“And that is why Genghis Clop was able to succeed against the far superior pegasi forces for so long. Through cruel doings and unthinkable tactics he managed to evade capture. Today’s lesson is on how to overcome and defeat such unbecoming tactics.” The uniformed stallion began writing on the large blackboard, setting Flitter's teeth on edge.

“Using superior pegasi mobility, he shouldn't have been a problem.” Flitter muttered as she slouched in her seat. Considering she’d just completed the section on the Terran Genghis Khan, she had a fairly good grasp on the real tactics that the wizened teacher had glazed over. Or maybe he hadn't done so on purpose. Ancient pegasi were insanely prideful, so taking defeat from an earthpony would have had them practically frothing at the muzzle and flailing wildly in an attempt to squash the upstart and whitewash any achievements made by him. Said upstart of course ended up killing a king and siring an eighth of the modern earthpony population, so they had only truly succeeded on one front.

“Hey, hey Flitter.” Flitter perked up as her neighbor whispered her name. Her neighbor was a slight unicorn mare with a fine silvery coat and red mane who had come from a very prodigious noble family. Flitter had expected to immediately dislike the mare, but had quickly found it difficult. Her name was Hazel Dreams, and she was not only a fast learner, she was humble and personable.

Smiling tiredly over to Hazel, Flitter silently thanked the chance to turn her attention away from the class topic. “What's up Hazel?”

The mare smiled and scooted a touch closer as she opened her folder full of notes. “I heard you got to escort the new Terran around the castle yesterday, what's he like?”

Blinking in brief surprise before an easy smile overcame her features, Flitter relaxed and set down her quill. “You mean Jack? Yesterday wasn't my first time meeting him. I've known him for months.”

Hazel's eyes widened in curiosity. “Really? I heard from some of the others that he's really loud and mean.”

Flitter had to laugh, if only quietly. She covered her mouth with her wing to keep from making any further noise. “That's all you've heard? Loud and mean?” Flitter grinned and shook her head. “Well, they're right on both counts, but he's only mean if you provoke him. Otherwise he's like… a rambunctious country boy. Always getting into trouble, but sticking up for the people and things he believes in.” Flitter paused as the last part of her sentence forced its way up. “Usually… violently, but you get the point.”

“Do you think I can meet him?” Hazel looked so excited that Flitter found herself almost agreeing simply out of hoofjerk reaction.

“I… I'll ask him later when I see him. I don't think he’ll be in the hospital for much longer. Just a, uh… a word of warning? Yeah, don't touch him without permission.” Flitter didn't notice the sudden amount of attention that was slowly falling on her.

To her credit, neither did Hazel. “Why? That just sounds weird.”

“Because-” Flitter paused, and wracked her mind. Why doesn't Jack like anybody touching him all of a sudden? It must have been because of whatever happened in that place, but I can't think of anything that would make him react so violently… Realizing that she was staring into empty space, Flitter simply shrugged. “I don't really know. I'll have to ask him later.”

Hazel beamed happily and levitated her schedule; she quickly filled in a small section with her quill. “I can't wait to meet your friend Jack, I'm really interested in Earth and-”

“Ahem!” The teacher cleared his throat again, finally getting the pairs attentions. “I see your conversation takes more precedence than my lecture. Cadet Falenas, since you think my teaching is worthless, why don't you come down and teach the rest of the class how you would contain Genghis Clop?” The edge and aggression in the teacher's voice was painfully apparent, but if Flitter were being honest with herself, a small part of her had been praying heavily for the chance to stretch her knowledge of human tactics on the boxy planning of Equestrian warmakers. She also wanted to put the stuck up unicorn in his place.

Standing and gathering her supplies, Flitter began making her way down to the blackboard. “Gladly. You see, it's a real shame that we've decided to skim over Clop’s tactics and management abilities in favour of Fleethoof’s blunders. All Clop had was angry farmers and hastily trained militia ponies to pull from initially, and he still managed to beat back a full garrison of hardened and trained pegasi warriors.” Flitter set her supplies down on the teacher's desk and smirked at the stallion as he fumed. “The first mistake made was underestimating Clop, the second was underestimating how angry the farmers were over recent changes and food shortages. The first lesson is to never underestimate anyone. Be aware and be ready for anything. The third mistake comes from the pegasi response, which was to torch the village. They galvanized the farmers behind Clop by doing that. Don't give your enemies a reason to band together just to kick your ass.” Flitter spotted the beaming Hazel in the upper seat and had to fight to keep a straight face. “Now to battlefield tactics.” She gestured to the blackboard with the teachers yardstick. “Commander Fleethoof committed all of his troops in a full frontal attack, deeming the farmers unprepared and unwilling to fight. He was wrong, and the farmers baited his soldiers skillfully. Pulling them back into the forest where traps had been constructed, Clop broke the garrison into smaller, less effective units, cornered each unit, and wiped them out with sheer numbers and ferocity. He chose the battlefield, and it was to his force’s strengths. Don't let your enemy choose the battlefield if you can help it.”

“Cadet Falenas!” The teacher rumbled furiously. “The class is about how to defeat a rebel force such as Ghengis Clop’s! Not why you think he was a strategic genius!”

Wanting to sigh and roll her eyes while making snide comments about the teacher’s own brand of genius, Flitter again fought to keep a straight face. “Respectfully sir, if Commander Fleethoof didn't have his head so far up his own ass, then Clop would never have been able to gain any clout with the villagers. He would have remained a backwoods bandit that could be defeated through proper bait and trap tactics.” The teacher was now almost literally fuming, but Flitter knew that she was in the clear. If only because her other instructors were mostly holding in laughter. Now for the coup de gras. Grabbing the chalk from the wizened old coot, Flitter brought herself to a hover and began allocating troops and planning movements. “But assuming that the local commander has destroyed all chance of diplomatic solutions, Fleethoofs’s second in command could have avoided full route by cutting off Clop's avenue of reinforcement and escape, picked off his bodyguards with ranged weaponry, and then surrounded Clop himself. Without the villagers to reinforce him and no bodyguards from his personal cadre, Clop wouldn't last long against a numerically superior force of trained soldiers on his own. Failing containment, pegasi could easily harass his line of retreat, making future campaigns difficult with his loss of resources and ponypower.” Flitter took in a steady breath and allowed herself a thin smile. “Where you could draw him out, divide his forces, and wipe him out in a field of your choosing.”

Before the teacher could argue her choice of tactics, one of the instructors began clopping his hooves loudly on the stairs. The stallion began trotting down toward Flitter and the seething teacher. “Very good cadet! A wonderful showing of effective and thoughtful tactics, wouldn't you say so Mr. Chalk?”

Mr. Chalk looked as if he were about to spontaneously combust on the spot. He began collecting his supplies, his body shaking with rage. “Class is dismissed! I require pages one hundred to one hundred and twelve to be completed, all questions!” He began storming toward the door, before stopping and barking out one final order that earned a groan from all of the cadets present. “By Monday!!!”

The door slammed behind Mr. Chalk, but Flitter didn't allow herself a moment to relax. She snapped a salute to her instructor and stood at attention. “Sorry sir, I should have known my place.”

Her instructor simply waved the hoof down as he smiled and looked over the boards. “Cadet, one thing that we will always need are ponies willing to stand up and take charge when they are needed. But more importantly, we need those ponies to know what they're doing.” He nodded to her. “Dismissed Cadet.”

A smile finally slipped past Flitter's defenses as she snapped another respectful salute. “Yes sir, thank you sir.” Collecting her folder, Flitter began making her way out the door and into the large castle hall. Outside, waiting for her, was Hazel.

The mare squee’d and rapidly pranced in place. *Flitter, you are my hero! Seriously! That was amazing!”

Before Flitter could thank Hazel, or get even a cough in edgewise, an armoured stallion ran passed the large group of cadets. “Ponyville garrison just fought off a horde of infected humans! They're saying over one hundred confirmed!” He then continued on galloping, leaving the cadets confused and worried.

Swallowing nervously, Flitter glanced over at Hazel. “Ponyville garrison is fifteen soldiers, no way they fought off a hundred infected. Come on, let's go see if they're doppling it in.” Hazel immediately nodded and matched Flitter's stride as she cantered deeper into the castle.

The Doppling device had been invented only a few months prior, but was quickly being surpassed by radios as the desired means of communication. However, it was still the only device that could reach Ponyville from Canterlot. The operator sat at his desk, rapidly writing down calls as they came in. If any Terran human had spotted the device and its operator, they would be able to draw an immediate conclusion that it was a type of telegraph. Trotting up to the desk, Flitter cleared her throat and smiled at the operator.

“Can we see the recording of the Ponyville horde report?” She asked rather breathlessly as Hazel came to a stop beside her.

The operator glanced up, betraying the deep bags under his eyes. Without saying a word, he began digging through the recent reports until he found the slip. Sliding it gingerly across the desk to Flitter's waiting hooves, his attention didn't stay long enough to see the silent thanks Flitter tried to give him. Taking the report strip, Flitter began to read it out loud for Hazel's benefit despite the mare already leaning awkwardly over her shoulder to get a glimpse.

“Horde sighted in Everfree. Stop. Estimated strength over one hundred. Stop.” Flitter frowned heavily. If there was such a threat to the town, why wasn't the guard scrambling? She continued on, to Hazel's bated breath. “Explosions seen within Everfree. Stop. Unknown combatant engaging horde. Stop. Golem sightings confirmed. Stop.” Flitter sucked in a breath of elation as realization hit. Jack had dealt with the problem. “Horde destroyed entirely. Stop. Request reinforcements. Stop. Advise situation. Full stop.”

Hazel pranced in place as her imagination ran with the seemingly dark report. “I wonder what happened? Oh creators, how did a golem kill so many infected!? I have so many questions!” The mare pawed at her own face frantically. “Blaaaarg!”

Giggling at Hazel's exaggerated theatrics, Flitter returned the report and shook her head. “I got one word for you, answers everything!” Hazel's eyes went wide again, and Flitter's smile only grew. “Jack.”

_______________________________________________________________________

In the air over Canterlot, Jack wasn't solving problems. He was creating them. “We can't stay airborne!” The lead pegasi yelled as the chariot pitched threateningly.

“I told you my fat ass was too much for this dinky hunka flyin’ fuckin’ wood!” Jack cried as he clutched the railings with enough strength to splinter them under his pneumatic grip.

“YOU DIDN'T TELL US IT WEIGHED HALF A DAMN TON!” Baron screamed back as she wrapped herself around one of the railings opposite Jack. She had known that he had weighed too much when the pegasus team had been hard pressed with take off. It was simply a modern miracle that they had even made it as far as Canterlot. Unfortunately now there weren't any lush, flat fields for an emergency landing. Her eyes flicked to Mythic; she was hellbent on taking a piece out of his ass as well before she died. The desire withered as she saw the fully grown stallion clamped down on the bench, his grey fur whiter than hers. Earthponies were never meant to fly after all.

“Gawd fuckin dammit! Hey, pilot!” Jack bawled out at the pegasi flying. “Take us down one hundred more meters!”

The rear stallion cast a swift, confused glance over his shoulder at the Goliath dragging them down to their deaths. “WHAT!?”

Jack snarled and jabbed his finger downwards. “Dive! Dive motherfucka dive!”

Confusion began overriding fear and anger for Baron, if only slightly as the carriage pitched dangerously and the fliers started their steep dive. “What the buck are you planning Staff Sergeant!?”

To further enrage her, Jack was holding up an armoured hand and slowly curling fingers into a fist. “This suit’s good for combat drops, so long as I don't reach terminal velocity!”

Baron blinked owlishly at the insane human. “And how high is that!?”

Jack simply shrugged. “Around one hundred feet or so, I dunno, it's been awhile so I'm a little fuzzy! I also don't have a drag chute, sooo-” He suddenly dropped his last finger down, making a fist. Without warning he rolled off the back of the carriage; leaving his heavy bag and rifle behind. Internally, he wanted to yell something as he cannonballed through the air. Anything. A catchphrase, something awesome that would cement his place in the halls of cool. He wanted to, but he knew better than to open his mouth and let out the scream that was building in his chest. Breath Jack breath! Training took over within a millisecond as he let his momentum spin him on his axis so his feet were pointing downwards. First drop without a chute, let's see how good these shock absorbers are! The ground came rushing up far faster than it had any right to, and he smacked right into it.

Up above, Baron and everyone save Mythic were all either cursing brilliantly or struck silent as Jack's armoured body crashed through a large fountain and plowed through a public park. Ponies scattered in every direction as the team hauling the carriage righted themselves and came in for a swift landing. Other guards were converging on the park, obviously assuming some kind of threat as ponies panicked. One mare in particular looked close to foaming at the muzzle in fear as she screamed ‘the horror’ over and over again. The carriage came in for a fast landing, not bothering with a soft landing. Mythic bolted off the carriage before Baron had a chance to even lift a hoof toward the edge. The stallion began running toward the dust cloud that obscured the crash site. Before Baron had a moment to worry that her charge had gone and killed himself via high velocity fountain, she heard his voice and her fear turned to loathing.

“WOOOO! One hundred and six fuckin feeeet! Wooohooo! Did you see that shit!? That was badaaaaass! Hahahahaha!” Jack bounced from foot to foot as the adrenaline surged through his veins like an intoxicating drug. He was giggling and bouncing and ALIVE. His helmet scanned through the dust cloud, picking up Mythic's form approaching him swiftly. A number of guards were approaching as well, obviously not in the know about his impromptu non-combat drop. Planting his hands on his hips, Jack grinned like a madman inside his helmet. “And they said I'd never be an ODST!”

Still struck by the sheer audacity of the man standing before him, Mythic could only shake his head. “You killed a fountain. Sir.”

Jack turned on his heels and cocked his head at the demolished park fountain. “Huh. Man, I really did kill a fountain. Woops.” Noting the aggressive stances of the guards slowly surrounding him, Jack decided to take matters into his own obviously capable hands. “I need you to play along Ace.”

“What?”

“Just trust me.”

“No! You're-gak!”

Digging his fingers into Mythic's armoured collar, much as he'd done Private Fuckface’s; Jack hefted the struggling stallion and threw him over his shoulder like a rucksack. Popping his helmet off with his free hand and clipping it magnetically to his belt, Jack raised a hand to hail the approaching guard sergeant. “Don't worry boys, I caught him!”

The approaching guards paused, seemingly confused by the declaration coming from the now tiny headed Goliath. The lead sergeant blinked in confusion and looked to the other royal guard already present.

Seeing her future career on the line over a demolished fountain and the psychopath responsible, Baron swallowed her tongue and nodded, all while fixing Jack with a stare that could have melted steel beams.

Grabbing his bag and rifle from the cart, Jack nodded to the pegasi in charge. “Sorry boys, we're hoofing it from here.” He didn't wait to see the relieved looks that came from the exhausted and wounded flight crew as he turned back to the confused guards. “Don't you boys worry your little heads, I'll take this varmint to the dungeons right away!”

“Hey!” Mythic began protesting, but clamped his mouth shut grudgingly when he caught sight of the glare Baron was fixing on him.

Jack simply laughed as he started walking toward the park exit. “That's it! Fifty years dungeon!” Baron quickly matched his hurried stride, which broke out into a laughter infested run the moment they were out of sight. Once they had a bit of distance between them and the crash site, Jack set Mythic down on the cobblestone and reattached his heavy bag. With his rifle slung over his chest, he grinned at his bedraggled bodyguards and jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the castle. “You guys are the best. Seriously, when we get back to the castle, lunch is on me.”

“But the food is free!” Baron practically yelled, and only earned a laugh in return. She whirled to look to Mythic for support, but only for a tired, apathetic shrug. Stowing her fuming loathing toward the man, Baron kept her mouth clamped shut as she and Mythic ‘escorted’ Jack back to the castle. She was sure that her face, and the massive metallic idiot strutting before her were going to be plastered on the cover of every gossip rag and tabloid from Canterlot to Manehattan within hours. The photographers confirmed it as they slowly began to converge upon the trio, the meek snapping pictures, and the bold swooping right in to barrage them with questions.

“Who are you? Canterlot demands to know!”

“Staff Sergeant Jack Kessle, American-Canadian Federation Marine Corp!” Jack bellowed his answers as he marched through the streets with his steadily growing entourage of curious ponies, guards, and paparazzi.

“Are you invading Canterlot!?”

Jack grinned and shot a wink at the mare. “Baby, I'm a lover, not a fighter!”

Baron snorted and muttered “bullshit.”

The vultures ignored the muttered remark and continued on with their barrage of headline questions. “Are you a robot?” The asker was a small copper furred colt who had somehow managed to squeeze past the vultures.

Jack beamed a broad-toothed smile at the colt as he swooped down and scooped him up off the cobblestone. A large number of cameras began flashing and ponies began screaming. “He's going to eat that colt! Oh the horror!” The colt himself simply grinned as Jack set him down on one of his massive armoured shoulders; specifically the shoulder that lacked the rocket launcher rack. The rabble rousers were quickly dealt with by the trailing guard force, who were doing their damndest to avoid a riot.

Looking over at the colt, Jack was all smiles. “I'm only part robot, little man. All soldier though.”

The colt seemed elated as he bounced on the broad armoured pauldron. “I wanna be a big robot soldier too!”

If he were bothered by that declaration, Jack didn't show it. “What's your name kid?”

“I'm Copper Ingot! I'm five!”

Grinning ear to ear, Jack dug a handful of spent forty four magnum shells from on of his armour’s loose kevlar pockets. Holding a single shell out to Copper, Jack fixed him with a very serious look. “Your codename is Charlie Indigo Five. If you wanna be a soldier, eat balanced meals and get really active. You like sports?” At the colt’s nod, Jack continued. “Join a sport team and do your best. Pay attention in school, respect your elders, and remember; ‘Who dares, wins’. Got all that?”

Clutching the little shell casing between his tiny little copper furred hooves, the colt nodded reverently. “I promise I'll never forget!”

Setting the colt down carefully, Jack spun on his heels so he could see the kid as he walked backwards toward the castle gate. Snapping a salute at Copper, he bellowed over the sound of the clamouring crowd. “God speed Charlie Indigo!” Charlie beamed and did his best to salute back as Jack disappeared from sight.

The guards at the gate crossed their spears and cried for the armoured giant to halt, but as he was walking backwards and not paying attention, their spears were battered out of the way as if they hadn't been there at all. Jack slowed, and checked at his sides as his bodyguards slipped in behind him. “Shit, sorry boys! Hundred years dungeon!” The gate guards seemed to consider trying to apprehend him, but upon seeing the pair of bedraggled and exhausted guards that flanked him, they decided on the battle they knew they could win, and turned to keep the crowd off of palace grounds. As the trio escaped the hollering and questioning crowd, Baron hissed at Jack as he hefted his heavy helmet and tucked it under his arm.

“Have you lost your creator-damned mind Staff Sergeant!?”

“Yeah I think I dropped it back in Kansas.”

The whip quick smartass retort only served to boil Baron's blood even further. “You-!” She left out a hissing, infuriated breath through her nose and visibly shook. “You! Have gone insane!”

All the humour in Jack's features disappeared within a snap moment as he stopped just inside the castle halls and turned on Baron. “Okay, it probably looks that way, yeah, but I've had a pretty fucking shitty week so far, alright? I've been tortured by scientists, I've killed goddamn monsters that used to be people; I've watched friends and loved ones die in my fucking arms, I've been shot in the head with my own gun, I've woken up from a coma, I've fought off a literal horde of zombieass motherfuckers by myself! And I just survived a near lethal airdrop without a chute! SO YOU’LL HAVE TO EXCUSE ME, IF I SEEM A LITTLE JITTERY AT THIS CURRENT MOMENT IN TIME, CORPORAL!”

“Is everything alright Staff Sergeant?”

Jack whirled on his armoured heels with surprising agility and locked his eyes onto Celestia. “Yes ma’am, just straightening things out with my team, ma’am.” His voice held no humour, and assumed a snappy, clipped professional tone that betrayed him openly.

Celestia simply stared at the towering man. “That's good. I was worried you were about to make a foolish mistake.”

The pair of guards at his flanks stayed riveted in position as his jaw clenched and unclenched. “No ma’am. I've finished recovering my belongings, ma’am.”

Nodding, Celestia cast a slow glance over her own shoulder. “And why didn't you come in through the landing field?”

“The carriage wasn't as heavy as I had suggested, ma’am.” The unwavering laser-lock that his eyes held on her soon became unnerving for everyone standing by, save for the princess herself.

“That is a shame. Private Ace, Corporal Baron, you're dismissed for today. Staff Sergeant Kessle, if you would follow me, we have your room prepared.”

Without further words, Celestia turned and began trotting through the halls. Jack was quickly by her side; his heavy metal strides jerky and stiff. As the other guards relaxed and dispersed, Baron shook her head and glanced over at Mythic. “The man is a liability. Right Mythic?” When her partner didn't answer, she glanced over her shoulder again, only to find him trotting past her wordlessly. “Hey-Mythic! What gives, Private?” Her hooves stopped under her as Mythic shot a glowering, disapproving look at her while he maintained his silence. “Wha… I-” Baron didn't get the chance to finish her sentence as Mythic trotted off to turn in his battered armour and bloody weapons. He had a long report to fill out.

_____________________________________________________

Celestia had been having a good day. Had, until Staff Sergeant Kessle had reportedly gotten into a one man gun battle with the denizens of the Everfree before jumping out of an overloaded carriage and plowing through a public park. While the princess was glad that nobody had been injured and a serious threat had been removed, the Staff Sergeant's ability to skate around and sometimes literally through trouble was beginning to give her a headache. “Staff Sergeant Kessle, do you know what a PR disaster is?”

He was still at her side; she couldn't miss his heavy stilted footfalls, or mistake them for anything but. “Yes ma’am.”

Celestia let out a slow breath through her nose as she continued walking. “Good. I wanted to make sure you knew exactly what you are.” She allowed her temporary anger to settle. She couldn't place all the blame at Jack's feet. While it was the easy option, it was not the right option. Before he could issue his gravelly ‘yes ma’am’ she spoke again, cutting him off mid ‘yes’. “Are you satisfied with your guards? Should I have them replaced?”

His answer was stiff and clipped, as expected. “No ma’am. They followed orders to a ‘T’ and worked together well during the attack.”

“And Corporal Baron?” Celestia asked. What she had witnessed could have easily landed the corporal with charges of insubordination if Jack had been wearing guard chevrons. However, he wasn't.

“She's right.”

Celestia paused just before the man's new room. That wasn't the answer she’d wanted, but it had been somewhat expected. Letting out a soft breath, Celestia looked up at Jack to find his eyes locked forward and dull. He had locked himself down entirely. Letting her eyes fall, Celestia sighed. “I owe you an apology Jack. You have undergone a great deal of stress in a very short period, and I have let my reservations about you colour our relationship.”

“Yes ma’am.”

She closed her eyes for a moment to hide the flicker of annoyance that crossed them. He was a victim of circumstance, and circumstance certainly seemed to have it out for him. It didn't help that he knew how to be infuriating. “I would like you to relax for these next few days Jack. Please.”

“Is that an order? Ma’am?”

Finally an emotion. Celestia could feel the edging challenge emitting from him. Hiding her own relieved smile, Celestia fixed him with a level royal stare. “If that is what it takes, then yes. I hereby order you to relax.” A feeling of fleeting victory passed through her mind as a split second smirk cracked his facade. It was gone just as fast. “These are your quarters. They are sparse, to avoid any more broken furniture than necessary.”

“Thank you ma’am.”

Finding their conversation coming to and end, Celestia finally tore her attention away from Jack's face, and allowed herself a moment to look over his armour. It was marred with marble dust and blackened from soot. Bloody splatters liberally dressed his plates, and the smell of death hung about him. “Wash your armour Staff Sergeant. And remove those severed fingers from your plates. Dismissed.” Jack didn't do so much as glance at the severed fingers that were trapped between his plates; having been pulled right out of the previous owner’s sockets. He snapped a smart, crashing salute that cracked the marble under him. Without a word to her, he opened the door to his quarters and disappeared inside. Celestia allowed herself a moment to linger as she considered the challenge before her. Shaking her head as she trotted away from the door, Celestia sighed and spoke quietly to herself. “And I thought rehabilitating Luna had been difficult…”

_______________________________________________________________________

For Flitter, her day was going considerably better compared to Jack's. As Celestia lowered the sun and Luna began her nightly vigil, Flitter set down her assignment papers and yawned tiredly as she trotted over to her small bed. Climbing into bed, Flitter gently inserted the soft earbuds into her ears and laid down next to Jack's PDA.

“Maybe funny movie tonight…” She mused quietly to herself as she picked up the little stylus between her lips and started scrolling through the selection the PDA had available. Settling on a movie that looked light hearted enough, Flitter settled into her bed and willed herself to drift to sleep.

A drumming knock at her door brought Flitter back from the edge of sleep and earned a deep, disapproving groan from her in return. Pulling the earbuds out and throwing her blankets off, Flitter dragged herself out of bed and set off toward the door. “I swear, Hazel if it's you…” Muttering under her breath as she reached the door, Flitter grumbled as the knocking returned. “I'm here! Geez…” Flitter pulled the door open and stuck her muzzle out. “Who is it- Jack!” Flitter exclaimed with open surprise as the bedraggled man lifted a hand for a simple wave.

“Howdy. I didn't wake you up, did I?” He looked even more exhausted than she felt as he leaned on the doorframe and smiled down at her.

Shaking her head as she opened the door fully, Flitter did her best to hide her own tired features. “Nope, I was just about to lay down and watch a movie. Are you feeling alright?”

During her short sentence, Jack's eyes had grown unfocused and he simply maintained a tired smile in an attempt to hide it. At her words he perked somewhat, before shrugging to admit ignorance. “No idea. I got a little lost trying to find your room. Mind if I duck in for a few?”

Nodding, Flitter stepped out of the way and beckoned him inside. There was nopony else out in the hall, save for a lone guard at the far end of the hall. Jack slowly pushed off the wall and meandered into her room; his eyes flicking back and forth to take it all in. The room was smaller than his own, but it was considerably more furnished and contained a certain amount of flair that his lacked entirely.

“Nice digs.”

Flitter closed the door behind him and locked it before turning back to Jack. He was still wearing his exo, despite the relative safety of the castle. “Yeah, they're beautiful.” Flitter trotted around him and hopped up onto her bed. “I'm still surprised that the princesses are just letting me live here. I mean, after everything that happened…”

“It's your fluffy personality.” Jack said with a gruff grunt as he relaxed against a dresser. Flitter took a moment to look up from the PDA at the man, gauging his features as best she could. His beard had grown to nearly unruly lengths, and his hair was a tangled black mess. If the deep bruises under his eyes were any indication, he hadn't slept properly since he'd woken up in the hospital. She couldn't blame him.

Hiding her worry, Flitter offered the PDA to him. “Do you want this back?”

Jack's eyes flicked upwards from the floor for a moment, and he seemed to consider it. “Mm… nah, I should have a little iPod somewhere I my bags, I'll just need to dig it out. Went and got the rest of my crap from the fob today.”

With the final piece clicking in to complete the puzzle, Flitter smiled. “So that's why you were in the Everfree. Your artillery battle with the infected humans sent a lot of guards into a frenzy out here. They were all freaking out about some Goliath armed to the teeth wading through an ocean of infected.”

The enthused laugh Flitter's exclamation earned from Jack was more than enough to have her smiling happily again. “No shit. Did you hear about the fountain I killed?” Flitter perked a brow and shuffled as her curiosity got the better of her. Smiling at her, Jack recounted his earlier misadventures in detail. Naturally, he left out Baron's insubordination and his tense chat with Celestia. Not to mention his own momentary break in cool at the castle doors.

Having finally gotten the details she craved, Flitter relaxed into her bed and let out a complacent sigh. “I'm really glad to have you back, Jack…”

He smiled weakly and reached out to softly scratch between her ears. “I'm glad to be awake. I'm starting physio tomorrow with Petyr, so if you need me at all I'll be with him.” Jack slowly pushed himself up from his seated position on the edge of Flitter's bed; he'd taken it during his recounting of his adventure.

“Heading out so soon?” Flitter asked with a hint of sadness in her voice, before she cut herself off with a tired yawn.

Nodding to her as he stretched out his sore arms, Jack hazarded an apologetic smile. “Yeah. I figure you need your sleep, and I wanted to check out the gardens anyways. Maybe find a place to wash up a bit.”

Sighing in defeat, Flitter nodded to him as he approached the door and unlocked it. “Do you think you could meet me at the academy tomorrow around five?”

Jack nodded, despite having no idea where an academy could be located in or around the castle. “Yeah, sure. I'll be there.” He paused at the door; drumming his fingers on the frame as he thought.

“Jack?”

Her voice brought him out of his silent musings, and earned a weak smile of apology in return. “Sorry, just thinking. Be seeing you Sparky.” Exiting out into the hallway and closing the door behind himself, Jack rubbed at the bridge of his nose before setting off down the hall again.

After a short stop in his new home base to rifle through his meager belongings, Jack set off unaccompanied once again to find the gardens. As he shuffled through the selection of music the tiny iPod offered, he hardly took notice of the change in guards around him. Gone were the stiff necked white and grey ponies with their soft gold armour, replaced by dark furred batponies whose darkened armour did well to blend in. Not that he entirely cared; his earbuds were in and his music was blaring loudly in his ears. Eventually he found his way outside; through sheer luck or providence, he had managed to find a door near the gardens. The cool summers night air washed out to greet him, rustling his cammies as he rubbed at his face. The gardens stretched out lazily across prime mountain real estate, with guards peppering it conservatively. A number of statues sat off in the darkness, and swiftly became his targets.

As he wandered aimlessly through the garden statues, Jack ignored the feeling of being watched. Finally, his target came into view. There was no mistaking it for what it was. The statue of a proud human stood vigil over the gardens, a large gold plaque resting on its base. The statues features were masculine, but lacked any defining detail. It was a face that could have been anyone's. Hell, it could have been his.

Tracing his fingers along the engraved plaque that held as many names as it could, Jack searched in vain for one in particular. When he didn't find it, Jack drew a dull knife from his hip sheath and began scratching and etching. After several minutes of ministrations, he'd managed to crudely carve her name into the gold plate. Jack took a step back and looked over the statue. “Elissa….” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “You were a good friend, and a terrible wife. I'm sorry… I'm sorry I couldn't save you.” He let his hands fall limply to his side. The rest of his words felt stale and disgusting in his mouth, so he discarded them without a thought and turned his back on the statue. A Batpony stallion stood nearby, relaxing on a bench. When Jack began his morose walk back toward the castle, the stallion hopped off the bench and fixed his loose kit.

“Staff Sergeant Kessle?” Jack simply grunted in response as he kept walking through the gardens. The stallion trotted to keep up with him. “I'm Sergeant Varenikov. I'm your night guard.”

Finally, Jack turned his head to regard the Batpony. He was bigger than Field, but with lean muscles and a calm, confident posture. “You Royal Guard, Sergeant?”

Taven looked up toward the human and nodded. “Technically. I'm still a registered member of The Coming Dawn.”

Slowly quirking a brow down at the stallion as he meandered aimlessly through the gardens, Jack slowed his pace even more. “Coming Dawn? That some kind of special operations group?” At Taven’s nod, Jack chuffed quietly in amusement. “Sunbutt sent a shithot operator to babysit me. I'm honoured.”

The stallion next to him managed a faint smile. “Not anymore. I lost one of my wings during an op, so I was transferred again to castle duties.” Taven's smile vanished as Jack went to speak again, but went silent and came to an abrupt halt before the statue of Equestria’s greatest foe. Jack's eyes remained locked onto Discord's twisted form, and Taven could feel the anger and hate beginning to waft off the man like smoke. “Staff Sergeant, don't damage the statue. We don't know if it could release him.”

Jack swallowed thickly and tore his eyes off the thing that sat in front of him. “This is him, ain't it? The fucker who dragged us all here?” At Taven's nod, Jack clenched his augmented fists and returned his glowering gaze to the statue. Incredibly faint smug laughter echoed in his ears, as if goading him onwards. A sick grin began spreading across Jack's features. “Sergeant Varenikov, the garden’s got bird feeders, right?” Again Taven nodded, though his features were locked with guarded confusion. Jack simply grinned meanly. “Let's go find some bird seed.”

_______________________________________________________________________

With the statue of Discord slowly disappearing into the darkness behind the pair, Taven hazarded a curious glance toward the human who stalked silently beside him. He knew better than to ask why Jack had felt possessed to surround the statue in bird feed, but he had expected Jack's mood to have at least improved marginally. It hadn't. If anything, his mood had fallen even further.

“I'm going to get drunk.”

Taven regarded the man with curiosity as they walked back toward the castle. “Well, there’s the dining hall, but I don't think they serve alcohol this late. Besides that the guard commons serve hard cid-”

“Lead.”

Arching a brow in worry, Taven decided to ignore the mysteries that lay before him, instead deciding to lead Jack through the castle to the guard commons. As it turned out, it was under the castle, and the entrance was quite close to the on-duty guard mess. Taven had noticed how Jack's mood had lifted the moment they left the gilded halls and entered the more practical aesthetics of the commons. His attentions had immediately been drawn in by the forges that churned away, their forgemasters hammering away on swords, spears, and armour. Taven came to a stop when he realised that Jack had stopped to take in the forges. Circling back around to the man's side, Taven arched a brow. “Everything alright?”

“Mm?” Jack blinked as if he'd been awoken from a trance. Finally registering Taven's words, he nodded and motioned for Taven to keep moving. “Yeah, sorry. Got distracted.”

Chuckling to himself, Taven stopped just before the pub door. “This is it. I think there's a drink limit though and-”

“Can I open a tab?”

“Yyyeeess?” Taven drew out his answer, as he wasn't entirely sure. Despite his uncertainty, Jack pressed passed him and into the pub. The stallion let out a long, slow breath through his nostrils. “It's going to be a very long night…” Without another word, Taven pressed in after Jack.

Jack was already at the bar, coercing the barkeep to give him a tab. “Sunbutt’s gotta pay me soon anyway. It's not like I can hide from it.” The keep grunted and rolled her eyes.

“Fine. Just don't cause any trouble, human.”

With a winning smile that promised all kinds of trouble, Jack held one hand over his chest, and the other behind his back with crossed fingers. “Ah promise. Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” When the barkeep recoiled in horror, Jack leaned onto the bar and grinned toothily. “Whiskey, neat.”

After a long and arduous conversation with the barkeep on what they had on tap, Jack was soon seated at a wall table facing the door with a large tankard of hard cider. Taven sat across from him with a smaller glass of water. Taking a swig of his drink, Jack looked more disappointed than anything else. “This is going to take forever.” He let out a long sigh before settling into his seat. “So, Taven. Were you royal guard before operating operationally?”

Taking a small sip of his water, Taven shook his head. “No sir, I enlisted in the Royal Equestrian Army. Served a term of service before Coming Dawn picked me up.”

“An enlisted man? Shit, now we're talking.” Jack smiled as he drained his tankard and shook his head. “This is going to take fore-” Jack's sentence died in his throat and was replaced by a troublemaking smirk. “Well if it isn't Private Fuckface…” The stallion and his squad of goons had just trotted in, and hadn't taken notice of the pair yet.

Taven groaned internally and shot Jack a warning look. “Staff Sergeant, if we could please avoid causing any trouble?”

The words seemed to make Jack pause and consider his actions for a moment. “We won't cause it.” He grinned wolfishly as he stood and went to refill his tankard. The stallion immediately spotted him, but said nothing as he immediately ducked back into whatever he had been doing prior. When Jack returned his features were sour with disappointment but his drink was full. Taven smiled in relief as the man sat down heavily and returned to his journey of heavy drinking.

______________________________________________________________________

After several empty tankards and three trips to the head, Jack had managed to get himself well and truly drunk. Staggering back to his room with Taven leading him through the mazelike halls, his internal musings became vocal and slurred.

“So…. So like, the fuck happened to your other wing?” Jack poked at Tavens remaining leathery wing, which fluttered at the agitation.

“I lost it in a fire, whole warehouse was rigged to go up. It's why I'm stuck on castle duty.”

“Shit man… I know how much it sucks to lose bits of yourself…” Jack's drunken fingers found a home between Taven's ears and scratched away merrily. The stallion moved to remove them, but then immediately thought better of it and simply accepted the scratches. Jack pivoted on his toes to turn down another hall. “I mean… hardest… hardest part is waking up in the morning, and…”

“Trying to move something that isn't there anymore?” The stallion hazarded a guess, which earned him a dramatic nod and a point from Jack.

“Ex-ex-fucking-xactly…. And then you remember and it just… it just fucking sucks.” Jack leaned against his door and groaned as he patted himself down. “The fuck are my keys…” Taven shook his head and opened the door for the drunkard, which earned a cry of amazement. “You had my keys! Sneaky bastard… hah…” Jack allowed himself to be herded into his room and toward the bed.

“Come on Staff Sergeant, let's get you some rest…” Taven's eyes flicked around the room, taking in the changes it had undergone with Jack's equipment present. His armour stood vigil against the wall, and the solar charger had all of its panels facing the bay doors.

Jack grunted as he walked slowly toward his bed. “Just call me Jack… not a marine anymore anyway…”

Sighing softly as he guided the drunk to his bed, Taven continued to look around the room. “Do you want to get undressed Jack?”

“Fuck NO. I will never, ever, be undressed around another pony ever the fuck again…” Jack pointed at Taven, before trying to move some of his errant hair out of the way with his free hand. “Ever.”

Slowly quirking a brow at the sudden serious tone Jack had taken on, Taven glanced toward the door and asked a little loudly. “Why?”

Gesturing harshly with his hands as he fought for the words to form in his addled mind, Jack soon let them fall limp at his sides. He then pulled his shirt up and showed Taven the place where his artistic and intricate tattoos melted into a ugly mess, where the brand had sunken into his muscles and scarred him for life. “Cuz they make you fuckin property. They like to touch, and prod, and FUCK.” His words came out as an enraged hiss spoken through grit teeth. Letting his shirt fall back into place, Jack let his fuming anger ebb away to a gnawing emptiness. “I doubt I can trust any of you.” His arms returned to limp forms by his side, and he cocked his head to regard the bed before him.

“I’ll…” Taven sought for the right words to use; he felt like he should at least say something. The words refused to come forward. “I’ll see you tomorrow Jack. I'll be outside your door if you need anything.” All the stallion got in return was an unhappy grunt as Jack flopped face first onto the mattress, not bothering to even climb under the silky covers. Excusing himself silently, Sergeant Varenikov took post outside the man's door. At the very least the rest of the night was calm and quiet.

Author's Notes:

Blarg. Off vacation and back to work. Updates will return to their random scheduling. For those of you who may be worried that now it'll be 'Space Marine in Canterlot', I have plans, and they are going to be bloody.