No, NO! Come on, for fucks sake! GRaaaah! God…

God fucking dammit.

Jack ran a calloused hand over his face as he sighed with rapidly deteriorating patience. Spreading his fingers, he glared lightly at the other humans as they chirped and stared back at him curiously. Between Jack and them, was a ramshackle firepit. Or at least, what was supposed to be one. He growled quietly as they continued trying to dump rocks into the fire pit. Took me twenty fucking minutes to get the idea of gathering rocks and sticks into their goddamn heads and now they won’t stop! Fuck my life, it’s like I’m herding cats! Jack clenched his fists, and breathed out slowly. Find my happy place… find my happy place… Think for all the nice places I’ve been... He sighed quietly and shook his head, before reaching out and grabbing the small girls hands and gently making her set the tiny pebbles down. He forced a smile, and patted her mud-matted dull red hair. The girl cooed and nuzzled his hand, while the other humans seemed to stop finally to watch him with intense interest.

Kneeling down next to the fire pit, Jack stacked the assortment of sticks in an attempt to make something workable, before shuffling the random rocks aside. He started patting himself down, in search of his little zippo. After a moment he left out a content chuckle as he stuck the zippo under the kindling and flicked it.

Only to have nothing happen.

Jack blinked, and shook the zippo next to his ear. What? Why are you- Wait… I already knew this damn thing was fucking- He grit his teeth and reeled back; his throw sending the little lighter careening off into the snow frosted trees with a clatter. One of the humans scampered off to retrieve it as the others all just continued to stare at him. Muttering darkly within his head, Jack stood, and shouldered his rifle.

PAAK-PAAK-PAAK

________________________________________________________________

Flitter stopped in front of the solid rock wall and turned to Field Note. “Okay Mister Note, just… wait here. I’m going to go and talk to Jack.” She turned as the stallion began to speak, and seemingly disappeared through the rock wall. Field Note sputtered, before letting his jaw fall in shock.

“That… that is a very, very well crafted illusion spell… my word.” He edged forward, and prodded it with the edge of his hoof. The tarp gave ever so slightly to his hoof, but didn’t move far from its frame. “Illusion magic worked into a… water proof fabric? I’ve never even felt something like this before… Amazing.” He pulled out his little notepad, and started taking notes on the tarp before him. He could barely hear Flitter through the thick optical camouflage tarpaulin.

“Hello? Jack?”

The mare looked around the cave, worry creasing her features as she eyed the dying fire and his bed. His armour stood as a silent sentinel over the cave; his pack full of explosives still remained as well. Flitter racked her memory, and sucked in a breath. Rifle and exo. He’s gone out, but where? Shaking her head slowly, Flitter ran a hoof over her cheek and sighed. I hope he’s okay… Her eyes flicked up to the cave entrance, where Field Note’s shadow could be seen through the tarp. Was it a bad idea to bring him here? I think it was… Dang it all… Sighing softly, Flitter trotted back out of the cave and into the fresh powder. Field Note was standing at the door, taking notes on the tarp. “Jack’s not here.”

Seemingly shaken out of his trance-like state by her words; the stallion blinked owlishly at Flitter. “What?” The express look of colt-ish wonder remained on his features as he stared at her, curbing her initial, aggressive response.

“I said-”

PAAK-PAAK-PAAK

The echoing reports of Jack’s rifle echoed through the snow covered forest; Flitter froze in place, a look of horror and deep concern flicked across her normally soft features. Her ears pivoted towards the direction the shots had come from; Field Note flinched and looked around frantically. “Wh-what was that?” The wiry stallion had all but taken cover behind Flitter.

“That was trouble… Come on, try to keep up.” Without further warning, Flitter set off through the forest at a fast canter; her mind raced with every terrible situation that could have arisen. All the trouble that Jack could get into could bring down a lot of attention to the forest, and that was the last thing either of them needed.

“W-wait! Miss Flitter! Please!” Field Note panted behind her as he was forced to keep pace. “W-we… there’s…” He huffed and panted as Flitter stared back at him. “There’s a tribe of nomadic humans, a-and we can’t interfere with their way of life. They are the most amazing group of-” The scientist found himself silenced by a hoof being crammed into his muzzle.

“Be quiet-” She hissed at him sharply, before pulling her hoof away; without a second thought, she went prone on the snow and crawled forward. “I see a fire…” A tingling sensation passed over Flitters body; she watched with a mix of horror and incredible curiosity as her body turned transparent. Field Note laid down in the snow next to her and shot her a nervous smile. “Stealth is of the essence Miss Flitter…” Without a further word, the pair edged forward towards the outskirt of the tiny clearing. A flurry of chirping and hooting could be heard, and within seconds they both saw why.

A great bonfire blazed before the small tribe; hunks of manticore meat dripped over it as they cooked. The tribe danced in celebration, and their deliverer of fire stood there awkwardly; his mouth curled upwards into a grin. A quiet chuckle built up inside him as he looked over his handiwork. I can work with this. Maybe I'll build them a shelter, or help hunt... I can make this work. Jack slung his rifle over his shoulder and rested his hands on his hips. Catching the gaze of the woman with the matted black dreadlocks, he thought he saw the faintest hint of a smile on her dirty features.

"miss flitter, look." Field note gestured towards the scene unfolding before them as he whispered. "akasha has taken a liking to your jack."

With her features scrunching imperceptibly, Flitter stared hard at the human woman. "why?" An uncomfortable stirring in her chest forced a grimace upon her features as the cold of the fresh snow crept through her fur.

"she's the eldest female, and thus the most eligible mate for the alpha. i see algeron lurking, looks as if your jack did a number on him…” The researcher moved a bit, and began rapidly jotting down notes.

With her cheeks flushing hotly, Flitter turned her eyes away from the scene to glare at Field. “he’s- he’s not mine, okay?” When the stallion didn’t respond; his eyes locked onto the humans, Flitter jabbed him in the kidney with the edge of her hoof. Gasping sharply and dropping his quill; Field looked at Flitter with a confused and hurt expression. Before either could speak, all sound fled from the clearing,; only to be replaced by the zip-hiss of a laser rifle being charged to maximum. The pair slowly turned in tandem; finding themselves now staring up at Jack and his shouldered rifle. He stared hard down at them, or rather, above them. Edging forward cautiously, his eyes covered the trees and the ground. He slowly let out a quiet hum of displeasure, and took another step forward.

“jack!” Flitter whispered out, and watched as he twitched; his rifle barrel sagging as his eyes darted about again. “we need to talk.” She grimaced as his features turned downwards towards them. He did not look pleased. After a long few seconds he nodded once, and turned back to the tribe.

As Flitter and Field Note extracted themselves from the clearing, Jack slowly edged his way from the tribe, using slow and obvious hand signals for them all to stay put, and to not follow. He groaned in frustration as several followed him at a distance. Deciding to give up, Jack turned his back on the trailing humans and treaded towards his cave with his heart filled with worry. As he neared his cave; his ears pricked to the sound of heated arguing.

“You had no right to interrupt my study! I have never seen such actions in humans before, this is an undocumented phenomenon, and you ruined what could have been my only chance to document it!” The new pony trotted in place as his horn sparked with unbridled anger. “I just- Why!?”

Flicking her eyes up over Fields head, Flitter smiled softly. “Hey Jack.”

Freezing in place, Field Note felt a shiver run down his spine. He hadn't heard the human coming. He didn't dare turn around; the thought of finding Jack right behind him filled him with disturbing unease. A nearly silent tapping made Field’s ear flick; the sound nearly making him turn to see what it was.

“So who the fuck is this guy anyways?”

The voice sounding behind Field was emotionless, lacking inflection and life. His curiosity finally getting the better of him; Field turned slowly and found himself staring down the barrel of the little black shape that had spoken thunder and violently ended the manticores life. The human behind it held an interesting expression; one of idle curiosity, mixed with foul displeasure and a hint of amusement. Finding his voice trapped thoroughly inside his throat, Field Note could only muster a coltish squeak of terror; his eyes crossed as they remained locked onto the unwavering barrel. To his great relief, Flitter filled in for his lost voice.

“Jack, this is Head Researcher Field Note. He researches humans. He um… wanted to speak to you, and I wasn’t sure how-” Flitter paused as Jack held up a hand and lowered the weapon. His fingers danced across a black square; Field Note’s eyes bulged as Jack’s voice sounded out from it.

“Right. A scientist. Great. So, lemme guess; you wanna have an interview with little old me.” Jack stuck his pistol into his pants pocket and planted his hands on his hips as he stared down at Field.

The stallion swallowed thickly as he remained transfixed by Jack’s sharp green eyes. “Y-yes… please. This is… You may possibly be the first of your kind to exhibit such intelligence, I… This may be a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

To Field’s never ending surprise and shock, Jack smiled toothily at him, and held up two fingers. “I got two conditions. One, Do not publish this shit if I’m still trying to hide out here. If you publish it and it bites me, I will find you, and I will do terrible things to your body. Two, Don’t make me look like an asshole. Three, if this blows up I want royalties. Do you understand?”

Nodding as quickly as his neck would allow, Field couldn’t help but grin happily for a few seconds before composing himself. “Yes, Jack. I find those conditions acceptable.” Flitter arched her brows at Jack and shook her head in disbelief.

Before Flitter could say anything edgewise, Jack circled around Field Note, and wrapped his arms around Flitters barrel; hefting her up as one would a squirming puppy. Holding the now squirming mare to his chest, Jack grinned wolfishly at Field and motioned toward the rockwall. Flitter began to protest and squirm frantically. “Jack! P-put me down!” Her lamentations went unheeded as the trio entered Jack’s home.

Upon entering the cave, Jack treaded over to the dying fire at set Flitter down on the large barkless log. Giving the pouting mare a winning smile and a tousle of the mane; Jack turned, and eyed Field Note. "Well, welcome to Casa del Jack. Take a seat and don't touch that."

With his hoof frozen in place over the solar charger array, Field had the common sense to look sheepish and listen. Taking a seat near Flitter, his eyes roamed across the cave and its trove of technological wonders. "I... I have so many questions..." The stallion rubbed his cheek as he practically vibrated with excitement. "Who.. Who are you, and where are you from?" His quill floated just above his parchment, almost as eager as he was.

Jack stared at the floating quill; swaddled with Field Note's magic. His eyes narrowed as they drifted up to the stallions horn; his fingers continued tapping away at the PDA screen despite his split attentions. "My name is Jack Kessle. I am from Planet Earth, or Terra, if you will. Specifically, I'd say Saskatchewan, cause that's where I was raised."

Jack watched as the gears within Field's head churned away, before finally clicking. "You're... You're a... An alien?" The stallions features contorted in a myriad of emotions; each betraying Field Note’s terrible poker face.

As Jack groaned, Flitter jumped to her hooves and gestured wildly at Jack. "See! I'm told you being from another planet made you an alien!" She grinned at Field as she point at Jack. "He even has a raygun!"

Before Field Note could comment, Jack leapt up and scooped Flitter right up off her hooves; the mare let out a surprised squeak as she was pulled into his lap, and placed in a headlock. Field Note's brows shot up into his fringe as Jack started rapidly running his knuckles over her scalp. Flitter squirmed and mewled in pained protest; her ears flattening and her legs kicking out wildly as she was tortured.

The torture did not last long. Within moments Flitter had caved; between cries for mercy and mewls of pain Flitter managed a weak cry of 'it’s not a raygun'. Seemingly pleased with his work, Jack removed his knuckles from her abused scalp and rested his chin on top of her head as he grinned.

Coughing into his hoof, Field flipped to his next page of parchment. "So, if you truly are from another planet, how did you get here, to Equestrian?"

Rolling his eyes slowly, Jack flexed his fingers and started rapidly tapping his PDA. Flitter pouted and whined as she remained against his chest; her ears flattened flush against her sore head. "Operation Ironguard. That's why I'm here. Course, this wasn't my planned destination, and I wasn't supposed to arrive alive. I don't know how I got here; one moment I'm trading blows with Slug heavy infantry, the next I'm ass over tea kettle in the greenest place I've seen since I became legal to drink."

Leaning forward with bated breath, Field Note documented every last word. "Operation Ironguard? Can you tell me about it? What was its purpose?"

"No."

The batstallion blinked, his slitted eyes filled with surprise and a hint of disappointment. "oh... Alright, uhh..." His eyes flicked down to Flitter, who had seemingly relaxed into Jack's broad chest. "How did you two meet?"

When Jack coughed into his balled up fist, Flitter sat up in his lap and smiled. "He saved my life from a pack of infected. That was the first time we met, and he ran away screaming." Flitter's smile only grew when Jack's features jerked in an attempt to keep his cool expression. "The second time we met was a little more rocky." She turned in his arms and glared up at him.

"I said I was sorry."

The small, muscly mare only grew more animated as she jabbed him in the kidney; Jack wheezed quietly and batted at her hooves with his free hand. Watching the pair bat at each other brought a soft smile to Field's lips as he spoke. "So what happened the second time?"

Flitter batted Jack upside his head with one of her wings. "This jerk knocked me out!"

"It was an accident, you spooked me."

"Spooked you, my left cutie mark!"

Shuffling his papers quietly as Jack and Flitter bickered back and forth, Field made sure to take in everything within the cave. The most pertinent piece being Jack's armour. The scarred and pitted surface left little belief that Jack had lived a peaceful life before coming to Equestria. The armour itself was massively intimidating; making the gold plate barding of the Royal Guards look like a foals cardboard suit in comparison. But of course his armour is like a castle unto itself, his smallest weapon can fell a manticore... What of his people's largest weapon? Field suppressed a shudder as the implications flooded his mind; the next question falling onto his tongue on instinct as his mind reeled. "Tell me about your home,this... Terra, as you called it."

Jack seemed to sit up, his focus recentered onto the baticorn. "Home? Well... It's a hard topic for me to properly explain... It's big. Very big. Billions of people all over, living in concrete jungles and orbital hab-blocks. You hardly find open, green places anymore. There's always the national parks, but you're never alone, and the light pollution reaches no matter how far in you go." Jack paused for a moment as his PDA read out his message. Both ponies seemed to focus on him with wondrous imaginings as to what such a place looked like. Flitter knows, but... I've only ever shown her the ruins... Maybe some day I'll get to go back. I'd love to show her home. His next thought hit him like a ton of bricks. If home is still there... He shook himself free of the thought for the time being and carried on once the message had finished. "Now, home for me will always be my parents place. No matter how much trouble I bring with me, they've always got room for me. We, I, lived on a massive dextri-wheat farm about fifty clicks from the nearest town. We had over one hundred acres of this shit, and my Momma knew how to sell it." He paused again, waiting for the message to play. Both the ponies smiled at him, but Flitter's was laced with a knowing pain. Giving her a soft scratch between the ears, Jack finished the last of his bit. "Before you ask, dextri-wheat is a biologically engineered super crop. Packed full of proteins and stuffed to the gills with steroids; one acre of this stuff was worth ten in normal wheat, and a slew of other shit. Kept the world eating at least, you can grow it anywhere; it'll survive floods, drought, disease, you name it."

Jotting rapidly, Field nodded his approval. "Engineered super crops. I think you may put the earth ponies out of business Mr. Kessle. Now, what about your family? I imagine you had a small family; successful breeders here can have up to three children in their lifetimes."

The stallion instantly regretted his choice of words as Jack's features twisted in fury; his green eyes shining with the threat of vicious violence. "Yeah. I'd almost put it out of my head that the humans here are slaves. Fuck toys for horses. Nutted on stumps. Fucking disgusting." Both ponies cringed away as the emotionless voice failed utterly in conveying Jack's rage. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, his fury had all but disappeared beneath a mask of calm. "I've got twelve people in my immediate family. Eight siblings, my folks, and my uncles. I'm the third oldest, with my brother Jacob being the oldest, and my sister Julia being the eldest daughter. Under me's the twins, Carl and Carla, then Mary, Joey, George, and Sofia. My parents run the roost; they made damn sure we all grew up with strong morals and integrity." Jack sat back and sighed softly as he ran his fingers through Flitter's fur in a cathartic stroking motion. "You know, me and Jacob may have always scrapped, but I love that burly bastard. He's the reason I joined the marines. I had to outdo him somehow." Jack smiled to himself as he typed. "Julia was always the level headed one. She was studying to be a doctor you know. Cybernetic Surgeries. I'm damn proud of her, and I hope she got more out of life than I did. Then there's the twins. Fucking drag racers. If I'd known before hand I wouldn't have lent Carl my damn keys. I miss my old Duster Demon; it mighta been a kit car but I built the damn thing. Fucking Carl and Carla, the bastards; rolled it across the fucking east field. Joey, George, and Sofia are all still in school. Or, were, I suppose. Sofia was getting prosthetic ear canals soon if i remember correctly. She was born deaf as a door nail. Then there's my folks. Guy and Sandy Kessle, bane of the farmers market and Principal McMalley. They dug us out of more trouble than I can remember. Dad was like an old west sheriff, but Momma was the mayor. I could go on and on about all of them, haven't even touched on my uncles, but I'm sure you got more questions burning holes in your horny noggin."

Turning in his lap, Flitter nuzzled into his hand. "I'll find you a way home Jack... I promise."

He smiled weakly in return, and patted her side softly. "Like my folks taught me, you make do with what you have. I'll figure it out, and maybe I'll show you around. Maybe take you for a spin in my speeding ticket dispenser."

A perfectly happy smile spread across her features as she returned to her comfy position on his lap. "It's a deal Jack."

Dipping his quill into a summoned pot of ink; Field smiled softly. "It sounds like you have a very lovely family Mr. Kessle. I hope you get to see them again. How old are you?”

Jack glanced at his PDA and did some mental math before typing his response. “I’m turning thirty three in November.” Without warning both ponies lurched forward with wide eyes and yelled in tandem.

“What!?”

Flitter ran both of her hooves through her ruffled mane. “No! Come one!” The mare looked completely distressed, which only served to confused Jack even further.

Having a much more measured response, Field Note set down his pad of paper and stared up at Jack. “I’m sorry, but… that’s not possible.

“Why the fuck not.” Jack snorted and glared at the pair of them.

“Jack…” Flitter started, but found herself unable to continue on. She looked as if she was about to burst into tears.

Picking up where Flitter had left off, Field Note let out a quiet sigh. “The average Equis human lives up to seventeen. Beyond that they are frail, and die swiftly. You look no older than fourteen.”

To the surprise of both ponies, Jack burst out laughing; his rough belly laugh causing the pair before him to pause in worry. “You try an tell that to my Granpa, he died well into his nineties after fighting in three wars. Your ‘Equis’ humans are obviously a weaker subspecies. Terran Humans can now live up to one hundred and fifty if they’ve got the coin.” He grunted softly as Flitter latched around his stomach with her form of a bear hug.

Watching the pair, Field couldn’t help but smile a bit to himself. “Apparently. I'm going to start going into some more professional questions, if that's alright with you?" When Jack nodded his consent, Field flipped to his next page. "Excellent. Now, can you communicate with the human populace?"

A hot snort sounded out from Jack as he rolled his eyes. "If you count rude gestures and basic hand signals. I can't talk normally, and from the sounds of things neither can they. I can put across the most basic concepts, like 'gather sticks', but shit like 'stop gathering sticks' seems a bit beyond them currently."

Shifting with excitement in his seat; Field stared at Jack with a grin. "But that is something, and who knows what they could be capable of with enough time." Settling himself back down, the stallion scribbled away incessantly. "Earlier, I witnessed you two kill a fully grown Manticore. It trapped your leg within its mouth if I remember correctly, and yet I do not see you limping even in the slightest when you should be missing a leg. You also crushed its muzzle with your foot. Simply asked; how?"

To his surprise, both Jack and Flitter smiled at him. Without saying a word, Flitter hopped off Jack's lap and took a seat next to Field. Turning to him, she smirked lightly. "You might want to pay attention professor." Before Field could question why, Jack stood from his spot and pulled off his thick olive drab sweater and rolled up his pant legs. Field nearly dropped his quill in shock. The hydraulics within Jack's prosthetic hissed nearly silently as he rolled his ankle; a quiet whirr could be heard when he squatted. His armoured shin guards and knee caps looked scuffed and abused, but the faded remnants of a woodland camouflage pattern remained steadfast upon them. His foot was a built in, segmented combat boot made of high impact ceramic armour, surgical steel, and vulcanized rubber. His legs moved almost as if they were still flesh and blood, but not quite. Field's eyes moved up to the exo-skeleton Jack wore, the complex jacket-esque rig sat upon his shoulders and spread down his arms, chest and spine. At each joint, there sat a particularly ugly set of scars that lay in perfectly symmetry. The exo connected to his body through nine plugs, two in each arm, two into his spine, one into each of his thighs, and one into the base of his skull. At the end of each arm squatted a complex series of metal plates, and intricate pneumatic and hydraulic systems ran over every surface of the exo.

A giant metal spider has made this man its host. How disturbing. Field Note shook his head before looking up at Jack. "Can you show me what it does?"

All too happy to oblige, Jack squatted down and plucked a round stone from the fire pit. He tossed it up in the air, and as it arced, he engaged the strike plates over his hands. The complex web of plating that had squatted over each of his arms sprang to life, swiftly coating his hands in impact absorbing armour. Catching the falling rock in one hand, Jack slammed his free hand down into his palm like a hammer, and the stone shattered in a cloud of dust and pebbles. Grinning like a smug prick, Jack wiped his palms off on his rolled up pants and disengaged his strike plates. Even Flitter seemed shocked by the display of sheer power. Coming slowly out of his moment of paralysis, Field could only shake his head.

"What... What is... What are you?"

Averting his eyes; a slight frown crossed Jack's features for a moment. "Augmented. First class. My people were in a bad way, and they needed an edge. That edge was this." He gestured to his exo-skeleton. "Codenamed project Longbow, it was meant to give us the razors edge over the Slugs. It was deemed a failure before the war, with a massive price tag and an unacceptable failure and mortality rate. Forty and twenty respectively. Out of the original thousand, that's six hundred people dead or so fucked up they may as well be. I'm one of the four hundred who survived the surgeries, and passed training."

Not being able to refrain from shaking his head in disgust and shock; Field stared at Jack. "Why was it so dangerous?"

Well, first off they cut open the back of your skull and implant the master control plug directly into your brain. If you survive that, they tap the next one into your spine and nervous system. After they finish the plugs, they go to each and every single fucking joint in your body; they peel back the skin and the muscle until they get to your tendons. Then they coat your tendons with regenerative bio-steel nanoweave. Basically the stresses of having superhuman strength with literally tear a normal human body limb from limb; the bio-weave eats your natural tendons within a week, and craps out biosteel in their place. The same shit we replaced kevlar with, just a little genetic tweak. They do the same thing to your spine, but it takes months. That's how a lot of people got killed or failed, they'd snap their spines in half trying to turn a corner. Whole bio-weave thing hurts like you'd never believe. Like someone cut open your back and dumped battery acid over your spine."

Feeling his lunch threatening his stomach, Field nodded shakily and diligently wrote everything down. "N-now, w-what is this..." He gestured at Jack's exo. "Spider, made out of?"

Jack pulled his pant legs back down and relaxed once again. "Titanium and surgical steel. They're rejected the least by the human body. And its called an exo-skeleton. I can throw a punch at around thirty five kilometers per hour, with roughly three thousand pounds of force behind it. That’s why I’ve got the strike plates, I’d pulverize my hands without them. Without lower legs I can run at speeds of fifty four kilometers an hour for two hours straight, thirty kph indefinitely, or until I get hungry or need to take a leak." He jerked an armoured thumb over his shoulder at his armour. "Armour is the same, titanium underlay and structure, with hard ceramic armour plates over top. Under that's the impact foam, environmental controls, trauma suite, micro reactor, electronic countermeasures, communications, micro-rocket racks, heat sinks, and terror protocol initiators. One of the newer models had jump jets, but I wasn’t swanky enough to get my grubby mitts on one. Fucking Assault Classes get shoulder mounted spent matter casters; what do I get? Chaff flares. Fuckers."

Field Note blinked hard, and leaned in close to prod his exo. "You... You said that... You have Titanium inside your body, and composing most of your armour?" The stallion jittered in place as if his nerves were on fire. "You... You have the rarest element of metal in all of Equestria, inside you. Celestia... The royal treasury has four kilos of this metal... it exhibits immersive antimagic capabilities, all magic is inhibited by it, completely!" To make his point, Field sparked his horn and tried to grab Jack's arm, only to have his spell fail completely and utterly. Next he tried to launch a fireball at Jack, whose eyes widened in shock and brief terror, before the broiling ball of flame snuffed itself out on the exo's chestplate without so much as singing him. Jack's enthused cackling did little to calm Field's nerves. "You are wearing the equal to a whole third of Equestrians treasury, and-and-and-!" The stallion looked as if he was about to have a conniption fit. “And it’s been purposed for killing!”

Jack glanced over to Flitter; his eyes silently asking 'is that a lot?' To which she nodded, and mouthed 'yep'. This only seemed to make Jack smile like an idiot and kick his prosthetic feet up on the warm stones of the fire pit. "I ain't never been a national treasure before."

The stallion stared at Jack, then up at his armour. "I wish that I had my camera with me, nopony will ever believe me. Would you... Mind if I took a closer look?" Field's smile spread broadly as Jack nodded and waved him onwards.

Flitter glanced up from her reclaimed spot on Jack's warm lap; the smell of wood smoke and his musk nearly lulling her to sleep right then and there. Naturally, Jack prodded her gently, grabbing her attention. When she turned her head toward him, he gestured towards her little strongbox that sat undisturbed at the foot of his bed. As she realized his intent, Flitter flattened her ears against her head and pushed her muzzle into his stomach. "they aren't that good..."

She continued to mumble and groan as he tried to prod her into action. For a moment, he ceased; his PDA soon hovered before her face with his unsent message on it. 'I think they are. It won't hurt to try Sparky.'

Feeling a stirring of courage deep in her chest, Flitter slipped from Jack's lap and made her way to the strongbox. Opening it; she chose her best pieces of Jack, before closing it once again. She glanced over at Jack, who gave her a sturdy thumbs up; her eyes returned to Field Note. He was preoccupied with taking as many notes as he could, in an attempt to make up for the lack of imagery. Sighing quietly in defeat, Flitter trotted over to Field and thrust the sheaf of papers before him.

"Wha-?" The stallion jerked in surprise at the sudden intrusion; his mouth opened again to question why Flitter had all but shoved the papers into his face, but his words fell ultimately short when he saw the contents of the pages. "M-my word Miss Flitter, these.. These are exemplary!" Field smiled as he leafed through them; his slitted eyes flicking about to confirm the details. With a bit of awe leaking into his voice, Field turned to the now thoroughly flushed and apparently embarrassed Flitter. "Did you draw these Miss Flitter?"

"Y-yeah... And um... Just Flitter is fine..." She brushed a length of her mane from her eyes; internally lamenting how often it got into her eyes when she wasn’t wearing her bow. “Jack wanted you to-” She flinched as a small rock smacked against her flanks. “I… I wanted you to have these ones, since you don’t have a camera here.”

As the two ponies stared at each other; blushes growing across both of their cheeks, Jack stood from his spot and wandered over to his bed. Digging around underneath it, he pulled out a large bottle of cheap tequila. Pulling the cork from it, he turned the bottle bottom up and took a long swig from it. His coughs interrupted whatever conversation would have continued; both ponies were now watching him as he continued to drink from the bottle. Flitter took a step forward and opened her mouth to speak, only to have Jack hold up his index finger; indicating she should wait as the line in the bottle steadily went down. When he finally stopped drinking, he let out a muted belch. Within a moment the remainders of the bottle had been poured over the dying fire, sending it into a flaming frenzy. With his cheeks flushed to a rosey red, Jack grinned merrily and tossed his skillet into the roaring fire. Food swiftly followed as Flitter and Field sat back down.

Coughing into his hoof to get Jack’s attention, Field regarded his notes. “Now, judging from what you’ve told me, is it safe for me to assume that you are a soldier by trade?”

Jack nodded, and dumped three logs onto the crackling flames. “Yeah. Explosive Ordnance Disposal originally. Course Hades thought it’d be hilarious to mark me as a Demolitions Expert. They weren’t exactly wrong, mind. Taking apart bombs is a hell of a lot harder than making them or using them.”

With his quill scribbling madly, Field nodded and found a more comfortable position before the flames. “Explosive Ordnance Disposal… What kind of education did you have, if any? Do you speak any other languages than Equish?”

“psh.” Jack blew air through his teeth as he tossed the potato slices around in the pan. “If any. I’ve got my Associate of Science in Explosive Ordnance Disposal, a Bachelor's in Chemistry, an Associate of Mechanical Engineering degree, and my Advanced EOD badge. So fuck you and fuck your ‘if any. For languages I can hold a conversation in Russian with a native speaker, speak fluently in Sign, and offend the senses with my basic German. What, did you think I was another dumb grunt? They don’t just hand out exo-skeletons and shiny new legs to random hobos on the street. Even if they are devilishly good looking.”

With his surprise written blatantly upon his face. “I… I apologize. I did not mean to offend you. Now… why so many? Why not focus on one?”

“Masters require time and physical presence. I could get away with my associates while on deployment on the computer, and hell, it was free, so why the fuck not? Not that any of it helped.” Jack grumbled indiscernibly and shook his head while looking disgruntled over something.

Nodding with the barest of understanding; Field sniffed at the cooking food. To his surprise, it didn’t smell terrible; discounting Jack’s overbearing smell of burnt ozone, sweat and alcohol that tainted everything inside the cave. How Flitter could stand to be so close to Jack, Field would never know. He prepared his final question with trepidation. “As a soldier, have you ever killed another human being?” Without surprise, Flitter shot Field a harsh look of disapproval. Jack sucked in a breath, before slowly letting it out through his nose. He simply nodded his head, before pulling the skillet off the fire. Swallowing hard, Field followed up. “How many? If I may ask, of course…”

“Too many.”

______________________________________________________________________

Minutes passed as the trio ate in comparative silence. Field Note found himself satisfied with his round of questions; for now of course. Jack seemed lost in whatever was on his PDA screen; the food in his skillet being shoveled in automatically with practiced ease. Flitter sat in the middle with nothing to do but glance between the two and chew her potatoes quietly.

After what felt like ages, Field Note stood and stretched. He smiled broadly to the pair and bowed. “Thank you so very much for having me, and answering almost all of my questions. I hope we can spend more time together in the future; I’m sure there’s much we both can learn from each other Mr. Kessle.” His attention turned to Flitter, who looked up with a mouth full of food. “I enjoyed your company as well Flitter, and thank you again for the beautiful artwork. He stepped forward, and planted a kiss on her lifted hoof. “Until we meet again.”

As the stallion trotted out of the cave, Flitter turned to Jack with her mouth full of food agape. “Wha wah dat!?” Her cheeks flushed hotly and her eyes begged Jack for an answer, when all they received was an enthused cackle. Swallowing her mouthful of food, Flitter Jabbed him in the gut. “Stop laughing! It’s not funny!” Her muzzle split into a reactive smile. “S-shut up!”

Swallowing his own food mid laugh,Jack shook his head and chuckled. “Looks like your new boyfriend caught you off guard Sparky.” His laughter went up even higher as Flitter blushed hard enough to make her eartips turn red with embarrassment.

“Shut up! H-he’s not my coltfriend, I haven’t even dealt with Goldie!”

The laughter suddenly stopped, and Jack shot her a infuriated look that folded her ears against her head all by itself. “What the fuck Flitter. Seriously, I will kick your ass if you don’t get in gear over that. Then I’ll kick his ass so hard he’ll puke out my boot heel.”

“I-is it bad that I want to see that?” Flitters wings fluttered anxiously as she squirmed under Jack’s angered gaze.

“No, but the point stands. Dump his ass.”

“I will! I promise, by the end of the week, I’ll be single.” Flitter smiled at Jack, and earned a smile back from him. Settling back down on his lap, Flitter sighed and fluffed her wings. “Is it okay if I stay here tonight again? I really don’t want to go home…”

“Like you didn’t go to work?” Jack stared down at her with a single lifted eyebrow. Despite herself, Flitter couldn’t help but feel like she was being chastened by her father.

“W-well… Field offered me three hundred bits to let him talk to you, and… well I wanted to be here, I didn’t want to miss you talk…” She smiled softly up at him, and watched as the hard look melted like butter.

Throwing one of his hands up marking his acceptance of his defeat; Jack settled the hand between her ears and started stroking her mane. “Is three hundred a lot here?”

“It’s more than three days salary. It’s like… five times eight is… forty… three hundred divided by forty is…”

“Seven point five.”

Flitter jerked and scowled at him. “I almost had it you jerk! But, well… yeah. Seven and a half day’s pay. Wow…” She shook her head. “A week’s pay to eat potatoes and hang out with my favourite human.” A huge grin spread across her muzzle. “So, can I stay?”

To her surprise, Jack seemed stumped. Worry began to worm its way into her mind as he tapped at his PDA. “Well, I’ve got plans for some ‘work’ in town, and it’s late enough that I could get away with it. I wanted to save it for tomorrow morning, but…”

Edging forward in her seat, Flitter stared at Jack with bated breath. “But?” I wonder what he’s got planned? He can’t be going for food…

“But I guess you can hang out here while I do my errand.” He smirked at her as he stood; his legs remaining steadfast despite the tequila he’d quaffed earlier. Crossing over to his bags, Jack started pulling on his olive drab sweater, and his balaclava. A roll of detcord went into his pockets, and was followed by a set of NVG’s going over his head. Flitter sat up, and quirked a brow at him.

“You’re not going now, are you?” She tapped her hooves together, before stuffing them into the pouch of her hoodie. At his nod, she sighed quietly and clambered onto his bed; his heavy helmet finding its way into her hooves. “Well, I’ll see you when you get back…” A happy hum sounded from her as Jack reached over and rubbed one of her ears.

“I’ll be back before you know it. Hold down the fort for me.” Jack tossed his PDA to her, and gestured towards the connecting cable. A slight grin was the last Flitter saw of him before he turned on his heels and started for the door.

Waving as he treaded out of the cave, Flitter turned to the helmet and smiled. “Now, what do you have for me today Mr. Helmet? Something scary? Something crazy?” She pulled the helmet over her head and took a deep breath.

Let’s do this.

__________________________________________________________________

Stalking through the powder filled forest; Jack's earlier smile had all but fled his being. The tequila had failed its job miserably in replacing the medications he so desperately needed. Wisps played across the ghostly green gaze of his night vision goggles, bringing with the the faintest whispers of wind through the barren trees. Alone with his thoughts, Jack found his attentions wandering. Did I do the right thing today? What am I gonna do if Field Note screws me?

I'll kill him.

No questions asked. I'll kill him, and I'll vanish. Whatever passes for authority here will never find me. Even with that voodoo magic, they can't even touch me.

What about Flitter?

His features twisted as he snarled at himself for even bringing up the question. I'll bring her with me if she's willing.

And if she's not?

The question hung in his mind; its implications churning his stomach roughly. After a few minutes more of walking in mental silence, Jack finally spotted the small village. Only the occasional candle burned in a window, signalling that the town and its inhabitants were bedding down or fast asleep. With a little luck, his errand would go unnoticed. May as well give it a couple more minutes, finish up that thing I had planned. Jack picked a spot with the edge of the tree line, and set about his time consuming task.

_____________________________

As his fingers picked away at the complex weave; he watched as a lone guard patrolled the dark, empty streets. The lone guardspony kept a basic patrol pattern; one so simple Jack knew that he could make it in and out of the target location without ever being spotted by the guard. Once his little craft project was finished, he pushed it gently into his back pocket and set off for the outskirts of the village.

Stealing through the shadows; Jack hugged the walls and stuck to the dark like glue. Not a soul moved through the streets, save for him and the guard. A confident smile graced his features as the target building came into sight. The gingerbread look of the building lost its luster in the dark; appearing more like a normal now that its colours had been muted. After checking to see if the coast was clear, Jack crept across the open square and around the back of the building. As he’d noted the last time he’d been in town, there was a small back door tucked away behind a small dumpster. Pulling out his roll of detcord, Jack began wrapping the door knob and the lock. Swiftly finishing the mundane work, he placed his hand on the lever knob and pushed himself up; only to find that the door was unlocked when it swung wide and deposited his ass onto the hardwood floor.

Gawking in surprise for a short second; Jack pushed himself up and pricked his ears for any sounds of movement or alert. The supposed bakery was two stories high, usually meaning that whoever operated the place probably lived upstairs. He would have to be incredibly cautious to avoid waking anyone living within the place, if there were any. Sweeping his NVG’s about as he removed the coil of detcord from the knob and closed the door behind him; he surveyed the kitchen and his surroundings. Thankfully he found what he was looking for within moments.

The pristine, blank white cake sat amongst myriad other delicacies within the glass display up front; the cake sat there, just begging to be borrowed. Bringing the cake into the back, he began his search for the finishing touches. Finding a bag of icing practically laying in wait for him, Jack couldn’t help but feel his confidence leak back into his mind as he drew as best as he could onto the cake. After several harrowing minutes and some icing spatter, he finally finished the artistic disaster. He grinned happily as he looked over his handiwork. Without skipping a beat, he began searching for the final touch. Despite his earlier good fortune, he couldn’t find a single birthday candle. Letting out a breath of defeat, he wrote a hasty I.O.U. and set it on the counter before sliding the cake into a small cardboard box.

As he turned on his heels towards the back door, the sound of hoofsteps descending the stairs echoed down through the dark bakery. Shit.shitshit. SHIT. Jack looked around frantically for a place to hide, before looking up at the vaulted rafters over his head. With a leap, he grasped the rafters and hauled himself up into the pitch black darkness; his augmented limbs spread-eagle to support his weight. Fuck you Sam Fisher, this shit is hard! ach… my nuts hurt like hell… should have stretched!

Without making a noise, he clamped his mouth shut and watched as a pony trotted into the bakery and yawned tiredly. “Hello? New pony? Are you still here?” The mare sounded young, at least from the timber of her high pitched voice. She spoke in a loud whisper as she looked all over the bakery. She trotted directly underneath Jack, her poofy tail twitching and thrashing away like mad. When her gaze fell upon the cake, and the subsequent IOU, Jack broke into a cold sweat. The mare trotted forward, and scrunched her muzzle up as she read out loud. “I owe you one birthday cake. Jack. Huh.” She looked over at the cardboard box, and cocked her head. To Jack’s intense surprise, a little light literally dinged over her head; blinding him to whatever she was doing as his NVG’s were filled with blinding light. Stifling a cry of agony, he averted his gaze upwards and prayed silently that she would leave soon.

Soon enough, his prayers were answered, and the strange mare trotted back to the stairs. She stopped at the first step, and turned back towards the kitchen.

Soon enough, his prayers were answered, and the weird pink pony trotted back to the stairs. She stopped at the first step, and gazed back towards the kitchen. A comically large smile spread across her features as she stared directly at him. "Goodnight Mister Jack. Tell Flitter I said happy birthday!"

After a minute of waiting, to ensure that she was actually gone; Jack dropped from the rafters, grabbed his box, and bolted out through the back door. His legs carried him beyond the sleepy village, and into the safety of the snow covered forest.

Eventually he slowed long enough to look down at the cardboard box. His brows shot up into his fringe when he saw a box of birthday candles, and what appeared to be a note taped to the top. Peeling the note off, he unfolded the pink paper and squinted through his NVG's. Mister Jack, You Owe Me, one welcome to Ponyville party attendance. What. Just... What.

Shaking his head at the incredulity of the situation, he couldn't help but chuckle lightly. Weird ponies. I bet she kills people and makes food out of them. Or maybe she's got bipolar disorder. That was just too weird to be normal shit right there. Note to self, never return to bakery. He nodded in agreeance with himself as he approached the hidden entrance to his cave. Ducking inside, he was greeted by the warm, crackling fire and by Flitter splayed out on the bed; his comically overlarge helmet making her look like a bobblehead figure. Walking over to what passed as a table, he set down the cake, and set about sticking the candles in. How old was she turning? Did she even say? Fuck it, just stick them all in there. Wait, wait, how am I gonna light these things?

His gaze fell upon the fire, and a satisfied smirk broke out across his face. Genius.

___________________________________

"I'm going to stick my photonic atom gyrator in your flux resonance chamber!"

"No Doctor Mad, not my flux resonance chamber!"

Flitter groaned inside the helmet from the sheer camp of the shoddy film. Compared to some of the videos Jack had shown her of his own exploits, the camera used for this science fiction 3000 movie was grainy and washed out. While the movie had its moments, Flitter felt bored with it already. Using Jack's stylus, she opened the video folder inside his PDA; the screen projecting over the viewscreen of the helmet. For a split second after choosing some kind of adventure movie, the screen went blank as the video loaded, and she could see inside the cave. She wasn't exactly expecting to see Jack waving his arm about manically, the cuff of his sweater ablaze.

"Huh."

Pulling off the helmet, she watched as Jack struggled and thrashed inside his burning sweater as he tried to pull it from his body. After a moment he managed to free himself, and stamped out the flames. Flitter started smiling as she watched him, but her eyes were drawn by the glow of candles. "Is that a cake? Is... Is it for me?" She felt her cheeks and ears heat up as her heart thumped. Jack looked up at her from his smoldering sweater and smiled sheepishly. He waved to her, before making a grand gesture at the cake with its massive bundle of forty candles squashed into the center, as if he was saying 'ta da!'. Standing up from the bed, Flitter slowly trotted over, her eyes fixated on the plain vanilla cake. Upon its candle laden surface were the words 'Happy Birthday Sparky'. It looked as if someone had murdered an icing bag over the cake, and the words just happened to show up as a happy coincidence. An artist, Jack was not. Feeling her chest well up with happiness, Flitter turned to Jack and fought to keep down tears. To her surprise, he was holding something small in his hands. Cocking her head in curiousity, Flitter moved close and nosed the small thing. It was a OD green weaved paracord/ detcord tube, with a small amount of give. Without his PDA to speak, Jack simply let his actions do it for him. Softly running a hand through her mane, Jack began tying it carefully up in a military ponytail with his weaved gift. He pulled away, and grinned toothily as he admired his handiwork. Flitter slowly ran her hoof over the gift, feeling the complex weave with no small amount of admiration. “How… how did you make it?”

As he crossed the cave and picked up his PDA, he gestured wildly. “Need I remind you I have four sisters? I could braid your hair like a boss. Plus, that hair scrunchy thing is super useful. I stuffed a bunch of copper wire in the paracord, and there’s a watch battery in the top. If you ever get trapped somewhere, just pull out the detcord, loop the copper wire around the ends of it, and touch the battery. Poof. No more being trapped.”

Smiling happily, Flitter lunged forward and headbutted his stomach as she hugged him tightly. Pretending his grunt of surprise and pain was a sound of return happiness, Flitter nuzzled him softly and sniffed. “y-you know… this is the best gift I’ve… i…”

“I noticed you didn’t have your purple bow anymore, and I wanted you to have something to keep your hair out of your eyes.” He set the PDA down next to the cake, and hugged her head against his chest while scritching her ears. At the sound of her wet sniffing and hiccuping, he kneeled down before her and softly petted the side of her head.

“shh... shhshh…” He pulled the crying mare close and hugged her head tenderly as he stroked her. Come on Jack… just a couple of words, just say ‘It’s going to be okay.’ Simple. Kindergarten shit. You can do this. Opening his mouth to speak, again, all that came out was his wheezing cough that wracked his chest and throat with burning pain.

Shaking her head in his grasp, Flitter pulled back and stared at him with tear filled eyes. “Nonono, Jack, p-please, don’t hurt yourself trying to talk…” She sniffled a bit, and smiled gingerly as he wiped away her tears with his calloused hand. Finding the courage deep inside herself to continue on, Flitter nuzzled his hand and spoke again. “I… Jack, you’re the only friend I’ve had since my Dad died, and… I’m…” She squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face into his chest.

Simply content to be held and stroked, Flitter said nothing and remained in his arms until his PDA spoke in its monotone, emotionless voice. “Come on Sparky, let’s cut some cake and watch a cheesy movie. I could use a rest night.”

With a content smile spreading across her tear streaked features, Flitter nodded and glanced at the cake in all of its ruined glory. “I-it’s a pretty nice cake… you… you didn’t pay for it, did you?”

“Nope.”

Author's Notes:

Woo! Back in the saddle boys and girls! I've got wifi connection at the lunch tent at work, so now I will be working on chapters there for the most part. Please either ignore or let me know if there are any glaring issues, as most of this was written on a smartphone.