It had been three days since Jack had witnessed the farm horses castrate a young man; he had not stopped working for a moment since. His cave had become entrenched to the extent of his capabilities and resources. He’d dug deep earthworks, set up wooden barricades that reached the cave roof near the entrance. Several fall-back positions were now daisy-chained deeper into the cave. He was as ready as he’d ever be for these tiny furry horses if they ever came for him. When they came for him.

There was only one thing missing. One integral part of his plan. Food.

Jack grimaced as his stomach knotted up again; the emptiness making itself known, just as it had not ten minutes ago. His disgruntled sigh was drowned out by the growl of his stomach.

Haven’t even see so much as a squirrel in days… Whole forest is silent. This is total bullshit.

Running the back of his grungy hand over his bristly face, Jack let out a quiet sigh. His hand shook ever so slightly as he set it down. Jack grimaced slightly, and gripped the shaking hand tightly; pressing it against his chest until the shaking stopped. He picked up his PDA, and unplugged it from the solar charger. He silently flipped through his options, ignoring most of the useless tabs that lacked any kind of outside connection. Opening the journal tab, he started typing; as he’d done for the past few days.

Day Six in Pastel Hell, Sept 27, 2032

Food is getting scarce. I’ve been keeping a tight leash on my supplies, but It looks like that won’t be helping much anyways. The colours in this place make my eyes hurt, just with how vibrant they are. I keep finding myself rubbing my eyes whenever I leave the FOB. Every time I rub my eyes, a small part of me begs for a shot. That worries me more than anything.

If I’m able to find any kind of plus to this place; is that time seems to move normally, at least in a rough 24hr rotation. Makes me wonder if I am still on earth, just not on /Earth/. You know? This whole place is just straight up weird. Like Disney took an acid drop and was locked in a room with only pastels. Seems to be getting colder though, which worries me. Isn’t hell supposed to be hot? I’ve heard theories about different hells for different folks, but this place is just a little too ridiculous.

I’m going to take a risk tonight. Going to recon that village I spotted yesterday when night falls and search for food. I really hope that these horse demons eat proper food, and not dead people. I wonder if I’ll see anybody I know when I get there. It would settle some arguments.

Journal of Specialist Kessle-

At that, Jack shut off his PDA, and set it down. Taking in a deep breath; he pushed himself upwards and meandered towards the entrance of his cave. Sticking his head out, he could see that the sun was over halfway through its spin across the sky. Shaking his head, Jack fell back into his daily schedule. As usual, his traps were empty; the forest was quiet, and his left leg needed another tune-up. His stomach growled and protested when he went through his light work out. He pinned his feet under a small log, and laced his fingers together behind his head. As he went through his first set, his mind raced while it could over the tactics he’d use in his raid. The tight knot in his stomach only grew worse as he stretched out his muscles.

Night time couldn’t come soon enough.

______________________________________________________________

“Any luck today Flits?” Cloud Chaser asked as she splayed out underneath the last rays of warm sun. She didn’t look up at her sister as the mare sat down next to her on the fluffy cloud.

“No… Nopony seemed interested.” Flitter let the thick stack of resumes fall onto the cloud beside her. “There weren’t any part time openings on the job board either.” Flitter slouched, before pawing the cloud. She shivered slightly as a chilly breeze blew through Ponyville. Her sister seemed largely unaffected, or she was simply better at hiding it.

Cloud Chaser rolled her eyes. “Why don’t you just go back to work for Founding Mares?” She stretched out her wings as she lounged back even further onto the cloud, as it hovered over Ponyville.

At Cloud Chasers words, Flitters body froze up completely. Her stomach threatened to rebel violently as she practically vibrated. Flitter shot Cloud Chaser a disapproving gaze as she struggled to recompose herself. Flitter smacked the stack of resumes with her right hoof as she gestured wildly with the other. “B-because the manager is a weirdo! I don’t like him at all... I don’t like working there.” She rubbed her fore leg lightly as she glanced around quickly. She wasn’t exactly lying, but the outburst made her feel as if she’d lied through her teeth.

Flitters ears pressed against her head when he sister snorted in annoyance. “Well, maybe if you’d take care of yourself; I might have been able to get you a spot on the weather team.” Cloud Chaser prodded Flitters belly; the soft furry flesh depressing without any fight. Flitter squeaked loudly, and pulled away from her sisters prodding as she covered up her pudgy belly.

“S-stop that! It’s not my fault!” Flitter rubbed the tender spot where Cloud Chaser had poked her roughly.

“Oh stop being such a baby, for f-” Cloud Chaser cut herself off by pressing her lips tightly together. After a moment, she spoke again, albeit in a quieter tone. “Listen, just… Keep trying, okay?” Cloud Chaser was staring at Flitter now, her magenta eyes boring into Flitters light pink ones. “Promise me.”

Flitter cowed immediately; her head hanging low. “...A-alright… I’ll… I promise to put a resume in at Founders….” She pawed gently at the clouds surface as she continued to keep her gaze low.

Cloud Chaser smiled at her younger sister. “Don’t be such a downer, at least you’ll get a discount!” She smiled jokingly, but it quickly turned devious. “ A discount at the best sports bar in all of Ponyvile…. And you could always give your favourite sister in the whole world a discount too! It’s the perfect place for you to work!” Cloud Chaser grinned broadly as she sat up. She patted Flitters back lightly. “You definitely need to work there again.”

Flitter simply nodded as she gathered her resumes up. “S-sure… Yeah.” She forced a smile as she started towards the edge of the cloud.

“Hey, Flits.” Cloud Chaser stood up, and stretched her wings. She turned around, and smiled honestly to her sister. “You’ll find a job, don’t worry so much!” Cloud Chaser giggled to herself, before hugging her baby sister. “Oh, and if you could maybe get out of the house around twelve, that would be just awesome.” Cloud Chaser smiled broadly as she rubbed Flitters back.

Said mare only slumped more. “Yeah. I’ll uh… I’ll find something to do.” Flitter dove off the cloud, and flew lazily back down to Ponyville. Her mind was racing, and her stomach felt like it was going to rebel. There was bound to be a place other than Founders hiring. There just had to be.

Several hours later, Flitter had found herself staring at the gaudy wood sign hanging over the ‘fine’ establishment of Founding Mares; the one and only sports bar in all of Ponyville. Her resume stack was still weighing her down more than she’d thought it would. Flitter had hoped that by the time she made it to Founders; she would be out of resumes. Her hope had been popped like a cheap party balloon on a date with Pokey Pierce. Flitter rubbed her eyes, and forced herself towards the threshold. She had a promise to keep.

The mare at the counter looked up and smiled, while her eyes widened slightly in surprise. “Heya Flitter! What’re you doing back here? I thought you said you’d never set a hoof in here again.” The mare smirked a bit.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Fliter reached into her bag and pulled out her thin resume. “I’m coming in to put in a resume, Jewel.”

Jewel’s smirk grew two-fold as she grabbed the resume. “You’re coming back? Is it really that bad out there?” Jewel shook her head a bit, and stowed the resume away in the front desk. “Well, I’ll tell Mr. G.” The mare tossed a glance over her shoulder. “I hope you find something else.” The mare returned her focus to trotting off and finding the manager.

Flitter simply nodded, and waited as Jewel trotted off to find her manager. Flitter didn’t bother looking in the mirror or fixing her mane; like she had the first time she’d applied here. She didn’t have to. If Flitter was going to be completely honest with herself; she would have rather been anywhere else. Anywhere that wasn’t where she was right at that moment. She’d rather be on a wild goose chase in search of a golem in the woods than be sitting in that incredibly uncomfortable seat; with the shoddy cushion causing her pain in her plush flank. Flitter frowned slightly, and shuffled a bit in her seat. It didn’t get any more comfortable, and the irritation only increased.

“She can’t even sit still she’s so excited to see me! I’m flattered!” The familiar stallions voice set Flitters nerves on edge, like a knife on a chalkboard.

She looked up at the stallion and forced a well trained smile onto her lips. “Hi Mr. G.”

The white stallion scoffed, and ran a hoof through his shiny mane. “Mr. G? After all the time we spent working so closely together, you still call me ‘Mr. G? I’m hurt Flitty.” The stallion smiled coyly at Flitter as he closed the distance between them..

Flitters fur crawled when he smiled at her, yet she managed to keep her smile up. “Sorry Gaze. I’m… I’m looking for a job. Are there any server positions open?” Flitter asked hopefully; begging silently that he would say no, and that she could leave. Her fur crawled again, and the taste of bile rose dangerously in the back of her throat.

Gaze smiled a bit wider, which made his head look just a little too small. “Well, no server positions are open, but we do have a dishwasher slot open. Five bits an hour.”

Flitter sputtered like a fish out of water, before clamping her mouth shut as quickly as possible. Five bits an hour was a lot less than she would have gotten working as a server. It was less than she’d get working anywhere else. “I-” Flitter looked back up and smiled painfully. “Well, I’ve got a few other places that were interested in hiring me, so I’ll get back to you on that offer Mr. G.”

The unicorn stallion didn’t even flinch. His smile never turned down a decibel, even for a second. “Well, you best get to it Flitty. We’ll be waiting for ya!” The stallion chuckled. “Come back soon, alright?” He winked at her as he wore his trademark grin.

“Kthnxbye!” Flitter focused intently on simply trotting out the door. It took all her willpower to wait until she couldn’t be seen from the restaurant window before bolting off into the clouds.

By the time she reached her home; Flitter had managed to calm down, if only slightly. The mare shook her head heavily, before making a beeline towards her room on the upper floor. Flitter trotted into her room and flopped down on the bed. Curling up and rested her head in her hooves, Flitter shivered heavily before lifting herself up. She found herself headed for her small bathroom. Pulling her bow off, Flitter started up the shower and climbed in as quickly as she could.

The water was pleasantly warm and inviting. Resting her head against the wall for a moment; Flitter sighed quietly, and went about lathering up her soft fur and mane. Before Flitter soaked herself down; she grabbed the scrubber and started trying to scrub the grime off that her conversation with Mr. G had left behind. Flitter grit her teeth together, and started scrubbing harder, and harder, and harder. Flitter clamped her eyes shut as she scrubbed, a solitary whimper escaping her. Having rubbed her forehoof raw, Flitter let out a pained yelp as the coarse scrubber raked against her raw flesh. Blinking back tears, Flitter finished cleaning up before shutting off the now cold water. She quickly toweled off, and limped back out into her room.

Flitter fell onto her bed, and spread out weakly as she stared at the cloud ceiling. The world around her went fuzzy, before falling into complete darkness. Flitter shuddered unintentionally as she opened her eyes, and looked around. She was in the clearing again. Getting up off her bed, Flitter looked around curiously. The clearing was exactly as she remembered it, but it felt... Off.

A thick branch cracked loudly somewhere out in the trees, causing Flitter to squeak in surprise. She flared out her wings, and pumped wildly to escape the clearing. Her hooves didn’t even leave the ground. Flitter tossed a quick, frantic glance over her shoulder, and found that the reason why she couldn’t fly. Flitters wings were gone, with only a pair of bloody stumps left behind. Flitters eyes widened in terror, and her gaze was snapped back forward when another branch snapped under the weight of… Something. Before she could react, something rustled in the bush next to her. Screaming, Flitter whirled around to face the bush.... Only to have a pair of metal gauntlets grip her head.

The metal hands hefted her off her hooves, and towards a blinding white light.

“HOLD STILL.”

Jerking violently back into the land of the living; Flitters wings snapped outwards as she gripped her sheets out of sheer terror. As the feeling of her cool, smooth sheets overcame the feeling of dread and terror, Flitter mustered the courage to look around. Finding herself in her boring little room filled Flitter with relief; if only for a moment. Letting out a quiet sigh, Flitter rolled over in bed to stare at her little alarm clock.

11:30

Flitter groaned loudly as she rolled over onto her back. “Shoot.” She cursed lightly, before sitting up. “Where did I put my ribbon?” The mare slowly got to her hooves and glanced around. Furrowing her brow lightly, Flitter started searching a bit more anxiously. “Come on, where the hay did I put that silly thing…”

As time ticked on, Flitters search grew more futile. Despite her best efforts, her ribbon was nowhere to be found. Letting out a disgruntled sigh, Flitter glanced once again at her alarm clock.

11:58

Running a hoof down her face, Flitter accepted her fate, and started towards her bedroom door. Just as she pushing it open, she could hear her sister coming in through the front door. Flitter silently cursed her luck. The last thing she wanted was for her sister to get all uppity over her still being here. That, and Flitter had no interest in Cloud Chasers newest coltfriend. Flitter turned away from the door, and headed straight for her window. An errant giggle cut her off as she straddled the window sill. Flitter bit her lip lightly, and slowly got off the sill. She was only slightly curious. She was only going to check and see which stallion she would have to avoid dating if things with Goldie fell through. Treading silently back across her room, Flitter peaked out through the crack left by her door.

Cloud Chaser trotted into the living room, with a tan stallion in tow. She turned, and wrapped her hooves around the stallions neck. Flitters expression turned sour, and she turned to head for her window when the stallion spoke.

“Are you sure Flitter isn’t home?” He asked before descending on Cloud Chasers neck. Flitter couldn't quite place his muffled voice.

Cloud Chaser squeaked, before flopping onto the couch. The mare shuffled back, her wings spread wide in arousal. “She’s gone. She does what I tell her.” Flitter could tell Cloud Chaser was grinning by the tone of her voice.

The stallion laughed, and walked into view of Flitters hiding spot. Immediately recognizing the stallion. Flitter felt an unfamiliar feeling build up inside her; a red hot burning that welled up in her ribs. The burning forced tears into her eyes; her hooves shook violently as she looked away. She couldn’t bear to watch her coltfriend do this to her. Cloud Chaser had said that Goldie was only dating her so that he could get close to Cloud Chaser, but Flitter hadn’t really believed it. Now she had proof. Flitter pressed her lips together as tightly as she could and trotted slowly to her window. Even a fall nights chill couldn’t quell the burning pain in Flitters chest. The mare flew towards Ponyville; dead to the world.

As Flitter flew aimlessly through the nights chill, another creature crept towards the same location. As husbands and wives laid their foals to rest; as even the most night owlish pony placed their heads down on their pillows; a dark figure stole into Ponyville. While the figure may have been slightly lost, it still had direction.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Jack readjusted the spare shirt he was using as a balaclava, and peaked around the corner of a particularly impressive stone building. There wasn’t a single pony in sight. Slowly slinking out of the darkness; Jack drew himself up, and scanned the lane.

Looks like a small restaurant there… A Sofa and Quill shop… Why the fuck would… Nevermind. Jack shook his head lightly, before sticking his head out a little further. His exoskeleton clicked near-silently as he extended outwards. Is that a gingerbread house? What, do they stuff people in ovens and burn them alive? A shudder ran down his spine, and he immediately turned away from the place. Ain’t nobody got time for that again.

Jack sighed quietly, and turned his sights on the small restaurant. Stalking quietly across the street, Jack maneuvered around towards the establishments back door. He held his breath, and jerked his head lightly; listening for any signs that he’d been spotted. Having heard nothing, Jack turned his attention back to the door before him. He reached out tentatively, and tapped the handle. Nothing happened. Satisfied that the door wasn’t rigged with some kind of hellspawn voodoo magic, Jack stood up and looked over the door.

Looks like wood… I wonder if it’s unlocked? Jack reached forward and tested the handle. It only jiggled ever so slightly in his grip. Grunting, Jack rolled his shoulders, and grabbed the handle with both hands. His muscles tensed, and his titanium exoskeleton flexed in tandem. The metal door handle let out a quiet groan, and snapped off in his unarmoured hands. Jack looked down at his hand and pursed his lips in frustration. Shaking his head, Jack backed up, and delivered the solid bottom of his boot to the space just beside the door knobs remains.

The door didn’t budge an inch.

Backing away, Jack furrowed his brow in disbelief. It appeared that his original assumption that the door wasn't rigged with hellspawn voodoo magic had been wrong. This shouldn’t be so fucking hard... What the fuck? He shook his head, before rubbing the bridge of his nose with his fore finger and thumb. Giving up with a light shrug, Jack booted the door again. And again. And again. The door refused to budge, but it did have an impressive imprint of his boot heel inside it now. Taking a deep, calming breath, Jack started rooting around in his tactical vest in search for a very special something. Allowing himself a small smirk, Jack pulled the small spool from his vest.

Gonna show you, you stupid fuckin door.

Threading the small line into the lock; Jack snipped it off so just a tiny amount was poking out. Quickly pressing his leads into the soft gel insides of the wires; Jack took cover near the door. Taking one last glance around, he pressed the wires against his battery.

KOOF

The muffled explosion didn’t even register a flinch from Jack, who quickly moved in to assess the damage. It took all of his willpower to not hoot and holler in triumph as he stared down at the pulverized door handle and frame. A light push from him sent the door open; the gateway to the dark eatery was now open. Stealing inside; Jack went to work as the door fell off its hinges and clattered to the floor.

Is that rum!? HAHA! YAR!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Nearby, someponies night was going much, much worse than Jacks. Flitter wiped at her eyes with her raw forehoof, but the tears refused to stop their flowing. Her jaw was clamped down as tightly as possible, but even then she couldn’t stop the odd whimper from escaping. Stumbling through the dark; Flitter didn’t run into a single soul.

Coming across a vacant bench; Flitter collapsed onto it, and sobbed quietly into her hooves. The burning pain in her chest had all but disappeared, but she could still feel it deep down, as if somepony had stuck her with a fire poker. Despite her best efforts, the tears came in hot and heavy. Flitter curled up and hugged herself as her body racked itself with pained sobs.

___________________________________________________________________

Come- ON! Off- the- wall! Jack tugged and pulled with all his might; he was soon rewarded by the sound of crumbling drywall. Looking down, he found himself the proud new owner of a fair sized metal first aid box. Grinning as he stuffed the box into his massive pack, Jack turned towards the freezers. The large metal doors were locked up tight, but that was hardly a problem. Lifting his cybernetic leg up, Jack pistoned the flimsy padlock clear off the handle. A large grin threatened to break out across his features as he pulled the door wide open.

Come to Papa!

Jack entered the freezer, and immediately went for the closest boxes. The writing on them made him pause for a moment. It’s written in English Standard? I… What? I suppose… They were /speaking/ English, so I guess it makes sense. Shaking his head to disperse the shroud of mystery, Jack grabbed the first box he saw. Again, it made him pause. Upon the box; it had a black and white caricature of a young man. Said young man looked rather dazed as he ate some kind of food-stuff. Curiosity gaining the better of him, Jack drew his knife out of its sheath and ran its edge across the top of the box.

Buffalo wings? FUCKING BUFFALO WINGS!???

Jack stared down at the opened box in stunned silence. After a moment, he threw his hands in the air and wordlessly repeated his mantra: Fuck it. Grabbing two of the unopened boxes; he stuffed them into his pack, and grabbed several other boxes without reading the labels. Having take at best a random selection of goods from the first freezer, Jack moved to the next one. Popping the lock off with contemptuous ease, Jack entered the second freezer.

More a fridge, really….

This fridge seemed more geared towards fruit and vegetables; while Jack didn’t mind, he didn’t exactly trust any unknown foods. Without much rhyme or reason, Jack grabbed whatever he could fit into his bag. He quickly left the second fridge a destroyed mess of fallen fruits and squashed vegetables. Despite having already broken into both lockers, his pack was only half full. Hang on. Jack paused on his way to the door; pulling out his flashlight for the first time, Jack spotted the mother-lode. The restaurants stock of non-perishables stood before him on three separate shelves. Can after can went into the pack, and Jack soon found himself fully loaded. Switching off his flashlight, Jack turned and made for the door.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Out on her bench, Flitter didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary as she buried her muzzle deep into her hooves. She’d gone past the point of sobbing, and was now spiraling downwards into self-loathing. Flitter shivered violently; the cold biting deep into her. To Flitters surprise, somepony sneezed very close to her bench. Flitter popped her head up at the sound. “Huh?”

“AHH!”

Flitters head snapped to the side as Jacks fist pistoned into it; her world went dark on impact. Jack stood in a tensed position, his fists drawn back to combat his sudden attacker. Only, the attacks didn’t come. Lowering his fists, Jack slowly edged towards the bench. On the ground beside it, lay one of the horse creatures.

I just sucker punched a demon horse in the face....

Carefully approaching the fallen creature, Jack gently toed it with his metallic boot. The creature didn’t respond. Against his better judgement, he knelt down next to the small horse, and pressed two fingers up under its jaw line.

Where’s the Grud damned pulse on this thing- Oh, wait. There it is. Not dead apparently… Lucky my strike plate's weren't on. He pondered quietly as he stared down at the comatose horse. They speak english… Maybe I can question it? Or maybe I should just take my shit and run. Before Jack could think of any better plan; someone called out in the night. “Hello? What’s going on out there?” A light flicked on in one of the many houses, and was followed by several more. Additional voices sounded out, and doors were unlocked. Cursing his luck and lacking any better options, Jack scooped the tiny horse creature up in his arms, and bolted out of the small village.

Thankfully, the trip back to his base of operations went smoothly; none of the village's inhabitants made any attempt to follow him. As Jack neared the entrance to his cave, the sky split open violently, and rain began to pour down in earnest. Cursing silently, he picked up the pace. He eventually arrived in the blessedly dry cave, and immediately set to work. Setting down his overstuffed pack; Jack pulled out a long line of rappelling rope. He carefully set the small horse down, and secured it against one of the caves stalagmites.

Funny looking little critter… Staring at the horse for a moment; Jack shook his head, and pulled off his impromptu balaclava. Running a hand over his bristly high and tight haircut; Jack set about putting everything he’d taken in an appropriate spot. His stomach tensed painfully, causing him to grunt quietly. Instead of putting everything away; he set out an assortment of random foods that he’d pilfered. Jack started his fire, and laid his soaked clothing down on the rocks near his fire pit. A box of the buffalo wings was dragged over, along with a couple fruits.

Before Jack could start cooking, his captive stirred; a pained moan escaping her bruised lips. Slumping his shoulders in annoyance, Jack stood up, and pulled on his spare clothes. Wait… He paused for a moment as he pulled on a wool sock. It may be incredibly dangerous. I may need my armour. I should cover its eyes too, Just to be sure. He nodded to himself, and quickly slipped into his heavy body armour. The full face helmet fit over his slightly soggy noggin without any difficulties. Treading over to the squirming horse; Jack wrapped his last dry shirt around its eyes. The horse pulled away at the contact, a terrified whimper escaping it.

__________________________________________________________

Flitters vision swam sickeningly as the small trail of flickering light was nearly blotted out by a black cloth wrap. Whimpering quietly; Flitter tried to pull away the cloth wrapping. She quickly found out that her hooves were bound tightly, and that she couldn’t get up. Terror coursed through the small pegasus. “P-p-ple-please…. Please don’t hurt me…” She barely managed a whisper, but no answer came.

Jack had taken several steps back from the blindfolded horse. It had just spoken to him, and it sounded terrified. Lifting up his hand; Jack tried to speak. Once again, nothing but pained coughing. At the sound of his coughing and hacking, the small horse cowered away, and started sobbing quietly. A disgruntled groan escaped Jack as he looked down at the crying thing. This is not what I had in mind. Demons aren’t supposed to beg for mercy and sob. This is fucked up. I can’t even talk to this damn thing. Tapping his fingers lightly against his helmet; Jack let out a defeated sigh. Wait. A small grin spread across his features, and he tromped away from the sobbing horse. Rifling through his bedding, Jack let out a satisfied chuckle when his armoured fingers came in contact with his PDA.

__________________________________________________________

The side of Flitters head pounded mercilessly; it felt utterly unbearable. Sniffing sadly, Flitter let her head fall downwards. She didn’t know what this pony wanted with her; the sorrow of the night only made the ideas worse in her mind.

“Hello.” A tinny voice sounded out around the cave, causing Flitter to shrink as far as she could out of terror. The heavy hoof-falls came closer, before stopping just in front of her. “What are you?” The tinny voice asked unemotionally.

Looking up; Flitter swallowed nervously. What am I? Flitter closed her eyes as the pain throbbed through her head. “I-I’m a p-pony…”

There was a long pause before the stallions voice came back. “Are you going to hurt me?”

Now THAT caught Flitter off guard. Hurt him? Whaaaa? Flitter blinked in confusion, before shaking her head gently. “N-no. I-I… I don’t want to hurt anypony... “ She sniffed back tears as the pain in her head increased.

The stallion huffed quietly, and seemed to trot off. It returned moments later, and sat down in front of her. “Hold still. Will be cold.” Flitter opened her eyes in confusion, and opened her mouth to protest. Her words were cut off by a surprised squeal that escaped her own throat as the ice cold thing pressed against the injured side of her head.

Pulling away from the biting cold; Flitter twisted, and fell over. Something pinched tightly against her body, causing the small mare to gasp and whine in pain. The stallion emanated some kind of disgruntled noise, and grabbed her. Flitter gasped at the touch. The stallion didn’t have hooves. As the hands pulled her up and unpinched the rope, Flitter cautiously sputtered out her own question. “W-what are y-you?” To her surprise; the hands pulled away from her, and the voice didn’t answer. As Flitter held her breath; the hands returned. Gently grasping her head, its fingers deftly untied her blindfold. Flitter blinked rapidly as her eyes readjusted to the dull lighting in what looked to be a cave. Looking over to her captor; Flitters eyes went wide and her jaw dropped.

Flitter knew that mask. It belonged to the golem. The Golem that she’d obsessed over for over a week before losing heart. She was staring into the single slit that passed for its eye. If she’d been paying attention, Flitter may have noticed her heart skipping a beat.

The golem chuckled, shaking her out of her trance. Its fingers danced over a small square of metal; to Flitters amazement and surprise, the tinny voice sounded out from the small metal square. “Was it something I said?”

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Flitter looked back up to the golems blank visage. “I-it’s you… You.. You saved me! Down by the lake!” A small smile had begun spreading across Flitters muzzle, betraying her excitement.

Slapping its metal hand off its armoured haunch; the golem pointed at Flitter. A moment later its voice sounded out from the square. “So that is where I remember you from.” The golem turned its head towards one of the cave walls and sat perfectly still; before returning its attention back to Flitter.

The golem drummed its fingers against its helmet, before making some kind of gesture Flitter had never seen before. Its free hand tapped at the square again. “Sorry I hit your face. You surprised me.” It held up a hand to silence Flitters excited response. “Promise that you won’t cut my balls off.”

The sheer oddity of the golems request struck Flitter unexpectedly. “W-what? But I…” She bit her lip, and looked down. “I promise I won’t hurt you if you untie me.” She smiled weakly up at the metal giant. The golem tapped its jaw twice, before shrugging. It got up a bit faster than Flitter was expecting, and walked around behind her. Flitter waited patiently as the golem fiddled with the rope it had bound her with. Her smile only broadened when the rope fell slack, and she could stretch her wings again. Taking the moment to look around the cave; Flitter found herself slightly confused. Why would a golem need a bed? Or all of those food cans? Turning her attention back to the golem with the intention of asking it why it had all these things; Flitter found herself struck silent.

Pulling his helmet free, Jack squeezed his eyes closed, before blinking rapidly to dispel the electric ghosts the helmets heads up display left on his eyes. He smiled lightly, and looked back over to the shocked looking pony. He cocked an eyebrow, and tapped out a message. “What? Do I have something on me?" He wiped his mouth lightly with an armoured gauntlet, before looking back up at the pony.

Flitter shook her head slowly. “N-no… You’re… You’re a human.” Flitter rubbed her eyes, and peered at the unexpected visage. The human made a face and rolled its eyes. It acts like a pony… Flitter smiled weakly. “This is…. Amazing.” She sat down on her haunches and stared up at the human. Memory of her promise arose within her mind. Flitter furrowed her brow, before looking up at the human. “I don’t… I don’t even know where to begin…” Flitter rubbed her bruised face accidentally and let out a pained yelp.

To her surprise, the human leaned forward, and pressed the cold pouch up against her bruise again. It then gently grasped her hoof, and pressed it against the cold pouch. “Hold the gel pack there. Will reduce swelling.” The human ran a hand over its bristly cheek before standing up. Flitter did as she was told, but her eyes followed the heavily armoured human as he walked over to his bed. It spread out its arms slightly, and stood stock straight. Flitter jumped when a series of clicks sounded out from the humans metal body; the primary plates sliding open to allow the human to leave its confines. The mares mouth fell open slightly as the impressively tall human stretched out; grunting as its spine popped back into place as it stretched. Flitter couldn’t help but notice that several intricate looking lengths of metal were seemingly attached to the humans limbs and body.

The human walked over quietly, its legs making strange clicking noises as it did so. Pulling her own legs in a bit closer; Flitter watched as the human crossed its legs underneath itself and sat down opposite to her. Now that it was much lower down to her, she could see many of the details on its face. His face. She realized. The human had a very angular jawline, and it looked as though the usual human facial hair was just starting to come in. He seemed to have some kind of nasty old wound on its forehead; one that went from its brow to the back of its skull. It looked as if the flesh had been ripped up, and had never properly been healed. Flitter looked over at the mans face as he made a gesture with his hand. The mares eyes went wide when she found herself locked in his gaze. Its eyes were like nothing she’d seen before; not even close to the dull eyes of normal humans. Its sharp green eyes were much smaller, but they never seemed to stop moving. They almost felt predatory as his gaze went over her, then back up to meet her wide, pink eyes. How they locked onto her made her feel as if the human was sizing her up so it could hunt her down.

Shattering another human normality, he smiled lightly at her as his fingers danced on the square. “So, what is your name. Are you a boy, or a girl?” His smile became a smirk as Flitter's cheeks went red.

Flitter managed to smile ever so slightly through the burn of an embarrassing blush.. “M-my name is Flitter, and I’m a mare.” The mare shook her head and looked around. “I… I don’t understand… Who… Who are you? Where are you from?” She asked quietly as her eyes fell on the humans armour and belongings. Much of it didn’t even look Equestrian, or Griffonic.

The human stretched lightly, before leaning forward. “Well Flitter, my name is Jack Kessle, and I am a long way from home.”

Author's Notes:

Well, those of you that know me know what I'm about to say already. For those of you that don't; I take for fucking ever to post updates. I have no real schedule for writing, and my life often takes it upon itself to throw shit at me when I least expect it. I figured I'd warn you all before I get a pile of angry messages about how I need to write the next chapter before my house gets burned to the ground.

Anyways, Cheers! Thanks to all of you guys for making this my most promising story so far!