New World, Old Fight

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Epilogue
A Line in the Sand
Chapter 8

Chapter 2

Chapter 2
Semper Vincit

TIME: Unknown
Location: Unknown
Day 1

After walking for what seemed like hours through the dense foliage, stopping every now and then to shoot an azimuth and reestablish my position. I had finally reached the edge of the forest

Bursting through into blinding sunlight I found myself in a wide open field, about a half klick away stood the object of my trek. The castle was, in a word, majestic… and that was severely understating the point. Tall spires reaching towards the light blue sky, carved and polished stone so white it almost had a pinkish tinge to it.

I stood in awe of it’s beauty, I’ve always loved medieval architecture and this was a stunning example. My training kicked in and I quickly scanned for threats, finding none apparent I started advancing across the field. I lifted my rifle and flipped the 3x magnifier up, checking for movement around the perimeter of the massive structure I saw several of what appeared to be Shetland ponies milling around, keeping my joy at seeing some kind of civilization in check was tough as I kept an eye out for silhouettes and commenced hauling some serious ass towards the wall surrounding the castle proper.

About 10 feet high, the wall looked more ornamental than defensive, I filed that away in my already (as you can imagine) extensive list of questions for the occupants of the castle. As I approached the wall I slowed up, falling into a crouch and making my way silently towards the base, at this point I wasn’t taking any chances. I tightened my grip on my MK18 and stalked forward, checking my flanks, when I heard voices coming from just over the wall.

“I heard the Princess had to reschedule her appearance”

Princess? I thought, Royalty?, where the hell am I?

“Hmph, I get the feeling there’s more to it than that”

“Could be, but who can say? It’s probably nothing”

I pressed myself flush against the wall, trying to glean whatever information I could before I just waltzed into the courtyard, unfortunately the speakers had moved out of earshot. I assessed my options, I could A) Bail over the wall and hope for the best or, B) Walk up and knock on the front door and hope for the best.
Needless to say I didn’t care for my choices, but it was game time.

Deciding on the main entrance (sneaking around is no kind of way to prove you‘re not a threat), I took a deep breath and stepped out into the open. To say I wasn’t prepared for what I saw is like saying the Israelis and the Palestinians annoy each other, small ponies were walking around, having what appeared to be conversations…It took me a second to realize it was a market.

I was observing commerce conducted by ponies, kinda goes without saying that I was in shock at this point, then one of them caught sight of me and all hell broke loose.

“OH MY CELESTIA , WHAT IS THAT THING!” A brown pony cried.

“IT’S A MONSTER!! RUN!” shouted another.

“I’m not going to hurt anyone I just need some help” I tried to tell them before a sharp blow to the head knocked me the fuck out……

1 year ago
Khost Afghanistan
“You got him?”

“I tally, Wind?”

“No value, range 975 meters”

“Set”

“Blast the fucker”

The report from the .300 is deafening, I regain my sight picture just in time to see the round blow off the Insurgent’s leg mid-femur….

“Huh, Wind must’a kicked up” my spotter said with a grin….

Location Unknown

My eyes snap open as I regain consciousness, the pain starts immediately radiating out from the back of my head to what seems like everywhere. Trying to move, I discovered I was bound tightly, and to add the toothpick to this shit sandwich all my gear is gone. I realized at that point I‘m laying on the cold stone floor of what appears to be a dungeon of sorts. Through the bars I can see a lone guard, a pony in silver armor, he bore a striking resemblance to a Roman Legionnaire.

“HEY, BUDDY!” I yell.

“QUIET DEMON!, The Princess will deal with you soon enough!”

Immediately following that lovely little exchange, the door at the top of the stairs opened, I couldn’t get a good look from my floor-borne vantage point, but my pony-guard bowed deeply

“Princess” I heard him say.

Walking into my field of view was a white horse, no, a Pegasus Unicorn hybrid of sorts, around five and a half feet tall with a mane of pastel colors and a shining gold crown atop her head. I couldn’t keep my eyes from widening at how majestic she was, her presence commanded respect but I felt no fear, I felt…comforted. Her violet eyes took in my prone form and she turned to the guard.

“Captain Strike, untie the prisoner, please” she said softly, her voice was almost musical, but filled with authority, I could see immediately why she was in charge.

The guard bowed once again “As you wish princess”

He unlocked the cell door, moving towards me “Strike” pulled a sword from a sheath on his side with his mouth and swiftly cut the ropes binding my hands and feet, I stood up rubbing my wrists where the ropes had dug in as Strike beckoned me out of my cell. I bowed to the Princess, god only knew I didn’t want to piss off the locals. She inclined her head in my direction and spoke.

“Strike? Will you give us some privacy for a moment?”

The guard looked stunned “ Princess! This, this THING might be dangerous I must insis--”

The Princess gave him a small smile “Strike this being means nopony harm, please give us a moment”

The Captain looked mutinous but acquiesced with a nod of his head “I’ll remain just outside the door, in case you need me”, the last part was said with an openly hostile look in my direction. I couldn’t help but smile, that little guy had some fight in him, on the heels of that thought I couldn’t quite believe how accepting I was of the whole “talking ponies” thing. Guess a lifetime of cartoons will do that to ya.

I heard the door close and the Princess turned her attention back to me. “May I have your name young man?”

The question caught me off guard, I was expecting “what are you” or “where are you from”. I cocked my head to the side, “My name is Petty Officer Michael Dunn, Princess, United States Navy. and If you don’t mind me saying so, you seem a little too casual about all this”

“I know of Humans if that’s what has you confused, I’ve known of them for some time now” she shot back with a smile “Although, that knowledge is not widespread among pony kind.”

“I gathered from the warm welcome” I said rubbing the tender spot at the base of my skull. “Now that you have my name, may I have yours?” I held out my hand.

She raised her hoof I grasped it gently and shook it, “Princess Celestia, Ruler of Equestria

I couldn’t help but crack a smile “ It’s a pleasure and an honor ma’am, I have to ask, what’s the plan for me now?”

Again with that smile, like there was a joke and she was the only one who got the punch line. “You will stay here, in the palace for the time being. You will be taken care of until we can find a more permanent residence”

“Thank you Princess, I’ll be as unobtrusive as possible”

She looked directly into my eyes and chuckled “Somehow I doubt that, Captain? You can come in now”

The door opened and Captain Strike’s head appeared, “Princess?”

“Please escort our guest upstairs. Make sure he is fed, clean and comfortable, I’m making his welfare your responsibility Captain”

Strike snapped to attention, ”Yes Princess!, He’ll be kept safe you have my word”

Celestia nodded “ Very good captain”, she turned to me “I’m sorry to leave you just yet, but it is very late and I do have certain responsibilities that require my attention”

I bowed “I understand Princess, thank you again and goodnight”

After she left us, Strike and I made our way out of the dungeon and into the main hall. Once again I was left in awe of this place’s beauty, the colors were so vibrant, as if I was seeing the world in high definition. I was shown to a lavish bedroom, to my surprise my gear minus my weapons was stacked in the corner, after washing up and changing into a fresh pair of skivvies I sat on the bed taking stock of my situation. I was the only one of my species, in a strange new world… and I felt strangely at peace. Digging in my pack for my smokes, I stumbled upon the photo of Jess, I fought back the tears threatening to fall as I laid down on the bed, placing her picture on the pillow next to me, her face the last thing I saw as I faded off to sleep.

“Goodnight my love”…..

Chapter 3

Chapter 3
A Brand New Day

Blood….so much blood… I didn’t know one person had that much in them. The screams of the wounded cut through the night air like a knife….the fires are still burning…

A child walks out of the smoke, bloodied and broken…. I reach out to him as he falls…

*GASP*

I awoke with a start, sweating and breathing heavily to sunlight streaming in through the window. I walked into the bathroom and splashed some water in my face, gazing into the mirror, my dark green eyes looking back at me, the scar on my neck where an Insurgent counter sniper’s bullet had almost ended my life… I looked a hell of a lot older than my 26 years. There came a knock on my door and a soft voice I recognized as Celestia’s.

“Michael? Are you awake?”

“Yes Princess, come in please”

The door opened and in she walked, “Good morning Michael, I trust you slept well?”

I finished pulling my t-shirt on and turned to face her “I slept very well Princess thank you”

She gave me a genuine smile “I’m glad the room was to your liking, I was hoping you and I could take a walk and perhaps you could tell me your story?”

I returned the smile with equal warmth. “I’d enjoy that Princess, give us an opportunity to get on the same page”

Celestia and I made our way out of the castle and onto the grounds proper. As we walked in silence I took in my surroundings, I was truly seeing Equestria for the first time. I’d never seen a place so idyllic, so peaceful. I felt as though the story I had to tell would taint this place’s beauty and innocence, but I took a deep breath and began my story in earnest.

I started hemorrhaging information, something about her made me want to explain myself, (she reminded me of my mom….weird huh?).

I think for her part, Celestia was a bit taken aback by my sudden outpouring, and silenced me with a raised hoof. “It sounds to me Michael that you have had a run of very poor luck, for that I am sorry. I am compelled to ask certain questions however.”

“Of course Princess, ask away”

She thought for a moment before beginning, “The first thing I have to understand, you said these nuclear weapons possess immense destructive power correct?” I nodded, “I ask because, while magic is a way of life here in Equestria and we do have spell’s that are capable of that kind of power. They take many years to master, and aren’t capable of anything close to what brought you here, which through my research seems to be an inter-dimensional shift . It’s disconcerting to say the least.”

I sat down on a stump. Hard. “So basically you’re telling me that you don’t understand how I got here any more than I do? From which I can infer there’s no way to send me home?”

The Princess nodded sadly “At the present time, no. I will set the best and brightest minds in Equestria to work on this issue as soon as possible and if there’s anything we can do we will, I promise.”

“Thank you Princess, but I better get comfortable, could be awhile. Anything else you’d like to know?”

“Yes as a matter of fact, you’ve told me about your time as a soldier and I need a promise from you Michael. First, that if I find you a permanent residence in Equestria you’ll not harm anypony. And secondly, that you will be as vague as possible concerning your origins, concepts such as war, destruction, and killing are foreign to pony kind… can you promise me Michael?”

I nodded, “Princess, I would rather die than taint your world with the brutality of mine. As for harming anypony, I killed to protect the innocent, we fought monsters but we never became them. I swear to it.”

Celestia looked me dead in the eyes, “Lying is a human trait, I trust you Michael but I have to be sure, would you be open to a somewhat unconventional method?”

I cocked an eyebrow, “I certainly don’t want any mistrust to exist between us Princess, but what exactly are you thinking?”

“ I could peer into your memories and see for myself, hardly an unreasonable request considering where you came from, do you agree?”

I was in full on crisis mode, it was my worst nightmare. To be judged for my actions in the field by someone who had no idea what it was like to look true evil in the eye, on the outside however I shrugged.

“If you feel it’s the only way to be sure Princess, then lets get to it.”

Celestia nodded and her horn began to glow as we were quickly ensconced in white light….

7 months ago…
Democratic Republic Of Congo.

“Gunfighter is inbound to target, ETA 5 mike” Ryan whispered into his tac radio “Hey zaz you ready for this?”

I smiled, “LT, I was born ready”

We’d been hunting a known war criminal for the last 3 months, he was a real scumbag… responsible for numerous atrocities, drug and sex trafficking and the kidnapping and training of child soldiers in every one of the small “Conflicts” in and around DRC for the last 5 years, we’d finally got clearance to take him down after Langley had discovered he was supplying arms to Al Shabaab, a Somali insurgent group linked to Al Qaeda. It bothered me immensely that we only stepped in because he’d become an Islamic aligned threat, in my humble opinion this asshole should have been killed a long time ago.

But I’m a field operator… I do what I’m told and leave the politics to the politicians, we had a shot at him now and I’d be damned if the bastard wasn’t going down.

“Closing in on the perimeter now, Bobby? How’s it looking?” Ryan whispered.

Bobby’s stone cold voice came back over the team freq “Five on the outs LT, 1 in the tower, looks like anywhere between 10 and 15 hostiles total”

“Copy, we’re moving in, zaz take the right side, take that guy quiet like.”

I gave him a thumbs up and moved quickly and quietly towards the unsuspecting sentry having a smoke by the gate, I felt kind of bad.. Killing the guy before he was finished seemed like a dick move, I slammed the knife into the base of his skull twisting it like a screwdriver, he died without a sound. We swept the village taking down the sentries before collapsing on the target building.

Ryan waved me towards the door “Stack up, zaz take the point”

I nodded and lined up on the door, Ryan placed his hand on my shoulder, squeezed once and I kicked the door in. We spread out, taking control of the ground floor quickly. Moving up to the second level I found what had to be our guy’s room, a sleeping guard sitting outside the door.

I drew my knife and stalked toward him with the team at my back, he started to stir and I jumped on him one hand covering his mouth, the other jamming my knife into the side of his neck as I dragged him to the floor, blood gushed over my gloved hand but the struggle was brief. We stacked up on the door and kicked it in. Our target was sitting up startled by the noise, he made a wild grab for the AK sitting at the foot of the bed, only to be cold cocked by Ryan who proceeded to zip tie his hands and check his face against the photo we were supplied.

“It’s him” Ryan said then his eyes along with his weapon snapped to movement in the far corner, I spun around switching on my weapon light and was shocked to see a young girl, about 12 or 13 hiding under a table, she was completely naked and looking terrified.

“Sonofabitch” I swore grabbing a blanket off the bed and walking towards her, she was scrambling trying to get away until I showed her the blanket and said, “C’est bon, je ne vais pas vous blesser mon enfant” (It‘s ok I won‘t hurt you my child).

Thank god she spoke French or I don’t think I’d ever been able to calm her down. She smiled weakly and crawled over to me, I quickly wrapped her in the blanket and sat her on the table.

“Parlez vous avec anglais?”

“Oui Monsieur, only a little”

I smiled at her “That’s okay sweetheart I’ll keep it simple, did this man hurt you?” I pointed at the bound and gagged asshole on the floor.

Tears welled up in her and my eyes as she nodded. I’ve never felt so cold, the rage I felt was all consuming. “LT, leave me with him.”

“Zaz you know I can’t do tha-”

“Ry, go… and take the girl”

Ryan nodded, he motioned the guys out of the room as I turned my attention back to our friend. His wide terrified eyes were shining at me over the duct tape securing his mouth, I ripped it off and he immediately began ranting at me in French, begging me to let him go, that it was all a mistake. I kicked him as hard as I could in the face, blood and teeth flew across the room.

“You think I care for your excuses? SHE‘S A CHILD!” I raged as I delivered another vicious kick to his stomach, now he was really scared, offering me money in exchange for his miserable life. I wasn’t listening, I drew my SIG , screwed the suppressor on. “Prepare yourself you piece of shit” I smiled as he screamed leveled the weapon at his forehead and fired with a suppressed THWAT, the 9mm round impacted his face and blew his brains all over the wall behind him….

“To Protect the Innocent…..”

“Now you see what I meant, I would never want anypony to experience this kind of horror, even secondhand”

With a bright flash I was once again standing in the field with Celestia, more than a little dizzy I leaned over and closed my eyes waiting for the nausea to pass.

“Ugh, that was pretty damn strange and I hope you’re satisfied now Princess.”

Celestia looked downright ill, “Michael…I had no idea…”

“Yeah, well now you do. And that was just one operation, I went on hundreds of those little jaunts during my time in SPECWAR.” I wasn’t happy, I felt backed into a corner almost hamstrung by Celestia’s request.

“I did that so you would trust me Celestia, you’re all I have at the moment..”

“ I understand Michael, I promise you’re trust isn’t mislaid”

Feeling my anger cool, I shot her a wry smile “I’ll hold you to that Princess”

She looked thoughtful for a moment before she spoke, “I think I know the perfect place for you, but for now let’s go have lunch, hmm?”

“Sounds great”.

I was sitting in my room flipping through the photos of my family on my Iphone, god I missed them…I didn’t know if I was ever going to get home but if I ever did my sister was getting a new car for Christmas, I was walking down my driveway when a knock at the door brought me back to reality.

“Michael?”

“Come in Princess”

She walked into the room, a big smile on her face “ I’ve found you a new home”

“Really now? That was quick, can I ask where?”

“Ponyville, You’ll be staying with my student Twilight Sparkle, until we can come up with something more permanent, or send you home whichever comes first”

“Princess, I don’t know what to say except thank you from the bottom of my heart, you’ve been more understanding and supportive than I had any right to expect. When do we leave?”

“As soon as you’re ready, and there’s no need to thank me Michael, I wouldn’t be much of a Princess if I turned away those in need” she said with a smile.

“No I suppose not” I said, looking into her eyes.

She broke my gaze, cleared her throat “I, along with the chariot will be waiting out front when you’re done packing”

“Yes ma’am, I’ll finish up and be down momentarily”

I finished packing up my gear and took one last look around the room as I walked out and closed the door
behind me. The chariot was made entirely of gold with two silver clad Pegasi hitched to it, Celestia was already sitting in the back waiting for me as I made my way down the castle steps.

Moments later we were in the air, if Equestria was beautiful from the ground then it was stunning from up here, the starlit night was breathtaking in a way I’d never experienced before. Celestia chuckled,

“ I take it you enjoy Luna’s beautiful night?”

I turned to face her “Who now?”

“My sister Luna, I regret that you weren’t able to meet her during your stay but there’s time still”

“Unfortunately I do have an abundance of that Princess” I said turning my gaze back to the beautiful star filled sky.

We touched down in Ponyville about 30 minutes later, in the dark it reminded me of some of the old towns in Holland where I’d been lucky enough to go on leave about a year ago. Lanterns lined “Main street” casting a beautiful orange glow on the simple homes and shops. We stopped in front of a massive Oak tree that had been hollowed out and refitted as a home with windows, doors, even a garden out front. Celestia hopped out and started for the door, then stopped and turned to me.

“ If you would wait here, I’m going to go warn my student” she said with a chuckle

I couldn’t help but smile “ Of course Princess, do what you need to do, I’ll just wait here like a good boy”

She made her way to the front door and knocked, the door opened and a small purple Unicorn popped her head out, I couldn’t hear the conversation but it was clear the small Unicorn was excited. She was bouncing from hoof to hoof, when Celestia finally led her over to the chariot it almost looked like she was vibrating.
Celestia looked pleased by the result, it seemed to me like fear but then again, I wasn’t great at pony body language.

“Michael? Meet my faithful student Twilight Sparkle”……..

Chapter 4

Chapter 4
Cheers

I stepped down from the chariot and grabbed my pack before extending my hand to the hyperventilating Unicorn.

“Pleasure to meet you Miss Sparkle, my name’s Michael”

She squeaked a bit as I addressed her, but the minute she opened her mouth I realized how wrong
I’d been, thinking she was afraid.

“The pleasure is all mine Michael, I’d love to hear all about you, or your home, your species, anything really!”

This was followed by a nervous giggle, and I realized it was true wonder, not fear that was coloring her reaction. Celestia had told me briefly on the ride over how intelligent her student was, constantly searching for answers, sounded a lot like me when I was young.

“I’d be honored to explain anything you’d like to know ma’am” I said with a covert look in Celestia’s direction, shaking my head, not everything.

I offered Twilight a smile, “And where will I be staying?”

“Oh, I had my assistant make up one of our spare rooms for you, come inside and we can get all of your belongings organized”

“Sounds good to me Miss Sparkle”

Celestia cleared her throat “ That seems to be my cue, I’m sorry to leave so soon Michael but I’m sure Twilight will take good care of you for the time being.”

I bowed, “Again Princess, I cannot thank you enough for everything you have done.”

She turned to Twilight “ Good evening Twilight Sparkle, I expect updates on Michael’s acclimation”

Twilight nodded “Of course Princess”

Celestia climbed into the chariot and was gone into the night sky. Twilight motioned for me to follow her as we made our way across the front yard, opening the door I got my first glimpse at my new home. It was even bigger on the inside than it looked outside, what grabbed my attention however were the massive bookcases that adorned the walls.

“This is incredible!, I’ve never seen so many books!”

Twilight looked shocked “You read?”

I rolled my eyes “Of course I read Miss Sparkle, the Princess tells me you’re quite the student.”

Twilight blushed slightly “ I just enjoy a good textbook as much as the next pony”

“ No need to be modest Miss Sparkle, you’ve obviously worked very hard for your intellect” I waved my hand at the rows upon rows of textbooks. “ I’d certainly be proud if I were
you” I snatched up a book titled A History Of Equestria, “Might I borrow this for the evening Miss?”

“Of course, and just Twilight please”

“Twilight it is, call me Mike”

“Alright…Mike” she sounded like she was testing it out, “Let me show you where you’ll be staying”.

I followed Twilight up the winding staircase, the room was a bit on the small side but more than adequate for what I needed. Twilight said something about having an early morning engagement and said her goodnights. I unpacked my gear and squared everything away, with that done I sat on the edge of the bed and spared a look out the window. The sleepy little town reminded me of home so much it hurt, I hoped my presence wouldn’t cause too much of an uproar…I had not yet met Pinkie Pie.

3 months later

“And PUSH!”

Big Mac and I shoved with all our might and the cart finally tipped over onto it’s wheels.

“Whew, pain in the ass. I was starting to think we’d be messing with this thing all damn day”

“Eeyup”

I was about to try for the millionth time to pry a bit more out of the ever aloof work-pony, when Applejack’s voice rang out across the field. “LUNCHTIME”

It had been an easy three months, Pinkie had, the second she found me out thrown a huge party. At first I thought I was going to scare everypony off but they were very welcoming, if not a bit leery. In fact the only incident that was remotely strange was when Twilight introduced me to the crowd.

“Settle down everypony, I know he may look strange. But he means nopony harm. If you have any questions for him now‘s the time to ask”

The room exploded into chaos, everypony clamoring for answers, I raised my hands in an effort to calm the storm. “Please guys one at a tim- aw hell. HEY!”

It suddenly got quiet, the ponies were looking at me, wide eyed with what I can only describe as the “kicked dog” look
“Please for the love of..Celestia?, if you have a question please raise your hand, er hoof”

A mint green pony near the back of the room was waving frantically. A huge grin on her face.

“Yes ma’am, your name?

“Lyra, Lyra Heartstrings

“And your question?”

“What are you exactly?”

“I’m a human being, Homo sapien, from Earth”

“I BUCKING KNEW IT!!!, SUCK IT BON BON!!”

With the mood lightened significantly the night continued without incident. After the party, and after reaffirming to every small child in the place that no I was not there to gobble them up. I seemed to be accepted into the small community, Ponyville was a beautiful place, Idyllic in a way my home could never be. And I was glad to have paved the way to earning their trust.

For my part. Once you live through a nuclear blast, talking, multicolored ponies aren’t what you‘d call jarring. Twilight and I had a mutual love of knowledge which made my situation a lot more bearable, many a night was spent reading books and firing questions back and forth. I’d grown quite attached to the scholarly unicorn, she could always make me laugh (OCD can be hilarious if used correctly) and we had fun no matter what we ended up doing. Whether debating the now proven Multiverse theory or reshelving ALL THE BOOKS, Spike was thrilled since it damn near halved his workload.
.

I’d been working at Sweet Apple Acres for the last few weeks, I’d felt terrible about taking advantage of Twilight’s hospitality and having no way to pay her back. I wasn’t exactly swimming in bits but I was earning my keep, and that was good enough for government work at present.

Making my way back to the house I came across Applebloom just back from school. I envied these kids, they only had to put up with 4 hours of instruction a day. Something I would have gladly killed for back during my high school days.

“Hi Mike!” the little filly ran up and hugged my knees, she had grown quite attached to the resident “alien”. For my part, I loved that little bow clad badass like my own sister.

“Hey sweetheart, how was school?”

“Borin‘!” she exclaimed “But Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are comin’ over later on, Ah’d say the day ain’t a total loss”

I chuckled a bit, she sounded pretty grown up for such a young kid yet, I put on my best southern accent “Ah’d hafta agree little lady”

She giggled and my heart nearly exploded, cuteness this one had in spades. She took a look around, seeing nopony in the immediate vicinity, she turned those huge orange eyes on me and whispered “Mike? Can, can Ah’ have a piggyback ride?”

“You better believe it darlin’” I said crouching down, “Hop on”

I carried the squealing, giggling filly into the house. The smell of fresh apple pie assaulting my nose the whole way. AJ had a stack of dishes and was placing them on the table, “Here AJ, let me give you a hand”

She rolled her eyes at my pun “ Thanks but no thanks sugarcube, Ah’ve got it covered”

“Psh, a guy tries to help out” Snatching the oven mitt AJ whipped at me out of the air, I took my seat at the table.

A few hours later I said my goodbyes and headed back to Twilight’s tree house. Applebloom had begged me to stay and help her and her friends with something she called Cutie Mark Crusaders Everfree Monster Wranglers, I was up for it before AJ found out….Applebloom was grounded and I was sent home.

The night was still and cool, a few birds still chirping, the sun disappearing below the horizon. The whole town was bathed in the orange light of dusk, I couldn’t help but feel at peace here, but my world and my family were always at the back of my mind. I stared at the sunset and wondered if they were seeing the same. I quickly put them out of my mind as I made my way into the library, that line of thought led nowhere good. Neither Twilight nor Spike seemed to be home as I made my way into the kitchen. I grabbed some toast before heading upstairs, eager for a good night’s rest…..

I catch the kid just before he hits the ground, jesus… He can’t be more than 9 or 10. The IED was a big one…at least a couple 155 shells. Ryan’s shouting orders but I can barely hear him, I’m focusing hard on trying to find a pulse. Got it, weak and thready but it’s there.

Dump the pack.

Let the world fade out and size him up.

Multiple lacerations, nicked facial artery, broken ribs.

Pressure dressing over the facial wound.

“C’mon kid”

Bleeding slows.

Stabilize him quick or he‘s gone.

Can’t get the bleeding to stop.

“More casualties” I hear the LT shout a million miles away. “Get the area secured, make sure there aren’t any secondary’s”

Focus.

I’m losing him…No, fuck that.

“C’mon buddy, stay with me.”

He’s fighting.

Dig out a Hemostat.

Tough little fucker.

Clamp the artery.

Artery tears, bleeding intensifies. Fuck!

Face is pale, he’s going into shock.

Prop his feet on my jump kit.

He’s bleeding out, going into respiratory arrest.

Broken ribs, CPR will kill him.

I’m going to lose him.

He looks at me.

Hold his hand.

Look at him.

A sharp intake of air, a violent shudder….

He’s gone……

Tears hit the sand...

CRACK.

Ambush.

Two of them, charging up the slope.

416’ up, triple tap.

He goes down screaming.

Spin and track the second asshole

He opens up.

I’m hit. Fuck it burns.

Just a graze, disregard.

Double tap the fucker, move in on him.

He’s trying to breathe.

Through his punctured lungs

That’s cute, I remember my first beer.

Double tap them both in the head.

WHIIRRRRRR-THWAP….crack

I’m slammed into the hard pack.

Sniper.

I’m hit, high.

Fuck, neck wound.

Right side, artery’s open.

I hear Bobby.

He’s calling for dustoff.

Clamping my artery.

I’m fading out hard.

Everything goes black…

“Ahhhhhhh!!”

I woke up screaming bloody murder…This isn’t Afghanistan, whoo, deep breath. You’re safe.

It was still dark outside, I knew I’d woken up the whole town with my yelling, or at the very least everypony in the house. Shit. I sat up and looked around…In the low light I could see Twilight in the corner, She was shaking, tears filling her eyes

“Fuck…”

“Twi?, are you ok?. I didn’t hurt you did I?”

She drew a ragged breath and shook her head, “I’ve never heard anypony scream like that. So I came up and you were crying, and screaming… I didn’t know what to do…” she broke off, I saw the shattered, scared look in her eyes and I knew what I needed to do, in a flash I’d hopped off the bed and scooped her up in my arms. She stiffened at the sudden contact, then broke down sobbing.

“Shhh, it’s ok, I just had a nightmare is all. Nothing to worry about, I’m ok”

I held on tight, she held on tighter, crying into my shoulder. Fuck I’d really scared her. I stroked her mane trying to get her to calm down, after awhile she did just that, looking at me with those large violet eyes, tear streaked face, she looked…Beautiful.

“Wait, What?”

“Mike?”

“Yeah Twi?”

“Can you let me go?, this is hurting my back”

I realized I was still clinging to her, holding her up on her back legs, that had to be uncomfortable.

“Sorry Twi”

“No it’s ok, um Mike?”

“Yeah?”

“I could stay if you like, just in case you have another bad dream”

I was about to say no, I’d had no female contact since Jess, when I realized who I was talking to. Twilight didn’t have any ulterior motives, she just wanted to comfort a friend.

“I’d like that, I’ve got a few hours yet till I have to be at the farm. May as well take a nap, hop up” I patted the edge of the bed, Twilight crawled up and settled herself on the side closest to the wall. I lay there, a million thoughts racing through my head. Had I given myself away?, would she view me as some kind of nutcase?

My thoughts were disrupted by her snoring softly, poor thing had exhausted herself, adrenaline does that especially at 0400. I was almost out when I felt Twilight scoot closer and wrap her front leg around my waist, nuzzling into my shoulder, I was surprised to discover I was not uncomfortable with it in the least. It was exactly the closeness and comfort I needed. I felt myself drifting again and it wasn’t long before I was out like a light.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5
Feelings…and the problems they present

I awoke a good 3 hours later, I felt like I hadn’t slept a wink. My little “episode” had taken a lot out of me. Twilight was snuggled into my back, snoring like two lumberjacks going at a redwood with a hand saw, I couldn’t help but smile as I eased my way out of her embrace. She was the very picture of serenity, I took great care as I dressed not to wake her. Her eyes fluttered open as I was tying my boots.

I smiled broadly at her, trying to set the mood “Hey sleepyhead”

She returned the smile, but after a moment it faltered. “Mike are you ok?, last night was frightening to say the least”

“It was just a bad dream Twi, I’m ok I swear. Did you know you snore horribly?” I said with a cocked eyebrow in a terrible attempt to change the subject.

She grimaced, “Not until just then…thanks for that”

I chuckled, “In all seriousness Twi, I really appreciate you being here for me last night, I needed that. I‘m gonna head downstairs and grab some chow before I head to the farm, would you like anything?”

“No thank you, I’ll have Spike make something a little later, and Mike?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ll always be here for you, no matter what.” she said, blushing.

“That means a lot Twi, more than I can articulate”

We held each others gaze and her blush deepened. Man the room got hot… quickly. After a moment I broke the silence “I, um, I should probably get going, don’t wanna be late ya know, AJ would have my ass.”

“Y-yes, I’ll see you tonight?”

“As always”

I hustled downstairs, one thought dominating my being.

“What the hell was that?”

Work was rough, I was…distracted to say the least. 12 hours with Macintosh hauling barrels of apples from the field to the barn helped a little, but Twilight and our interaction this morning consumed my mind and set it on fire. I felt warm thinking about her and it was disconcerting to say the least, it was a little after noon and I was no closer to figuring anything out .

I couldn’t understand how I could be attracted, to the point of distraction, to a purple unicorn. Part of me reasoned that she was sentient, more like a person than an animal, another part screamed “BESTIALITY” in big flashing neon letters. And another part still whispered, “If she was a human female, you would have made a move by now.” Pretty soon it was 8 and I was knocking off, dreading the walk back to the library, dreading the inevitable conversation with Twilight even more.

As I reached the front door I heard Twilights voice clearly and another I couldn’t quite place. Feeling sneaky, I dropped my bag and sidled over to the window.

“Twilight dear, it won’t do to continue to keep this kind of thing to yourself.”

“Ah, Rarity.”

“I know, it’s just such a foreign concept. I don’t quite know what to do with it.”

“Hmmm, I wonder what Twilight’s fretting over.”

“You simply must tell him how you feel or at the very least “Make a move“ as they say in order to assess his feelings for you, I think it‘s quite romantic personally. Mike is a wonderful stallion, er, man.”

I was floored.

Apparently, Twilight was wrestling with the same thing I was, and hard enough to go to one of her friends over it.

“I wouldn’t say I’ve fallen for him, but I can barely think about anything else, and the biological reaction to his presence is unnerving to say the least”

“Hmm, does it feel like your heart beats faster when you see him?”

“Well yes but-”

“And do you find yourself at a loss for words when he speaks to you?”

“I do and-”

“Twilight, darling. You are absolutely enamored with him aren’t you?”

“Yes, yes I am. Rarity what am I going to do? What if he doesn’t feel the same way? It would be so embarrassing! I’d never be able to look him in the eye again!”

“It would seem the time has come to throw caution to the wind dear.”

I figured that little break was as good a time as any, I knocked on the door. “Twilight? It’s Mike, may I come in?”

After a few seconds fraught with banging, crashing and what resembled a whinny, the door flew open to reveal an extremely nervous looking Twilight Sparkle.

“Of course you can come in, why wouldn’t you be able to come in?! This is practically your house too!”
This rant was accompanied by the most awkward, forced laugh I’d ever heard uttered by anyone, human or pony.

“Um, I heard voices and figured it would be better to knock than just barging in? How are you Rarity?”

“I’m well darling, and yourself?”

“I’m faring well ma’am, long day today. I think I‘m gonna go to bed Twi, I‘d hate to interrupt girl time” I said with a wink and a smile.

I thought Twilight was going to swallow her tongue “O-ok, sleep well, Mike”

I held her gaze and for a moment I lost myself in her deep purple eyes. I mentally shook myself, clearing my throat “Goodnight ladies”

Double timing it up the stairs I collapsed onto my bed, my head was spinning with what had just occurred. My internal monologue going a million miles a minute.

“Second time today mate, time to face up. You got it bad for that little purple hottie”

“I’m a human, she’s a pony. Full stop, end of story.”

“Love is what it is, no matter the species bro, you’re stuck here. Might as well get used to the idea and all that implies”

“What about Jess?”

“Jess would understand, it’s time you moved on.”

“But she’s a horse!”

“Refer to previous statement”

It was starting to seem like my little eavesdropping adventure was set to change everything. after hours of wracking my brain, going back to all the times we’d laughed, cried, and shared our hopes and dreams. I settled on the final, unyielding truth.

I was in love with Twilight Sparkle…

I felt liberated, my heart beating a mile a minute. I felt less like a SEAL operator, and more like a 16-year-old kid with his first crush. I honestly wanted to jump out of bed, find Twilight, and confess everything on the spot. But common sense kicked in once I checked the time…0344. It could wait till morning, I hopped off the bed and padded across the floor to the balcony.

At her urging I’d broken down a cigarette for Twilight about a week after my arrival, she’d managed to replicate a single one, then an entire pack, I was the happiest smoker in existence when I put it together that I’d never run out. I lit one up and stared out across Ponyville.

“Tomorrow, I’ll tell her everything tomorrow…”

Chapter 6

Chapter 6
A day to remember…

I awoke at 0900 sharp, my mind going too fast to allow for sleep, it was my day off and I had a young lady er mare, (Semantics) to sweep off her hooves. I dressed quickly and made my way downstairs, Spike was already making breakfast, Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

“What’s up little man?”

The tiny dragon jumped about a foot in the air, “Jeez Mike! Give a guy some warning next time!”

“Heh, sorry dude, oh I meant to ask. How’d hanging out at Rarity’s go?, you drop the bomb yet?”

“Not yet, I’ve been trying to talk Twilight into bringing back the moustache. Mares love a guy with rugged good looks.” he said waving around the spatula for emphasis.

I chuckled, ”I hear ya man, I’ll talk to her. We’ll have you walking on the wild side in no time. Speaking of Twi, have you seen her anywhere?”

“I did earlier, she ate and ran. Said something about important errands”

“Ah gotcha, any idea when she’ll be back? I need to talk to her about something”

“Sometime around 3 or 4 if I remember right, are you hungry? ”

“No thanks, I’ve got some supplies to pick up and I want to get an early start. Spike can I ask you something?”

“Shoot”

I cleared my throat, this was going to be more difficult than I’d thought. “How would you feel if there was something romantic going on between Twilight and me?”

“Well sure I- WHOA! WHAT?!”

“Calm down little guy, some things have come to light lately about how Twi and I feel about each other, you‘re her family and she means a lot to you, honestly man? I‘d like your blessing”

Spike looked deep in thought for a moment before responding, “If it’s what makes Twilight and you happy, I’d have no right to judge. Heck I won’t lie and say it doesn’t make me happy in a way”

“Really? how’s that?”

“Put it this way, I’ve watched Twilight go from a literal shut in, to having lifelong friends, and that’s an amazing transition. But something is still missing, I honestly think it’s you Mike, somepony to love and take care of her in a way none of her friends or I can. And if that‘s you, and you make her happy then I‘m happy”

“Wow, and he comes out of the corner swinging, that was incredibly insightful Spike.”

“Sometimes it just hits me.” he said with a laugh “But I’ll warn you, hurt her and things WILL get ugly around here”

I smiled “Fair enough, hey! If things get real serious I’m gonna be your new dad-” WAP! “OW!, WHAT IS IT WITH YOU PEOPLE AND FUCKING OVEN MITTS!?”

Black eye aside, I was humming all the way to the market, I wanted to cook Twilight something nice for dinner before I blew the lid off the whole thing. I settled on a nice array of veggies, I figured salad for the main course, as no man no matter how inept he may be can fuck up naturally occurring greens and I was no chef, not by a damn sight.

I also grabbed Twi a bouquet of lilies, Spike had told me, over the course of 15 minutes of emergency eye maintenance, that Twilight loved lilies. Her mother used to grow them as a snack for Twi whenever she came home from the Academy. I wondered how she would react when she found out her feelings were shared and returned, I wondered-

“HELP! SOMEPONY HELP!!”

My head snapped around searching the square for the source of the terrified cry, I spotted a small unicorn mare backed into a corner by a hulking creature, a creature gripping a wicked-looking blade. Time slowed as I dumped the groceries and busted a full sprint towards the two, checking the alleyway behind them for this asshole’s backup.

“Nobody huh?, bad move”

I shoulder checked the animal away from the screaming mare and straight into the wall, I barely had time to spring back as his blade closed the gap between us, whistling as it did. I grabbed the creature's wrist as it shot past, going for control of the weapon, my right hand came up palm open and collided with his elbow, producing a wet snap and a decidedly canine howl of pain from my opponent.

Now in control I kicked out his left leg and got my arm around his neck, locking out my muscles and pulling him off balance, he struggled against me but I had enough experience to know it was over before it started. I could smell him now, like a mixture of blood, dirt, and feral rage, I pulled a bit tighter and whispered in his ear.

“Adios motherfucker”

I twisted violently and was rewarded with a sharp crack and a low whine, I dropped him into the dirt where he twitched violently before falling still.

I turned my attention to the mare, her face obscured by the shadows, but I could hear her sobbing.

“Miss are you alright?”...“Miss?"

She moved into the light and my blood froze in my veins.

“Oh, Twilight... Jesus”

Chapter 7

Chapter 7
Prairie Fire

Twilight backed away from me, her gaze on the still gurgling, twitching animal behind me, as I tried to find the words to explain what I’d just done. I was at a loss.

I began as gently as I could “Twi?, hey sweetheart are you ok? Are you hurt?”

Twilight's breathing was rapidly accelerating towards hyperventilation, her pupils were dilated, shock was etched on her features, plain as day. I reached for her, trying desperately to bring some comfort, hoping madly that my presence would erase what she‘d just had to witness.

My fingers brushed her coat and the lights came back on.

“Twi-”

With an earsplitting crack and a brilliant flash, I was thrown across the alley into the wall. My head colliding with the bricks, spots exploded across my vision combined with blinding pain, everything tunneled as I struggled to remain conscious.

As the nausea started to overcome me, I realized Twilight was nowhere to be seen. I staggered out of the alley drawing gasps of horror from the ponies who had gathered. I had to find her, the truth had to come out.

Even if she never wanted to see me again.

A small part of my mind kept reminding me that I’d never get to tell her how I felt. It filled me with an emptiness I hadn’t felt in months, I felt cold. It was the same feeling I had right before I sent a round downrange, except this time it was despair, not ruthlessness.

It felt empty and wrong on a level I wasn’t used to. I was rapidly coming to the conclusion that taking a life was the only thing I was good for, and for a long time I relished it. To a degree I still did, I would fight and die to protect these ponies or any innocent for that matter, but faced point blank with the effects of my murderous skills on someone who wasn’t accustomed to it… I felt sick to my stomach. I could still see the fear in Twilight’s eyes, fear of me.

I finally reached the door to the library, I could hear Twilight sobbing upstairs, I took a chance and knocked.

“Spike?!, it’s Mike bro, can you open up?”

I heard rapid footsteps and the door flew open, I’d expected anger from the little guy, I was not, however prepared for the shattered look on his face.

“Mike… you look awful, what the hay happened? Twilight barricaded herself upstairs, she won’t tell me what’s wrong” as he spoke I could see the tears of frustration and worry welling up in his eyes.

I knelt down so I could look him in the eye, “I’m what’s wrong Spike, now grab a quill and take a letter, can you do that for me?”

Spike nodded, grabbed a quill off the desk behind him and stood at the ready.

“Celestia, your presence is required immediately in Ponyville. We’ve had an incident. Mike”

I looked at Spike, “ You got that little guy?”

“Got it Mike”

“Alright buddy, send it”

Spike drew in a deep breath and in a rush of green fire the parchment burned away, I hoped Celestia would step it up, these ponies knew nothing of killing or cruelty and Twilight had just gotten a crash course.

I’d brought a small taste of it here, all the screaming nightmares, blood and last gasps for air, cries for a god that wouldn’t save you, or a mother that couldn’t offer you any comfort, the smell of gunpowder and the tears you shed for brothers lost. They were lucky to not know the pain of holding the hand of a man whose back you’ve watched for a solid year as he bleeds out into the dirt, and there isn’t a goddamn thing you can do to save him, knowing his little girl will grow up fatherless and his wife will always wonder if it was quick and painless.

I was jarred out of my thoughts by a sharp crack as the empty space in front of me was filled with 5 and a half feet of Alicorn.

I bowed “Princess”

She inclined her head towards me and I straightened up, meeting her gaze.

“Michael, what happened?”

I recounted the events from when I’d left the library to when the letter had been sent, Celestia’s mouth was set into a grim line as she listened silently, finally she spoke.

“And Twilight Sparkle witnessed this first hoof?”

“Yes. I... I just reacted, training kicked in and that was it, I'm sorry Princess."

“I understand Michael, but the damage is already done, we must try to pick up the pieces”

I nodded, old habits arose as I delivered my assessment of the situation “Twilight locked herself in her room and sealed the door magically, Spike has been trying to get her to talk to him for awhile now to no avail”

“No matter, I will go and speak with her, we will fix this together” she finished with a half smile wrapping her wing around my shoulders.

“I don’t know Princess, she’s in shock and rightfully so”

She released me and headed for the stairs, as I started to follow but she stopped me with an outstretched hoof.

“I think for the moment, I should speak to Twilight alone”

I was going to protest…after a moments thought I acquiesced with a sigh.

“Very well Princess”

I’m a frogman, we don’t hide from shit, we meet it head on, being ordered to hang back was infuriating to say the least. After about 45 minutes of the unknown the door to Twilights room creaked open and I heard hoof falls on the stairs, I heard Celestia’s voice whispering from the landing.

“Michael?, you can come up now”

Spike gave me a worried look

“Good luck Mike”

“Thanks buddy”

I took a deep breath and made my way up the stairs.

Chapter 9

Better and better.

I awoke…softly, just a brief moment’s transition that made all the difference in the world, hell, I hadn’t woken up that easy in years. I tried to move and discovered that I was held fast by a gently snoring purple unicorn, Twilight looked angelic despite her bed head, and the way one of her eyes is half open…. she’s drooling a bit… That’s just damn adorable in any man’s military.

Last night hadn’t gotten quite as interesting as I would’ve liked, we kissed for what seemed like hours before Twilight said she had some “Research” to do on the subject before we got any more “familiar“, I’m not sure if I’m to be turned on or terrified…

I couldn’t bear to wake her. But as I shifted I felt her tense then relax, her eyes fluttered open, brilliant violet pools that held all the wonders of the universe and the answers to life’s questions rolled into one. I wanted to tell her that right in that moment she and everything she was represented my salvation, that I stood in awe of her kindness, beauty, intelligence and grace, being a guy got in my way so I said…

“Mornin”.

She stretched and smiled down at me managing to be cute AND sexy at the same time, (no mean feat if I do say so) “Good morning Mike” and then I watched her remember the previous nights events, her eyes went wide(er) and she bounced out of the bed and around the room.

“yesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyesyes”

“Um Twi?-”

“YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES”

She was on a roll so I just let it ride, truthfully I’d never had anybody react to me quite like she did, not even Jess had lost her mind like this, I imagine living in the world we did will erase the wonder and leave everyone jaded. Twilight’s pure unbridled (no pun intended) innocence and joy was infectious, hopping off the bed, I scooped her up in my arms and planted a kiss on her nose.

“I love you Twilight”

“ I love you Mike, Celestia’s sun above you have no idea how long I’ve been wanting to say that to you”

I was about to reply when yesterdays events came flooding back, oh holy shit, what about the Diamond Dog I’d killed?, it was right about then I spied a note bearing the Royal seal resting on the windowsill. I snatched the note up and all but tore it open, my eyes flying over the ornate, flowing script.

Michael-

I will try to convey what went unsaid last night as concisely as I am able. I am, if I may be so bold, exceedingly impressed with you yet again. You demonstrated great poise befitting your prior occupation in dealing with a threat to an innocent and also a great deal of kindness in handling the aftermath, as such any lingering questions as to your character have been utterly erased in my eyes. I will admit I was a bit taken aback, albeit pleasantly by the feelings that blossomed or revealed as it were between Twilight Sparkle and yourself due to this terrible turn of events. Taking a life is never a pleasure Michael, but as you and I both know intimately, sometimes it is wholly necessary in order to safeguard all that is good and right with our world. I have interceded on your behalf with the Ponyville Royal Guard detachment, do not fear any reprisal for defending my student, for that you will have my everlasting gratitude and admiration.

The day may yet come when all of Equestria will need courage like yours.

Sincerely

Princess Celestia Everfree
Regent of the Sun
Co-ruler of the sovereign nation of Equestria

P.S

I will be keeping Spike here with me for the next day or so. I have found over my long life that new romance tends to flourish with less “Interruptions” as it were.

“Holy shit” I breathed

Twilight perked up “Mike?, what’s wrong?”

I handed Twi the note and sat down hard on the floor, I had been terrified at Celestia’s potential reaction to what had transpired, what that might have been I had no idea but I didn’t expect this by a country mile. I expected to never see the ponies I’d grown so accustomed to nor the one I’d grown to love ever again.

“This is good right?” Twilight asked, her violet coat a bit paler than usual.

“ I guess so, at least I wasn’t banished forever or something goofy like that” I said trying to make light of the very real fear I’d felt only moments ago as I climbed back into bed, “ I don’t know about you but I’m thinking 2 or 3 more hours of being exceedingly lazy sounds like a plan”

Twilight sighed happily then slipped back under the covers, leaving the letter on the nightstand and working her head under my arm to rest it on my chest.

“It only makes sense he he”

It wasn’t long before she began to drift, her half-closed eyes told the same story as every other poor soul who’d been awoken prematurely. I took to running my fingers through her beautiful mane, a thought crossed my mind that maybe she’d like a song, I never thought much of my voice but Jess had always liked it when I sang her to sleep.

I drew in a breath and started softly.

“ Natalie Wood gave her heart to James Dean

The high school rebel and the teenage queen

Standing together in an angry world

One boy fighting for one girl

I wanna be loved like that

A promise you can’t take back
If you’re gonna love me

I wanna be loved like that

Daddy never gave mama a diamond ring

But mama never wanted for anything

What he gave her it came from the heart

In a bond that was never torn apart

I wanna be loved like that

A promise you can’t take back

If you’re gonna love me

I wanna be loved like that

I paused for a second and glanced down, Twilight was awake and staring up at me.

“Please, Mike finish the song?”

I smiled “You got it sweetheart”

“An old man kneeling all alone

Plants his flowers in a garden of stone

For seven years now she’s been gone

And his devotions still going strong

I wanna be loved like that

A promise you can’t take back

If you’re gonna love me

I wanna be loved like that”

No sooner had I finished than I heard sniffling, I looked down to see tears flowing down Twilight‘s cheeks

“Twi? What’s the matter?” I asked, alarmed.

“T-that was a beautiful song Mike, is that how you feel about me?

I tried to chuckle, to do anything other than lay myself bare but fuck it.

“Absolutely, Twi when I look at you I see my future, a future without bloodshed or suffering, I see peace Twilight. Long overdue peace, I love you Twi.

Her eyes brimmed with tears threatening to fall, “I love you too Mike”

I closed the gap between us slowly and pressed my lips to hers, the kiss was heavenly and broken waaay too soon.

“How bout I go make us some breakfast little lady, and then back to bed?” I said, bouncing my eyebrows for emphasis.

Twi giggled, “Sounds perfect, but first….”

Then she threw a pillow at my head and bounded out the door and down the stairs.

Adorable.

Exactly five minutes later….

Kitchen + two inept cooks, carry the one, = pure horror .

Twi and I dashed out the front door of the now smoke filled library, sounding for all the world like two escapees from a TB ward. I leaned forward and spit into the dirt before shooting Twilight a sheepish look.

“I suppose eating out wouldn’t be a terrible idea”

She raised an eyebrow, “Ya think?”

After opening ALL the windows in the library and hanging an “out to lunch” sign, we tripped off to the café just up the street. Eager for some normalcy after the previous days.. complications.

Who the fuck was I kidding?

Chapter 10

E-KIA

“Mike?”

“What’s up?” I said looking up from my menu with a smile.

“I’ve been wanting to ask you some…things, I‘m curious about your life before you came here, of course if it‘s too soon I understand” she added quickly.

I folded my menu and set it on the table, reaching out and resting my hand on her foreleg. “Twi, all you have to do is ask, I’ll be as honest as I can be, and you don’t need to worry about hurting me, I’ve put it in its proper place by now to be sure, ask away.”

Twilight looked thoughtful for a moment before responding, “ What was it like? Being a ….SEAL was it?”

I had expected this, we’d covered damn near everything else about me except my time in the Navy, I nodded “Yeah that’s right, as far as the job? It was at times…unpleasant, but I even if I could go back and change it I wouldn’t, ‘cause then I never would have met you”.

Dude, Really?!

Twilight rolled her eyes, “Mike that’s sweet, but I’m not a foal”

I sighed, “Yeah that was pretty terrible, I guess you want a story? Would that suffice?”

Twilight’s eyes brightened “That sounds great” and seemingly out of nowhere pulled a quill and some parchment before fixing her gaze on me ready to take notes….

I took a deep breath and began….

4 years ago….

“Gentlemen, our target goes by the name Jabal Abu Ahmad, Call sign: Killswitch. This asshole is responsible for the attacks on our embassies in Kenya and Benghazi and is right up there on my personal shit list.

I soaked up every detail I could while the Chief outlined the op, I was 22 and fresh out of SQT and Sniper school. this would mark my first mission on a team, to say I was nervous wouldn’t be too far off. I-

“Sir?, what can I get you?”

I jumped at the waiters voice, “Oh, I’m sorry buddy, I’ll just have the salad and a glass of water”

“Not to worry sir, and for you Miss”

Twi spared one last glance for the menu “I’ll have the same, thank you”

The waiter nodded “Sounds good folks, I’ll get that started right away”

The second he was gone I continued.

After the brief I made my way to the common area just inside the massive aircraft hangar and started
checking my gear, IR strobes, Mk. 25 (Sig P226) sidearm, HK 416 with a Gemtech can, EOtech MPO and an AN/PEQ 15 IR laser for a primary and my centerpiece Macmillan TAC-300 Sniper rifle

“Hey bro, you alright?”

I looked up to see my team’s other sniper, guy named Bobby walking toward me.

I smiled weakly, and decided to let it ride, “Truth be told, I’m a little nervous, I just wanna do my job and not screw up, ya know?”

He chuckled, ”New guy, that’s something we all go through, stick with me when we’re on security tonight, only worry about your sectors and you’ll do fine.”

I nodded, “Wilco boss”

“C’mon new guy, 5 mike till jumpoff”

20 minutes later…

I checked my gear for the fifth time, and turned my gaze to the landscape below, when the pilot’s voice came over the radio.

“Hammer 2-5 is 1 mike to target”

The LT ‘s voice came over the team freq, “Final check guys, Bobby? Keep watch on the new guy, I want you both on the perimeter while we take down the target building, clear?”

Bobby nodded and flashed me a covert thumbs up.

“Flaring, 200 AGL, That’s you, guys.”

The team chief, who was by the open door, booted the heavy rope out, and one by one we fast roped onto the desert floor below…

Bobby and I took point, moving silently, guns up for any sign of hostiles, finding none we flagged the rest of the team in on a dune overlooking the target village, just a few shacks surrounding what looked to be a large garage or hangar, I dropped prone and set up my rifle with a clear view of the main building while Bobby took the outlying structures.

I keyed up my mic, “LT?, high ground, ROE’s?”

“Anyone with a weapon, you drop ‘em like a bad habit”

“Copy, out”

I glassed the main building through my night vision optic and spied three sentries milling around the front entrance, I Tac’d over to channel 2.

“Bobby, 3 hostiles by the main entrance, you got anything?”

“I got a sniper on the roof of the far structure, reference the technical, gimme a range and a wind call if you would”

I tracked onto the guy while bobby relayed the 3 sentries locations to the rest of the team, then settled in to take the shot, the shooter was young about 19 or so carrying a Type 79, a Chinese copy of the SVD sniper rifle, I felt a sick feeling in my stomach, we were really getting ready to kill this guy.

“Fuck him, bad guy doing bad shit” a small voice in the back of my head reminded me, I checked my gut and settled back into the spotting scope.

“Range”

“927 meters”

“Wind”

“Quarter value, push left 1/2 mil”

“On target”

I took a breath did the math in my head, check.

“Fire”

The suppressed .300 let out a sharp pop, I tracked the heat trail of the round and a half second later the sniper jerked from the impact and dropped like a bag of cement onto the roof of the structure.

“Hit, center mass” I held on the guy for a sec, seeing no movement “He’s toast”

“Was that the first time you’d seen another person die?”

I nodded, “It was part of the job, that doesn’t mean I was entirely comfortable with it, make sense?”

Twi nodded in turn, “I’m sorry you had to go through that Mike”

“I’m sorry that the nature of my world made it necessary”

Twilight marked something down on the parchment, “Please continue?”

“You got it sweetheart”

Bobby smiled “And that’s jenga, nice call, now get back on the weapon and cover their infil, I got our six”

I nodded and pulled my rifle over, putting my eye back to the scope just in time to see the assault team take down the 3 by the door and make entry. A few short pops over the team freq and the call came in.

“Command, Blackbird, Killswitch E-KIA, sweeping for Intel now’”

The next few minutes passed without incident, Bobby and I kept watch when something odd caught my eye.

“Bobby, you seeing this? I got a dust cloud 3, maybe 4 klicks out, she’s been getting closer for a few mike now.”

“Damn new guy you’re right, Assault team, high ground!”

“Go Bobby whadya got?”

“LT! we’ve got company. 3x covered truck, 2x technicals”

“How long?”

“Maybe 2 mike, we’ll keep em busy while you guys break for the dunes”

“Sounds good, we’re moving, 30 seconds, weapons hot on the vehicles”
Bobby turned to me,” you ready for this new guy?”

I nodded ”Born ready”

I stared into the scope at the approaching vehicles cranking the magnification up to 12x, I spotted the driver, making a quick range call in my head I took the slack out of the trigger, pulled in a breath and fired…The heavy 180 grain projectile sailed right through the windshield and cut the driver’s head in half.

“Hit!” Bobby called out, “They’re stopping, reference, middle vehicle, gunner belt fed weapon”

I placed the crosshairs over the guy’s chest, “I tally”

“Fire”

I squeezed, broke the trigger clean and sent the round downrange.

“Hit, center mass, he’s done”

Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered the deaths of two people by my hand, eh, I wonder what they’re serving in the DFAC for breakfast?

“So it didn’t bother you at all?” Twilight’s tone wasn’t accusatory in the least, in was just an honest question.

“It’s hard to explain, it’s not that I didn’t care, more like I knew why it was happening and I accepted it”

“I think I get it, please go on, what happened next?”

The assault team goes jamming by on our left as return fire rips through the air around us, I can hear the LT calling for CAS, I lined up my last shot on an RPG gunner, as soon as he fell I packed up my rifle and tore ass after the rest of the team, we thundered up the dune and onto the waiting helo.

The pilot must have ripped the collective clean out of the bird, because the next second we were up and banking hard. I felt the post extreme adrenaline rush nausea sneaking up on me as I scrambled into a seat next to the LT. We’d only been airborne for a few moments when an earth shaking rumble caught my attention, I turned to see a formation of three A-10 Warthogs blasting our bad guys into oblivion.

I felt a hand on my shoulder and looked up to see the LT’s smiling face, he pointed at his headset and I Tac’d back over to channel 1.

“Not bad new guy, not too bad at all”….

“Wow…”

I smiled at Twilight across the table, “I’m glad you liked my story, did I answer all your questions?”

Twi nodded, “I think that’s enough for today”

“I’m thinking my dear that maybe we should eat our lunch”

The rest of our meal passed in relative silence, when we finally made it back to the library the sun was sinking below the horizon, bathing all of Ponyville in a soft orange glow. I stayed outside to grab a smoke and sent Twi inside with a kiss and a promise to meet her in bed ASAP (Guy’s gotta have his priorities).

I stubbed my smoke and made my way inside, blowing out candles as I went, I almost didn’t see it. A note sitting on the kitchen table, same as the other Royal seal and all, I tore the note open and the words printed inside in Celestia’s beautiful script hit me like a sledgehammer.

I have need of you.

-Celestia

Chapter 11

Well That Figures….

I stared at the note for a minute, not comprehending. What the hell could Celestia need me for?

"Maybe cause you’re a door kicker” my mind whispered

This DID reek of something surreptitious, It reminded me of the one and only time I’d been chopped to an OGA team in J-bad, that hadn’t ended well for anyone involved…

“Calm down, and figure it out”

“Mike?” Twi called out from the landing

“Yeah sweetheart?”

“I have to take a trip to Canterlot, for a meeting with Princess Celestia”

Now my bullshit detector was pinging hard… I held up the note.

Twilight’s eyes went wide “You got the same letter?”

I nodded, her reaction told me all I needed to know. “I’ll grab my jacket, and some gear, meet you outside, Teleport?”

She nodded in turn “It’s the fastest way”

I double-timed it up the stairs and grabbed the pack I kept under my bed, my rolling gear minus my weapons and grenades, my MICH helmet, and finally my IBA (Body armor). I pulled the straps tight… didn’t wanna lose the fucker in the n th dimension or wherever a guy went when you teleported.

Twilight was waiting in the front yard wearing her cutie mark emblazoned saddle bags.

“Ready?”

“Yeah, lets do it”

A sharp crack, a flash and we were gone, into the Technicolor mind-rape that was teleportation…

We appeared seconds later in the throne room of the Royal Palace. Celestia was pacing the center of the room, flanked by two burly pegasi guards, Spike, and a smaller dark blue Alicorn I didn’t know but could only be Luna, the relief on her face at our arrival was palpable.

I bowed “Princess, what’s going on?”

“Time is short Michael, let us walk and I will explain” she turned to Luna “Sister, go and inform Lightning I will need what I’ve left in his care”

Luna nodded and took off down the hallway, Celestia turned and headed for the library, motioning for us to follow.

“Michael?”

“Yes Ma’am”

“About the time you showed up in Canterlot, my scouts informed me of a rift that had formed close to our northern border, I wrote it off, thinking it a magical anomaly, as is common from time to time. Now it appears the rift is widening, if it continues at it’s current rate it poses a threat to every being on the planet”

Silence fell over our group, after a long moment Twilight spoke “What do we do Princess?”

Celestia stopped, and sighed heavily, I saw my worst fears in the look of pure sadness shining out from behind her magenta eyes.

“We send Michael through, I’m sorry, you have to go home..”

“What?!” Twilight cried, “No! Princess please! There has to be another way”

Celestia‘s voice cracked as she spoke “There is no other way Twilight, The rift formed as a result of the catastrophe that brought him here, the destructive energy is already affecting the surrounding area. Michael is the anomaly holding it open, with his continued presence, all of Equestria is in danger”

“Princess, I love him! We can’t-

I felt numb.. but I had my orders “Twi, it’s okay”

Twilight rounded on me, tears running down her face.. God, she was breaking my heart “HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT?!” she raged. .

Kneeling down so I could be eye to eye with her, I reached out and brushed my fingertips through her mane, “Twi, I can’t-” I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat. “I can’t let anything happen to you, or anypony for that matter” I slipped my hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to mine, “I told you once I’d protect you all with my life and I meant it, I love you so much Twilight, I love all of Equestria, enough to do what’s right.”

I stood and faced Celestia, “When would I leave Princess?”

“Dawn tomorrow, I have rooms prepared for the both of you”

I nodded, the sick feeling in my stomach refusing to abate…

Dinner was a nonevent, I said my goodnights and headed up to my room, the only break in the action came when Luna showed up carrying my Mk18, Mk25 and the rest of my lethal gear.

“Our sister instructed us to return these items to you, human, we hope they are still functional”

I bowed “Thank you Princess, I’m sure everything is in order”

Luna bowed slightly and turned to leave, she stopped about halfway out the door “Twilight Sparkle weeps for you human, if what my sister says is true, you are in the wrong room”

My eyebrow shot up, “Point taken Princess”

Luna smiled and shut the door behind her. I set about checking my weapons and gear. Luna’s words rang in my ears, I knew exactly where I needed to be…
I approached Twi’s door, knocking softly.

“Y-yes?”

“Twi?, it’s Mike, can I come in?”

Rapid hoof steps, the door flew open. Twilight’s lips hit mine and It got….interesting

The Next Morning…

I was still lying awake when the soft knock came, the wake up call I didn‘t want, I wanted to freeze this moment in time forever. Twilight was still asleep, her head resting on my chest, I didn’t have the heart to wake her… not yet. I kissed her head softly, slipped out of her embrace and started gathering my gear, the time was fast approaching.

I walked out of my room, hoping for a smoke before anyone else woke up. Applejack was standing by her door just down the hall, she caught my eye and motioned me over.

“Hey AJ”

“Howdy Mike, ah’d like to talk to ya ‘fore we get this show on the road”

“Anything AJ”

“Ah never got tha chance tah thank ya for all you’ve done for mah family, Applebloom ,especially. I know she’ll miss ya, we all will”

“I’ll miss you guys too, y’all took me in and treated me like your own, I won’t forget that. I should probably go wake Twi, the sooner we get on the better”

AJ nodded, “I understand partner”

I turned to head back into the room

“Mike?”

“Yeah AJ?”

“Ah’m sorry.. ‘bout you and Twi”

I smiled sadly as I walked to my door “Yeah, I am too”

Twi had a look of serenity on her face , eyes still closed, snoring softly. I sat on the edge of the bed, sadness threatening to overwhelm me, I can flick the switch when needed but not now.. I risked a glance at Twilight, she shifted and moaned softly….

It started as a few tears and escalated into wracking sobs, I kept quiet so as not to wake her while I expressed my rage, frustration and loss in a way only people have who’ve willingly marched toward certain death can understand. After a few minutes it subsided, the tears were still running down my face and I still felt empty.. but I had my mission, and goddamned if I was gonna let a whole race of sentient beings down, this is what I do.

I heard the blankets rustling as Twilight stirred.

“Mike?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“I love you”

“I love you too sweetheart”

A few hours later we arrived at Equestria’s northern border. Celestia, Twilight, and I rode in the lead chariot, while the Elements rode tail-end flanked by a dozen gold-clad Royal Guards. The rift was huge, a shifting, undulating mass of light. I could see clearly the effects of the radiation on the surrounding area even from this height, the trees were black and twisted, the grass was sparse and dying in a one-hundred-yard radius around the anomaly. A thought crossed my mind and I tapped Celestia on the wing.

“Princess! We can’t get too close! The radiation!”

She nodded and called out for her pegasi guards to land about 150 yards from the rift, the rest fanned out, forming a perimeter around the Princess, myself, and the rest of the Elements.

“Michael?”

“Yes, Princess?”

“I-...Take care” she said, her voice cracking slightly as she wrapped her wing around my shoulders

I leaned into it, putting my arm around her neck “Likewise Princess, I’ll never forget the kindness you’ve shown me” After a moment we broke the embrace with a final look and a curt nod Celestia strode away, shouting orders to the detachment.

Twilight stepped forward, brushing her nose lightly against my cheek, lowering her voice to a whisper “ I wish we had more time…”

I stared deep into those violet eyes, the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen, welling up with tears. I brushed my hand over her cheek softly “ We both know there’s no way to avert what’s coming, not as long as I’m here”.

She smiled sorrowfully, a single tear making its way down her cheek “ I will always hold a place in my heart for you, I never believed I could feel this way, Mike. Thank you.”

I felt tears threatening to fall as I tried to speak around the lump in my throat, there was so much I wanted, no, needed to say to her but nothing seemed to fit I-.

The ground began to quake violently, large rifts opening up in the earth all around us.

“Go!, We’re out of time” She yelled

I shot her one last look, burning her beauty into my mind forever, and took off at a dead run towards the portal, with a brilliant flash of light I was gone…

Chapter 12

Earth..
Near Bajuar Pakistan
Afghan-Pakistan Border Zone
Time: Unknown

After what seemed like an eternity I made contact with solid ground, I picked myself up and looked around. Nothing but empty desert greeted me for what seemed like forever. Tears were pouring down my face, it felt as though my heart had shattered into a million pieces, it felt like losing Jess again….

I pulled myself together after a few minutes and shot an azimuth with my thankfully still intact compass. Assuming I was still near the detonation site, North was Tajikistan, East would put me in India.

Time to get walking….

2 years… I’d been gone for 2 whole years before my miraculous “resurrection, (time dilation is a miserable bitch). After an indeterminate amount of walking (almost 5 weeks worth) and surviving on desert bugs and what little water I could dig up, I finally stumbled across the Indian Border barely alive, and suffering from enough ailments to kill a Terminator. I spent two weeks under the watchful eye of Indian army doc’s before the State Department was notified and pulled me out.

The whole car ride to the embassy the “Attache” (a polite name for an OGA Case Officer) they’d sent to collect my sorry ass kept staring at me like even HE couldn’t believe I’d shown up. The next weeks were a blur, debriefing was fun, a couple of OGA guys asked me questions I couldn‘t answer for about 3 days straight..

“Petty Officer Dunn, You were M.I.A for 24 months, And you have NO recollection of the interceding period? Not to mention that the last time anyone saw you, you were sitting next to live nuclear ordinance”

“I have no answer sir, I remember my team evacuating the area, next thing I’m waking up in the middle of the bush”

“Nothing more?”

“Negative sir, only what I’ve told you so far”

The one not doing the talking let out a sigh “The official story is gonna go like this buddy, your team was ambushed outside of Peshawar, you were captured and held but escaped, you will NOT speak of your involvement with stolen nukes, do we have an agreement?”

I lit another smoke “Good to go sir, I have a couple of requests”

“Name ‘em”

“ I want back on active duty, my old slot back if possible”

“Done, Frank? Put the hero on a flight outta here, Petty Officer? We‘ll be in touch”

I made my way back to the states, my mom and sister were waiting for me at Little Creek, we spent the next week relishing the fact that I was alive, I managed to keep my depression under wraps as they filled me in on the goings on. My sister Katherine had been named a professor of physics at MIT , didn’t surprise me in the least, Kat was a year younger than me and ridiculously smart, genius level even. Mom had moved back out west and established herself as a foster parent and educator, I was glad that things had come together for them, we’d all been through enough….

When I told them that I was heading back to active duty they weren’t too thrilled but understood all the same, thoughts of Twilight were consuming me. I had to get away…

6 months later.

“Hey man, we’re gonna head out, you coming?”

I looked up from the ’416 I was cleaning, “Nah, I’ll just hang here” I waved at the pieces of the weapon, “Got shit to do yet”

“Alright bro suit yourself, I’ll catch ya later”

A moment passed before I heard the door close

Then the tears started, I stood up and hurled the bolt group of the weapon hard enough to sink it into the drywall, “FUCK!” I screamed to the empty barracks, the pain was still there. Even after all these months I still saw her face whenever I closed my eyes. I needed some time off…

I requested leave from my CO with assurances that I’d have my work cell on at all times, he ended up giving me two weeks, people tended to understand shit like that when a guy came back from the “dead“. Mom was overjoyed to see me standing on the doorstep (My next scheduled leave wasn’t for 3 more months). I spent about a week bumming around my town, getting in fights and drinking way too much, traits I hadn’t had before the “Incident”. It got so bad that one night my mom and sister pulled me outside and demanded some answers.

“Mike, You’ve got us all scared. What the hell’s going on?”

I glared at my sister, “Let it go Kat”

“Bullshit, we’re supposed to be family, what are you hiding?”

I opened my mouth to yell, curse them out, rage at them for prying. Instead what came out was a choked sob as tears filled my eyes, “I can’t take it anymore”

Mom’s eyes welled up with tears, Kat stepped in and hugged me tight “bad huh?”

“Yeah, but it’s not the WHOLE story guys, the ambush was bullshit, I was never captured by any Haq’qani assholes”

Kat looked shocked “Well what the hell Mike?, you’re not making sense, Just tell me what happened, if it‘s classified so fucking what, I need to know what‘s going on.”

I wiped my eyes, pulled my shit together, “You sure you wanna hear this?”

My mom finally piped in “Of course, we just want to help you Mike, we love you”

“Yeah, I love you guys too.”

I took a breath and started from the beginning.

Kat sat there smoking one cigarette after another as I recounted my tale, Mom stayed silent. they nodded in all the right places as I told them about the terror I’d felt when the nuke was counting down, to the unbridled joy I’d experienced when I realized I was in love with Twilight. When I finished Kat stubbed out her smoke on the cement of the patio.

Mom broke the silence first. “You’re right, that does sound fucking nuts, you’re a lot of things Mikey but two thing you aren’t for damn sure is crazy and a liar, how can I help?”

“I told you it made no sense, I- what?”

Kat put her hand on my shoulder

“We’ll have to start by diagramming what exactly went on at the moment of detonation and work back from there, if I can get back to the college and work uninterrupted. I can run some simulations on how this is even possible. Then we can get on how to replicate it. If anyone asks, I‘ve got tenure, they can suck it”

My heart almost exploded, I opened my mouth but I couldn‘t find the words, I wrapped them in a tight hug

“Thank you so much Ma”

She snorted into my shoulder “ I always knew you were meant for greatness honey, plus now I can rent out your old room”

I felt the tears coming again, bittersweet now. I couldn’t help but smile “That’s fucking low Ma”

Mom pulled away and looked me in the eye “I won‘t lie to you sweetheart, this is gonna hurt me, I lost you once and now you‘re asking me to do it again. But when Jessica died I saw something break in you, something that destroys people, and for a long time I worried that my son was gone for good, just now when you were telling us about this place and this girl, er, mare? For the first time in years I saw my little boy again, and that’s worth everything to me, will I be sad? Yes, will I heal? I can’t say. But I know for a certainty that you need to be there with her, so don’t doubt yourself, just go. We’ll see each other again one day.. I’m sure of it.”

She hugged me again, tighter this time “I love you Mikey”

I squeezed her back “I love you too Ma”

Kat just smiled

“I’ll grab my keys”

With that we jumped into my truck and with a final wave to my Mom, tore off into the night…

18 hours later…

“Kat…KAT, we‘re here” I shook her awake as we pulled onto the MIT campus.

Her eyes fluttered open and she stifled a yawn “The way you fuckin’ drive? Christmas miracle” she sniped, digging in her jacket for a smoke.

“Hey fuck you mate, I’m a trained professional”

Neither one of us was able to suppress a chuckle as we headed inside. I stretched out on the couch in the lab as she got to work, I don’t know how long I was out, when I was jolted awake by Kat shaking my shoulder.

“Mike, I think I’ve got it”

I was suddenly wide awake. “How?”

“At the epicenter of a Nuclear blast, in the first 10 to 15 nanoseconds when the atoms split, untold amounts of energy is released. Enough to do exactly what you’ve proposed, from what you’ve told me the instability was due to the medium, I just need to recreate it, sans the destructive force”

I snorted, “Simple”

“Hey, Physics is the ONLY exact science, If there’s a way to do this Mike I swear on the family I’ll make it work, God only knows I don‘t want to lose you again. But with what you‘ve told me I don‘t know Mickey, I just want you to be happy. No matter what that means.” She smirked “ And think of the possibilities, I could stabilize the effect and we‘d be the team that pioneered inter universeal travel”

My temper flared “Don’t even go there Kat, you have no idea how pure this place is. I’m lucky that MY presence there didn’t fuck it up entirely, I don’t even wanna think what would happen if the place became a tourist attraction”.

She winced “Yeah, I totally see your point. Sorry Mick.”

I shook my head “No worries kiddo, Its human nature. Point being we can’t let this get out, Nobody can know. IF we get it to work”

“I gotcha bro, not a word. Figures common decency would fuck me out of my Nobel” she said with mock seriousness. “I need a smoke”….

3 days later

I was in the cafeteria grabbing a bite to eat, we were lucky that it was the middle of June. Any other time the campus would be swarming with people, questions would be raised. I was halfway through smearing butter on an onion bagel when Kat came thundering through the door.

“Mike I got it working”

I was stunned “How?”

“I was running an equation and it all matches up, Mike, I think I can send you back.”

“When?”

“As soon as I can get a couple of bugs worked out”

“And how does one go about doing that?”

“I’d need the readings from the detonation”

“Where would they be?”

She grimaced, “That’s the tough part, the DOE holds all seismic and spectral data on nuclear incidents”

“How the fuck do you expect us to get the readings from the Department of Energy? That blast was classified black, as far as the rest of the world is concerned I was never there”

“There’s gotta be a way around that, if I can get those readings I can open a portal down in the lab using a matter accelerator”

“Kat, there is no way around that, why are they so important?”

“Every nuclear event has its own energy signature, no two blasts are alike believe it or not, In this context I believe the frequency will act like an address. Put simply, without it you aren‘t going anywhere”

I felt the beginnings of despair creeping up on me, I had no idea how we would go about getting the data Kat needed to send me back. I couldn’t just call up the DOE and ask for it, I’d never get the reports, it would raise questions I couldn’t answer. Then…An epiphany

A wicked grin spread across my face “I’ve got a call to make”

Chapter 13

Exigent Circumstances

Earth,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge Mass.
Time:2115

*BEEP*, *BEEP*

*BE- “Hello”?

“Todd?”

“Speaking”

“It’s Mike, I need your help”

“Where and when?”

“Cambridge, yesterday”

“Legitimate?”

“I wouldn’t be calling you if it was. Potential for huge blowback, no questions asked”

“That’s rough Mike, I don’t know.”

“Todd, You fucking owe me, remember J-Bad?”

“….”

“Todd?”

“0900, no later, Tracey’s grill downtown, bring me a workup and we’ll talk”

“See you then ”

*Click*

Tracey's Grill
Cambridge Mass
Time:0830

I settled in a booth facing the door and waited for Todd to show.

There are a handful of units at the Tier 1 level of Special Operations: Army Delta (or ACE), Navy DEVGRU and the Air Force’s 24th STS, all with their own special ways to make bad guys disappear…Todd Fuller was a relic from my past, a member of a unit called ISA, whose name was only whispered in the darkest recesses of the Pentagon, a unit that makes the assholes of the world hold their blankets a little tighter around them in the dead of night… In the world of Intelligence gathering and black operations there is one rule…”The Activity always knows”.

I first met Todd when OGA and Activity elements in Jalalabad were running an op at the Amirshahi Garden hotel, they needed an extra shooter and I was available….

Jalalabad Afghanistan
November 2014
Amirshahi Garden Hotel
Time: 0430

“Blacklight, Werewolf, you guys settled in?, we‘re in the OP across the street”

“Rog‘ , room 225, we‘ll ping you when Marwan shows his ugly mug”

“Keep us in the loop, out”

I leaned back in my chair and lit another cigarette, the op was as clean as any I’d been on, there was an intel swap between the OGA element, ISA elements and Pakistani ISI regarding the recent rise in cross border incursions. Seemed simple enough, but simple didn’t apply when dealing with the Paks.

I exhaled, filling my little corner of the room with blue tinged smoke, “How we looking for time?”

Todd looked down at his watch,”0445,15 till the meet”

I checked my weapon for the third time, I was carrying a Glock 19 for this little outing, if shit went sideways we had a couple LWRC PSD assault rifles in the closet. I didn’t expect trouble, but we were ready all the same. With a minute till the meet my radio crackled to life.

“Blacklight, Werewolf, we’ve got three vehicles making their way up the street, gotta be our boys.”

Todd keyed up his mike, “Rog’, meet is a go”

A few minutes later a knock sounded on the door, I dragged my hand off the table and onto the butt of my Glock as Todd went to answer it. Marwan al Saeed our ISI contact and a guy I didn’t recognize walked in, Marwan carrying a nondescript black briefcase.

Todd wasted no time in getting down to business, “Salaam, Marwan, do you have what we need?”

Marwan bowed shallowly, “Salaam Mr. Jameson, Everything is here, just as we agreed, do you have the money?”

Todd nodded and knelt down to pull a black duffel bag from under the bed, Marwan’s buddy had taken up position by the door. Something about the guy was odd, maybe it was the disgusted look in his eye as he swept the room, maybe it was the fact that he hadn’t taken his hands out of his pockets the whole time, I had a close eye on him all the same.

That may have been what he wanted all along, I was too busy watching him instead of the street…. I never saw the van slam into the lobby of the hotel where Werewolf was in their OP. I sure as hell felt the blast as over 500 pounds of explosives detonated, killing Werewolf element and bringing the building down on top of them, we were all thrown to the floor.

Todd was the first to recover, he fired a round at close range directly into Marwan’s face, his brains spraying across the wall behind him. I drew my Glock just as his buddy was going for his weapon, I waited till the front sight came flush with his chest and fired twice, he staggered and I drew the Glock up and shot him in the head.

“WHAT THE FUCK!” Todd yelled, deaf from the blast and the gunfire

“I DON’T FUCKING KNOW MAN!, WE GOTTA ROLL!”, I picked up the briefcase while Todd grabbed the money bag and our back up long guns from the closet. We hustled down the stairs to the vehicle I had waiting in the alley, I threw the car into gear and we were off.

“What the fuck happend to Werewolf?!” Todd cried

“Fucking dead man!, I watched the fucking building collapse!, we got a plan?!”

“Shit! Fuck!, ok, uh, Embassy! We gotta get to the Embassy!”

“Peshawar!, you fucking kidding m-” the back window shattered as I was cut off by a hail of gunfire, I had been so distracted by Werewolf’s sudden demise that I hadn’t even noticed the tail creeping up behind us, Todd turned in his seat bringing the PSD up and hammering away at the trail car.

“GODDAMN,GOAT FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!!!”

“Todd!, intersection coming up, we’ve got one shot!”

“Rog’!”

I gunned it as we approached the center of the intersection, weaving in and out of the “Jingle Trucks” that dominated the road. Our bad guys weren’t so lucky, I checked my mirror long enough to see them drive right under the rig we‘d just cut around.

“Fuck yeah!” I crowed “He ain’t comin’ back from that one….Todd?”. I glanced over at him, blood was pumping from a wound in his chest, he was out cold.

“FUCK” I pulled off my keffiyeh and pressed it to his wound, hoping to Christ we’d make it to Peshawar in time….

“Hey man, Earth to Mike?” Todd said, snapping his fingers in front of my face

“Shit man sorry, I kinda zoned out waiting for you”

He took his seat opposite of me, “No worries my friend, so what was so important that I had to drive here in the middle of the night?”

I tossed the target profile of the DOE Headquarters on the table, ”This is all the OSINT I could gather”

Todd opened the file and paled, “Are you fucking high?, this is a US Government building!”

“I’m quite with it Todd, I need your help getting some info off of their database, nothing more”

“Can I ask why?, I think you owe me that much.”

“Sorry man, I can’t. This has to be kept under wraps. Just know you‘d be doing me a personal favor I could never repay”

Todd rubbed his temples and sighed, “Fuck me, alright I’ll help, but this makes us even ok?”

“You’re a lifesaver man, how long would you need to prep?”

Todd turned all business, “An hour at max, we can run the advance tonight, have it done and dusted by the end of the week”

“You sure about that?”

“The pope shit in the woods?”

I chuckled, “Alright man, if you say so” I scribbled down the address of a hotel near the campus, “Meet me here, 2100 tonight”

“Wilco, take care of yourself”

Todd and I stood, shaking hands as we went our separate ways, it was gonna be a big night….

Chapter 14

Hell is the absence of reason.

MIT
Cambridge Mass.
1800
H-hour minus 8

Kat was humming as I walked into the lab, “Hey kiddo, how’s it coming?”

“Pretty good, I’ve got the Matter Accelerator all calibrated, you heading out?”

“Yep, my contact is waiting for me off campus, just have everything ready for when I get back, remember the plan?”

Kat nodded, “Ten minutes after you go through, get out of the building and call the number you gave me, get back home and lay low until things cool down, if things go sideways call Chief Riley at Dam Neck” She cast a look around the room, “I’m going to miss this place”

I smiled, “They’ll rebuild it Kat”

The number I’d given her was attached to six thermite charges and two bricks of SEMTEX, when it blew, it’d blow so big and so hot, that nothing of the portal or any of the research would be left behind. I grabbed my go-bag and headed for the door.

“I love you Kat”

“I love you too Mickey, be careful”

“Wilco, if I’m not back by 0500..” I let it hang.

Kat’s eyes turned steely, “Blow it”

I flashed her a thumbs up and set off at a brisk pace down the hall, Todd was waiting..

DOE HQ Forrestal Building
Washington D.C
0155
H-Hour minus 5 mikes

We parked a block away, going over the plan one more time.

“Roll in five, you remember the layout?”

“Records are on the third floor, 5 guards before the shift change 3 after, plus the gate guard.”

“Right, in 3 we’ll push on the perimeter fence towards the side entrance. We’ve only got a 5 minute window to traverse the property, any longer and the alarms will be on, once we’re inside I’ll advance to the security station and kill the cameras, comms, and alarms. You’ll advance to the records room, grab the package, 30 mike, tops and we’ll be in the wind”

I nodded, “Rog’, lets do the damn thing”

I looked at my watch.

“Go”

We moved fast, cover to cover across the parking lot, the side door was in sight. Todd and I stacked up, I waited for the squeeze while he checked his watch, 10 seconds went by…15...20 .I felt Todd’s hand squeeze my shoulder and I yanked the door open, we fanned out and took control of the side room, moving out into the corridor.

I took a knee, “Alright, I’m headed to the third floor, better have the grid down off or we’re dead before we started”

Todd peeked around the corner, chuckling “Roger that, 5 mike and the grid’ll be down, have faith my son”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I’ll see you outside buddy”, Todd moved out the door and made his way to the substation. I checked my gear, my HK45CT was secured on my hip, an MP7A1 with a suppressor and an Eotech slung across my chest purely out of shit happens, the guards here were unarmed and I wasn’t out to kill my countrymen. Period. We were relying on surprise to rule the day. I sliced the doorway and headed up the stairwell, passing the 2nd floor when Todd’s voice crackled over the radio.

“Substation secured, killing the grid in 2”

“Rog’, passing the second floor, holding at 3, on your go”

I reached the door to the 3rd floor, placing my hand on the doorknob, I waited for the word. A million thoughts rushed to the foreground, Twilight among them. I shoved it all down, no time for that, gotta focus.

“Grid’s down, Go!”

I ripped the door open and sliced into the hallway, “3rd floor hall is clear, where are the tangos?”

“I’ve got two in the break room and one walking the fourth floor, looks like a circuit patrol, I’ll let you know if he heads your way”

“Copy, server room is in sight, cracking”, I slid the Algorithmic Cracker into the keycard lock, after a few beeps the lock popped, I cleared the room quick and set up at the desktop in the corner.

Username: Admin

Password:********

Search: Bajuar, Pakistan

No results…

“Todd?, I’m not getting anything on the system”

“Dig, we’re clear for 10 mike more, then it’s gonna get complicated”

“Rog’”

Access:Root_login

Accessing……

Root accessed

Search: Bajuar

Not found…

“Todd?, What gives? There’s nothing on Bajuar in the system.”

A voice behind me, “There wouldn’t be”

A hammer blow to the side of my head laid me out on the tile. I felt my weapons being stripped

“Get up Petty Officer”

I coughed, spat a bloody glob onto the floor as I staggered to my feet, the guy in front of me was about 5’10 fortyish and reeking of OGA, his weapon aimed at my heart

“Walked you right into it Dunn, we knew something had gone down after the blast, we just didn’t know what. Trusting Fuller? Another mistake.”

“And who would you be asshole?

The mystery man smiled “James Tollevin, CIA. Now Petty Officer, care to explain why you’re in a federal government facility accessing classified records?”

“You should mind your own business, you’ll live longer”

He began to laugh outright, “Were you stupid enough to believe we haven’t had you under observation this whole time?, in the hospital in India? You talk in your sleep son, and you had some quite interesting things to say, Magic? Really?”

This asshole seemed to be enjoying himself, “That’s why you followed me here? Dreams?!”

He shook his head, “Dreams… that’s what we thought at first, then you disappeared from Little Creek and wound up here, it all added up too nicely for comfort. Our suspicions were all but confirmed when you called Fuller, the rest was easy. Let me lay it out for you, You were going to grab the spectral and freq data off these computers and use it to affect this little trip of yours. Am I correct?” the shock must’ve shown on my face, “Surprised?, we bugged your sister’s laboratory on a hunch, boy howdy did that pay off”

“Fuck you”

“One way or another Petty Officer, we’re going to find out where you went, you know we are”

I threw myself at him, the crack of a gunshot shattering the silence, accompanied by a searing pain in my chest, I knocked his gun away, delivering a fist to his throat and a knee to his ribs, he reeled away gagging. I snatched up his Beretta and fired a round into his face, over as fast as it started.

My chest was killing me, I looked down to check the damage, blood was flowing slowly from a hole just off center from my sternum…Lucky he didn’t hit my fucking spine.

“Suck it up Frogman, that asshole Todd is still fucking around out there somewhere”

I kneeled next to the OGA asshole and started rifling through his pockets…Bingo, Spectral analysis for the Bajuar detonation. How the fuck the team of OGA operators snuck up behind me I’ll never know, but I sure as shit felt the round that sliced through my arm, spinning me to the deck, I recovered quick and racked my MP7 dumping the mag on full auto towards the door, they were fucking with the wrong guy, I was slamming a new mag home when a realization hit me like a freight train.

Oh Fuck…Kat…

Chapter 15

Blood Loss.. And other fun activities

Kat.. I’m coming.

I was tearing ass down the side stairwell, the OGA team in hot pursuit. Rounds were snapping and whining off railings and the concrete walls as I looped past the 2nd floor, hurtling the body of a dead FPS Officer, blood leaking from my chest and arm. I turned, firing a burst up the stairs and was rewarded with a cry of pain.

Not stopping to assess the damage, I barreled through the same side door Todd and I had used to gain entry…and ran directly into the man himself. The OGA team came crashing out of the door behind me, one of them nursing a bleeding arm. They fanned out and quickly stripped my weapons.

Todd smiled menacingly, his 1911 aimed directly at my face “Hey buddy, I guess Tollevin didn’t give you too much trouble.”

“Fuck you, you sold me out!”

Todd chuckled, shaking his head, “Can you blame me? They wanted to know what all that talking in your sleep was about, offered me a plum assignment and a fat-ass bonus to string you along, while the bugs confirmed what they suspected. Get on your knees.”

“Kiss my fucking ass” A moment later a hammer blow to the back of my head left my vision swimming, I fell to my knees clutching the bloody lump where the OGA operator had whacked me. Todd approached and jammed the barrel of the .45 against my forehead.

“Later Mike”

“Fuck you”

SNAP!, the light snap of a suppressed sniper rifle was accompanied by a sickening crack as Todd’s head exploded in a spray of red mist, skull frag and brain matter.

SNAP! The guy near the door goes down, a ragged hole in his throat, trying to scream through the blood filling his windpipe

SNAP! The one behind me drops without a sound

The last OGA operator tried to dive for cover behind a parked car….SNAP!

I was afraid to move or even breathe loudly, I watched as 3 black cloaked wraiths appeared, moving across the parking lot in perfect unison, covering every angle. As they approached the leader pulled off his ski mask, I looked up into Chief Riley’s grinning face, he offered his hand and helped me to my feet.

“Hey Zaz, nice night for a walk don’t you think?”

“Chief we gotta move, my sister’s in danger”

Riley shook his head, “Who do you think called us?, she found the bugs just after you left, tried to call you but that asshole Fuller scrambled your phone, I never did trust the fuckin’ Army, we dropped a couple of OGA assholes and left some of my guys with her just in case”

I felt my knees go weak as relief flooded over me… she was safe.. ”Who do you have with you?”

“Classified, c‘mon let's get you looked at,” the Chief said, waving one of the guys over, he pulled out a Quickclot bandage and wrapped my arm, then began prodding my chest, asking if it hurt and so on. The 9mm round had passed straight through without expanding, so thank god for small miracles,

“Kat tell you what was up?”

“Yeah, just me though… we gotta talk”

I nodded as we hustled towards the waiting van “Let's get back to Kat, then I’ll tell you whatever you want to know”

Ten minutes later we touched down at MIT, Kat was waiting outside with a couple of Riley’s operators.

“MIKE!” she cried, running to the van and wrapping me in a hug.

I sucked in a sharp breath, “Easy kiddo, fucker took a piece of me with him”

Riley chuckled, “Fat lot of good it did, your bro‘s a tough motherfucker Katherine”

Kat’s eyes hardened, “You get him?”

I smiled grimly, “The Chief bagged Todd, the guy who shot me? Hydrostatic Shock will ruin a guy’s evening to be sure.”

Kat looked a little sick as Riley knocked his fist into mine.

”Fuckin’ SEALS… I need a smoke”

Our little group cracked up, it even drew a few smiles from our guardian angels. Once again I was amazed by the human ability to survive, even in spite of everything. Here I was, by now probably the most hunted man in the world, bleeding from multiple wounds suffered in a gunfight with the deadliest Intelligence Agency on Earth, about to leave everything behind on a wild goose chase of interuniversal teleportation. And I was giggling like a little girl.

After a minute the laughter died down and we headed inside to set up security, Riley motioned for me to follow him into a side room.

“Zaz?”

“Yeah Chief?”

“Is all this shit true?”

“Yeah Chief, it’s all true, every weird ass bit of it”

Riley looked thoughtful for a moment, “Alright then”

I cocked an eyebrow, “What?”

He chuckled, “Hell it’s one of the craziest things I’ve ever heard, but we’ve shed enough blood in the same mud for me to take you at your word brother”

“Fuck, good to know Chief”

“So where do we go from here?”

“I go through, and then we torch the place. I’m understating the point when I say these assholes can’t be allowed to follow me there. This place, Chief it‘s the kind of world we‘ve fought for, shed blood for, it‘s the kind of world Jessica died for….” I felt my eyes start welling up. “If they get through, it’s gonna be Cortez and the Aztecs all over again”

Riley had stopped smiling, “Ya know man, I watched you go from a baby SEAL to a hard-hitting sonofabitch. You saved my ass in Tuzla, remember that shit?”

I chuckled, wiping the tears from my eyes, “When you fucked that farm girl? And she turned out to be that lunatic Karadzic‘s wife? Yeah I remember that you dick”

Riley waved me off, “Details, I’ve had your back since day one. Let’s get you back where you belong brother”

We were halfway to the door when it slammed open, Kat looked ready to burst.

“Mike, it’s working”

Chapter 16

Once More Unto The Breach…

MIT Physics Lab
0300

Kat, Riley and I made our way into her lab. I was shocked by what I saw. The air in the room was…Shimmering, for lack of a better term, at the center was a smooth construct, resembling a mirror, about eight feet high and five feet across. I caught sight of what lay beyond… and it took my breath away.

Lush green trees, as far as the eye beheld

The howl of a Timberwolf

The soft light from millions of stars

“Everfree” I breathed

“Holy shit” Riley said, his mouth hanging open

Kat just smirked, “Am I good or what?”

I wordlessly wrapped my arm around Kat’s shoulders, tears filling my eyes. “Thank you Kat”

She leaned in, “Anytime Mickey”

Riley was at a loss, “I-uh, I think I need to sit down” he grabbed the edge of a worktable, easing himself down to the floor.

I chuckled, “What’s up Chief?, thought I was bullshitting?”

He looked paler by the second, “Nope, I believed ya, just a whole different thing seeing it in person”

I smiled, “Take care of my family Chief?”

Riley nodded, not taking his eyes off the portal, “Fuckin’ A brother”

I looked at Kat, “The Chief is gonna set you and mom up with new Passports, ID’s, and SSN’s. You gotta disappear, I’m so sorry Kat.”

“We’ll manage, Mickey. Hell, I need a vacation anyway” she finished with a smile.

I wrapped her in a tight hug “I love you Kat, remember that”

She sniffled a little, “I will Mickey, I love you too.”

I tried to find the words to tell her how much I loved her, that she was the greatest sister a guy could ask for, then she looked up and I saw all the love and admiration she had for me in her eyes. I didn’t need to say anything at all.

“Time for me to go guys, the longer I stay, the more chance of something going wrong”

Riley nodded, “Get on it brother, I’ll take care of them”

Kat smiled through her tears, “Go Mick. And say hi to this Twilight chick for me”

I kissed her on the forehead, “Will do Kat”

I started towards the portal and Kat started to cry in earnest. I stopped dead in my tracks as lightning struck my brain.

It could work….

Can’t leave them

“Chief?”

“Yeah Zaz?”

“How fast can you get my mom here?”

“My guys made contact with her as you and Fuller went into the DOE, they’ve been trucking towards us ever since, so about 4 hours tops”

Kat spoke up, “What’re you thinking Mickey?”

I smiled, “You and mom are coming with me”

Kat blanked, “What?”

“Situation changed the minute the Agency found out about all this, you can’t live the rest of your lives on the run. Make it so Chief”

Riley nodded and walked away, pulling out his phone. Kat was leaning on her desk smiling like the cat who swallowed the canary.

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, “What’s on your mind kiddo?”

“I’m speechless Mick, you’ve just given me the scientific opportunity of a lifetime on a silver platter, and I’m at a loss.”

“Well, I can’t leave you here”

Riley walked back into the room, “My team is in the air, your mom will be here in about 4 hours We’ll pull security until then.”

“Thanks Chief, Kat? Grab whatever you need. As soon as mom arrives we’re out of here”

An hour later after I’d gathered up my go bag and various odds and ends, I made my way up to the roof to grab a smoke and avail Riley’s shooters of an extra set of eyes. We had no idea if those OGA assholes were going to try something else. My money was on yes.

One of the guys was sitting in a hide with a rifle I recognized as a suppressed SR-25, the 7.62 semi auto held it’s accuracy while maintaining a rapid rate of fire, perfect for urban areas. The hide he’d built at the top of the stairwell gave him a clear line of sight across the empty parking lot and the buildings beyond.

“Hey bro, take 5, I’ll keep an eye out”

He nodded and relinquished the rifle without a word, heading down to the first floor, I slid in behind the scope. The parking lot was deserted for the most part save for a homeless guy passed out behind a dumpster. I lit a smoke, letting the blue tinged smoke circle into the cold night air, almost missing the flash of movement in the window of the office building directly across from me. I flicked my smoke and pulled the scope back up, getting a good look at the guy. He cradled a long rifle as he snuck through the darkened building, he was too exposed, the only thing I could think was that OGA must’ve thought Kat and I were alone.

I smiled a little sadistically as I watched a couple more guys join him, setting up their rifles.

Sucks to be you….

I keyed up the radio, “Chief, send that shooter back up here, I’ve got contacts”

“Rog’ How many?”

“Four so far, all rolling long guns, they’re across the road in an office building, I’ll take care of ‘em. Tell your guys to keep an eye out for a ground incursion.”

“My guy is on his way up, we’ll keep the first floor secured”

“Copy, will keep you posted”

I watched through the scope as two of the OGA snipers set up their weapons, the other two setting up security in the adjacent office. After a minute I felt a light tap on my shoulder and Riley’s shooter slid in next to me, another suppressed SR-25 cradled in his arms. He quickly set up next to me.

“Targets?” he whispered

“Reference: Office building across the street, 3rd floor, fifth window from the right”

“ I tally four targets”

“Roger, range?”

“672 meters”

I adjusted my BDC two clicks up, “Wind?”

“Quarter value, west to east”

I pushed my windage knob a click to the right, settling the crosshairs on the chest of the guy pulling security by the door.

“I’m on the guy by the door, take the other one.”

“I tally”

A short pause, “Fire”

Our shots were simultaneous, I watched as the glass spidered and my target went down in a spray of blood.

“Hit” I called out.

“Hit, tracking second target. I don’t think they heard their buddies go down” The shooter replied

“Sucks for them, I’ll take the one on the right…On target”

“On target”

“Fire”

This time the window shattered as the heavy Black Hills 175 grain Boat Tail rounds smashed through it. Both snipers died without a sound.

“Hit”

“Hit, they’re down”

I slapped the shooter on the back, “Thanks for the assist bro”

He nodded, his eye still glued to the scope, “Anytime Petty Officer”

We watched the parking lot for the next 2 hours for a sign of an incursion, nothing materialized. Which didn’t mean a thing, if they didn’t report in someone would come looking for them. The question was, would my mom and Riley’s men get here in time…..

Chapter 17

Going Home

It had been thirty minutes since Riley’s shooter and I took down the OGA snipers. Silence had settled immediately following as we cleared every corner of the parking lot from our rooftop hide. I found my thoughts turning to Twilight, with the chaos of the last couple of hours, it hadn’t had time to sink in that I was mere hours away from holding her in my arms again, hearing her laugh, smelling her lavender scent.

I felt joy, pure and unbridled rise up within me. I quickly checked it, couldn’t afford distractions now. The stakes were too high. For another hour the parking lot stayed quiet and it was rapidly approaching 0700, daylight was getting ready to break. I reached for the PTT button on my throat-mic when Riley’s voice cut across the freq.

“Mike! My guys just reported in, they’re on the ground and rolling, being tailed by multiple contacts!”

“Fuck!” I swore loudly, “How far out are they?”

“Maybe a klick, evasive won’t work, sun up’s in twenty mikes. They’re gonna bring those fuckers right through the front door, be ready”

“Always” I replied, popping the lid on an ammo can and topping off my magazine. I turned to the other shooter, “How much ammo you have left?”

“Around eight mags, you?”

“Same”

We settled in, waiting for the inevitable fight, about a minute later Riley’s voice crackled over the radio.

“They just turned onto the street, they’ll be in sight any second, we’re set down here.”

“Rog’, draw ‘em in as close as you can”

I heard the screeching of rubber, and looked up in time to see a black van hauling ass towards us, two big black SUVs trailing close behind. I flicked the safety off on my weapon and dragged the scope up to my eye, tracking the lead SUV. I watched as the passenger side window rolled down, my heart jumped into my throat as I saw the telltale puffs of smoke, watched the suppressed fusillade rip into the side of the van. The van swerved, almost out of control before braking hard and screeching to a stop just out front of our building.

Riley‘s guys bailed out and my heart skipped a beat as the last one emerged dragging my mom by the hand. The guys set up a fast diamond formation and hustled her into the building. Only then did I let out the breath I’d been holding….The SUVs took up flanking positions on either side, the doors flew open, and OGA operators jumped out taking cover behind the door and the vehicles themselves. For one surreal moment silence fell over the lot…Then Riley’s voice cracked like a shot over the team freq.

“HIT EM!”

And just like that, everything in front of the building was hit with a bewildering amount of suppressed fire, the two SUVs were disintegrating as Riley’s guys and I poured everything we had into them. I jumped up and advanced to the edge of the roof, picking and dropping targets the whole way there. I watched as one of the team advanced towards the remaining OGA guys firing a suppressed Mk.48 machine gun. Within twenty second all the OGA operators were either dead or dying. The damage was horrific but, like all the death over the last twelve hours, they‘d brought it on themselves…

“Clear up!” I shouted.

“Clear down!” Came the reply from the point man in the parking lot

“All Clear! We gotta move, status on the PC?”

“PC is secured in the main lab area”

“Rog’! ” I double-timed it down the stairs, heading for Kat’s office. The bottom floor was riddled with bullet holes and broken glass, I caught sight of Riley by the front door, “Chief! On me!”

Riley jogged over and fell into step next to me, I was the first one through the door, Kat was comforting my mom, who looked about ready to burst into tears when she saw me. I walked over and wrapped her in a hug.

“Hey Ma”

“Jesus Mike, what the hell is going on? One minute I’m making dinner, the next I’m being told to pack my stuff, that my life may be in danger.”

“I’m so sorry mom, I’ve got zero time to explain it all.. The short and sweet is that the CIA knows about my little trip, and are trying to get ahold of the data in order to recreate the effect. We both know what happens if they do.” I let the implications hang, “You and Kat are coming with me, you have to. They‘ll kill you otherwise”

Mom shook her head, chuckling softly, “I just can’t catch a break huh?… Good thing I grabbed my toothbrush, when do we leave?”

“Right now” I said straightening up, turning to Riley, handing him the prepaid cell phone detonator, “Chief? Give us five minutes, then get clear and call the number I gave you…It’s been an honor Riley”

Riley nodded “The honor was all mine Zaz, now go, keep the girls safe”

I motioned to Kat, she tapped a few keys and the Matter Accelerator began to spin up, shrouding the room in the same shimmering effect. With a bright flash the portal opened, revealing the Everfree forest beyond.

“Whoa” my mom whispered

“Yep” I said, smiling, “You’re going to love this, mom”

“Okay, it’s stabilized” Kat said grabbing her bag, and lighting a smoke, “Let’s boldly go, before I change my mind”

I put my arm around my mom‘s shoulders, “Ready?”

She inhaled sharply, “As ready as I’ll ever be”

I grabbed Kat’s hand and, with a final nod to the Chief, we walked forward into the shimmering door of light….

Falling..

“OOF!” I grunted involuntarily as I made contact with the hard packed forest floor, Kat landed in a pile of freshly fallen leaves and Mom found herself in a soft fir tree without the slightest trace of a rough landing.

Fuck my life…

I stood, brushing myself off, my vision swam as tears welled up in my eyes, joy threatening to overtake me.. I stowed it quickly, the Everfree was not a place to become sentimental. I gathered my shit together after a few seconds and looked around the clearing. We were a lot deeper into the forest than I’d ever been.

“Kat?” I called out “Keep an eye out I’m gonna climb a tree, see if I can’t get my bearings”

“Ow, my fucking ass.. Yeah, sure thing Mickey. MOM! YOU DEAD?!”

“Not yet!, Mickey? Where are we?! ” came the reply from about the middle of the fir tree closest to me.

I rolled my eyes, we were quite the team, “It’s called Everfree, Ma, the Everfree forest”

“Ah, Gotcha, Katherine?, can you get me outta this tree?”

“Yep!”

I shook my head laughing, Equestria wasn’t ready for the three of us. I scaled the nearest tree, breaking through the thick canopy, I scanned around for a moment before I found my target. Looming in the distance on it’s cliff side perch, stood Canterlot in all it’s breathtaking glory.

“Northeast” I muttered, I risked a glance at the sun, we still had about four and a half hours till Celestia lowered it, if we hauled we could make it. I climbed down a lot faster than I thought possible. Kat had gotten Mom out of the tree and they were both munching on energy bars as I walked up, Kat was scribbling furiously in her notebook, muttering about anomalies. I whistled and they both perked up.

“What’s up Mickey? Know where we are yet?” Mom asked

“I’ve got out position in relation to Canterlot… the Capital city… where the palace is” I added, seeing their blank looks. “We’ve got a good three hours of walking ahead of us, and four hours to do it in, trust me you do NOT want to be caught in the Everfree after dark.”

Mom nodded, “Let’s boogie”

We headed on, I was trying to play the tour guide, and they both had so many questions. But the closer we got to our destination the faster I walked. I was possessed by thoughts of Twilight, just over the next rise she would be waiting, I’d be holding her again. As I neared the top I could hear noises from just over the crest, I took a knee, motioning for Kat and Mom to hold up, straining to make out what it was that awaited us up ahead. I could make out a voice, a musical regal voice, barking out harsh commands.

“Keep a twenty hoof spread Captain!, I want the Pegasi kept at five and ten mile intervals! We must find the source of the distortion!”

Celestia!

“Aye Princess!, Lighthoof! Push to the right flank!”

“Aye sir!”

I popped over the ridge, my heart in my throat, “Princess Celestia!”

I watched Celestia freeze from a hundred feet away, she looked right at me, her magenta eyes boring into mine, “M-Michael?, how?”

“I had some help highness. We managed to stabilize the effect and eliminate the radiation as well, Equestria is safe”

Tears welled up in her eyes, “Oh, Michael…” She closed the gap swiftly, wrapping her right foreleg around my neck “You are a wonder..” She pulled back, sniffling.

I motioned for Mom and Kat to join me, Celestia’s eyes went wide as saucers, “Princess Celestia, allow me to introduce my sister Katherine, and my mother Angela”

Kat bowed, my Mom followed suit, “Princess”

Celestia bowed, a beatific smile on her face, “Welcome, to Equestria, It’s an honor to finally meet both of you” She favored me with a look, “Michael? Has the portal been closed?”

I nodded, “We had some friends close it behind us”

“Very well, you three will ride with me in my chariot” She raised her voice so as to be heard across the line, “LIEUTENANT! BRING THE SCOUTS BACK AND ROUND UP YOUR PONIES,WE MAKE FOR PONYVILLE IMMEDIATELY”

“AYE PRINCESS. ALRIGHT! YOU HEARD HER HIGHNESS! RALLY UP!”

A few minutes later the last of the Pegasi scouts had been called in and we were airborne, flying over the Everfree towards Ponyville. Once we’d been flying for a few minutes I nudged Celestia, “How is she?”

Celestia shook her head, sadness coloring her features, “Until today I feared the worst Michael, she has barely left the library these last few months. Trying to bury herself in study”

“I understand Princess, I’m here now, time to pick up the pieces.. As you so eloquently put it all those months ago”

Celestia nodded, wrapping a wing around my shoulders “This will be a great day”

I smiled and leaned back in my seat, thoughts of Twilight racing through my head. Kat and Mom were staring out over the landscape with wide eyes, watching Pegasi move clouds across the sky, I reached over and touched Kat’s knee, “The weather is controlled by them. Princess Celestia and her sister, Luna control the Sun and the Moon respectively.”

Kat’s jaw dropped, she looked down at the notebook in her now shaking hands….and with a loud cry of “NOPE!” promptly hurled it over the side of the chariot to a chorus of laughter from Celestia and I.

One of the guards flew close, shouting over the wind, “HIGHNESS! WE ARE APPROACHING PONYVILLE!”

“VERY GOOD SERGEANT! FLY AHEAD AND INFORM TWILIGHT SPARKLE OF MY ARRIVAL, BUT NOTHING ELSE!” Celestia called back.

The Pegasus guard saluted and flew on ahead, my heart was pounding, I could see Town Hall, and Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique….The Library.

“Ready?” Celestia asked as we came in for a landing

“More than I’ve ever been Princess”

The Chariot settled gently on the grass just off Mane street. The Library was just a few hundred yards away, I jumped out and started running. Nothing was stopping me now, I rounded the corner, two pegasi guards were flanking the library door, in between them, facing away from me…stood Twilight.

“TWILIGHT!” I hadn’t even broken stride as I screamed her name

Twlight jolted like she’d been struck by lightning, spinning around to face me, her beautiful violet eyes wide as dinner plates. She didn’t say a word electing instead to bust a full sprint towards me…

Impact.

She jumped into my arms, her lips meeting mine, I returned her kiss with equal urgency, letting her momentum carry us to the ground. Tears, hot and salty poured down my face as all the stress, fear and loneliness of the last six months poured out of me. Twi sobbed as I crushed her into my chest, savoring the taste of her lips and the smell of her fur. I broke the kiss and ran my hand down the side of her face. “I love you Twilight”

“I love you Mike”

I kissed her again, I never wanted to stop…when I had a moment of clarity. The path was laid bare.. I broke the kiss. “Twi?”

“Yes, Mike?”

“Marry me?”

“W-wha?”

“Marry me Twilight Sparkle”

Twi paused for a moment before launching herself at me and wrapping her forelegs around my neck.

“YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES”

I closed my eyes and leaned into the hug, pure joy radiating through my whole body.

I was finally…home

Epilogue

0745 the 8 devices inside MIT went off in a massive thunderclap, smoke and fire billowed a hundred feet into the air, the building was, thankfully unoccupied. Ten minutes later, the first responders arrived. Nobody noticed two black panel vans pull away from the curb a block up the street and drive off into the early morning air in the commotion.

Katherine Dunn became scientific advisor to the Princesses and enjoyed rattling the Canterlot Elite to no end…After a number of years; she fell in love with another brilliant mind like herself, A young stallion named Time Turner. They married soon thereafter, providing expert advice, witty repartee, and loyal service in the Royal Court for the rest of their lives.

Angela Dunn was granted a home in Ponyville and took up teaching alongside a certain schoolmare. Jovially fielding questions from curious foals, slow to anger, and always quick with a smile. At the time of her passing, she was known as one of the most beloved teachers in Ponyville history.

Michael and Twilight were married in a large ceremony held in Canterlot and presided over by Princess Celestia herself. They lived a long and amazing life together, facing many trials, from Discord and the Changeling Invasion to the return of the Crystal Empire. They faced it all with a love and devotion forged in the fire of ever-changing times. All of Equestria mourned Their passing.

The pair were laid to rest in the mountainous region outside of Canterlot as per their wishes. If you ever find yourself in Canterlot, my friend, take the north trail out of the city and follow the stars. You will find the tombs of Michael Dunn, Petty Officer NSWC USN, and Twilight Sparkle, Bearer of the Element of Magic, Archmage of Equestria. Inscribed with these words:

I loved you, so I drew these tides of men into my hands
and wrote my will across the sky in stars
that your eyes might be shining for me
When I came.

Author's Note

Welp, this is it. The end of this almost year long odyssey, I'm sad to see it go. But fear not dear readers! I've been bitten by the fic bug, and my next story is already in the works. I plan to have it be a lot broader, an epic if you will. I also wanted to thank everyone for their positive feedback, it really helped me shape Michael and Twilight's story.

Till next time
SGTBRONY

P.S I figured out a song for the last two chapters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GC0mKxtS7mA

A Line in the Sand

4 years ago…

1425 Hours

Coronado, California

NSW Training Depot

BUD/S class 285

Hell Week

I can barely see from the sweat pouring into my eyes, we've been up since Monday, and the instructors show no sign of letting up. "C'MON BOY! I KNOW YOU WANNA QUIT," the lead instructor roars in my ear.

I was engaged once. She was anything and everything I could've asked for in a woman, and many a night I sat awake wondering what an angel like her was doing with someone like me. One morning about three weeks after I had proposed, she called me from work and asked if I would meet her for lunch, that there was something we needed to talk about.

The tension was thick as we sat in silence for a few moments, then almost as if a dam was breaking, she began, spilling out the truth to me. She had, for years, dreamed of joining the military. I encouraged her to pursue her dream, assuring her it wouldn't change anything between us.

A few months later, I was kissing her goodbye as she boarded a plane headed for Afghanistan. She was part of a Medevac aircrew stationed out of Bagram. For months her wing conducted operations supporting various combat missions, I won't say I wasn't a wreck the whole time but the happiness in her voice every time she called, joy at doing something that mattered overrode most of my fears.

The night she died, I was at work, always at work… her brother told me her helo had been delivering supplies to an Army Special Forces team in Khost when the FOB had come under heavy fire, that my angel had given her life dragging a wounded SF soldier out of the fray.

My whole world had been shattered; for months afterward, I refused to leave the house. I still find it mildly amusing that my salvation appeared at the mall of all places, in the form of a US Navy recruiter called Petty Officer Taylor.

And so here I am, pushing for all I'm worth. Determined to get some serious payback, I had no idea what I was in for…

Present-day minus 20 minutes

"YO, MIKE!"

I looked up, snapping out of my daydream and into Chief Riley's grinning face, "What's up, Chief?" I shot back over the roar of the chopper's blades,

" We're dark and 15 mikeS from the target AO, in case you weren't listening."

I nodded and began checking my gear, first my primary: an MK18 CQBR (An M4 carbine cut down to a 10.5-inch barrel for ease of movement inside structures), my secondary: a Sig Sauer P226 9mm handgun (fitted with a Surefire X300 weapon light, the damn thing was so bright I had blinded an insurgent in Iraq the year previous… burned that asshole's retinas out) and various odds and ends of the special operator, grenades, IR strobes and the like. Once my weapons and gear were accounted for and verified hot ( A round in the chamber saves one from being super dead… in the words of my weapons instructor), I ran over our objective and mission parameters.

About 16 hours ago, Langley had received viable Intel that Muj were going to try and sneak an old SS18 Thermonuclear warhead into Afghanistan, bad business indeed. A nuclear blast inside the country would destabilize the region yet again and derail the peace talks in progress between moderate Taliban leaders and the new Afghan government, now for the good news, 5 hours ago my team had been pinged by NAVSPECWARCOM that the highers had found a convoy heading to the border under cover of night, A quick check had confirmed that, yes these were our guys and they had the package in tow.

So now the men of Gunfighter Platoon, SEAL Team 10 were en route to lay down some serious hate, There was Ryan our team leader and one hell of an officer, Andrew the team's chief and 2IC, Bobby, a sniper and medic, Jackson our comms and weapons man, and me.

Now 10 minutes from our objective, all chatter inside the chopper ceased as we put our game faces on.

"Convoy sighted, final approach to target," the pilot shouted over the team freq.

Ryan caught my eye and nodded; I gave him a quick thumbs-up as the helo dipped closer to the deck. The moment the skids touched, we were out, weapons up, scanning the immediate area for threats, when nothing presented itself, we began to move, double-timing it to the target location just over the next dune.

The first thing I saw upon cresting the small hill was an insurgent staring me in the eyes, his AK slung on his shoulder, two years of training kicked in immediately, and I dropped him like liquid with a double-tap to the head. The fight was on as the insurgents tried to rally around their vehicles and mount an effective defense, but no one can shoot like us, and they were put down without incident.

Now we had the nerve-wracking and challenging task of making safe a 30 kiloton warhead; we were about five mike (or minutes if you prefer) into our search I came upon a bone-chilling sight, the weapon itself, armed and active, to make matters worse it had been played with, mercury tilt switches all but assured detonation if the warhead was jostled in any way plus what I believed to be a microwave transmitter attached to the side of the casing itself.

Now the tilt switches were concerning, but the microwave emitter was goddamn terrifying, as it functions on proximity, and the fact the weapon was armed and counting down proved beyond a doubt that I had passed inside its envelope.

"LT! GET THEM BACK" I yelled as loud as I could, I didn't want any of my guys to get near this fucking thing,

"What's up, Mike?" Ryan shouted from about 25 feet away

"Microwave switch LT, it's active and counting down, we've got about eight mikes left" I called back,

Ryan's face went pale, " Any way to disarm?"

"Not a chance LT, get the guys outta here if you haul ass you can clear the blast zone."

"We don't run Zaz, and we don't leave men behind," Ryan affirmed, his face set in a mask of grim determination.

" Ry, Maggie needs you, and I won't have you guys kill yourselves on my account, now get the FUCK out of my AO Lieutenant!" I barked

Ryan stared back for a second, indecision playing on his face before Chief Riley put a hand on his shoulder, "C'mon LT, we gotta move"

Ryan snapped out of it and gave the order I'd been hoping and dreading to hear "Nighthawk 03, this is Gunfighter 1, we need an emergency extract, we've got live nuclear ordinance down here! T-minus 7 minutes and counting!".

I glanced over at him " I guess this is it huh, LT?"

Ryan shot me a baleful look. "People are gonna know what you did here, Mike."

I smiled as I leaned against the truck. "Somehow, Ry, I don't think so."

I looked at my brothers standing 30 feet away, might as well have been the moon for all the help they could offer," Go, guys, take care of my folks" I smiled, and they offered a nod here and a short wave there as they double-timed it to the waiting MH-6, there was no time for heroic goodbyes, that shit only happens in movies. The second they were away, I looked inside the truck, 5 minutes, and counting.

"Sonofabitch" I muttered, "Well, I guess since no ones around…" I dug inside my IBA (body armor), pulled out a beat-up pack of Camel's and lit one up, savoring the last smoke I would ever have, each drag seemed like a gift from God as I waited for the inevitable.

I risked a look at the weapon, 15 seconds…14...13...12, at that moment I felt utterly at peace.

10... I wondered what they would say when I was gone

9...I hope I was a good man

8... I hope it doesn't hurt

7... Heaven or Hell?

6... No sense worrying about it now…

5..

4...

3...

2...

1...

Detonation… my whole world was consumed for an instant by a blinding white flash then… nothing…..

What the hell..?

I felt grass tickling the side of my face, I cracked one eye and saw brilliant sunlight, I wiggled my fingers and toes almost afraid to try and assess the damage, nope all accounted for. I was in a forest, lush foliage, and massively tall trees as far as the eye could see in every direction under a beautiful blue sky all but devoid of clouds.

Off in the distance, I could barely make out what looked like the turrets of a medieval castle. "That's a plan," I muttered to myself.

"Get to the structure, check for inhabitants, and figure out where I am".

I'd deal with the ridiculously unexplainable feat that was surviving a nuclear blast later; for now, I better get walking….

Chapter 8

Chapter 8
Bravo Zulu

BUD/s was a cakewalk compared to the feeling of abject dread permeating my being as I walked up the stairs.

“Celestia, I want to be honest with her”

The Sun Princess paused mid stride. “After all this, I believe honesty may well be the best policy Michael, but be gentle, this has been a…jarring experience for her”

The door to the room was open, Twilight was sitting on the edge of her bed, tears ran down her cheeks staining her coat, her beautiful violet eyes were bloodshot, putting it simply she looked like hell. I felt my heart breaking as she scooted away from me when I entered the room, I leaned on the doorframe with Celestia at my back. On the inside I ran to her, held her and kissed her. I told her that I was in love with her too…

On the outside I stood in the doorway at a loss for words, when I finally spoke my voice sounded ragged and harsh, like I’d been crying for days instead of just the last few minutes…“Twi, I haven’t been entirely honest with you about some things, and I want, no, I need to tell you the truth…finally”

Twilight barked a laugh, a harsh insincere sound that didn’t fit her at all, “Not entirely honest?, you mean about you being a remorseless psychopath?”

I felt my temper start to rise, I was trying to fight it back down and I was losing….

Celestia had great timing, “Twilight Sparkle!, Michael is trying to be truthful with you, he has sacrificed and suffered more than anypony in the entirety of Equestria, and what’s more, he’s done it all to protect innocents! I would advise you to listen to him.”

Jesus, no wonder she’s in charge.

Twilight looked stunned at the harsh rebuke “I…I’m sorry Princess”

I jumped in before Celestia could speak, “ Twilight, I know today was terrible for you, I can only apologize for what you had to see, I remember my first time taking a life, to say I was disturbed would be understating the point… However I would kill again and again to protect you, or anypony for that matter. It’s who I am.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak but I continued, “Please Twi, I need to get this all out, after I’m done you can chew me up one side and down the other if you wish.”

Celestia cleared her throat, “I’ll wait downstairs and give the two of you some privacy”

I nodded in her direction, “Thank you Princess, this won’t take long”

I took a deep breath and began, “On Earth, I was a part of my country’s military, the Navy to be exact. I was part of a Special Operations unit known as the SEAL’s, composed of sailors selected and trained to near perfection in order conduct high risk missions behind enemy lines, we were the best in the business, nobody could take us”

I smiled at that old frogman bravado welling up inside me. “Our job was to stop evil people, in the most direct way possible, I’ve only ever killed to keep harm from coming to others, like I did today…I’m sorry if you think I’m a monster Twi, I reacted the way I’d been trained but I also did it because I didn’t want anything to happen to you, and for that I won’t apologize.”

I paused for a moment, letting the memories overtake me, “It’s me…Mike… she’s dead, Jess is gone”

“I enlisted after my fiance was killed in battle, she died trying to save another soldier’s life, I never forgave myself for not putting up more of a fight when she said she was enlisting… I blamed myself for a very long time. I vowed I would never let someone else I loved come to harm, I killed without remorse, at times I actually enjoyed it, all that changed when I came here… I felt peaceful, our late night talks helped a lot, you opened my eyes to a world where I could finally lay down the pain I’d been carrying for years, but I’m always going to be this guy, a warrior.. And that kind of thing has no place in a world as beautiful as yours. I’ve made up my mind Twi, I’ll be heading back to Canterlot to stay until the Princess can find a way to send me home, before I go I wanted to say thank you, for everything Twilight. Please tell everyone I said goodbye”

I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you Twi, take care of yourself”

I turned to leave, my mind flashed to Applebloom, she wouldn’t understand, god I hope she doesn’t think I’d just abandon her.

“Mike, wait”

I turned back to find Twi’s beautiful violet eyes staring straight into mine as she slid off the bed and walked toward me, her hooves softly clip-clopping across the wooden floor. A few feet away she gave up all pretense and launched herself at me, I didn’t even put up a fight, I deserved whatever I had coming, I didn’t expect the warmth of her lips pressed against mine.

The sensation was heavenly, it felt like home and everything right with the world. In between her frantic awkward kisses and sobs I could hear her whispering over and over, “I love you too”. I scooped her up in my arms and kissed her in earnest, my tongue slowly exploring her mouth as hers explored mine, this could go on for awh-

“Ahem”

I spun to see Celestia standing in the doorway next to a very bewildered looking Spike.

“I apologize Michael, I attempted to stop him but to no avail” the Sun Princess said sheepishly, “Well Spike my dear I think it high time that I showed you the royal gardens”

“B-but Princess I’ve see-”

“Nonsense, we’re off!”. With that they both disappeared in a flash of yellow light.

I turned my attention back to Twilight who was fighting a smile and failing miserably, “Shall we continue?”

I didn’t think a purple mare could blush “I- I….”

I silenced her with a kiss, this was going to be an interesting night….