Jack's Lament

Applejack screamed and rat to her brother, who was struggling to get up. His body was having none of it, and he gave up and laid there, in a growing puddle of his own blood. I ran over there to help her get him to the hospital. We picked him up and carried him there. Thankfully, the person at the front desk had seen the commotion, and before we knew it, he was being ushered into an E.R. The rest of us (as in, me, Rainbow, Pinkie, Twilight, Applejack, and Rarity) were all sitting outside, me trying to help them make heads or tails of the situation.

"Who was he?" Twilight question stopped our banter.

I opened my mouth to answer, but before I could, the doctor walked out, telling us that Big Mac was awake and ready for visitors.

"Ask him yourself," I said, as I walked inside.

Big Mac spilled the beans. Applejack, now knowing that Finch was her father, was beside herself on whether or not to hunt him down for hurting Big Mac or give him a hug. I, on the other hand, was intent on finishing this bullshit family feud tonight.

I walked outside the hospital to clear my mind. And it traveled to Rachel. She was out there, in the arms of that creepy ass dude. And something told me that he wasn't planning on giving her up either. I knew I'd have to fight for her. And working my way up the Equestrian ladder was the only way that didn't look like it would end badly. I sat in the town square for a little while. I had spent hours in the hospital, and it was thirty minutes 'till the showdown.

Twilight walked over and sat next to me, "What's wrong?"

I shook my head, "Nothing, I'm just a little nervous."

"Why is that?"

"I've never had to deal with a cowboy that has a revolver on his belt." I grinned playfully.

Twilight giggled, "Well, you shouldn't have to worry. As long as you focus, you're fine."

"Point taken."

She smiled, "Good."

We sat there, laughing and talking, and she stayed close to me, because the sun was going down, and it was getting pretty cold.

She smiled, "Luna really knows how to make the night shine."

"Who's Luna?"

"One of Equestria's two rulers."

I nodded, for some reason I was already interested. But before I could press on about the rulers, Finch showed up.

"Glad to see y'all are on time. It'd be a damn shame if ya couldn't be here, ya know."

Finch walked up, cleaning his gun. Once he was in front of us, he threw the gun into the ground, similar to the way he had done with Big Mac.

"Now, I'll let ya run, if yer gonna let me have mah babies. If ya do, I won't beat ya into the ground just like Mac."

I turned to Twilight, "Go. I'll be fine."

She nodded, giving me a hug before returning to the hospital.

"Now, where were we?" I turned to Finch, getting into a fighting stance. He did the same, only he started the fight. He ran toward me, with a yell, raising his fist to punch me.

I saw it coming, blocking it with my right forearm. He hopped backwards, coming back with an uppercut. I jumped backwards, and leaped forwards with a right hook that caught him in the cheek. He stumbled backwards with the sheer force of the punch. I ran toward him, jumping in the air for a heel drop. He jumped back as I hit the ground, making a small crater with my foot. A small part of my brain tried to process how that even happened, but the part that was focusing on winning the fight ignored it. We closed the distance, trading blows in a closer proximity.

I made a punch toward his cheek. He caught it, pulling me into a punch of his own. My vision was blurry for a second. As my vision cleared, I looked to see him running toward me. He jumped, aiming a kick downward. I rolled under him and came back with a spinning back kick to his face. He stumbled and I rushed him, aiming a punch to his face. When he caught it, I did the same with my left hand, only to have him catch that one too. We locked fists as I looked into his eyes.

"Ya might as well give up and let me have mah kids back." He said calmly.

"No, I refuse to let you have them!" I retorted.

No sooner than after I had said that, the sound of a wolf howling cut through the night. I felt revitalized, and I broke the lock. Grabbing the collar of his shirt, I threw him over my shoulder, and into the dirt. He coughed hard, and struggled to get up. I ran toward him, throwing punches to his gut, chest, and face. I jumped upward, and with a yell, brought my heel down onto his head. His face hit the dirt, and he didn't move after that.

Crouching, I picked up his pistol in the dirt. Looking to see him struggle, I walked to him.

"Don't you even try to get up." I said, pushing the barrel of his revolver into the back of his skull.

I had no clue why, but I felt myself smiling. This felt good. I giggled slightly as I chambered the round, and began to clench the trigger.

No, this is wrong. Stop it now, I told myself.

I let go of the trigger, "Get out of here."

He got up. Walking away, he hung his head. He turned to aim one kick at my head. I raised the pistol, and pulled the trigger, nailing him in the shoulder.

"Get out!" I shouted.

He turned and ran.

I pocketed the pistol, suddenly feeling drained, even though I hadn't broken a sweat. My vision blurred, and I quickly collapsed.

I woke up in the library. Twilight was practically screaming as she talked to someone that sounded like a little kid.

"Spike! I'm glad you're finally back from Canterlot!"

The little kid laughed, "Same here, Twilight! I never knew that being a dragon-born could be so boring."

"Well, someone new came here last week. He's staying here for a while, you should go meet him!"

Next thing I knew, Twilight was up in the room with a kid who looked about 13 or 14. He had spiked emerald green hair, and pale skin. He wore a purple hoodie, and black shorts. His shoes were purple with green flames.

"Who's this guy, Twilight?" He looked at Twilight.

"Oh, Jack, this is Spike. Spike, this is Jack." She smiled at both of us.

He raised an eyebrow and snorted. A tiny green flame blew out of his nostril.

"So I'm assuming you're 'dragon-born'?"

He grinned, and his teeth seemed to be slightly sharper than a normal person's, "Yep, that's right!"

Rachel sat, strapped to a chair. She was sitting at a table for two, staring down at the old man that had taken her from her home. He seemed odd, but the scariest thing was his crimson irises and sickly yellow eye. He grinned at Rachel, and it unnerved her.

"I assume you're wondering where you are at the moment?" He asked her.

"Yes, that would be about right."

"Well then, you are aboard the Draconeqqus, flying flagship of yours truly, the god of chaos and destruction, Discord!"

Rachel raised an eyebrow, "And where is Jack?"

"Oh, he's somewhere down there."

Rachel sighed. Discord unstrapped her from the chair.

"Now, don't try anything funny. My guards are on here 24/7. You are a guest of honor, now act like it.

Rachel was led to her bedroom. There was a bed in the middle, along with pink paint splashed over the silver walls in streams. It would be a nice room, if it weren't designed to be a prison. As the door closed, she let a single tear run down her cheeks as she sat on the bed.

"I hope he's safe down there..."