy thoughts. Sunbutt better let me loose off some rounds soon, or she’s gonna start losing fine china. Shaking his head, he turned to his dresser and resumed getting dressed for another normal, mind numbingly boring day in Canterlot Castle.

____________________________________________________________________________

“That… is a metric fuck-ton of streamers. дрисня”

Standing at the door to the grand dining hall, Jack blinked again and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things. When the truckloads of decorations and gaudy doodads didn’t vacate the premise, he groaned quietly and rubbed his bristly cheek. Maids and waiters bustled around, carrying the dirty dishes of what obviously had been just another mid-afternoon feast in the castle. Despite the bustle, the tables that dominated the room were largely empty, save for some haughty equine nobles who evacuated the table the moment Jack plopped down on one of the chairs.

Lifting a laggardly hand, Jack waved down one of the passing waitresses. “Hey, you mind snagging me some left overs or something?” He spoke slowly and squinted at the mare, who seemed put off by his appearance.

“W-well, erm.. sssiiir? We don’t hoof out ‘left-overs’, chef-” The mare fidgeted, and held her nose up mighty high for someone wearing a french maid outfit.

Pinching the bridge of his nose; he sighed loudly and slowly, cutting the mare off mid-sentence. “Okay, look. My afternoon chow time can go one of two ways. One, you head out, grab some random crap off the trolley, bring it over here, and I shut the fuck up. Two, you don’t do that, and I’m forced to go to the kitchen. Now, your head chef knows me by name at this point, and if he tries to hit me with that wooden spoon one more fucking time, I’m going to shove it up his ass and drown him in the sauce pan.” He had a scant second to shoot the mare a half leveled look of marine morning cheer, before she galloped off to where the left-overs were being pulled. As she galloped off, Jack cupped a hand by his mouth and yelled- “And don’t get me anything with flowers!”

___________________________________________________________________

The Princess of the Night was having an amazing day; busy, but it was all going to plan. When she cantered into the Grand Dining Hall, she found herself in the brightest of moods. Naturally, within the dining hall she found one of her favourite people, glaring vehemently at a daisy sandwich. As she approached; doing her best to hold in her laughter, Luna watched as Jack muttered hotly under his breath, and proceeded to stuff the sandwich into his mouth and chew dramatically. Mid chew, Luna sat down and smiled winningly at Jack. “A fine afternoon, wouldn’t you agree Jack?

Two sunken green eyes lifted momentarily to regard her, before slowly moving back to his half-eaten daisy sandwich. His lips curled in disgust as he lifted one of his hands to pluck a petal from his lips. “...Fantastic. Just… Fantastic.” He tossed the sandwich down at his plate, and turned to face her. “What about you, Lu? You seem pretty jittery.”

Luna grinned nearly ear to ear as she leaned on the table theatrically. “Why yes, I am very excited about today, or rather, tonight!” Her horn lit up, and Jacks half eaten sandwich found itself a home inside a royal gullet. “Mmm! Lovely texture, my compliments indeed.”

Sitting back as he shook his head, Jack stared at the princess as she devoured his unwanted food, all while making a face of moderate disgust and defeat. “Tonight? What makes tonight so special? Is it the streamers? Cause I think you got enough of those Lu. Wait, wait, lemme guess. Pony Saint Patty’s. Oh Jesus please be Saint Patty’s…” He rested his elbows on the table edge and rubbed at his sleep bleared eyes once again as Luna laughed.

“No! Tonight is the night of the Grand Galloping Gala! My third Gala since returning, and the second one that I’ve been given direct control of. It will be much better than the first one, I assure you.” She said with a little nod and a soft stamp of her hoof. “Do you truly not remember? Rarity designed you a set of clothing to your specifications.”

A loud groan greeted her statement and Jack thumped his head against the ornate table. “Oh, THAT. I remember that… I think I tried to scrub that from my mind… Rhinestones don’t belong on my damn clothes, and I think I came about a half inch away from strangling her with that measuring tape.”

“It was not that bad Jack!” Luna thumped his slouched shoulder with one of her shoed hooves.

“Six hours of my life I’ll never get back, Lu.” He grumbled quietly as his cybernetic legs whirred and flexed under the table.

Chuckling daintily, Luna patted his back. “Yes, well, be that as it may; you need a manecut, a shave, and-” She leaned in and sniffed at him, before shaking her head and sticking out her tongue. “Most assuredly a bath.” She grinned at him as one of the waitresses scooted past, and delivered a massive set of food, delicacies, and royalty worthy snacks. Before Luna could even think of what to eat first, a whole plate of Belgian waffles skittered across the table with a set of grubby human fingers latched onto it. Rolling her eyes and shuddering lightly to herself, Luna looked away from the chaos that was unfolding next to her. A small part of her brain swore it could hear the screams for mercy the waffles were making.

None were spared.

A mere half hour later saw Luna finishing off the last of her chosen food bits, and Jack sucking his fingers clean of fruit syrups and whipped cream. “Thanks for letting me eat you waffles Lu, service is shit around-”

“That wasn’t eating.” Luna said as she stared at her plate with a far off gaze. “I’ve seen eating. What you did there was pure chaos.” She shuddered as the trauma passed through her system.

“PFFT!HAHAHA!!” Jack guffawed and slapped his thigh as the moon princess cocked an eyebrow at him. “You think that’s bad? You haven’t see shit sister. Imagine fifteen marines at an all you can eat sushi buffet with no PT the next day. Just imagine it, let the image create itself!” He forced a grin as he rubbed the ball of his fist into the bottom of his sternum.

Smacking him lightly as she flailed, Luna scrunched up her muzzle and squeezed her eyes shut. “No! Gods above no! The horror! THE HORROR!”

“And they have no chopsticks!”

Luna screamed. “YOU MONSTER!”

___________________________________________________________________

Hours upon hours later, the sun had set and ponies were streaming into canterlot by the carriage load. Many wouldn’t be getting into the Galla proper, but instead they would be joining in on the bombacious street festival that didn’t cost a bit to enter. The entire mountain capitol was lit up like a beacon in the sky; shining brightly over the land and calling out to all within and without. The Elements of Harmony were on their way, as were the various delegates and foreign ministers who had been invited to the function. Princess Celestia was as calm and collected as ever, while Princess Luna was having a minor nervous breakdown.

“The decorations are set, guards are on high alert, mood lighting is working…” Luna paced back and forth, checking and rechecking her checklist as her eyes flicked about. “This is Chancellor Selkins first visit, and this could dictate our trade relations with him and his people for a very long time…” Biting her lip, the princess glanced to her trusted aide and explosive warfare specialist. “Can you watch out for Jack? I worry for his reaction to the Gala… I don’t believe he understands how large of an event this will be, and he has … very disturbing reactions to large crowds.”

Flitter smiled lightly and chuckled. “Yes Princess, I can look after Jack. He has gotten much better with living in Canterlot; I think he’ll surprise you.” She glanced over Princess Luna’s checklist once more. “What about the Chancellor? Jack has always had… interesting reactions to hybrids. Remember the Griffon delegate and her dignitary?”

“I do, thankfully Cecile was… strangely for being rode into battle, but Alak... being called Kitty seems to have struck a cord inside her. Though, I honestly believe it would be best if he were readily introduced to the full scope of beings that inhabit Equis.” Luna chewed her bottom lip thoughtfully, before blinking. “Where is Jack? I sent him off to be scrubbed hours ago. One would think he would be here by now…”

A feeling of unease spread down Flitters spine. “You didn’t send him to the spa bath, did you? You know how he has issue with being bathed or taking off his legs around others.”

“Save for you.” The Night Princess smirked at the rapidly blushing Flitter and let out a soft titter of amusement. “I did not send him to the spa bath, but one wonders why he’s comfortable doing such things around you…”

“I-it’s nothing! It’s not- It’s… it’s nothing... Your highness.” She bowed a bit to apologize for her sudden outburst, and was waved off by Luna. The mare stood and rubbed the back of her neck with a forehoof. “We’re just friends. I trust him, and he trusts me.”

Luna smirked; her heart naturally glad to have a moment to rest, away from the stressful list and the Gala itself. “Oh, I see. Being such close friends with him must truly be a boon. And being inducted into his Marine Corp; he hasn’t given the honour to anypony else, that I am aware of. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with-”

“Oh look, the guests are arriving, haha!” Flitter forced her laugh, and spun on her hooves. “I’ll go check on Jack!” At that, she took off, her dress trailing behind her as she flew away as fast as her wings could carry her. When Luna’s laughter eventually faded through the corridors, Flitter slowed her panicked flight to a slow trot. Jack’s room was located in one of the more far flung wings of the castle, well away from the proper guest suites. Currently, it was also one of the less patrolled wings. Why would they need to patrol it any more? Jack lives here, that’s more than enough. Flitter found her features splitting into an amused grin. “Like a laser toting Cerberus. heheh.” The sounds of the starting Gala echoed through the cavernous halls of the castle; all the bluster and pomp didn’t do so much as shake the artwork. Of course, there was a startling lack of over the top, delicate art pieces within this wing. One reason came to mind, and it made Flitter smile just a bit more.

After a moment's trot, Flitter came finally to a thick wooden door. Someone had taken it upon themselves to have the words ‘Staff Sgt. Kessle, Marine Corp EOD’ stenciled onto the door, with ‘Trespassers will be Molested and Shot’ stenciled underneath it. Shaking her head, Flitter opened the door and trotted in without hesitation; the smell of acrid cigarette smoke, alcohol and human musk smacked her like a mallet upon entry. The re-purposed storage room was considerably larger compared to the normal guest suites, but with all of the human junk Jack had collected; the room was busy and chaotic. A massive metal container holding Jack knew what sat against the furthest wall, half draped in camouflage netting and blatantly locked. A large workbench was next to it, and all manner of intricate technical scrap was strewn across its surface. The half built skeleton of some sort of automatic weapon made from Mosin barrels and bicycle parts rested on the vice; ammunition cans of various shapes and sizes were stacked upon each other underneath the bench. Tools, stray weapon cartridges, and empty beer bottles lay on the various surfaces; often finding themselves accompanied by the odd ashtray filled to the brim with used filters and ash.

Glancing around slowly, Flitter scrunched up her muzzle when she couldn’t find Jack within the room. “Bathroom door’s closed… maybe he’s in there.” Passing underneath a clothesline that separated his sleeping quarters from his work area with his optical camo tarping and drying clothes; she skirted around what had been a four poster bed and trotted closer to the bathroom door. After a week in the castle, Jack had made a colourfully worded request to have an ensuite bathroom added to his room, and subsequently got it after a certain incident involving Princess Luna’s personal wash basin and a bottle cap sized wad of C4 was brought about by the initial denial of his request. “Jack? Are you in there?” Flitter called out, and her ears swiveled to listen.

“Flitter? Yeah, I’ll be out in a sec, just need to finish up.” The complete relaxation in his muffled voice set Flitter at equal ease.

“Take your time.” Flitter pulled her simple black dress around her, and plopped down onto his soft bed. Sucking in a breath, she felt some of her stress evaporate as the familiar and comforting smells lingered about her. If only he hadn’t found that stupid crate of cigarettes… Flitter grumbled quietly to herself as she stubbed his still smoldering smoke inside a half filled ashtray. After a moment, her eyes fell onto a strange peaked white cap with a gold insignia on it. “wow… that’s fancy.” Leaning forward; she gently grasped the hat and turned it over slowly in her hooves. When the bathroom door clicked open, Flitter found herself surprised by it. Her jaw fell a little when the man who walked out of it didn’t resemble the Jack she knew.

The man standing before her with a slightly bemused expression lacked the rough, scraggly mane of black hair that Jack did; instead replacing it with a high and tight buzz cut. A good hooful of scars danced across his skull, marking out injuries and surgeries. The bushy beard that had consumed most of his face was now long gone, leaving a severe jaw line and thin drawn lips open to the air. His cheeks looked blatantly gaunt, giving him the visage of a skull wrapped in scarred leather. This newcomer wore a strange form fitting black dress coat with brilliant crimson trimming and gold clasps, as well as a well cut pair of sky blue uniform dress pants with a blood stripe going down the outer seam of each leg. His chest was bedecked with what she recognized as campaign ribbons on the right breast, and various unrecognizable medals on the left. The only reminder of what he used to look like remained in his eyes; the ever sharp emeralds that held crinkles around their edges as their owner chuckled lightly.

“What? I don’t look that fucked up, do I?” He rested one of his white gloved hands on the cast brass hilt of an non-commissioned officers's sword as he stared down at her. “Nice dress by the way. Always was a fan of little black numbers. Like what you did with your hair too.”

Sputtering as she clutched the hat; Flitter gestured at him wildly with her wings and made distressed horse noises. “W-W-WH-What the fuck!? W-who are you!? What did you do with Jack!?” She let out a freaked out little giggle, before blinking. “D-did you just say you liked-”

Before she could get any further into the sentence, Jack leaned in and gently tugged his hat free from her grip; before pulling her to her hooves. “This is what I looked like when I was full of piss and vinegar. And yes, I did. Come on, we’ve got a stuffed collar meeting to crash.” He grinned toothily at her as he pulled on his fancy hat. Somehow the look looked even more aggressive now that he lacked the beard. There was nothing soft about his features, save for his eyes when he looked over at her. Still, the expression eased her thumping heart.

Snapping out of her shock, Flitter trotted in front of him and met his gaze. “Are you sure about this? The Gala is a really big event, there’s going to be a lot of ponies there; a lot of really important ponies, and dignitaries from other nations.”

“Lemme guess, Lu Ferrigno and Sunbutt are sweating over me popping a fuse and killing that blonde haired hornhead with a bottle opener like I said I would if I ever saw him again?” Jack eyed her up, his hands fidgeting slightly.

Blinking in disbelief, Flitter shook her head. “No, but that would explain why they even considered it as a problem, I just... “ She sighed softly, and pushed a smile out for him. “Come on Jack, we’ll handle it as we go, right?”

“Right.” He grinned at her, and rested his free hand on the back of her neck. “Let’s go Sparky.” The pair set off through the castle halls, weaving their way through the maze-esque corridors. As they walked together, they began passing more and more guards, as well as the odd clump of hautily dressed nobles. Some were accompanied by equally well dressed humans; all of them wore the same, vacant expression that was so common amongst the native human population. As they neared the main event, Jack suddenly slowed his walking to a slow meander. Flitter eased up as well, and cast a curious look up to him. Before she could speak, Jack sighed and looked down at her. “We really need to set aside a day where you’ll come over and have a few drinks with me. I never get to see you anymore.”

His eyes sank downwards to the floor, and Flitter immediately felt burdened with guilt. “I… I’m sorry Jack, I’ve just been so busy… You know, being Luna’s aide, all the duties in the castle… You’ve got a job too; I mean.. We’re both busy, and it’s hard…” Flitter smiled weakly at him. “I am sorry… Maybe once everything has calmed down we can hang out for a day, have a couple of drinks and watch a silly movie.”

Smiling softly, he scratched her neck lightly and motioned forward with his head. “I’d like that.” Before opening the door to the main ballroom, he turned quickly and jabbed a finger at her. “You better still be working out!’

“I could totally kick you butt!” Flitter grinned as she headbutted his meaty thigh. “Now stop stalling!”

“Fine! Gah!” Pressing forward, Jack pushed the doors open wide and treaded into the mass of prim mares and proper stallions without breaking stride. Several guests turned to eye the newcomers critically; a couple gasps sounded out from the less prepared. The surprise was followed by mirth from some; unclean intentions emanated from others. Flitter felt her hackles raise as she scanned the crowd for Princess Luna. Next to her, Jack squeezed and stroked the back of her neck comfortingly. “and they call em ‘nobles’.” He muttered quietly to her, before laughing loudly and aggressively. The sound made several of the guests do a triple take; the less adventurous ones seemed to melt off into the crowd. Jack seemed to lock onto a target, and set off through the crowd with Flitter swiftly trailing behind him.

In a swift moment, she found out exactly why he’d locked onto this particular target. Once free of the initial gaggle of nobles and guests, Flitter realized that Jack had set off for the refreshments table; specifically the one with alcohol. Before she could say anything edgewise, Flitter spotted Princess Luna within the crowd. Biting her lip as her eyes flicked between an obviously miffed princess and an alcoholic PR disaster waiting to happen; she let out a stressed little sigh and made her decision. A shake of the head sent her off to see to the Princess and hopefully deal with the issues that had sprung up there.

Weaving her way through the crowd, Flitter trotted up beside Princess Luna. On the outside, she now seemed utterly calm and composed, but the little nuances, like the ear flicks and the tiny clenching and unclenching of her jaw told Flitter that whatever issue Luna was having wasn’t dealt with. “Princess? Are you alright?” Flitter ensured to keep her voice low; when Luna’s eyes flicked over to regard her, Flitter couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Jack is behaving.”

The Princess of the Night sighed softly, and pressed a weary smile out for her aide. “I had my first chat with the Nagala Chancellor Selkin.” Flitter watched Luna without blinking, taking in all of the facial twitches and tells. Lips barring for a moment, aggressive intonation… Methinks that the talk didn’t go very well. Luna shook her head and scoffed. “Naturally it lasted all of two minutes before I offended him. I have to try and find him and apologize…”

“Well… it’s not too surprising Princess, the Nagala are a very strict species, they’re all about the little things. Proper posture, proper eye contact, enunciation; they’ve got a set of rules for every social encounter and the smallest slight can set them off.” Flitter glanced up, and realized Luna was staring at her with wide eyes. Feeling her cheeks flush hotly; Flitter look down and pawed at the marble. “I’m just… paraphrasing from the book of course, I’ve never met one before , so-” Flitters sentenced squeaked to a stop as Princess Luna grabbed her muzzle with both hooves and turned her head so she was looking at the refreshment table. Her expression swiftly matched the princesses’ with wide saucer eyes and a keening look of abject horror.

In tandem, they both uttered the same word to express the situation that was unfolding onto their laps. “Shit.”

At the refreshment table, Jack was filling two bowls nearly to the brim with a rich red Cabernet Sauvignon. Various ponies curled their noses at him and muttered about how uncouth it was to drink from a bowl. Ignoring the comments as he whistled, Jack plopped down on the marble ledge and offered the second bowl to his pint sized companion, who would only come up to his thigh if the two were standing. The sharp dressed Nagala Chancellor nodded his thanks and wrinkled his twisted moustache as he sniffed the wine. “A mossst pleasssing aroma; we lack sssuch thingsss in the homelandsss. Isss a bowl sssuitable?” He cocked his cobra shaped ‘head’ at Jack, who was halfway through his own bowl.

A lift of his bowl and nod gave the Nagala Chancellor enough reason to drink from his own. Jack sighed quietly as he pulled off his peaked cap and set it beside the Chancellor's own white peaked cap. “I’m normally not a wine kinda guy. Wine is for women on diets, like clear liquor. Now, where was I…”

Chancellor Selkin drummed his elongated three fingers over the edge of the bowl. “Economicsss, sssupply and demand, asss you sssaid Ssserrah Kesssle.” He turned his head about, scanning the crowd of ponies as his serpentine body curled into a relaxation coil. “I sssee not any of thessse poniesss usssing bowlsss.” A viper smile spread across his scaly lips, causing his twisted moustache to turn up at the edges. “Women on dietsss… Most pleasssing. Pleassse Ssserrah Kesssle, proceed.”

“Right, well, first off you need to understand your supply, and your demand. This’ll dictate everything. You gotta make sure you’ve got supply in excess, that’ll make demand go down, and that’ll open up avenues of trade with your excess supply. The lynch pin in your economy is distribution. You need to be able to get your supply all over your country in a timely manner. Distribution makes or breaks a country. Your soldiers can only eat boot leather and hurl insults for so long right?”

A hissing laugh left Selkins lips as he sipped at his wine. “Most true ssserrah! What isss the mossst efficient way to obtain effective dissstribution?”

“I’d say that’ll be up to your people, just focus on it. It all boils down to distribution.” Finishing off his bowl of wine, he stood and refilled it; taking a short moment to wave at Luna and Flitter. They’re staring at me. Stop being so damn weird and let me do me! I'm gonna save your sorry asses, so go be weird somewhere else! Shaking his head, he sat back down and launched into another conversation with Selkin; wildly gesturing with his hands and making his own sound effects. The pleasant, calm music of the Gala found itself being interrupted on a regular basis by raucous laughter coming from the pair.

Through the night, Luna found herself continuously glancing over at the pair and chewing the inside of her cheek with serious worry. “Flitter, this is a dreadful circumstance… I’ve soured my relation with the Chancellor, and I fear that the Griffon emissary may try to steal the Nagala trade agreement we were supposed to put to paper.” The Night Princess took a deep breath and fixed her skewed crown. “I pray Jack has it-” Within an instant her features froze, and the look of absolute anger seemed to wash over her. It was all Flitter could do to keep her from exploding right there. “The Griffonic emissary approaches!” Luna hissed harshly at Flitter, who winced and glanced worryingly towards Jack. Flitter suddenly found herself smiling.

“Her? I think Jack has it covered.”

_________________________________________________________

“And so I said, ‘Was getting blown the fuck out part of your plan?”

The chancellor gripped his sides tightly as he guffawed loudly; the trailing chuckles followed between swigs of his wine. “Indeed it wasss not! Getting ‘blown the fuck out’! HAHA! Yesss! Tell me more Ssserrah! Your tales are mossst sssatisfactory, and they ssshall be sssung to my people!

Cackling loudly, Jack had to shake his head and grin at the small snakeman. “You wanna hear real stories? Shit from my marine corp days? Man, there was this one time, hoo fuck, I was deployed to Iraqistan, acting as an EOD tag along for regular patrols when my squad gets pinned down in the shadow of 'Death Fucking Mountain’ in the middle of a raid. There’s fifty of these raghead cocksuckers above us, just firing down on us with all their machine guns and mortars. So, me and Asta, and a bunch of the other guys are returning fire- Heh, I’ll have to tell you about Asta later, I love that crazy guy. Anyways, anyways, we’re returning light fire while one of the guys is trying to radio in for help. We can’t get out of this shithole without getting plugged with soviet lead, so we’re on the horn screaming for cover, but because of where we were, nobody could do shit. Everyone's just like ‘sorry assholes, you’re on your own, LOL. Well, it continued on like that for hours while we’re eating up Iraqistanian wasps left and right and shit’s look dire; right up until our radio guy gets these flyboys on the horn who’re like ‘Yeah, sure, we’ll be there in twenty minutes. Now we’re thinking, ‘oh it’s just gonna be a couple-a fast movers screaming overhead dropping JDAMS on the whole fuckin deal.” Jack took a moment to compose himself. “Now, imagine our surprise when TWO motherfuckin Super Cobras come in SIDEWAYS into this shithole canyon, strafing Hajis pos with 20mm gatling rounds and hydra rockets! These crazy bastards blew the whole compound the fuck out and stayed on station while we stuck our bayonets on and continued our raid.” Jack cackled a bit as Selkin grinned with open fangs at him. “There was like, nine of these terrorists left when we started busting down doors. We ended up taking three prisoner and smoked the other six when they tried to fuck around.” Jack’s smile faded ever so slightly as he stared at the near empty contents of his wine bowl. “When we busted in there, some of those kids were so shellshocked they probably didn’t even see us screaming at them to put their guns down, let alone hear us or understand us… course we couldn’t take any chances so we cuffed a couple and popped the idiots who didn’t have the good luck to drop their fuckin guns... Personally-” Before he could speak another word, a large feathered body interposed into the pairs social bubble.

“Excuse me, Chancellor Selkin? I’m-”

“Kitty!” Jack yelled happily as he got up to greet. “I thought I saw you pawing around in the background!”

The griffoness growled at him, before shaking her head and looking back at Selkin. “I’m-”

This time it was Selkin who interrupted her. “Kitty. I heard.” The edges of his moustache tugged upwards as Jack stuffed a knuckle into his mouth to keep quiet; the Griffon emissary's feathers shifted from snowy white to a furious red.

Her face lit up with little angry twitches as she struggled to contain her rage. “Chancellor Selkin, I’m here to discuss the trade agreement between the Griffon Empire and the Nagala. Now-”

“Ah boo! Meows not the time for work talk!” Jack kicked back on the ledge; resting his back against the marble pillar.

The angry twitching in the griffoness’ face swiftly became more pronounced. “What did you just say?” Her question earned a toothy grin from Jack, and it only served to send her blood further into a boil.

To disarm the situation unfolding before him, Selkin lifted his stocky arms up in a placating manner. “Meow, there’sss no need for sssuch anger right meow Misss Kitty.” The emissaries features jerked involuntarily as one of her eyes began to twitch.

Fighting back laughter, Jack leaned back forward. “Yeah, come on Kitty. Have a drink and sit with us for a meowment.”

Before the griffoness could snap and make an attempt on Jack’s life, Selkin held up one of his three fingers hands and beckoned her closer. The emissary snorted hotly, before placing a lid over her simmering rage. Leaning in close, she looked ready to do business. Selkin leaned in, his slitted eyes regarding like prey. His moustachioed lips curled upwards as he spoke on simple word. “Meow.”

Princess Luna took an involuntary step back as the sound of pure, unbridled fury and anguish echoed through the grand hall, and the griffon emissary bolted from the hall with her talons clutched over her ears whilst screaming profanities at the two cackling idiots by the wine bar. A disbelieving smile spread across Princess Luna's lips as Flitter glanced up at her and spoke. “See Princess? I told you Jack had it handled.”

A short nod from the princess lent Flitter a relieved smile. Feeling a heavy weight come off her shoulders, Luna actually began to smile once again. “Truly. My only hope is that he may convince the Chancellor to rethink his standing with us. Now-” Luna’s train of thought crashed head first into a wall. The wall directly behind where Jack and Chancellor Selkin had been seated; the pair now nowhere to be seen. Luna blinked hard, and her eyes went a tad bit buggy once again. “Where… did they go.” And just like that, the weight returned and her smile died. Flitter let out a weak sigh of defeat and shook her head.

“please don’t start any trouble Jack…”

_____________________________________________________________

“Ssso, the Griffon knew you. How?” Selkin bobbed his head as he slithered along the marble floors next to Jack; the pair were seemingly headed for a less occupied section of the castle.

A quiet chuckle escaped Jack as his prosthetics whirred and clicked across the marble. “Funny story really. First time I met her was also my first time meeting a hybrid face to face, and she just so happens to be a griffon. My people have legends about them, and my first thought was ‘how sick would it be if I rode a legendary critter into battle?” His grin split open as he glanced over at Selkin. “Of course, my mind leaked out my mouth as per usual and I said she would make a wicked mount. Turns out she didn’t appreciate it.”

The Chancellor simply nodded his understanding. “Acceptable losssesss.” Selkin glanced around the halls as he slithered somewhat drunkenly. “Ssso, you ssstate you have a plan to get more pleasssing drink?” His scaly crown twitched as he watched Jack open up the door to his room.

“Course I gotta plan. We just need better gear.” Cracking open the baby blue shipping container, Jacks shivered with excitement as Selkins jaw fell ever so slightly. “Now, way I see it is we have two places we can hit. The first being Celestias personal liquor cabinet. Now, I’m not too big on pissing off a demi-god, so I think our second option is much safer, being the kitchen.”

Quirking a scaly brow, Selkin fidgeted and twirled his moustache. “Dare I asssk why we would need such… toolsss?” His eyes drifted up to some sort of rotary assault cannon made out of scrap weapon parts and possibly a bicycle that sat upon a pedestal of ammunition crates.

“Well, the head cook kinda has it out for humans, me more specifically. He’s pretty harmless, but I think he might escalate shit if we go after his hooch. Thuuus!~” Jack hefted a matte black Benelli M4 from a fancy plasteel crate marked ‘Detroit Special Weapons And Tactics’. “Catch!” He tossed the weapon to Selkin, who caught it and hefted the weapon with surprising ease. The Nagala Chancellors eyes seemed to unfocus as he ran one of his hands over the weapon’s receiver and barrel. “It’s loaded with taser rounds. Non-lethal stuff. Semi auto, just point, and pull that trigger there.” Jack grinned as he kept rooting through the container. “Aha! Perfect.~”

Selkin seemed to be jerked out of his trance by Jack’s purring. “What? What have you found-” He stopped mid sentence and went silent for a long moment. “Yesss… Yesss that will be sssufficient.”

________________________________________________________________

The Gala was going perfectly, or so the head chef thought. His brows were furrows in concentration as he placed the finishing touches on the coup de grace of the night. The lesser chefs and the help were all scurrying about, and giving him the space he deserved and demanded. All but one. One mosey little helper scurried up and swallowed thickly before speaking to the head chef.

“C-chef, the um… that human is back. He’s politely asking for access to the liq-” The loud thump of a cleaving knife slamming into the cherry wood counter top caused the help to jump and squeak in terror.

“I know what that cretin wants! If he even sets hoof in my kitchen tonight, I’ll cut his throat!” The chef harshly snarled and shot a withering look towards the large doors that led out into the castle proper; a flare of hatred arced up inside his mind as he spotted a pair of beady little eyes staring at him from the door frame. Without thinking, the Head Chef ripped the knife from the counter top, and hurled it at the humans head with all of his might.

As the knife whistled through the space Jack’s head had occupied no more than a moment earlier, the pair of liquor pilferers shared a quiet moment. Sighing quietly, Jack brought his ballistic shield to bear. “Coulda done this the easy way. Prepare to breach Mr Selkin!” The action of the M4 clacked forward and the Nagala let out an aggressive hiss of satisfaction. The tiny Nagala was wrapped around the pull bar on Jack's harness, allowing Selkin to peek out past his armoured head; the barrel of the M4 rested on his padded shoulder. "К оружию!" With a great battle cry, the pair burst through the door; several ponies inside the kitchen shrieked and screamed in panic. A large butchers knife twanged violently off the viewport of the shield, leaving a sizable nick in the ballistic glass. As Jack and Selkin advanced behind the protection of their shield, the Head Chef grew panicked; knives began twanging and clanging off the shield at a rapid, worrying pace.

“GET BACK, YOU FILTHY ANIMAL! SWINE!” Finding the knife block completely empty, the chef hurled the thick wood block at the steadily approaching shield wall. In a move of desperation, he ripped his prized griffonian steel slicing knife from it’s special block, and brandished it at the human.

“Take him down!” Jack yelled as he grinned and pushed forward. Selkin popped up from behind his head and drew a bead on the now wide eyed chef. The shotgun let out a low thump, and the projectile whipped out and struck the chef dead center in his fluffy chest. At impact the taser round discharged, and the crass pony hit the linoleum like a convulsing sack. “Securing hostile!” Jack yelled as Selkin leapt from his shoulder to the counter.

A split grin spread across Selkin’s rosey features as Jack began duct taping the jittery pony to the wall. “Thisss weapon isss efficient. Y-you must teach my people your waysss!” The Nagala swayed a little bit, before bracing himself with the buttstock of the weapon. “I feel… ssstrange… Intoxicated?”

With the last strip of tape placed over the chefs muzzle, Jack turned his head and shrugged at the Selkin. “Probably man, trying to keep up with me tends to be a bad idea.” Turning fully away from his work, Jack lifted both hands towards the wide eyed kitchen staff. “Don’t mind us! We’re from HR, er… PR! And um… you can’t keep poisons in a kitchen. да.” He nodded, before pulling open the liquor cabinet. “Yeah, we’re gonna have to confiscate all of this.” A quiet chuckle sounded out from one of the dishwashers as he returned to his work; and soon the rest of the kitchen followed suite without question. Jack gently placed bottle after bottle of the hard stuff into an expanded black duffle bag. The chef let out a particularly loud, albeit muffled cry as Jacks gloved hand grasped a very fancy looking decanter of scotch whiskey. Arching his brows in curiosity, Jack pulled the decanter off its little pedestal and purred. “What do we have here?~ Macallan ‘M’.... Yoink.” Placing the decanter gently down amongst the other nineteen bottles, Jack twirled his index fingers in the air and gestured towards the door. “Come on Selk, let’s boogie.”

Nodding tipsily, the Nagala slithered upwards and curled around the pull bar of Jacks vest. “Yesss… I am of the down to be boogying…”

“I think you’re drunk.”

Selkin's moustache curled upwards as he rested on the firm pull bar. “A wondrous feeling…. Must bring some back to my Queen…”

Shaking his head in amusement as he peeled out of the kitchen; he couldn’t help but feel that tingling little feeling of joy spark in his chest. “Let’s put the gear back and then see if we can’t scrounge up some company.

“Yesss! Companyyyyy!” The Nagala flopped against the back of his neck and murmured quietly as Jack chuckled and set about leaving the wargear and the lions share of booze in his room, before turning about and heading back toward the party with a drunk snakeman and a dufflebag full of alcohol slung over his shoulders. A light warmth had settled into his cheeks by the time his boot heels graced the marble of the main castle wing. To his surprise, most of the nobles had seemingly cleared out, leaving small pockets of well dressed ponies chatting quietly every now and then. Entering the main entrance hall, Jack almost immediately spotted Flitter in her little black number. His heartburn kicked in when he say the miffed look on her normally soft features. Within moments, she spotted the pair and seemed to sigh in relief, before taking flight to close the distance.

“Where the hell have you been Jack?” Flitter hissed out quietly, but with more venom than Selkin was capable of producing. Her eyes flicked between Jack, the openly drunk Chancellor, and the heavy black duffel bag that was still slung over his uniformed shoulder.

Smiling weakly, Jack gestured towards the main hall and the ballroom. “Is Luna busy?” He shifted his heavy load ever so slightly; he quickly froze when Flitters expression shifted into unbridled rage and betrayal for a mere split second, before getting covered up by her usual mask.

“Don’t dodge the question Jack.” Flitter glared daggers at him as her wings fluttered anxiously.

“I’m not, I swear Flitter. I’ll explain in a few, I just… I’ve got a plan, okay? Just please, trust me?” He smiled softly, and offered his free hand to her.

An unimpressed huff escaped Flitter's lips as she turned and ignored the outstretched hand. “Come on. I’ll take you to the Princess.” She began trotting swiftly through the halls, leaving Jack to catch up in her wake. Sighing softly, Jack let his hand fall as he set off at a jog to catch up. Thankfully his legs were considerably longer than hers; he’d managed to catch up with Flitter by the time he spotted Princess Luna having what looked to be a boring chat with an graying earth pony with a monocle. Flitter turned and leveled a modest glare at Jack. “Well, there she is Jack.” She followed Jack as he strode forward; waving to catch the princesses attention; the Princess of the Night caught sight of him and his cargo almost immediately and seemingly excused herself from her conversation. Luna’s face screwed up with worry as she trotted swiftly forward.

“Wha-”

Before she could get any further than that, Jack held up a hand, and gestured to one of the side doors leading to the dining hall. “Come on, let’s get some privacy.” For what it was worth, Luna and Flitter couldn’t kill with looks, yet. Jack smiled winningly at the pair, and gestured. “Trust me.”

Thankfully the pair didn’t object, and followed Jack and Selkin into the empty dining hall. Jack carefully extricated Selkin from his shoulder, and set the tiny snakeman down onto a plush chair. Smiling happily, Selkin spread out with a groan. “Company! Yesss, Company isss good, yess?”

Shaking her head in disbelief as Jack started setting various bottles of expensive alcohol down on the table; Luna moved up beside Jack and spoke. “What is this all about Jack?” Her eyes flicked to the obviously plastered chancellor, and then to Flitter, who seemed to be less than impressed with her human friend.

A wicked grin broke out across Jack's gaunt features as he picked up an incredibly fancy bottle of red wine. “Hey Selkin, can I make a deal with you?”

The Nagala blinked rapidly and looked up at Jack from his spot low on the chair. “Of coursssse! My friend, Ssserrah Kesssle, you may asssk away!” He grinned happily as he stared at up Jack, who quickly knelt down to Selkin’s level and offered him the sealed bottle of wine.

“I’d like you to take this bottle of wine home, as a gift from Equestria to you and your Queen.” Selkin cooed happily as his three fingers hands wrapped around the oversized bottle and Jack continued on. “Now, I was hoping you’d give Ol’ Lu here a second chance and chatter with her about doing some trading over a couple drinks. She’s good shit, ya know?”

After a moment's deliberation, Selkin nodded deeply and gestured towards Luna and Jack; one of whom was struck dumb with shock. “Of course Ssserrah! Trade… Trade! Isss the life bloodsss of nationsss. Let us drink, and talk, Princesss Luna!”

The Princess of the Night sputtered lamely for a split moment, before rapidly composing herself and nodding graciously. “Of course, thank you for your consideration Chancellor Selkin.” She cast a surprised glance at Jack, before smiling honestly for this first time since the Gala had started.

Naturally her good mood was caught by Jack’s next request. “Right. So we’re gonna need two royal pardons.”

“What!? W-what the hay did you do?” Luna stared at him incredulously as Flitter groaned loudly. Her shoulder slumped as Jack pointed at the collection of expensive alcohols and Selkin piped up.

“I shot a pony! Haha! T’wasss an amazing feat!”

Coughing lightly, Jack had the good sense to look at the floor. “It was just a taser round, he’s fine. But uh… yeah. Theft and assault, but the assault was totally self defense, he attacked us first.”

A swift shake of her head saw Luna grabbing one of the bottles of scotch and taking a deep swig from the neck of the bottle. Smiling again in good humor as her cheeks reddened, she laughed. “Of course.” She giggled quietly again and shook her head. “Consider yourselves pardoned. I’ll inform the guards to not arrest you. Now, why don’t you two go find Max and Twilight? I’m sure they wouldn’t mind the company. Chancellor Selkin and Myself won’t be much ‘fun’.”

Grabbing the the pilfered bottle of Macallan ‘M’, Jack nodded once to the pair and wrapped an arm around Flitters neck. “Come on Sparky, let’s go stir up trouble.” At that, he bowed dramatically to Luna and Selkin, and split from the main dining hall. Flitter trotted next to him; still shaking her head at what she’d just witnessed.

“This is going to drive me crazy unless I ask, how in the hell did you get that friendly with the chancellor?” Flitter asked as she trotted next to him.

Jack smiled wide as he laughed. “We had the same hat. Kind of just took off from there. Selk was just dying for a bit of fun, poor dude.”

“You’re joking…” Flitter shook her head and laughed with Jack over the night’s events. After a few minutes more of walking, Flitter noticed something. “You... you do realize that the gardens are in the other direction, right?” Flitter looked up at him as he wandered off towards one of the less populated wings.

“Yeah, and I also know that Max and Sparklebutt are probably in the third period of tonsil hockey, maybe even into overtime at this point. Besides, Maximilian and me, we never really hit it off, you know?” He lifted up the bottle of scotch whiskey and eyed it as he walked.

Blinking in confusion and slight embarrassment; Flitter kept pace with Jack as he treaded back towards his room. ”Well… why not? There’s not many smart humans in Canterlot; I would have thought you two would hit it off, or at least talk to each other more.”

Slowly opening the door to his room, Jack set the fancy decanter down on his dresser and started pulling off the outmost parts of his dress blues, until he was wearing his work-out shorts and a plain white muscle shirt. “You’d think, but… Well, we’ve got something like sixteen years between us, and completely different mindsets... ‘Sides, he’s got that lovers fog, and the kid’s a little daft to begin with. Plus I’m a bitter, resentful prick when it comes to marriage and love, so yeah!” Jack grinned as he cracked the bottle open and sniffed it slowly. “Damn… Dad would kill for a whiff of that…” As he started breaking open his collection of shot glasses, Jack looked to Flitter. “You gonna stick around for a drink or two?” He asked hopefully, with two shot glasses at the ready.

Flitter bit her lip lightly as she eyed the swirling bronze liquor. “I.. I really shouldn’t, you know how much of a lightweight I am…”

“Come on Flitter, just one shot? I don’t wanna drink this thing alone….” His mouth worked slowly as he fought for traction. “I… nevermind… I didn’t mean to pressure you. I appreciate the escort back.” He felt himself deflating as he stared at the liquor bottle; after a moment's deliberation, he drummed the bottle and poured himself a shot. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow?” He downed the shot and shook his head. “fuck that’s good… gotta be over forty; cedar barrel maybe? dad would know....”

Frowning sadly as she stared at Jack, Flitter followed him as he walked over to his bed and sat down heavily on it. “Luna told me about your visit to the doctor… I worry about you, you know?” Flitter set her hoof gently on his thigh, and offered him a supportive smile.

Jack felt the corner of his mouth twitch involuntarily. “It’s just an ulcer. Signs that I’m getting old. Barely keeps me up.” Down went the second shot.

“The doctors say otherwise… You know you wouldn’t have it if you didn’t drink so much, right?” Flitter nuzzled his side as she stared up at him. When Jack couldn’t meet her gaze, she felt a twinge of regret form in her chest. His fingers remained curled around the third shot.

“And if I didn’t drink I’d never get any sleep.” He fidgeted lightly, before giving up on the shot so he could flop back onto the bed. The soft downy mattress compressed as Flitter clambered on after him and nuzzled his chest. Settling down next to Jack, Flitter sighed quietly and clapped off the light. Without a word, Jack rolled onto his side, and pulled the mare close. He rested his chin on top of her soft mane as she nuzzled close into his chest.

“G’night Flitter.”

“Good Night Jack…”

“Hey Flitter…”

“Yeah Jack?”

“Thanks.”

“It’s okay. Sleep tight.” Flitter lifted her head up, and pecked him delicately under his chin. Jack's grip on her tightened protectively, and he scooched down to rest his forehead against hers.

Chapter Fourteen: Dance of the Macabre

Chapter Thirteen: The Deep Black Sea

"WHERE IS IT!? WHERE ARE YOU HIDING IT YOU LITTLE WORM?" The creature snapped and snarled in his face; the desire to latch onto its face and rip its eyes out with his teeth filled his heart as he was shaken like a ragdoll. Only, he couldn't. He felt weak, naked. Nothing but a mass of worthless muscle and broken bone. When the creature threw him to the ground, the air rushed from his lungs, and didn't return. This is it. He thought. This is how I die. His eyes rolled up, taking in the dark concrete room with its solitary halogen bulb light and icy cold floors. It was the place of his worst nightmares, the place where the slant eyed demon strangled the life from him; bit by bit, piece by piece. He'd known the demon on earth, seen him die in this room. Four rounds of hollow point 6.8 Remington, bursting the bastard from his chest to in between his beady little eyes. The knowledge brought Jack little recourse in his dreams.

He began to feel disconnected from the nightmarish torture. The guts spilling on the concrete floor like steaming bloody ropes weren't his. He felt rage funnel into his veins; pushing out his weak blood, replacing it with napalm and broiling fury. Before him, his demon looked up at him with diseased yellow red eyes and smiled, one long fanged tooth jutting past his drooling jaw. "*Don't worry little bug, you'll play your part soon enough. I have not forgotten about you."*

Roaring as the gasoline blood pumped through his veins; he pistoned his balled fist forward; his engaged strike plates striking the demon in the throat. Corrupted tissue and tendon crumpled and split under the impact, and the creature wheeled back with a wheezing wet cry of agony. His body rocketed forward; another tool to use to extract his wrathful vengeance. Pouncing on the demon, he scrambled up its amalgamated human body; his armoured hands ripping great furrows of flesh away as he climbed. The demon howled in anguish, before crumpling to the floor with a dull thud. Standing over the demon; his chest heaving from the exertion; Jack's ears pricked at the sound of an incredibly familiar voice.

"Kill the bastard. Kill ‘em good Jack." A whip thin, tanned man emerged from the shadows, cradling a stubby black carbine. He smiled at Jack before throwing the carbine to him.

Catching the weapon mid-arc, Jack brought it to bear upon the fallen demon. The stubby barrel of the carbine belched flame as the four round burst of 6.8 Remington stitched his demon up its chest to in between its eyes. When the slant eyed demon fell still, Jack let the butt of the carbine hit the ground as he stared at his long dead friend. "Mark... I... Fuck man..." Jack wiped the back of his hand across his eyes, and approached the other man. Grabbing Mark by the shoulders; Jack patted him several times, just to see if he was really there.

With an amused half-smile, Mark squeezed Jack's shoulder and embraced him. "It's been too long Jack. How come you never visit anymore? Now, how 'bout we get out of here, go get some beers. That sound good?" Something heavy slammed into the steel door, causing the center to buckle inwards. "Come on Jackie boy, the bad guys are comin’."

Staring at Mark, Jack shook his head and winced at the heavy beating the door was taking. "How... How is this possible? How are you here? Where is here? I... Shit Mark..." Jack clamped his left hand to his side as he stared at the sucking bullet wound just to the left of Marks sternum. "i killed you mark..." The words left his lips as quiet and feeble things; betraying the wretched emotions within Jack's chest.

"You did Jack. You shot me right in the chest. But it's alright, I forgive you." Mark smiled openly, his one canine slightly longer than the other. He leaned forward as the steel door began to buckle. '"I need you to listen to me Jack. These ponies; you can't trust them. If those royals ever get ahold of you... What happened here will be a pleasant memory. Do notlet them get Delta King. Do you understand?"

As the door banged open wide, Jack nodded to Mark. The lithe form of his dead best friend smiled in kind, and backed up into the shadows. A monolithic figure strode through the door, just as Mark vanished from sight. The monolithic figure with its flowing galaxy of hair halted before him, and stared about with deadly intent. She's trying to stop Mark... She's messing with my head.... Get out of my head.

The figure looked down towards him, her features cast in the shadows of the old prisons riot gear. He knew the armour well; had been beaten into the concrete by its owners baton and heavy treaded leather boots. Hatred took seed in his mind; as the towering figure opened her mouth to speak, Jack levelled his weapon and bellowed- "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY HEAD!" -his carbine let out a long ripping roar that failed to drown out Jack's bellow of fury. The figure screamed in pain and raised a mighty hand to protect her face from the hail of hollow point bullets lodging themselves and flowering within.

The dream fell to pieces when Jack bolted upright in his cot; the revolver that rested under his pillow now clutched in his sweaty palms. He scanned the cave frantically with the pistol barrel; cold sweat coating his body liberally. A pair of scared eyes stared at him from over the cover of the log; his revolver held them for a moment, before he decocked the weapon and let his arm fall to his side.

Creeping out from behind her cover, Flitter watched with worry as Jack dropped the weapon onto his pillow and flopped back down onto the bed with a groan. A small bottle of hard liquor replaced the weapon in his hand; He swirled its contents around, before draining it all in one go.

"Jack? Are you alright?" She drew forward and rested her muzzle on his leg as she stared up at him. He glanced down momentarily before nodding once and grabbing for his last bottle of alcohol. Flitter's frown deepened even further as she pulled away and returned to her place by the fire. "Are you going to be drinking all day?" Her own frown soon matched his as he stared hard down at the bottle, as if it held all the answers at its bottom. Sighing softly, Flitter prodded the fire with a small stick; she began preening herself soon after as she waited for Jack to get up from bed.

When he set the bottle down and hunched over to cradle his head in his hands, Flitter knew something was wrong. Before she could move, he sat up straight and shot her a short, strange look. The fleeting hint of suspicion flicked across his eyes, before vanishing completely. His PDA came up, but his fingers were laggardly in putting his words down. "Morning Sparky. Hope I didn't wake you up."

Her frown deepened as she looked up from her half preened wing. "You did." She said quietly, before adding with trepidation- "you were screaming, and I was afraid to wake you up."

"Sorry." Jack rocked up to his feet and stood tall; stretching out his limbs and yawning as he did. He winced in pain as he tried to work feeling back into his achy, abused limbs. He pulled back in surprise as her furry muzzle nuzzled his exposed side lightly.

Starring up at him with worry; Flitter rested her muzzle on his thigh. "Are you alright Jack?" As he nodded she couldn't help but feel that he wasn't being truthful. "You know you can talk to me, right? I'll listen." Flitter smiled comfortingly up at him, and watched as his features fell under the weight of guilt.

"I don't want you to worry about me. I'll survive, regardless of what's going on up here." He tapped his temple twice, before smiling tiredly and scratching her behind the ears with weather worn fingers.

A blissful smile passed over Flitter's features as she leaned into his fingers. Hopping up onto the cot, she leaned against Jack for support. To her surprise, he draped a tattooed arm over her shoulder and rested his head on top of hers. He breathed slowly and deeply; the steady thumping thrum of his heart sounded in Flitter's ear as she rested against his chest.

As he rested his head on top of her mane, Jack slowly breathed in. Smells like campfire and... Lavender. I always liked lavender... Jack closed his eyes as his mind began to wander to places it didn't belong. Elissa smelled like vanilla and strawberries... Always thought she used too much perfume... God... What I wouldn't give just to take it all back... He squeezed his eyes shut and held the mare at his side close; as if she could ward off his thoughts simply by being there.

"Jack?" Flitter flicked her ears as his breath disturbed them. He grunted in response, to note that he was listening. "You need a bath." He grunted once more, demoting that she should shut up. Smiling to herself, Flitter nuzzled him once again before pulling back. "There's a 'do it yourself' pet washing place near the edge of town. Want to head into town and check it out?"

"No."

"No?" Flitter furrowed her brow lightly as she looked up at him. "No offence, but you're really smelly today Jack." She watched with worry as he pushed himself up off the bed and away from her; he began to slowly pace the cave, swinging his arms back and forth lazily. "Jack? Is everything alright?"

He finally stopped his pacing to scratch deeply at his scraggly beard; his fingertips floated over the surface of his PDA as he seemingly tried to collect his thoughts long enough to put them down. "I need some time to think. I think I'll just go take a walk today. Besides, you should head home before someone sends out a search party." He smiled offly; the look sending a niggling thought of worry through Flitter's mind. "And happy actual birthday."

With a soft sigh of acceptance, Flitter pulled on her hoodie and affixed her mane tie. "Are we still gonna do morning PT?"

To her intense relief, Jack finally cracked an honest smile and nodded. "Course. Birthday girls get birthday beats." His smile split wide open, and Flitter felt her relief drain away to be replaced by strong regret.

"You're gonna chase me around with a stick again, aren't you?" At his nod and stretch; Flitter sighed quietly as she finished her little slice of cake and got up. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you enjoy this way too much."

Jack stood tall as he began pulling on his winter clothes and brightly coloured knit hat. He shot her an amused smirk as he sent out one last message before stowing his PDA. "You're right. I enjoy this way too much."

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The morning proved to be an interesting one for Field Note. As he warmed his field rations over a small magical stove within his treetop camp; he found himself witness to something very strange indeed. Flitter came bolting through the snow laden forest with Jack hot on her hooves; he wore a queer hat that trailed yellow and orange tassels behind him as he dogged the mare. Occasionally he would close the distance between them, and strike her across her flanks with a bit of supple wood. When he did, Flitter would yelp in pain, and follow with a shrieking bellow of "Sixteen!" Field watched the pair for some time; he soon realized that he was revelling at how the human held his balance so easily and swiftly. He began to take notes on how Jack's body twisted and turned; how every muscle pumped and pistoned. No matter how Flitter ducked it weaved, Jack was on her tail; using his hands to whip around trees and vaulting over snow covered obstacles with ease. When Flitter's body could take no more, she fell to the snow covered ground and mewled out a weak- "twenty two..." -as Jack swatted her side with his ad hoc discipline rod. "I turned twenty two..." Flitter groaned quietly as she tried to push herself up.

Before she could, Jack rolled her over onto her back with the toe of his boot. Sitting down on her stomach; Flitter stared up at him with visible surprise, and then horror as he grabbed a handful of snow and gave her face a good freezing wash. The mare thrashed and squirmed and squealed, all to no avail. Jack cackled and guffawed as he pushed the last bit of snow down her hoodie before standing and brushing off his pants.

Shivering heavily as she pushed herself to her hooves; Flitter glared up at Jack halfheartedly. "You, sir... are a jerk." He grinned happily and messed her mane, before rubbing one of her ears. Flitter sighed quietly as she nuzzled his thigh. "I'll come by later, okay?" He nodded for his response and waved lightly, before turning on his heels to tread towards his home. Flitter stood there for a long moment, watching his form disappear into the trees. The sudden lack of companionship left her feeling cold and painfully alone; though after a minute she only felt the cold seeping through her fired up muscles. Shaking her head to dispel the rancid feeling in her chest; Flitter turned towards the trail and began her lonely trot back to Ponyville.

As Flitter neared town, weather began to take a turn for the worse. Winds picked up heavily, and snow began to whip about. Tucking her wings into the voluptuous hoodie, Flitter picked up her pace to try and keep warm. The weather crews were obviously working overtime to get the storm cell into position; the howling winds battered the now deserted village. Finally, after what felt like ages of trudging through the snow with her burning, sore legs, Flitter finally caught sight of her cloud home. Pumping her shivering and aching wings for lift; Flitter barely made it through the door before she was assaulted.

"WHERE THE BUCK HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Cloud Chaser practically bowled Flitter over as she stormed over; her whole lithe frame shaking with anger as she glared daggers at Flitter. "I've been looking everywhere for you! I thought something terrible had happened. You didn't come home for something, like three days! And you didn't go to work yesterday! What the buck is wrong with you!?" Flitters mouth worked soundlessly as she struggled for traction.

"S-shouldn't you be with the weather crews?" The question was a lame one, but it seemed to abate Cloud Chaser's anger, at least temporarily.

Flitter's sister sighed and ran a hoof through her shock of mane. "I took the day off. You know, to spend with you? On your birthday?" Cloudy began to smirk curiously as she finally let Flitter in. "So, where the heck have you been? Got a stallion on the side or something?" When Flitter paled and shook her head, Cloudy simply laughed and shook her head. "Riiiight."

Taking in a deep breath and counting down slowly; Flitter smiled weakly at her older sister and sat down heavily on the couch. "I was out visiting with a friend. He lives kind out far out from town, so it didn't make sense for me to make the trip a whole bunch."

With a sly grin, Cloudy settled down next to Flitter on the couch. She relaxed against the hoofrest and chuckled to herself as she stared knowingly at Flitter. "So it is a stallion. Does Goldie know?" Her sly grin only grew; and only served to grate Flitters nerves.

Does Goldie know? I doubt it. Not that it matters. What, Cloudy? You wanna know if you can finally stop sneaking around behind my back and start fucking him openly? Fuck you. Flitter clenched her jaw to keep her aggressive thoughts inside her head; the gesture set a surprised grimace through her sister's features.

Distracting herself from Flitters surprisingly aggressive facial expression; Cloud Chaser busied herself with her mane as she spoke. "I um... Take it you guys are on a bit of a rough patch... You feeling alright?" Edging forward with legitimate concern, Cloudy gently nuzzled Flitter’s neck, before making a face at the harsh cordite and recent sweat smell of Flitter’s fur.

After a moment, Flitter smiled lightly and nodded. "Yeah. My friend is helping me a lot." Sinking into the soft couch; Flitter felt content. Then, to ruin the moment, her stomach growled quietly.

Ignoring the aggressive noises Flitter's stomach was making; Cloudy slid a bit closer. "Does this friend of yours have a name? Is he cute?" Cloudy grinned; hungry for the tiniest tidbit Flitter could give her.

Feeling a hot flush begin to spread across her cheeks, Flitter shrugged weakly. "His name is Jack, and um... He's not really cute, more of a rugged handsome, you know?"

When Cloudy's features lit up, Flitter realized how massive her mistake was. Throwing her hooves around Flitter's shoulder; Cloudy shook her dramatically. "Come oooon! Tell me more about your mystery stallion!"

With a sense of dreading trepidation, FLitter smiled weakly and settled into the couch as the elements raged against the cloud home. “W-well… he`s like nobody I've ever met before. He’s a farm b- colt, but he’s really smart. Well, smartish, I suppose. He can be stubborn as all get out, when it comes to getting help with anything.” Flitter shook her head as she recalled some of Jack’s bullheaded antics. “He’s a wonderful friend, and he’s helping me a lot, I just hope I can return the fav-”

Cloudy scrunched up her face with confusion as she prodded Flitter. “Helping you with what? What’s going on Flits?” The look of genuine worry paced behind the expression of disapproval that Cloud Chaser held readily.

“W-well… with being such a push-over. He’s teaching me how to really stand up for myself. Building my self-confidence, helping with just… everything. He’s the one who convinced me to start working out so much.” Flitter rubbed at the back of her neck and failed to meet Cloudy’s shocked look.

Prodding Flitters newly muscled leg; Cloudy whistled quietly. “Wow, no kidding Flits… I’m.. wow!” Cloud Chaser smiled openly at Flitter. “I’m really proud of you for doing something like this! This is like, huge. Now that you’re in this kind of shape, I could get you a spot on the weather team without any issues at all. RD is always bi- complaining about how we’re understaffed, so she’ll totally okay this.” Cloudy hugged Flitter and squeed “I’m so proud!”

Snorting to hide her embarrassment, Flitter shook her head. “Well maybe if your weather captain wasn’t such a lazy twit and actually did fuck all for once, you guys wouldn’t be understaffed! I mean, shitfire Cloudy, RD touts she’s the fastest flier in all of Equestria, yet it takes her a day and a full team just to get a rainstorm out.” When Flitter looked back over to Cloud Chaser to emphasize, she found herself staring at a wide eyed, shocked Cloudy. Wincing at her own choice of words, Flitter rubbed the back of her own neck again. “Sorry for cursing, but it’s the truth.”

To her surprise, Cloud Chaser shock melted away to a sudden burst of enthused laughter. “Fuckin’ preach it! Hah!” Cloudy shook her head and grinned ear from ear. “My little sister, all grown up! Cursing like a sailor and calling lazy dorks out for their bull. Is this because of your new guy?” At Flitters nod, Cloudy sighed whimsically. “You gotta introduce us some time, I owe him for letting me swear in front of you.”

“Hey, you didn’t have to begin with! I learned all of the swears when Mom and Dad fought! I just didn’t like using them ‘cause Mom got pissy when we did.” With a deflating sigh, Flitter shook her head to dispel her thoughts. “But yeah. Jack’s the one that got me to start. It’s really cathartic, not having to hold it all in.”

“Jack? That’s his name? That’s a weird name.” Cloudy rolled her eyes and giggled naughtily. “What’s his cutie mark? Please tell me it’s what I think it is, cuz it’s hilarious if it is!”

Smacking her sister's shoulder lightly, Flitter scoffed. “Get your mind out of the gutter Cloudy. It’s…” Flitter wracked her mind; her thoughts falling upon his numerous and intricate tattoos. “It’s hard to explain what it looks like, I… grab me some paper and a pencil? Please?” Nodding to the request, Cloud Chaser stood, and scrounged up some supplies; her curiosity proving to be larger than her desire to remain on the couch. Flitter began work immediately; and a true to life rough sketch began to take form. After a couple minutes of work, she turned the page to Cloud Chaser. The artwork depicted a large bomb facing downwards with a star upon its face; overtop of dual lightning bolts. The image was wreathed in laurels, and interposed the words ACFMC, and EOD.

As expected, Cloud Chaser sat staring at the image; as if she thought that if she stared long enough, the image’s secrets would unravel themselves and give themselves unto her. “I… have no idea what that is even remotely supposed to be. What does this Jack do? This isn’t a farming cutie mark, that’s for sure.” Cloud Chaser glanced up from the artwork for a moment, before returning her gaze to it; the hope that it’s secrets would open up to her at any moment still alive in her mind. Thankfully, this meant she didn’t see Flitter fidget nervously.

“Well… he was a soldier, and that cutie mark means he’s a hero.” Cloud Chaser’s attention turned upwards immediately, a curious, yet worried expression breaking out across her pretty face. “He’s not from Equestria, he’s from somewhere that violence is a lot more prevalent. His cutie mark means he saves lives. Or, he used to. Now all he does is drink and cause trouble.”

The spark of realization glimmered behind Cloud Chasers eyes as she spoke. “You’re dating a Saddle Arabian Desert Rat! Flitter, that’s hardcore!” The mare practically vibrated in place as she gripped Flitter’s toned shoulders and shook her. “You gotta tell me more! What kinda gear does he have!? I’ve read all about the Desert Rat’s in magazines, they're on the cutting edge of small squad tactics and military gear, even above the griffons!” The foalish excitement emanating from Cloudy was palpable; and infectious.

Grinning in return, Flitter sat back as pride began to seep into her chest and mind. “He’s got this armour, it’s the heaviest stuff I’ve ever seen; makes the royal guard’s look like a foals Nightmare Night get-up. And, he’s got this, this lance that’s erm… enchanted, to shoot fire.”

“It shoots fire!?” Cloud Chaser made a near inaudible squee as she bounced in place. “What does it look like?”

The mare’s smile diminished ever so slightly when Flitter shot her a flat look of slight disapproval. “You already know what it looks like, since you went through my lockbox.” Cloud Chasers smile vanished, be be replaced nearly immediately with swiftly diminishing and burning shame.That’s right Cloudy, I know. I’m not stupid. “What were you even looking for?”

The pain on Cloud Chaser’s features became terribly apparent as she averted her gaze to the floor. “I… I’m really sorry Flitter… I was just… looking for bits. I know, I know, I didn't want to, but I owe a lot of money to some rough ponies, and I’m honestly kind of scared…” She sucked in a ragged breath, and failed to lift her gaze. “i’m so sorry….”

Seeing her sister’s shame laid so bare, Flitter couldn’t keep her anger alive. The heat flushed away as she pulled Cloudy into a squeezing hug of support. “It’s alright… I forgive you Cloudy… but… why do you even owe money? Talk to me sis…” Flitter nuzzled Cloud Chasers neck as she spoke.

“I… Mom fucked us over.” Cloud Chaser’s words hit like a train, forcing Flitter to sit up slowly and stare at her sister with intense worry and trepidation. “she stopped paying the mortgage on the house, and… put the deed in my name… I… I don’t make enough money to afford a house like this Flitter, not in a million years, a-and the bank wouldn’t let me take out a loan, because I don’t have any credit, because we always went through Mom, and- oh Celestia…” Cloud Chaser sniffled and shook her head in an attempt to compose herself. “S-so I took out a loan with some fucking jackass named ‘Dark Flare’ and his gang… fucking pricks… And he’s jacked up our rates… Fuck… I fucked up so bad Flitter… I’m scared…”

Hugging Cloud Chaser close; She could only stroke her sister’s mane as Cloudy cried onto her shoulder weakly. Flitter’s earlier, angrier thoughts felt sour, rancid in her mind. She closed her eyes and nuzzled Cloud Chaser as she cried. It makes sense now… getting so bent out of shape over my work, forcing me to work at Founders when she knows I hate it there… breaking into my strongbox… Figures Mom would do this… probably said ‘You need to grow up and learn to fend for yourself for once. I’m not going to be around to take care of you anymore.’ Bitch. Probably hooked up with some stallion she can suck dry of bits. Flitter tensed her muscles as she sneered hotly at the air. Her thoughts swiftly returned to the present; mainly her older sister, who was falling to pieces in her hooves. Giving Cloudy’s mane a soft pet of reassurance, Flitter nuzzled her once again and spoke. “It’s alright Cloudy. I understand… we’ll get through this, together. Just… next time, tell me? Please?”

Nodding as she smiled feebly at Flitter; Cloud Chaser nuzzled her back lovingly. “O-okay Flitter… H-heh… I’m sorry… this is supposed to be your day. I even got a coupon for a massage down at the spa for you, and I was gonna take you to Sugar Cube Corner for breakfast, but it all got fucked up…”

Flitter’s large bag of bits made a loud thumping clatter as it hit the table, causing Cloud Chaser to jump in surprise. Before her sister had a chance to speak, Flitter smiled confidently to her. “I’ll cover for today, and I’ll help pay off the remainder of whatever we owe. And if you’re really worried about these assholes, I’ll have a chat with Jack. I’m sure he could help keep you safe from those jerks.”

Wiping her eyes, Cloudy forced to pull her wide eyes away from the pile of bits. “Y-you would do that? And… Flitter… I saw those pictures, that’s not a ponies armour, and you’ve got lots of bits of some weird human, and Jack’s a Desert Rat, like you said.”

A sense of dread flooded through Flitters mind, and she scrambled for a viable excuse. “That’s um… because fighting on two legs is better, or so Jack says; so he has armour that lets him.” Flitter cringed internally over how shoddy her excuse was, and followed it up with another equally weak lie. “And he’s got a pet human, his name is-” Flitter racked her brain for a good-sounding human name. “Mark.”

With her muzzle scrunched up in disbelief, Flitter’s sister let it go without much argument. “Fine, If you think your coltfriend can save my flank, I’ll take it. I don’t care how weird he is.” A sly grin slid across her features as she looked back up at Flitter. “So, what’s it like with darker meat?”

“Oh my Celestia, Cloudy, I will kick your flank!”

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The fire crackled away merrily as Jack sat cross legged on the ground above a laid out polyester mat. His rifle was in various pieces upon the mat; each awaiting its turn to be cleaned. He worked slowly and methodically; each piece was given nearly intimate attention to it’s cleaning and maintenance. As Jack reached out to grasp the focus lense array; a sharp pain snapped through his shoulder, arcing from plug to plug. He clenched his jaw and grunted in pain, before grabbing the array shakily. When he dabbed the precision lenses with a cotton cloth, somebody knocked on the wooden door of his cave.

“Erm… Mister Kessle? It’s Researcher Field Note. Are you in?”

The stallion’s nervous voice made Jack pause for a moment, before gently setting the array down on the mat. He grabbed his PDA and tapped out his message. “Yeah, I’m here. Get in and close the door.” Field made a surprised horse noise, before ducking in through the door; he closed it swiftly, but even as he did, a drift of snow bellowed inwards, causing the strong fire to flicker. Jack lifted a brow of mere interest, before turning his attentions back to his disassembled weapon. “Nasty weather I take it.”

Nodding in affirmation, Field took a seat at the fire and shivered as he pulled off his thick winter boots. The stallion was dressed for the weather to be certain; a heavy hooded parka wrapped around his frame, and his legs and head were equally well protected. An old-school pair of goggles sat just under his horn. Field smiled thankfully to Jack, before holding his chilly hooves up to the blazing flames. “Many thanks Mister Jack. I had hoped to ask you more questions earlier, but a snowstorm blew in and caught me off guard.” He cocked his head at what Jack was doing, before gasping quietly and scooting closer. “My word, so many intricate pieces… How does it work?”

Field’s child-like enthusiasm set the faintest of smiles upon Jack’s lips as he responded. “I’ll show you when I’m done cleaning. Is the tribe alright?” He finished cleaning and aligning the focuses, before looking up at the small slit-eyed stallion.

Despite himself, Field began to smile at Jack’s worry for the tribe. “Yes, with the hide of the manticore and the fire you created for them, they are much more likely to survive the winter. They would be better off with more furs of course, and both Tanja and Gover are still ill… Thankfully, Algeron has ceased in his brutish ways, mostly due to the beating I assume you gave him.” Jack grunted in confirmation, before smirking lightly and flexing his scabbed knuckles for emphasis. Field took the motion in stride and continued. “You do know that trumping the Alpha makes you the tribes Alpha, correct?” Again, Jack nodded, and began typing; Field interrupted him before he could finish. “And you do realize that doing so makes you the most desirable mate within the tribe?”

Coughing lightly, Jack cast a mixed look at Field, before adding on a tad bit more to his selection of words. “I had figured it’d make me some kind of leader figure to them, that’s just the way it works. If they need fur and meat, I’ll hunt another cat or steal from that farm. If they’re sick, I’ll try and figure out why and put my first aid to work. I’m not gonna bang any of them. Might want to on occasion, but Neanderthal lady isn’t really my scene.” Jack nodded to himself, and started assembling his laser rifle.

Seeing his chance, Field held up a hoof. “Could you show me how your weapon works? I assume it is a weapon… is it?” He smiled winningly, before remembering his fangs. A sense of worry streaked through his mind, but nothing came of it as Jack let out a huffing sound that could have been approval or amusement.

“I will if you teach me the tribe’s names. Make shit easier for the both of us.” He glanced back up at Field, who nodded rapidly in agreement to the proposed trade.

“Of course! I would be honoured to have your help in studying them as well. You can get much closer than I could ever hope to.” Field broke out his satchel full of papers and quills, and began setting up rapidly to take notes on everything Jack told him.

Finding amusement in the small stallions rush, Jack chuckled lightly and waited patiently. Once everything was set, Jack began running Field Note through the inner workings and operation of the laser rifle. “This is the Aegis Arms AER-72 Laser Carbine, manufactured in 2021.” He slowly ran a hand over the barrel shroud with deep reverence. “It’s powered through a macro-fission breeder cell-” He tapped the bulky power cell magazine to show what he meant. “-I don’t know the science behind it working, just the end results and what’s in the manual. The cell itself puts out about one thousand kilojoules of energy, and is charged primarily in the field through solar energy.” Jack gestured towards his solar collector, and the four spare magazines currently charging on it. “On a full charge and at low power, the rifle can fire around two hundred times to full effect. On high power, it can handle around one hundred. The battery creates a massive amount of energy, or light, when the trigger is pulled, and it forces all of that energy through the path of least resistance.” He ran a finger along the rifle’s barrel, before pointing out each individual component as he ‘spoke’. “The light passes through an array of focus lenses and mirrors, forcing it into a tight, focused beam that hits the intended target at the speed of light.”

Field Note nodded as he studiously wrote down every single word spoken by Jack’s PDA. “Amazing… Now I truly wish to see such an advanced device in action!” His wish came true as he watched with distinguishable amazement as Jack reassembled the rifle and all of its intricate parts in under a minute before his very eyes. To Field’s surprise, Jack shouldered the rifle towards the fire, and squeezed the trigger once. A beam of brilliant energy lanced from the barrel and struck the fire, which in turn grew as the logs within burst into roaring flames.

Jack’s PDA spoke before he flipped a tiny switch on the side of the weapon. At the flip of the switch, the weapon made a tiny mechanical hum, before going quiet. “That was low intensity.” He squeezed the trigger, and a brighter, hotter beam lanced out. Under the sudden assault, the blazing fire snuffed itself out for a long moment, before beginning again from the glowing coals. Field’s outstretched hooves felt burned from the sheer heat of the weapon. Jack smirked at the stallions amazement as his PDA spoke. “That was high intensity. It burns hot enough to consume the fire’s oxygen for the moment it’s there. Also ashed the log, so yeah.” Jack set the rifle across his lap and smiled at the researcher.

“O-outstanding!… how hot does the beam burn to do that?” Field felt his inner school colt squealing in excitement at witnessing such an stunning feat of engineering, and visibly fought to keep it down and the human’s respect where it was.

“Standard operational temperature is ballpark nineteen hundred degrees celsius.”

“W- I do not know that range of temperature.” Field squirmed with excitement, before his jaw dropped at the answer.

“For reference, water boils at one hundred, and steel melts at about thirteen fifty. We used to go out and plink steel plates with these on our off time. Punches holes right through milled half inch, it’s nasty. Course, when you’re running that kind of heat, the operator needs protective equipment, and you can’t use it as a SAW. Emptying the mag in one go can fuck up the internals and warp the barrel and focus array. Best use it as a DMR, and in a light anti-infantry capacity, as it does dick all against modern heavy armours.”

The stallion sputtered in shock, before his eyes went to Jack’s armour as it loomed over the small camp. “Y-yes… I can understand why… The Royal Guard could do nothing against such a weapon, save for a magical shield by a trained mage. The… the scientific possibilities from the power cell alone could throw us hundreds of years forward! I just… The operations you underwent, your… prosthetics, they alone could revolutionize our medical industry entirely.” Field rubbed his cheek as he shook his head; the excitement within him being barely contained by his sense of professionalism. Unfortunately, Jack seemingly did not share his enthusiasm.

“Yeah, I’m sure they’ll treat me real nice. I’ve seen this play out before, and trust me, it won’t be pretty. So I’d rather just let you take notes and stay forty thousand klicks away from the nearest ‘medical’ or ‘science’ center.” Jack snorted as he levered himself up onto his steadfast feet. He set his rifle against his cot, and pulled his exoskeleton over. Throwing it on like a jacket, a series of whirrs and clicks set Field’s teeth on edge as the exoskeleton burrowed into the plugs set into Jack’s flesh. The human showed so little reaction to it that it was disturbing; he barely flinched as the titanium probes entered his body. As the exoskeleton finished fastening itself to his frame, Jack stepped up and into his armour.

Field stood from his seat and watched with apprehension as Jack slipped his arms and legs into the open armours brackets, which in turn clamped down and aligned with his exoskeleton. Small armour plates chittered as they snapped closed and the armour buttoned up. The stallion nearly jumped out of his coat when the massive primary plates clanged down and anchored themselves in securely. Jack stepped away from the wall, and now stood an easy seven and a half feet tall; his head poked out from the top of the hulking shoulders of the armour system as if he was the top foal in a stack of foals wearing a trenchcoat to sneak into a movie theater. That was righted when Jack reached over to his bed and hefted the huge helmet. It settled down over his skull and let out a muted hiss as the suit sealed and pressurized itself. Field soon found himself staring at an emotionless mask with a single covered black slit for the eyes, which he could not see. What he could see, was his own marginally terrified mug staring right back at him.

Jack quickly scanned over his armours HUD read out and mumbled to himself in his head. Body temp at thirty eight, heart rate at ninety eight, resp’ rate at eighteen, BP resting at one-oh-eight… brain activity normal. yeah right. Green connectivity across the plugs, sensors online, motor controls reading green, all systems responding. A painfully familiar little electronic woman’s voice sounded in his ear, confirming what he already knew. All systems nominal, Vitals sub-nominal, no communications detected, weapon detected, bringing up read-out. The ammunition count and weapon sensors appeared in the bottom right corner of his vision for both his rifle and his sidearm, just above the munition count for his shoulder mounted micro-rocket racks. The woman began reading off his ammunition count, even though it was not needed. Micro-rocket munitions at seventy two percent, AT rockets nearing depletion. Laser carbine fully charged. Sabot pistol, seventeen rounds remaining in magazine of twenty, micro-fusion battery at full charge. Finally, the start-up readouts confirmed green, and disappeared from his HUD. As expected, his Comms remained black on all channels, and his map was severely limited to what he’d scouted with the drone. One quick scan later, and Field Note popped up on his map with a little blue tag; Flitter’s was much further away. A faint blue outline edged around the stallion, marking the small, strange baticorn as a friendly.

Great. Now I get to type with fat fingers. Wait, waitwait, wait. I can just… God, fucking… I’m a dumb ass. shitfire. Jack let out a grumble of anger, causing Field to scoot back with worry as he slid his PDA into a small slot that had opened up in the armour’s forearm at his behest. The woman’s voice returned to Jack’s ear, causing him to twitch. Device detected. Would you like to use one or more features? Jack rolled his eyes and sent a ‘yes’ confirmation. He knew what was coming, and he was less than pleased about it. Selecting the thought to speech option, a little notification popped up stating it would require direct connection to plug one. Selecting ‘yes’ again, Jack braced, and grit his teeth in preparation.

Moving forward cautiously, Field looked over the still form of Jack and his armour. The large man was now monstrous in proportion. How he managed to move the hulking set of armour with such grace and ease was left a mystery to Field, but he made an educated assumption that it was due to Jack’s ‘exoskeleton’. Taking note on how Jack’s left hand would spasmodically twitch and dance at his side; Field Note could only wonder what Jack was doing, standing there without making a sound.

“GOD FUCK MOTHER FUCKING SHITFIREFUCK!” Field screeched in terror and bolted to the cover of the large log as the new, loud voice bellowed in apparent pain. Jack’s armoured arms jerked and pumped as he bounced from boot to boot; a gruffer, fuller sounding electronic voice sounding from his helmet. It was still practically emotionless, but it was paced considerably faster than the voice of his PDA. “GAH! I hate that shit!”

With his eyebrows hiding up inside his fringe, Field took a tentative step forward and swallowed nervously. “M-mister Kessle? Are you…. weeell?” He dragged the word out, unsure if it was truly the most appropriate word to use when regarding Jack.

In return, Jack nodded as he rested one of his massive armoured hands on his faceplate. “Yeah, just engaged thought to speech. We use it for the mutes or guys who get fucked up, but it hurts like a scalded bitch! Fuck, itches after too.” He scratched at the back of his helmet and let out a dissatisfied growl as his itch went by unsated. “Definitely sticking to typing, but I need to use my rifle. Come on, we’re going to visit the tribe and hunt a cat.”

“Y-you’re going to hunt a Manticore? They’re.. they’re almost at the top of the foodchain! Attacking one is very dangerous.” Field declared as he started pulling on his winter gear again. His thick glass goggles settled over his face, protecting his sensitive eyes from any light glaring off the snow.

“Not anymore they’re not. And I don’t know if you’ve noticed this yet, but I get off on the danger.” Field Note could only imagine the sharp toothed grin Jack was shooting him from behind the helmet; he sighed quietly and shook his head as he followed the goliath out of his cave.

“You are a very disturbed human, Mister Kessle.”

“No shit. Call me Jack, my Dad’s Mister Kessle. Now hurry the fuck up, the less time I spend with this damn thing in my head, the better.”

Chapter Fifteen: Overzealous Asset Protection

Chapter Fourteen: Dance of the Macabre

Despite the odds, Flitter found herself braving the snowstorm with her sister to reach the spa before they both froze solid. The winds were growing much colder than planned; this winter was sure to be a rough one for some.

Jack included. Flitter found her mind drifting back to him like a bad habit. Cloud Chaser dogged at the topic with hopes of dredging up every little detail she could. It's to keep me from asking about this booky she's so afraid of. She found herself frowning, even as they reached the decorative doors of the spa. Stepping inside was almost a complete shock in on itself; the entire place was toasty and very warm. The twins smiled at the pair from behind the counter. If the empty clothing racks were any hint, the spa was dead and nearly empty.

"Welcome!" Both twins spoke and smiled in tandem. "How can we help you today?"

Naturally, Cloud Chaser took the lead as she finished shrugging off her stylish winter clothes. "Afternoon you two. I'm bringing Flitter in for the birthday special!" Cloudy smiled broadly and confidently. She seemed quite pleased with herself as the twins cooed their happiness towards Flitter. As expected, Flitter flushed at the attention and acted abashed. It wasn't long before the pair were left alone in the sauna; soft towels wrapped around their bodies.

Flitter sighed quietly and spread out on the bench; her wings splaying out lazily as the steam worked into her aching muscles and bruised flesh. Cloudy laid down next to her, and promptly started her question period. "Sooo, what's he look like?"

A quiet groan escaped Flitter as she glanced up at Cloudy from her seated position on the hardwood bench. After a moment, she relented, rolled onto her back and poked her hooves skyward. "Well, he's really tall for one, like, ridiculously tall. He's got a short black mane, and is really strong. He’s… also kind good looking, I think..."

"Oooh! Tall, dark, aaand handsome!" Flitter's sister giggled openly despite the look Flitter shot at her. She rolled her hoof and smiled down at her younger sister. "Well, go on. I wanna hear all about this stallion of yours."

Coughing sheepishly, Flitter flopped onto her side as she turned her gaze downwards and pawed at the wood bench. "He's umm... Not really... Mine..." But he could be...

"What!? Flitter, don't tell me you're letting a catch like that slide through your hooves!" Cloud Chaser gripped Flitter by her shoulders and gave her a shake. "Come on girl! You gotta give chase!" The way Cloud Chaser spoke, it sounded like the easiest thing in the whole world to do. Maybe it is?

Flinching away, Flitter couldn't help but feel like she was missing out on a real opportunity. Her heart ached as she mulled over the topic with unease. "I... I can't Cloudy. He doesn't see me like that, and-" Does he? With the treats, he was ready to go… maybe if I just work at it, he’ll come around.

"And what? Is he a coltcuddler or some gross shit?" Cloudy flapped her wings as she made a face of minor disgust. "Though the Sandies don't really accept that kind of thing... That might explain why he's here!" Cloud Chaser exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

Flitter rolled her eyes before dumping some more water on the sauna's coals. "He's not gay Cloudy. He was married to a mare before and she hurt him." She didn’t know how lucky she was. What a bitch...

Cloudy snorted derisively, before prodding Flitter's side. "Just don't let him slip away. You can do way better than Goldie." Her sister smiled broadly at her, but it seemed plastic compared to her usual beaming confidence.

Clenching her jaw at the use of her soon to be ex's name; Flitter nodded solemnly. "Yeah. I can." Out of the corner of her eye, Flitter watched as Cloud Chaser's features turned regretful. Something was blatantly on the older mares mind.

Despite everything that's happened... Cloudy, just come clean. I know everything. For a moment, Flitter simply wished that her thoughts would reach out and convince her sister to speak of what was on her mind. Unfortunately, they didn't. A sly, confident smile spread across the older mares features as she looked over at Flitter. The look was quickly subdued however, and Cloud Chaser let her gaze slide down slowly to her hooves. "I gotta make the payment tomorrow night. Do you.. Do you think you can help?" Cloudy pawed lightly at the wood bench and kept her features downcast.

A quiet sigh sounded out from Flitter as she nodded. "Of course. How much is the payment?" Way to avoid a topic Cloudy. You’ll fess up eventually. Flitter narrowed her eyes ever so slightly, before forcing herself to look normally at her sister.

"It's... Seven hundred... I already have four hundred and fifty! I'm just two-fifty shy." Cloud Chaser tapped her hooves together sheepishly and smiled. "I think they'll be cool about me being short fifty or so, and I'll definitely be able to make the next payment, Weather Crew has a ton of overtime coming up."

Shaking her head, Flitter mutely cursed the position their mother had forced them into. If only Dad hadn’t gone and gotten killed, this wouldn’t be happening… Oh Celestia, did I really just think that? Flitter shook her head and bit her tongue roughly as punishment for the thought. "I've got the two fifty Cloudy, don't sweat it. I'll even go with you, to make sure everything works out."

"Are..." Cloud Chaser's features sank, her sheepish smile being replaced with serious worry. "Are you sure you wanna do that? I mean, maybe you should just talk to your coltfriend and see what he says?" Her smile was weak and hollow.

"Yes, I'm sure Cloudy." Flitter felt the niggling tail of indignance worming its way into her mind as Cloud Chaser mouthed 'okay' and looked away. I'm tough enough now to handle a couple of thugs on my own. I'm not some clueless sidekick. Besides, I'm sure Jack is busy doing... Whatever.

____________________________________________________________________________

"What's on your mind Field?"

The stallion blinked owlishly as he looked back over to the heavy metal man who treaded beside him through the snow. "I wasn't.... How could you tell?" Not being able to see the humans face made him uncomfortable; the sheer scale and outlandish appearance of the powered armour sent goosebumps through his flesh every time he gazed upon it. Striking alien devices hung off the armours equipment webbing; assorted explosive devices, his sidearm, ammunition, and a heavy duty AT Mag charge made it seem like Jack was going to war.

Jack snorted lightly inside his helmet as he turned his gaze back towards the researcher. He cradled his rifle across his chest; the strap hanging loosely off his shoulder."You keep glancing at me and chewing your cheek. So talk."

Field nodded and floated his paper pad before himself. "When we were speaking earlier, I noticed a couple of interesting items, and I wanted to ask you about them. If that's alright with you of course." He smiled as confidently as he could, but soon found it folding in upon itself like cheap lawn furniture when that cyclopean gaze returned to regard him.

Jack’s gruff electronic voice sounded lukewarm at best regarding the idea, but it was impossible to tell his feelings on the matter when his helmet covered all of his features. "Fire away horseman."

Sputtering with indignance, Field lowered his head and flattened his ears against his head. "I'm... I'm not a whorse... Rude..." As Jack strode along, he crushed a small log under his heavy boots as if it were nothing. Field cringed at the thought of anything living finding itself under those boots, including himself.

Coughing out a laugh, Jack's head tilted toward field once again. "Are you serious? You guys took whore and turned it into whorse?" Jack suppressed a snickering laugh."Alright, my bad. How bout I call you Bojack from now on?"

“Buh- N-no! What kind of name is Bojack anyhow!? It sounds terrible.” The stallion shook his head and pouted; his misery being doubled by Jack’s enthused laughter. “It’s not funny! Let’s… Let’s get back on topic.” Flipping through his notes and crude sketches, the stallion forced a smile when he found what he was looking for. “Ah, here we go. You have two necklaces, one with some sort of stamped circular disk. What’s on the disk?”

“It’s an oval. There’s supposed to be two, but I gave up the second when I took my last mission. They’re dogtags, meant to identify my body when I bite it. Also contains my blood type, serial number, and religious preference. Burial purposes.” Jack stopped for a moment and swivelled his head about. It seemed random, but his grip on his rifle had subtly changed; making the weapon ready for combat. Field froze alongside the human, but his quill continued to scratch away. After a tense moment, Jack relaxed again, and began his plod once again.

Swallowing nervously as he looked around the snow covered forest, the stallion had to force his mind back on track. “Religious preference? Is that what your second necklace is for? The cross? It’s the only thing that comes to mind for me, forgive me if I’m-”

“You’re not wrong. Yes, I’m religious. Or, I was more so at one point I suppose. The cross was a gift from my Mom before my first deployment. She said ‘God will keep you safe’. Personally, I think he took one too many piss breaks, cause my buddies did a way better job than he did. Wasn’t enough. Never was.” Jack’s voice faded, blocking out one particularly vulgar, violent thought that had threatened to break out into speech.

Taking the momentary silence as an opportunity, Field looked up at Jack as they paused and quirked a brow. “So would you consider yourself non-religious then? I’ll admit, I have my reservations about such things, but learning about alien religions would be a whole new world for Ponykind.”

Unlike his earlier, faster reactions, Jack’s response was a long time coming. Just as he set forward to the human camps outer perimeter, he spoke. “I don’t know what I am anymore.” Field was never given a chance to respond, as Jack broke through into the clearing with the roaring fire.

The humans acted how Field had assumed they would. There were myriad terrified screeching, yelps, and crude spears aimed to threaten Jack's armoured form. Jack stopped where he was, and gripped his helmets release latches. A muted hiss filled the uncomfortable silence as he pulled the helmet free, and immediately scratched rapidly at the little metal plug at the base of his skull. Now able to see his face, the tribe visibly calmed, and assumed a more curious outlook to the Outlander. They slowly crowded around, chirping and whispering between each other as Jack smiled, and let his rifle hang loose in its sling. Field Note watched as Algeron did his best to hide himself away; the gashes and terrible bruising still vibrant on his ruined face. Returning his attentions to the gathering of humans, Field cast his invisibility spell, and cautiously treaded up next to Jack. "Jack? I'm going to climb onto your back. I'll tell you their names." The armoured human turned his head toward Field, and gave him a slight nod of confirmation.

With the small stallion soon huddled on his back, Jack returned his attentions to the group of nomads. Field spoke quietly in his ear as the supposed matron of the group approached him slowly. "That's Akasha. She's a very intelligent human, by our old standards of course." Akasha outstretched her hand, gingerly poking, and then stroking his breastplate. Her hand trailed upwards, and cupped his bearded cheek. As Jack perked a brow at her, she withdrew her hand and chirped at the others. Surprisingly enough, the group dispersed, and returned to their huddle before the manticore fur hut, close to the fire.

Surprising both Jack and Field Note, Akasha grabbed one of his armoured hands and started leading Jack towards the group. Obliging the strange woman, Jack eyed the group, and was fed names and a blurb of information by Field. After a short moment, Akasha gestured for him to enter the ad hoc hut. Doing so, the first thing Jack noticed was the stench, and then the sight of two sick humans.

"That's Gover and Tanja. Tanja’s son Sojurn died during the trip here. She hasn't been well since. Gover's body is failing, unfortunately..." Field maintained his grip on Jack's combat webbing; a pair of laser rifle magazines served as hoof rests for his slight body. Jack approached the pair of sick humans with caution; the male, Gover, shied away and keened quietly in protest as his personal space was invaded by Jack’s armoured bulk. Jack cringed as he looked over the wretched man. Oh god… you poor bastard… Gover's ribs were prominent through his pale flesh; his skin looked as if it was simply stretched thin over his bones. His cheeks were sallow, and his stomach was disturbingly concave.Jack tore his gaze away from the rail thin man; but the hollow eyes followed him. The woman, Tanja, seemed marginally more healthy, if only slightly. She pulled her knees up against her chest and almost seemed to shrink visibly under his gaze. Her foot looks a little jacked up… I’ll have to take a look at it. See what I can do for the both of them.

Backing away from the small fur hut, Jack looked over towards the tribes matron. Akasha stared at him for a moment; her eyes drilled deep into his own with surprising severity. She then pointed to the meager pile of semi-preserved meats frozen in the open snow. Hardly enough to last a couple days for this many mouths. Jack set his mouth into a hard, flat line, before nodding once to Akasha. He knew what she wanted, what the tribe needed. My tribe, I suppose. Since I stomped the last chief. Weird. Oh well! With a small flourish, Jack popped his helmet up from under his arm and caught it so he could plunk it swiftly down onto his shaggy head. The seals hissed and the ghosts of his HUD shimmered over his eyes. Jack clenched his teeth as the probe burrowed into his skull and into his mind.

"God I fucking hate that. Gah." Jack shook his armoured hands loosely, before shouldering his rifle. "Which ones are the hunters Field?" He scanned over the tribe, which was eying him with slight caution and open curiosity as his gruff electronic voice reached out too them.

The stallion on his back sounded slightly muffled, if only from his positioning. "Those three. Dala, Aram, and Vele." Field shifted on Jack's back; he felt incredibly uncomfortable being so close to the tribe, but at the same time exhilarated. Field jumped when a short whistle sounded from Jack's helmet, and he pointed at the three hunters. He then jabbed a finger at the food pile, then gestured jerkily for them to follow. To Field Note's incredulous surprise, the hunters seemed to understand him; jumping up and grabbing their crude flint spears to use during the hunt.

Aram grunted something, and took the lead directly behind Jack's armoured bulk. Smiling to himself, Field stealthily jotted down as many notes as he possibly could fit into the page. Jack leads like a natural, and the nomads follow him without hesitation. Perhaps they share more than they realize? Only time will tell. For now, I will get to witness firsthoof human hunting techniques, and the exact ramifications of having a highly intelligent alpha. It is with high hopes that I say that the tribe may very well just survive the winter, if not thrive under Jack's leadership.

"Which way to the Manticores, Field?" Jack's rumbling electronic voice shook the stallion from his revelry; forcing his attentions back down into the present cold.

"Erm... Perhaps the Everfree? It's due south from Whitetail woods, but it's very dangerous." Field shifted, his position becoming incredibly uncomfortable as Jack walked. Unfortunately, moving to the point of getting off would break the spell, in which it would be likely that the nomads would look to him for their next meal. Thus, he stayed rooted right where he was, with the combat webbing digging deep into the soft underside of his hooves, and the sharp edges of the armour's collar digging into his flesh.

Jack turned his heading south, following his compass. For an hour they marched through the snow; Jack with his relaxed shoulders and ever consistent stepping, and the hunters with their hurried shuffle and constant chattering to fill the empty space. Eventually, the trees grew thicker, the snow lighter. Daylight struggled to break through the canopy, and the forest took on a more sinister aura. Field shivered, despite his heavy winter barding. The Everfree was no place for a sunday hike, that was for sure. Despite everything, Jack continued onward; his rifle stock now tucked into his shoulder, it’s barrel relaxed toward the ground. The trio of hunters made a point to close the small gap between them and their new leader. In the distance, a terrible screech was met by an echoing roar. Without warning, Jack held up a closed fist, and knelt down. The hunters immediately clammed up, and mirrored him with startling speed. Field was about to question why Jack had stopped when the human twisted, and unhooked the compacted form of his UAV. Blinking with surprise, the stallion quirked a brow in curiosity as Jack tossed the device up in the air. A suppressed yelp of fear sounded out from Field and the hunters as the UAV sprang open mid-air and buzzed away quietly before them. The quad-drone bobbed for a moment, before gaining altitude. It began slowly circling the group; it’s faint buzzing was drowned out by the eerie sounds of the Everfree.

“Eyes are up. If the drone picks up anything that’s not us, I’ll know about it.” Without another word, Jack stood and rolled his neck. The drone followed the group, uncaring for the worried looks four of the five cast its way as it slowly circled overhead like a bird of prey. The forest began closing in on the trail, choking all but the most hardy of light from view. Then, the smell hit them. The smell of death, and decay. Field shivered, and tapped Jack's helmet.

"Jack? Something isn't right..." The stallion had to shift his grip as his mount came to a sudden stop.

"No movement detected. What's up." His armoured form turned to regard the hunters, who were all gathered up as close as they could get to him. Their chatter had died as soon as they'd smelled the stench; they were cautiously eying the thicket surrounding them, spears at the ready.

Field leaned forward. And failed to suppress a shiver of fear. "I-I think we may have strayed near an infected den... If they catch a whiff of any of us, they'll swarm..."

"Right. Think I found them. We're upwind from them, so we should be alright." No sooner than when he finished the sentence, the wind changed, blowing their scent straight into the den. A low, echoing scream floated on the air, and continued to build as additional mouths added to the carrion call.

"Field, get off my shoulders. Take cover, and keep quiet." The small stallion was only too happy to oblige as he slowly descended down Jack's back; moving to a small bunch of scrub for cover from the coming storm. The scream grew into a warbling howl; the sound of a mob crashing through the underbrush overtook the forests normal sounds. The hunters paced and murmured amongst themselves with increasing agitation, while their colossal leader squared his shoulders and brought his weapon to bear."Twenty plus foot mobiles. Drone engaging."

The rapid cracking of gunfire echoed through the trees, and was met by frustrated howls. Onwards the horde pressed, unabated by the numbers lost to the drone's lancing beams. They soon became visible through the trees; their bodies twisted amalgamations of the human form. Black puss weeped from their skin and eyes as they charged forward, heedless to the danger. "Fifteen metres. Twelve." Jack hunkered his form down, and his left shoulder pauldron sprang open. At ten metres, a rocket erupted from his shoulder, and the world in front of the small hunting party exploded into bloody chaos. The rocket flowered at point blank range and spread apart, shredding the infected from ranks with high explosive shrapnel and blowing massive rents from the twisted trees around them. Jack's rifle cracked and snapped as he tracked from target to target; every infected killed at range was one less to fight hand to hand. His hunters hooted and hollered savagely as white hot beams sheared limbs and cauterized gaping holes within the putrid flesh of their enemy. The drone buzzed by overhead, its small weapon glowing orange as it automatically tracked and fired on its targets. Despite the hail of shrapnel and laser fire, five of the infected charged through rifle range, and closed in with teeth and claws.

Field stared on, wide eyed with fear and excitement as the hunters pistoned their crude spears out, forcing the putrid unclean ones onto the sharp flint heads. Jack's rifle was thrown over his shoulder; he leapt before the bulk of the surviving infected to keep them from the unarmoured hunters. The leading infected made the mistake of moving forward; it caught a blistering right hook that pulverized its skull for its efforts. The boot stomp to the back of its skull was like an after thought, and the last thing to go through its wretched mind.

With a bellowing roar, Jack pounded his bloody gauntlet against his chest; issuing a challenge the fungus addled monsters couldn't resist. They threw themselves at him with reckless abandon, only to be dashed against titanium, ceramic, and cold dirt. What had started as a battle against pitched odds ended as a blood bath.

Jack huffed and shook a bit of bloodied scalp from his knuckles as Field slowly crawled from his hiding place. Without warning, Jack let out a short snorting laugh and swung his rifle forward. "Mediocre." He fired once for every infected left clinging pitifully to life; the shot ending their suffering permanently.

When he finished, the hunters stood tall and hefted their spears upwards. The leader hunter, Aram, let out a victory cry. "Urah!"

The other hunters echoed it, chanted it. When Jack joined in, he hefted his rifle above his head the same way they did their spears and roared: "URAH!"

"Urah!"

"URRAAAH!"

Field slowly stepped back as the humans celebrated their victory. The closest thing he'd ever seen to smiles on Equis humans spread across the hunters faces, and he was doubly sure that the Terran was grinning like a lunatic. When the hunting party regrouped and treaded forward, the Everfree gave them a wide berth. The unfortunate Manticore that attempted to make a meal out of them was put down with resounding ease as Jack and his Hunters moved as a unit. The great beast fell, and was dragged back to the encampment by the hunting party. Field followed as best he could, now unable to perch upon Jack’s back due to the heavy load. His notes were beginning to fill the pages edge to edge.

Today I have witnessed something terrifying, and extraordinary. Terran firepower. A group of some twenty infected humans flooded to us; a number even a highly trained Royal Guard unit would be ill advised to engage on superior terms. Jack did not hold back. He possesses some form of weapon that he stores in his shoulders. It appears much more violent than the surgical precision of his rifle. What worries me the most despite his ever growing arsenal, is how his attitude and mannerisms change so swiftly. Normally he is a fairly agreeable man with a stunning number of intricacies for one of his profession, if not for his vulgar vocabulary, but in combat he seems to be a completely different animal. He becomes like a machine. A Man-Machine killer, with ice cold blood and a head for fighting. He shows no remorse, no restraint. How do I describe it with words? They do not do it justice. Princesses guide me, I’m afraid of him. I imagine a world, full of men and women like him. Worse than him. Better. It terrifies me. These killers have perfected their art. I believe Jack to be a macabre artist of sorts; despite my terror, I could not help but feel compelled as I watched him massacre the infected in a ghoulish dance of death. Instinct tells me that it will not be the last time I see him spill blood.

I only pray that it will not be Equine blood that he spills next. Only Miss Flitter seems to keep him calm, centered. I must make sure that it stays that way. When the time is right, I will alert the princesses of his presence. They must be warned.

Chapter Sixteen: Handle With Care

Chapter Fifteen: Overzealous Asset Protection

With their trip to the spa finished and paid for; Flitter and Cloud Chaser made the decision to continue to brave the weather in hopes that Sugar Cube Corner was still open. The pair trudged through the snow, hopes held high and wings tucked tightly against their bodies. Flitter shifted her wings inside the toasty hoodie, and found herself growing even more fond of the garment as Cloudy shivered like a wet cat.

"T-that thing you're wearing looks dumb..." Cloudy shot at Flitter as she shivered; her scowl only increased as Flitter smiled winningly at her.

"You're just jealous of Jack's gift.” As Cloud Chaser scoffed and eyed needles in Flitters direction, Flitter couldn’t help but grin smarmily and fluff the old hoodie. “Cold sis?"

"I hate you so much right now."

Flitter giggled happily as she pulled the hood closer. Even after so long, it still smelled like Jack did. While a bit stale, it still managed to put her mind at ease. A few quiet minutes passed as the pair trotted through the snow, before the artistic exterior of SCC rose triumphantly at the end of the street. Cloud Chaser shivered heavily again and picked up the pace. "This is the last time I buy fashionable winter wear from Rarity. S-saddles don't look good as anything other than lingerie!" The older mare practically barrelled through the front door of the bakery; the tires old bell gave a hearty jingle as Flitter followed through shortly after. The bakery was surprisingly empty, save for an older grey unicorn stallion with a dulling red and orange mane sipping coffee over by one of the bay windows. He glanced up for a moment, and nodded to the pair, before going back to his ruminations.

Approaching the unmanned counter, Flitter glanced toward the kitchen and rang the bell. Mr. Cake called out, and after a moment he popped out from the kitchen and propped up a smile. "Good afternoon girls, what brings you out in this weather?"

Before Flitter could answer, Cloudy budged in front of her and chattered "s-something hot, r-right now!" Flitter had to bite her hoof to keep from laughing at the miserable state her sister was in. The gangly carrot topped stallion smiled down at the shivering pegasus as he started pouring her a hot cup of coffee.

"And for you Miss Flitter?" He acase kindly, but stress was prevalent in the lines on his features.

Gazing over the glass case, Flitter found herself torn between choosing something wonderfully sweet, or something that wouldn't make all of the work she was doing with Jack worthless. "I can't really decide... Maybe some tea and a hot scone?" Mr. Cake nodded in affirmation and set about making the order.

By the time Flitter had placed her order, Cloud Chaser had taken her coffee and planted her flank right over the bakery's wall heater. She shivered heavily, before snorting at Flitter's order. "You can't put birthday candles in a scone, you dork! Mr. Cake, its her birthday, get her fat!"

The kindly husband sighed and the lines in his muzzle deepened. "I would offer you a slice of triple chocolate mullah cake, but Pinky apparently ate it in her sleep last night." Flitter became painfully aware of the triple chocolate mullah cake that was digesting in her stomach from the night before.

Coughing politely, Flitter set the bits on the counter and smiled at the stallion. "A warm scone is fine, and don't be too hard on her."

Mr. Cake rolled his eyes. "Right, right." He turned away from the counter and started toward the kitchen. He started muttering under his breath, allowing Flitter to only catch a snippet. "first my wife, now my business..."

Wincing in understanding, Flitter sat down in her favourite booth and waited for Cloudy to reluctantly tear her ass away from the oil heater. It was a long time coming, by the time that her sister had even started to move, Mr. Cake had already brought her order out and retreated again. Sitting down with a weak groan, Cloud Chaser curled herself around the cup of hot coffee as if it were a life jacket floating in a turbulent sea. Precious quiet minutes passed by as Flitter slowly ate her lovely scone and sipped at her tea. Naturally, Cloudy broke the silence with bad news.

"So um... Mom's coming in to town in a couple of weeks. You know how she is, can't show up for both of our birthdays, so she shows up in the middle." Cloud Chaser chuckled weakly, and found it falling flat as Flitter scowled hotly.

"Maybe she should just stay up in Cloudsdale. She only cares about her stupid career, so she may as well stop lying out of her ass that she cares about us." Flitter stuck her hooves inside the hoody's pouch, and felt the handle of her knife. She withdrew her hooves ever so slightly.

Cloud Chaser smiled weakly in response and slugged back the last of her coffee. "Well, she is a politician, so talking out of her ass comes with the territory."

The pair smiled at each other, and finished their small snack in relative silence. When a heated argument broke out upstairs, they took that as their cue to leave. The doorbell jingled merrily as they folded their ears and wings down tight and strode out to brave the weather once again. Upon reaching the plot of land the cloudhome occupied, Flitter turned and hugged her sister fiercely.

"I'm gonna head out and let Jack know about tonight. Will you be alright until I come back?" Flitter nuzzled at her, despite the biting cold.

Her sister sputtered and shook her head in disbelief. "Am I gonna be alright? What about you, heading off to see Tall, Dark, and Mysterious in the middle of a damn snow storm?" Cloudy shook her head again and pushed at Flitter. "Go on, get out of here you scamp. And don't come home pregnant!"

Giggling lightly at the mere idea, Flitter waved goodbye to her sister, and made a beeline for Jack's bolthole. As she galloped, the storm seemed to grow even worse. Sight dropped to almost nothing, and even with the hoodie to keep her protected, she could feel her wings freezing up. So when she reached the rockwall, and the camouflage tarp that covered the cave entrance, she shivered out her thanks to whomever was watching over her, and slipped into the wondrous heat of the cave.

"Jack? Are you here?" Flitter trotted in a ways, before shaking the excess snow from her fur and hoodie. The cave was all but empty, and most strikingly, his armour was gone. The rest of his belongings remained however, meaning that whatever he was doing, he probably wouldn't take long. At least, that's what Flitter thought to herself as she stoked the fire with a fresh log and hopped up onto his small bed. "I'm sure he won't be long..." Her voice echoed around the cave, and a slight chilly wind made it through the tarping. Her wings shook madly from the cold, and she found herself curling up with all of Jack's covers to keep warm despite the fire. "Jack doesn't even have fur, how does he put up with this?"

An hour ticked by, with no sign of her human. Flitter began to worry heavily as she laid on the small cot, curled up tightly before the crackling fire. Another two hours passed, and it sounded as if the storm was finally beginning to abate outside. Still with no Jack in sight, Flitter considered calling it a bust and heading out without him. Just as she was beginning to extricate herself from the coil of covers, the tarping crackled, and Jack's massively armoured form strode through. From the flickering light cast by the fire, Flitter could see blood violently spattered upon his armour. He jerked when he spotted her, and a surprisingly new, gruff electronic voice came to meet her.

"Shitfire woman, if I'd known you were waiting I would have hurried my happy ass up." Jack crossed over the cave and set a stolen pot down by the crackling fire. It looked as if it had been used heavily, and quite recently.

Sitting up with surprise, Flitter almost fell as her legs found themselves tangled in the covers. "Jack!"

"Me!" He tromped over and carefully lifted her up and out of the entanglement.

Flitter flailed her front hooves at his helmet's faceplate as she stared at him with wide eyes. "You can talk!"

Setting her down gently, Jack patted her head with one of his huge armoured gauntlets. "Kinda sorta yes no." He walked over to the spot where his armour usually stood and lifted his arms up. A rapid cacophony of clicks, chitters and chatters filled the cave until he pulled himself free. The first thing he did was scratch rapidly at the back of his head as he stuck out his tongue; he looked thoroughly disgusted.

Having to wait until Jack retrieved his PDA from his armours arm, Flitter could only shake her head and smile. "You are such a goof. Seriously though, how could you talk in there? Why haven't you done it before?" He waved a hand at her as he plopped down on the bed, the pulling canvas popping her up and against him. Flitter flushed hotly as she found herself nearly on his lap. To make things even worse, Jack grinned in good humor and pulled her over so her hooves were poking up and curled up against herself. He scratched at her belly, forcing Flitter to squeak loudly, and break down into hiccuping laughter. "S-s-st-stop!! A-aah! Hahaheheh-nono-Nooo!!" Flitter flailed and squirmed, all to no avail as Jack held her down and mercilessly attacked her belly with his calloused, dexterous fingers. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime of torture, he stopped tickling her and settled for calmly rubbing her ears and petting her mane as she stayed curled up in a tight ball to protect her soft underbelly. "Y-you... Are such a jerk...." She groaned weakly as she stretched out and leaned up into his hands. "Seems like you're in a really good mood today though..."

Jack grinned openly and nodded, before giving her barrel a well meaning rub to straighten her tussled fur. It took him a moment to retrieve his PDA and tap out his message back. "Yeah. Spent a couple hours with Field and the tribe. Did some hunting, and got them sorted with some crude fur cloaks. I gotta try and do some doctoring on two of them soon though."

Rolling onto her belly, Flitter head-butted his rock hard gut, causing the human to grunt lightly. "I came over to ask a favour of you." Despite what she'd normally do in such a situation, Flitter remained on his lap, and pressed against the furnace-like Terran. She didn't see the flicking emotions cross his face when she said the word 'favour.'

"Alright." His answer was short and painfully curt. He ceased his rubbing, and simply rested his abused hands on her barrel.

A feeling of anxiety crept up on Flitter without warning, leaving her momentarily lost for words. "I um... My sister, Cloudy- you, you remember her, right?" He nodded slowly, and eyed her curiously. "Well... She um... She owes some money to some rough ponies-" Flitter's words caught on her tongue as Jack's curious look turned mean in a second. He snorted hotly and looked away as he sneered. Trying to salvage what she could, Flitter barrelled forward. "I'm giving her enough money for this payment, but she's really scared, so I'm going with her tonight."

Jack's razor sharp gaze turned on Flitter, and all she felt was cold. A cold, vice-like feeling settling over her heart. Did I make him angry somehow? No... He's... Holding me tightly, protectively? Is he worried? Flitter swallowed nervously and smiled confidently to Jack. "I just wanted you to tag along, and bail us out if they're too much for me to handle. I don't think it'll be too bad." He stared down hard at her, as if searching her features for something.

After what seemed like eternity, Jack nodded slowly and broke a smile as he scratched her ears. "I can do that for you. Simple stuff."

Flitter let out a quiet sigh of relief as she nuzzled his taut gut. "I appreciate it." They remained like that for a few minutes more; Jack unwilling to move his hands, and Flitter unlikely to move away from his warmth. Taking advantage of the silence, Flitter nuzzled him and popped the question that was on her mind. "So you never answered my question from earlier. Can you talk in your armour?"

"I answered. Kinda sorta yes no." He sank into the bed, a quiet groan murmuring passed his lips as he dragged Flitter with him.

"That's not an answer Jack." Flitter nudged his chin as she tried to find a more comfortable position on top of him. Her statement caused him to grumble quietly and tap rapidly at his PDA.

"Don't know the science behind it, but basically when my armour is hooked up with my PDA and a certain option is selected, it jams a probe into the back of my skull and into the language center of my brain, or something like that. I engage a dimple button with my chin when I want to 'talk', and it takes my thoughts and translates them. I hate it. Hate being in that damn coffin any longer than I have to be." He shifted, and scratched at the plug near the base of his skull.

Wincing in sympathy from his description of the process, Flitter once again found herself wishing that she hadn't pried. "That sounds really, really unpleasant..."

"One way to describe it."

She smiled up at him as she rolled, and rested her barrel against his muscled chest. "Why don't you like being in your armour? I'd never take something like that off if I had it." The thought of being in control of something so monstrously powerful sent a pleasant chill down her spine as the mental image formed.

"It's not as great as you think. It squeezes you. To close for my liking, plus I haven't had a chance to clean the filters in on it, so it’s starting to smell like a jockstrap." The was an uncomfortable pause as his finger hovered over the screen, as if he were debating sending what he had written. In the end, he tapped the screen once. "They were and are death sentences for a lot of folk. First prototypes were powered jackets that had a tendency to burn out spinal gyros, which when they went, the poor slobs wearing it got turned into a twist top." He put both his fists together side by side and turned each in opposite directions as he blew a high pitched raspberry. "The mark two's were even worse, being a full body casing. Heat sinks were garbage, so more often than not they'd blow up and cook the user alive on his own suit. Mark three's were a step in the right direction, but they shared all of the same problems. The problems the mark five-". He patted his armour. "Mostly solved. I mean, it's completely possible for my heat sinks to overload and cook me over easy, rocket rack to fail to extend and blow me to bits, the fusion reactor to go critical and rock me back to Hiroshima, or the filters to clog and suffocate me to death with my own stank. I'm a fan of that last one for sure. Oh, and as a wonderful side note. That probe that let's me talk, if that fucks up by even a millimetre, I'll be turned into a gibbering potato before you can blink." He grinned down at the now mortified Flitter. "There's a reason Longbow's are a full volunteer force. We're all loco."

Flitter swallowed thickly as she looked over the armour; standing sentinel over the cave. She was beginning to see it as a tombstone, just as its operator did. "I um... I think we should go meet Cloudy now... I mean, I really like being like this-" she wiggled her flanks a bit as she rested on top of him and smiled. "-but I don't want to keep her waiting too terribly long."

"What do you mean 'we'? I thought I was your overwatch?" Jack's features twisted and hardened as he sat up and looked down hard at the mare now deposited in his lap. "You didn't tell her about me, did you?"

Waving a frantic hoof to placate him, Flitter rapidly shook her head. "It's nothing like that, she got too curious about what I was doing, so I fed her a lie! She doesn't know the truth, I swear!" She felt immensely relieved when he nodded in understanding, and returned to stroking her fur. His finger occasionally brushed by the base of the wings, which sent a desirable shiver through her body. Oh Jack... She rested her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat away steadily like a deep, booming war drum.

They stayed like that for quite awhile, and Flitter secretly wished that she didn't have to get up for anything. When Jack shifted and sat up, she wanted to cry out in protest, to beg him to join her in ignoring Cloudy's plight, just so they could have a few extra minutes. But she didn't, and he levered himself up with a groan as his legs whirred. Flitter closed her eyes and sighed to herself, before slowly following after him. Jack stretched out his sore limbs, before casting a slow, wary glance at the waiting armour. Without a second thought, he pulled himself into the suit and closed it. Flitter winced as he grunted in pain when the probe entered his mind.

"Let's go. I'll be right behind you." He slung the laser rifle over his broad armoured shoulder and nodded to her.

He's following my lead... I won't let him down. I'll show him how tough I am. Flitter smiled as she turned and trotted out of the cave. A plan was forming in her head; one that would win the gruff human's respect.

________________________________________________

When Flitter broke the edge of the forest, she became increasingly aware that Jack had dropped back a large distance. She knew he was there, within striking distance; she just couldn't see him. Turning her mind back to her mission, Flitter picked up the pace and closed the distance between her and her home. The intervening kilometres disappeared all too quickly, and Flitter soon found herself standing just below her door step.

Having followed Flitter at a safe distance, Jack watched as she cast a long look over her shoulder in his general direction, before vaulting into the air. That's still really weird, and awesome... I wonder how sensitive the wings are... Jackpondered the idea for a short time, before throwing his mind back on track. Something shifted in the corner of his vision, teasing him, testing him. Come on Jackie boy, ignore it. It's not really there. Don't waste ammo, don't give away your position chasing ghosts. He forced his mind away from the niggling feeling that gnawed on his brain like a hungry little bug. Inhale, count to four. Exhale, count to four. He repeated the mantra in his head as he slowed his breathing and focused on only it and the floating cloud that was shaped like a house. A sharp twinge struck behind his left eye as the silence carried on. God how I wish I still had meds... I don't want to go back. I just want to sleep... He screwed his eyes shut and fell to his haunches on the soft ground. His armoured hand met his face plate, as if the action of holding his face would make the pain leave him be. Inhale, count to four. Exhale, count to four. The sudden appearance of Flitter and her sister was fortunate, as almost immediately his chiselling headache ebbed away to a mere throb in the back of his mind. Flitter's sister said something as she looked around the pitch black area, only to be pulled onwards by Flitter. Forcing himself to rise, Jack followed after them; sticking to the shadows. He made too little noise for such a Goliath.

When Cloud Chaser led Flitter beyond Ponyville, towards some of the old warehouses, Flitter found her worry increasing tenfold. "Uh, Cloudy? Why are we coming down here?"

"Because this is where their hideout is, duh." Cloud Chaser said it like it was the most obvious, basic thing in the world. It all just didn't sit right inside Flitter's mind, and when her sister spoke again, it cemented the wrongness down pat. "I mean, normally I just meet Flak in one of the alleys, but because I could only pay half last time they wanted me to come down here." The mare sounded oblivious to the possible dangers.

Up ahead, a small, derelict warehouse rose up inside the shadows, and gave Flitter an instant reminder of why she never ever came down this way. The industrial buildings stood out so blatantly inside Ponyville that they felt wrong. Not to mention the crimes that were often commited in the area. A human fighting ring had been broken up a couple months back to boot. Were these gangers apart of that?

"This is it." Cloudy's voice broke Flitter away from her thoughts, and brought her attentions to a bland iron door cast into the side of a blank wall.

"How charming..." She muttered as she trotted up beside Cloud Chaser and stared at the oppressively bland building. Before Flitter could ask a single question, Cloudy trotted up to the door and knocked three times. A moment went by where nothing but the echoing silence greeted them, before a metal slat opened on the door and a pair of dull purple eyes stared out at them.

"Cloud Chaser?" The stallion sounded gruff and gravely, and he was looking down on them from the view slit. Flitter became keenly aware of a faint buzzing that tickled that back of her ear.

Her sister nodded, and held up the bag of bits. "Yep! I-"

"Who the buck is that with you?" The stallion cut her off and sounded slightly pissed off. Apparently Flitter hadn't been part of the plan.

Cloud Chaser shifted nervously from hoof to hoof. "It's my sister, she came with me since you guys decided to do a different spot this time around. Come on Vass, I've got the money, so let me in." Flitter suppressed a smirk. Even in the face of danger, Cloudy felt like she had to boss everyone around. Apparently, it worked. The so called Vass grumbled angrily as he closed the view slit. The sound of a box being moved penetrated the door, and after what felt like forever, there was the loud clack of a iron bar being removed, and the door swung open. Weak light streamed through the open door as a vastly shorter stallion stood before them. He glared at the pair, before making room for them to pass.

"Hurry it up sugar flanks, the boss wants a word with you." Cloud Chaser's mouth worked soundlessly for half a second, before audibly clicking shut. She apparently hadn't been expecting that. The pair were herded in, and through a small hallway; the hallway spat out into a large, open area full of tall wooden shelves piled high with boxes. Flitter's first guess was that the warehouse's contents weren't exactly legal in the broadest of terms. A couple of rough looking stallions watched over them as they were led through the twisting maze of shelves and crates.

Eventually, they were passed off to a pair of stallions wearing iron breast plates, before being led through a heavy door. They were shoved into a small office that stank of cigars and sweat. There was another, underlying smell that curled the hairs on the back of Flitter's neck, one she just couldn't place. At the back of the office was a chubby stallion who wore an obviously expensive black suit, and a very disturbing smirk. He looked over the two mares as they were prodded before his desk.

"And what do we have here?" He rasped; betraying his apparent love for cigars. "A payment jumper and her sister, come to pay Boss Haul a visit. So very kind of you." He slowly cut a stogie with his magic, before running a hoof through his slicked back silvering mane.

Cloudy smiled despite the situation and set the bag of bits down on the table. "And there's what I owe, plus what I missed last payment. Are we all good Mr. Haul?"

The stallion tipped over the bag, spilling shiny golden bits across his desk. "You forgot the late fee, little birdy."

The smile and all of the colour in Cloud Chaser's face drained within seconds. "T-the late fee? I... I didn't know.. How much-"

Boss Haul smiled thinly as he counted the bits. "Twenty percent. Now." The armoured stallions were getting a little bit closer, and Flitter could feel her heart beating faster inside her chest. Panic hadn't set in yet, and she thanked her training for that. Knowing that Jack was just outside, listening to every word spoken helped set Flitter at ease as well.

Her sister on the other hoof, looked as if she was about to burst. Her pupils had contracted, and one could almost smell the fear emanating from her nearly shaking body. "I-i don't have that much... Maybe-"

Again, she was cut off; the gangster was swiftly taking full control of the situation. "So you're stiffing us, is that it?" He set his freshly cut cigar down on the desk and stared at Cloud Chaser as she denied the accusation and shook her head vehemently. "Don't worry little birdy, we've got other ways for you to pay. Flak, Nova, grab them." Flitter felt her heart do one massive panicked flop as the stallions obeyed the order; the large earth pony by Cloudy pounced on her, pinning her to the ground with contemptuous ease. Flitter’s brain clicked in that she had maybe a single second, with her slightly smaller pegasi attacker right behind her. Her instinct said to kick him in the face with both hooves, but at the very last moment, her training cut through and her left hind leg bolted back like a shot and connected with the radius of the stallions foreleg. There was a muted crack, and he let out a shrill shriek of pain. On complete muscle memory, Flitter’s wing snagged the handle of her mono-edged combat knife, and let it spring from its sheath. The terran blade passed through the light iron armour like it was wet paper; the fleshy shoulder muscles and bone beneath that were cut through like hot butter. The USMC pattern handle jutted proudly from the now wailing stallion’s shoulder as he crashed to the floor and writhed in pain.

Tightening her grip on the handle, Flitter tensed to tug it free, but never got the chance. Magic curled around her head, and drove her skull into the concrete floor hard enough to turn the world a brilliant fizzling white and to replace all sounds with a keening whistle that echoed through her head. She became keenly aware that she was being lifted by her head again; the sensation parted in place of pain when Boss Haul slammed her muzzle against his desk repeatedly as he circled it in a fuming rage. “You little bitch!” He jabbed a hoof at the struggling and screaming Cloud Chaser. “Flak, shut her the buck up, but don’t damage her! I’m gonna get my bucking money's worth out of that turkey!” He slammed Flitter’s face into the thick wood desk once again before wrapping his forehoof around her throat. The mare made a weak gasp for air as she bled profusely all over the fine maple and his expensive suit. Leaning in close, Boss Haul sneered with white hot fury. “You’re gonna pay for that, Narc. The guard send you? Well they’re gonna get you back in pieces.” He cast a dispassionate glance over at the squirming pegasi that was supposed to have held her down. “Nova, you worthless birdbrain! Don’t you dare bleed out in my office!”

The stallion nodded shakily as the colour slowly bled from his features. “Y-y-yes b-boss…” His ears flicked as something hit the floor outside the office door. It sounded like something was going on out there, but he could barely hear it through the iron door and over all the noise in the office. Before Boss Haul had even turned his attentions back to the trouble maker, the noises outside had all but ceased, and Nova went back to focusing on not passing out in front of his boss.

Tightening his hold on the small mare’s throat, Boss Haul cupped his hips behind hers and gave her a meaningful prod as her breaths came in raspy and wet. “You shouldn’t have bucked up my boy, Narc. Now-” Someone knocked loudly on the office door three times, interrupting his moment. Cursing under his breath, Haul slammed her face into the desk once more for good measure; ignoring her sister's cries of horror and open sobbing as he turned to the door. “This better be good, I’m-” As the gangster approached the door, Flitter flopped off the desk and onto the floor; at the same time, the center of the door buckled inwards in a distinctly boot shaped pattern. The door exploded backwards off its hinges, plowing into Boss Haul and sending him straight back into his desk. A massive bipedal figure strode in through coiling grey smoke and ripped the blade from Nova’s shoulder; the monomolecular blade cleaved through his chest, sending a crimson gout of equine blood arcing across the office. Before Cloud Chaser had a chance to scream, or her assailant a moment to react; the figure span on his toes and pistoned the knife forward, into Flak’s throat. The figure’s free hand shot forward, and pulled the stallion to the ground at his armoured feet. A second stab was entirely unneeded; the blade practically cleaved Flak’s pounding heart in two, while the armoured gauntlet driving it forward shattered his ribcage like matchsticks. As Boss Haul struggled and yelled under the buckled iron door, the figure took two massive strides forward and wrenched the door off of the stallion like it was made of balsa wood. He grabbed the gangster by the horn and drove his face into the desk. Wood splintered and flesh split as the goliath drew close and growled at the bleeding stallion.

“YOU SHOULDN’TA DONE THAT.”

Cloud Chaser watched with wide, terrified eyes as the goliath snapped Boss Haul’s horn off at the base with a flick of the wrist. The bony, sharp horn twirled in its hand until its point was down; without pause the figure drove the horn deep into Haul’s right eye socket. The stallion wailed at a pitch she’d previously thought unreachable by stallions as he thrashed on the desk. The wailing didn’t last long, as the goliath pulled its balled up fist back and rammed it into Hauls skull, driving the horn deep into his brain and turning his skull violently concave. It was at that moment, when the gangsters grey matter was leaking from his nose, and blood was pouring from his ears and mouth, that Cloud Chaser’s brain decided that it had seen enough, and promptly shut her off. The mare flopped to the floor in a heap, just as Jack incinerated Nova’s head with his rifle. He swiftly kneeled down beside Flitter’s crumpled body once all targets were neutralized and slid his hands under her unresponsive body.

Gently scooping her up in his burly armoured hands, Jack cradled the mare and started scanning her. “Flitter, can you hear me?” The electronic voice did little to relay the intense worry and tingling fear that was present in his mind as he looked down at the bloodied little mare in his hands. “Come on Sparky, come on back to me.” He gently brushed her matted mane out of her eyes, just as her left eye fluttered open.

“wh...d-did i win?” Her right eye was a purple, swollen mess, and blood was running freely from her obviously broken nose. Her fine fur coat was marred and matted by blood; her’s and others. Jack chuckled as he gently stroked her abused head as gently as humanly possible.

“That ya did darlin. Come on, let’s get you and your sister back to base. I’ll get you fixed up right, I promise.” He set her down gently, and looked over to her unconscious sister. The other mare looked as if she hadn’t taken a scratch, besides the mental trauma she was going to have to face, very, very soon. The smell of burning wood, hair, and meat wafted into the office, amongst thick black smoke. “I got a little caught up, didn’t want anyone coming up behind us.”

Flitter tried to push herself up into a sitting position as Jack reached out and scooped something off of Boss Haul’s desk. “sokay… i-” She began to fall over, the vertigo taking her without warning. Before she could touch the floor again, Jack’s hand shot out and held her in place. Stuffing his prize into a dump pouch, he scooped Flitter up in his arms, before tossing Cloudy over one of his huge armoured shoulders. He began walking out of the burning warehouse, passing the bludgeoned and boiled corpses that he’d left in his wake headed towards the office. The front door had a gaping, still melting hole where the view slit had been, and the door pony was missing his head. Most of it, at least. What remained wasn’t worth mention. By the time that Jack had reached the safety of the tree line, the warehouse was completely consumed in flames, and Flitter had fallen into the sweet embrace of unconsciousness.

___________________________________________________________________

Cloud Chaser’s mind was a shattered mess. The gruesome nightmare that had unfolded before her very eyes felt like a far away dream, something intangible, something straight out of fantasy. Swimming through the blackness of unconsciousness, the first thing she smelled was Boss Haul’s cigars. An unstoppable bolt of terror lanced through her mind, jolting her awake. Oh Celestia, I’m still in his office, they’re gonna hurt me! They’re gonna kill Flitter! Oh Luna… this is all my fault… She didn’t dare crack open her eyes as she listened to her baby sister whimper in pain and mewl softly in protest. The worst immediately came to Cloud Chasers mind, along with a sudden, horrible realizations. Those animals are taking her first, then they’re probably gonna kill her! Oh flitter… why did you have to fight? it wouldn’t have been so bad if you hadn’t… They’re gonna finish with you, and then I’m next! Why did you have to do this to me Flitter!?

“Hold still, Never fixed a pony nose before.” There was a muted click, which was immediately followed up by Flitter’s pained wail. Somebody shushed her softly, and her wail simmered down to a snuffling whimper. Curiosity took root in Cloud Chaser’s mind as she realized that she wasn’t laying on the cold concrete floor of Boss Hauls office; rather she was in some kind of canvas cot. Slowly cracking open one of her eyes, she peeked out over the olive drab edge; her eyes widened in shock at what she saw.

Jack shook his head and set the smoldering cigar down on the rocks, before dabbing at Flitters bloody muzzle with a cold, wet cloth. Internally he berated himself over and over again for taking so long, for not moving through the warehouse faster. Could have just waltzed through the place, but no, had to be fucking thorough. She paid for that. Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid dumb motherfucker. Jack ran a hand down his cheek as he looked down at the beaten head resting in his lap. The last of his bandages had been used patching up where the soft skin had split against the wood and stone. He’d managed to get the swelling to go down considerably, but Flitter still looked like a bloody mess. Her one good eye drifted slowly up to him, and he knew she was in pain. just a little bit of morphine, not even for me… just something to take the pain away… Jack took in a long breath and held it as he stroked her mane softly. To his surprise, Flitter’s muzzle split open into a painful, bloody toothed smirk.

“sure showed them…” She nuzzled gently against him, and was readily accepted by the chuckling human. He didn’t dare touch his PDA, for fear of removing a single finger from her. Pulling her closer, he made sure that she was as comfortable as possible, before wrestling the cover over her using only his feet and teeth. As Flitter closed her eyes and let out a weak murmur of contentment, Jack’s eyes drifted over to his bed, where her sister lay comatose. When he found a pair of wide pink eyes staring back at him, his own eyes widened in surprise. A single word floated up, amongst all the others that vied for use in his mind.

Oh.

Chapter Sixteen Point Five: House of the Rising Sun

Chapter Sixteen: Handle With Care

Cloud Chaser watched with slowly growing horror and fear as she stared at the murderous human who carefully held her battered sister in its hands. He stared back at her, his own eyes wide; his mouth drawn into a thin straight line of embarrassment. They both remained motionless, as if waiting for the other to act first. Memories of the murders committed before her eyes crashed through the floodgate within Cloud Chasers mind, and she felt a terror filled scream build up pressure inside her chest. As she unwillingly opened her mouth to shriek, the human’s hand shot forward and clamped down on her muzzle with lightning speed. His previous embarrassed expression swiftly shaped to one of disapproving anger. He jabbed a finger down at Flitter, as if to threaten Cloudy silently for waking up her injured sister. His narrowed eyes drilled into her own fear filled ones, and the message was relayed with ease.

After letting out a weak snuffle of frozen fear, Cloud Chaser nodded her head and tore her eyes away from his sharp gaze. Thankfully, he released her muzzle; leaving a faint tingling sensation where his fingers had clamped down like small vices. He motioned with his head for her to move; she complied almost immediately, scrambling out of the uncomfortable canvas bed and onto the stone floor as he lifted Flitter’s battered body and gently set her down on the bed. Cloud Chasers mind reeled and raced in confused directions as her eyes watered. Flitter! Oh my poor baby sister… I’m so sorry… the human, Jack? He… She wiped away her tears and forced herself to peer at her sister. The wounds she’d earned earlier had been cleaned and bandaged up with a modicum of skill. He… he’s healing her? Wiping her eyes once again, Cloud Chaser looked over at the human as he gently tucked a thick blanket up around Flitters chin. Her sister nuzzled slowly against his hand as he rubbed her ear. Shock began to set in, before being replaced by a slow understanding. It all makes sense… Flitter lied to me! She lied! I can’t believe this… Jack’s no desert rat, he’s a human! A… A smart human… Cloud Chaser swallowed thickly as Jack pulled away from Flitter, and beckoned for her to follow him over to the crackling fire that sat in the middle of the cave camp.

As she slowly trotted over and took a seat near him, Jack plopped down before the fire and let out a groan as he popped the joints in his hands. The machinegun cracks sent shivers down Cloud Chaser’s spine; the following sharp toothed grin did little to calm her. “W-what are you?” She asked with trepidation in her voice as she shifted on the smooth log.

Glancing over at the thoroughly terrified mare, Jack chuckled lightly in amusement as he grabbed a small can of peaches and carved the top off with his knife. When the offer went untaken by Flitter’s sister, he shrugged, and scarfed down some. As he chewed slowly, he cleaned his fingers off on his pant legs and started tapping away at the screen of his PDA. The electronic voice that came from it made Cloud Chaser jump; her wings spreading wide to subconsciously make herself seem bigger. “Terran Human. As for who, you’re looking at Jack Kessle. For the record, I don’t like you.”

Sputtering with indignation, Cloud Chaser stared at the human with incredulity. “W-what? I don’t even… I don’t even know you!” Her following sentence was cut off swiftly when he jerked his hand aggressively toward her to point and planted a single finger against his lips. With furrowed brows her jabbed the same finger to Flitters sleeping form. Basically, he was telling her to keep it down, aggressively. Don't tell me what to do you ape...

“If you wake her up, we’re gonna have a problem.” He tore off the cans label and let it flutter slowly into the crackling fire as he held Cloud Chaser down with his gaze. “And you’re right. I don’t really know you. But what I do know paints you as a massive piece of shit, and considering last night’s little stunt, I think I’m probably right.” He crossed his arms across his chest and glared down at the indignant Cloud Chaser as she sputtered and squirmed under the scrutiny. He was condemning her silently, and what remained of Cloudy’s pride refused to let that slide.

He’s just a human! A dirty stupid human! He doesn’t have the right to say something like that! “Who the heck do you think you are?” She growled out, her feathers shivering with anger. “You’re a murderer, you murdered those ponies back there.” She fought to keep her voice down and from shaking. His silent condemnation turned to disgust as he stared down at her, causing her hackles to raise.

“No shit. You seem to be forgetting that those guys were beating the shit out of Flitter, your little sister. Did you forget about what they were planning to do? Or were you fine with it so long as they took her first, giving you time to slip away like the shitweasel you are?” The PDA did little to express the sheer landslide of emotions that flashed behind his eyes as he glared hotly at her; it barely managed to convey anger properly.

Feeling her own temper flaring; Cloud Chaser barely held back her full body shivers of fury. “Shut your damn mouth, you’re just a human, you can’t possibly begin to even think of what I’ve had to go through for Flitter!” Her carefully controlled voice let the last portion be hissed out between clenched teeth in a concerted effort to keep from waking Flitter.

To her surprise, his disgust turned upwards into an aggressive toothy grin. “Oh, so was fucking her boyfriend behind her back for pleasure, or for her own good?” When Cloud Chaser blinked; her mouth falling open in shock, he pounced. “Lemme guess. You stealing her money, going through her belongings, and betraying her trust was all an elaborate ruse, showing her how amazing a sister you really are? Please, don’t make me laugh.”

With tears threatening the edges of her eyes, Cloud Chaser shoved Jack roughly and spat. “Fuck you!” She drew back a hoof to strike the human, but her plans all fell to pieces when he sprang forward and tossed her to the ground fast enough to make the whole world spin. Before Cloudy had any clue as to what was going on, or how she’d ended up on the floor, the augmented back of Jack’s hand slapped across her muzzle, eliciting a shrill squawk of pain from the pegasus. Sharp pins and needles sprang up across her muzzle where he’d backhanded her, and the threatening tears broke through the dams. A blubbering sob came out of her mouth past her split lip.

Sneering down at the sobbing pegasus pinned under him, Jack shook his head and focused his breathing to force his anger back down. Inhale, count to four. Exhale, count to four. He let out a slow breath and opened his eyes. His fingers danced angrily across the PDA’s screen as he stood up and off of Cloud Chasers heaving chest and forced his clenched fist to unclench. “If a murderer treats your little sister better than you do, maybe you should reconsider your life choices.”

In the end, it was Flitter's croaking voice that ended the situation before it grew any further. "Jack?" Her head was propped up on the well beaten pillow, but both of her eyes were closed. Jack shot one last withering glare at Cloudy, before treading over to Flitter. The mare smiled weakly when she felt his fingers softly stroke her mane. "could you take cloudy home please? and maybe stoke the fire a bit?" Her voice sounded nearly frail in its quiet timber, but Jack drew faith from it; knowing that the simple fact she had the strength to speak meant a great many things.

Nodding, he gave her flicking ears a meaningful rub, before pulling the heavy blanket up to her muzzle. Standing once again, Jack tossed a sizable log onto the flames and turned his attentions back to Cloud Chaser. The snivelling mare kicked at his hands when he tried to pick her up. "D-don't touch me!" She let out a terrified little squeal when Jack roughly grabbed her and tied a blindfold around her head. Without pause, Jack hefted her over his shoulder like she were a foal and carted her out into the biting cold. Shivering against the humans boney shoulder, Cloud Chaser began to fume. "H-how the heck do you even know about me and Goldie? Have you... Have you been spying on us?"

Jack grunted as he hopped over a log, accidentally driving his shoulder into her soft stomach. Cloud Chaser coughed from the pain and bit her lip to keep her anger in as Jack tapped away with one hand. "I know because Flitter knows. You think I'd waste my time spying on you?"

"She... she knows?" Cloud Chaser felt her wounded pride deflating rapidly as Jack shifted her to a less terrible spot on his shoulder. The ride got no better as snow began to pile on the pair, the occasional tree branch raked across Cloud Chasers unprotected body as Jack chose a more meandering path that weaved back and forth so the mare would lose her bearings.

"Of course she knows. She's not stupid. Flitter is a very smart girl, and she deserves to be treated better. This Goldie is lucky I don't know where he lives." He grunted lightly as a sharp chilly breeze bit into the both of them. "You start treating her better." Squeezing her eyes shut, Cloudy nodded and shivered. Thankfully, the rest of the chilly trip went by in stark silence, right up until Jack reached the plot of land that held the two sisters Cloudhome. Pulling the blindfold from Cloud Chaser's eyes, Jack set her down and did an abrupt about face.

"Wait! Wait, Jack, I um..." Cloud Chaser wiped her eyes and sniffed. Jack had stopped several steps away, though he didn't turn to regard her. "Please, just... Tell Flitter that I'm sorry..." The only affirmation she received was a gruff grunt before Jack continued his march back through the whipping cold.

______________________________________________________________

Cringing in pain as she tossed and turned on Jack's cot, Flitter's mind wandered in an attempt to avoid thinking of the harsh words spoken between her sister and Jack. Despite what the pair had thought, she hadn't been asleep at all. The pounding pain that seared her face made damn sure of that. Her mind wandered aimlessly, to places it had no business. The horrorshow that she'd been apart of not two hours ago was painfully fresh in her mind; the greasy stallion and how her snarled in her ear, how he had almost mounted her like she was defenceless. That's never going to happen again. I'll train more, fight harder, do whatever it takes. I'm never going to be defenceless again. White hot coals of fury kindled inside her, setting her heart ablaze. Never again.

The tarp crackled loudly as Jack tromped back in; he shook himself, and brushed his shoulders to dislodge the snow that had fallen there. Despite the pain it caused, Flitter smiled as best she could at him as she rested her head on his pillow. "Hey Jack... Cloudy get home alright?" His nod was the only answer she got as he closed the distance between them, and resumed agonizing himself over her medical treatment. After brief applications of ice and an antibiotic gel, Flitter managed to get Jack to stay still long enough to act as her headrest. “I prefer you over your lumpy pillow.” She nuzzled against his stomach as he sighed quietly in defeat.

“If you need anything, you let me know alright?” The PDA spoke as he slowly petted her mane and scritched between her ears. Despite the throbbing pain that covered her face, the simple pleasure of his fingers did wonders to lift her spirit. His words caused the spark in her heart to arc for a moment.

The flush on her face went unnoticed behind the bruising and fur. “sure… hey, can I watch some more combat videos? i don’t want to miss any training just because of this.” Through her one good eye, she could tell that Jack mostly didn’t approve of her wanting to push herself currently, but she could see the underlying pride that beamed through his intense worry.

“Yeah, you should rest though. Took a bit of a beating today, so you shouldn’t focus too much.” Jack fidgeted next to her; having to physically stop himself from getting her his helmet. He idly rubbed her left ear as she nuzzled his hand.

“I’ll be resting a lot I think. I need something to keep my mind busy, you know?” Jack seemed to pull back at her words, a look of intense worry crossing his features for a split second. It was replaced by a flat acceptance, and a hint of guilt. He pushed a smile, and nodded. Standing up, he wrested the blood spattered and soot blackened helmet from his armour and carted it over to Flitter. Gently lowering it down over her head, Jack went over everything before powering it, leaving the rest to Flitter.

The mare sighed as the heavy weight settled over her shoulders; Jack placed his pillow under her back so she could lay down without difficulties as she wore the massive helmet. Screens flicked by, and soon she found herself staring at the unfinished video of Jack’s battle in Tokyo. Couldn’t hurt to finish this. Yeah, let’s go back to Tokyo. Flitter braced herself, and engaged the video; she soon found herself vaulted right back to where she left off. The harsh colours of burning Terra flooded her vision, and she was met by several severe human faces. Flitter relaxed, and let her mind wrap around what she was going to watch.

Chapter Seventeen: Front Toward Enemy

Chapter Sixteen Point Five: House of the Rising Sun

Jack’s gruff voice boomed within the helmet as Hans skillfully piloted Irma through ruined streets and burning wreckage. “AA is down, moving to the rendezvous!” He called up a digital map that immediately pinged the team’s position, opposed to the meet point. There was a great amount of ground to cover, and none of it was green. The smell of his own sweat bit at his nose, telling of filters hard pressed by all of the ash and smoke to keep up.

The Colonel’s voice crackled back through the hazy connection. “I read you. Anti-air batteries destroyed. Australians have been notified. I have bad news for you.” The words hung in the air, thick and disgusting to behold.

Both Jack and Hans groaned quietly over squad comms; Hans’ video feed showed him letting his head tilt back as he cursed mutely. Shaking his head, Jack keyed his mic with his chin. “Go ahead Colonel. We’re listening. Hans, keep speed.” Jack shifted in his harness, suddenly finding the position uncomfortable.

The lack of video feed from the Colonel was telling enough about the state of things in Tokyo; the crackling, fading connection of a simple radio feed meant only bad news. “The Covellans have reinforced their position heavily, and seem to be massing for a large scale push back out into the city. If we attack now while they organize we may stand a chance of defeating them, but at high costs.” Colonel Wsu sounded dead tired, as if he were running on fumes.

On squad comms, Hans shook his head. “Das ist schlecht… This is very, very bad Jak. We can’t risk ourselves for a fool’s errand.” The veteran pilot shifted, and for once looked torn. His voice carried no small amount of regret for his words. "I like it as much as you do, but orders are orders."

“Right, but we can’t just leave them high and dry… There’s gotta be something we can do. Just don’t feel right, yah know?” Hans nodded, and brought up a more detailed map for Jack. Looking it over as Hans piloted Irma, an idea struck like an explosion inside Jack’s mind; a toothy grin spread over his features as he keyed comms back to Colonel Wsu. “Colonel Wsu, I gotta question for yah.” Jack’s barely noticeable twang came out just a bit, showing his excitement towards the idea practically burning a hole in his head. Hans glanced up at the video feed with curiosity, before returning his attentions to his masterful work.

There was a brief pause before the Colonel answered. “What question?” The man almost seemed uninterested in whatever Jack had to say. The interference grew worse for a moment, before thankfully clearing up

Jack’s own smile spread even wider as he sat back in the magnetic harness on Irma’s back. “Colonel, how much explosive material do you have? TNT, RDX, C4, I don’t care. If it booms, I need to know.” Irma crushed a tiny japanese car beneath her grasping feet; the concrete faring no better as she jogged at forty kilometers per hour down the cluttered roads and side streets.

Colonel Wsu’s response made it sound as if he had gained a sudden, baited interest in whatever Jack was planning inside his head. “We have plenty, short on everything else including socks. Why? What are you planning? C4 can’t scratch those Corvellan’s armour, you should know this.” There was a hint of annoyance in the Wsu’s voice, but he was forcing himself to remain optimistic.

“Colonel, correct me if I’m wrong, but it looks like the Corvellan’s have built their landing camp about two blocks from the Dentsu building. Base has gotten real big since they first landed, lots of patrols, heavy walls, good support…” Jack let his voice trail off by accident as he visualized the next part with beautifully visceral detail.

The Colonel, however, was not such a big fan of dramatic pauses. “Yes, yes they have. Get to the point Mercenary.” Somebody interrupted the comms call on the Colonel's side, and he shot a string of rapid fire japanese at whomever it was before returning to the comms. “Well?”

Jack’s grin grew dangerously large as the Dentsu building came into view on the horizon, towering over much of the city ruins. “The Dentsu building. I’m gonna blow it up, and land it right on top of their ugly fucking heads.”

____________________________________________________

With the camp finally in range, the teams comms burst at the seams with radio traffic. It seemed as though the whole square was a living, breathing entity that fueled itself off of its hate for the enemy. Troops jogged back and forth, unloading supply trucks and loading said supplies into everything else. Squad sergeants bellowed and beckoned, coercing and threatening their subordinates into coherent units. Vehicles roared to life as men and women loaded into them, until every window and gunport bristled with rapid fire death. Skillfully avoiding crushing any unfortunate privates, Hans skirted Irma's armoured bulk through the buzzing hive of activity. Jack caught sight of Colonel Wsu standing beside two combat cars. The frontmost one was being loaded down with crates; big olive drab pelican crates that were loaded down with the letter and number of the day. C4.

Spotting the armoured walker, the Colonel turned and waved the two-man team over, as a small squad of marines gathered in front of him. Dismounting and falling to the ground with a muted thud, Jack began treading over as fast as he could. Again, Hans did not join him; favouring to simply piggyback off of Jack's optics and audio feeds. The Colonel nodded to Jack, and did not bother snapping a salute; in return, neither did Jack. As Jack came to stop before Colonel Wsu, he found himself staring at the remains of the squad that they'd pulled out of the fire, Oni squad.

With his hands clasped behind his back, the weathered Japanese colonel cracked a wary smile. "Welcome back. Oni squad will be attached to you for this stunt of yours, they'll follow your lead. Try to bring them back in one piece." At that he turned, and fired off a rapid string of Japanese at Oni actual. The woman replied so quickly that Jack's translator only managed to spit out garbled gibberish. The pair saluted each other, before parting ways. The last of the crates had been loaded into the first vehicle, and without a word the small squad mounted up. Suddenly finding himself standing alone amidst whirling activity, Jack let out a slow sigh and fought the urge to rub his eyes. A slight twinging pain sprang up in his thighs and forearms, prompting action. As he turned on his heels, Jack keyed the voice command dimple in his helmet.

"Armour, administer half dose, midday." He fought and failed to suppress the pleasant shivers and groan that he let out as the stimulants flooded his system like ecstasy. Jack shook his head and the fog rolled back, leaving everything razor sharp in contrast.

Hans just had to ruin the moment. "Hey, cowboy! You gonna mount up, or should we leave without you?" Hans had removed his patrol cap in favour of a sweat band. The inside of the walker was guaranteed a toasty warm at the best of times. A day's worth of stubble was beginning to show on his drawn cheeks like a healthy dose of salt and pepper.

"Oh can it, kraut. There in a shake." Jack kicked off at a jog as he scanned his readouts. Despite the close calls, everything was in the green and his ammunition was holding steady. With the chemicals flooding his veins, he felt like he could take on the whole world. Or topple one of Tokyo's tallest towers. I'll settle for one out of two. With a wicked grin, Jack vaulted onto Irma's back and pounded the access hatch with his armoured fist. "Come on Bismark, let's go stomp some Slugs!"

The small convoy peeled out well ahead of the main force; Irma's heavy metal bulk acting both as scout and fire support, while the roof gunners of the combat cars swivelled about in search of inhuman targets. The middlemost vehicle was loaded for bear with enough plastic explosives to level a city block; most of Oni squad remained in the rearmost vehicle, every weapon available jutting out from the armoured gunports. With an uncaring kick, a Japanese microcar was set skittering across the debris filled street, clearing the way for the convoy. As they neared Corvellan controlled territory, Jack sent his drone buzzing into the ash clogged skies to add to their sensors.

Keying his squad mic, Jack rested the muzzle of his grizzly rifle on Irma's shoulder as he spoke. "So Hans, tell me about Irma, the human one."

Glancing up at the camera situated in the corner of his cockpit, the German pilot smiled offly and returned his gaze to the streets. Jack arched a brow as the smile spread. "Irma... She is quite the handful, let me tell you. Very adventurous, and always getting herself in some kind of trouble. I thank my lucky stars that my wife works from home, we could never afford a sitter who could keep up." Hams sighed longingly as he disengaged one of his control gauntlets and reached out of frame. He tugged a small picture from somewhere, and pressed it against the camera. The vidfeed was filled with the image of his family. A beautiful wife with long flowing brown hair, a gorgeous little girl with bright rosey cheeks and blonde hair was reaching out to the camera. They were both dressed for sunny weather, and Jack could just make out the pyramids in the background. Jack's eyes dwelled on the picture, his mind on just how happy they both looked. The smiles were natural, filled with love for the person behind the camera.

Tearing his eyes away, Jack forced himself to smile for the benefit of the other soldier “They waiting for you back in Germany?"

The older man smiled and shook his head. "Thankfully, no. Alexis was visiting her sister on Mars with Irma when the invasion started." Hans' smile faltered a bit, showing the strain that the sheer distance imposed upon his heart. He blinked hard, before shooting a smirk at the camera as he stuck the picture back where it belonged. "What about you Jak? Got some special lady waiting for you back in feddy territory?"

The immediate frown from Jack made the German pilot's smile lose some of its luster. "No. once upon a time I did, but not any more. Now she's my boss." He snorted hotly and rechecked his rifle for the umpteenth time; his chin engaged full squad comms. "Heads on a swivel, we’re approaching the target zone. Bird face owns this part of town, so watch it." A slew of affirmatives greeted his warning, all stern and austere. Finding humour in it, he disengaged squad comms and stood in the harness to grab his drone as it buzzed in for its return. With deft fingers he pulled its battery out, and slapped in a new one. His eye in the sky bobbed a bit, before zipping back up into the smoke.

The convoy didn't slow as they careened down a back alley; the occasional body splayed out in a cut in doorway. The combat cars bucked as they crushed pale twisted bodies of the unfortunate and slow. A sudden keening sound blared in Jack's helmet as a bright red marker popped up before them. "Woah! Brake, Brake!" Wheels screeched and brake pads squealed as Irmas clawed feet dug deep into the pavement, stopping her dead in her tracks barely two meters from the alley exit.

"What is it lead?" Oni Actuals voice came over the radio laced with annoyance and worry. At that point, Jack's drone had fed the data to Hans, and Irma reduced her silhouette; her twin shoulder cannons deploying as a precaution.

Jack snapped back over the radio as he rested his rifle barrel on Irma's armoured head. "Keep quiet, Low Baller contact." All radio chatter went utterly silent, leaving nothing but the sounds of burning Tokyo all around them. Then, a low, pounding sound began to reverberate through the alleyway. Wumpthumpwumpthumpwumpthump

Like a ponderous beast of burden, a massive armoured crawler crept past the alley mouth, the sheer size of the vehicle blocking out the light. It's ten armoured legs carried it down the street, it's back bristling with long range guns. Behind it followed a platoon sized pack of Corvellan heavy infantry, the real fighters of the war. Slowly, Irma deployed her shield, and used it as a visual block against the marching war group.

By the time the group passed, it felt like an eternity had gone by in waiting. Jack let out a breath he hadn't realized that he'd been holding in. "Alright, pinging the group for Colonel Wsu. Let's roll Oni. Almost there." The tension in his body didn't bleed out a single bit as Irma cautiously crossed the street; the combat cars followed shortly as their roof mounted heavy spikers panned and pined for targets.

Without incident the convoy crossed the debris strewn street and dipped down into the parking garage that sat under the massive tower. The only thing barring their access was a rolling steel gate, one that made a gut wrenching squeal as Irma's graspers dug into it and pulled it upwards. With her bulk shifted to the side, the combat cars entered the parking garage. Irma was last, the mangled steel gate falling closed behind her.

Doors swung wide as the marines piled out barrel first, their night vision goggles scanned for any sign of movement in the dark and nearly empty garage.

"No contact."

Jack dropped from Irma's harness and let his grizzly hang limp in its sling on his shoulder. Halogen lights went up and flooded the area with harsh light as two of the marines grunted and struggled to haul the first pelican crate out. The top popped open, revealing row after row of C4 bricks and their remote detonators. Approaching the group of marines, Jack disengaged his helmet seal and pulled it off. The Okinawan marines almost seemed surprised. Perhaps he didn't look how they had expected him to.

"Alright, who amongst yah knows how to wire explosives?" Jack's common wasn't the best, but it got the point across. Several of the marines looked amongst themselves, before their combat medic, and squad leader stepped forward. The woman pulled off her ballistic helmet and nodded to Jack.

"I know a bit. Say what you need." The woman had a severe asian face that was marred by deep sunken eyes; ringed with paunchy dark bruises. Jack figured she looked like he felt half the time.

Smiling confidently, Jack pulled out a brick of C4 and its detonator. "Alright boys and girls, the first lesson of the day is the demolitions alphabet. Starting with D. D is for don't get close when it's primed, because you will die. The next letter is P. P is for plenty. If in doubt, use more." He quickly showed the marines the dummy proof way to wire them up, and slave the receivers to his master detonator. Approaching a wall mounted map of the office building, Jack planted an armoured finger and ran it up the first five floors. "You see the elevator shaft here? We're rigging every load bearing pylon east of them. Split into teams of two, and sound off when you finish. If it even remotely looks structural, rig that shit. I don't want to see a single brick left in those crates when we bug out. I'll take the fifth floor, and work down to the fourth. Hans and Irma won't be able to do much without bringing hell down on our heads, so keep your eyes on. Maintain radio contact, and regroup down here when you finish your floor." He scanned the group, finding only eyes filled with the want for vengeance starring back at him. He smirked. "Let's go blow up a tower boys and girls. Oorah?"

The squad before him boomed "OORAH!" Their voices echoed through the dead structure, foretelling its doom.

_________________________________________________________________

Heavy combat boots crashed down onto the dust covered stairs as the squad ascended the dark tower; night vision goggles turning the world an off, eerie green. Two marines split off at each floor, their voices hushed and hurried as they strapped load bearing pillars with high explosives. Just beyond the polarized windows, the Corvellan base could be seen through the ash and haze. Their structures were strange in an uncanny valley sort of way, made of metals unknown to man and set at odd angles. Troops milled about like ants, unaware of what the marines were doing.

As Jack crested the last step, he halted in his tracks. Just beyond the fire door, something was moving on the fifth floor. He carefully eased the door open; his weapon entered the room first, followed by his heavily armoured form. Again the noise came to him; it sounded like garbled speech coming through a rebreather. Jack's eyes narrowed as he spotted the owner's shadow. Corvellan's... Jack frowned as he activated his magnetics and hunkered down behind cover. His vision shifted from hazy green to a sharp blue as everything metallic popped up in his vision. The unmistakable avian body of the Alien invaders was stooped over something, it's comrade chattering idly back at it. By the size of them, they had to be light infantry. Looting? Or sight seeing? Don't matter, you bastards are dead.

Jack slung his rifle over his back as he set the crate full of explosives gently down on the floor. His knife slid silently from its leather sheath; his feet carried him closer and closer to the hated enemy. Finally, he saw what the crouched Corvellan was rifling through- a hello kitty backpack? What? Jack arched his brow as the standing alien gestured to the random knick knacks that lay strewn about the dirty office floor. A seemingly random collection of Japanese tourists toys and memorabilia lay in a pile; the two aliens seemed fascinated by the cheap plastic toys.

The Corvellan's weren't exactly an ugly alien; most of them seemed very slight, with predominantly avian features. Their entire bodies were covered with a sappy purple sludge that was supposedly engineered, most likely to keep them healthy in earth's oxygen rich environment. The light infantry equivalent of their military arm left trails of it everywhere, like slug trails. Their equipment was impressive technologically, but was unacceptable by human standards as it always seemed to require full maintenance every few hours. As Jack crept up upon the pair, he could see every minuet detail in their backs. The two were apparently shooting the shit in their language of beak clicks and guttural throat noises. Their stances were relaxed, and unprepared. Some scientists had supposed the Corvellan's to be minorly telepathic, hence why the less trained were less alert and easily scared. They relied too heavily upon being able to read the minds of their fellows.

The standing Corvellan clicked its beak lightly as it shouldered its weapon and gestured idly to its comrade. The following warbles were turned to arterial spray as Jack pounced on him and jammed the knife into its neck. The crouched alien turned on his heels and his saucer eyes went even wider as he squawked and chirped. The first fell to the floor in a spasming heap, just as the seconds weapon barrel lifted. The first bolt of incandescent energy barely missed Jack's chest, while the second burned a tin can sized hole into his left shoulder. Letting out a bellow of pain, Jack barrelled into the second Corvellan, driving it to the ground as its weapon discharged repeatedly into the empty office. With his good arm pinning the alien's weapon down, and his left unresponsive, Jack was forced to act a little more brutally then planned. His armoured helmet slammed down into the Corvellan's face, shattering its brittle beak like glass. The thing writhed in pain and thrashed against its assailant, all to no avail as Jack slammed his head back down again, cracking open the aliens skull. It twitched and mewled softly as goopy clear blood flowed from its wounds. Pulling his knife free from its four fingered grasp, Jack planted it in the Corvellan's skull to ensure his own safety.

"Longbow Actual, we heard shots." Oni actual voice sounded over his comms as he smeared the blood darkening his visor. The teams below hadn't run into any trouble, and that meant he was behind.

"I'm fine Oni actual, just dealing with some unwanted guests. Took a graze, I'll be aight." Jack muted his grunt of pain as the morphine dulled the feeling of his muscle melting off the bone. The trauma suite would deal with the wound well enough. Guess I'm taking a break after this so they can slap some vat muscle on me. yay. I wonder if it’ll fall off... Jack shook his head to clear his hazy thoughts away and unlimbered his sabot pistol. Dragging the crate into the center of the room, he got to work.

Halfway through rigging the fourth floor, he got the call of finished from all three squads. Hans' voice came through his comms, clear as glass. "Jak, UAV shows slug patrol breaking course to head to us. They are close."

Before Jack had a second to answer, a second call sent out. "This is fireteam one! We are under attack on first floor!" The sounds of gunfire echoed through the building, forcing Jack's hand to work faster. Row after row of pillars was jury rigged with explosives haphazardly slapped against the concrete surfaces. His HUD blinked red, and warned of falling blood pressure and too high of a heart rate. A curious, cursory glance to his left confirmed his worst thoughts. His armour was scorched black and a deep crimson red was slowly trickling across his breast plate. An off white foam was peeking out of the hole, already hardening to seal the breach. Maybe it’s not as bad as it looks. Grimacing at the thought, but feeling nothing but the calming cool numbness of morphine, Jack shook his head and ordered his trauma suite to plug the hole however it could. A sudden, white hot pain exploded through the pleasant numbness, and the blood pressure warning stated that he was stabilized.

With his body trying to rebel, but his hydraulics and mind demanding mission completion; Jack slapped the last brick of C4 into place and rigged it to blow in tandem. His legs began acting on their own volition, turning his towards the stairwell and taking it down five steps at a time. By the time he'd reached the first floor, the fighting had gotten even worse. The remaining fireteams had regrouped, and were holding valiantly. Oni Actual whirled on her heels as Jack barged through the steel door, Corvellan bolts peppering the wall near him.

The medic whirled her hand over her head and yelled. "All accounted for! Fighting withdrawal!" One by one the soldiers backed out of the floor, emptying their magazines to keep the Corvellan's pinned down. Several light infantry aliens had gotten a little too ballsy, and had earned six point five inch superheated spikes through their avian bodies as a result. As the last of the marines fells back, Jack beckoned to Oni Actual.

"Come on! Let's get the hell out of dodge!" The woman nodded, and began backing towards the open door as a small cylinder thumped over a desk. Jack's armour had only just popped up a proximity warning when the spine grenade exploded, showering the two in toxic barbs. Oni Actual fell to the ground and writhed, her face already becoming a mask of pure agony as she foamed at the mouth. With his right side bristling with barbs, Jack levelled his pistol and shot her through the top of the head. His shoulder sprang open, and a homing rocket streaked out into the office for revenge. He never got to see the end results as he tripped and tumbled down the concrete stairwell. At the bottom, he forced himself up, and set off with a strong stride. The marines had already loaded up, and they were waiting for him. The roof gunner of the final car opened his mouth as if to ask where his squad leader was, but when he saw Jack's side bristling with barbs, he made a face of disgust and turned away.

Hans kneeled Irma down and wretched the parking garage door open as Jack clambered aboard with one hand. "We gotta go cowboy! UAV picked up transport ship landing, we’re gonna be overran real soon!" The man sounded almost panicked as the combat cars shot out into the light of day and opened fire down the street. Irma followed suite, and her shoulder cannons spoke with utter authority. As the ragged convoy peeled off, Jack hefted his good arm high and activated the detonator. There was a brief pause, before a muffled crump echoed through the streets. The following blast spewed hunks of pulverized glass, concrete, rebar and flaming office supplies out in all directions. The gargantuan tower sagged, its remaining structural supports going off like muted shotgun blasts. For a moment, it appeared as though the tower wouldn't fall; a second later there was a resounding boom as the building separated from its foundation. Hundreds of tonnes of concrete and steel came crashing down onto the alien base, the cacophony of chaos was almost outdone by the transport ships reactor going critical and filling the world with vibrant light. The shockwave of dust and debris nearly toppled Irma over backwards; the smaller combat cars were sent skittering off like toys. At that point, a large hunk of concrete glanced across Jack’s helmet, damaging the display and destroying environmental containment. His HUD flickered, the area map flooding with blue friendly signatures.

Colonel Wsu’s voice boomed through Jack’s damaged comms, and contained the holy commandments of Terra. “ALL UNITS, INTO THE BREACH! FOR EARTH!” The returning war cries were shut out for a moment as the hypersonic banshee wail of terran air support. The ground superiority fighters streaked in, their nose mounted gatling guns let out pealing lightning roars, their tracer rounds ripping the hated enemy asunder. Wing mounted cluster bombs fell, and split the earth open as the Japanese ground forces charged pell-mell into the breach opened by the falling tower.

At that point, the morphine high had lost its edge for Jack, and he was sagging badly in the harness when Han’s voice crackled through. “Hey Jak, still alive up there? HUD says that you’re wounded!” Irma was treading back towards the fight, hell bent on tasting more combat. They were practically inside the base, their flanks matched on either side by engaging units. The perpetuating dust cloud made it impossible to see much of anything, save for the violent tracking back and forth of small arms fire and tank cannons. Hans’ face was barely visible through the broken connection, but it was clear that the man was stressed beyond natural bounds and intensely worried. “Answer me Cowboy! Come on, don’t you dare die on me!”

Not answering the pilot, Jack slowly shook his head and thumped his helmet against Irma’s back. A slew of screens opened across his damaged face plate, until one final one popped up; its edges lined with blinking red.

Combat Stimm application requires confirmation

Y/N

Jack gritted his teeth and confirmed. I DIE ON MY OWN TERMS. Rapid confirmation sent the message away like a whim, and the armour clacked quietly in his ears. Jack did his best to brace for what was to come; his muscles tensed and his eyes closed. Truth be told, nobody was ever ready. The needles punched in simultaneously, and saturated his body and brain with combat stimulants. As they seeped in, his life signs winked out of the HUD, and his harness magnets disengaged. His eyes shot open, and the world around him became a swirling drug fueled ballet of death, gunfire and dust. Jack was barely aware that Hans was shouting his name as he barreled across the battlefield, screaming at the top of his lungs. His sabot pistol barked and bucked in his hand, its muzzle seeking out targets of his boiling fury. Rounds snapped and hissed by him, some sizzling his armour like cheap plastic. They only served to fuel his hatred, while the potent cocktail of adrenaline and psychoactive combat drugs propelled his body forward like a demon.

Before him, a large CDF battle tank took a direct hit that sheared the turret nearly clean off; setting the entire vehicle ablaze. Corvellan heavy infantry was advancing, cutting the attackers down in droves. A brilliant bolt of energy struck Jack’s helmet, and the feed was lost. After moments of black, painful silence, it returned with a vengeance. The Terrans had committed to a full on bayonet charge, and Jack had piledrived his way right into it. The feed winked out again, only to come back moments later as a Corvellan heavy trooper was taking swings at the blood raged Jack. His pistol spoke, driving round after round into the alien's chest as Jack screamed incomprehensibly in rage. Flecks of bloody foam speckled Jacks cracked display as the heavy trooper charged him. It stumbled back and roared in defiance as it was struck once again, before being crushed under tread by a flaming CDF battle tank whose turret had been sheared off. The vehicle sped onwards, until exploding into a brilliant ball of flames and shrapnel amidst the enemy. Jack lifted his pistol as if he were drunk, and fired randomly at the flickering silhouettes in the dust until his pistol clicked dry. The video flickered one final time as he stumbled; screaming his rage as he spat up blood that spattered the inside of the screen, before shutting off completely. The words Replay and Close flashed before Flitters eyes.

Selecting the close option, Flitter struggled to pry herself out of the heavy helmet. She took a deep, calming breath, before looking around to find Jack. A faint smile graced her split lips when she found him slumped against the bed, his head sagged backwards and his mouth open as he snored quietly. Scooting carefully to his side, Flitter curled up in his lap, and pulled the blanket over the both of them. The human’s arms twitched in his sleep, and as if on autopilot, wrapped themselves around her warm, fuzzy body. Flitter gently nuzzled his left shoulder, where the skin was just a touch lighter than the rest around it. I’ll have to ask him about it in the morning… Flitter looked up at Jack’s calm face, her mind drifting back to the savage mask of pure hatred that had stared back at her from the weak reflection in his helmet. There had been pain in his addled eyes, something he sought to squash and hide away from the world. Slowly sitting up in his lap, Flitter placed her broken lips against his bearded chin and kissed him as softly as she could. As she curled up in his lap again, Flitter rested her head against his chest and let his steady heartbeat lull her asleep.

Chapter Eighteen: While You Were Out

Chapter Seventeen: Front Toward Enemy

The cave was utterly silent, save for the muffled howling of wind beyond the door and the sound of Jack's stressed murmurs. Slowly cracking open a bleary, bloodshot eye, Flitter nuzzled against the warm body that she'd snuggled up with the night prior. His muscles were tensing and twitching erratically, and his face was coated with a light sheen of cold sweat. Furrowing her brow lightly, Flitter nudged his chin and sat up on his lap.

"Jack. Jack, wake up." She nudged him again, and found herself frowning harder when he wouldn't do so much as crack an eye open. Sighing quietly, Flitter head-butted him square in the chest. The large man jumped with a startled yelp; his limbs flailing outwards aggressively as his sleep addled brain flew into a frenzy as it tried to comprehend what was attacking him. Ducking under his flailing arms and pressing against his chest, Flitter nudged his chin again and spoke loudly and slowly. "Jaaack, calm, caaalm."

The man blinked slowly and lifted his arms as he looked down at his lap. Flitter's broken face smiled up at him as greeting, causing the hard lines etched into his face to soften. He closed his eyes and let his head thump against the bed frame behind him. A quiet groan slipped from his lips as he slowly moved his legs out to work blood back into his stumps. Now that Jack was awake, Flitter allowed herself to relax, if only slightly. I... Should probably get off of his lap. With it being morning and all. A sly smile split across her muzzle as she got comfortable on his lap. Jack squirmed under her, his morning predicament becoming more noticeable as she moved. He grunted quietly in defeat when he realized that Flitter wasn't about to move any time soon.

His hands searched blindly across the bed behind him, and thankfully tapped against his heavy composite helmet. His fingers traced across the auxiliary wire, and to his PDA. Only able to crack open one crud laden eye, he slowly tapped out a message for the mare making herself comfortable on his lap.

"You gonna stay there long?"

His message made Flitter smile a bit as she thought. This shouldn't be too hard, I mean, it's probably just like flirting with stallions, right? Just make the moves, put out the signs, bat your eye lashes and occasionally make some physical contact. Stretching out on his lap as she yawned; Flitter could tell he was watching her as she rolled over onto her back and curled her hooves up against her barrel. "You want me to move?" She threw in a coy pout for good measure, but stopped when the dull pain in her lips turned sharp.

Jack's shoulders slumped as he cleaned away a bit of fresh blood from her face. "Yes. I need to pee."

Feeling her hopes hit free fall, Flitter grunted in confirmation as she rolled to her hooves and stood. Her legs wobbled dangerously as her head swam violently, forcing her to stumble a bit on the rocks. Jack's calloused finger brushed through her fur as caught her mid stumble and pulled her onto the canvas cot. He patted her head lightly, before wandering off out the door. Barely a minute later he came barging back in, shivering and shaking as he frantically pulled up his fly. Flitter smiled as Jack stood near the bed, doing his morning routine. He stretched out languidly and yawned broadly before shaking out his legs and massaging his thighs.

Allowing the last remnants of his fight in Tokyo play through her idle mind, Flitter failed to stop the questions from rolling out. "Hey Jack... What happened to you after all the fighting?" She fidgeted when he turned his head towards her and perked a brow.

It took him a bit longer than normal to find his PDA again, and even longer for him to finish typing up his message as he stoked the fire to bring warmth back to the camp. "Before or after brass ripped my ass into a dozen pieces?"

Getting comfortable on the cot and wishing silently that he would join her; Flitter propped her head up on the pillow and sighed. "After. Pretty obvious you made it, even if you were reckless and dumb."

His expression turned mockingly foul for a moment as he rolled his eyes. "Yeah well, it got the job done. Shoulder wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was, only took about two weeks for the new muscle to get accepted. Back out in the field in two and a half. Course, they had to airlift me out of Tokyo and express ship my happy ass back to Berlin for the patch-up. Armour was beat to ratshit, so I got a new set." He jerked a thumb to his current armour. "Met up with Hans again in the Caucasus. Fun times."

Flitter smiled softly as he sat down next to her on the cot. He swiftly found his lap filled by fuzzy warm pony. His hands scratched into her fur, eliciting a purr of pleasure from the little mare. After a minute or two, she managed to ask her next question, despite the heavenly feeling that was currently working between her shoulder blades. "S-so, what happened to your friend Hans?"

The scratching reduced as he used one hand to type out to her. Flitter arched her back ever so slightly, trying to get the most out of the attention. "Hans? I think he made it through alright. Really hope he made it." Jack set his PDA down and refocused on taking care of Flitter. Once again, his mind wandered to her wings. I wonder... His fingers strayed off course, and massaged deep into the sensitive tissue at the wings base. In a moment, her entire body had tensed as she squeaked loudly; her wings shooting out stock straight and locking. Having been taken by surprise, Jack failed to stop one of her wings from smacking him across the face and filling his vision with quivering feathers.

A fierce blush burned bright through Flitter's fur as she shivered and bit down hard on her tongue to suppress the noises that she wanted to make. Jack was trying to extricate her wing from his face, with little luck. As he tried to bat her wing aside, all he succeeded in was driving the poor mare up the wall. Letting out a stilted mewl of pleasure, Flitter squirmed in his lap and yelled. "J-jack, w-what was that for?"

Finally managing to extricate the wing from his now bruised face, Jack spat out a feather and coughed in embarrassment as the pair stared at each other. As Flitter bit her lip and shivered heatedly, Jack somehow managed to look even more embarrassed as he pulled his hands away completely. "Sorry."

A big part of Flitter felt an intense sense of sadness as his hands left her sides, but the burning blush on her cheeks and the quivering in her painfully erect wings argued that it was for the best. "I-its alright, that was just... Ummm... U-unexpected..." She squirmed on his lap and tried in vain to get her wings to cooperate as Jack coughed into his balled fist awkwardly.

"Yeah. My bad. Won't happen again." A quietly awkward silence passed between the two as Jack's fingers hovered above the PDA's screen and Flitter's mind rebounded back and forth between extremes.

Eventually, it was Flitter who moved first; slowly getting off his lap and stretching out before the fire. "I.... I'm going to check on Cloudy. Did she say anything when you took her home last night?"

The shot of foul emotions that flashed across Jack's face forced Flitter to pull back instinctively; he quickly rubbed at his face, masking the move as removing sleep crud and massaging his cheeks. "Yeah. Said to tell you that she was sorry. After the bull she pulled I think she owes a bit more than that, deserves a good cuff upside the head." Jack massaged his knuckles and frowned as Flitter sighed quietly.

"Jack, she's my sister. She's a bit bullheaded and has a small ego, but I love her." Flitter found herself frowning disapprovingly as Jack snorted derisively.

"She could have gotten you both killed going in there, and for what? She treats you like shit, steals from you and betrays your trust. Small ego my left nut." Jack's cheeks were flushed red from his anger, which had flared incredibly quickly.

Shaking her head as her new temper was tested, Flitter stood her ground. "Jack, I know how you feel about this, and I'm pretty aware of what she's done. I've forgiven her. "

Jack's features twisted into a hard, deep scowl as he shot back a response. "You don't treat family like that."

Flitter returned the scowl at full force as she growled in her own mind. Now you're being an asshole Jack. Just let it go, dammit. Taking a deep breath, Flitter shook her head, before pressing a hoof against her temple to try and suppress the inbound headache. "Jack, just drop it, okay? I get it, you're mad, but Cloudy is like my only family."

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, Jack stood and paced as he shook his head. "Flitter you're not this stupid. She's a bitch, and a danger to you."

Anger welled up inside Flitter's chest and burst like a geyser. "And you're a crippled psychopath! I don't care Jack, just drop it!" Looking up angrily at him, Flitter immediately felt the bottom of her stomach drop out when she caught the molten glare that Jack was burrowing into her. His face was nothing but hard, straight lines that furrowed deep into his features. He jerked his index finger toward the cave entrance; a clear gesture for her to leave. Indignation rose up with Flitter's hackles. "Fine, fine! I'll go! Maybe I'll come back when you've decided to stop being such an angry prick!" Flitter felt that incredible heat burning into the back of her skull as she got up and stormed out of the cave. The biting cold rushed in to replace the heat; Flitter pumped her wings hard and took off without a second glance back.

Back in the cave, Jack watched the door for a long moment, before yelling wordlessly in frustration and anger as he booted a rock across the cave. He ran his hands through his greasy mane of hair as he shivered with anger. Stupid. Stupid stupid stupid. This is how I get treated, save their ungrateful asses and this is what I get. Assholes. Ignorant fucks. Jack growled openly and forced his breath through his nostrils. Inhale, count to four. Exhale, count to four. The anger boiled inside his chest, causing his whole body to quiver and shake. Grabbing his sweater and rifle, Jack forced his anger down and bottled it up tight as he threw his pack over his shoulder and made a beeline towards the human encampment. The cold bit harder than normal, causing him to shiver and pull his sweater closer. It helped little as his implants began to frost over, chilling the flesh they touched to the point of it becoming intense and painful. The winter was blatantly getting worse, and he didn't have the right equipment to deal with it properly.

The ramshackle camp came into view by the time that Jack had managed to stuff his fury down deep and smother it out. The tribals chirped at his appearance, and seemed to relax shortly after. Their fire was burning away merrily with the cover of large rocks and fallen trees. Akasha approached him, chirping softly as she reached his side.

Jack smiled weakly to her and patted her shoulder. Yeah I know. I look like hammered shit. How are you? Oh, you're doing great, that's awesome. Jack's one way mental conversation with Akasha was put on pause when she grabbed his hand and led him toward the hut with the wounded in it. Oh, no it's alright, I don't mind working right now, I could use the distraction. The woman ducked in with Jack in tow, and stared at him as the two injured humans gave him varying levels of attention.

Setting down his pack, Jack began rooting through it, placing his pre-packed supplies on the fur floor. A basic trauma kit, a small stolen pot, and a box of soup stock that Flitter had bought him during their little shopping trip. Jack scowled at the memory, before sighing softly. Maybe she's right. I'm just a crippled psychopath. Asshole, murderer. He pushed the thoughts away before they could trail any further along. Standing wearily, he treaded out of the hut and began preparing a bit of soup. With snow melting away in the pot and a bit of manticore meat thawing on the rocks, Jack scratched at his bushy face and scanned the camp. The hunters perked up at his gaze; the prospect of another hunt sending their hearts racing with excitement. Akasha's son was running about, pestering who he could. Jack furrowed his eyebrows; a curious thought crossing his mind. I haven't seen a single one smile so far... And that kid.. Blunda, was it? He ain't laughing. Playing kids laugh. Strange... Shaking the thought from his mind, Jack caught sight of Algeron. The mountain of a man met his gaze for a moment, and received a single second of Jack's bottled anger, focused solely into his gaze. The massive man's shoulders sank to make him seem smaller, and he quickly slunk off to sulk.

Just beyond the treeline, Jack spotted the briefest shimmer in the air, hiding up in the tree branches. He lifted a hand in greeting to Field Note, before ducking back into the small hut. Turning his attention to the small wounded woman, he beckoned for Akasha to bring him his trauma kit. After a long moment of deliberation, the woman managed to select the right thing out of the pile, and brought it over to him. Jack broke a smile, and scratched the top of her head. Akasha made a face, and tilted her head at him, as if the action were an alien one to her. Turning his attentions away from the naked nomad next to him, Jack began to look the woman known as Tanja over. She squirmed at his pokes and prods, before whimpering quietly in defeat as Jack pushed her back down gently. His eyes went down her legs, to the one foot she obviously favoured.

Furrowing his brow, Jack grabbed her leg and lifted it up so he could see her foot. The woman cried out in pain and tried to squirm away from his clamped down hands. As best he could, Jack motioned to Akasha to hold her down. The tall woman seemed to hesitate, before jumping to action when Jack grunted loudly at her to drive the point home. Tanja squirmed and mewled in pain as Jack hefted her foot up and took a closer look at it.

Oh well shit, no wonder you’re all jacked up... Jack shook his head as he turned her foot to the side, eying the nasty wood splinter that had buried itself deep into the bottom of her foot. The flesh looked like it was on the verge of becoming infected, or already was. Shaking his head, Jack broke open his trauma kit and unsheathed his small utility knife. A bottle of hydrogen peroxide and a set of sterile bandages were set down, and Jack pulled on a small sanitary face mask and a pair of rubber gloves. Sorry little lady, ain't got anything the for pain, and this is gonna hurt like a sonuvabitch. Jack removed his belt, and stuffed it into the woman's mouth to keep her from biting off her tongue while he worked. Dousing the small knife with peroxide, Jack rolled his shoulders and swept all of his thoughts aside.

Taking a deep breath, Jack shot Akasha a supportive mask covered grin, before deftly digging the sterilized knife into the revolting wound. The small girl screamed bloody murder through the leather belt as Jack worked to get the long wood shard out of her foot as intact as possible. Akasha seemed almost professional in her demeanor, pinning Tanja down and holding her there so Jack could work. The wound made a wet sucking noise as the shard came out, proving itself to be the length of Jack's middle finger. Blood poured freely from the wound as Jack set the gnarled shard aside and grabbed the bottle of hydrogen peroxide. If you thought that sucked, just wait.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The door to the cloud home closed quietly with a click as Flitter exited the swirling world of winter and anger; the wailing air being shut out the moment the door clicked shut. The house sounded dead, empty. Apparently Cloudy wasn't up yet, or had decided to go into town earlier. Slowly trotting up the stairs to her room, Flitter felt the weight of the world come crashing down onto her like the end of a high. What her sagging shoulders and blood matted fur called for was a hot shower and some nice, clean food. Slowly plodding into her small bathroom, Flitter threw off her beaten up and blood stained hoodie. The garment clattered as it hit the floor, drawing her attention. Peeking into the hoodie pouch, she found the mono-edged combat knife and it's sheath, waiting patiently to be used again. He must have put it back when I passed out… Shaking her head, Flitter let the hoodie fall back to the floor, knife included. The shower sputtered to life, and soon soaked her down to the bone with soothing warm water.

With the water pouring down around her, Flitter rested her head against the wall; wishing that all the weight crushing down on her would wash away as easily as the filth. The events of the night before began their playback, hoping to horrify her, break her down. Flitter closed her eyes and focused on the memories; each moment freezing before her. It was necessary. They deserved to die. Flitter slowly sat down, still resting her head on the wall. Is that me talking, or Jack? Does it matter? The answer evaded her, teasing her ruthlessly as guilt tanged her thoughts. "Maybe I was a little harsh towards him..." Shaking her head, she sighed and pawed at her bruised cheek. Pushing all the thoughts out of her mind, Flitter focused solely on getting clean.

Shutting off the water, Flitter stepped out of the shower and began drying off, just as somebody knocked on the bathroom door. Flitter perked a brow as she wrapped a towel around her damp body and opened the door. Cloud Chaser stood at the other side of the door; her eyes puffy and red from crying all night. Clamping her hooves around Flitter and hugging tightly, Cloud Chaser let out a weak sob as she held Flitter close.

The awkward embrace lasted too long in Flitter's mind; by the time that Cloudy released her, she'd become painfully aware of all of her bruises all over again. But when Cloud Chaser backed up a bit and asked "are you alright?" Flitter's mind hit a wall.

Am I alright?

Slowly nodding her head in affirmation, Flitter forced a smile as she patted her sister's side. "I'm alright. Me and Jack, we... Got into a bit of a fight, so I guess I'm just going to be hanging out at home for a bit."

Cloud Chaser nuzzled at her damp neck as she smiled supportively. "I hear you. Are you gonna go to work?"

Work.

Crap.

Grimacing as she remembered her responsibility, Flitter once again nodded. "Yeah... I guess... I really want to quit, they're driving me crazy. I mean, Field Note paid really well for my help and art, maybe I can talk to him..."

Cloud Chaser perked a brow in curiosity as Flitter pushed past her and trotted back into her room. "Who's Field Note? Please, please tell me he's not another psychopath..."

Grunting in acknowledgement, Flitter flopped down onto her big, soft bed. "He's a stallion. Human researcher from Canterlot, with some company named Dynamic something or other... I'd don't know..."

Sitting down next to her sister, Cloud nuzzled her side with concern. "Dynamic Research and Medical Sciences?"

Flitter lifted her head up to look at Cloudy with a look of confusion and a hint of suspicion. "Yeaaah... How did you know that?"

Smiling as best she could as she flopped onto the bed next to Flitter, Cloud Chaser sighed openly. "Well, I actually talk to mom, so she tells me what she's doing most of the time. She was on a tangent about her investments or some other crap. Small world I guess, huh?" Cloud Chaser giggled lightly. "Is he cute?"

Flitter deadpanned at her sister, who grinned openly. "Cloudy, you have issues."

The hoof to the chest hurt more than Flitter let on, her bruised ribs crying in protest as Cloud Chaser mocked insult. "I do not! You're the one who wanted to date a psycho human. I don't even see how that would be remotely better than Goldie. I mean, come on girl, have some respect for yourself. That human is rotten to the core."

Cloud Chaser's mouth shut with an audible click when Flitter snapped a smouldering glare at her and followed up with a curt set of carefully chosen words. "We're not going to have this conversation."

With her ears splayed back, Cloud Chaser nodded and scratch at the back of her neck. "I... Okay, um... Mom said she would be in town today-"

"Today!? I thought she was coming in a week!" Flitter cried out in indignation as a sense of dread overcame her. Her sister smiled apologetically as she fell back into her bed and groaned. "I'm just going to spend all day today laying in bed. I'm not doing shit."

Rolling her eyes at the melodrama, Cloud Chaser smirked as she stared at Flitter. "Not even gonna come out for dinner?"

"No."

Flitter's face was buried in her soft pillows when Cloudy laughed. "Ookay, how about for desert?"

"Nope."

Sighing in defeat, Flitter's sister shook her head and turned for the door. "Okay, I'll tell you when mom shows up, or if your psycho comes by to kill us all."

As her door closed quietly and Cloud Chaser clomped down the stairs, Flitter groaned as she curled up into a tight, warm ball in her covers. Mentally she was cursing up a storm. Today is just not my day... Maybe Jack was right... Ugh, I'll have to give him a bit of space before I apologize, let him calm down a touch. Maybe tomorrow... Still have to deal with work and mom and blarg... Flitter rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling as her sore body throbbed. I could go for a soft petting, or a massage...

I miss Jack.

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The screaming had gone on until the little woman had shrieked herself hoarse and fallen unconscious. The wound still looked bad, but with a bit of luck she would be healed up soon. Jack pinned the bandages down and clipped them in place. He nodded, proud of his work. He could hear the water boiling outside, marking the soup as ready. He'd thrown the meat in after cleaning Tanja's gaping foot wound, and now it was properly boiled into the soup. Taking the pot off the fire, Jack's mind suddenly clicked in. I don't have any fucking bowls. He stared at the pot of hot soup, the tribe circling and chirping curiously. Smacking his open palm against his forehead, Jack groaned quietly and dragged his hand down his features. An idea struck, and he looked up into the trees.

One of the trees rustled a little bit more than the others, and Jack beckoned to that one with high hopes as he put the pot down on the rocks. The largest hunter stuck his hand in, and withdrew with a pained yelp as he clutched his hand. The rest of the tribe backed away from the pot as Jack shook his head and treaded to the edge of the camp.

The nearly silent rustling of leathery wings met his ears, and hoof prints appeared in the snow under the invisible batpony. "Yes Jack?"

His answer was curt and emotionless, thanks to the PDA, but Jack felt it almost appropriate. "I need bowls. Help me out?"

"I... Bowls? Alright. Can we talk sometime today? I had hoped to pick your brain a touch more." The air shimmered before Jack as he sighed and rubbed his face slowly.

"Hit me up tomorrow. I'm just gonna do me today."

The disappointment in Field's voice was blatant and it caused a pang of annoyance and guilt to appear in Jack's mind. "Oh... Alright. I'll be back in a few minutes." Jack shrugged, and waited as the shimmer in the air fluttered off. To Jack's surprise, something poked at his side as he leaned against a snow covered tree. Glacing over, he found himself staring down at the tiny red headed scout, Isotta. She had mud caked into her hair, hiding the possible luster. The small woman tugged at his hand, before inspecting it curiously. Raising a brow at the inquisitive scout, Jack simply shrugged it off and let her poke and prod at his hand.

Betraying his good faith, the short scout popped one of the dirty digits into her mouth and lightly bit it. Jumping in surprise, Jack yanked his hand away from her and shook his hand. His eyes went wide with confusion as she closed the distance and started lightly headebutting his chest and arm, before slowly nuzzling her dirty cheeks against the fabric of his sweater. The tiny woman hummed softly with apparent approval and her hands started exploring.

With the initial shock wearing off fast, Jack gently tried to separate himself from Isotta as she rubbed up against him. Hey, hey, no. None of that, come on now- His train of thought derailed a bit as Isotta backed up a step and perked her slight chest while pouting. Oh. Mating, right... Alpha. Great. Jack smiled thinly and patted her on her head. This only seemed to offend the woman, who frowned and pulled at his sweater again, this time chirping and calling to him. Hey, trust me chickie, if you didn't have the mental capacity of a six year old, this'd be a different situa- A shrill chirp caused both Jack and Isotta to pause and look over at the source. Akasha was tromping over, looking highly displeased. To Jack's immense surprise, the taller woman hefted the red headed scout up, and tossed her into a snow drift. She chirped once, and planted her open palm over Jack's chest. The other women grumbled and whined, stepping back and slipping away.

Having made her point, Akasha looked to Jack, an expression of distaste sticking with her. I... Guess I've been claimed. Woo? The soundofclacking bowls drew Jack's attention to the snow behind him, where a short stack of bowls sat. They looked brand new. Throwing a half assed salute to the forest in the hopes of Field seeing it, Jack picked up the bowls and grinned at Akasha as he slipped passed and returned to the fire.

With the tribe eating sloppily from the bowls of soup, Jack carried two spares into the sick tent. With enough prodding, Tanja gathered the strength to eat on her own as she whimpered and fussed with her bandaged foot. Gover on the other hand, hardly moved when Jack sat down next to him with the steaming bowl of broth and meat. The sickly man mewled softly as he was picked up and pulled halfway into Jack's lap to be fed. Gover drank greedily when the bowl was pressed to his lips, so Jack had to slow how much he fed him at a time. Akasha watched the entire time, her eyes locked into Jack. Having finished the entire bowl of soup, Gover let out a weak, almost happy warble as he curled back up in the furs. Looking over the man, Jack's thoughts turned to the worst. I don't see any wounds, it's gotta be internal. Jack furrowed his brow and sat next to the sick man for a good long while, before laying down in the middle of the furs. Lacing his fingers together over his chest, he stared up at the fur hut's roof for what felt like ages.

I need to find a way home... How? How the hell can I get anywhere? Is there even a 'home' to go back to? What am I going to do if there isn't? Jack closed his eyes and cursed silently in his head. Fuck. This is a right FUBAR situation. I wish I had someone else here, Hans or Lee, or... Fuck, even Elissa.... He slowly opened his eyes. God I miss her... I just want things back the way they were.

I want to go home.

___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Daylight strained to peek in through Flitter's curtains, and even though so little of it reached Flitter's eyes, she cursed it all the same. Her curses grew grim as her door opened and a motherly voice called out.

"Flitter, sweety are you awake?" Before Flitter could groan or grumble her answer, her mother, Grace, strode in and flung the curtains open wide. With her eyeballs seared, Flitter retreated under her covers and bit back a violently worded retort. Grace filled the gap for her anyways. "Sweety, it's nine in the morning, you should be out looking for work! We've got plans today, so come on, out of bed! Come on, up, up!" She started poking and prodding at Flitter's bruised and battered form.

"Mom, I already have work!" Flitter curled up into a tighter ball and kicked at her mother's prodding hooves futiley.

Sighing in disapproval, Grace shook her head and moved for the door. "Your sister and I are waiting downstairs. We're going out as a family, so do try to make yourself presentable."

As the door clicked shut, Flitter stared at her wall as she kept her features stone straight. "Oh, hi mom. How are you? Oh that's great, so nice to see you too, yeah I love our conversations. Yeah love you too. Ugh...fuck my life." Flitter swung her hind legs over the edge of her bed and groaned. A glance at her table side clock confirmed that she'd only gotten two hours of sleep before being rudely awakened. Her face throbbed painfully, but it was survivable. A short trip to the bathroom saw her cleaned up as best as she could; the bruising remained heavily noticeable, but the swelling had gone down. Sighing as she said a silent thanks to Jack's first aid treatment, Flitter looked around for the marine corps hoodie. She found it, cleaned and folded nicely by her door. Raising a brow in suspicion, she shrugged it off and pulled the hoodie over her lithe, abused frame. Now it just smells like daisies. Flitter grumbled to herself as she popped the hood up over her ears and began her gauntlet for the day.

Descending the stairs, Flitter could hear her mother and Cloud Chaser chatting idly in the living room. Taking in a small breath to steady herself, Flitter hit the landing and smiled weakly as Cloud Chaser turned her head. The smile died when Grace opened her mouth. "What on Celestia's green earth are you wearing!?" Grace got up from the couch, her eyes locked on the offending garment. "It's hideous, you can't even be considering wearing that out with us!"

Flattening her gaze, Flitter blew a lock of her now unruly mane out her eyes. "It was a gift mom, and I'm wearing it."

Blinking at the backtalk, Grace looked up at her daughter's face, only to reel in surprise. "What did you do to your face!?"

Flitter closed her eyes and breathed out slowly through her nose. I should have taken my chances with Jack. I might go crazy. "... It's nothing mom, I took a hard landing a couple days ago. It looks worse than it is."

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion at the excuse; Flitter silently said thanks as Grace rolled her eyes and threw on her designer scarf and beckoned towards the door. "Well? We've been waiting for a half hour, get those lazy bones moving missy!" Cloud Chaser's amused snicker did nothing to improve the mood that had been impressed upon Flitter. The outside world beckoned, and for once Flitter wished that she was outside a cave in Whitetail Woods, running her flank off.

With her mother and sister leading and chatting up a storm, Flitter fell into silent step with them and allowed her mind to wander aimlessly. When her mother yelled her name, she was forced to blink in surprise before looking over. "Huh?"

Grace frowned heavily as she stood with Cloud Chaser. "We were asking you where you wanted to eat, but since you don't even want to listen, we'll choose without you." Grace started looking around in search of a pleasant indoor place to eat. When her eyes fell on Founding Mares, Flitter's heart turned into a lead ball and sank fast. "This place looks nice enough. Let's go." Without taking in any additional suggestions, Flitter's mother trotted in through the front doors while Cloud Chaser cast a near apologetic smile back at her.

Closing her eyes to pray for a swift, painless death; Flitter trotted in slowly after her mother and sister through the doors of her workplace. Jewel glanced up from her morning paper; it being so early in the morning for work that the place was practically empty. The hostess smiled keenly, before spotting Flitter. She turned her attentions back to Cloud Chaser and Grace. "Good morning, can I find you two a seat?"

Lending Jewel a patronizing smile, Grace glanced over her shoulder at Flitter. "No, dear. A table for three please. It's my daughter's birthday"

Perking up, jewel once again looked to Flitter. "Oh? Sorry Flitter, I thought you were coming in for work." She beamed professionally at Flitter. "I thought it was weird that you didn't come in through the back. Happy birthday!"

Now all eyes were turning to Flitter, and she felt her cheeks ignite under her fur despite her own misgivings. Grace maintained her patronizing smile. "Baby, I didn't know you worked here! You should have said you were a waitress again. Cloudy didn't mention it in any of her letters."

Said mare coughed lightly, and opened her mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by Flitter as she sat down heavily and opened the menu. "Not a waitress. I wash dishes." Her tone of voice did not suggest that she enjoyed the work, not the line of questioning.

Grace's smile faltered, and soon fell as she stared at her youngest. Frowning in disapproval, she opened the menu and began reading through. Jewel smiled sweetly, and looked over the group. "Is there anything I can get you all to drink? Oh, geez Flitter, what happened to your face?"

Grunting quietly in response, Flitter set down her menu. "Coffee, and I took a hard landing a few days ago."

The mare lifted a brow. "Hard landing? Huh, guess that's why you haven't come into work these past few days." She smiled and took the orders from the rest of Flitter's family, before scooting off to leave Flitter neck deep in the mess.

"You haven't been going to work?" Was the first thing that came out of Cloud Chaser's mouth, destroying any notion of lying for Flitter in her defense.

Shooting a short, hot glare at Cloud Chaser, Flitter smothered the feeling of betrayal and smiled thinly. “I told you Cloudy, I'm talking to my… Friend, about work. Nothing to worry about.”

“Flitter.” Grace crossed her hooves on the table and gave her daughter a ‘I'm very disappointed in you’ looks. “You need to work harder. Nobody wants to hire a mare who has your attitude and work ethic. I didn't become the mayor of Cloudsdale for sitting on my butt drawing silly pictures and flirting with stallions.” The mare leaned back as their drinks arrived, her lustrous pink wings fluttering slightly. “I mean really Flitter, why can't you be more like Cloudy?”

The moment the words left Grace’s mouth, Flitter felt one of the little gears inside her head spring loose, allowing the machine of anger to spin freely. “Oh? More like Cloudy, okay.” Her sister shifted nervously, not liking the dangerous emotions that had taken root behind Flitter's narrowed eyes. “Alright, so I should slack off at work with my loser boss, go into debt with a gang to pay for a shitty house that my mom doesn't want to pay for anymore-” Grace opened her mouth to protest, only to be cut off by Flitter. “I'm not finished! And next, I'll steal from my broke little sister, and fuck her coltfriend while she's still in the house!” Cloud Chaser's jaw dropped and tears threatened her eyes as Flitter turned her smouldering gaze onto her. “Yeah, that's right, I know all about you and Goldie.” She bared her teeth in anger towards her sister as she spoke in a mocking tone. “She does what I say.”

With the initial shock still present from the outburst, Grace sputtered. “Flitter! You apologize to your sister right this instant! You're making her cry!”

“Excuse me?” Flitter turned in her seat to stare down her mother with white hot fury. “Sorry, I couldn't fucking hear you through all the bullshit spilling out of your mouth Mom! What, do you think I'm just another nobody that you can push around to get what you want, like you do in the career you won't stop talking about and comparing us to?” Flitter shoved her way up, her fur crawling as her skin felt ignited. “Well guess what, I'm done. I'm done with this family, I'm done with the lies, and I'm done with YOU!” Grace recoiled as Flitter's hoof jabbed towards her in a point. Turning on her hooves, Flitter stormed passed Jewel, who was purposefully hanging back to avoid the conflict. The mare flinched when Flitter scowled at her. “Tell Gaze I quit.”

As Flitter stormed out of the restaurant in a flurry of rage and indignation, Grace was just coming around to swallow what had happened before her eyes. She slowly turned to Cloud Chaser and crossed her hooves in front of her on the table. “Baby.” She shifted a bit, and levelled her stare as Cloudy slowly looked up and wiped her eyes. “Is there something I should know? Why is you sister acting like a maniac?”

Swallowing thickly, Cloud Chaser shifted uncomfortably as she weighed her options. “There's… a human… she’s spending her time with some human and a researcher out in Whitetail Woods. He… he scares me.”

Grace's eyes grew cold and her frown deepened. “I see. Is that where she got those bruises?” At Cloudy’s halfhearted shrug, Grace opened her saddle bags and began drafting a letter. “I will speak to a friend of mine at DRMSI. He’ll send someone to handle this. Cloudy, can you please see if you can find your sister? We’ll need to stage an intervention.”

Cloud Chaser slowly looked up, her features the picture of fear. “M-mom, I-”

“No excuses baby, this is being dealt with permanently tomorrow.” The finished letter burst into flame, and the ashes spend off out the window. “Dr. Maltenics is a good friend of mine, he’ll handle this.” She tapped the table with her hoof. “Those two will be dealt with and Flitter will learn her lesson. Mark my words.”

Chapter Nineteen: In Enemy Hooves

Chapter Eighteen: While You Were Out

With fresh powder crunching readily under Flitter's hooves as she trotted away from the local bed and breakfast, she felt a pang of guilt strike high in her chest. What if Jack's still mad at me? She shook the thought off, and once again picked up her hooves and carried on. He won't be. I know he won't be. Having had stayed away the past day from both Jack and her family, Flitter felt a nervous misplaced confidence as she hit the path that led from town to the woods. In her mind, she ran over how she would approach Jack; no matter how many times she tossed words around, they all had a hollow ring to them.

As she was about to cross the threshold of the forest, Flitter ran muzzle first into an unexpected acquaintance. Rubbing his muzzle lightly, Field Note glanced upwards with a half glare at the mare that he'd run into. The half glare turned to a pleasantly surprised smile when he recognised Flitter. Dusting off his own chest, he offered her a hoof up. “Well, good morning to you too Miss Flitter!” The Batpony shuffled in his thick parka; his mane a home for tiny icicles.

A smile of her own spread across Flitter's muzzle as she accepted the hoof and was hauled up. “Morning Field. Grabbing supplies?” She looked over his sagging empty bags, and earned a sheepish smile in return from the seemingly nervous stallion.

“Well, yes, but I had planned to get some coffee first.” He paused momentarily, his slitted eyes flicking back to her. “You… would you mind joining me? My treat, of course.” Field pawed lightly at the snow as he waited for her response.

Taken aback, Flitter considered the idea. If I don't and Jack's still mad, I miss coffee. If I do and Jack isn't mad, he’ll hardly notice. And… well… I wouldn't mind chatting with Field for a few minutes, he seems like a nice stallion. Smiling to him, Flitter nodded. “I'd like that. Lead the way Mr. Note.”

A surprised, pleased smile spread across his masculine features as he offered a parka bound leathery wing to her. “Right this way.”

________________________________________________________________

The iron train wheels clacked and clattered as they passed over the final mile of track; Ponyville’s limits coming into view to the group that rested in the front most car of the short train. The train housed a number of cages and branding tools, as well as medical supplies and crew quarters. On a good day, it could safely transport upwards of sixty average sized humans. A small steel coloured unicorn mare with a cage and net cutiemark stood before the eight other assorted professional human wranglers. She gestured to a forested area on a large hanging map. “Alright gents, get your game faces on. Bossman got a tip of a human tribe squatting in Whitetail Woods.” The mare took the extra time to pronounce the name properly through her thick trottingham prole accent. “Simple bag and tag, but watch out for the alpha! He's supposed to be a mean bastard, attacked a mare recently.” The mare smiled at her crew as the train slowed to a stop at the station and the crew all stood and started stowing tools and weapons while she said into her dull white coveralls. “Let's go get paid ladies!”

_________________________________________________________________

Field and Flitter sat down in one of the corner booths; giving themselves a lovely view of the snow filled streets and serene township. Cups of coffee steamed away before their hooves as they both searched for words. Swallowing nervously, Field made himself appear relaxed as he sipped his scalding coffee. “So, Miss Flitter-”

Flitter held up a hoof and smiled at him kindly. “You can call me Flitter, everypony else does.”

Chuckling lightly, Field nodded. “Alright. Flitter, how are you?” He smiled appreciatively as he spoke with her. “You seemed troubled this morning.

Sinking into her seat, Flitter sighed quietly. “I don't think I can answer that honestly. So, I'm doing fine enough. Oh, hey, I almost forgot to ask.” Flitter sat up in her seat. “Do you think I could work with you? You know, documenting the tribe and Jack.”

Field blinked in surprise, before answering with a smile. “I think we can work something out Flitter. Your ability to keep Jack stable would be more than enough to warrant it, and your artistry will certainly be more than helpful.”

“I don't think anyone in the right mind can safely call Jack ‘stable’.” Flitter forced the thoughts from her mind as she offered a hoof to Field, who took it and shook. “I look forward to working with you.”

Thoughtfully sipping his coffee, Field chanced a glance out the window to the snow covered streets. “How is Jack? He seemed unhappy last I saw him.”

Shaking her head slowly as she looked down at her inky black coffee, Flitter sighed softly. “I'm sure he's fine.”

_________________________________________________________________

“Stop fighting me!” The blue haired woman ducked behind the kitchens island as a collection of empty bottles whipped past and smashed against the cheap wood cupboards. “I'm trying to help you!”

The final bottle in the box smashed violently against the fridge door, spraying brown tinted glass across the linoleum floors. The blue haired woman shielded her face from the shower as Jack searched for the next thing to throw at her. Stalling for time, he peeked out from the top of the overturned couch. “Get the hell out of my head, you blue haired succubus!” A fleeting feeling of regret struck before he opened his TV stand and started whipping DVD cases at the intruder.

The big steel boxed collector's edition of Stargate SG-1 hit the woman square in the chest as she moved to vault over the kitchen island, throwing her off balance and sending her back down in a wheezing heap. Seeing his chance, Jack bolted for his room; his intent laying on the pistol tucked soundly under his pillow. His boot falls were soon outmatched by the much faster pitter patter of barefeet on the apartments cheap hardwood flooring. As he burst into the room and dove for his gun, the woman tackled his legs out from under him. Scrambling for purchase on the silky sheets, Jack let out an interrupted curse as they fell into a heap beside the bed. Straddling his chest as she held his arms down, the woman panted with exertion as he tried to worm free from her ridiculously strong grip. Shaking her head, the woman shot him a glare of annoyance. “Just-” She paused to catch her breath. “-stop. fighting. You were amicable before, why have you decided me to be your enemy?”

Still struggling against her grip, Jack contorted his body until it seemed impossibly uncomfortable to the lunar diarch that struggled to keep him pinned down. “So you can lock my ass up and experiment on me!? Fuck no!” His legs twisted, until he managed to hook a leg around her neck. The woman let out a surprised yelp that was cut short as he scissored his legs together, toppling her over and freeing himself from the pin. “You ain’t getting me, or Delta King! Yah hear me!?” Jack pushed himself free just as Luna twisted out of his pin.

“I don’t want to capture you or your Delta King, I want to help you!” She grit her teeth in annoyance as she struggled to keep the weapon between them.

“That’s exactly what someone trying to capture me and my nuke would say!” Jack threw a pillow into the woman’s face, before diving for the snub nosed revolver. To his dismay, the gun moved beyond his grasp as Luna yanked on the sheet and went for the gun as well. Jack yelled as he slid across the silky sheets to tackle her to the floor. “Oh no you don’t!” The pair ended up entangled, smacking and slapping at each other ineffectively as they scrambled for the gun. Balling her dainty fists in frustration, Luna struck Jack upside the head in hopes of knocking sense into him. She only succeeded in striking flush against his ear. Yelling in surprise, Jack clutched his wounded head. “Mmmotherfucker! Yah hit me in the ear!”

Blinking in surprise, Luna pulled her hands away and quirked a brow at him in latent confusion. “I’m… sorry?”

Clutching his ear with pain twisted features, Jack continued to curse. “Ah, christ! Why the ear?”

“I only wanted to knock sense into you! Now tell me where you are, or I will find Flitter and ask her!” Luna flushed at the cheeks as Jack seemingly ignored her and continued to make faces. “Are thou even-!” The rest of her question was turned into painfully expelled air as Jack pistoned his balled up fist into her taut pale stomach. The princess wheezed in pain and surprise as he rolled off her and commando crawled to his firearm. By the time she managed to pull her projected form back together, Jack was crouched above her, the small black revolver clutched in his hand.

The hammer clicked back as he leveled it with her. “Sorry princess. Gotta trust Mark on this one.” When the hammer fell, the unwanted dream exploded, and dumped him unceremoniously off his bed and onto the hard rock below. Jack grunted “huark…” as he groaned weakly, and laid on the floor for a long few minutes. Mark’s voice echoes inside his head as he stared at the rocks and dirt up close.

You did good. Real good. The Royals will do anything to get their hooves on Delta King. Find a good place to hide it Jackie boy, she wasn’t joking when she said she’d go to Flitter to get to you.

Jack slowly pushed himself up into a pained sitting position. He found himself thinking back at the voice in his head. Flitter wouldn’t sell me out.

What makes you so sure? You haven’t seen her for two days now. Who’s to say she hasn’t already sold you out? You know how much you’re worth. How much is Delta King worth to a psychotic tyrant who turns innocents to stone and banishes family for a thousand years? Is your trust in her worth that much?

Leaving the question unanswered in thought, Jack slowly got to his feet and groaned as his limbs protested loudly. Acting on autopilot, he pulled on his sweater and retrieved his folding entrenching tool. The small suitcase sized thermonuclear weapon was next, tucked away in its protective sheath his plate carrier, along with his revolver. Throwing the exoskeleton over himself, Jack’s eyes shot open wide in pain as the exo burrowed in. His plugs burned and spread anguish through his entire body as if he'd stuck his hand in a garbage disposal. Ripping the skeleton off, Jack discarded it onto his bed, where his PDA sat untouched. He stumbled out of the cave and into the snow, intent on burying the nuke somewhere dark and quiet.

The plate carrier was sized to fit snugly over his thick armour, so when through over his own chest, it hung loosely and dangled as he struggled to resize the straps as he walked. His boots sank deep into the snow, slowing his progress to a painful degree. His trudge continued on to the human camp, where his thoughts caught up with him. What if Field wants to talk? I can't let him know what I'm doing. What if he just follows?... What if he sold me out? Jack shook his head and stopped for a moment to rub the bridge of his nose; as if the action would hold back the migraine that was threatening.

A welcoming chirp of recognition sounded out, and several of the humans plodded through the snow to greet him. Jack smiled weakly as he waved to them. Now these guys, they won't sell me out. Akasha approached him slowly, clad in her warm furs. The woman nuzzled at him lightly, and earned a gentle rub behind the neck that caused her to press up against him in an eager attempt to coax more out of him. Smirking to himself, Jack looked out over the other humans and felt the niggling of narcissistic pride begin to take root. That's right, your lord and saviour has returned.

Plodding passed the camp, he slowly surveyed the surrounding woods for a decent place to bury his WMD. Spying a small copse of trees that had suffered a lack of snowfall, Jack set his course and entered. Nodding to himself, he plunged the entrenching tool deep into the frozen ground, and started digging as deep as his muscles would allow. Only when he heard an angered squawk and rapid chirping did he look away from his hole in the ground. The glance up saved his life; barely rolling his head out of the way of Algeron’s wood club. Motherfucker! The brute roared at him with primal fury, and swung the club again and again. Scampering out of the heavy swing’s radius, Jack clutched his entrenching tool and bared his sharp teeth at the ex-alpha.

Before Algeron could close the distance again, Akasha pounced on the bullish man’s back and grabbed at his face in an attempt to keep him from braining Jack with a bit of wood. The tall woman let out a sudden yelp of pain, before Algeron threw her down to the ground. As Jack closed the distance, the brute let out a surprised howl and slapped at his back. Taking advantage of the distraction, whatever it was; Jack cracked the shovel across Algeron’s face, earning a line of bright red blood and flying teeth for the effort. Bowling the woozy man over, Jack snarled at him and slammed the flat of the shovel down onto his head again, eliciting a loud metallic twang that played over the sound of crunching cartilage. Before a third strike could be brought down, Jack felt a painful sting strike his bicep. Glancing down, his fury ebbed to confusion as he stared at a little dart with a red feathered tail.

What?

Jack pushed himself up as vertigo slammed into him like a train. Thankfully, his prosthetic legs responded perfectly and sent him careening into the cover of trees as his upper body slowly stopped responding properly. Fuck. Fuck. FUCK. A second sting struck high on his shoulder, causing his sluggish movements to catch a fallen log that lay hidden in the snow. With barely enough energy to push himself up and away from the facial imprint he'd left in the snow, Jack rolled into cover behind the log and struggled to unclasp the revolver from its concealed holster.

As darkness edged his vision, hooves crunched through fresh powder towards him. A small mare with a horn and dull white coveralls peered into his eyes. “You're a weird one, ain'tcha?” She lifted her head and gestured at someone Jack could see. “Come get this one in a cage. Team Fox, take care of the rest of the tribe.”

Fury coursed through Jack's veins as he glared at the mare vehemently. THEY SOLD ME OUT! On instinct, his free hand shot out and clamped down around her throat like a vice; the mare's eyes went wide with surprise and fear as she stared down at the avatar of fury unbridled. The snub nosed barrel of his revolver belched thunder and flames; a spray of vibrant equine blood arced out as Jack forced himself to toss the now limp body aside, sit up, and take aim at his next target.

Somebody yelled a warning, and the forest seemed alive in a flurry of motion and fur. “Hit him with another dart! Take him down!” The .44 magnum boomed again, blowing a wide hole in a thick tree instead of the head Jack had been aiming for. Another dull sting spread across his chest, and the world went black.

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Hearing came back first, then smell. He’d wished that neither of them had. A wave of nausea hit him hard as human screeches and terrified chirps flooded in alongside the smell of blood and shit. Dull pain had spread through his entire body; it felt like he was crammed inside of a tiny box. The muted clatter of iron train wheels echoed in the background against the sounds of human suffering. Groggily cracking an eye open, Jack found himself stuffed into a cage; the little metal bars were leaving bright red indentations in his flesh. Realization struck when he realized that he’d been stripped from the waist up. No. Nonono. This… shit! FUCK! That traitorous little CUNT! Jack snarled in anger and forced his way into a slightly more sound position. Okay, okay. Figure a way out of here, find nuke, find gun, get revenge. Looking down, Jack's eyes locked onto the small brass lock that held his cage door shut. A furtive glance in either direction confirmed he was surrounded by other cages; most of which held humans. He could see ponies approaching, and doing something in each cage that was followed by a wail of pain. Adrenaline spiked through his heart as Jack twisted his body back around the other way, ignoring the pain it caused. Now or never! His heavy metal boot pistoned into the door, causing the metal to warp and twist. He brought both boots down next, and began hammering away until the screech of twisted, broken metal met his ears. Next came the yelling.

“The weird one’s busting the door! Somepony get a prod on him!” A sparking prod was jammed through the bars, and dumped seven thousand volts into Jack's side. With a roar of defiance, his legs shot out one last time, and took the door right off its hinges. The pony with the cattle prod yelped in pain as the shattered metal smashed into his face, knocking the prod away. Scrambling out on tingling limbs, Jack hit the floor and fell to his knees. He almost immediately started skidding across the flooring as the train hit an incline. Snatching the cattle prod away from the bleeding pony, Jack took a deep steadying breath and braced himself, before furtively casting his eyes around for the things he needed. Nuke. Gun. Exit.

“Hey, Freak!” A female voice called out at him from the front of the train. Twisting on his heels, Jack turned to face the voice. His eyes narrowed in hazy recognition as he glared at the horned mare, whose face now had a deep .44 magnum furrow dug from her muzzle to her ear. “We got a score to settle, human.” Her horn lit up, and a bolt of energy lanced out from the tip. Jack’s eyes went wide with confusion and bewilderment, and then horror as the bolt struck him high in the chest and sent him cartwheeling down the inclining cars. Sliding passed cages and slavers, Jack snarled in anger and cursed up a long line inside his head on what he was going to do with the mare when he got back up to her. Hitting the rear of the train, Jack stood and shook his senses back into place; the slaver at the back seemed surprised to suddenly have a six foot two human glaring at him, wielding a cattle prod . Jamming the cattle prod under the pony’s chin, Jack hugged the wall and peered out, trying to find his target as the colourful equine hit the floor and foamed at the mouth as he convulsed. The mare jabbed a hoof at him as she approached; a large number of slavers behind her. “You goin’ nowhere freak! I’m gonna brand those fancy inks right off your hide!” Jack’s stomach raised up into his throat as he realized the back door was blocked, and that the scarred mare had a red hot branding iron floating in her magic.

Okay, okay, calm. Think it out. There’s like… what, twelve of them, all in a tight, confined space? The horned ones can use magic, and I’ve got a cattle prod with god knows how many shots left…. The odds definitely weren’t good. Setting his jaw, Jack peeked out from behind the wall, and shot the mare a one fingered salute.

“GET HIM!”

Worth it.

The slavers charged him, and faint red magic wrapped around his outstretched arm, yanking him from cover. Letting out a viking cry of war, Jack pushed himself into the charging wall, fully intent on killing and maiming as many as he could get his hands on. Blood flew as he struck and smashed and bit and bludgeoned his way through as many as he could get his hands and boots on. Hooves smashed into his adrenaline fueled muscles, and cattle prods searched for open flesh to strike at. The fight ended as Jack gouged his fingers into the massive eye socket of some unknown pony; magic and cattle prods soon driving him to his knees and sending his body into a chilly numbness as he was held down against the floorboards. The scarred mare’s voice hissed next to his ear, but he couldn’t make out the words through the pounding blood in his ears. Above it all, he heard Mark laugh.

Well well Jackie boy, now you’ve done it. You’ve played your part, and oh what a show it was! The voice began to change in pitch and timber, until it was a bit more sadistic and high pitched. You fell for it all, hook, line, and sinker! It was too easy! Now, you’re FUCKED.

The red hot iron brand slammed down against his sweat slicked skin; violently intense pain flashed through his mind like red lightning, eliciting memories of his legs coming off at the seams as his flesh melted and twisted under the boiling metal. His scream of tortured pain echoed through the mountain pass, and his world went black as the smell of cooking meat met his nose through the tinge of his own coppery blood.

Chapter Twenty: Devils Don't Do Captivity

Chapter Nineteen: In Enemy Hooves

Back in Ponyville, the day had progressed in a much more enjoyable way, with markedly less violence and gunfire. Flitter smiled as Field joked, the two of them refreshing his field supplies for another two weeks out in the frigid forest observing the tribe. The list was a long one, as it included some food for Jack as well. By the time they finished the trip, it was almost dark out. Pulling her hood up over her ears to protect them from the chilly wind, Flitter glanced down toward the path that led away from town. “We should hurry up, it's a pain to get through the forest in the dark.”

Field casually looked over at the mare and smirked in good humour. “I don't mind at all.” His eyes held a very faint glow; being perfectly suited to see in the dark.

“Oh, right. Batpony.” Flitter rolled her eyes as the stallion laughed. Feeling a tinge of embarrassment, she stuck her tongue out at him. “Well if you're so good, why don't you lead?”

Waggling his eyebrows at her in the growing dark; Field took the head and hooked Flitter's feathery wing with his own leathery one. The mare huffed indignantly as she was led by the wing through the ever darkening forest. By the time they grew near Jack's cave, Flitter could barely make out the batpony butt that was less than a few feet in front of her.

Sighing quietly, Flitter stopped and stretched her limbs. “I hope he's not still angry at me…” Worry etched itself into her dark features as Field turned.

“I'm sure he's forgiven you Flitter, he doesn't seem the type to hold a grudge-” At Flitter's coughing laugh, Field cocked his head and perked a brow. “What?”

Shaking her head as she smiled weakly up at him, Flitter sighed in defeat. “You really have no idea the kind of grudge that man can hold.” Fixing her hood, Flitter took a steadying breath and moved for where she knew the entrance to be. “Come on, let's get out of the cold.”

Entering the cave first, Flitter shook herself free of snow at the door and squinted to see in the dark cave. Maybe he's asleep. “Jack? Are you in?” The rustling tarp behind her signaled that Field had joined her.

“I don't see anybody. Perhaps he has gone for a walk?” Field set down some of the food that they’d bought for Jack near the rocks, before turning back to Flitter. “Perhaps start the fire. I'll drop off my supplies and check the tribe's camp.”

Smiling at the stallion through the dark, Flitter began gathering kindling and logs from Jack's stash. “I'll put some food on too, he can put food away like you wouldn't believe.”

Field chuckled lightly as he secured his winter gear and saddlebags before exiting the cave. Having been left to her own devices, Flitter tried to figure out how she was going to light the fire without matches. Feeling around in the dark for Jack's lighter, Flitter's hooves passed over the steel casing of his rifle. A confused frown crossed over her features as she pulled the weapon over. That's weird… he never goes anywhere without a weapon. Fumbling with the rifle, Flitter braced it against her shoulder and aimed the muzzle at the kindling as she held it up with her hind hooves. Come ooon… With her wing wrapped around the weapon, she tried to yank the trigger like she had seen Jack do a dozen times. The weapon flashed in the dark, causing the mare to help in surprise as it bucked against her shoulder and consumed her vision with brilliant light. Dropping the rifle, Flitter covered her eyes and loudly groaned as the vibrant line remained burned into her retinas. Over her own groaning, she could hear the crackling of a stoked fire. Flopping onto her side and covering her eyes, Flitter lamented her own stupidity. “OooOh…. That hurt like crazy… owowow…..ow...dangit…” Slowly, the line began to fade from its seared slot behind her eyelids; the cave was lit by the cozy fire now.

Slowly sitting up and blinking hard to try and expel the laser's ghost from her vision, Flitter looked slowly around the cave. Jack's armour remained vigilant over the small camp, and his exo skeleton was discarded haphazardly over his bed. Flitter furrowed her brow as she spotted the hat that she'd bought Jack sitting next to his pillow. “Why would he leave all of this-”

Mid-sentence, Field burst into the cave panting; his parka steaming from the heat his little body was putting out. Panting, he fought to speak as Flitter hopped up and approached with a worried expression. “T-the camp-!” He sat down on the cold stones and coughed, before continuing. “-gone. They're gone!”

“What do you mean they're gone?” Worry wormed its way into Flitter's mind. What did you do Jack…

Field seemed to be falling into a panic. “T-they’re all gone! Every last human!” He shuddered. “They… were taken.”

Furrowing her brow hard, Flitter rubbed her cheek and tried to make sense of it. “Okay, let's…” She sighed softly and sat back down on Jack's bed. “Let's eat some food and stay here for the night. Maybe Jack will come back during the night. If not…” Flitter trailed off. What if he doesn't come back? Shooing the thought away as best she could, Flitter swallowed thickly. “We’ll take a look at the camp in the morning. We’ll figure it out from there.”

Looking as if he were about to protest, Field slowly slumped as the situation hit him. “Y-yes… that's a good plan.” The stallion plopped down on the smooth log and cradled his muzzle in his hooves.

With a quiet, thankful breath, Flitter got up and sat next to the batpony. Setting a wing over his back, Flitter smiled confidently. “We'll find them Field.”

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Jack awoke in the pitch black dark with his shoulder engulfed in dull throbbing pain; the terrified mewlings and chirping of equestrian humans filled his ears as his eyes grew accustomed to the dark. He wasn’t moving, and he could hear voices. A familiar voice, one that filled his mind with knife edged anger, and another that seemed a little too cold and indifferent.

“Miss Netting, you've outdone yourself with this shipment. Three alpha types, and plenty of capable breeders. They’ll make excellent test subjects. “

“Yea, and what about the Freak? And the stuff he had?” Miss Netting, now he had a name to the mare he was going to kill. Jack furrowed his brow and listened intently.

“A bonus will be added to your pay. We have big plans for the human.” With his eyes growing accustomed to the dark fairly fast, Jack looked around swiftly for anything he could use. Finding himself stuffed in what appeared to be a locked, dark room that contained both himself and the tribe, Jack cursed inside his head. His eyes strained against the dark; it looked as if there were catwalks high above. Maybe if I-

“And the stuff?”

“We’re beginning our studies immediately. As I said, Miss Netting, you will be receiving a large bonus for your fine work.”

There was a subdued sigh from Netting. “Alright Maltenics. Just give us a message if you're in need.”

“That's Doctor, Maltenics.”

“Right, right.”

Jack scowled as he listened to his kidnapper trot away, probably with a big fat paycheque. Stupid! Stupidstupid fuck! Jack rolled his shoulder, and found all thought speared straight from his mind by a massive lance of boiling pain. Gritting his teeth tightly as he clutched his branded shoulder, he hardly noticed the large forward door being unlocked. The brand had pressed in deep, he could feel the valleys molded into his once inked flesh from the red hot iron. Light suddenly flooded the room, blinding him and the other humans. On the catwalks high above in the impenetrable dark, unicorns trotted along, using cattle prods to coerce the humans out of the holding pen. Stumbling off the concrete and onto soft grass, Jack blinked hard and shook his head to try and make sense of where he was.

This ain't good… maybe I can use this. They think I'm some ape... Pain and annoyance coursed through him as he looked around at the enclosure. There were around thirty humans milling about, and it was furnished like a monkey's cage at the zoo. Immediately looking for an exit, all Jack found were reinforced doors like the one closing behind him, and tall concrete walls that went up fifteen feet before terminating into a round observation unit that surrounded the enclosure. He could see around two dozen scientists viewing them; taking notes and chatting idly.

The tribe stuck around him like his personal flock, each equally terrified and bewildered. Same boat… just don't show it, they need you. Jack shook his scraggly mop of hair from his eyes and groaned as he kneeled down next to what appeared to be an artificial stream that ran through the enclosure. Use the water where it comes out, who knows what these guys do in here. Splashing water onto his face to clean away the sweat that had etched lines into his dirty mug, Jack ignored the scant moment his reflection was present in the crystal clear water.

Slowly, the tribe began to disperse about the enclosure, sniffing about and chirping up storms with the other humans. Falling to rest on his haunches, Jack's eyes began to wander. He began picking out the different subtypes in the enclosure tribe. There were quite a few larger males, and some of what he could only agree to call breeders. No children. His eyes eventually fell to rest on a much, much larger man. He was wearing a pair of torn adidas track pants as a kilt. The other man was staring back at him, with wide, soft eyes filled with surprise.

Jack slowly perked a brow, before slowly pointing at the large man, then to his own head. The large man smiled. Oooooh shit! Terran human! Jack sprang up to his feet, and began treading over to meet the equally excited adidas wearing man. Letting out a strained laugh, Jack shook his head and on instinct tried to speak to him. All he succeeded in doing was doubling himself over with a wet coughing fit; the larger man patted his back roughly and adopted a concerned expression that sat naturally on his soft babyface. Giving a thumbs up, Jack straightened himself and looked up to regard the new man. He found himself looking up further, as he swiftly realized that Babyface held at least six inches of height on him. And a few pounds, Jesus, how much does this guy weigh? 300? Jack smiled and shook his head in disbelief. Field's gonna lose his shit.

Pointing to Jack's chest, Babyface made a small nod to try and draw Jack's attention. Glancing down, Jack found his dogtag to have thankfully remained around his neck. Oh, he wants to know my name. Easy enough. Offering the single tag to the larger man, Jack smiled in tandem as it was taken and read over. That smile faltered when Babyface’s eyes bugged out and he choked on his own tongue. He looked up sharply into Jack's own surprised eyes, and gave him a tiny, three fingered shove, as if to see if he were real. Jack slowly perked a brow in confusion as Babyface took a respectful step back and bowed his head in reverence.

Oooh...kaaay…

Up in the observation deck, an older unicorn stared down at the interaction. “Fascinating. Truly fascinating.”

The hippogriff that stood next to her with a bored expression eyed the new group critically. Pointing at the two humans known as Algeron and Blunda in particular, he spoke. “Those two. The sub-alpha and the child. They will do for now.”

Dr. Maltenics glanced over at the other scientist and fought to cover the unprofessional levels of dislike she held in regards to him. “I'll have them separated from the group. Do you have something to show for your work yet?” She knew he didn't, but wanted to hear for herself.

“No.” Without skipping a beat, the hippogriff smiled slyly. “But that sub-alpha will make an excellent frame for my work. Expect results within the week. Doctor.” At that, he turned on his paws and treaded out silently, leaving Dr. Maltenics with no answers and ample frustration.

Sitting down at her oaken desk, the mare pulled off her safety goggles and let out a long sigh as she rubbed her eyes. Setting her hooves down on her desk, she spent a moment just sitting, allowing herself that singular moment of relaxation. The moment passed, and her horn lit up; the strange snub nosed device floated up in front of her. Looking it over with great scrutiny, she began to take notes. Tiny words were engraved into its side with the precision few craftsmen could match. From Silver Netting’s report, and the remains of her face, the device was undoubtedly a weapon. Maltenics mind immediately went to the flintlock muskets that the griffon empire was so proud of. “It's too small…” The mare’s eyes opened a bit as she pulled the hammer back and the cylinder rotated in sync. “Such precision… fascinating…” Decocking the hammer, she set the weapon back down onto her desk.

To Dr. Maltenics’ annoyance, somepony pounded frantically on the door to her office. Sighing in frustrated acceptance, her horn lit up and opened the door a bit. “Yes? What is it?”

Poppy Gallipoli burst in, deepening Maltenics’ annoyance. “Dr. Maltenics!” She proclaimed, before taking a moment to breath and compose herself; the mare was smiling broadly. “The device the human had, the cylindrical one? It's a power source- we’ve… we've done detection tests on it, and the power it could put out is-is massive!”

All annoyance toward the Head Research Assistant disappeared in a flash as Dr. Maltenics sat up in her chair and beckoned the mare forward with her sheath of papers. Taking the papers in her magic once Poppy was close enough, Maltenics began pouring over the notes and statistics. She blinked hard, and stared down at the papers, as if they would explain exactly what she was looking at.

“The device seems to be wired to a protected button that’s attached to the vest as well. We haven't had any luck getting to it, or finding a way to turn the source on.” The research assistant sat down in the chair opposite of the doctor and ran a hoof through her soft pink mane.

Shaking her head, Dr. Maltenics set the papers down and fixed her glasses. “Cease all attempts to activate it for now. Under no circumstance is anybody under clearance level seven to see this device from now on. I want every note, every scrap of paper filed securely. We need to be very, very careful with this. We don't know what it's capable of, let alone why this human had it…”

Poppy swallowed nervously and nodded her agreement to the plan. “What… What about… You know who? Should we um…”

“No.” Maltenics looked up at the larger mare and made it clear that there was to be no argument or deviation on her orders. “We’re keeping these anomalies, and the device. Hide them if you have to. I'm not losing a chance like this to some hairbrained, half-baked, cockheaded scheme by some stallion who thinks his flatulence smells like roses.” Maltenics tapped the papers, and then pointed at the humans down in the pen. “This is our chance to really change the world. Do you understand that? Whatever that old fool is working towards, its nothing compared to what we could do with this, with him.” The mare's eyes drifted down to the strange tattooed human as he stood with her original anomaly. Poppy nodded rapidly, and excused herself to enact the plans set before her. Once her door clicked shut, the older scientist brushed a length of her ruddy mane from her eyes. “Yes… We're going to change the world, you and I….” She smiled down at the human, before turning her attentions back to her desk. “I'll send Grace your regards, human.”

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Morning came upon Flitter and Field rudely; Flitter's internal clock waking her for her usual morning physical training. Of course, there wouldn't be any training until she found Jack. Sitting up from the canvas bed, the mare yawned tiredly and looked around the cave. Field was still flopped over on his side by the smoldering embers of the fire; his leathery wings rustling as he twitched in his sleep. Sighing to herself in resignation, Flitter rolled off the cot and pulled on her hoodie. The cave felt cold without her human friend there.

Prodding Field impatiently, Flitter looked around as she tried to rouse the comatose stallion. “Field, Field wake up.”

“Nosm… minutes…” Field rolled over onto his side and covered his face with a wing. When the prodding increased, he flailed weakly at the offending hooves. “Eeeeeeeeee…..” Snorting in annoyance, Flitter clamped her teeth down on his tail and gave it a quick yank. Field yelped in pain as his wings spread wide. Scrambling to his hooves, he blinked away sleep and morning grog. “Mmup! I’mmm...up.”

Spitting out the now thrashing tail, Flitter fought to suppress a smirk. “You sure? I can give it another tug if you want.” Her smirk split open into a grin as the stallion flushed hotly and stammered. Shaking her head, Flitter motioned toward the door. “Come on, let's go find our humans.”

With Field Note nodding his agreement, the pair headed back out into the serene forest in hopes of finding any kind of clue regarding where a dozen humans could have disappeared to overnight. They found the crude camp in disarray, the snow heavily disturbed by frantic feet. The final piece fell into place when Flitter found something Field had missed in the dark. There were hoof prints in the snow, as well as drag marks.

Field slowly became more and more solemnly sorrowful; panic having come and gone. “Slavers… how did they find them? I… I don't understand... ” He plopped down into the snow and cradled his head in his hooves. “this isn't fair…”

Staring at the marks in the snow, Flitter felt something begin to build inside her. Something that boiled and brewed like a magma pipe, deep below the surface. Somebody had taken the tribe; had caught Jack by surprise. Someone had taken him from her.

Somebody was going to pay.

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Trotting through the observation area, Dr. Maltenics held her eyes on the glass before her. A team of professional wranglers waited on standby for her orders. Staring down into the enclosure, the mare parted her slowly graying burgundy mane and tied it behind her ears. “Alright, team one, proceed with removal for processing.” The lead pegasus nodded, and trotted off to alert his team. Soon enough, the sub-alpha was separated from the primary group, and scooped up in magic. He struggled for a moment, before becoming enamoured with the glamour charm the lead pegasus wore. Things seemed to be going well. The team moved on to take the younger human, and managed to scoop him up before what Maltenics could only guess to be the child's mother squawked in alarm and let out a screech. Having finally noticed the removal, the rest of the humans began to hoot and screech in panic; the bulk of the group scattering for the perceived cover the faux trees promised them. The child struggled in the magic field, and the caster furrowed his brow in concentration.

Rapid movement in Maltenics peripheral vision drew her attention, but all too late to give warning. Her original anomaly, tagged 3901, had reached the child, but couldn't reach. He'd turned away from the child, and taken a knee while cupping his hands down by his crotch. The movement was the new anomaly, running full bore at 3901. Maltenics nearly bounced her head off the glass as she jerked forward in shock as 3901 gave the new human a boost, vaulting him high into the air. The now airborne human impacted the pegasi wrangler and grabbed on tight. The wrangler panicked, resulting in a crash outside of containment that Maltenics couldn't see. Soon after, the child was dragged in, and the normally unreachable extraction door rolled shut. The doctor broke into a gallop, hoping to keep the wranglers from injuring the new human too badly before she could conduct tests.

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Jack's boot pistoned forward, catching the unicorn under his chin. The effort was rewarded when the pony’s head snapped backwards and he fell to the floor. Spinning on his heels, Jack struck outwards and found purchase on more soft flesh. His eyes darted around as the eight pony wrangling team did their best to pin him down; he needed an exit, fast. Wrapping an arm around one of the smaller ponies throats, he hefted the pony up and used them as a shield as he began breaking away from the group. The earth pony thrashed and gasped for air desperately, only to have the whipcord muscled arm tighten down like a vice. The team followed him cautiously as he made wordless threats to the struggling mare’s health. Exitexitexit! Come ooon! Jack let out a loud grunt of pain and anger as a burgundy aura ripped the struggling mare from his grasp and pinned him hard against the floor. Jack thrashed and fought in vain to escape, but to no avail.

“Stand down extraction team.” The mare’s voice caused him to look up through the hazy red magic field that held him to the floor, giving him a glance of the off-white unicorn that held him down. She wore a labcoat and scrubs underneath; the name tag ‘Dr. Maltenics’ sat proudly on her chest. A smaller brown unicorn mare with a vibrant pink mane looked over the mare's shoulder at him with wide, curious eyes. Jack bared his teeth at them; the last form of defiance he could muster currently. The scientist rolled her eyes and gestured at the team. “Get him strapped to the gurney and prepared for processing.”

“Yes ma'am.”

The mare turned toward what Jack could only guess to be her assistant, the mare with the pink hair. “Poppy, go with them and make sure he's tagged properly please. Send for me immediately if you find anything.”

Poppy nodded as the team strapped Jack down tightly to a rolling gurney, and kept pace next to him as he was wheeled off through well lit corridors. Internally, Jack began to panic. They're gonna cut me open. Just like I thought they would. Gotta escape. Gotta escape, need to get out! The mare smiled sweetly at him as they came to a halt. “It's okay, we're not going to hurt you.” She softly rubbed at his shoulder, the touch lingering far too long for Jack's liking. Fuck off!

He was being loaded onto some kind of archaic machine that whirred loudly as it came to life. The leather straps holding Jack down bit into his flesh hard and rolled his arms forcefully until his wrists pointed upwards. A spindly arm slowly extended down, a short numbered plate in its grasp. Jack's heart jumped when the branding crashed back into his mind like a car wreck. Gritting his teeth in preparation, he closed his eyes and looked away as the metal plate pressed against his upturned forearm. Instead of the terrible boiling pain he expected, a slight tingle spread down his arm, before the machine pulled away and shut down. A panicked glance down showed a series of four letters faintly glowing red and gold on the underside of his forearm.

4859

The glow slowly subsided as Jack stared at it; the ponies unstrapping him from the machine as he sat there in stunned silence. The mare named Poppy smiled at him kindly as he was placed back down on the gurney. “There! That wasn't so bad now was it? Now no matter what happens, we can find you.” She beamed as Jack's features slowly twisted in horrified realization.

The halls all started to run together, the gurney wheels clattering over linoleum and under magically powered lights. Jack had been strapped down again, the battered and bruised team obviously not trusting him one bit to behave nicely. Poppy accompanied him throughout the short journey until they reached the processing room. There she split from his side and entered a small room off to the side. The team hauled Jack off the gurney, and one of them earned a rage fueled boot tread to the face. Cartilage broke and the pony screamed in pain as they bled like a stuck pig. As he was pinned down hard, Jack began cackling at the pony with the broken nose. Poppy entered the room again, her beaming smile replaced by an unhappy frown. “Come on 4859, behave or we’ll take those booties away from you. Daisy, could you strip him down please?” Poppy had a pair of surgeon's scrubs on, and a trolley full of tools rolled next to her as the team gruffly striped Jack down to nothing. The ponies all paused, save for the one still dealing with his broken nose. Their eyes staying below Jack's beltline, and despite his best attempts, Jack's cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

Poppy let out an excited breath as she approached; setting her hooves down on his hairy thigh and moving them to the edge of his prosthetic. “You… are very special, aren't you?” She looked up at him, and met his glare with exuberance. She idly licked her lips and trotted around his side. “Begin notes.” A feather quill lifted off the trolley and dipped itself in ink; a sheath of papers followed it. “4859 exhibits extreme aggression and unwillingness to cooperate, unlike the others.” She brushed some of his greasy hair away from his face. “Subject has the most remarkable eyes… large surgical scars across the forehead…” she tilted his head with her magic. “And a… hmm… I don't know what this is…” She tapped at his cranial plug, which elicited a suppressed growl of disapproval from Jack. “I don't recognize the metals used, I'll take a shaving.” A quiet metallic rustle met Jack's ears, but was quickly overcome by something that sounded akin to a bonesaw. The sound of metal on metal screeching filled his ears, and the horrifically painful vibrations earned a tortured scream from him that only abated by the slightest when the saw blade broke with a twang.

“Attempts to take metal shaving have failed. I'll try something else later.” Poppy set the broken saw aside as Jack panted weakly and shuddered. “4859 is in excellent health, may have been a manual labourer. Skin inkings are very intricate, and-” The mare cocked her head to the side and peered. “Subject seems to have several metallic protrusions matching the one on the back of the skull spread across his body… how strange.” She trotted around him, poking and prodding eagerly. “Legs seem to have been replaced with some sort of complex metal prosthesis, again, I don’t recognize many of the materials used… However, having seen it in action, it seems to be very high quality. I wasn’t aware the human had lost its legs until we stripped him.” Poppy stood, and approached her trolley, pulling out a large blood drawing needle. “I’ll take a few samples for the lab.”

Jack winced as she pushed the needle in deep and drew out as much blood as the vial could take. The following hours went by painfully slowly, with the mare circling him, going on and on with her notes. Occasionally she would stop, take an often painful sample, and go back to what she was doing prior. Her stack of papers had reached a dangerously large proportion, and most of the wrangling team had left. Only Jack, Poppy, and one of the team remained in the processing room. When Poppy stepped away with her trolley full of samples and trimmings, Jack allowed himself a weak sigh of relief. Finally… He closed his eyes and willed his aching body to be quiet for even just a moment. His ears pricked as Poppy hoofed the cart off to another scientist at the door.

“Let’s schedule 4859 for physical tests tomorrow at two, okay? Oh, and please be careful with those shavings, they were very difficult to obtain.” The other scientist nodded, and trotted off with the cart in tow. Turning back, Poppy smiled at Jack and approached. She rubbed at his chest lightly. “You can be very well behaved when you want to be 4859.” She beamed happily down at him as he glared up at her. “Tomorrow is a big day for you too, you get to go for runs! Yes you do!” She ruffled Jack’s greasy hair, before turning to the door. The gurney clattered along behind her as she took Jack back to the enclosure. After saying her worthless goodbyes and placing his folded cammies on his stomach, and unclipped him from the gurney and used her magic to safely move him into a temporary holding pen.

Pulling on his pants with the care and speed of a man spent, Jack leaned against the wall and panted in exhaustion as the primary door rolled open. The human enclosure awaited, and if he didn’t shuffle forward fast enough, the wranglers would taze him in the back again. Falling forward onto the grass, Jack heard the soft thumping of feet approaching in soft grass. Someone with a large paw of a hand gave him a shake, and earned a disapproving grumble in return for the effort.

The other man simply sighed, and plucked Jack off the ground like he was a sack of wheat. Wheezing in surprise, Jack groaned as he was fireman carried across the enclosure to where he could only assume the other man slept. Being carefully set down against a smooth rock, Jack shook his head and rubbed at his eyes. Shooting the big man a thankful thumbs up, and managed a slow glance upwards. His eyes lingered on the other man’s forearm.

3901

Sighing softly to himself, Jack set his head back against the rock and stared up at the observation area. Somewhere up there was his gun, and a two megaton nuclear device. I’m not leaving without either. I don’t care how many bodies I leave on the floor. They wanted this.

One of the enclosure doors began to trundle open, rousing him from his dark ruminations. Another small pack of humans were herded in, all of which seemed exhausted. 3901 got up, and beckoned for Jack to do so as well with eagerness. Grunting in acknowledgement, Jack slowly levered himself up to his feet as the door closed behind the new group. Catching sight of a shock of vibrant red hair, Jack immediately perked up. 3901 treaded across the grass, and beckoned back toward Jack. A lithe red headed woman approached 3901, one of her trimmed eyebrows arched with curiosity. Without pause, 3901 herded her before Jack and made an excited gesture toward him, as if to say ‘Look who I found!’

The pair stared at each other in awkward silence; the woman running a calloused hand through her military cropped ginger hair. She snorted a laugh of disbelief as Jack stood stock still in stunned silence; his eyes wide and filled with swirling emotions. Her fingers and hands moved in a rhythmic pattern, easily recognizable as sign language.

{Hello Jack.}

Shivering as his hair stood on end, Jack slowly returned the sign. {Hello Elissa.}

Chapter Twenty One: The Devils Dues