The Factions of Equestria

The next day...

Luke was at the shooting range with a Mossberg 500 12 gauge shotgun with a pistol grip and a foregrip. While Luke was more used to shotguns with a buttstock, this gun didn't have one. The pistol grip was made of rubber, so it was comfortable in his hands. He was just about to fill the dummy with lead, until someone opened the door. Luke turned around, and smiled at the sight of Twilight in the doorway.

"Twilight!" Luke said, smiling.

"Hi, Luke!" Twilight said, returning a smile.

"What's up?"

"Well, yesterday I submitted our interview into the newspaper, and-"

"Wait, you submitted the interview in the paper?"

"I'm sorry, did you not want that?"

"Nonono! I'm actually flattered. It's cool!"

"Oh, good! Because, you're the talk of the town in Ponyville!"

"Wait, really?"

"Yes! The few ponies who feared all humans in town have changed their minds since the paper came out this morning!"

"Wow....heh..."

Luke scratched the back of his head, and chuckled slightly. An awkward silence filled the room as Luke and Twilight stood there for about twenty seconds, occasionally looking at each other. Then, Twilight cleared her throat and began speaking.

"Oh, um...was I interrupting you?" Twilight asked, sheepishly.

"Oh, no! Not at all. I was just planning to squeeze in a few shots here in the range." Luke replied, chambering a shell in his shotgun.

"Oh! Well, may I observe your marksmanship?"

"Well, sure...but the noise that a gun makes may hurt your ears."

"It's fine! I'll just cast a spell to silence the loud, abrupt noise."

"Well, okay. Get comfy!"

Twilight sat on a stool behind him and observed. Luke already was nervous. He had never fired a shotgun with a barrel that short, so he didn't know how accurate he was going to be. He then took a deep breath, and fired. BOOM! The recoil on that gun was hard, but was easy to manage with the foregrip. The buckshot exploded from the short barrel, and spread far apart. Some pellets hitting the chest, two in the legs of the dummy, and a single pellet hitting the target where the teeth would be. Bits of hay flew about in the vicinity of the impact points. Luke ejected the shell, and heard the sound on hooves clapping. He turned around to see Twilight applauding him for his marksmanship.

"That was amazing! While I am not one for violence, I see why Jack chose you as his executive officer!" she said enthusiastically.

"Indeed." Luke said, ejecting the rest of the shells and setting the shotgun down, "I was just testing this one out. I think I like regular shotguns instead."

"What makes the 'shotgun' different from the 'pistol'?"

Perfect. Time to teach her of my knowledge of weapons!

"Well," Luke started, "Guns come in many shapes and sizes. All guns have the same purpose: launching projectiles at your foes at high speeds."

"Okay..." Twilight said, pulling out her notepad again, "I hope you don't mind if I recorded this data."

"Not at all. Go ahead."

"Okay...continue, please!"

"The pistol is a basic gun. They can be fired with at least one hand, depending on the power of their bullet. Bullets can be loaded into handguns and revolvers alike, but they are both different. Pistols use magazines that you have to load with bullets. You then load the magazine into the handle of the gun, chamber a bullet, and fire. Like so," Luke said as he took out his 1911 pistol and demonstrated the magazine and how it works.

"Fascinating! And, what about the shotgun?" Twilight asked as she finished scribbling into her notepad.

"Shotguns are interesting weapons. Shotguns almost always require two hands to use, and use a special type of bullet called 'shells'. There are many types, but the three most well-known shells are birdshot, buckshot, and slugs. Birdshot uses teeny tiny pellets to do external damage to the body. Mainly to cause pain to the skin. Buckshot is similar. It uses pellets too, but these pellets are much larger. For twelve gauge buckshot, there are usually nine balls of lead that fire out to do external, and internal damage. And finally, we have slugs. Slugs are very simple: They fire a single, accurate, and powerful piece of lead to do more internal damage. Not to mention, the kick on the weapon is incredible when using such ammunition. Something to note is because buck and bird uses ammo that spreads, it is best to use it in close quarter combat. As for slugs, they are better for longer ranges," Luke said as he loaded all 3 types in his shotgun, and demolished the target.

"Wow...Luke...that was incredible!" Twilight said in amazement as she scribbled the last notes on her pad.

"Ah, well...it was nothin'." Luke said, sniffing the smoke coming from the barrel of his weapon.

"I must say, you have improved since the first time I saw you."

"Huh?"

"When I arrived at base, I saw you stumble into a building with Michael. "

"Oh...yeah, I was getting sick."

"I see..."

"...hey! Wanna meet my good friend Randy? He's the quartermaster. He's got one of the best jobs: managing all our weapons and ammunition!"

"Okay, sure!"

Twilight hops off of her seat and follows Luke into the hall. After a few moments, they reach the front desk. However...no one was there.

"Huh?" Twilight  raised an eyebrow as she looked through the glass.

"Randy?" Luke called out, "Strange. He's not here. He even left his donuts on the table."

"You think he could be on break?"

"Uh uh. His job is so simple, he never leaves this seat."

"Well then. Maybe some other time."

"I guess so."

"Well, I must get going. I will be busy at the castle tonight!"

"Okay! Well...thanks for visiting me, Twilight! Come back soon!"

"Oh, I will!"

Luke smiled to her, which she promptly smiled back at him. After that, she left the room and exited the PAP compound. When she left, Luke decided to look for Randy. He searched the entire compound, but didn't see or hear of him. This got Luke slightly concerned, so he decided to go ask Jack about this...even though he hated Jack. Still, he had a job to do: making sure his clan mates were safe and happy. He entered his office, and called out.

"Jack?!" He yelled, but got no response.

Luke approached Jack's desk and found his journal. It was open, and it was that day's date. He sat down, and read the entry.

Dear journal,

Twilight re-visited the compound today, and just like yesterday...she didn't come to see me. I'm not mad, I just...kinda want her to pay a little more attention to me. After all, I am the guy who raised the army who protects her and Equestria from the dangers of the FTP clan. Maybe...when we get married...I may become a prince...and have enough power to make everypony worship us!

Anyways, I must get back to work. Earlier I saw Randy leave the compound without permission, and before we could stop him...he already disappeared from view. Now, I don't care too much about the obese bastard...but I do care about a guy who will distribute our weapons to our members without asking questions. To be honest, I don't care if he got eaten by timber wolves, or lost in the Everfree...but I will need to find a new quartermaster soon.

-Sincerely, Jack.

After Luke read the rest of Jack's journal, including the plans to brainwash him...Luke was furious. He slammed his fist into the table and let out a roar of frustration.

"Turn me into your own super soldier, huh?" Luke started, "That why you gave me the executive position?! No wonder Twilight isn't interacting with you all the time; you don't deserve her! All you are is a power-hungry, hypocritical, lying, first-class, fucking hoe!"

After Luke had a stomping fit, he exited the building. He no longer was worried about Randy anymore. He now learned what was REALLY going on. Jack wanted power, and wanted to use Luke to rise. He knew what he had to do, but to be honest...what could he do? He couldn't mention this to anyone: if he failed, Jack would realize that Luke was snooping and would demote him...or worse. Luke knew that Jack was a tyrant...but he had nothing he could do about it. Betraying Jack may hurt Twilight's feelings...and that was the last thing he wanted to do. Still, it bugged him that Jack was simply using Twilight to rise in power...

There was one thing that was for sure.

The fucker had to be STOPPED.