He was floating.

No.

No, he was sinking.

He was sinking deep into the inky blackness, which clung and groped at him like a needy lover. It begged for him to stay, it begged him with her voice. He wanted to stay, he wanted to stay and give into her warm embrace. To stop fighting, to just give up. To feel some measure of peace, if only for a moment.

A spark of heat ignited deep within his chest, and slowly began to spread out through his body. No, no he didn’t want to stay. He wanted out. He had to get out. The embrace of the inky depths became a crushing force that pushed in on him like cell walls, forcing him down further. The air in his lungs turned to liquid fire, igniting his blood and spreading through his veins like acid. He began clawing his way up, up and up and finally out.

His head breached the surface of the pitch black liquid, and the wondrous stench of smoking gunpowder and burning crude oil filled his empty lungs. Without pause, he pulled himself out of the black oasis and onto the sandy shoreline. The sand spread out in every direction; the desert consumed all that entered it. It had once been a jungle, before that, a forest, a plot of farm land. Twisting trenches cut deep, bloody furrows in the sand, and tracers lit up the distant dark like dancing fireflies. The sky was as black as the oasis had been, but it was marred by the terrible beauty of the distant raging fires. Plumes of great flames raged and tore at the sky like demons at war with the heavens. The fighting in the distance boomed like thunder, and was accompanied by bright flashes that cast long shadows over the boiling sand.

His limbs felt leaden, his muscles moaned in agony as the lactic acids bit and tore at them like rabid dogs. He paid them no mind as he pulled himself ashore, where he stood up upon the coarse, hot sands. Resting half buried in the sand was a weapon, some matte black automatic rifle that had scared the masses. It laid in the sand, half covered by crumpled, discarded fatigues. He pulled the charred fatigues on over his naked body, only partially hiding the greasy black sweat stains that coated his body like a second skin. The uniform was stiff, whether from blood, sweat, ash, or a mix of all three, he didn’t know. He couldn’t find the willpower to care. The act of caring about something so trivial seemed like a waste. As he finished pulling on his fatigues, he felt a sense of satisfaction as he tucked the matte black automatic rifle into his shoulder. He began walking further into the desert, intent on leaving the oasis behind forever.

He could hear the oasis calling to him, begging him one last time to come back. His work was done, was it not?

No, he answered silently. His work wasn’t done.

What work could he possibly have left? He had done enough, he didn't have to suffer within his own skin anymore.

Racking the bolt back on the rifle, he barred his wolfish teeth and growled as he turned his back on the oasis and began treading through the sand and toward the raging fires that burned in the distance, toward the war that would consume him entirely. His answer was spoken through sharp, grit teeth and charred lips.

“There’s somebody I need to kill.”

_____________________________________________________________________

He was fighting. That was all he knew; he didn't know where, he didn't know who, or why, or how. All he knew was the visceral feeling of violence. So of course, when the rhythmic beeping met his ears, it was regarded with confusion. Beeping wasn't something he knew.

Wait…

Yes it was. It was something he knew. He began to focus on it, but found it difficult to hunt down. It was like he was thinking through a thick cotton. Lucid thoughts began cropping up, taking form inside his mind to distract him from his hunt. His matte black rifle tracked back and forth; it was an extension of him. He knew it, and it knew him. Thus when he thought that he'd found the source of the bothersome beeping, his rifle was the first to lash out at it. The howling full metal jacket rounds punched through the inky blackness, only to be stopped by a blinding light. The dark world that surrounded him began to cave in around the light, and he found his feet leaving the boiling sands. He began falling toward the light; his body tumbling and thrashing as the light pulled him in. With one final gasp that would have been a cry of angered defiance, he fell into the light, and opened his eyes for the first time in a long time.

He blinked rapidly, before being forced to squint as the soft light above him hummed away quietly. He was laying in a bed of some kind. It wasn't very comfortable, but it wasn't terrible either. He blinked once more as he forced himself up into a sitting position; his limbs replying with a concerning lack of strength and speed. His head swam dangerously and the beeping increased for a moment, only to return to normal.

Thoughts began bullying their way upwards through the thick cotton that plagued his mind. He decided to answer them out loud. For some reason, the sound of his own voice was soothing, almost reassuring.

Where am I?

The thought was a particularly tricky one. Why did he have to answer that one first?

“...hospital… maybe…” He blinked slowly, still trying to have his eyes adjust to the room around him. It smelled clean. Too clean, as if everything in and around it had been sterilized a dozen times over. There were fresh flowers at his bedside, as well as some cards and a glass of water. He didn't feel like reading. It probably would hurt too much anyway.

It took a full minute for him to realize that he was thirsty. Thirsty is the right word. Parched tongue, dry throat, hard to think. Thirsty. Water? He cautiously reached out to the glass and wrapped his fingers around it. It felt cool to the touch, and that was the last thought he had regarding it before pulling the glass over and draining the contents without pause. His fingers trembled as he held the glass, betraying his current lack of strength. It made him angry, but he couldn't understand why. To pull his mind away from the glass and his fingers, he decided to wrestle with the question that burned the brightest inside his head.

Who am I?

He didn't know. That bothered him, and he wanted it to not. He wracked his mind; searching through the disconnected soup that was his consciousness for the answer. He couldn't quite recall it… couldn’t reach it, or coerce it out of hiding. He knew the answer. He knew it, he just couldn't reach it. He had been in a kind of hospital, for science and humans. There had been fighting, he had… he had killed. It had felt… Had he enjoyed it? Nono, never mind that for now. He had hunted someone, but he couldn't recall their name or face. Somebody had died… somebody close to him.

The sudden, crisp image of a beautiful redheaded woman, drowning in her own blood as he held her flooded into his mind, bringing with it a whole horde of memories that had been hidden away from him. Sorrow struck first, digging its talons deep into his heart. He couldn’t begin to name the emotions that swirled around him when he thought of her face, the fear that had remained etched on it when she’d slipped away in his arms. She’d died in a scientific facility, killed by his gun. Had he killed her? No, no that didn’t make sense. If he’d killed her, why would his eyes burn with tears? He let his head hang, giving a moment of silence in memory of the beautiful woman that had been important to him before wiping the still manifesting tears away with the back of his hand. He couldn’t remember her name, nor why… why was she so important? He didn’t know, so he focused on what he did know. She’d died in that facility. They’d been in the facility with others, and something had happened. Something dark and wrong. He couldn’t reach the memories explaining why, but he could remember that he had been trying to escape. That he was willing to do whatever it took to escape that place. Suddenly, realization clicked into place within his mind.

“I know where I am… didn't escape? Thought I had… gotta… Gotta get out.” He grit his teeth as he forced his legs over the edge of the bed. His metallic legs forced more memories into his mind, and set his teeth on edge with their phantom pains. He would have time to mourn the nameless faces that haunted him later. He still didn't remember who he was; he only knew that he was angry, and that he had to get out. The machine protested loudly as he pulled out the needles and leads that rested inside his flesh, before going silent as the last needle was pulled free from his body. He was wearing some kind of hospital smock, probably to make it easier for the scientists who undoubtedly were still experimenting on him. He heard the clop of hooves on marble, swiftly approaching the door to his room. Anger flooded his veins and adrenaline fueled his muscles; the pain and weakness left him as he forced himself to stand and cross swiftly over to hide beside the door. His timing was impeccable as a small off-white mare with a syringe cutie mark burst in through the door. She had a cart with her, and skidded to a halt just before speaking.

“W-what? Where could he have- oh no.”

The mare's final words were from her realizing that he was stalking up behind her with a metal tray he'd taken from her cart. He didn't wait for her to turn, nor did he ask her why she was so worried about him. The metal tray did the talking for the both of them. The mare's body tensed the moment he slammed it against the side of her head, only to go limp a moment after as she fell to the floor unconscious. With that taken care of, he scanned the cart for anything useful. He found a razor sharp scalpel, which in turn found a home clutched tightly in his right hand. He regarded the unconscious pony for a moment, and then the scalpel in his hand.

Don’t have time for this. Leave her, leave her alone. Put her in the bed! Yeahyeah! Hide my absence! Genius.

With great effort, he hefted the unconscious mare up onto the bed and tucked the thin sheets around her. To anyone glancing into the room, it would look like a patient was sleeping. He turned away from her and moved for the door. It creaked quietly as he pushed it open cautiously and peered down the hall. The hall was devoid of life, which suited him just fine. His body protested again as he limped into the hall, only this time it's protests were loud enough to be heard. Forcing the pain down, he set off down the hall as quickly as he could. He wasn't very fast, and his rubberised heels squeaked at every step and pivot. He silently thanked whoever had manufactured the legs, as they were the only part of his body that responded with purpose and speed. Whenever he heard voices approaching, he would duck out of sight, be it into different rooms, storage closets, or under gurneys. Whether through good luck or providence, he somehow managed to escape the hospital wing without a single soul spotting him or sounding the alarm. The wrappings around his head had fallen off, but he’d ignored them. He felt better without them on anyway.

The sterilized hospital halls gave way to ornate marble and extravagant paintings, plaster busts, and lush carpets. It certainly didn't feel like the facility that he had first been held in. Maybe he'd gotten injured and had been sent to a secondary facility? That seemed the most likely, but it was growing harder to think the more he moved, so he left the answer half formed. He started hearing more voices, some of which were approaching him swiftly, if the rapid clop of armoured hooves were any indication. A sense of panic overcame him for a short moment, before his trained senses pushed it out and regained control. He slipped into a side room and shut the door as quietly behind him as he could manage before turning. He immediately regretted his decision as his eyes fell on the twenty or so ponies which stared back at him with mixed levels of curiosity. He was in some kind of messhall, and if the armour was any indication, he’d had the idiotic misfortune of stumbling headlong into the guard messhall during shift change.

__________________

A pair of guards stood from a table and approached him, but they didn't carry any weapons with them. One was a slate grey earth pony stallion with an equally grey mane, and the other was a creamy white unicorn with a cropped garish green mane. The stallion spoke first as he looked over the disheveled human in his dainty hospital gown. “Think he’s lost or somthin’ Baron?”

The mare didn't turn her head to regard her partner as she eyed up the fat ‘Y’ shaped scar the split the human's head nearly in half. “No, he's your cake stripper.” Her partner snorted and muttered something as she approached the human’s side. She sighed softly before nosing at the human’s hand. It recoiled away from her with lightning speed, and seemed to eye her with open suspicion. He began trying to back out of the door, his eyes narrowed down and burrowing deep into hers. Baron rolled her eyes before glancing over at her partner. “He probably slipped away from the eggheads down in research. Come on, let's get him back before they flip their lids.”

“not going back.”

The human's quiet, gravely voice caught the pair of guards off guard, so when his hand shot out and locked around Baron's horn and he pulled her against himself like a shield, none of the guards reacted how they should have right away. As the cries of alarm went up, the human brandished the scalpel and held it against Baron's throat. “BACK OFF! Tell them to back off!” He hissed in her ear with a tone that brokered no argument. Her breath caught as he held the tiny blade against her carotid artery.

Her partner Mythic did his best to placate the human; his eyes would often shift to the scalpel to ensure it wasn't biting through Baron's skin. “Easy big guy, we’re not gonna hurt yah, aight?”

That seemed to ease the blade off, if only a tiny bit as the human pushed the door open with one of his strange metal feet. “Not going back there. Leaving. Now. Where’s the damn exit…” One of his eyes began twitching uncontrollably, and pain flashed across the human's features. His voice came back as a bellow that led to the other guards brandishing sharp spears at him and his body shield. “I WANT OUT!”

Mythic winced and beckoned for the other guards to take it easy, whoever this human was, he was definitely in pain and desperate. Desperate creatures did desperate things. “Okay, we’ll take you outside, you just need to let my partner go, okay?” When the human continued backing out into the hall, Mythic followed him, refusing to take his eyes off for even a second. “What’s your name big guy?” His eyes flicked to the wall of guards that were now blocking both hallways. The guys in the messhall worked fast at least. They weren't doing anything, yet.

“I don't know.”

The human's response surprised him. Most of the remaining human servants now had proper names, those that didn’t were the ones that hadn't retained the sudden burst of intelligence they'd gained. “Yah don't know who you are?”

The human shook his head, sending shaggy locks of black hair this way and that. Baron looked pissed off and uncomfortable as she was forced to trot backwards on her hind hooves. The human didn’t look exactly strong, but the scalpel was definitely sharp.“No… I’m… a soldier, fighter. Always fighting, don't know where I am… who- BACK OFF!” His sudden bestial outburst and repositioning of the scalpel blade sent a terrified chill down Mythic’s shoulder blades. He turned to regard whoever had broken cordon and set off the human with an angry order, but found it dying in his throat as fast as it had formed as he saw Princess Celestia standing behind him.

She regarded the human and his hostage for a moment, before smiling at Mythic. “Private Ace, you've done a wonderful job so far. May I?” She gestured toward the situation, and earned a muted nod of permission that wasn’t needed. Celestia smiled graciously to her guardspony. “Thank you private.” She turned her full attention onto the human, who continued to protect his body with Corporal Baron. “I know who you are.” That certainly got his attention. Before he could question her, Celestia held up a single marred dog tag. “Staff Sergeant Jack Kessle, serial number 5467-7123-0019.”

Jack slowly lowered the scalpel, and his eyes unfocused as a slew of memories struck like a tidal wave. Celestia smiled, and took a few tentative steps forward. “You were hurt badly and you've been in a coma.”

His voice came out quiet and choked. “Kessle… her name was elissa… I...How long? How long was I out?” He looked up from the marble floor and held Celestia with his gaze. It was obvious he didn’t aim to injure the guard he was holding hostage. For now.

Before Celestia had a chance to answer, a pair of very familiar voices rang out over her as her sister and Flitter passed through the guard ranks and approached. Jack's attentions had been brought over as well, and at this point he was barely holding the corporal. Distrust lit across his face, and the progress Celestia had made with him seemed to vanish before her eyes as Jack pulled the unicorn mare closer. Sighing softly as she smiled at Jack, Celestia answered his question before he could get antsy and reconsider his scalpel. “You have been unconscious for seven months and six days. Please, let the corporal go. We don't mean you any harm, but I need you to release her. I know this all must be terribly frightening, so as a show of good faith, I'll have my guards stand down. They won’t interfere if you decide to run.” At her motion, her guard did so, albeit a bit slower than she'd hoped. Jack's eyes flicked about, as if searching for threats. When they returned to Celestia, he set his jaw and stared at her for what felt like an eternity. To hammer in the final point, Celestia smiled kindly and motioned toward the hall that branched off to the left, leading outside. “That is the way out. However, I believe you’d like some more answers. If you stay, I can offer those to you.” Celestia met Jack’s challenging stare with ease; she was forced to ignore both Luna and Flitter because of that. With a grunt of defeat, Jack released Corporal Baron’s horn. The mare moved away from him as quickly as possible, obviously not taking any chances in case Jack changed his mind. Celestia smiled as kindly as she could muster as Jack dropped his scalpel and spread his arms wide. His actions concerned the princess, it was as if he were inviting them to attack him, to seek out revenge and strike him down where he stood. When the attacks didn't come, he let his arms drop to his side like leaden weights. He somehow seemed smaller now, almost deflated. That thought fled Celestia’s mind when he turned his gaze to her. There was no defeat in his eyes, only a burning intensity that skirted defiance and foolhardy courage. His voice confirmed it.

“I need pants. My clothes. If you don't plan on strapping me back down to a table and torturing me a little bit more that is.” He purposefully kept his eyes locked onto her; avoiding both Luna and Flitter.

"We don't plan to do any harm to you, so long as you do the same."

“Don't think that's possible...” Luna muttered icily, but if her outburst had been heard by Jack, he didn’t show it.

“Yeah, yeah... alright. Let's go.” He pointedly ignored the other two ponies, though Celestia couldn't begin to fathom why. Simply another hurdle to overcome. She thought as she led the trio off to the royal hospital wing. The coming conversation was going to be one of the more interesting ones she'd had in recent months.

______________________________________________________________________

Once Jack was safely back in his room and the doctor had been summoned, Celestia requested a pot of tea be brought to the room as the others got comfortable. She watched over Jack, eyeing him critically as the medical staff looked him over and saw to his medical needs. She could easily tell that the human was tense, but obviously he had enough willpower to keep himself well behaved in return for answers. “So, Staff Sergeant. How is your memory faring you?”

Jack glanced away from the doctors as they patched up the bleeding holes where he’d yanked out the needles and leads. “Patchy. I… It’s coming back. Some things I’m having trouble with.”

Laying back on a cushion that had been brought at her request, Luna spoke in Celestia’s stead. “As we expected. You suffered massive head trauma, though the doctors have no idea what could have caused it.”

Nodding to Luna, Celestia spoke shortly after. “We were hoping that you could answer some questions as well. While Cadet Falenas, Professor Note and Mr. Morozov has told us all they can, there is a lot that we don’t know about what happened.”

“Right.” Jack winced as he rolled his shoulders; his whole body seemed to stay in motion as he worked out his joints and muscles. “My question first.” He didn’t wait to the royal to nod. “Who the hell are you people?”

The trio before him blinked in surprise, while Flitter seemed considerably wounded. The smaller mare looked away and closed her eyes in an attempt to hide that pain. Celestia cleared her throat, and offered her practiced and ready smile. “I’m Princess Celestia, this is my sister and co-ruler, Princess Luna. We are alicorns.”

Luna smirked a bit as she looked over at Jack. “We’ve met before, by the way. In your dreams, however you seemed to grow very hostile toward me near the end.”

Her statement earned a grunt from Jack. It was one of instant dislike. “Right, yeah… You’re the blue haired lady with personal space and privacy issues… surprised you all haven’t blown yourselves up yet.” He looked up and pierced Luna with a hard look. “Or did my little show scare you?”

Taking over as Luna went red in the muzzle with embarrassment and indignation, Celestia pounced on the line Jack had left out. “Yes, about that. This… Weapon, that you-”

“Weapon of Mass Destruction.” Jack corrected, earning a cough and a nod from Celestia.

“Yes, Weapon of ‘mass destruction’. It’s been locked up within the royal vault as of right now. I wished to know why you were pursuing the late Doctor Maltenics for it. By the reports you were willing to suffer serious bodily harm to have it returned to you.” Flitter shuffled on her cushion and kept her gaze on the floor. She’d flinched at the mention of the late doctor.

Jack either didn’t notice, or was adept at pretending to not. “Because it was only a matter of time before she did something stupid. Think of it as a kid with a loaded gun. You- your… your ponies, you’re not ready for that kind of shit.”

“And your people are?” Celestia asked, almost failing to hold back the indignant edge that her voice could have held.

“We didn’t know if the first bomb would have punched a hole in our ozone and sucked us all out into space. We were kids with a very big, loaded gun. You guys might not get so lucky.”

The matter-o-fact statement from the human sent a small chill down Celestia’s spine. She’d seen the memory because of Luna. She’d seen the weapon, as the human had known it. It didn’t take a genius to understand the level of harm such a thing would reap if used. “Yes… had the doctor activated the weapon, a good many of my ponies would have died. Whether you meant it or not, your actions saved lives. However.” Celestia let her smile slip from her face. “I know that you’ve killed some of my ponies.”

“I only killed the ones that tried to kill me and mine.” He looked up at her, and grinned unevenly. “All’s fair, right?”

“Of course.” Celestia fixed him with a flat, regal stare. “I wish to make two things clear, Staff Sergeant. I am very grateful for your actions and the actions of Cadet Falenas in saving this city and the ponies within, and I plan to reward you as I’ve rewarded her. At this time, it’s impossible for you to go home, so I’m going to offer you a place in the castle. However, I want one stipend to be very clear to you. If at any point you attack any of my ponies, or commit murder, you will be prosecuted to the full extent of Equestrian law. With the dangers that you pose, this will mean execution. Do you understand, Staff Sergeant Kessle?” She ignored the shocked looks that the medical staff gave her out of necessity. Nopony had been executed by law for hundreds of years.

The defiance that Celestia had expected from Jack vanished, and the professional soldier that hid deep inside him showed his face long enough to instill curiosity upon Celestia’s mind. “Crystal clear, ma’am.” He paused for a moment and blinked slowly at her as if he were quietly judging her. “Just as a warning for you, I will do whatever it takes to protect myself and anyone under my charge. If that means killing, don’t think for a second I’ll hesitate. We understand each other?”

Nodding to him, Celestia smiled without humour. “We do. Now, is there anything you want to know?”

“Where the fuck am I?”

The harsh language earned him disapproving looks and glares from everybody present, save for Celestia herself, who instead chuckled in good humour. “You are in Canterlot, the capital of Equestria.More specifically, you're within the halls of Canterlot Castle, the royal hospital wing.”

He nodded in return, and took a moment to look over the small collection of cards and flowers that decorated his bedside. They seemed familiar. A sudden pang of memory struck him; he was no longer in the presence of royalty or on an alien planet. He was propped up in some Californian military hospital, his legs shuddering burned stumps. His family had flown out as fast as they could at the news of his return, and a very large part of him wished that they hadn't. The morphine that coursed through him to keep him coherent during the visit did little to disguise the looks of horror and pain they all felt when they saw what little was left of him. He had felt it too, but it had long since shifted to a deep, festering self-loathing that leached off him like a parasite.

“Jack?”

The voice that lanced the memory belonged to the Lunar princess, but she wasn't the only pony in the room seemingly concerned with him. He shook his head to shake away the remnants of the memory before waving their concerns away with a hand. “M’fine. Just spaced for a second.”

“Of course.” Luna shuffled uncomfortably before yawning. “I apologise, but I have duties to attend to before I must raise the moon. I hope we get a chance to speak later Jack.” She stood, and spoke her goodbyes to the others in the room, before making her leave.

“Now, Staff Sergeant.” Celestia began as she got more comfortable. “Do you have any more questions?”

“One more off the top of my head, yeah.” Jack cracked his neck and readjusted his pillows. “Why can't I go home?”

Both ponies present cringed, but on varying degrees and for widely different reasons. Jack didn't comment, and Flitter refused to speak a word as Celestia cleared her throat. “The reason is… complicated. While we were able to send a great many of the other terrans back to their respective homes and time lines, the window we had between the Archmage's defeat and the time it took for Discord's chaotic magic to disperse has long since passed, making reconnecting to your worldstring impossible.”

Jack stared blankly at her. “I didn't understand a fuckin’ word that just came outta you.” He grunted. “Just gimme the Laymans terms, I don’t need any quantum physics lessons right now.”

Smiling as she checked the clock, Celestia sought out how she would explain the intricate nuances of magical extra-planar travel to a being who did have any magic to speak of, let alone understand it. “In Layponies terms the magic, and being who initially brought you here have either dissipated, or been encased in stone. We had a small window in which we sent back a little under one hundred Terran’s. Unfortunately, we couldn’t send you back in your condition, and now it is too late.”

The human before her seemed to take in the information faster than she’d predicted; at the very least he seemed satisfied with the answer. “Aight… Okay. So, why were we brought here in the first place?” He seemed to tense up, and his eyes grew unfocused for the moment before he shook his head and they sharpened once again.

Chalking the curious activity up to his injuries, Celestia cleared her throat. “The god of Chaos, Dicord-”

“God? Or just some dickhead with too much power?” Jack’s probing question held a razor sharp edge to it, and inwardly Celestia asked herself the same question.

“Discord is…” Celestia gave the question more thought, and rolled her hoof as she tried to convince the words to form. Speaking of her imprisoned acquaintance always seemed to stump her words uncharacteristically. “He is a being of immense chaotic power. He proclaims to be the god of chaos, and he is the one who brought you Terrans to Equus. He is thousands of years old, and utterly unpredictable.”

A sharp frown settled onto Jack’s features as he absorbed the information. “Right. We’ll see if that helps him...” Jack forced his mind back on track and probed with his next question. “I take it he tried to aim some of us? Make us do things?”

“Yes, through your dreams and through the situations he often placed you all in. He sees the world as his playground.” Celestia held back her own angered voice; instead she saw her own subconscious take form on Jack’s features. His frown became a hateful sneer that promised vicious violence. Internally she questioned the wisdom of keeping him within the castle. However, his emotions quickly came under control, and he shook his head.

“explains mark…” Jack sighed slowly, before slumping against the stack of pillows at his back. He let his eyes close, betraying the exhaustion he felt to the others in the room. His thoughts turned sharply to what he could remember of his late friend, or rather the being who had taken his form to try and use him as a weapon. Discord… yeah, you and me are gonna have a talk. Jack opened his eyes and fixed Celestia with his gaze. “Where is he.”

Celestia tilted her head, as if she were trying to read his thoughts. “He’s imprisoned in stone, within the gardens. I understand if you wish for revenge Staff Sergeant, but I want you to refrain from damaging the statue in any way.”

At the mention of damaging the statue, the thought seemed to slip from Jack’s features, leaving him listless and tired. “Yeah, don’t want him escaping. Alright, okay…” He closed his eyes once more and breathed slowly through his nose. “Thanks Princess. I… appreciate the honesty. Can I uh… get a moment with Flitter?” He glanced up at the princess, and in his peripheral saw the smaller mare’s head jerk upwards in surprise; her features wrestling between happiness, worry, and fear.

Nodding, Celestia stood and moved for the door. “I will leave you be. The medical staff are on call, so if you need anything please let them know. Have a pleasant day Staff Sergeant, I hope we can speak later when you are feeling more yourself.” She glanced over at Flitter and lent out a supportive smile and nod. “I will see you tomorrow when I take over in Luna’s stead, Cadet Falenas.” She left as Flitter nodded weakly.

The remaining two in the room stared at each other uncomfortably, until the door clicked closed and Jack let out a weak sigh. “Fuck me running…” He chuckled softly, before turning his weakly smiling visage toward Flitter. “Hey Sparky…” He began slowly getting out of the bed; his body protesting audibly with cracks, pops, and whirrs.

Flitter approached tentatively, her words failing her as her eyes burned. “Jack… I-” She barely held in a gasp of surprise as he awkwardly lunged forward and wrapped his arms around her in as strong of a bear hug as he could muster. Jack’s legs gave out under him, sending them both to the floor. Pressing her head into his chest, Flitter wrapped her hooves and wings around him and nuzzled at a nearly frantic pace. She wanted to sob, but the feeling slipped away as his body shuddered in her grip. His fingers pushed through her fur and grasped at her as he pulled in faint stilted breathes. “i-i’m so sorry jack…” Flitter spoke quietly into his ear as she stopped nuzzling at his neck. Her heart pounded in her chest like a jackhammer as he hugged her close. “i saw you go down, and i thought… i thought you were dead… I killed her… I killed her Jack, and-”

Flitter’s sentence caught in her throat as he pulled his head away from her so he could look straight on at her. His eyes were rimmed in pained red, and he was smiling through thick emotion. Jack slowly ran his fingers through her mane and shushed her. “It’s… it’s alright… you saved my ass Flitter…” His smile grew even larger, betraying the intense pride he felt welling in his chest. “Thank you.”

________________________________________________________________

The minutes that passed felt like an eternity, but in both of their minds it was an eternity well spent. Flitter rested in Jack’s lap as he sat within his pile of covers and pillows that he’d pulled off the bed so he could rest on the floor comfortably. They didn’t say much, simply choosing to hold each other and regain control of their own rampant emotions. Jack’s came under control far too fast as he bottled them back up inside. His petting didn’t stop however, which suited Flitter just fine. Finally, she regained control of her ragged voice and spoke. “I um… I got a job… Or, I’m training for it…”

Jack smiled down at her as his hand petted down the small of her back. “Yeah? That why Princess Sunnybutt called you Cadet?” He grinned as Flitter failed to hold back a giggle.

“Y-yeah… I’m in military officer training. And I’m… I’m kind of helping Princess Luna as an aide. Turns out my memory really helps with a lot of things.” Flitter fidgeted and felt her cheeks begin to burn as Jack’s smile turned bright with surprise and pride.

He laughed, and shook his head as he dug his fingers in between her ears and scritched at her scalp. As Flitter cooed and squirmed into his fingers, he spoke. “No shit… An officer! How long do you think that’ll take?” He only eased up on the attention his fingers were giving the mare so she could actually think long enough to formulate an answer.

“A-a year and a half at most, with how I’m going apparently. I’m already four months in, but it’s supposed to take up to two or three, maybe four; I’m in really good shape though, so boot was a breeze…” She smiled as she remembered her initial tests. “And with my memory, theoretical lessons are painfully easy.” She giggled, which only served to fuel Jack’s smile even further. “There are these ‘tactics tests’ where we have control of a small set of guards and resources, and we have to try and complete objectives. I’ve um… I’ve been reviewing your PDA and human tactics… Let’s just say that… well, there was a Colonel who got really, really mad when a Cadet outmaneuvered him and demolished him in a mission that was supposed to be unwinnable. It was supposed to teach us that loss is always a possibility, and well, I think I prefer human thought instead. Defeat is only possible if you accept it. Otherwise it is only a setback.” Her blush only grew as Jack cackled and stroked her mane.

“Serves ‘em right, underestimating my girl. Shit, that’s great…” He chuckled happily and stroked Flitter’s ears as a sort of reward. “I’m really proud of you Flitter…” His smile faded slightly as Flitter nuzzled back into his chest. “I got a question for you though… If you killed that b- hrn- scientist, how in the nine hells aren’t you locked up somewhere? How am I not?”

Flitter’s now smile faded swiftly at the question as well; the answer was thankfully easy to reach and put out. “We can thank Princess Luna for that. Since we stopped Maltenics from using your weapon, we saved all of Canterlot, and Luna knew that Discord was pushing you. We kept a dangerous weapon away from Maltenics, and the Archmage. We both got royal pardons, after the whole crazy situation finished up.”

“What happened? And who the hell is the Archmage?” Jack asked with a quirked brow. It seemed like he’d missed a lot while he was under.

“The Archmage doesn’t really matter anymore, because he’s dead as a doornail. He did a lot of really bad stuff though, and almost destroyed Equestria, but the Elements of Harmony and Max stopped him just in time! I don’t really know the details, not a lot of ponies do anyway. I was also locked up at the time for the whole violent murder thing, or, I was, until I got busted out and conscripted into a rebel force to fight against the traitors.”

Jack blinked, and let out a whistle of respect. “Damn… I missed one hell of a party sounds like…” He went silent for a long while, letting his hands pet Flitter to her heart’s content. “I uh… do you…” Jack stumbled over his words, before shaking his head.

“Jack?” Flitter perked her head at him with worry. It wasn’t like him to have trouble speaking at all.

“The others that were with us, did they…?” He let the question trail off, not sure how to finish it.

“Field and Peter made it out fine, you’ll probably get to see them tomorrow.” Flitter patted his side reassuringly, and mentally prayed that he wouldn’t follow up with what she thought he would.

“Right, right… that’s good.” Jack swallowed thickly. “3901’s name is Peter?”

Flitter nodded, and smiled. “Yeah, he’s a big puppy bear. Though his Equish is um… really, really poor. He says he knows you though! When I asked, he went on a huge happy rant and I didn’t understand a word of it.”

Jack nodded as a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. Next was the question that he didn’t want to ask, and Flitter didn’t want to answer. “The woman who… The woman who died when we were escaping… Where did… what happened to her body?”

Failing to hide her pained cringe, Flitter swallowed thickly and rested her head against Jack’s chest for comfort. “She was cremated with the other humans that died, and her ashes went back to earth. There’s… there’s a big memorial statue in the gardens… Jack?”

His response took far too long to come from Jack as he sat on the floor, his eyes unfocused as he remained deep in thought. When it did come, it came through thick and emotional. “I suppose I shouldn’t have expected much else. I’ll have to visit this memorial sometime.”

“Jack, who was she?” Flitter asked quietly; she didn’t fail to see the flash of pain that struck behind his eyes.

“She… her name was Elissa. Yeah, same one that Jodied me. I… We were trapped in the same place, so we put our pasts behind us to try and escape. I… I ended up remembering why I cared for her so much, so… yeah... hurts.”

Smothering her desire to question Jack on why he would ever forgive someone who had hurt him how Goldie had hurt her, Flitter instead wrapped her wings around him and simply held on, giving him the support she knew he needed deep down. “I understand Jack… I’m here for you, no matter what, okay?”

Nodding as he hugged her close, Jack gave her a bearded nuzzle of his own. “Thanks Flitter. Let’s just… keep it to ourselves, okay? I don’t know who else I can trust here, and I don’t want anybody using you against me, or me against you, alright?” Flitter nodded her agreement, instead of arguing that nobody in the castle would do something like that. She knew the contrary.

“Better to be paranoid and alive, than not and dead, right?” Flitter smiled weakly as Jack nodded his agreeance.

“Truer words never spoken.” He went quiet, before yawning softly. “Mind bringing that blanket over here? I think I’m gonna nap on the floor for a bit.”

“Not the bed?” Flitter questioned with a smile. “I’m not sure if the doctor will like that very much.”

Grunting, Jack pulled her and the blanket close and held her against him. “If he don’t, he can lick my treads.” He groaned as he settled onto the floor and his next of pillows and linens. “Wake me if the world’s ending or food shows up.”

Flitter nodded, and rested her head against his chest, listening once again to his heartbeat. “I will.” She smiled to herself, feeling as if things were finally turning around, as if things were all going to be alright. Flitter closed her eyes, and pulled herself as close to Jack as equinely possible. She had missed his warmth, and she vowed to never lose it again.

Author's Notes:

Merry Christmas from the team here behind Ballad, we hope you all enjoy your holidays, or your weekend! These few holiday chapters may have a few more mistakes than normal, as my editors /are/ on holiday breaks. So am I, of course, but I travel a lot, and I write when I travel.

As for the story itself, well... Let this image do the talking.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/qgkmyo8s1z1mgfq/5173687%2B_d3219f1f00fe573567e853abf851212a.jpg?dl=0