[Major]

“Luna.” I muttered, just loud enough for her to hear. She obviously wasn’t expecting me to be there when she sat down, because she jumped a good three feet in the air, her wings flaring. Her guards were also shocked upon seeing me decloak from my active camo.

“Don’t do that!” She hissed, after getting over the shock and regaining control of her breathing. “How the hell did you get back here so fast? Your Pelican isn’t due until morning!”

“I asked Chrysalis to teleport me.” I waved my hand. “Irrelevant either way. We may have a problem.” She frowned and quieted down. “Stormhorn will begin reverse engineering human firearms as soon as he has the ability to.”

“Tell me everything.” So I spent a couple minutes detailing exactly how Max fucked up royally.

“Cher Ami.” One of the pegasus guards standing around snapped to attention. “Go inform my other about this.”

“Right away, ma’am.” She quickly took flight out of the throne room, heading off to Lunacae’s quarters.

“As for you, Major-General.” Luna stood tall and regnant, the effects of which were pretty much lost due to me having a good meter on her. “I suppose thanks are in order, even if you scared me half to death. While I doubt that anything substantial will come of this, I know that it was a good idea for you to come to me about this before informing my sister. We both know how sensitive your plans for our future is.”

“I just don’t want the other humans knowing about them until its too late.” I shrugged and got off of her throne. “Especially Mark.”

“How long were you there, anyway?” I just gave her another shrug, causing her to roll her eyes. “Very well. Anything else?”

“I’m heading on down to Rebrew to test out those prosthetics out on a couple volunteers, let them know I’m on my way, alright? My assistant will be taking any requests for me, until I get back.” With that, I departed.

“… He has an assistant?” I heard her comment to one of the guards as the doors closed behind me.

“Send this to Swift Wing’s office.” I told one of the couriers skittering about. The changeling grabbed the scroll as he nodded, bolting off into the hallways of the castle.

[Mark]

The trip back to Canterlot was relaxing, but for some reason Major wasn’t with us. That became apparent as the hatch lowered to see him standing behind it, waiting for us to come out.

“When the hell did you get he-” I stopped myself and rubbed my face. “Chrysalis sent you here, didn’t she?” He silently nodded and beckoned me to follow. I shrugged and grabbed my shit, before departing with the 8 foot tall wonder.

“Want to accompany me to Rebrew tomorrow, Mark?” He asked as we walked, causing me to furrow my brow.

“For what, exactly?”

“I’m distributing prototype prosthetics on a couple volunteers to see how the designs work, altered to fit a pony.” I blinked, before frowning a bit.

“Where in the fuck did you get the resources to develop and produce enough prosthetics to have a trial run?” He shrugged again, causing me to groan in frustration. “Fine, keep your fucking secrets...” We hopped into my Warthog, him in the driver’s seat, and started towards Ponyville. At his insistence I put on my helmet.

“Much better. You’ll actually be able to hear me while I drive.” He finally said once I had the comms working. I could only roll my eyes. “Now, tomorrow morning I’m heading on down to Rebrew with a couple changelings to get these prosthetics handed out, and the patients know you. That’s why I asked you to come along.”

“So they won’t be suspicious.” I stated, very fucking glad I installed seatbelts in my Warthog. I’ve seen Max, Anon, and Jeremy drive theirs, and without a fucking doubt, Major is the most batshit crazy behind the wheel. We’re both lucky that none of the ponies in Canterlot used the access roads that were built for vehicles, otherwise one of us would have to explain why we need a big scraper to get them off the hood.

“So they’ll be more trusting, and seeing that even though you order them to their deaths, you’ll take care of them if they survive as a non-fatal casualty.” He clarified. “Making them whole again is a good way to get your men to care about your orders.”

“Yeah and I bet you know a lot about that, don’t you?” While I was snarking, he simply shook his head a bit.

“Those that survived, I did.” He muttered, rubbing at his left shoulder as we went to Ponyville in silence.

[SAA]

“Thanks for the ride, I guess.” Mark said as he hopped out of the warthog, his stomach still halfway from Canterlot. The ODST really didn’t drive safely. Major only shrugged and drove off, leaving Mark alone. Slinging his duffle bag over his shoulder, Mark began the short trudge towards the farmhouse, the smell of Granny's superb cooking hanging in the air. If Major had timed it right, Applebloom would be out shortly to ring the dinner bell.

With a slight bounce in his step, he headed for the door… It always felt so good to be home. And Equestria was his home now.

"MARK!" Bloom screeched, he had just swung the door open when the young filly came stampeding over and wrapped herself about his right leg.

"Daddy?" gently he placed his bag down and braced himself for a heartbeat later, Apple came zipping in and slammed into him hard enough to nearly take him off his feet "Daddy's home!"

"What in tarnation is going on out here," Granny demanded as she poked her head in from the kitchen. "Yah youngens know Judy just put Spice down fer a nap."

"Sorry Granny," Mark, Bloom and Apple said as one.

"Okay then," the Apple matriarch nodded with satisfaction. "Bloom, you go ring the bell ‘n let AJ and Mac know supper's ready…" As the filly quickly bolted for the door, she turned her attention towards Mark. "Welcome home deary, best wash up fer dinner, it's spaghetti night."

"AJ, can I talk to you… alone," Mark whispered in her ear while everyone sat around the Apple's family room, admiring their gifts.

"Sure thing Sugarcube," she nodded.

"Come with me," he asked as he stood and headed outside. After walking around to the far side of the barn, Mark sat down heavily on a hay bale, and gave out a deep halfhearted sigh as he looked up at the full moon that hung high overhead.

"Mark, honey, Are yah alright," the concern in her voice ate at his insides.

"No…" he finally whispered as she hopped up next to him, her eyes searching his for an answer.

"Oh Mark, Ahm not sure what's wrong, but Ahm sure we can work together and fix it…"

"You can't fix stupid," he mumbled darkly, which earned a shocked look from Applejack. "I am so sorry for what I did to you AJ… I just… at the time I didn't know what I was doing to you."

"To me," she blinked in shock. "I don't understand, what did you do to me?"

"I… I didn't realize, even after you tried to tell me," he had practiced this speech ever since he found out, and now that she was by his side, he found himself tongue tied. "I thought you were just being racist, I thought you were just phobic… but I made you choose…"

"What in tarnation are yah babbling about," AJ questioned, not following her human's train of thought.

"He's talking about me."

Spinning around, AJ and Mark watched as a dark form separated itself from the nearby shadows and slowly stepped into the moonlight. The strange pony stood just as tall as Applejack, yet the holes in her legs and her unblinking bug eyes told them both who it was. "Apple?" Mark was now the one confused.

"Hey… daddy," she flashed him a weak smile, her fangs now showing prominently as she stood before him.

"Ah guess the secret got out anyway, huh darlin," It was AJ's turn to breath a heavy sigh as she reached out to ruffle Apple's mane.

"W…Wait, hold on," he jerked back from Applejack in surprise. "What secret?"

Over the next few minutes, Apple and AJ filled Mark in on how Apple had come to visit not long after Hannah had crashed, how the two worked out their differences and just what Mark meant to them, and that they both cared for him deeply.

"My main mission was to build a new hive in case the older one died out, but then you discovered the easiest way to feed us, and saved the Changeling race," Apple said, now sitting on the other side of Mark. "Once you did that, I was no longer needed, the hive was safe, and so I lost my motivation in life."

"Motivation in life?" Mark questioned.

"There can only be one Queen of the Changelings," she clarified. "As long as my real mother, Chrysalis, lives and her hive thrives… there is no need for me to live."

"But being part of the Apple family gave her a reason for being," AJ smiled as she nudged Mark's shoulder with her own. "Since yah didn't seem aware of Apple's original motives, we decided to keep it a secret and she would continue to be our daughter."

"Oh… wait, who's we?" he asked.

"Apple, Granny, and me," Applejack informed him.

"Granny knows?" he felt that odd pit in his stomach again.

"Nothing happens on this farm without her knowing about it."

"Too true," Mark nodded after a moment's consideration. "Are the three of us a family, or a herd?"

There was an uneasy stillness as both AJ and Apple leaned past Mark and gazed at one another, silently asking each other a question. It was AJ who spoke first. "Mark, Sugarcube, we both love yah and we would hate to make yah choose one over the other, that's how this all started," she said while absently kicking her lower hooves. "So, is there a reason we just can't do both?"

Couldn't think of a name. Also most of this wasn't written by me.