It’s days like today that make me glad to be a pegasi.

Flitter soared high above Ponyville on a winter thermal; the chilly wind nipped at her wing tips, but the heat spreading through her muscles kept her comfortably warm. Below her were the winter weather crews; they seemed to be busy building up some kind of weather front that would bury the area in fresh snow. Flitter sucked in a breath of frozen air, and reveled in the feeling of what felt like a completely new body.

Hoorah for crazy pegasus metabolisms and fast muscle gain! Flitter giggled to herself as she hunched her back and swooped down towards her home. The front door was unlocked, as it always was. Stepping beyond the threshold, Flitter found herself in a seemingly empty house.

“Cloudy? You home?” Please don’t be home.

Nopony answered Flitters call, and her smile returned once again. “Shower time!” Flitter pranced up the stairs to keep her blood pumping. She flung open the door to her room, only to come to a jerky stop.

Somepony’s been going through my shit….

A quiet growl of annoyance passed her lips, until her eyes fell on the spread out drawings of Jack. They were all spaced out, placed down on the bed as if each one had been studied intensively. And the pony who had done it hadn’t bothered to put them away or hide what they’d done.

They wanted Flitter to know what they’d done.

“Fuck.” Flitter cursed quietly as she trotted over, and looked over the detailed drawings of hi-tech equipment that looked more at home in a science-fiction comic book. Jack’s laser rifle, his massive powered armour, his bulky sidearm, and some of his more technical gear. On top of that, there were several other drawings of Jack himself, wearing the armour, hefting the rifle; moving, striking, killing, laughing. A shudder passed down Flitters spine.

I shouldn’t have drawn any of these.

Her eyes fell on one of her latest drawing; one of Jack's face. He had a massive grin on his face; Flitter had just told him a joke that he’d enjoyed, and his cheeks had creased upwards, pushing his eyes into happy green slits. His teeth were bared, and his canines were prominently featured. Flitters thoughts on the sharp pointed teeth were that they had originally looked like the fangs of a vampony, but she’d come to see them as more wolfish; causing his features to appear more animalistic when he bared them for any reason. A real Canis Lupus, as he’d coined it when she’d asked.

Flitter rubbed her muzzle and thumped a hoof against the side of her head as her ears flattened against her skull. “Stupid Flitter, stupidstupidstupid! Shit!” She started piling the drawings back into their little strongbox. “I’ll just… keep them at Jacks. Move all my art stuff there after work.” She let out a calming breath; steadying herself as she’d been taught to. “We’ll be okay.” Flitter spoke softly, and nodded her head in consensus. The niggling edge of fear remained in the back of her mind. I hope we’ll be okay… I’m gonna have a… talk, with Cloudy… Yeah. A talk. Rubbing her muzzle lightly; her eyes went to the strong box, and her mind went to its contents. Shaking her head lightly, Flitter crammed the box and almost all of her art supplies into a pair of saddle bags. “Okay… shower time.” Setting the saddlebags down by her door, Flitter trotted off towards the shared bathroom.

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The sides of the massive cleaning machine steamed away as Flitter allowed it to cool. Wiping a damp hoof across her sweaty forehead, she watched as the kitchen staff hurried to finish up for the night. A light smile crossed her sweat streaked features as she started to hum the lyrics of a song she’d heard on Jack’s PDA. As the minutes ticked by, and the massive machine cooled; Flitter started pulling the contraption apart for proper cleaning. Most of the kitchen staff had already cleared out, but a couple cooks were still cleaning. The last waitress, Jewel, was out in the guest area cleaning up the tables.

As Flitter sprayed down the inside of the machine, she heard the telltale clink-clatter of dirty dishes being left at her station. Turning to stare at the large stack of dirty plates and bowls, she watched as Jewel tried to slip away undetected.

“Hey! Jewel!” Flitter called out, stopping the other mare in her tracks.

Blowing some of her pink mane from her eyes, Jewel stared at Flitter flatly. “What? I’m kinda busy Flits.” She shifted idly, and kept her features nearly vacant and obviously annoyed.

Furrowing her brow in displeasure, Flitter pointed at the large stack of filthy dishes. “What, are these?” She made sure to keep her voice level and calm. Seeing the pearl white unicorn blink in confusion nearly brought a smile to her lips.

“They’re… dishes.” Jewel answered slowly as she stared at Flitter.

Flitter leaned forward on the ledge to stare at Jewel. “Dishes? Are you sure Jewel? Because I’m pretty sure that you said that you’d brought me all of the dishes ten minutes ago. You know, when we closed.” Flitter started glaring at Jewel. Let’s see if I can pull off an Angry-Jack face.

The unicorn mare shifted uncomfortably as she wilted under the glare. “W-well… I missed some, that’s all-”

“Oh, I see.” Flitter cocked her head to the side and stared at Jewel incredulously. “So you just happened to miss three racks worth of plates and dishes? Like how you forget to mop your floors every night?” Flitter could feel her hackles rising in anger, and she fought to keep them at a manageable level. A smug feeling of satisfaction flooded her system as Jewel wilted further; her perky ears folding against her head.

Jewel pawed weakly at the floor and bowed her head on instinct. “S-sorry… I-I’ll um… I won’t miss them next time.” At that, the unicorn started backing out toward the lounge area, where she could easily escape without finishing her tasks.

Knowing Jewels tactics firsthand, Flitter narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in disappointment. “Jewel, since you’re forcing me to put the machine back together again, you’re going to help me finish these dishes.” Flitter pulled one of the heavy cast iron covers from the industrial sink and let it slam down into its place in the machine. Jewel flinched at the sound, and from fear as she watched the slim pegasus manhandle heavy hunks of metal.

“B-but, I have stuff to do Flitter, you can’t keep me here.” Jewel swallowed, and straightened up to try and match Flitters newfound courage.

Big mistake Jewel. Flitter set her jaw and stared hotly at Jewel. “Oh, I see! You’ve got stuff to do! My mistake, let me just do your job for you, and let you get to it then!” Some of the remaining cooks turned their attention to the dish pit as Jewel sputtered and balked. Flitter didn’t stop her frustrated tirade. “Did it ever even occur to you that I might have shit that I wanna do? Huh?” She fumed angrily at the waitress. “Because every fucking day, I have to clean up after you, stay late and finish your job. So why don’t you trot your skinny ass in here and help me out for once?” Flitter fought to force her anger back down, and succeeded. In return, Jewel’s mouth worked like a fish without water as she stared at Flitter. After a moment of sputtering, the waitress hanged her head and trotted into the steaming dish pit, where she immediately started to sweat inside her stuffy uniform. Smirking to herself, Flitter adjusted her dirty bandana and finished setting up the machine. The first blast of steam struck Jewel in the muzzle, causing her to squeak and backpedal. Spraying down the first rack of dishes; Flitter crammed it into the machine and smiled to herself as the griffon cook, Kaiser, shot her a pair of impressed claw thumbs up. Not too shabby Flitty. Flitter smiled happily, and carried onwards, much to Jewel’s chagrin.

_________________________________________________________________

The reinforced rear door of Founders swung easily on its hinges as Flitter trotted out into the frigid night air. A surprised shiver rolled through her body; from ears to hooves it shook her unclothed body. “Holy crap is it ever cold…” Flitter flapped her wings to work up her blood before she could take off. I hope they weren’t planning on that snow-storm being tonight! Flitter shivered again, and silently cursed herself for bringing nothing in the way of clothes save for her bandana for work. Well, standing here won’t get me any closer to a fire and it gives Gaze more of a chance to fuck me over, so let’s go! Without further pause or extra needling from her own thoughts, Flitter pumped her wings and took off like a rocket into the frozen skies.

Nearing the edge of Jack’s FoB, Flitter was forced to land early as ice started to build up on her fur and wings. “Crapcrapshit!” Flitter landed roughly just at the edge of the woods, and took a moment to shake herself free of ice. A coarse shiver ran down her spine, forcing her into a run to stay warm. As Flitter weaved through the trail, her saddle-bags bounced and struck against her flanks and odd branches. To confirm her ever worsening fears of the weather, it began to snow heavily; the thick white snow carpeted the ground in no time, and stuck to nearly everything. Flitter sighed in relief as the rockwall came into view despite the heavy snowfall. Trotting alongside it, Flitter stopped just before a small clearing to catch her breath. Moving to the left, Flitter passed through the seemingly solid rock wall and into Jack’s home.

Jack was sitting up on his cot and rubbing his bristly cheek as he thought. That was… weird… Really, really, /REALLY/ weird… He made a slightly amused face as he flicked his hand as a sign of giving up. That Luna Princess lady is pretty smokin’ though... He grinned lecherously. She can invade my dreams any time. Oh baby! Jack’s thoughts were put on hold just as Flitter pressed past his doorway. He smiled at her, but his wave of greeting stopped halfway. The mare shivered heavily, sending clumps of thick snow to the stone floor. Jack groaned in understanding. “I take it winter is coming.”

Shaking her head as she plopped down by the fire; Flitter stuck her hooves and wings out to thaw them. “N-nope! Winter i-is here!” She shivered again, causing Jack to raised his brow in worry as he swung his metal boots over the side of his cot.

“Don’t you have winter gear? You look like a pony-sicle.” He chuckled at his own joke as Flitter rolled her eyes.

“Nothing for this kind of weather, I nearly froze my tail off flying here… I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it back tonight.” She bit her lip in worry, momentarily forgetting her saddle bags. Jack furrowed his brow further, before tapping out a message as he started digging around in his bedding.

“Why? Is it that bad?”

Flitter shook her head, even though he wasn’t looking at her. “Pegasi are taught from an early age to seek cover if they’re ever caught in a snowstorm. Our wings are super sensitive, and can freeze up really badly.” She cocked her head in curiosity as Jack cackled in victory as he pulled out what Flitter recognized as his pillow. He stood, and treaded over to her; the pillow unfolding to reveal some kind of hooded clothing. Jack grabbed her forehooves, and motioned for her to hold them up. Flitter’s features screwed up in confusion, but she did as she was ordered. A meep of surprise escaped her as Jack pulled the hoodie down over her hooves and head. Within a moment she found herself engulfed in a comfortable cotton hoodie; the hood sat skewed on her head. Jack took a step back to admire his handiwork.

“Looks like I’ll have to cut some holes in it for your wings. It’s not much, but with your fur it should be more than warm enough.” Jack smiled at the surprised mare, before stretching out languidly.

Pushing the olive drab hood away from her eyes, Flitter looked over herself with curiosity. “ACMC? What does that stand for?” She asked quietly as she snuggled herself with the toasty hoodie. The smell of old sweat, Old Spice, alcohol and cordite hung off its every fiber, creating a faint musk that screamed ‘Jack’. A faint blush worked its way onto her chilly cheeks, and Flitter was suddenly glad her wings were trapped within the wonderful cotton prison.

“Arm-Can Marine Corp.” Jack plopped down beside her, and started stoking the fire with a long pointy stick.

Flitter blinked in surprise, and regarded the hoodie with a bit more awe. I… I am soooo keeping this… “No take backs…” Flitter mumbled as she reveled at the broken-in softness. Jack chuckled at her antics and shrugged noncommittally, causing Flitter to giggle in response. “So, what’s the plan for today then? I don’t think running is a good idea with all this snow… and-” She went silent as Jack pressed a single forefinger against her muzzle; her eyes crossed to stare at it.

“Today you’ll be learning out the Marines second best friend, your universal problem solver.” He pulled the monomolecular-edged Ka-bar and offered it to her gingerly, handle first.

Taking the blade carefully in her hooves, Flitter took a moment to look it over. “It’s… it’s your knife…?” Flitter looked back over to Jack, before turning back to regard the weapon again. The edge of the blade was ridiculously fine. I think the guard would kill to make swords this sharp… except all those idiots would probably die from cutting themselves on real weapons.

“Be really fucking careful with that, monomolecular blades are not for shaving. Seriously, don’t even try.” Looking over, Flitter found that Jack was being incredibly serious. The mental image made Flitter shudder involuntarily and shake her head to dispel the thoughts.

“So you’re gonna teach me how to use this?” Flitter asked as she set the utility knife down on a flat rock. At Jack’s nod, she looked to his hands, then to her hooves. A small pout appeared on her features, causing Jack to chuckle lightly.

“I’ll do my best, it’ll be like fist fighting. We aren’t the same, but I think we can work around it. Just need to work on your bipedal stance.” He grinned as he prodded her in the side, only to receive a flat-hoofed prod back.

“I am working on it! And I don’t see how it’ll help with me not having hands.” Flitter crossed her cotton covered hooves and fluttered her wings within the hoodie. A quiet sigh passed through her lips. “Sorry Jack, I had a rough day at work. Let’s just get started.” She pushed out and small, honest smile, and found it readily accepted.

“Alright, so try holding it like so.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Flitter jabbed at the target log with the knife, leaving a sizable rent in its bark. The blade passed through the wood like butter; and with the long stick Jack had duct-taped it to allowed Flitter to stand and use it as a kind of ad-hoc spear. Every so often she would wobble on her hind hooves; the unnatural stance threatening to topple her over. Every time she would reach the edge of controllability, Jack would grab her sides and right her. He would circle her, giving encouragement and gentle readjustments to her technique. Flitter was idly aware that he was always seemingly holding his left arm when he wasn’t holding her steady or showing her how to sever a man’s jugular, or telling her how taking out tendons and arteries could end any fight fast. At some point they’d cut two holes in the hoodie, allowing her to wear it and use her wings to help with balance at the same time.

One final stab with her rifle-esque spear saw the small log fall to pieces and crash down onto the stone floor. Flitter giggled happily and clopped her hooves together in victory as she cradled the spear. “That was awesome! I’m way better at this than hitting stuff with my hooves. Hey Jack?” A pained grunt greeted her, causing Flitter to furrow her brow and turn towards the source. “Jack?”

Jack clutched his side and pressed against the cave wall; his features a mask of twisted agony. Flitters eyes shot open in surprise, and the spear clattered to the ground as she dropped to all fours and galloped to his side. Supporting him as best she could, Flitter was forced to hold onto him as he slid to the floor. Worry and fear practically burst into her mind as Jack shook spasmodically and grit his teeth tightly. “Jack!? Please, please tell me what’s wrong!” Flitter felt a shiver work up her spine as she watched his eyes water up from the sheer pain. A horribly pained whimper escaped through his clenched teeth; his right hand gripped at her tightly as it seeked for support. His left simply clenched down until the bones and artificial tendons pressed through his taut, clammy skin.

Knowing any kind of answer was far beyond him, Flitter did what she could. Pulling the shaking marine against her chest; she held him close and tightly as she stroked his matted hair. A quiet, forced hum came from her lips; a song barely remembered that her father had sung to her before he’d deployed for the last time. A pained moan passed through his gritted teeth as he clutched at her for support. Flitter was forced to close her eyes, so she wouldn’t have to look at his skin pulling tight, making the plugs in his flesh seem like great gaping metal sores. Eventually the sounds of agony and retching pain slowed, and Jack eventually regained control of his body. He remained pressed against Flitter; his breath coming in laboured and slow. Flitter continued to hold him down and do her best to calm him; she wiped her own tears of worry away with the sweat matted sleeve of the marine corp hoodie.

“Thank you.”

Flitter rubbed her eyes again, and knew that the PDA had a much steadier voice than either of them would have had at that moment. Hugging Jack gently, she nuzzled his neck in support. “O-of course… What.. what happened? I.. I didn’t hurt you did I?” She fought back the edge of panic in her voice as he lay against her. The relief was small but noticable when he shook his head and plucked weakly at the screen of the PDA.

“No. Need morphine. Peak of withdrawal. Shouldn’t be much worse.”

Swallowing heavily, Flitter readjusted so Jack could be more comfortable. “Morphine? Was that.. some of your medicine?” She shifted nervously, but didn’t dare stop holding him. Again, Jack shook his head.

“No. Not anymore. I’m addicted to it, and not having any hurts a lot. I should be getting better soon though.” With great effort, Jack forced himself into the sitting position, allowing Flitter to scoot out from behind him with reluctance. He smiled tiredly at her, before pulling her into a long hug. “Sorry about that. I can’t really teach when my body is trying to turn inside out.”

Flitter furrowed her brow a little as she shook her head. “You’ve been like this for weeks, haven’t you… why didn’t you tell me?” She paused for a moment as she thought. “What else aren’t you telling me?”

The wince from Jack told her enough, but thankfully he relented. “I don’t like talking about it. I’ve never had it this bad either.” He scratched the back of his neck slowly. “I haven’t eaten properly in six days. I keep puking my guts out and I can’t run for more than a minute without my exo. I have recurring nightmares, and I hallucinate occasionally” The details made Flitter cringe and inwardly berate herself. “That all sounds really fucking bad when I say it out loud.” He pursed his lips and looks slightly off-put.

And this has been going on for days? Weeks? How didn’t I see this?

Am I a bad friend?

The question froze her in place; the idea swirling around her brain like a poison. The thought was banished when Jack pulled her over and held her again, his head resting on hers. “I’m sorry Jack… I don’t know what I can do, but I will help you.” She managed a smile as his fingers slowly ran through her mane as he hugged her. “We’re in this together.” The light nod and weakly pained chuckle from Jack was all she needed in return.

The pair stayed like that for a couple of minutes; the fire crackling away cheerily before them. Jack’s PDA broke the silence.

“What’s in the bags?”

Flitter blinked in confusion, before realizing what Jack meant. She smiled happily, and opened her bag to reveal her strongbox. Jack cocked his head in a curious fashion, before arching a brow at her. Flitter grinned happily, and popped open the lock. “It’s my art. I uh… I’m going to keep this stuff here, if that’s alright with you. Cloudy keeps breaking into my box, and um…” She trailed off as Jack lifted up a stack of artwork. He whistled and nodded as he leafed through. He occasionally lifted a brow at certain pieces, but didn’t question it. After a minute, he spoke.

“These are amazing, how’d you get so much detail into them? I don’t remember seeing you work on any of these.” He carefully set down the artwork and turned his attention to Flitter.

Blushing in embarrassment, Flitter nervously pulled on a bit of her long mane. “W-well… I have kind of… have photographic memory… slightly…” She stroked her mane, and avoided his eyes.

“That. Is fucking bad ass.” Jack grinned happily, as if he hadn’t been keening in her hooves minutes ago. He started leafing through the artwork again; he reminded Flitter of an amazed foal. Kind of like how I was when Daddy showed me his medals… Jacks PDA spoke again, breaking her away from the thought. “That would explain how you’re able to learn so fast. The DI’s would have loved you. Well, probably not, but maybe.” He wobbled a little, and rubbed his eyes with his fingers.

Frowning in worry, Flitter crossed over to where Jack was seated before his cot. “Jack, you should rest… I don’t need to learn anything else today, I just want you to rest and get better.” Flitter smiled weakly as Jack pouted in defeat. She pulled back in surprise as he suddenly grinned like a maniac. Jack sprang to his feet; albeit a bit wobbly. He pulled his helmet from his stoic armour, and fell back onto his cot. He gestured for Flitter to join him there and take a seat beside him.

“You can learn theory. Watch modern battles. See real time tactics. Since you’ve got photographic memory, you’ll be able to get more out of it too.” Something told Flitter that the PDA did no justice to the excitement Jack felt as he cradled the massive helmet in his still shaking hands.

That… that sounds awesome. Flitter smiled brightly, and nodded. “I’d love to! And I can see more of your planet too.” She prodded him, and instantly regretted it as he winced with obvious strain. “Sorry… And um.. You can rest too.” She smiled at him as she pulled the hoodie closer and fluttered her wings with barely contained excitement.

Jack nodded, before placing the helmet down over her head. Flitter flicked her ears to make them fit properly within the padded confines of the encompassing helmet. For such a big helmet, it sure is tight!

“One warning though. You’re going to see some pretty messed up shit. Don’t feel bad if you need to take the brain bucket off once in awhile. I won’t blame you at all.” The mechanical voice sounded even more tinny when coming from outside the helmet.

Flitter couldn’t help but snort derisively. “Jack, the first time seeing you, I watched you rip the leg off of an infected human and bludgeon another to death with the severed limb. I can handle a little bit of gross.”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Those were the last words that came from Jack’s PDA, the rest came from all around her as the video feed appeared, and consumed her world entirely.

Jack clambered onto his cot and sprawled out onto his canvas cot; a quiet, tired sigh leaving him. He carefully pulled the hoodied pony down to lay next to him. She squirmed a bit, before accepting it once she understood what he was doing.

Last thing I need is you flipping out and running into the fire.

He pulled her close, and used her as a replacement for his lost pillow. I’m gonna miss that hoodie. A small smile spread across his lips as he relaxed. She earned it. Wear it with pride Flitter, that’s the closest thing to a uniform I can offer you. You can forget about getting your class A’s. The thought caught him with a start, and caused him to frown with light depression. Man I wish I’d kept my class A’s… I was natty as FUCK. Dammit, now I’ve made myself sad.

Author's Notes:

I decided to try a different way of showing who's POV is up front. Let me know if you guys like it.