"Hey."

My eyes shot wide open, while my body remained sealed in a concrete tomb, I couldn't move.

"Gray." The voice repeated.

I focused in the darkness in front, multicolored hair parted over vibrant magenta eyes.

"Gray! Party's just about over. Twi wanted me to find you."

I shook my head and opened my eyes wide enough to adjust to the dark. Looking down, Fluttershy seemed to be sleeping sound through Rainbow's harsh tone.

"Yeah yeah, give me a minute." I held out my hand and gave Fluttershy a push, stirring her awake.

"Hope I wasn't interrupting." She teased.

"Very funny, I could just lead the camblings TO you." I bluffed.

"Changelings. And yeah right! They wouldn't last a second once I got ahold of them!" She raised her head confidently. Fluttershy raised her own head from my thigh, slowly perking awake.

"Ugh, tell your ego to stay out of our conversations." I rolled my eyes.

Rainbow mocked me in an exaggerated tone.

Fluttershy yawned, her ears cutely folding back, before locking eyes with Rainbow.

"Alright, I'll head back in." I agreed, slowly sitting upright. Fluttershy sat up and hopped down from the wooden bench wordlessly.

"Yeah yeah, just don't take too long. Twilight might start having fits." Rainbow teased.

"Fits?" I asked.

"Fits." Rainbow confirmed.

"Hasn't anyone been wining her hourly?" I joked.

"Apparently not enough. Although I have seen her get wasted, once..." Rainbow laughed.

"She's been drunk before? Didn't seem the type to me." I shrugged.

"She isn't. She just gets real quiet. You have to say her name loud enough to get her to pay attention." Rainbow explained.

"We really shouldn't be talking about her behind her back..." Fluttershy complained.

"Hey shhhh, I could use this one day." I teased.

Fluttershy turned around with a frown, "This is exactly why."

Rainbow and I laughed, before she took off back across the courtyard.

"Adios!" She shouted.

"They have spani-? Bye!" I shouted

I nudged Fluttershy with my hip, we started towards the barracks once more. The castle was outright black as night, save for several torches lining the walls, which only lit up thin bubbles. I turned to look at the softie, her gaze quickly shifted downward, I could see her eyes at an angle. Wider, brighter, perhaps my optimism, but she didn't look quite so on-edge.

Re-entering the barracks, first floor, the decorations had been taken down, tables folded, the majority of the officers had left the building. It appeared that fun and games were over. Tomorrow was the day, I would prove myself not only to the sentient beings who may possess an ability to return me to my unit, but also to Elliot, who, as it stands, would likely not make it home at my side. Most of the females were already upstairs in bed.

Across the marble floor, Twilight turned from Rainbow to face me across the room. She smiled and took a slow pace towards us. The guards, sliding bunks back into place, moved out of her way.

"Good, you're back. You all set for tomorrow?" She asked, coming to a stop at my feet.

"Just as set as I was last time you asked." I grinned sarcastically.

"Just keep yourself safe out there. Please." She looked at my chest.

"Safe? I'm always safe!" I joked.

She gathered the other girls, the group headed outside of the barracks, and gave our farewells.

"Be safe, see you when you get back!" Pinkie enthusiastically shouted, waving.

"Take care, when you're all back in one piece, I'll have to do something about that drab of yours..." Rarity raised an eyebrow at my camouflage.

Applejack took a few steps closer, I had hardly ever spoken to or interacted with the orange country pony before. To my surprise, she stood on her hinds, and hugged me. She only reached up towards rib height.

"Please bring him back in one piece." She whispered.

I cleared my throat uncomfortably, "I'm sure he's just as much of a pain in the neck to them as he was to us."

She stepped back, Fluttershy smiled and dipped her head slightly. "Be careful." Her pupils once again shrinking.

"C'mon! It's like all of you expect me to go get myself blown apart! If you guys wanted me gone that bad, you could've taken me out yourselves!" I teased, laughing.

Only Twilight awkwardly played along the joke.

"Look, we're in the lead here. I doubt we'll be facing much opposition. They just can't handle this level of technological supremacy." I shrugged.

"You're absolutely right. But it's a good idea to stay cautious." Twilight advised.

"She's right, what if they're waiting for you?" Applejack commented.

"Oh don't be such downers! Gray's a professional!" Pinkie cheered.

"There! Someone with optimism!" I pointed at Pinkie, who smiled in return.

The girls seemed tense to get back to the pad and head back along home, I knew it was time to part.

Seeing her head hanging low, I ruffled Fluttershy's hair. Her teal eyes stared up at me for a moment. The girls turned and walked down the trail. She turned her head, then quickly followed suit. She turned her head towards me one last time.

"Goodbye." She whispered.

"Ciao!" I hollered.

Seeing the life of the party heading off themselves, I looked at Twilight, my fatigue coming over me, I yawned. It was time to sleep.

She nodded in agreement, and turned to walk up towards the kingdom above. As I retreated into a darkened barracks, full of partied-out, and high-spirited soldiers.

I remembered the eyes, pale blue marbles with no life. It made me feel uncomfortable. It told me, somehow, that my duties here were far from over. I tried not to believe that these were a foreshadowing of the day ahead, but somehow I couldn't deny the coincidence. Nightmares swallowed me like prey caught between a wolf's teeth.

"Rise and shine!" A high-pitched voice cheered, rapping on my private door.

"Go away!" I covered my head with my pillow. I had been waking up repeatedly throughout the night, and had been awake for quite some time.

"You know I won't stop until you come out." Twilight insisted.

"Why don't you lead them?" I complained.

"Because 'you're a professional'!" She mocked Pinkie's tone. "She meant it, you know. She'd be disappointed if you abandoned all hope now."

"If you're going to embarrass me in front of my platoon, you'd better have a bigger one." I warned.

"For fuck's sake!" One of the soldiers shouted from the deeper halls of the barracks.

"Inconsiderate, isn't she?!" I shouted back.

"I'm coming in." Twilight warned, opening the door before finishing her warning.

"You know, I'm pretty sure there's a moral code that you give more notice than the middle of a sentence." I teased. "What if I didn't want you to see what I was doing?"

"Well then don't do things you don't want me to see. Especially when you're running half an hour behind." She rolled her eyes.

I looked to the window, the moon lit the sky a violet color. Still absolutely dark in the foliage below.

"The sun isn't even bleeding a single ray of light above the horizon yet. What time is it?!" I complained.

"0430." She smiled innocently.

"Sweet Virgin Mary I'm late!" I panicked, bolting up from the covers in my trousers and white tank-top, running straight into the hallway. "Rise and shine you mmmmmmmmmother fuckers we're late!" I shouted at the top of my lungs.

"You mean you're late?" Twilight covered a smirk with a hoof.

"Hey, there's no I in team." I guarded.

"Mhm" She turned to face me, "The Colonel wants you on landing pad Grayhound in an hour and a half, they have the 2nd carriage division there to deliver you to Baltimare Intercontinental for your ship ride. Two Royal Sea Stallions will lead the assault, which will fire their cannons onto the beach far prior to landing. Then, your platoon's boat, the "Sea Serpent", will attack the beach, and destroy any targets of opportunity along the way. Still got it?" She raised her eyebrows.

"No, I slept through all of your briefings." I rolled my eyes. "Yes I got it. You do this every day. It sounds like a piece of cake."

The female barracks, on the floor above, thumped as females struggled into their armor.

"I guess soldiers aren't as obedient where you come from." She raised an eyebrow with a smirk.

"I guess leaders aren't as bland where I come from." I stuck out my tongue, she giggled.

"I'll be sure to bring crayons next time." She teased.

"Please?" I replied.

One chance...

"Come on slow pokes! They don't want to wait for us!" I shouted.

"Get moving platoon!" The platoon CO shouted.

The bright sun finally stretched over the land, casting a wonderful sunrise to walk into. The rays cast through fifteen faint onion-shaped vehicles on the pad ahead.

I approached the tallest pony, a unicorn, almost neck-height, assuming he held some sort of significance.

"Where's your CO?" I asked.

"Uh, I do not know sir." He stuttered.

"You don't know, that's great. Anyone know where the CO is?!" I asked aloud.

"Right here." A female shouted, no more than 12 feet away, speaking to one of the ponies that pulled a carriage.

"Ah, good. Platoon! Get accountability!" I shouted over my shoulder. "And you," I turned back to the girl, "-what do you need us to do?"

"Well have them load up from the rear, and head up the line, slowly filling the carts. Try to keep the higher ranks separated by one or two carts, of course. You will sit with your Platoon commander, myself, Captain Hermes and 1st Lieutenant Blueshackle. The trip to Baltimare should take us about 2 and a half hours." She briefed.

"Sounds cool, and you are?" I asked, holding out my hand.

"Lieutenant Colonel Ironwood." She took my hand and shook it, her hoof turned out much larger, and my hand only wrapped partially and awkwardly around the appendage. I smiled before returning to brief my Platoon CO.

Before long, into the carriages we went. Seeing the rear 3 carriages filled up, and the others filling up in order perfectly, I smiled and slumped back into my spot, second to front, where Colonel Ironwood was waiting.

"Get comfy." She said.

Takeoffs were uncomfortable, as always. I felt my stomach lurch into my throat multiple times. But once we reached a stable altitude, the daze of this alien world came over me, putting me out cold.

Author's Note

Please report typoes, improper language, or any other comments, questions, suggestions, or concerns in the comments. I do love me some comments. If you want to know more about the characters, or me personally, I'd be happy to answer for you. In the meantime, enjoy some other stories on FIMfic. This isn't the only story I write, but it's the only one being updated for awhile.