The revelation had flipped a mental switch within Jason's head. His mind's natural thirst for knowledge and understanding exploded at the extraordinary circumstances under which he learned this new information. He turned into something he hated. The asshole Corporal. The douchebag in cammies. The Marine who takes no bullshit answers.

He stood up in silence and began to pack away everything they had brought with them. He attempted to fight down that side of him, to avoid any further conflict.

Twilight recovered soon after he had left, getting to her hooves and quickly moving to where he kneeled. "Jason, are you okay? Do you want to talk about it?" She asked. She was shocked and afraid at his sudden change, and would do anything to get her Jason back. He responded with silence, continuing with his task as if he hadn't heard her. "Jason, please talk to me. This is something we really need to..."

"Shut the fuck up!" He snapped at her. His mind was on a hair trigger, and even that small comment set him off. Jason regretted the words before they even finished coming out of his mouth.

Twilight recoiled at the outburst, her face a mask of sadness and pain. She had heard Jason mutter the explative before, but never in this connotation, and never, never, directed at her.

She stood there silently, looking at him. Her eyes pleading, wishing that he would just give them a chance to figure this out.

Jason would have none of it. He was fully aware of his precarious mental state, and did not want to have this conversation while he was heated.

Jason brought his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "Twilight, I'm sorry. I...I'm not myself right now." He dropped his hand and looked at her apologetically, still visibly shaken and emotionally upset. "I...I need some time to think...to cool down a bit...Just....Just leave me alone for a while, OK?"

Twilight looked at him with sorrow. Tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes. She reared up and wrapped her forehooves around his shoulders. Jason winced at the contact. Twilight noticed the reaction, which caused the tears to begin streaming down her face. "Jason... I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." Her body shuddered as she cried into his shoulder. "I've never meant to hurt anypony... especially not you. I'll leave you alone, but I wanted to tell you that before I go." She let herself down and backed a few steps away from him, tears leaving streaks down her face. "I'm sorry, Jason...Goodbye."

Her horn glowed for a split second and then she was gone, a faint pop echoing across the field.

Jason felt like half of his heart had been cut out when she teleported. He was angry, confused, depressed, nervous, all at the same time. His mind was reeling, attempting to figure out how to react to the information.

One of the first mares he met, the mare who had taken him under her metaphorical wing. The mare he had fallen in love with, was the same pony who had ripped him from his home world. She was the pony who had killed twenty seven of his brothers.

Jason shivered as his mind brought forth memories of the twisted and blackened abomination that now stood as a sullen tomb for the men inside. Jason had only been able to salvage fourteen rifles, but the Osprey had been loaded to capacity with Marines. The pilot, copilot, crew chief and the flight engineer, along with the twenty three grunts who sat in the hold. Himself and Reese were the only ones who weren't in the hold when the helicopter crashed, but Reese had been thrown out before they had teleported, so Jason had assumed the worst.

The raging emotions flowing throughout his mind moved to his diaphragm, causing it to flex. His lungs contracted and he screamed. As loud as he could and for as long as he could. Weeks of building tension, budding anger and buried sadness flowed out of his body. He did not know these emotions had been building within him, his mind subconciously suppressing them as he attempted to adjust to this new world.

When his lungs burned in protest and he could no longer continue he became silent. He felt empty inside. All of the anger had flowed out of his body like the air from his lungs, leaving behind only confusion and sadness. He was confused because he didn't understand anything anymore, his mind a barely functional shell after the violent turmoil the coursing emotions had put it through. And sadness because he had driven Twilight away in anger. She was the only person who would be able to bring things into focus. She would have given insight into why she did what she did.

Jason looked around him. Twilight had left her saddlebags in her quick exit. He finished packing away their things, secured the flap and threw them over his shoulder. He stooped over, grabbing his rifle's sling and ran it over his other shoulder. He cast one final glance over the empty field before turning down the path they had come in on and began his long, lonely walk back to Ponyville.

Jason's breath was hard, yet controlled as he jogged, following the winding forest trails that snaked their way around Ponyville. His steps were light as he maintained an easy pace, the soft cotton shorts and T-shirt he wore brushing lightly against his skin.

The PT clothing was part of the large commission he had ordered, and, because of their smaller size and simpler designs, had been the first completed. No sooner than he picked up the clothes did he fall back into his previous exercise schedule.

Twilight had not been home when he arrived. Spike said he hadn't seen her, so it seemed that either she wanted to spend time alone herself, or she had gone to her best friends.

Jason decided to go for a run. The monotonous exercise had always proven to be an effective relaxation tool. The physical exertion taking his mind off of things that pressured him, allowing him to begin thinking of it again slowly, one bit at a time. Thus allowing him to take different perspectives on the issue. That was exactly what he needed right now.

He had already completed two laps around Ponyville's long perimeter road. His mind blank, his body falling into an unconscious rhythm as he followed the contour of the dirt beneath his feet.

"Jason!"

He heard Rainbow Dash's characteristic, tom-boyish voice call for him. He continued to run. If she wants to talk to me bad enough, she can catch up. he thought to himself before his mind went blank again.

The task was easy enough for the talented flier and it wasn't long before she appeared next to him, flapping gently as she matched his pace. Jason looked out of the corner of his eye and she put on a false smile. She was obviously trying to be friendly, but there was a worry in her eyes. A sadness that betrayed her true feelings. He returned his attention to the road before him, maintaining his pace.

"I take it you've spoken with Twilight?" Jason asked flatly.

Rainbow dropped the charade, her face fully revealing her true emotions. She was worried. Worried for one of her best friends in the world. Jason understood that, he even respected it.

"Y...Yeah. She came to see us...Look, Jason, I don't know what happened but Twilight is an emotional trainwreck right now. We can barely get more than a few words out of her, and even then she keeps saying 'ask Jason.' I don't know if you two broke up or what, but this is out of control." she looked at him desperately. He continued running. "Dude, even you're torn up about this. I can see it. Normally you're so strong and...well...awesome. But right now you're acting like a crazystallion. How long have you been running?"

"Since I got back to Twilights house."

"And how long ago was that?"

"About six and a half miles." He had no sense of time right now, so he estimated the distance, trying to give her some kind of reference.

"Six....Six and a half miles?! Celestia, Jason you need to stop. Stop before you hurt yourself." Jason was reminded yet again that the physicality of these equines was not the same as his. Although, to be fair, six and a half miles is a long run for most humans as well. But...

"No. I'm not done yet."

"Jason!" She accelerated slightly before swerving in front of him, cutting him off and forcing him to stop. "Stop!...Please...We really need to talk." She put a hoof on his shoulder. He finally looked at her. His mind came flowing back to him as the hypnotic rhythm of the jog vanished.

Jason panted heavily, slowly but surely regaining his breath. Eventually, he let out a sigh. "What has Twilight told you?" Jason asked.

She looked at him. She was still worried, but obviously relieved that she had been able to get him to talk to her. "Like I said man, she just keeps saying 'ask Jason.' I don't think she's gonna talk to anypony unless you talk to her first. We're desperate here, dude. She's shut us out. Her best friends in the world and she shut us out. Please, Jason. What the hay happened?"

He stared at her blankly for a few long seconds before whispering. "She brought me here."

She didn't understand what he meant. "Where, the road? Ponyville?"

"Equestria."

"Oh...OH!...wait...That's it? You're both freaking out because one of her magic experiments brought you here? What's the big..."

"Her lightning destroyed the propeller on the helicopter I was riding in, causing it to smash into the ground." His face remained cold. Rainbows eyes widened as she began to put the pieces together in her head. "Twilight killed twenty seven of my Marines. All of them, gone like the flame from a match." Rainbow landed while he spoke, a wave of sorrow visible on her face before she turned her head to the ground. Jason stepped around her and began jogging again.

It was a few minutes before she glided up beside him again. She flew beside him in silence for a few minutes before asking. "Do you blame her?" She asked, not trying to stop his run this time.

"What?" Jason responded.

"Do you blame her for their deaths?"

"Of course I do. She did it, there's no mistaking that."

"Jason, do you have any idea what she was doing the night you got here?" Rainbow asked, her voice quiet.

Jason continued running, but he was listening now.

"She was in the middle of the Everfree Forest, trying to take care of this massive rogue electrical storm. We knew about it in advance of course, but the lightning in the clouds was so powerful, none of our weather patrol could get rid of them without getting really hurt. There are still ponies in the hospital with burns. Twilight was awake for days, looking through these really old books, trying to find some spell to take care of it. Just when she found something that might work, the whole thunderhead started moving! Straight at Ponyville! Dude, that storm had enough power to wipe Ponyville off the map. Poof. Gone. Twilight did what she had to and ran straight to the middle of the storm and cast the spell. We found her after you crashed , unconscious in the middle of those cursed woods. She used all of her energy to save that town. I don't know why you were sucked through because of it, but I can promise you that Twilight had never planned on that helicopter coming through."

She gave him a determined look. "So, I ask you again, Do. You. Blame. Her?"

Jason stopped in his tracks. His thoughts came rushing back, but this time there was one point of focus within his convoluted mind. His thoughts began organizing themselves into some semblance of normality as he searched for the answer. His thoughts once again archiving themselves into usable pools of data, from which he would be able to pull useful facts to try and find the answer.

He thought back on everything Twilight had taught him. All the time they had spent together. Jason had not noticed his behaviour, but looking back upon his refreshed memories, he realized that he had spent almost every available second with the lavender mare. He could describe every feature of her beautiful face. He could name all of her favorite authors. He knew her favorite restaurants. He had helped her to the best of his abilities whenever she was working on a new spell. He could remember how she liked her tea. The thrilling sound of her laughter. The swelling in his heart when they kissed. He knew her. He knew her better than anybody else... And he loved her more than anybody on either of their worlds

However, If there was one thing that Twilight, even with all of her power and knowledge, was incapable of...

It would be murder...

"Jason?"

Jason blinked rapidly as he began to take in his surroundings. He had been only half-conscious ever since he first saw those sparks coming from his lover's horn. His body simply going through routines, repeating habits that had been embedded within his mind. Now, he was awake.

He looked at the cyan pegasus who had come to stand in front of him. "No...I...I don't...Thank you Rainbow Dash."

Worry and sadness were still visible upon her face, but she still lifted an eyebrow in curiosity. "Thanks? For what?"

Jason gave her a sad smile. "For waking me up." He surprised her by dropping to one knee and throwing his arms around her neck. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still be running...running from myself...Running from Twilight." He could feel the tears rolling down his cheeks. He released her and held her at arms length, looking into her eyes. "I hurt her Rainbow... I hurt her bad." He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "But I will do anything I can to fix this. I will make this right." He opened his eyes. Rainbow's face had changed completely. She no longer wore the mask of sorrow and worry. Now, her face shone with hope.

"You know Jason, I might just have to watch my back, otherwise you might steal my Element from right under my nose." She grinned slightly.

Jason knew about the Elements of Harmony. Twilight had spent many a night regaling him with tales of their various adventures, which, of course, included how they met and the magic they had unlocked to defeat Nightmare Moon.

Jason scoffed at the statement. "Trust me, Rainbow, you have nothing to worry about from me. You just spent who knows how long to try and find a depressed alien. Not only that, but you then had to speak with said depressed alien and attempt to bring him back to the bright side. All of this to help a friend in need. No, miss Element of Loyalty," He smiled at her. "You have nothing to fear from me."

Jason followed Rainbow Dash back to the library he and Twilight called home.

Evidently, after Twi had had her breakdown, the five of them escorted their friend back home. They had then sent Rainbow Dash, the fastest mover, to locate and retrieve Jason in order to ease their friend's grieving mind.

As they entered the building, Jason immediately felt four sets of eyes lock onto him. He quickly took in the scene before him.

Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack and Pinkie Pie all wore matching expressions of pure worry. The four sat in front of a somewhat large magical bubble. It looked as though Twilight had put herself within solitary confinement, isolating herself from her closest friends. They moved aside as Jason walked to the dome in the middle of the carpet. The five mares were silent as Jason looked into the field. He exhaled slowly before standing to his full height and turning his attention to the five mares gathered in the room. They all stared at him with worried interest.

"Ladies, I hate to ask this of you, but please move to another room. There is a lot me and Twi need to talk about. I promise you, if Twilight is comfortable with it, we will both tell you what happened here tonight. Rainbow already knows, but she has promised to keep it secret until Twilight decides she is ready. But please, for now, give me a chance to make this right"

They looked at him curiously, but none of them pressed. Whatever the secret was, it had driven one of their friends to completely isolate herself from them, which meant, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they should tread lightly. They got to their hooves and began making their way to one of the side study rooms across from Jason's bedroom. Before she followed the rest of her friends into the room, Applejack turned back to Jason one last time.

"I hope you know what yer doin' there, Cpl Sinder. Twilight's our friend too."

Jason looked back at her, a serious expression on his face. "I know AJ...Trust me, I know."

She nodded before slipping through the door, letting it click behind her.

He turned around and faced the magical field surrounding his lover. He sat down next to it and placed a hand on the magical force field.

"Twilight, I hope you can hear me through this. I have things I need to say... Things you need to hear, but first...I'm sorry...I'm sorry for all of this...I didn't know what to do." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts before continuing. "The revelation disabled me... I couldn't think straight. My mind had literally shut down as it tried to process everything. It wasn't until Rainbow talked to me that I was able to come to a conclusion... Twilight, It's not your fault... You are litteraly the living manifestation of the Elements of Harmony. Magic may be your element, but the others wouldn't have been revealed without your direct influence on their lives. Kindness... Honesty... Loyalty... Laughter and generosity are all strong traits of yours. You once told me that I made you a better pony... That couldn't be further from the truth." He paused and took a deep breath. "Twi you didn't know me before I came to Equestria. The me you saw out in that field today is the closest I've been to the monster that used to live on Earth. Twilight you rescued me from that past. Ever since our first meeting in that hospital room, I've been healing. Not physically, but mentally and morally. Me coming to Equestria is the best thing that could have happened to me. It was more than anything I've ever deserved. Thanks to you Twi, I know how to live again. How to live and how to love..." Jason trailed off as a new thought came to mind. "But...But that's not what all of this is about, is it? You're sorry for the other Marines." His voice grew softer. "You think you murdered them."

The force field disappeared with a pop. The hand Jason had laid on the shield now pressed against the bottom of Twilights hoof. She looked at him with the saddest expression he could have ever imagined. Her eyes were bloodshot, having long ago run out of tears to shed.

Her words came in a trembling whisper. "Yes... I did Jason...I just reached out with my magic and snatched their lives away."

His response was calm, yet assertive. "No, Twilight, you did not. I've seen killers... I've worked with killers...I've been a killer. Twi, Rainbow told me what you were doing the night of the accident. She told me about the wild electrical storm that spawned deep within the Everfree Forest, and how it threatened this entire town. The pegasi weren't able to get close to it, the lightning bolts were powerful enough to seriously hurt or even kill members of the weather team. She told me about the long nights you spent researching and combining different spells trying to figure out how to take care of it. How were you supposed to know that teleportation spell made things swap places? You were just trying to get the storm gone, and you did. It was a twist of fate that we just happened to be on the other side. A tragedy bred from good intentions. How many lives did you save by getting rid of that storm? Rainbow said that it had the capacity to completely destroy Ponyville. That's thousands of ponies you saved! Do you remember what I told you the day I described my profession? I said I would gladly give my life if it meant innocent people could live even one more day. Every Marine I know shares this feeling. We fight so the innocent don't have to. We die... so the innocent don't have to. What you did gave those Marines a chance to die for what they believed in. They may not have known it, but that's the truth. Do not take those sacrifices from them by saying you just murdered them. You're a hero Twilight." She took a few steps forward and they closed in a tight embrace. "And don't let anyone tell you different."

The seven of them stood together in front of the makeshift graves Jason had created. The six mares all wore funeral black and bore somber expressions. A pastor had been hired to say a few words. Nothing religious, given the vast differences in beliefs of the deceased, only words to remember the fallen. Jason stood at parade rest in his newly made Dress Blues, his rifle gripped tightly in his right hand. The white of his cover, belt and gloves shone brightly in the noonday sun

Behind them was a cart, loaded with all kinds of scrap metal, pieces of cloth and loose plastic.

The pastor finished his sermon and took a few steps back, his head lowered. Twilight took a somber look at Jason. He caught her gaze and gave her a slow nod. She lowered her head and turned around, walking toward the cart. Using her levitation, she hovered the various items over to the already existing graves. She carefully disassembled what Jason had set up, setting aside all of the marked dog tags.

Twilight closed her eyes in concentration.

They all watched in silence as the various pieces of junk transformed. Twilight had taken a lot of time examining the proper setup of the graves, all the way down to the angle of the boots, planted at a forty five degree angle near the muzzle of the weapon, lined up with the pistol grip. Twilight continued transmuting more and more items into the rifles, helmets, boots, bayonets and dog tags each grave required. Each time she completed a set, she would assemble it on the even ground with magical precision.

Twilight had insisted on doing this. It would be her way of honoring their sacrifice, giving them a proper burial. One that would represent all of them, not just a few.

She completed the twenty-seventh grave after carefully setting the kevlar helmet atop the rifle stock. After which she slowly returned to her friends.

Jason brought himself to attention. He went through the mechanical motions of drill as he brought the weapon into the ceremonial firing position. He quickly pulled the charging handle to the rear and released it, chambering one of the specially made blank rounds. He snapped the stock of the weapon into his armpit, simultaneously turning his head to look down the barrel. He pulled the trigger, a soft report and a jet of smoke emerging from the barrel. No sooner than he saw the smoke did he return to his starting position, the weapon bisecting his torso diagonally.

He repeated this process twenty more times, to ensure the Marines received the traditional twenty-one gun salute at their funeral.

Once he was finished, he marched himself over to the wagon. Leaving his rifle resting on the cart, he reached into one of the side containers that sat over the wheel well, pulling out a rectangular package wrapped in brown paper. He removed the wrapping to reveal a finely crafted plaque. It was slightly raised with intricate patterns adorning the sides. Fine block lettering made up the inscription. Jason carried the plaque to Twilight, and together they walked to the front of the formation of monuments. The graves were set up in a perfect rectangle, three ranks of nine each. The two of them centered themselves before the fifth grave in the first rank.

Together, they lowered the plaque to the ground, ensuring it was straight and aligned with the formation. Before they returned to their friends, they both read the inscription to themselves.

They looked at each other and nodded, turning and walking toward their friends. A group of ponies had begun gathering around the ceremony, drawn by the strange sound of the human's weapon. They watched in respectful silence as the last step of the ceremony concluded.

The pastor and their five friends slowly began moving off, along with most of the crowd. A few onlookers remained behind, curious what the plaque said. They waited respectfully until Twilight and Jason remained.

"Are you sure about this Twi?" Jason asked quietly. "You just used a lot of energy transmuting those graves."

Twilight sighed gently. She looked with pride over the neat, precise and humble monuments she had created. Each one immaculately clean. "Yes, but I want to make sure they stay that way. I can cast a short term spell today, and in a day or two we can come back and cast a long term one."

"How long is 'long term'?"

"I was planning on trying to make it last a year. To set it on the anniversary of your arrival, and the anniversary of their deaths."

Jason laid his hand on the back of Twi's neck. "That would be good, Twilight."

Her horn began to glow and the whole area became encased within a magical field. The field lasted a few minutes before finally fading away. As far as Jason could understand, The spell would essentially seal the area in time. Ponies would be free to walk through the area and view the memorial, however everything would remain in the exact state as it was now. Meaning the colors wouldn't fade, weapons won't rust. They would be completely immovable, secured in place by time itself. It was extremely powerful magic, that much Jason could understand.

Twilight nearly collapsed when she had finished her task, completely fatigued by the effort. Jason had been ready and gently supported her.

"Come on, Twi." Jason said softly. "It's time to go home."

They walked together back towards the library they shared, Twilight leaning against her stallion, as much for comfort as for support.

As they left, the ponies who had been standing around began moving toward the new memorial, curious about the strange tombstones and small plaque.

Author's Notes:

Special thanks to Valhuir for the idea of the memorial preservation. Cheers, brother.