Location//: Near Kandahar, Afghanistan
Local Time//: 01:13 Hours
Date//: xx/xx/2013

Dima slowly woke up in blackness, pain surged through his body as he attempted to move his legs. He turned his eyes to see a window, the stars were shining in the night sky. His other senses slowly came back to him. He noticed the sound of a engine, a quick look to his left confirmed that. He saw that he was laying in the back of some car. Perhaps a van? Two men sat in the only seats, the driver was making a phone call while the passenger seemed to be sleeping. The thought then hit Dima, he had been captured, his friends were still back in the warehouse. He never set the charge, he failed. He was going to die a failure. He looked to his legs, there was a small puddle of blood underneath his thighs. He tried to move his legs, but the pain said otherwise. He silently felt his legs, there were bullet holes alright. The fact that he wasn't dead meant that the bullets missed his femoral arteries. He looked back to his captors, they needed to be dealt with. He wasn't in shape to take on both men with just his bare hands. Weapons he thought, he checked himself for anything. Nothing, rifle, pistol, saperka, all gone. Dima had to get creative, he looked to see if he had anything of use. He came up with nothing but spare change and pocket lint. They had taken everything.

“You have to be kidding me...” He thought to himself, feeling defeated. He stared at his feet and pondered.

“At least they didn't steal my boots,” He thought to himself again, then the idea came to him.

He looked back to the front, his captors were not paying attention to him. Now was his chance. He sat up and began to unlace his boots. He threaded each string through, careful not to make a noise. He pulled the last of the string though and tied them together. He began to wrap it around both his hands. Leaving a two feet of boot lace between. He pulled the string taut, and slowly began to crawl his way forward. His legs were useless at the moment. Making his task all the more difficult. He finally made it to behind the seats undetected. Dima was ready to strike, but then he took a moment to think. He had a problem, the passenger has woken up and had his hand on a AK. To make things worse, the driver had a pistol on the dash board in front of him. Dima had to make a choice, kill the passenger and risk being shot by the driver. Or, kill the driver an risk being shot by the passenger. He couldn't think of any situation where he would come out unharmed. But one plan seemed to give him the best chance. He tightened the boot lace around his hand. He began a countdown in his head.

“Three”

“Two”

“One”

Ignoring the pain, Dima jumped up and wrapped to cord twice around the passengers neck. He pulled a tightly as he could. The passenger struggled to pry the cord from his neck, desperately trying to breath. Dima saw the driver reach for his gun. Instantly, Dima let go of the cord from his left hand and putting it in his right, he then grabbed the head of the driver and slammed it into the steering wheel, also causing the horn to honk. While the driver was dazed Dima grabbed the pistol and brought it up to the drivers head. Bang. The windshield was splattered with blood as the driver slumped over the wheel, his foot stuck on the accelerator. Dima hadn't noticed his grip loosening on the passenger. To late.

The passenger ripped Dima off of him and pushed him to the ground. The passenger reached for his rifle as Dima laid on his back. The passenger began to take aim. Dima's heart was pounding in his ears as time seemed to stand still. Right when the passenger was about to pull the trigger, the car hit something. Dima's body flew forward, he caught a glimpse of what had happened. The car had hit a guard rail on the side of the road. To make matters worse, they were on a mountain road. Dima and the passenger gazed in horror at the chasm below. A steep slope that led downward into a valley below. Dima felt the back end of the car rising as the van rolled over the guard rail. Both Dima and the passenger screamed as the car went over.

Dima rolled out of his hammock, hitting the ground below. He hyperventilated while on his hands and knees, slowly catching his breath. Dima picked himself up and looked around. The sun was a little ways above the horizon. Well...at least he slept through the night. He stretched himself and walked into the forest. Hopefully, catching breakfast would take his mind off things. After bushwhacking a little ways in, he heard the sound of flowing water. He continued following the sound to its source. A small, crystal clear stream flowing through the forest.

Dima saw good sized fishes swimming through. Only one thing ran through his mind. Meat. But how to procure it? He thought of making a rod, he decided it would take too long to fish them out the old fashion way. Shooting them would be a waste of bullets. An idea then came to him. Dima removed his boots and rolled up his pants. He walked into the cool water, which was only about a foot deep, and waited. He saw one fish swimming towards his legs. Dima readied his hands, timing the right moment to strike. When the fish was in optimal position, he lunged his hand into the water. But the fish slipped through. He tried again with another fish, same results. He tried again, no luck. Dima tried once more, you guessed it, nothing. Dima kicked the water in frustration. He then looked up stream.

This time a large fish swam lazily down the shallow stream. Dima was certain he couldn't miss this one. He calmed himself, keeping his hands just above the water. The fish came within inches of Dima, he drove his hands into the water. This time he caught it. The fish fought back, squirming while Dima held it tight in against his chest in a bear hug fashion. When the fish stopped moving Dima held it out in victory. But it was cut short by the fish wiggling around violently. It slipped free of his grasp and into the air above Dima's head. As it came back down, slapped Dima hard across the face with it's tail, causing Dima to fall backwards into water. The fish swam about meter from him then stopped. It turned to face Dima from beneath the water. He saw it's cheeks beginning to swell up. Dima slowly approached the fish. It then spat a stream of water into Dima's face.

“Suka!” (Bitch!)

Completely pissed, Dima went for plan B. He pulled his pistol from its holster, took aim, and shot the fish. Dima collected his bounty. The plump fish had enough meat for a nice fish breakfast over the campfire, as well as some for later. He also learned a valuable lesson. Fishing sucks.

Pinkie worked her flank off setting up the preparations for the party. This was her first party for an alien after all, and she was NOT going to mess it up. There may never be another chance like this again! After several hours of hard work, she put up the last streamer then stepped back to admire her handy work. Sugarcube corner had never looked so good, and it was still morning. The “Welcome Mr. Hooman” banner hung perfectly from the ceiling. The party cannon was loaded and the invitations were sent. This was gonna be huge! Pinkie then stopped to think.

“Wait...what was it he said about the party?” She said to herself while placing a hoof on her chin. She though back to when she talked to Dima last night.

“AHA I remember now! He said he wanted to be as big as possible! Better send more invitations. NO NO NO. I'll invite everypony in ponyville! THIS IS GONNA BE THE BIGGEST, MOST BESTEST PARTY EVER!”

“Pinkie, are you talking to yourself again?” Mrs. Cake's voice cried out from another room.

“YES MRS. CAKE!” Pinkie replied,

“Could you keep it down a little dear? the twins are still asleep.”

“Sorry Mrs. Cake,” She replied softly.

Pinkie went to make more invitations for the party of the century. She couldn't wait!

Dima didn't do much during the day. He made improvements to his camp. He crafted a lean-to over his hammock, dug a proper fire pit, and dug a shallow trench to observe the town from. Dima did not know how the time on this planet worked, but by the position of the sun he could guess it was around five or six in the afternoon. Pinkie should be here soon. Dima wanted to make a good first impression. He assumed bathing would be a good start considering that he smelled like a dead animal.

He grabbed a bar of soap from his bag and headed towards the stream he found earlier. He stripped himself naked at the bank and entered the cool water. He walked towards a deeper end of the stream where the water was above his waist. He poured water on his body and began to wash up. After a few minutes he was done. He walked out of the water, gathered his belongings and proceeded back to his camp. He redressed in a “underbrush” pattern uniform and sat in his hammock. He remembered it was Vlad's favorite pattern. He reached into his bag, rummaging around until he felt what he was looking for. He pulled out an old photo. It was a group photo of all of his team when they graduated Spetznaz training. Dima, Vlad, Kiril, and Vasily knelt down in front while Boris, Ivan, and Yuri stood behind them. The prominent features were Vasily giving Vlad rabbit ears, Dima flashing the peace sign, and Boris had blinked during the picture. He remembered how proud they all were. How accomplished they felt, how happy they were. He missed them, all of them.

“It's all my fault. It was my job to make sure you were safe...I failed you...all of you...I'm sorry” He held the photo tightly, running his fingers across the faded gloss.

“You guys be good up there...” He said, throwing the picture on top of his bag. He hung his head low, taking a deep breath.

“Ooooh are these your friends?” Pinkie's voiced surprised Dima. How long had she been there?

“Not anymore. Now lets go.” Dima got up and took the photo from Pinkie, then placed it back in his bag. Dima began walking towards the town, gesturing for Pinkie to follow.

“What do you mean there not your friends anymore?” She asked while trying to catch up. This was new to Pinkie. She was all about making friends, not losing them. Dima stopped walking, Pinkie remained behind him.

“...”

“Hey, did you hear me?”

“I did.”

“So why aren't they–” Pinkie started,

“Because they're dead,” He cut her off mid sentence with a voice as cold as ice.

“How did–” Pinkie started before Dima cut her off again.

“I don't want to talk about it,” He stated gruffly.

“But–”

“Not. Another. Word.”

Almost everypony in Ponyville came to Pinkie's welcome party. There were so many that most of the party had to be held outside of the Sugarcube Corner. Among the mass of ponies Twilight and the gang (save for pinkie) were all having a good time, waiting for Pinkie to return and start the party.

“I wonder who the new pony is? Must be somepony important if Pinkie made this big of a party,” Twilight pondered.

“Ah hope he or she ain't too shy. We all know how excitable Pinkie is, and that ain't much help to new-comers...” Applejack said. Her friends nodded in agreement.

“It would be awesome to have another pegasus in town. Somepony new to fly with,” Rainbow Dash added.

“Yeah...um, that does sound nice,” Fluttershy's voice could barely be heard over the noise of the music Vinyl Scratch was playing for the crowd of party ponies.

The speakers on the DJ table popped as Pinkie's voice came on. All the ponies went silent as Pinkie cleared her throat.

“Mares and Gentlecolts it is my pleasure to introduce you to our newest guest in town,” She pulled Dima by the arm, revealing him to the crowd.

“Dima?” Applejack tried to peak over the heads of the other ponies. She had thought he was gone forever. It looks like Pinkie found him.

Dima stared into the crowd of shocked ponies. Unsure what to do next, he just nervously smiled and waved.

The crowd of ponies remained deathly silent, unsure what to think of him.

“Monster!” Some random pony shouted.

All hell broke lose as the crowd fled the scene. Ponies left and right scattered in every direction screaming, tripping over one another, and trampling those who were to slow. Ponies ran into their houses, locking their doors and barricading their windows. Once the chaos had cleared, all who remained were Pinkie and most of her friends. Fluttershy was no where to be seen.

“Hmm, didn't expect that,” Pinkie said while scratching her head. “It's Zecora all over again.”

“Oh well, more for us! Lets go!” Pinkie grabbed Dima by his hand and lead him to the Sugar Cube Corner.

Pinkie brought Dima to the bakery. A group of ponies were waiting inside, one of them being Applejack. Dima could tell by the ponies faces that they had mixed emotions about he presence.

“Uh, Pinkie. What is that?” Rainbow Dash pointed to Dima.

“This is my new friend” Pinkie wrapped herself around Dima legs, flashing a bright smile.

“I see pinkie got to ya” Applejack chucked,

“Wait? You now it?” a cyan pony asked,

“I have a name” Dima finally spoke. The cyan pony snapped her head to Dima in surprise.

“I am Dimitri, you can call me Dima” He drew closer and raised a open hand in greeting, The cyan pony nervously smiled and took a step back. Taking the hint, he retracted his hand.

“I see...”

“I'm Rainbow Dash,” She gave Dima a friendly grin.

“Nice to meet you,” Dima said, returning the gesture.

“Uhh, why don't we all sit down,” A lavender mare suggested.

All the ponies with Dima in tow sat down at circular table. Dima pulled a chair next to Applejack and Pinkie, the others kept at a distance on the opposite side of the table. Pinkie excused herself from the table left to bring snacks for the group. Well, more like she got up and left, saying “I’ll get snacks!” as she dashed into what seemed to be a kitchen. Leaving Dima and Applejack with the others. Dima felt each mare's eyes look on to him. Nobody said a word, the group sat in a awkward silence, occasionally broken by the sound of Pinkie's rummaging through the kitchen. Dima twiddled his fingers on top of the table. He lifted his hand upward. The eyes of the mares on the other side of the widened and Dima was sure he heard one of them gasp. He then reached for his neck and began scratching a small itch. The mares seemed to relax after he did so.

“So, uh Dima these are my friends” Applejack began,

She pointed to a white mare with a purple mane “This is Rarity”

She pointed to the cyan and rainbow maned mare “That's Rainbow Dash”

She then pointed to the last pony, the lavender one “And that's Twilight Sparkle”

Applejack then stopped for a moment and began short a head count.

“Huh? Anypony seen Fluttershy?”

“She probably fled with the other ponies,” Twilight said in a slightly exasperated tone.

“Figures,” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

“So um, Dima is it? How long have you been here?” Twilight began.

“Depends on what you mean by 'here',” He answered.

“What do you mean darling?” Rarity inquired.

“Today is my first day in town. But I got here three days ago.”

“Oh, so where did you come from before? Manehatten? Baltimare?” Twilight listed.

“I don't you understand. I got 'HERE', as in your world, three days ago. I'm originally from place called Earth.” Dima explained. Twilight attempted to hold in a chuckle.

“What's so funny?” Dima said in a slightly disturbed tone.

“I'm sorry, I just thought you said that you are some 'other-worldly' traveler.” She explained with a few giggles. Dima did not find it so humorous.

“You don't believe me? I have a wrecked aircraft and the rotting corpses of my friends to prove it. Now i'm stuck lightyears from home and almost died once already. How about that? Very funny, no?” He retorted. Silence once again filled the room.

“I-I'm so sorry. I didn't know”

“I'm sorry too. I've just...I've just had a rough few days.” Dima sighed. He felt a hoof gingerly placed on his back. He turned to look at Applejack.

“Ya sure that you're fine? You don't want to at least talk about it” Dima was grateful that Applejack cared, but he didn't want her sympathy, and he definitely didn't want to talk about it.

“I'm fine,” He was lying. Dima knew Applejack could tell.

Pinkie then returned with the snacks. Well, if you consider snacks as a bunch of desserts the smell of which can give a man diabetes, then yeah, she brought them. Cream puffs, cake, cupcakes (oddly, they were blood red), meringue, macaroons, doughnuts, and eclairs just to name a few were on a massive platter balanced on the tiny pony's head. She wobbled to and fro trying to balance the thing. It was safe to say that everypony (and person) was expecting a disaster. Luckily, she slid the platter of her head with ease, landing it on the table with such perfection that Simon Cowell would give it a eleven out of ten.

“Dig in!” Pinkie said exuberantly,

All the ponies began to pick out different items from the vast variety. Dima decided to take a slice of cake. It would take his mind off of things. He grabbed a knife and was about to cut the cake, but he took a moment to read it. Dima couldn't help but laugh a little when noticed the cake had “welcome Mr. Hooman” inscription. After taking a slice, he grabbed his fork and took his first bite, the icing was butter cream. The cake its self was a soft, delicious vanilla. There was nothing else on Earth that can compare to Pinkie's baking.

“Dof yuz lik it?” Pinkie asked with a mouth full of cream puffs.

“I do. Thank you Pinkie,” Pinkie swallowed the mass of cream puffs in one gulp. Then scrambled over and gave Dima a hug.

“Daaaw, your welcome!”

“A little *ack* help?” He received a few laughs instead. Dima was amazed at Pinkie's strength.

The laughter stopped when a strong smell of rotten eggs came from the kitchen. Pinkie released her hold on Dima and started towards the kitchen.

“Eww, where is that coming from?” Rainbow Dash said as she plugged her nose.

“I'll check,” Pinkie said as she continued to the kitchen door.

Dima decided to follow her. The both entered through the door, all seemed to be normal, until Dima saw a distortion in the air above the stove, along with a slight hissing sound.

“Hmm, must have left it on” Pinkie said as she approached the stove.

She twisted the dial, but it didn't seem to stop the flow of gas. Dima pulled the stove back to check the gas hose. The fact that the hose had been severed was weird, but Dima recoiled in horror when he saw small block of plastic explosives with four seconds left on the timer. Without thinking, Dima ripped Pinkie away from the stove and held her in his arms. He knew he'd never make it to the door and open it with pinkie still in his arms. He had to choose their fates. One, or the other. The choice was simple. He sprinted two and a half steps away from the stove range. He dropped to his knees, shoved the lower half Pinkie between his legs. He laid his torso over the rest of her body. He brought his arms around her head, holding her tightly. Lastly he tucked his head under his body, closing his eyes. A few milliseconds later...

BOOM

Flames shot up and engulfed every inch of the kitchen. Spreading on the walls, ceiling, and floor as if it were a liquid. Glass everywhere shattered, from windows to wine glasses. The very foundation of the bakery shuddered with the explosion. Dima felt flames scorch his body. It felt like a wave of magma was rolling over him. His back blistered from the heat, the camouflage clothing melted, fusing with his skin. The few seconds of inferno felling like hours. He could smell his well-done flesh, stinging with unimaginable pain. He managed to open his eyes. Pinkie was unharmed, only suffering lightly charred hair. But she was still in shock, her body was stiff, her hair lost it's puffy shape, and her eyes were unmoving. Dima picked scooped her up in his arms. He rose to his feet and began limping towards the door. He didn't even need to open it, the door swung open; every mare was there. All their eyes widened, their mouths open in shear horror, tears streaming down their faces. Applejack was crying at the sight of Dima and Rarity shrieked in horror. Dima began to limp faster, out of the kitchen.

“RUN!” He shouted.

The mares all ran towards the front door. Applejack tried to pull open the doors, but they wouldn't budge.

“It's locked!” She pulled again, to no avail.

“MOVE!” Dima shouted. Applejack cleared away from the door.

Dima limped towards the door with Pinkie still in his arms. He raised his right leg and kicked the door off it's hinges. He and the others ran outside, putting a good distance between them and the bakery. He saw a few of horrified ponies gathered outside the building. Dima gingerly laid Pinkie on the cobblestone road. He checked her vitals, she was hyperventilating and her pulse was racing, she had a distant look in her eyes. Dima knew she going into psychological shock and wasn't getting enough oxygen, he began stroking her mane in attempt to calm her down.

“It's alright” He said softly. “It's alright. Your safe now.”

He continued to run his fingers through her mane. He breathing began to slow down.

“Everyone is alright,” Pinkie's eyes fixed onto him when he said that.

“Y-You're not,” She stammered.

Dima took a look at himself, Pinkie was right. His skin was charred and blistered. Melted skin hung from the outer sides of his arms. The back of his hands were so burned, he could see the bones moving when he moved his fingers. He was practically a charred skeleton. He looked back the the other ponies, Applejack and the others stared at Dima in horror, tears still staining their cheeks. Rarity fainted when Dima looked at her.

“F-f-fff” Pinkie struggled to say,

“What is it Pinkie?” Dima brought himself closer to her,

“F-Fluttershy...Still, inside,” She said. “She...ran upstairs. I never saw her leave.”

Dima looked back to the building. The fire had spread through out the entire first floor. Glass shattered from the heat. As much as Dima hated the idea, he knew he had to go back in. Dima staggered to his feet on last time, letting another bystander tend to Pinkie. He looked toward the building. Had tempted death once by shielding Pinkie, now he was going to kick it in the balls by going back in. He began to walk towards the burning bakery. He suddenly felt something tug his shirt back. He turned and saw Applejack pulling on him with her teeth. She spat out the burned cloth and looked him in the eyes.

“Are you crazy!? You're not going in there!” She shouted.

“I have to. That pony you mentioned, Fluttershy or something, is still in there.” He pointed to the blazing inferno. “Isn't that a friend of yours?”

“Yes, but... but” Applejack was at a loss for words. She didn't want to let Fluttershy die, but she didn't want to lose Dima either.

“My best friend always said, 'We leave no one behind, dead or alive'.” Dima quoted Vlad, “I'm not going to disregard that”

Dima dropped to a knee and gave Applejack a hug. He ignored the pain her tears caused when they fell on his shoulders.

“Promise me you'll be careful” She whispered over a few sobs.

“I'll be back. I promise.” Dima said softly.

He got back to his feet and stared at the building, there wasn't much time left. Summoning the last ounces of strength, he bolted into the mouth of sugary hell. He entered through the front, his boots crunched on broken as walked through the burning room. The smoke had began to build up, the black fog burned his eyes, the smoke Dima inhaled felt like a cigar was lit inside his lungs. He ripped a piece of a curtain that hadn't burned and wrapped it around his mouth. It wasn't a perfect gas mask, but it helped a little. He searched for the stairs, they weren't in the front retail part of the bakery, so that left the kitchen. He opened the door and looked inside, everything that could burn, char, and melt, had already done so.

Glass from cupboards drooped down like honey, plastic mixing bowls melted to the granite counter tops, silverware touching the flames glowed red hot. Worst of all was the stove, or, what used to be anyways. The blast sent the stove flying into the other side of the kitchen. The gas pipe was now a flame thrower, feeding the already hungry fire. To top it off, the natural gas flame cannon was blocking the stairs. The ambient heat was starting to blister the unburned parts of Dima's body. He had to make this quick, he came too far to die now. He looked up and saw a exposed rafter above the flame. He took a few steps back and ran toward it. He jumped up and grabbed it, using the rest of his momentum to swing over the flames. He landed at the foot of the stairs and ran up. He entered a small hallway leading to three different rooms. The walls and ceiling were alight, making it look like a tunnel to hell. He didn't have time to search the rooms one by one.

“HELLO!?” He called out, he heard a small response.

He tuned out the fire and tried to focus on a voice. He guessed it came from the room on his right. He touched the handle, but burned his fingers. He kicked open the door and entered a burning bedroom. Outside the window of the bedroom, Dima could see the ponies in front of the Building. He turned left and saw a yellow pegasus huddled in the fetal position in the far left corner of the room. He slowly approached her. She looked up, when she saw Dima she tucked back into the fetal position began to cry.

“Please, don't hurt me” She begged,

“My name is Dima,” He said. “I'm here to get you out.”

“I don't believe you!” She picked up a piece of rubble and threw it at him.

“Look, we don't have time for this! It's either come with me or die here!”

She looked up to him a second time. She took a moment to think before nodding her head. She got up to her hooves, then a explosion rocked the bakery. Dima guessed it was the gas line that blew. The wood foundations creaked under the immense strain. He saw the walls starting to deform and the ceiling buckle.

“Let's go!” He shouted as burning ruble began to fall from the ceiling.

They both ran to the door and into the flaming hall. They ran the stairs, only to see them collapse.

“We're going to die!” Fluttershy began to cry again.

She was right, there was no other way down except... the idea then hit Dima.

“The window!” Dima shouted in his 'eureka' moment.

“What!?” Fluttershy asked,

Dima had no time to explain, he lifted Fluttershy into his arms and ran back into the bedroom. He placed her next to the window.

“Can you still fly?” Dima asked,

“Umm, I think so” She replied,

“Well then -” Dima grabbed a chair and busted out the window. “- now is your chance.”

“But what about you?”

“Don't worry about me, now go!”

“But–”

“I said go!”

Fluttershy began to flap her wings slowly rising into the air. With one big flap, she launched herself out of the flaming building. Dima watched her safely land where a few fireman looking ponies took her in. He looked down and saw that the ground farther down than what he had thought, five meters, give-or-take. Dima felt the floor under him crack. He leaped backwards in time to avoid a hole that formed where he was standing. He got back on his feet and began to ponder on how to escape. Just then, he heard a crack from above him, a roof support beam came crashing down onto Dima. He was now pinned to the floor. He held the heavy beam at bay, but it was no use, he was too tired to continue. He let the beam down on his chest, making it difficult to breath as it crushed his lungs. He removed the curtain rag from around his mouth and threw it. He looked to his left and saw the beam beginning to burn, he looked to the right, same story. He never felt so hopeless, he closed his eyes, waiting to die. He didn't have the strength to go on, the pain was all coming back to him.

He began to see his life flash before his eyes. Childhood, army, friends, family, then... it stopped at Applejack. He remembered this part. It was the time he first met her. He was on his knees in Applejack's barn. He wasn't able to do or say anything, it felt kind of like watching a movie from the first person. He watched the entire scene unfold in front of him. His flash back then skipped to when he was drinking hot cider with her. He could still taste the warm cider. It then fast-forwarded to the Timberwolf fight. He saw her standing over him when he collapsed after the fight. The background started to flake away like dust being blown by the wind, everything save for Applejack went black. Her eyes began to tear up and she started crying.

“Why are you crying?” He asked.

“You broke your promise Dima. You're dying,” The voice was Applejack's, but it was distorted.

"I'm not dying, I-I just need to-"

"Save it Dima," She snapped. Applejack stood up walked away.

“Wait... don't go,” Dima pleaded.

“Why? You're dead, I'm moving on.”

“What?”

Applejack began to laugh, “I'll get over ya. I only known ya for what? A day or two?”

“I...” Dima was dumbfounded,

“You what? You thought I cared about you? Pfft, I only felt sorry for ya” Applejack finished his sentence. Dima stared at her in shock.

“Well, see ya partner” Took off her hat and removed Dima's dog tags. She held them in front of his face before throwing them off in to the blackness. She began to walk off.

“Wait” Dima pleaded. She just ignored him.

“Wait please!” Dima shouted this time. She slowly faded into the blackness.

Dima laid alone in the darkness. Tears began to drip from his eyes. His only friend in this world had just given him the cold shoulder while he was in his final moments. He denied it, he knew it couldn't be real. Right? A hallucination? Be that as it may, it still felt worse than any of his his burns. Her words hit the one place that is the most vulnerable, the heart. The blackness slowly had holes burt through it. He was back in the burning room. The fire had engulfed the entire area. Only a small circle of unburned floor board remained around him. It slowly crawled it's way forward. The fires of the beam were inches away from him. He relaxed his muscles, he crossed his arms on his chest the way they do with people in caskets. This time, death didn't seem so bad. He would die the way he wanted, saving another. Who could ask for a finer end? He relaxed his breathing, the smoke in the air still burning his lungs. He closed his eyes and waited.

“Dimitri” A unknown voice called out.

Dima opened his eyes and looked around for the source. He looked and saw something unreal. A man appeared, walking through the inferno towards him. He stopped at Dima's feet. Flames licked around his body, but he still stood as if it were nothing. With the flames covering him, Dima couldn't tell anything more than that he was dressed in what seemed to be a military uniform. He had a helmet, black sunglasses, a ballistic vest, and had a rifle slung over his back, but that was it.

“Grim Reaper?” Dima gave it his best guess.

“No” He held out his right hand to Dima. He hesitated, unsure if this was just another hallucination.

“Take my hand, if you want to see her again,” The man said.

The fires were getting closer. He didn't have much time.

“Promise?” Dima asked the man in the flames. He answered with a nod.

Dima raised his body, supporting himself up with his left arm. He slowly approached the mysterious man's waiting hand. Dima took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He wrapped his hand around the other man's in a thight grip. Everything went black.

20 Minutes Earlier

Over on a hill far from the town, the Sniper watched the building through his binoculars. He touched the 'talk' button on his headset.

“Targets in sight,” He said.

“How many?” The Engineer asked.

“Four in the front, that's all I can see.”

“Four out of six, close enough,” The Gunner added.

“Are the charges set?” The Sniper inquired.

“On your word,” The Engineer said.

“Blow it,” The Sniper ordered.

"Copy, coundown initiated. Charges set to blow in 5...4...3...2...1"

He saw a small flash, the glass blew out of the building. The Sniper exited his view from the binoculars. He changed the radio frequencies.

“Targets eliminated,” The Sniper said.

“Good work, return to base,” His benefactor replied.

“Yes, my Lord.” The Sniper switched back frequencies,

“Mission complete, were being called back.”

“Acknowledged,” The two others replied.

The Sniper packed his equipment and began the long walk back.

Author's Note

AAAAAAWWWWWW YEEEEEAAAAHH. The update you never thought was coming is finally here! I would like to apologize from the bottom of my heart for taking this long. Writing ain't easy, it takes me espically long to plan out things and write out the chapter to the point where i am happy with it. I also want to thank those of you who kept asking me "When is the next update?". Truthfully, if it wasn't for those people, this story might have ended before it began. Anyways, thank you all and enjoy!

HOORAH
-Semper Fidelis