The Marine sat uncomfortably in the folding chair, half paying attention to the Blue Force Tracker in front of him. Two blue blips moved across the displayed map, designated as V-1 and V-2. The operation was not set to start for another hour or so and boredom was starting to creep into his mind.

He leaned back and glanced around the crowded tent. Officers wandered from station to station, observing the equipment and checking the progress of the two vehicles as they approached the LZ. The Marine took a quick glance out the open tent flap, observing the the world outside. The sun had recently set, turning the sand a deep rust color as the ambient light of day began to fade.

"Blackburn, Blackburn this is Viper two!" The voice had piped through one of the speakers of the Comm station across the tent. The Marine could hear the tension in the pilot's voice and quickly looked back toward his own computer. V-1 remained on course, however V-2 had begun moving erratically, obviously performing evasive maneuvers. The radioman picked up the microphone and responded.

"Send it, Viper-2" He said quickly.

"Some kind of electrical storm just popped up around us! We're taking evasive maneuvers to avoid the lightning, but they're getting awful close to us."

A thunderstorm? What the fuck, none of the weather guys said anything about a storm.

"Copy, Viper two. Get out of that storm and return to your flight path." The radioman replied.

"Roger, Blackburn. We'll do what we can to get get back on track but this lightning is not going *KRSHHK*" The radio burst into static, causing everyone in the tent to jump.

The radio sprang back to life. "MAYDAY MAYDAY, THIS IS VIPER TWO. WE JUST LOST OUR PORT ROTOR. ANTI-TORQUE IS GONE AND WE ARE LOSING ALTI..." The radio burst into static once more before going quiet.

The Marine stared dumbfounded at his monitor.

V-2 was gone.

Not moving like it was crashing, just gone. It had vanished along with the radio transmission.

"What the fuck jus.." One of the officers began before the tracker Marine regained his composure and spoke up.

"Sir! Viper two is gone!"

"What the fuck do you mean gone?!?" The officer shouted, rushing to the Marine's station. He quickly looked at the monitor. It didn't take long before he realized the Marine had meant exactly what he said. He gritted his teeth and ran over to the comm station, grabbing the microphone from the stunned radioman.

"Viper One, Viper One, This is Blackburn."

"Send it, Blackburn." The reply was quick and tense.

"Wave off from your current flight path and locate Viper Two. Something just hit them."

The Marine at the tracking station could see that V-1 was already turning around, trying to locate the wounded bird.

"Copy that, Blackburn, looping around now."

They spent the next several minutes in tense silence, waiting to hear the results of the remaining aircraft's search.

"Blackburn, this is Viper One"

The officer responded quickly. "Send it, Viper One. Did you find Viper Two?"

there was a brief pause, letting everyone know the truth before the pilot finally responded.

"Negative. There's not even a crash site. It's like Viper Two was never here."

The officers arm went limp, sagging to his waist before the microphone slipped from his hand and clattered against the folding table which supported the radio.

The entire tent sat in shocked silence. Viper Two was gone.

Not just dead.

Gone.

Jason inhaled deeply as he steeled himself in front of the door.

The musicians' house was silent, a stark contrast to the racket which had seeped from the building the day before. He exhaled with a sigh before knocking.

He waited a few minutes, awaiting a response. He raised his hand to knock again, but stopped when the door opened inward, revealing the cellist he had met the day before.

Octavia looked at him, her face became dour, revealing the pain and embarrassment he had caused her. She was about to slam the door in his face.

A reasonable reaction. Jason thought to himself as he put his hand on the door, halting it's quick movement. But I still need to make this right.

Octavia jumped slightly at the unexpected resistance and attempted to close the door again. She was unsuccessful.

She sighed and looked at him, her flash of anger fading. "What do you want, Jason?" She asked, her voice revealing exactly how much she didn't want to see him.

"I've come to apologize. About last night." He answered.

Twilight had offered to come with him. She thought it would be better if she was there to help explain. However, Jason had refused, feeling that this was something he needed to do himself.

He sighed. "Look, I know I've got some explaining to do. Is Vinyl awake? This is something she should hear as well."

The mare examined him before releasing a sigh herself.

"Yes, we were just finishing up breakfast." She said. "Come in, I'll go get her."

Jason followed the mare into her home, stopping just on the other side of the door and closing it behind him. He waited there as Octavia fetched her housemate.

Vinyl was a lot angrier at him than Octavia was, or maybe she just couldn't control herself as well as her companion could.

"You've got a lot of nerve showing your face after what you pulled." Vinyl hissed at him. "I outta throw you out right now."

Her horn glowed, enveloping Jason in a field of shimmering magic. He felt himself getting pulled from the floor.

"W-Wait! I've come to apologize! To explain why I did what I did!" He didn't like the feeling. He had always preferred having solid ground under his feet, rather than...well...nothing.

The unicorn raised an eyebrow. "Well spill it, before I decide to throw you through the door." She didn't release her magic.

Jason looked at her, his toes barely touching the ground. "Could you let me down please? I really don't like this."

Vinyl's horn flared, raising him completely off the floor.

"Okay okay! I'm sorry! Let me explain myself first, then you can throw me anywhere you like!"

Vinyl examined him for a second, then sighed and released her magic hold on him. He fell onto his feet, stumbling slightly to keep his balance. "alright, come on."

They moved to the living room, The two mares taking positions on the couch. Jason pulled up a chair and sat facing them.

He quickly explained to them the social barrier which had driven his actions the previous night. Revealing to them his species' aversion to polygamy. They sat there, listening. He could see their stern expressions softening as he continued his explanation.

"You see, because of the social standards I know, your advances last night would have meant disloyalty, Infidelity even to my significant other." He didn't reveal who that was. He was still new to Equestria and remembered far too well the worried and cautious faces ponies had thrown him as he wandered the streets.

Jason took those reactions at face value. He understood that his profession worried the ponies, and it would be some time before he would be able to win them over, if he could at all. As such he decided to keep his relationship with Twilight a secret. Everypony already knew that Twilight was taking care of him, housing him and explaining the workings of pony society. He wanted to try to keep it at that, a teacher-student relationship, at least in public. He understood that the ponies wouldn't hurt her, she was far too powerful to succumb to them attempting to attack her. However he was afraid of what they would do to her socially.

Twi had attempted to dissuade his resolve, ensuring him that nopony would mind. He wouldn't relent though. He had far too much experience with women becoming outcast because of their affections. That was not something he wanted to see happen to the girl he loved.

"It wasn't until later last night that I learned about how ponies embraced polygamy. I had no idea about how vital it was in order to keep your population stable. I'm truly sorry I treated you like that last night, but I can hope you at least sort of understand why I did." He let his head sag, his vision drawn to the floor.

He heard the two mares get up from the couch and tensed as he waited for Vinyl's magic to wash over him.

He jumped in surprise when the two mares threw their hooves around his shoulders and embraced him. He picked his head up, looking back and forth at the two mares who held him in their grip.

"I'm sorry Jason." Octavia whispered, picking her own head up and looking at him. "I should have known better. Shoot you didn't even know we had music, why did I think you would be okay with just going at it like that?"

Vinyl picked her head up, surprised at Octavia's statement. "You didn't know we had music?"

Jason chuckled lightly. "Well, not until I heard the bass coming from your house last night."

Vinyl giggled softly before releasing him and returning to the sofa. Octavia squeezed once before letting go and joining her housemate.

"So, who's this special somepony you've been talking about?" Octavia asked, curiously. "They must really have you smitten the way you reacted yesterday."

"Oh come on, there's no way you don't already know." Vinyl laughed.

Jason and Octavia looked at her. His heart sank. "W-What do you mean?" he stuttered.

Vinyl looked at him incredulously. Octavia spoke up.

"Well, yes I did see the signs, but I still want to get the truth from him rather than believe the gossip."

"What signs?" Jason asked, his mouth dry.

"Oh please, Twilight has been enthralled by you." Vinyl said. "She may still be kinda new here, but we know her well enough to see when an interest in something becomes more than just that. I don't really get how but no matter what, whenever somepony tries to talk with her, the conversation always ends up about you. I've seen a normal conversation about weather somehow turn into your world's government structure. That and there's her body language."

"Body language?" Jason asked, a little dumbfounded.

"Well duh." Vinyl rolled her eyes. "You haven't noticed how close she stays to you? How she leans against you all the time? The way she looks at you? Honestly she acts like a filly who just learned what a special somepony is."

Jason, in fact, had noticed. However Twilight was the only pony he really interacted with. He had no idea that her subtle actions were indicative of courtship. He thought that was just how ponies were.

"Erm, well actually..." Jason stammered.

"How long have you been together?" Octavia asked suddenly.

"Uh...Well we really didn't start getting serious until after I got out of the hospital."

"Really? That recently?"

"Erm, yeah...Why?"

Vinyl snickered. "If that's true then the whole town knew about her feelings for you before you did. Heck, we probably knew before she did."

"Wait...when did she start acting different?" Jason asked.

Octavias eyes turned toward the ceiling in thought before looking at him and replying. "I'd have to say the day after you woke up."

Jason's heart swelled at the revelation. That long? She loved me as soon as she met me? Wow...I...I had no idea.

Octavia saw the change in his expression and sighed. "We just destroyed any chance we had at taking you to bed with us, didn't we?"

Jason chuckled. "Afraid so ladies." He looked at them with a raised eyebrow, a grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. "At least until I get completely used to pony society."

Jason walked toward the busy town center, a small grin on his lips as he thought about the morning.

After the apology, Jason had spent a couple of hours talking, joking and laughing with the two musicians. He had shared stories of his musical experiences, as well as sharing a few of his favorite songs from the music player. It was a good thing he had, too. The combination of Vinyl's excitement at the device and Jason's expedited exit the previous night had left the DJ with absolutely no knowledge on how to operate the gadget.

Jason's thoughts cleared as his mind returned to the present. He glanced at the town's clock. He still had a couple of hours before he was to meet Twilight for lunch, he needed to find something to do. He thought quickly before he patted his hand against the bag of coins which bulged slightly from his pocket.

I know! I'll see if I can get a hold of more clothes! Let's see now...What would Rarity's shop look like... He glanced around the town. It didn't take long for him to locate the white two-story building, lavishly painted and covered with various accoutrements which made the store quite the spectacle to behold.

He pushed open the door, a light jingle accompanying the motion.

"Just a moment please!" a familiar voice called from the opposite side of the building. Jason could hear the whir of a sewing machine working furiously at the hooves of the purple haired fashionista. He waited at the counter as Rarity completed her stitching. After giving her work an approving nod she finally set the garment down and turned her attention to her new customer. Her eyes widened and a smile grew across her face as she recognized him.

"Jason darling! How are you doing today? Goodness, I wasn't expecting you out of the hospital for another few weeks. how in Equestria did you recover so quickly?" Rarity asked, the elegance of her voice accompanied by a genuine sense of excitement.

Jason chuckled. "Got a little help from Twi on that one."

Rarity gave him a warm smile. "She really does love you, doesn't she?"

Jason winced slightly. Man, Vinyl was right. Everyone in this town really does already know.

If Rarity had seen his reaction at her statement, she paid it no mind as she continued.

"Anyway how can I help you this fine day?" Rarity asked with a slight tilt of her head.

"I did say I was going to visit once I got out of the hospital didn't I? Besides, I still need to thank you for this." He lifted up his left hand which held the eight-point cover.

Rarity waved a hoof in dismissal. "Think nothing of it, dear. I'm more than happy to help."

"Still, I wanted to pay you for this spectacular piece of work."

Rarity chuckled lightly. "If that's spectacular to you, you should see some of the dresses I've made. Anyway, I believe we've already established how you were going to pay me." She raised an eyebrow toward him. "Something about alien clothes and fashion?"

Jason grinned. "You're right, I guess we did. Luckily that brings us to reason number two of my visit."

Rarity eyed him curiously.

"I was actually hoping to commission a few more sets of clothes from you. Some uniforms, some regular clothes. Heck, maybe a suit." Jason watched as Rarity's eyes began to widen in excitement, a half grin forming on his face. "I've even got a way to pay you this time."

"So, How'd it go?" Twilight asked as they waited for their food. "Given your attitude, it seems it went well."

"That it did. They were more than understanding." Jason replied with a smile. He looked at her, observing her proximity to his own body. She had sat in the chair literally inches away from him, getting as close as possible without touching.

How did I not notice this before? I mean yeah it's been months since I've interacted with civilians, but still even a total introvert would understand this kind of body language.

"Oh? and what does that mean?" She asked playfully.

Jason chuckled lightly. He lifted up his arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her against his body. She jumped in surprise but her tension quickly dissipated as she melted into his embrace. "Nothing like that, but we are deffinately on friendly terms."

She cast a sidelong glance up at him, a smile spreading across her face. "Whatever happened to keeping our relationship quiet?" She asked mischeviously.

"Well it seems that somepony in this relationship has been a little less subtle than she thought. In fact it seems as though everyone in this town already knows of our relationship." Jason chided playfully.

Twilight's expression shrank and the lavender fur on her face darkened as she blushed. "W-What? What are you talking about? I haven't said anything!" She sputtered.

Jason looked at her, mock bemusement on his face. He slowly ran his eyes down to the short distance which seperated their seats. She followed his gaze and winced slightly in realization at their proximity.

"Oh!" She exclaimed. "Oh...how long have I been doing that?"

Jason chuckled lightly. "Well, since we sat down in this restaurant." he stated matter-of-factly.

She looked up at him, unamused at his joke. "Not funny. Seriously, how long have I been acting like that?"

He raised an eyebrow in response. "Honestly I've never seen you act any different than the way you are now. In fact I thought that was how you were normally. It wasn't until Vinyl pointed it out that I thought it was kinda suspicious."

Twilight groaned. "Vinyl pointed it out? If she knows then my friends definitely already know. I can't believe they let me act like this without saying something!"

"What's wrong with the way you've been acting?" Jason asked.

Twilight looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry I said that Jason. I love you and I would be the first to admit it to anypony. But I've been acting like a silly little school filly."

Jason leaned down and planted a light kiss upon her lips, which she returned. It only lasted a split second before they broke contact. "You should act the way you want to. Don't let society change who you are." he gazed into her eyes, a warm smile spreading across his face. "Besides, that silly little school filly is the pony I fell in love with." She returned his gaze and they lost themselves in each other's eyes.

*Ahem*

They both started and returned to reality. They looked to the waiter who had come bearing their food, blushes forming on their faces. Jason released Twilight from their embrace and the waiter spoke.

"So, which one of you had the flower sandwich?" The waiter sounded a little stuck-up, like he was too good for this restaurant.

Twilight raised a hoof meekly. The waiter turned his head and removed her plate from his back and placed it in front of her. "And that leaves the steamed vegetables for you, sir." He placed the plate in front of him. "Enjoy your meal." Twilight and Jason gave their thanks and the waiter turned and left them to eat.

Jason took a glance around the restaurant. He saw more than one set of eyes staring at them from around the room. Most of them smiled and looked away when his eyes met theirs, but the rest had looks of appalled disgust and were staring at them somewhat maliciously. Jason did not hesitate to stare down the unpleasant glares with a cold look of his own and they were quick to look away, a mixture of fear and embarrassment obvious on their faces.

Jason returned his attention to his food. The smell of the cooked vegetables wafted into his nostrils and he grimaced slightly. The smell was not unpleasant, but his body rebelled at the thought of another meal of nothing but plants.

Twilight noticed his reservation and spoke up. "Jason, you look sick. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong." Jason said as he picked up a fork and speared a soft carrot. "I'm just getting a little tired of this diet, that's all." He popped the carrot into his mouth, coating his tongue in butter.

"I can understand that." Twilight said as she picked up her sandwich with a little magic. "I guess it would be like taking the flowers from a pony diet. We'd be able to survive, but the cravings would be severe." She took a bite, chewed and swallowed before continuing. "Tell ya what, we'll go pay Fluttershy a visit after this so we can try to get you a little boost to your diet without frightening her."

"That sounds good, Twi. That'll also give us a chance to let her know about us." Jason responded between mouthfuls.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? I mean, she's one of my best friends and one of the first ponies I wanted to tell, but I know you were hesitant to reveal our relationship."

Jason chuckled lightly. "Did you completely miss our earlier conversation? Everybody already knows. It would be better for us to explain ourselves before she starts believing the gossip that's most definitely floating around." He took another bite. "Besides, Rarity already knows, and I'm sure she's spoken with her about it. She really didn't talk too much to me about it, but I think we should pay her a visit as well. Heck, we might as well visit all your friends today and confess before they start believing everything they hear around town."

She looked at him incredulously. "I don't think my friends would be so quick to believe gossip, but I understand what you mean."

"Great! Let's hurry up here then, we've got a ways to go today." Jason said as he popped a piece of brocolli into his mouth and chewed vigorously.

Jason stood before the blackened husk of the wrecked helicopter that had delivered him to this new world.

He had spotted the wreck as they approached Fluttershy's cottage. His mouth went dry when he realized what it was and he had insisted on taking the detour.

The plants had already begun re-growing, obscuring the damage the fire had caused to the landscape. The helicopter was twisted grotesquely, warped by the impact of the crash along with the heat of the flame. It was barely recognizable as a helicopter.

"Were you able to pull anything out? Was everything destroyed?" Jason asked, his heart heavy.

Twilights response was pained. She could see the effect that the wreck was having on Jason. "We didn't know what any of it was. When we realized we couldn't help the people inside, our primary concern had to be containing the fire. I'm sorry Jason, but as far as I know nothing has been removed."

Jason exhaled heavily. "Alright, give me some time. I need to take a look." He began walking around the wreck, looking for a gap which would grant him entrance into the twisted cargo hold. One of the side doors had been ripped open and he quickly slipped inside.

Twilight spoke up. "Hey...Let me know if you want any help." There was no response and she sat to wait.

She sat there for a few minutes before Jason finally emerged. In his arms were a few rifles. The plastic had melted, leaving nothing but the receivers and barrels. He gingerly set down the five weapons before turning in silence and returning to the hold.

Twilight watched as he pulled a total of fourteen rifles out of the crashed helicopter. After he finished with the rifles, he began bringing out helmets. Any cloth or leather that had once adorned the kevlars had been burned away, but the helmets' shells had remained largely intact.

He returned to the vehicle once more, this time returning with small metal tags placed on long chains. most of them were bent or warped from the heat of the flame. He only carried nine of them, the rest had been unrecoverable.

He silently got to work. He did not have the bayonets for the rifles, so he was forced to dig small holes. Deep enough so that the front sight would rest on the ground as he buried the front of the barrels, leaving the rest of the rifle sticking straight into the air.

Jason was methodical with this task, ensuring that each rifle was perfectly or as near-perfectly vertical as possible before moving on to the next weapon. After he finished planting the rifles, he began placing the helmets on the short stubs where the weapons' stocks would have been. He was once again ensuring that the helmets could balance where he set them and squared them away so they would be perfectly aligned.

Once he had finished setting up the graves, he stood back and slowly looked over the monuments. He took the nine dog tags he had collected out of his pockets and separated one from the rest of the group, letting the bunch hang from his hand as he brought the tag before his eyes.

"Ereks, Simon K. 476-13-9782. O Positive. Catholic." He read the information aloud slowly, memorizing the name before stepping forward and hanging the chain from the pistol grip of the first monument. He took a step back and brought himself to attention. He slowly raised his right hand, bringing his upper arm to a perfect ninety-degree angle. His elbow was bent and he brought his rigid hand to lightly touch the brim of his eight-point cover.

He slowly lowered his salute, returning to attention before pulling another chain from the bunch which hung from his left hand.

"Turner, Aaron G. 521-88-7988. B Positive. Protestant."

Twilight watched in silence as Jason honored his fallen brothers. Tears had been flowing from her eyes the moment Jason had read that first name. She hurt for him. She knew this was probably one of the hardest things Jason had ever had to do. She was moved by the morbid beauty of the procedure, now fully understanding the devotion her lover had for these fallen Marines.

She wanted to run to him. Embrace him. Let him know everything was going to be okay.

She restrained herself, knowing that interrupting this ceremony was not something he would easily forgive. She continued watching as Jason moved on to the next grave. She could see rivulets of tears glisten on his cheeks, reflecting the noonday sun.

"Wolfe, Andrew M..."