Author's Note

Wow this took awhile.

So yeah, this chapter took me way longer than expected. I hope the doubled length will make up for it! Chapters are just gonna take longer unfortunately now that school has started and I'm in upper level classes. But, I haven't forgotten about writing! I'll finish it eventually, that much is certain.

I hope you guys like this chapter. I wanted to tackle some more themes pertaining to James' previous life before the war with this one, so I hope I wrote it well.

Leave a comment if you liked it!

Anyway,

Ch.17: Family

Ch.17: Family

"Damn you, cold."

"OH, don't be such a baby James. It's just a little frosty air," a cheerful snark from a certain blue alicorn replied.

"Easy for you to say. Somebody was born with another hairy layer of insulation, unlike some furless mammal around here," sarcasm dripped out of his mouth as the man stepped up onto his porch, opening his door and shuffling in, Luna right behind him.

"All I hear are the words of a big, whiny, slightly educated foal who can't handle a little cold in his face," she stuck her tongue out at him and laid the bags of groceries and food she was carrying down on the granite island in his kitchen.

"Thank the Lord for internal heating. I'm so glad Equestrians figured it out before I popped into this place," he also laid down the brown, paper bags of groceries on the island and cracked his back, leaning up against a countertop behind him.

She put her hands on her hips and took in the disastrous condition of his kitchen. Ingredients, cookbooks, and supplies lay all over the countertops, the mess piercing even the most minute, small crevices of his kitchen. Flour was spread out on the left counter where he had made the pie crusts, some granules having fallen and sprinkled his wooden floors with the white powder. His sink was absolutely brimming with dirty dishes, mostly old pans, pots, and baking dishes and euuch, they smelled. Little spots of grease glistened on the granite from the glints of sun peaking through the blinds by the sink, some from butter and others from oil. It cast a very, well, there was no way around it. The kitchen was absolutely disgusting at the moment.

However, amongst the chaos, in a little corner lay some of the completed pies he had painstakingly worked to create the past few days, covered in a bit of wrap to preserve them for the next day. So, she supposed, at least something good came out of this messy maelstrom.

In her quiet observations, she hadn't noticed James starting to clean up said messes, having grabbed a sponge from his sink and was wiping some flour into his hand to dispose of. Her eyes, and more importantly, her nose traveled back to the sight of the pies.

"Look at those pies, Luna. Look at them being all vulnerable and... delicious," her internal monologue piped up.

Celestia may have the sweet tooth of the family, but that didn't mean Luna didn't enjoy the errant pastry or two. Plus, that pie looked really REALLY good. So, glancing back at him, she tip-toed her way towards her loot for a little taste test.

"Hup! Git!" the call from the man made her jump back into her previous position.

"What? I wasn't doing anything," Stallions normally buy playing dumb, right?

"Don't play coy with me. I know you're eyeing those pies up back there," he hadn't even stopped wiping up the counter, "You really are Celestia's sister. You better stop looking at those pies or do I gotta get the broom and sweep you out like a 'coon?"

Darn. Caught like a foal with their hand in the cookie jar. She relented, tearing her eyes away from those precious, delectable pies, and decided to help him clean up the day's mess. Grabbing the broom, she began to sweep the wooden floor.

When they were finished with their work, they set aside their tools and took a seat at the table, content to rest after their work.

"I never thought grease would be so eager to stick to granite. My elbow's sore from scrubbing that dang thing," he whined, massaging his elbow softly.

"You made quite the mess there, James," Luna responded.

"Ah, but it was for a worthy cause, was it not?" he nodded to the pies, "Hope they came out as good as my mother's raspberry pies."

"I'm sure they shall be most excellent, James. I'd wager it's quite hard to mess up a raspberry pie," she chuckled.

A comfortable silence settled upon the room as they both relaxed, the sun's rays peaking through the blinds as it started to settle down to the horizon.

"God, mess is gonna be even worse tomorrow. Hopefully Marnie'll go easy on my poor stove," the man pushed his chair out calmly, stretching his hands out in a huge stretch, "But that's another problem for another day. You have any plans for the rest of the day or night?"

"Nope, I've cleared my calendar for this. I am at your complete disposal," she smiled, folding her hands in front of her on the granite countertop, the cool, smooth surface causing a few goosebumps to rise under her fur.

"Well, thank you. I appreciate it. Then if you have nothing else to do, then come with me. I want to show you something," he gestured with his head towards the stairs, starting up the chocolate, wooden steps.

Her brow raised in a mild intrigue and she quickly got to her hooves, trailing up the stairs right behind him.

He led her to his room, shutting the door behind him softly, before gesturing over to a sort of spacious closet. He turned the smooth brass handle of the door and opened it up to pitch blackness.

"Ah, where's that switch for the mana light?" he fumbled around in the darkness for the light switch.

He found it, flipping it up, the light immediately illuminating the space, and she gazed in mild awe of what she saw.

The first thing she noticed was a rustic smell, a kind of wooden, dusty sort of odor. It made sense considering James lived in a wooden house, but this one was fresher and newer. It was pleasant in a simple way. Directly to her left lay a clothing rack with his assortment of collared shirts, jackets, brown coats, and official wear hanging on it. There were other folded T-Shirts, pants, and casual wear lying on the sanded, smooth floor underneath them.

But one of the pieces stood out and she easily recognized it, her eyes easily picking out the contrasting, dull colors. She looked to James who stood silently, sullenly gazing on the clothing. Before long, he broke his stance and walked towards the piece, plucking it off the rack by the hanger with the gentleness of a mother.

"Figured I'd let you see it. After all we've been through together," he flipped the jacket to its front, laying it on his chest so that Luna could better observe.

It was his dungaree jacket.

It looked like it had been through the ringer once and sent back again for extra. A few discolorations of the fabric here, burn marks around the hip there, one button missing, it had been through hell. There was a streak of tearing across the right arm that had been meticulously sewed back together with a green thread. Some frayed strings still stuck out from it showing the amateur work, but it was nonetheless effective in its job. The whole jacket was well ironed, straightened well, and clearly was as maintained as it could be. For an old war jacket, it looked remarkably good despite the imperfections.

"I didn't know you still had it with you. I thought it didn't make it through with you during the jump," she was almost astonished at its condition considering it had been through a war.

"Course it did. It was hanging in my old house when it got zapped here," he pressed his hand through the jacket, trying to smooth it out even more, "I should probably check up on the old place. I imagine the forest critters and plants have moved themselves in nice and comfy."

She reached out to touch it, caressing one of the burn marks with her hand and smiled slightly, "I'm sure you're right," she smirked, "I'd like to see you with it on."

He sighed, hanging up the jacket back on the rack, and softly smiled, "No, I don't think I ever want to put that jacket on ever again. But thank you nonetheless."

James drew her attention away from his old uniform, motioning over to the large, standing wooden dresser. She gave his jacket one last look before following him over to the other side of the room briskly.

What grabbed her eyes was a brightly colored, striped flag spread on the wall, held up by a few nails hammered into the wall. She only assumed it was his nation's flag, the remaining remnant or link he had to his old home apart from his memories. It hung proudly over them, centered over the dresser as smooth as could be. It bore no scratches, burns, tears, or rips unlike many of his other old war possessions, but remained untouched by the maelstrom of combat.

Just below the flag, more tokens of the past rested gently on old, worn nails driven into the wall. His .45 caliber pistol, which she had seen many a time in his memories, and a rifle, for which she forgot the name of.

"Here's what I really came here for," he grasped the smooth, wooden forestock with all the gentleness of a mother and pulled the slide open, checking if it was loaded. Seeing that it wasn't, he released the metal slide with a loud CLANK. He handed it to Luna.

"Would you like to hold it?" he held his outstretched left hand out to her as he grasped the wood of the rifle.

She was hesitant at first, the memories of what such a weapon in capable hands could do to another being still fresh in her mind. Slowly, she replaced his hand with her own, grabbing the forestock of the rifle and putting her right hand on the grip.

It was heavy, not so great that she couldn't manage it, but it definitely held a lot of weight. The wood was smooth and cool to the touch, her lithe, blue fingers easily sliding over it as she stroked down the side. The handle felt foreign to her, yet fit snugly into her hand like a glove as her finger found its way into the trigger.

"Huhp, huhp," James softly stuttered, reaching out gently and removing her finger from the trigger, "Sorry, forgot to mention it. But don't put your finger in the trigger unless you're ready to fire it. Just treat it like it's loaded, sweetpea."

It felt almost unnerving to her. She was reminded of its lethality in the subtle changes of James' person as she handled his weapon. His scrutinizing, watchful gaze roamed all over her, ready to intervene over any perceived mistake or danger that she might create.

Leveling the rifle, Luna raised it, keeping her finger out of the trigger this time, and looked down its sights. She strained her eyes as she tried to focus in on the tiny, tri-pointed front sight in the 'distance'.

"I don't know how you were able to carry this object around for so long James. Surely I'd have been tired by the end of the hour," she remarked, letting the gun down and handing it off to him, her arms enjoying the reprieve.

"I didn't carry a rifle in my time in the war. I bought this one off a surplus after I finished my contract," he too raised the gun to the ceiling, looking down the sights and aiming at a non-existent target, "Fine rifles these were. Figured they'd be great for hunting once I got back to Kentucky. So I got one."

He set the rifle softly on the wooden dresser, reaching out and grabbing his old handgun off the display. Repeating the process, he pulled the heavy slide back, checking the chamber for any round. He found none, and handed the pistol over to her.

This weapon, of course, was much lighter in her hand. The polished metal gleamed in the incandescent magical lighting as the smell of metal drifted into her nostrils. She rested the barrel in her hand and studied the markings on the slide, tracing her hand along the vertical indentations on the back part. While its maintanence work was superb, there were clear, minor scratches and scrapes on the handle and the slide, indicative of its history.

"I see you've kept this in fantastic condition, James," she turned it over to inspect the other side of the handgun.

"Thank you. They're not gonna be good for anything other than display or as a oversized paperweight soon enough. Might as well give 'em a little polish," he folded his arms and leaned back on the wall.

"Why's that, James?"

"I don't have much ammo for them anymore. Once I'm out, they're useless, except as clubs I guess."

She admired it for a few more seconds, pulling the slide back and locking it, before handing it back over to him, "Well, James, thank you for showing me your old mementos. I appreciate it."

"Oh I'm not just showing these to you. We're gonna fire them," he smiled, opening a drawer in the dresser and grabbing a few small packs out of it. Something softly jingled inside the boxes and clanged when he set them down roughly on the wood.

"Are you sure that is wise, James? I've never handled these machines before. Not like you," she frowned nervously, idly playing with a strand of her hair.

He continued his work, fishing out earplugs from the drawer below, and set those on the counter, "I'll be there every step of the way. It'll be fine. Heck, you'll think it's fun, I bet."

"Ok, if you say so."

She was starting to think this was a bad idea.

The bitter cold nipped at her jacket ferociously as she watched the man fumble with loading his pistol magazine. His gloves lazily hung out of his coat pocket, her ears swiveling to pick up the soft curses against the cold as he awkwardly shoved each round down the mag.

And there Luna clumsily stood, wondering if she should offer her help or not. She scratched at her ear, the earplug she had gracelessly placed there threatening to pop out.

It seemed James finally was satisfied, chuckling with a victorious laugh, and turned to her, holding the pistol in one hand and the loaded mag in the other, "Alright, we're ready. Are you ready?"

She anxiously smiled and hesitantly walked forward, "Are you sure about this James? This seems like a bad idea."

He waved his hand, "Honey, there is nothing to be afraid of. I know I've probably made you develop a few biases about these things, but they aren't gonna jump up and bite ya. As long as you're respectful with them, they can't hurt you."

She made the final step next to him and took the pistol and magazine from him, "Ok, then, how do I do this?"

He stood beside her right shoulder, "Here, you know what. I'll fire the first shot to show you how it looks and then you can fire the rest," he took the pistol back, gently snatched the magazine, loaded it, and hit the slide release. She jumped at the startling CHINK the slide made as it rocketed back to its resting position.

"You got your earplugs in? It's gonna be loud," he turned back to her, raising the handgun towards the target.

"Yeah."

BANG

A percussive blast hit her sternum with a soft thump and her ears shot back to protect themselves, the handgun jumping a bit in his hands. He wasn't kidding. It was oppressively LOUD. Sure, gunshots had always been loud in his memories, but hearing it with her own ears so close made it a much more personal affair. Suddenly those awkward feeling earplugs felt a whole lot better than before.

Out in the distance, a small puff of dirt marked where he had hit in the mound of frozen dirt.

"There, nothing to it. Now you try," he flipped the safety on and handed the weapon to her gently.

Gingerly, she picked up, mimicking the grip on the weapon he had, and took aim at the dirt.

"Just line up the sights and slowly squeeze the trigger when you're ready," he advised, reaching over her to flip the large thumb safety off.

Her nervousness returned full force as she stared down the barrel of the silvery handgun. The gun shook a bit as her hands struggled to not shiver. But, not one to lose her composure, she lined up the two sights with her eyes and took aim.

"Will the recoil hurt?"

"Not at all. Keep a firm grip on the weapon and it'll be fine," he hovered behind her, eyeing up the target with her.

So, with a little reassurance, slowly and steadily, she began to squeeze the heavy trigger, holding her breath as the anxiety built up in her. Any moment now, it would go off, as she internally braced for its impact.

BANG!

The pistol rocketed up and just as quickly fell back to where it was. A thick, warm, pungent odor rushed into her nostrils, the smoke drifting past her head in the November wind. As before, a puff of dirt shot up in the distance.

A surge of energy rushed through her as she smiled a large grin, "That was actually kind of fun, James!"

"Good! You still got about 5 rounds left in there. Let 'er rip!" he grinned back at her, walking off to the wooden table and loading a clip for the rifle.

BANG BANG BANG!

Wow, this was thrilling! He'd never mentioned how fun it could be to shoot a gun!

BANG BANG!

The slide locked back, signaling the total expenditure of her rounds. Stepping to her right, she turned to her special somepony with what she imagined was the dopiest, goofiest grin she'd mustered, "That was great James! I never thought that these things could be so thrilling!"

"I'm glad you enjoyed it! If you liked that, then try this on for size," he walked up to her gripping the rifle by its forestock and motioned it over to her.

Her arms dipped a little bit, not used to the sudden weight that was thrust into her arms. As quickly as they dipped, they had recovered. Gripping the rifle and keeping her finger out of the trigger, she eyed James with a little confusion, taking quick peeks at the metal slide that was locked back.

"So, how does one load this weapon, James?"

Grasped between his fingers was a clip of rounds, neatly lined and organized, "Take this, rest your hand against the slide and keep pressure on the handle, and then press the rounds into the chamber. Then when they're nice and secure, just let your hand go. Should slide in like a glove," she felt the cool metal against her skin as she took the clip from his hands.

Following his direction, she lay the side of her hand on the slide, checking back to make sure James' eye was closely on her. With her stability ensured, she continued, placing the rounds in the chamber, pushing down, immediately feeling the weight of the spring on her hand as the slide tried to push forward.

SCHING!

She let her thumb go as the slide rocketed forward. Raising the weapon, she gave James a confused glance, "How do I shoot this one?"

"So, you're just gonna... take this," he grabbed the stock and tried to nestle the stock into her shoulder. The key word being tried, as her breast was partially blocking the way, "Uh, could you move your 'girl' out of the way?"

"I could, but oh, this gun has my hands full. Could you be a dear and 'help' a poor girl like me out?" she fluttered the eyes at him a little, sealing the deal.

He obliged her with a smile, not one to be out-flirted, and copped a nice long feel after flipping the safety on near the trigger. He gave it a squeeze, earning a soft, pleasant sigh from Luna and a 'give it to me harder' stare. Seeing her subtle cues to continue, he prodded some more, massaging the soft flesh with great intrigue and a wicked smile on his face. Luna, on her part, was loving it, opening up her arms to allow him better access. His fingers slid down the rough, light cloth as he assaulted her breasts. He was tempted to lean down and play a little bit of tonsil hockey with her, but the fact that they were handling dangerous weapons in their hands at the moment was enough to tear his hands away from the heavenly cleavage of his girlfriend.

Having been satisfied and mentally filing the experience away for the spank-bank, he adjusted her chest well enough to fit the stock onto her shoulder and flipped the safety off for her.

Giving him a wink and a nod of thanks, she aimed down the sights and took aim at the target.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The rifle kicked much more, knocking into her shoulder with a fair amount of force. A much more potent aroma filled her nostrils where a cloud of smoke had been blown into her by the cold November wind. She coughed a tiny bit, resettled herself, and aimed again.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM

PING!

The shrill, metallic ping caused her ears to swivel back, knocking one of her earplugs out into the cold, frozen dirt. The culprit of said sound clanged into the ground, hitting a tiny rock in the dirt, and shuffled in the wind.

"Quite the beauty, ain't she?" James whistled, picking up the en bloc clip and dusting it off.

"Yes she is. That was fun, though I think I liked your pistol better," she handed his rifle back to him. He pulled the charging handle and let the slide fall back into its resting position with a SHING! and pulling the trigger, the rifle sounding off with a muffled DUK.

"Eh, to each their own. I like 'em both about the same," he turned towards the slowly lowering sun, its rays peeking over a distant mountain, "Guess that's your queue babe."

"Indeed," Luna agreed. Idle clinks and clangs drifted into her ears as James cleaned up the expended brass.

She channeled her lunar magic into her horn and pulled the moon slowly up from the horizon into its place. Not wanting to put a lot of effort into today, Luna chose a few random constellations she could think of and set them in empty parts of the sky. Finishing the final touches, she tugged the stars of navigation to their designated spots and finished with a yawn.

"Aw, looks like somebody's tired," James crowed the last word with a sing-song voice.

"Yes, you could say that, Mr. Milligan. I'd fancy, what was that new phrase again? Hitting the hay," she joined him in walking into his home's back door, reaching it and shutting it behind her.

"I concur. I've got a big day of cooking and cleaning tomorrow and I want to make sure everything is perfect. Just the way Momma used to do it," he smiled reminiscently, "I really hope you all like it."

She smiled back, giving him a side hug as they walked upstairs to his bedroom, "I'm positive I will, James, because you've put so much effort in just to make your friends happy. I love that about you."

She saw only the faintest hint of a blush in the dim moonlight, but it was all she needed to see to know his feelings on the manner.

"Come, let's get to bed, shall we?"

"Hey, didja get my bird, Marnie?"

Of all the ways Luna imagined James could have greeted the griffoness chef, she didn't quite expect him to lead with that one in particular.

"Oh, well, you know they are a such a rare type and the hunt was so hard and I- just kidding, got it right here," Marnie held up the plucked, cleaned, and prepped corpse of a wild turkey.

Luna remembered a time when she would have been disgusted by such a sight. But the bloody corpse bred no queasiness or uneasiness in her, not after all the things she had seen since meeting James.

"Wonderful. Then you may join me in the kitchen and we shall make a feast to rival that of the finest chefs in this world," he clapped his hands together and led her towards the kitchen.

And what a feast he prepared indeed! Throughout the morning and early afternoon, the kitchen was ablaze with the most wonderful smells she'd ever had the pleasure to witness. The tang of seasonings, the roast of the turkey, which she admitted did smell somewhat delectable to her herbivore nose, the sweet, thick aroma of roasting oil, it was enough to make her look up from her book every now and again and just breathe it all in.

She was beginning to like this human holiday.

"James, I am confused as to why this Odyss...-eus was fighting this war in the first place," she looked up from one of the novels she was reading from James' study.

"Huh? Oh, you're reading The Odyssey right? There's another epic that I never got around to buying called The Illiad. That story happens before the events of the Odyssey."

As quickly as he had stopped cooking, he resumed, watching his potatoes as he mashed them up with a masher Marnie had brought with her.

"What's the Odyssey, James?" Marnie asked as she cut carrots for boiling.

"Oh, just an old myth from the Greeks. Great story if I might add, one of my favorite books to read," said James.

"Who were the Greeks?"

"An ancient people who lived out in a, I guess, penisula and a bunch of islands. I can rightly remember the word for a large group of islands," his eyes squinted in concentration.

"An archipelago," Luna smiled satisfied to herself.

"Yeah that's it. Well, they were a really influential people in the sciences, mathematics, philosophy, and, well, a lot of things. And their stories, especially their mythology, were captivating to me, as well as many of my other contemporaries."

"You never talked about them before," Marnie interjected, tossing her carrots into a boiling pot of water.

"Occasion never came up. It'd seem kind of weird to just talk about them out of the blue," he shrugged.

Just then, there was a deep knock on the door, "Oh, that must be the other guests. Marnie, could you keep an eye out on the food for a bit?" He didn't wait for an answer and was already in front of the door.

Swinging it open with a click, he was greeted with one of the most beautiful sights he'd laid his eyes on. Beautiful, but more in a majestic and cute kind of way, unlike the way he looked at Luna. Standing to his front stood a bright, pink pony, scratch that, alicorn, with long flowing, multi-colored hair that reached down below her chest. Her gaze was soft, a look of peace and tranquility with mild curiosity, as she laid her magenta eyes on him and looked him up and down. Her hands sat folded in front of her peacefully. She smiled.

"You said he was tall, Auntie, but he is something else," the lady giggled.

"Nice to meet you too," James chuckled back.

To the girl's left was Princess Superior with the Fat Posterior herself, "Yes, it is jarring at first, but it's just one of many things to like about him."

And of course to the girl's immediate right was Corona herself, wearing a great big grin underneath her armor.

"Please come in. Let me get you guys out of the cold," he motioned for them to come in, which they obliged, stepping over the threshold with loud thunks from their hooves against the wood.

"So, to whom do I have the pleasure of meeting, ma'am?" he folded his arms and smiled.

"James, I'd like you to meet my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, or Cadence," Celestia said. He held out his hand to give hers a shake.

"Pleasure to meet you, Miss Cadence," he grasped her hand in his strong grip.

"And you as well, Mr...,"

"Milligan, but just call me James."

"James it is then," she nodded, "My, what a lovely home you have."

"Thank you. Your aunt here was kind enough to provide most of it to me," he gave a curt nod and a smile to said Princess, "Please, let us move this to the kitchen so I may continue preparing dinner."

The four of them stepped through into the kitchen, which prompted Luna to lower her book, "Hello Celly. So nice of you to cause that earthquake on your way in."

Celestia rolled her eyes, "Please, you're just jealous cause I got more of the curves in our family." She stuck her tongue out at her sister petulantly before devolving into giggles with her sister.

"Ah, fair Niece! Back from your diplomatic voyage! Come give your Auntie Luna a hug," she opened her arms wide, which Cadence happily obliged. They broke the hug and Cadence took a seat next to Luna, propping her chin up in her hand.

"So, James, I've heard all about you through my letters with Aunt Celestia. Tell me about yourself."

He opened up the oven door with a creak, "Well, I teach at the University. I'm an avid reader and piano player. I enjoy long walks up the mountain and I bang your aunt."

"James!"

James, for his part, managed to restrain his laughter only a little, quickly devolving into a fit of giggles and chuckles. Celestia also chuckled at the sight of her flustered, slightly blushing sister.

"Ok," he calmed himself from his laughing, "I haven't banged her yet, but it's in the to-do list. I'm sure you get it."

"Yes, I do," she smiled back at him. She sighed, "You know, I didn't expect a foreign alien to be so... normal."

"Sorry I couldn't live up to your expectations Miss Cadence," his lips curled down ever so slightly.

"Oh no no! I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that, James. I just didn't think that my first contact with a being from another world would be as ordinary as it has been," she sputtered an apology.

"Trust me Niece. My James may look quite common to the laymare, but he is anything but normal once you get to know him," Luna affirmed with a knowing smile and nod.

"I'll take your word for it," she agreed, "I suppose I should have phrased my question better. I guess, I wanted to know how you've liked Equestria in your time being here."

He said nothing, focusing intently on his cooking for a moment, "Well, everyone's really nice here. Lot more trusting of their neighbors, and I suppose of me, than what I expected. I've gotten a much better treatment than what I would have expected for a unknown alien that just waltzes right into the middle of town. I'd half-expected to have been shot on sight," he rubbed the back of his head and nervously chuckled.

"Why on earth would we have done that?" Celestia countered, getting up to fix herself some tea and asking if Corona would like some.

"I mean, I'm just some stranger that just walked right through your town, who looks different and acts different. I thought it might've been a little more jarring for your average pony to see someone the likes of me, an alien, on a Tuesday morning."

"Is that how you acted around strangers back home that looked different from you, James?" Luna probed, leaning forward a little on the island. The rest of the mares there seemed to take a little more notice of the man, taking more glances in his direction. Even Marnie had slowed her cutting and was looking at him.

Once again, they heard no answer from James. From her vantage point, for only a moment, she saw his outer lip curl down to a frown. After a longer pause, which he played off as being focused on cooking, he spoke, "Well, maybe to some people."

He sighed, washing his hands with water, and dried them, "We were a real tight knit community, us folks from Canton. We didn't really like strangers too much, specifically Northerners from New England and especially the stuck-up city person. But we never treated them with outright hostility... Least not the white folk."

"The white folk?" Corona raised her brow in a bit of confusion.

He leaned on his counter behind him and shook his head, "Well, that's opening up a whole new issue that I don't have the time to explain in full detail. But, being the only one of your kind in a foreign land, well, changes a few ways you see the world, and I guess, the ways you act. Ponies treated me a certain way at first and I suppose it's given me a new perspective on how I've treated others in the past."

He walked to the stove and checked on a few dishes that were still cooking, "But that's all I have to say about that. Anyway Cadence, I'll say Equestria has been quite nice now that I'm starting to acclimate here. Very pleasant folk."

Cadence grunted in acknowledgement.

James clapped his hands, "So! This Shining Armor guy? You're getting hitched huh?"

Cadence smiled as she thought of her fiancé, "Yes I am. He's a very pleasant, good stallion. I'm glad to have met him."

James nabbed a few pieces of carrot off of Marnie's cutting board, the bird flashing him a mildly annoyed look, "How come 'CRUNCH' you didn't bring him up here? I gotta get me some more male friends around here."

She gestured back towards the castle, "He's running final inspections for the new trainees being inducted into the guard as their senior commanding officer. It was important for him to be there."

"Ah, makes sense. Gives you a real sense of pride passing your final inspection," he smiled.

"You speak from experience. Were you in the Guard back on your world?" she propped her chin up in her hand.

"Yeah, I was in the military for a few years," he vaguely answered back. He saw Luna's left ear flick towards him, her eyes still reading the book she had in her hands.

"Interesting. What did you think of it?"

"It was... tiring, I suppose. There were some good and bad parts of it," he began to strain the pot of potatoes that had been boiling, catching the large tubers in his strainer as best he could.

"Did you like it? Most Guards, both mare and stallion, have told me that they've enjoyed serving," she asked.

"You sure they ain't just saying that to save face and kiss up, since, you know, you're a Princess?" he cocked a brow at her, loading the potatoes into a bowl and mashing them.

"Well, maybe some. But I'm sure some of them are telling the truth," she glanced towards Corona, who didn't move from her post.

"I'm sure there are a few," he sighed, letting out a deep breath, "My time in the military was hard and I wouldn't exactly say I liked it."

He continued with his vague answers which didn't seem to satisfy Cadence's curiosity, but seeing how the topic had visibly unnerved him, she decided not to press the issue further, Luna breathing an internal sigh of relief.

Cadence cleared her throat, "So, my Shining Armor is a little busy conducting final inspections which is why he was unable to join us tonight."

"I'd love to meet him someday, Miss Cadence," James grinned, trying to inject some mirth into the mood.

"I can imagine. I'm sure Twilight has already talked your ear off about him," she added.

"What does Twilight have to do with your husband-to-be?" he glanced back at Cadence with mild curiosity.

Celestia took this moment to butt back into the conversation, "Did she never tell you? Twilight is Shining Armor's sister. I'm surprised that it hadn't come up, given how she almost idolizes her older sibling."

"Huh, well how 'bout that? Quite the coincidence," he remarked, now mixing in different ingredients into the mashed potatoes.

"Not really. I was Twilight's foalsitter when she was just a filly and her brother's and my relationship just grew from there," she remembered.

Marnie took this moment to speak silently with James before turning back to what she was working on, "Well, looks like duty calls ladies. Gotta get back to focusing on the cooking, so just make yourselves comfortable and dinner will be ready in no time."

And ready it was.

Now at the turn of dusk, the sun sitting idly above the horizon, the mares waited at the table with restrained anticipation for the meal they were about to enjoy.

And before long, they heard shuffling from the kitchen, that shuffling turning into footsteps as James and Marnie came in carrying delectable smelling, mouth watering food of every kind. Buttered, garlic seasoned mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn casserole, a little pudding-like red sauce that James called 'cranberry sauce', bread biscuits with gravy that smelled heavenly, and pumpkin and raspberry pies for dessert.

But of course, the main dish that Marnie had so graciously brought this morning was a roasted, seasoned turkey, which the man placed in the center of the extended table.

Each pony wore their own emotions on their sleeve. Corona was eyeing up the potatoes like a man who struck water in the middle of a desert. Celestia looked pleased, amused even, while Luna simply sat with a soft smile of contentment and adoration, gazing down at the 'special' biscuits James had whipped up for her, these ones having bits of rose petals in them.

And, of course, Marnie held a smug grin, drinking in the attention to her cooking and inflating her ego as she carved out the breast of the turkey.

But before anyone could dig in, James stood up from his seat and motioned for everyone to be silent.

"I know y'all might have been wondering what this whole holiday is about. I don't want to get into the history of it all, so I'll keep it short. When my forefathers landed in America, the natives helped them grow and thrive in a land that was not their own, foreign and alien. And just as the natives helped my ancestors, so have you all helped me to thrive in a land that is not my own, but one day, I hope to call my home. At the turn of the harvest, when food was plentiful and the spirit's high, they prepared a great feast for the natives, a visible sign of friendship, comradery, and of thanks. And that is the reason my nation celebrated this holiday and we celebrate it today. We give thanks for what we have, for the people in our lives, for the possessions we have, and for all the good things God has given us."

He looked down sentimentally, "When I landed here, I thought my life was over. Everything I'd worked for, everything I'd endured for was gone. I have since moved past that, but the echoes of my previous life still are with me. It is because of you all that my time in Equestria has been so wonderful and restful. I am thankful for you all, that you are with me," he glanced down at Luna as he finished his speech, "You give my life meaning and for that, I am thankful."

Luna looked at him with a blush creeping across her face at his kind words. If her sister wasn't in front of her, Luna would have probably burst into tears of joy.

"Alright, that's enough sentimental jibber-jabber out of this old man. Everybody dig in!" he reached for a piece of turkey breast and the mashed potatoes.

In the 15 minutes that passed, the room was only filled with the sounds of clanking dishes, conversation, chewing, and the smells of home-cooked made-with-love food.

It was this scene that James watched with a stoic, softly grinning expression as he chewed his turkey and mashed potatoes, content to observe the familial display around him.

Familial. He hadn't felt this way for a long time...

His gaze fell upon a blue alicorn who was enjoying one of those biscuits he had worked to make for her. Feeling his look, she turned to him with a quizzical peek, "Is there something wrong, James?"

"No, I've never been better, sweetpea," he chuckled with a jovial smile.

"Then what is it?" she asked.

"Just admiring you, thas' all."

She blushed mildly, averting her eyes from him and looking at her plate, "Well, you just keep on admiring then, James Milligan."

A comfortable silence rested upon the two of them, with James not having looked away at all or wiped that smile off his face and Luna picking at the mashed potatoes with her fork.

"I love you, Luna."

The confession almost made her do a spit-take, barely restraining herself and her glee. Her heart thumped a thousand beats per minute as she peered over at him with a soft smile, "I love you too, James."

His smile got even wider as he reached with his hand to grasp hers. He stared deeply into her eyes, the stars in her mane just for a moment reflecting back at him through her eyes. They stayed like that, gazing into each other as if they were the only two beings left on the planet.

"I feel like maybe we should kiss or something, but there's some sauce on my lip that I can feel and there's this nasty piece of turkey between my teeth an-"

"Just shut up and kiss me, loverboy."

Luna reached over and did just that, melting into him for but the briefest of moments before pulling back and sitting down in her chair once more.

James felt a rush of endorphins, a feeling of power and invigoration, course through him. If he'd felt this way on Peleliu or Okinawa, that war would have been a breeze. Smiling slyly at his marefriend, he picked up his fork and resumed his meal.

But he knew now. Someday, whenever that might be, he was going to make that ~~woman~~ Princess his wife.