Copper Warhawk

-Ponyville-

Wolf Marie Heart looked solemnly forward, gaze unfocused and expression blank as she took a swig of her apple cider. Setting down the mug, the winged unicorn grimaced as she felt the drink run down her throat. She heard thunder echo through the air, the lights in the saloon flickering as a flash of light was visible through a near window. Setting down the large flagon of ale, Wolf Heart tossed a couple of bits from her satchel onto the counter before she slowly moved from the bar and rose to her hooves. The sound of conversation from the restaurant's other customers filtered into her ears as she adjusted her metal-plated wings.

As she moved towards the exit, Wolf paused, listening in on one pair's conversation in particular and flicking an ear to attention.

"Strong pegasus, blue mane, mustache. Looks like he came straight from the Crystal War," one equine said in a low voice, eliciting Wolf Heart to cock her brow curiously as she swiveled her head slightly.

"I thought that he did come straight from the Crystal War?" the other queried in a tone only slightly louder than a whisper.

The other scoffed. "Doesn't matter where he came from, guy's wanted and the bounty on his head would be more than enough to set us both free from this Hell on Equus," he grunted, bearing a slight accent, "if we can get there before anypony else. But I heard Shock was last seen in the-"

He was cut off by Wolf Heart's approach to the booth that the duo sat at, where she placed her hooves on the table with a firm expression. "Go on," she ordered the stallion, her emerald green irises taking up a minute glow as she leered at him.

"Eh, fuck off," the stallion retorted gruffly, lifting a jug of ale and taking a large gulp of the alcoholic substance.

Wolf Heart dipped her head with a sarcastic smile, ushering a deep, unamused sigh. "Let's not be hasty, Sir. All I want... is to know what it is you had to say. I think you very much underestimate that whom you seek," she explained in a discourteous manner, pulling a chair away from the closest table and taking a seat at the booth.

The stallion squinted with disbelief. "No, I don't think I do, Sweetheart. Now vacate," he growled, slowly rising from the booth and standing over her.

Wolf Heart leered up at the stallion before, with a burst of speed, she leaped to her hooves, leaned back momentarily, and grabbed his hoof. As she did so, the mare pulled it back, firmly planted her other hoof between his shoulders, and threw him down, acquainting his face with the booth table, drawing the majority of the saloon's attention to that corner of the room.

He shouted in pain whilst his ally lurched back, pressing his back to the wall with a startled expression.

"I... am not your sweetheart. Now tell me where Shock is," Wolf Heart growled in his ear, twisting his arm behind his back and eliciting a pained yelp from the stallion.

"F-fuck off, I said," he spluttered in response, sucking air in through his teeth.

With an enraged expression, Wolf Heart revealed one of her wing blades and buried it into the wood of the table mere inches from his face, a dull thud sounding off as she did so. "Tell... me," she whispered slowly, and with menace, planting a hoof against his skull and allowing her horn to take up a slight glow.

"Alright, alright!" the stallion finally caved with a grimace. "He was last seen in the Everfree! That's all I know!" he explained.

Wolf Heart didn't release him, but simply removed the steel blade from the table and lifted it in front of his face.

"I swear, that's all I know!!" he shouted in a pleading manner, lifting a free hoof in meek defense.

The mare glared down a moment longer before haphazardly releasing him, turning to walk away.

She was stopped by a voice. "What is it that you want with Shock?" the stallion's buddy queried, approaching her from behind. "Most might think you foolish for going out unprepared," he explained.

Wolf Heart turned her head slightly. "I am prepared," she acknowledged flatly before leaving the saloon.

-The Everfree Forest, Hours Later-

Wolf Heart slowly trotted forward, scanning her surroundings whilst she moved down the overgrown path. It had been some years since anypony had traversed the Everfree, not since the Crystal War, in fact. It was rumored that it had been overtaken by King Sombra's dark magic, and since that point, most who wandered into the forest were considered delusional or mad.

Exactly why Steam Shock must be here, Wolf Heart thought to herself as she studied the path, noticing the none too clear shape of studded hoofprints moving down the roadway as she slowed her pace to a walk. There was something off about the prints though, she noticed. There were only three different hooves going down the path, with a strange, triangular imprint moving along with them, and the spacing between each track was slightly off, indicating a limp.

Wolf Heart cocked a confused brow and studied the track before shifting her gaze up and swiveling her head. "Where are you, Dapper," she whispered to herself, furrowing her brows into a solemn expression as a frown touched her lips.

Wolf ushered a soft sigh and dipped her head, having long since come to terms with her best friend's sudden disappearance during the Crystal War. There was a time when she'd had hope and held onto that hope, that he was still alive, but as the years wore on, with no word of him, Wolf Heart had begun to think that the lost soldier was gone, taken prisoner or killed by King Sombra's crystal soldiers.

But after having received word on multiple occasions in the past year of his survival, that hope of said survival was rekindled... Maybe, just maybe, Dapper Alan Jolt was still alive.

Inhaling, the winged unicorn pushed forward, the former rain and thunder now nothing more than a light drizzle, though larger drops that collected on leaves still fell from the unattended trees, sometimes in droves. Wolf Heart grimaced as her thoughts wandered... She'd seen things in the Crystal War, things that no normal pony would ever hope to see in their lifetime. She'd seen bloodshed, and she'd been forced to watch the death of dozens...

Wolf paused, her heart pounding in her ears and breath coming heavy as her vision blurred slightly. Choking back tears, Wolf Heart squeezed her eyes shut and clenched her teeth, leaning back on her haunches.

So lost in sorrow, was she, that the mare was oblivious to the sound of wingbeats above her head before they transitioned into a dull thud.

Snapping her head up at the sound of mechanical clicks and the grinding of gears, Wolf Heart's line of sight was greeted with a tall, blue-eyed stallion whose mane swept forward. Though her eyes still watered, she could clearly see that he only bore three legs, though he walked on four limbs. It took her a moment, however, to realize that one of those four limbs was comprised of a prosthetic, metal left wing that he had his weight leaning on.

"Hello, Wolf Heart," the stallion said with a slight smile crossing his mustached face as he limped towards her, mechanical parts whining in slight protest of his movements.

Wolf's jaw lowered an inch before she rubbed her eyes with the back of a hoof. Looking to the stallion, she could almost instantly recognize him by his messy blue mane, which was tinted with multiple shades, white fur, and eyes... The eyes, they were a deep ocean blue that withheld a sense of calm. They were his eyes.

“Dapper?" Wolf Heart choked as he paused, standing only about a foot from her. Hesitantly, she lifted a hoof, where the pegasus stallion closed his eyes and gently leaned into her touch. At this, Wolf broke down, lowering her hoof with a sob. Her friend, her best friend, the one who always stood by her side in times of hardship, always worked to make sure she was content... He was alive...

But even so, there was an air about Steam Shock that was different, not only in his new prosthesis, which seemed hardly practical but his stance. He wasn't full of the energy that made him such a joy to be around years ago, and though he approached her with a kind smile and gentle motion, the mare felt almost deterred by his presence.

As she cried, the stallion furrowed a brow and leaned forward, gently moving to pull Wolf into a hug with his arm while he supported his weight on his wing. Whilst he did so though, she leaned away and shook her head, unable to speak as she rose to her hooves.

Shock paused, lowering his arm and looking down with a frown, furrowing his brows in visible confusion.

"You lied," Wolf Heart finally muttered, taking a step back as she shifted her gaze up and looked into his slightly bloodshot eyes with visible sorrow. "You lied to Falcon, to Jackpot, to Oak," she said, tears running down her cheeks. "You lied to... to me."

The stallion sighed. "Wolf, I... I didn't have any choice-"

At the words, Wolf Heart's eyes blazed. "You didn't have a choice?! What choice did you not have, Shock?! You abandoned your friends, you made us think you were dead, and for what, exactly?!" the mare chastised, throwing a hoof up in despair as she glared up at him, her voice shaking. "I loved you, and as a way to pay me back for the love that I showed you, you went and broke my heart."

The pegasus stallion's lip shuddered slightly, a tear touching the corner of his eye as he took a step back. “I’m sorry,” Steam muttered, lowering his gaze.

Hearing this, Wolf Heart shifted to a neutral stance before her brows furrowed with sadness. "But why?"

"My fucked up, post-traumatic mind thought it better that way," he finally muttered in response.

The winged unicorn sighed and transitioned her gaze to his prosthesis, which was little more than a rusted mess of copper plating and imitation feathers that was uncomfortably strapped to the stub of his shoulder. Looking up at his face, the mare could see just how messy his mustache and dirty his cheeks were. “Seven years without me and you look like a wreck,” she whispered with a flat, humorless smile, shaking her head.

“Is that it?” the pegasus responded with audible shock in his tone. “Holy shit, it’s felt like decades,” Steam snorted before he was interrupted by a lowly growl from the underbrush.

Both he and Wolf Heart snapped their heads to face the direction of the sound. “Timberwolves,” he muttered with a glare as he slowly limped forward, putting himself between the noise and Wolf Heart. With that, he slowly shifted a single wing-blade out of his organic wing.

“Do you still know how to even use wing-blades?” Wolf Heart whispered.

“My friend, it may have been a long time, but even you couldn’t forget in that amount of time… It’s like riding a scooter,” Steam said quietly, not shifting his gaze away from the undergrowth.

“Except it’s not a scooter, it’s a weapon,” Wolf retorted.

Before Steam could respond, a large, brown and grey shape with glowing green eyes leaped from the forest growth, snarling loudly as it landed on top of the stallion before he was given an opportunity to react. The pegasus yelped in shock, lifting his prosthetic wing in defense as the Timberwolf snarled, clamping its jaws down on the metal bones of the wing and pinning him beneath its weight. Wooden jaws creaked with the strain as Steam struggled against the large creature, teeth clenched as he swung his blade at the beast’s chest.

The metal edge embedded itself in the bark, but bore little fruit in deterring his attacker.

Wolf Heart, after recovering from the initial shock, revealed her own wing-blades and studied the situation momentarily before she lunged towards the struggling duo, throwing her wings so that the blades shot forward and buried themselves deep in the Timberwolf’s hide, drawing out a series of pained yelps from the beast as it released its prey and backed away. Whining, it rubbed its bark-like hide against a tree, where Wolf’s wing-blades fell to the ground with a clatter.

With a pitiful whine, the Timberwolf slunk away, its tail between its legs and ears flat as small shards of wood fell from its wounds.

Wolf Heart glared over in the direction that the creature went for a moment before turning towards Steam and holding out a hoof for him. “The great Dapper Alan Jolt… killed and eaten by a wood dog. Not very inspiring, Shock,” she said as she hoisted him up.

The stallion grimaced and stumbled for a moment, rolling his good shoulder. “Thanks… Nobody needs to know that this happened though, okay? When you get back to Pony-”

“When I get back to Ponyville? You’re coming with me,” Wolf Heart said with a confused expression.

The pegasi’s expression grew considerably downtrodden as he looked into his friend’s emerald green eyes. “No… I’m sorry, Wolfie… I’m not coming with you. There’s a price on my head for starters and secondly…” He trailed off.

Wolf Heart frowned. “Steam… They need to know that you’re alive. I don’t care about the price, whatever reason it may be there, but Falcon, Jackpot, and especially Oak need to know that you survived the war.”

“No, Wolf… I can’t go back there. I just… I can’t. You don’t understand.”

“What don’t I understand, Shock?” Wolf Heart retorted, growing irritated.

The stallion’s ears fell flat. “I don’t think that they’ll welcome me back into their lives with open arms, Wolf,” Steam explained.

Wolf Heart sighed. “Do you have a place that you’ve been using for shelter that I can escort you back to, then?” she asked solemnly, shaking her head and letting a wing droop to her side.

-A Half Hour Later-

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Steam exclaimed, gesturing towards the mouth of a cave with a flat expression. “This is Beaver Hollow,” he told Wolf Heart before he dipped his head and turned to face the mare. “So… I guess this is goodbyes for now, eh?” he queried.

Wolf Heart deadpanned. “Don’t be a dingus, of course, it’s not. You’re fucking filthy,” she acknowledged as though it was obvious, gesturing towards his rust-stained feathers and greasy mane. “Do you not take off your armor when you sleep? And, much as I like a mustache on you, I think I liked clean-shaven Dapper better than spartan Dapper.”

Said stallion’s expression transitioned into that of mortification as he lifted a hoof to his mustache. “No,” he said flatly. “The mustache stays… Also, I don’t really go by Dapper Jolt anymore, Wolfie… Not since the war. Not exactly the same charismatic pony I once was to be called that,” Shock explained. “Now wait here.”

“So the bounty hunters say,” Wolf Heart muttered under her breath as the stallion walked into the cave. “You’ll always be Dapper Jolt in my eyes though…”

-Moments Later-

Wolf Heart gently ran the edge of the wing-blade down Steam Shock’s cheek, careful not to cut him as stray black hairs were neatly shaved off of his face. The stallion’s cheeks were unusually warm to the touch and elicited a sly smile from Wolf as she trimmed his sideburns.

“Jeez, how long has it been?” Steam muttered, furrowing a sorrowful brow before his friend wiped the corner of his chin with a damp cloth and set down the blade.

“About seven years,” Wolf Heart responded through a sigh.

Steam Shock exhaled deeply as he swiveled his head slightly to face Wolf Heart, a disconsolate expression touching his face as heavy guilt set itself in his mind. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered, his blue eyes misting over as he looked into her own. “It killed me to be away from you… To be away from what family I had left,” Steam explained. “You must know that.”

“Then why did you leave?” Wolf replied softly, avoiding eye contact with the pegasus. "There must be a logical reason."

At this, Shock failed to maintain his composure and turned away, visibly struggling to withhold his emotions as a tear slithered down his cheek. “He died, Wolfie… He was my brother, and now he's dead,” the stallion whispered, lifting a hoof to the dog-tag around his neck. “And I couldn’t stop it from happening.”

In the dim light, Wolf Heart could see that the tag read "Cipher Cloud". With a heavy-hearted sigh, the winged unicorn gently placed a hoof on his good shoulder. “That doesn’t make it your fault,” she assured him whilst she began to unbuckle the straps that held on his burgundy-red leather greave to reveal his cracked forehoof. Wolf grimaced as she gazed down at his hoof, noticing dried blood staining his hoof and matting the fetlocks that covered it. “Dapper,” she chided softly, studying the injured hoof.

He didn’t seem to hear her, his gaze having since wandered and ears laid back slightly. “Hm?” he muttered, shifting his view down to see what she scolded him about.

“How did you do this?” she asked in a motherly manner.

Shock sighed and gently began to pull his hoof away, his mind trailing to none-too-pleasant memories. “It doesn’t matter, I'm fine,” he said dismissively before Wolf Heart clutched his arm.

“You are not fine. Just look at your hoof! That’s definitely infected. Guarantee it,” she reprimanded before looking to the prosthetic wing. “And what about that? Have you been taking care of your wing?” she asked before gingerly unclasping the straps that held it in place and letting the large appendage slip into her arms with a slightly effortful grunt. Gently setting it aside, Wolf Heart inspected the stub of his shoulder and wing, half expecting it to be covered in infectious substances. She was relieved to see that, while there was definitely a sizable scar, a thin layer of fur was growing over the old wound, even though it was stained with rust. “You need a bath,” she declared, working off Shock’s hind shin guards to see that his hind hooves were also cracked and split.

“Why do you still care about me?” Steam asked her, cocking a brow and gazing into her eyes.

Wolf Heart smiled in a comforting fashion. “Because. You’re still my friend, y’know… Even if you’ve changed.”

Shock shook his head. “No… You don’t deserve to deal with my shit, especially after what I did to you,” he retorted, rising to his hooves. Almost instantly, a pain shot up his hooves that elicited an agonized shout from him before he slumped back down.

Wolf deadpanned. “There’s a river over there, go get cleaned up,” she said softly, but with authority, rising to her hooves and telekinetically lifting Steam Shock a couple of inches off of the ground. With that, she floated him over to the gently flowing water and gingerly lowered him into it before her magic hold dissipated and she moved out of view for his privacy.

A few moments later, Steam Shock emerged from the water and reproached the cave, running the towel that Wolf had teleported to him through his mane and wiping down his face with a grimace at the still lingering pain in his hooves. In spite of only three limbs to walk on, the stallion still managed to hobble over to Wolf Heart, who was now busying herself with cleaning as much of the rust off of his prosthetic wing and armor plating as possible.

“You don’t have to do that,” Shock exclaimed with a sigh.

“You don't want tetanus, do you? Besides, if I don’t, who will?” she retorted, looking up at him with a mischievous smile. “You look… clean,” she snickered as she scrubbed the metal with a wire brush.

Leaning back so that he could free his arm for use, the stallion tossed his towel over a branch so that it could dry before he rose to his hooves and approached Wolf Heart, taking a seat by her side. “Thanks for bringing that soap and towel over for me,” he shrugged.

“Sure,” Wolf replied, looking up at the one winged, three-legged pegasus with a gentle smile. “Hey, your fur is white again,” she giggled, eliciting an eye-roll from her friend. Setting aside the cleaning utensils, the winged unicorn sidled up beside him and lifted a hoof to where his limb was cut from his body, wearing a sympathetic expression. Hesitantly, Wolf touched the remnant of Shock’s arm.

Steam Shock looked down and Wolf Heart looked up to where their eyes met. Shock ushered a slight smile at Wolf’s worrisome visage, chuckling lightly. “It doesn’t hurt so bad to walk without, don’t worry. The wing does its job and I’m not often without it, so I haven’t much to complain about,” he assured her, though his words did little to relieve Wolf of her worries.

“What, it does still hurt though?” the mare questioned with visible concern spreading across her muzzle.

“Phantom pains, more than anything… Sometimes I can still feel Sombra’s damn scythe cleaving through my arm and wing, infecting me with his dark magic,” Shock sneered.

Sensing her friend’s growing unease, Wolf Heart gently leaned against Steam Shock’s form, resting her head against the stub of his arm to try and comfort him.

Shock sighed, laying his chin across the top of her head, though avoiding her horn, in response.

“I missed you,” Wolf Heart whispered, slowly snaking a hoof around his neck and under his shoulder length, royal and sky blue mane. Shifting herself, Wolf Heart sat down in front of the stallion, lifting a hoof to his muscular torso to feel his steadily increasing heart-beat, that of which elicited a sly look upon her face.

The stallion let a soft smile slip across his muzzle as his cheeks warmed up. "I missed you too, Wolfie," he said with a chuckle, doing his best to shrug off his friend's flirtatious actions.

Wolf Heart sighed and dipped her head, her bangs partially covering her face. "Y'know," she purred, "as tough as you look with your armor on, I imagine cuddling a sheet of metal and fake feathers isn't very comfortable." With the words, she drew herself closer, gently pressing her chest against his own and tilting her head slightly whilst looking up. "You're a bit more... vulnerable, right now," Wolf continued.

Steam Shock chuckled at her advances, and more so at her attraction to a pegasus missing an arm and wing. "That would make sense," he smirked, softly positioning his arm around her neck while keeping himself propped up with his good wing.

The winged unicorn's eyelids dropped slightly as she scooted her weight even closer to the pegasus stallion. A brief moment of tension was shared between the two before Wolf Heart gently locked lips with Shock. Beating her wings softly, the mare lifted a few inches into the air before re-positioning herself upon his lap, straddling his waist as her tail slowly wrapped around his back left leg.

Being on Steam Shock's lap, Wolf Heart's head was now positioned slightly above his, allowing her to gently hold him while her eyes closed.

Moving his arm, the wounded soldier positioned his hoof to her shapely thigh, where, in that moment of embrace, the two didn't seem to notice Steam Shock fall onto his back as his wing buckled and Wolf Heart's weight brought him down. A small amount of dust was kicked up as the duo made out, Shock feeling Wolf's tongue gently force itself between his lips.

At this, the stallion couldn't help himself, holding her waist and allowing his tail to brush up against her inner thigh. Wolf Heart ushered a gasp at the action, breaking the lip-lock for a moment with half-lidded eyes as the muscles in her thigh throbbed of their own accord.

A moment of silence passed over them before Wolf Heart looked down, only just realizing that she had Steam Shock pinned under her weight. The mare cracked a sly, mischievous grin before she promptly sat down on top of him, straddling the stallion's waist with her thighs and lowering herself down to whisper something in his ear: "You're mine."

Shock chuckled at her words, and before she could lift her head, he kissed her neck in such a manner that the mare shuddered. The stallion continued the action, lifting a hoof and ever-so-slightly brushing her mane away from the back of her neck before he'd gently tickle her neck with his touch, knowing fully what the outcome would be.

After a few moments, Wolf Heart ushered a soft, quiet moan before she clenched her teeth. "F-fuck you," she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut whilst attempting to hide her face so that Shock couldn't see the blood rushing to her face.

"I think that's the idea," Steam Shock whispered softly into her ear as he lifted his head slightly, moving his hoof to her rear before slowly running it up her belly, across her sternum, and towards her throat. Tilting her head up, Shock chuckled at seeing the flushed look upon her face.

Wolf Heart's breath was heavy as she looked down into his crystal blue eyes. "You... are a tougher nut to crack than I anticipated," she admitted through a sigh, leaning back slightly and brushing back her mane. After a moment, her expression shifted to something a little less frazzled and a little more sinister, a snicker coming across her muzzle as she leaned back down.

The one winged pegasus smirked before he lifted his head and once again, locked his lips with hers, holding her close to him. As the two locked in a fiery embrace, Shock pulled away briefly, and only to say; "Takes a strong will to reject other mare's affections while waiting for the right moment to return to the one I really loved."

With the words, Shock flipped Wolf Heart onto her back so that he stood over her, his remaining arm bulging with the muscle needed to hold himself on three legs as his friend tore the gauntlets off of her forehooves and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a fierce kiss. "Fuck, Dapper, I love you," Wolf Heart breathed, the memory of her best friend's supposed death dissipating in her mind as the pegasus on top of her kissed her neck, his tail brushing between her legs and eliciting a moan that the mare did little to hold back.

-A Half Hour Later-

Wolf Heart laid on top of Steam Shock, her face bright red and sweat touching her brow. She was in obvious disarray, her mane tangled, wings sagging by her side, and blue feathers around the duo. "H-holy shit," she gasped, weakly flexing her sore hind legs with a slight grimace.

Steam Shock wasn't off much better, his arms ached and his mane was far from its usual appearance, being noticeably messier than it typically was. His heaving breaths, which came more as a wheeze, slowly lifted Wolf Heart up slightly as air rushed into his lungs before his chest fell. "Well," he choked, "Helluva time," the stallion jested, a weak chuckle leaking from his throat. "Y-you alright, Wolfie?" Shock then asked, noticing how exhausted she looked.

"Uh-huh," she nodded, nuzzling her snout underneath the stallion's chin with a gentle smile.

"Did you enjoy yourself?" he queried, regaining his composure slightly faster than the mare on top of him.

The mare nodded again. "You know what you're doing more than you let in on." Wolf mumbled, kissing his cheek as she sprawled out on the makeshift body pillow that was her best friend. "Who did you get practice with, if you don't mind my asking?" she said quizzically.

Steam Shock smiled again. "My body filled itself out over time, like you said it would. I grew a little more desirable, but refused all but one mare," he explained.

Wolf Heart tilted her head up, resting her chin on his chest. "What was she like?"

"In a lot of ways, she reminded me of you... Name was Autumn," he smiled, looking back on the time before his
smile was replaced with a frown. "She was... she was killed by somepony who wanted me dead," he sighed. Noticing the sorrowful look coming across Wolf Heart's face, Steam Shock shrugged his shoulder as best he could with Wolf Heart laying on top of him. "Guess it wasn't meant to last," he said in an attempt to dismiss the non-too-happy memories. Furrowing a brow, Steam Shock lifted his head and looked into Wolf's jade green eyes. "Wolfie, what was your goal in doing this?" he queried, furrowing a confused brow.

Wolf Heart frowned, propping herself up slightly whilst being careful not to dig her elbows into Shock's rib-cage. "I... don't know," she muttered, dipping her gaze. "You remember when we were in high school, and we did that?" the mare asked, combing through her memories.

The stallion nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Well, at the time, I was wanting to dispel any curiosities you may have had, and I was also wanting to satisfy you in that manner for all you'd done-"

"Mission accomplished," Shock interrupted with a chuckle.

"I guess this was kind of like that time," Wolf Heart continued with a half-second grimace. Back then, they were both teenagers doing teenager stuff. Shock had been a young mustang. He was easier and more entertaining to get going. What had happened all those years ago wasn't a time Wolf looked on with much fondness. Neither had been thinking logically when they did what they did.

"What have I done to deserve satisfaction this time?" Steam Shock grumbled.

He doesn't like the memory either, the mare surmised. "Okay, Dapper. You got me. Initially, I was just hoping to cuddle my best friend after seven years of a lack of doing so, but it wound up as a fully fledged fucking, which by the way, I personally enjoyed. I thought you did too, but I guess not," Wolf Heart snorted, sitting upright on Shock's lap, crossing her forehooves, and turning her view away from him with feigned annoyance.

Steam Shock rolled his eyes. "C'moooon, you know you love me," he chuckled, positioning himself in a slightly upright position.

Wolf ushered a groan. "If letting you fuck me earlier didn't make that clear, than nothing will," she said as Shock kissed her cheek. "But, we have matters to discuss, now that we've had our fun," she declared, rising from her hooves. "Like what you're wanted for... I've been seeing your face all over Ponyville in the form of these," she explained, pulling a rolled up poster from the saddlebag that she had hastily discarded about 45 minutes ago. Steam Shock lifted his good hoof as Wolf Heart slapped the poster into it.

As he unrolled it, stepping on one end with a hind hoof and using his forehoof to unroll the paper, he looked down at the mugshot of a scarred stallion that stared down at him before he spoke. "Away without leave... That's treason, and Celestia hasn't exactly been the most merciful type when it comes to her soldiers," Shock explained through a slight grumble.

Wolf cocked a brow as Steam Shock released the poster and leaned back on his haunches, brushing his hoof through his disheveled mane. "But when I checked your file it said MIA, not AWOL," she responded, furrowing a confused brow.

"Part of a cover-up. I wasn't exactly Celestia's most beloved soldier... That or somepony who wants everypony else to forget about me fucked around with the file behind her back," Steam Shock acknowledged with visible annoyance spreading across his muzzle.

"Well, we need to find out who," Wolf Heart declared, rising to her hooves. "They need to be held accountable."

Shock shook his head and closed his eyes. "No," he said firmly, but calmly, causing Wolf to look down with befuddlement. "Pretty sure I already told you that I'm not going back. Maybe it's better that I remain dead, for your, and everypony else's sake," the pegasus said solemnly.

At the words, Wolf Heart looked Shock firmly in the eyes and backhanded the stallion.

"What the fuck, Wolf?!" he barked, lifting his hoof to his cheek with a shocked expression and leering up at her.

"This... all of this. The mopey, depressed state that you're in. You're just going to walk out after what we did literally ten minutes ago?! I don't think so, Buster!" she started with an annoyed expression, gesturing towards him. "What happened to the fun, sensitive Dapper Jolt, the pony that I could trust with my life? When the fuck did he let some whiny ass Steam Shock take over his life?"

"I am still sensitive!" Shock snapped, rising to his hooves with a slightly pained grimace.

Wolf Heart scoffed. "Then prove it," she argued. "Prove to me that Dapper Jolt did in fact, survive the war."