The following morning came on violently through Jack's drawn curtains, bludgeoning its way through his deep dreamless sleep and rousing him with a groan. Sleep had nearly sealed his eyes shut, so when he cracked a single eye open it was with great effort and deep regret. The sun was just beginning to shine, and was now shining directly through his curtains and into his face; a quick glance at his battered and abused watch told him that he'd only slept a few hours. Kicking his heavy metal legs off the bed, Jack forced himself up, as he was already dressed, he didn't need to waste time. After a moment of collecting his thoughts and faculties, he pushed himself off the bed and toward the door, he had a Russian to meet up with.

The training grounds were practically devoid of life when he treaded out onto the soft grass, he had been moderately surprised that no guards had been at his door, but ultimately he shrugged it off. Jack was in the middle of warming up when Petyr emerged from the castle looking even more haggard than Jack felt.

Jack smirked as he stretched out, loosening his muscles. “You alright there champ?”

Waving a dismissive hand, Petyr sat down next to Jack and fished a small bagel out of a paper bag. He spoke in Russian out of habit. <Good morning, Jack.>

<I don't call mornings that anymore. Learned my lesson the first time.> Jack joked as Petyr crammed the bagel down. <You run much?> At Petyr's shaking head, Jack rolled his eyes and bounced from foot to foot before stopping to pop his exo free and hand it to Petyr. <Four kilometres, no exo. Don't let me stop.>

Two hours into the physical training, Mythic found his way onto the field and sat next to Petyr, who was watching as Jack struggled and huffed his way through resistance training and weightlifting, Mythic quirked a brow toward Petyr. “Aren't you supposed to be working with him?”

Petyrs sentence started in Russian, before he realized and switched back to common. “Apologies, but no. I couldn't keep up with him anyway. He seems to be using me as a motivator. Hold on.” Petyr tilted his head toward Jack and bellowed <One more set!> The following groan from Jack brought a smile to the large man's face. “I'm not physical, not enough to keep up with a soldier.”

Nodding his understanding, Mythic sat back and sighed. “Sergeant Varenikov reported that the Staff Sergeant almost drowned himself in hard cider last night, are you sure it's a good idea to have him exerting himself so much?”

Smiling toward the stallion at his side, Petyr gestured toward Jack as he neared the end of his chin up set, his face red and glistening with sweat. “The martyr- sorry, Jack, made the decision, and I don't believe he's the kind of man to do something by half.”

“Let us hope that is true Mr. Morozov.” The new voice made the pair of men look over their shoulders, and then stand to attention. Princess Celestia smiled and nodded to the pair, before turning her eyes back to the spectacle of Jack abusing himself across the field, after a moment of watching, she turned her head toward Mythic. “Have Jack cleaned up, dressed, and at the carriage landing field in an hour. Please, private.”

Mythic snapped a salute. “If he asks what about your highness?”

“Tell him his first day of work is starting and I need him to work quickly.” At Mythic's nod, Celestia smiled toward Petyr. “And Mr. Morozov, the latest stage of our project is prepared for your approval.” The Russian immediately perked, and set off at a brisk pace with the princess, not a moment later Jack came jogging across the field toward Mythic.

Skidding to a stop, Jack wiped his brow with the back of his palm. “Where the fuck are they goin’?”

Sobering fast, Mythic stood at attention for his technical superior. “Something about a project. I have to get you cleaned and ready. Apparently you have work.”

“Uh huh.” Jack scratched at his bearded chin, before shrugging and pulling on his exo-skeleton. “Where’s Princess Bad Attitude?” At Mythic's confused eyebrow lift, Jack let out a slow, exasperated breath as he rolled a hand. “The corporal. Baron?”

“Oh!” Mythic exclaimed as they started walking back toward the castle doors. “She came down with something, the doctors think it may be from the infected humans.”

Jack snorted in disbelief as they slid passed a large group of guard trainees that were headed for the training field. “Remind me to get her a card, Bullshititis can be a career ender.” Refusing to comment, Mythic followed Jack as he tromped through the halls, as they neared his room, the man obviously became more interested in the prospect of work. “So what's the mission?”

“I don't know sir.”

As he pushed open the door to his room, Jack shot an unhappy glance toward Mythic before rolling his eyes. “Uh huh. Need to know, and I don't need to know. Never does change, does it…”

“I don't know what you mean sir.” Mythic's eyes drifted to the Staff Sergeant's armour as it stood rigid against the opposing wall. His rifle was settled against a small wood table, the weapon having been field stripped and cleaned the night prior before the binge drinking. Jack pulled off his sweat soaked T-shirt and tossed it to the foot of his bed. The smell of sweat, old cider, and stale blood almost made Mythic gag when it hit him.

“Grk-! S-staff Sergeant, when was the last time you bathed?”

Jack paused and seemed to think. “Uhh… whenever the doc's sponged me last, when I was under. I mean, I splashed some water on my pits and junk to stop the chaffing, but-”

“Go clean up!” Mythic exclaimed loudly, which earned him a snort from Jack. To make his point heard more clearly, Mythic gestured toward the bathroom door, finally, Jack relented and meandered off to find hotwater.

With the door clicking shut behind him, Jack sighed softly and let his exo-skeleton detach from his body, a soak in the tub was out of the question with their time limit, so instead he settled to simply scrub the worst of the grime off at the sink. Kicking off his pants, Jack crossed over to stand before the mirror, he immediately froze the moment he caught sight of himself. The man standing before him was wild. Wild, unkempt, and terribly haggard, he looked defeated, look of rage settled onto his features as he gripped the sink tightly with both hands and leaned in closer to the mirror, before him was a man who let bad things happen to him. Through clenched teeth Jack drew in a furious breath before heabutting the mirror.

The image instantly fractured, the mirror having spider webbed under the attack. He muttered hotly under his breath as his forehead throbbed and a small trickle of blood ran through his vision, tainting it red before being blinked away. Slowly, he brought his hand up to his forehead and traced it across. When it came away bloody he cursed again and started the sink. A few minutes later, after ignoring Mythic's worried knocks, Jack had cleaned himself within marginally acceptable limits and stepped out of the bathroom.

Mythic had been studying his rifle up close, but the moment the door opened he took a respectful step away and looked toward Jack, as far as he could tell, nothing had changed, save for the paling of Jack's skin. “Ready to- what happened to your head?” Mythic cocked his own head in confusion as Jack touched his bleeding forehead.

“Still? Hmm.” Jack looked around his barren room for a minute, before snapping his fingers and grabbing his discarded shirt, wrapping it around his head as a doo-rag, he grinned at the stallion and pulled on his exo skeleton. “What are you staring for, Mythic? Come on, let's go.” Jack said as he slung his rifle over his shoulder and stuffed two spare mags in his pouch pockets. Mythic was forced to abandon his question for the time being as he followed after Jack to the carriage field, where a uniformed pegasus was waiting for them.

“Good, you're on time, we've gotten a report of a strange object out in Whitetail woods, near Apple Acres. Go check it out and report back, the local who found it will meet you.” The stallion received a swift salute from Mythic and a noncommittal shrug from Jack. No further words were said as the pair boarded a small carriage and were spirited back to Ponyville.

As they came in for a landing, Jack noticed that a motley crew of ponies were waiting at their landing site. “Didn't he say local? As in, one? Looks like we've got a whole gaggle down there.” Jack quirked a brow at Mythic as he spoke, who simply shrugged innocently in return. “Great. Well, let's go influence the locals.”

The carriage same to a soft stop on the open ground, where Jack disembarked off the side and secured his firearm as Mythic trotted off the back with his spear. The carriage immediately took off again, leaving the pair with the group of three mares who were approaching, despite the small group of guards who stood near the edge of the clearing.

“Why is she hopping- Mythic I got a bad feeling about this.” Jack braced for immense discomfort as the trio closed the distance and circled him like vultures, the prismatic mare was the first to speak, regrettably.

“So is this the other guy?” She eyed him critically as she hovered in place. “Pssh, I bet Max could take him.”

Jack's features soured at the issued challenge, but he never got to answer it as a ball of pink fur bounced into his arms and hugged him like a bear. “WELCOME BAAAACK!”

His eye twitched and Mythic cleared his throat. Thankfully, the third mare cleared her’s as well and spoke. “Girls, it's rude to treat a guest like this! Give the man some space.” Jack practically dropped the pink bundle on her ass as she ‘aww’d sadly. Suppressing a shudder, Jack nodded to the fancy looking white unicorn. She smiled professionally and gestured to him. “Welcome to Ponyville, Mr…?”

“Staff Sergeant Kessle. You found something strange?” He ignored the rainbow mare’s prodding, until it started to drift lower. His hand shot out like a flash and clamped down on the hoof, causing the mare to jerk in surprise. Jack slowly turned his gaze down toward the mare and fixed her with a very serious glare. “Don't touch me.”

The mare yanked her hoof out of his now relaxed grip and gave it a shake. “Ow, geez, okay dude, chill… ow…”

Again, the mare cleared her throat. “I apologise for Rainbow’s prodding, she's always like this I'm afraid. I am Rarity, that’s Rainbow Dash, and the mare who is vibrating eagerly is Pinkie Pie.” Rarity pointed to each mare as she spoke, but upon reaching Pinkie, it was apparent that the young pink mare could no longer hold her piece.

“DID SHE LIKE THE CAKE!?” The mare balanced on her front hooves, on top of Dash’s head, who grunted in surprise and struggled to keep her balance with the added weight.

Jack blinked in surprise, taken aback by the show and the seemingly random question. “Uhhh….”

Pinkie only seemed to grow more desperate. “The cake! You needed a cake for your friends birthday!”

Lighting up in realization, Jack snapped his fingers and pointed at Pinkie. “Midnight cake lady!” The mare nodded rapidly, causing Dash’s neck to pop uncomfortably, while both Jack and Pinkie ignored her discomfort. “Yeah!” he exclaimed. “She loved it, thanks Pink.” He gave her an appreciative scratch under the chin, just before Dash collapsed under the weight of the bakery mare.

“Ow…”

Stifling an unladylike groan, Rarity simply sighed and cleared her throat again. “Mr. Kessle, could you please follow us?”

Jack shrugged, and slung his rifle over his shoulder again. “Sure. Why’re you three taking us there anyway? I’da figured those pissy cops over there would have taken the honours.” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the Ponyville guards, causing Dash to snort and laugh.

“Because we're the Elements of Harmony!” Pinkie blurted out, cutting Rarity off mid explanation.

Now following the mares toward the woods, Jack perked a brow. “Sooo-... Like a band or something?”

The pink mare bouncing at his side grinned ear to ear, literally, as she rattled off the group's adventures for the past two years. Jack grimaced at the mare’s unpredictable antics and her incessant desire to touch him, but he listened intently on the overblown explanation as they walked through town and into the woods, with the occasional fact check by Rarity and more bravado from Dash, by the time the group reached the heart of the woods, Jack had a fairly decent idea of what they were trying to get across.

“So… lemme get this straight. There's six of you, and when danger pops up you blast it with friendship lasers?” At the confirmation, Jack shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, okay. I can dig it.”

“Ahem.” Rarity drew his attention away from the other ponies and pointed off into the trees. “It's right over there Mr. Kessle.” Without saying a word in return, Jack unslung his rifle and treaded through the undergrowth. Once he passed a small copse of trees, a large orange shipping container seemed to suddenly pop out from its hiding place amongst the forest.

Pausing to stare at the out of place object, Jack clucked his tongue and laughed lightly.

“Well that certainly is a thing.”

As he stepped through the underbrush, Dash zipped passed him and landed on top of the container. “We tried to open it, but the dumb thing is locked! I bet you won't be able to open it either.” The mare rubbed a hoof on her chest as if to shine it as Jack closed in on the container and the others followed suit. Giving the small, sturdy padlock a look over, Jack chewed his cheek for a moment before pistoning it clear off with his boot heel. The mare above him perked at the loud ping and looked down at him, only to gape a bit as he cracked the door open a sliver. “How did you-!?”

“Well, I don't think it's rigged.” Jack said, ignoring the surprised outcry as he peered through the small sliver of open container door.

Rarity looked to the others in her group, and sighed as she relented to ask her question. “Which means?”

He simply smiled at her as he stood and grabbed the door. “Which means the chance of us all being turned into a fine red mist is pretty low.” He paused as he gripped the door and the ponies all stared at him in horror. “Well, lowish.” With a grin he heaved the door open as it squealed on unoiled, abused hinges. The ponies all took an involuntary step back, save for Pinkie, who hovered over his shoulder with anticipation. Jack clapped his hands and stepped into the container. “Nooow~ Show daddy what you got.”

The inside of the container was unfortunately not as full as he’d been hoping, but from what he could tell the nondescript boxes came up about halfway in the container. There was a single black barrel resting against the wall, held in place by a heavy duty ratchet strap. Humming to himself, Jack freed the barrel before grabbing and hefting it toward the door. As the barrel crashed down heavily with a muted slosh, Dash landed next to Jack as he began working the lid. “So you’re pretty strong huh?”

“Mhm.”

Dash rolled her eyes as he edged a finger along the lid’s edge, trying to work it off. She refocused and circled him slowly. “And you're a soldier. You ever kill anybody?”

“Rainbow!” Rarity cried out in shock. “You can't ask something like that!”

“Why not?!” Dash shot back with attitude.

Before the argument could continue onward, Jack answered. “Yes, I've killed people before. You gotta be more specific though. I've killed Terran humans, Corvellans, and Equestrian humans. Maybe a few ponies. I dunno, it's still fuzzy.”

Ignoring the end of his statement, Dash hovered before him as he worked the lid. “What's a Corvellan?”

“Alien cocksucker.”

“You've fought aliens!? Aliens exist!?!!!” Dash shrieked in excited surprised, her voice cracking from the pitch.

Having nearly broken the seal, Jack sighed and spoke as if he were explaining something to a child. “Yes, me space marine, fight mean aliens with big guns. Fight hard. Kill lots. Wow. Such war. Much Semper Fi.” Finally, his armoured fingers breached the barrel seal, releasing a stench so foul it could only belong to fermented death. Jack, and everyone around him recoiled and gagged violently at the stench. Jack rubbed at his burning eyes and coughed, before pulling the shirt off his head to wrap around his mouth and nose. Approaching the barrel, he peered inside and let out a quiet laugh.

With her white fur turning a shade of sickly green, Rarity steadied herself long enough to ask. “W-what is so funny?”

Jack pointed an armoured finger toward the inside of the barrel as he cracked a half grin. “Kid inna can. Like a kid inna fridge, but less alive. Ooh! He had a glock too!” Jack reached into the barrel as Pinkie’s mane slowly deflated and straightened.

“That's not very funny…”

Inside the barrel was the desiccated corpse of a fairly tall human male, stuffed in so tightly he was almost eating his knees. His skin had bloated and turned to a sickly black; in several places it had split open like an overripe fruit. At some point the corpse had begun fermenting in its own juices, leaving behind the aroma that had Jack blinking back pained tears. “God that stinks worse than a haji shitting hole…” Fishing the glock out of the corpse's waistband with the tips of his fingers, Jack smiled at the sickened ponies. “It's an eighteen c! Score.” He ejected the magazine and racked the slide, ejecting the chambered round into his palm. He held the unloaded weapon toward the ponies with one hand as he resecured the barrel’s lid to quell the stench. “Someone wanna clean this? Uh, don't mind the liquified death on it.”

Unable to cope with the thought, combined with the smell and viscous goop stuck to the weapon, Rarity bolted from the tiny copse of trees to become violently sick. The other three looked like they weren't far behind her. Jack looked between them. “Anybody? No? Okay.” He set the pistol down on top of the barrel with its full magazine, before turning back toward the container. “I wonder how many more bodies I'll find in here…”

With Rarity having run off to vomit, and Pinkie following after her to escape the horror of the barrel, Jack was mostly left to himself to rifle through the container. Unfortunately for him, that left Dash mostly unattended and free to pester him with dozens of questions. Cracking open another crate and expecting to find another batch of tamagotchis, Jack let out a happy little cry of delight that drew both ponies attentions.

Dash practically climbed over him to get a look onto the crate. “What is it, I wanna see!”

Grinning happily, Jack held up a white and red carton of Marlboro cigarettes. “The fuckin jackpot! Now all I gotta do is find a lighter, and I'm set!” He looked back over the crate and shook his head. “Which might be likely. This crate is… random. Like random as fuck.” As the ponies looked to him for more explanation. He simply shrugged and dove back in.

By the time he finished looking through the crate for anything dangerous, the heavy duty ground carriages had arrived. Despite having found a large shipment of computer parts that Petyr was sure to put to good use, Jack hadn't found anything ultimately useful besides the single pistol. Cracking open the last crate, he narrowed his eyes and stole a quick glance over his shoulder. Sure that no one was watching him currently, he reached in and opened the small ammunition can, inside it sat a box of forty four magnum ammunition, a rusty zippo lighter that seemed to be engraved, and a small orange case marked with a red cross. Gingerly popping the case open, Jack felt his heart beat a bit harder as his eyes fell on the six syrettes of morphine, he had to suppress a shudder of delight just by thinking about how a shot would feel right then and there.

Licking his lips as a small bead of sweat rolled down his forehead; the cravings returned in full force. It took all of his willpower to simply shut the case and stuff it into his pants pocket before anyone grew curious, closing the lid of the ammunition can and packing it out with him, Jack stood and exited the container, shutting the doors behind himself, he nodded to the lead mover who stood by with his crew who were awaiting instructions. Suddenly finding his lips dry, Jack licked them again and spoke quietly. “It's clear. Inform the princess and take it up to Canterlot. Tell her to not open the barrel.” The pony nodded, and went to guiding his crew in loading the heavy metal container up, dumping the glock into a small baggie that he'd found a box of, Jack turned to nod at Mythic. “Ready?”

The stallion didn't respond, as he was muzzle down next to Rainbow, trying to figure out how the tamagotchis worked. “Ah! Aha! I got its food!” Mythic smiled triumphantly, while Dash scowled and returned to hers. “Ja- oh? Oh, we're leaving? Okay, let me just… gosh this thing is needy…”

Jack smiled grimly as he looked over the box of packaged toys. “That's a shame Private. Tamagotchis bind with their first owner. It's life is in your hooves now.” Both ponies looked up at him with worried confusion, and he decided to take it a step further. “Well, if you're not careful, they'll die, and there will be no way in the known world to bring them back.” He leaned over Dash’s shoulder and pointed at her new pet. “Looks like your little monster just left you a dookie to clean up. Better get on that before he gets sick and wastes away before your eyes. “

Dash whimpered fearfully as she searched frantically for her options. “How do I clean it up?!”

With a shudder, Mythic looked up at Jack with pain filled eyes. “Why would anyone make a toy this horrific?”

With a smile Jack patted his head and sighed. “To teach kids responsibility and the inevitability of death. Because no tamagotchi lived longer than a few months.” The pair stared at him with horror struck expressions, causing him to smile grimly and slap Mythic's shoulder. “Come on Private. Let's catch our ride and get the fuck out of here.”

“Wait!” Dash cried as she tore her eyes away from her tamagotchi. “Don't you want to meet Max?”

Jack turned and stared at Dash for a moment as he racked his mind. “...Who?”

The mare's features fell in disbelief as she stared at Jack, as if he had just grown a second head. “You don't know who Max is!? He helped save all of Equestria! He's like, the only other smart human left!”

Flicking the beat-up lighter out and stuffing one of the fresh cigarettes between his lips, Jack initially ignored the rant to read the lighter’s engraving. A sucking chest wound is nature’s way of telling you you've been ambushed. Haha. He mentally laughed at the inscription, before lighting his smoke. Sucking in a large lungful of carcinogenic smoke, he slowly let out his breath through his nose. “Riiiight, Maximilian, big damn hero.” He sucked in another lungful and let out a content, smoke filled sigh as the nicotine flooded his body. “I've got a very busy schedule. But if he decides to swing by the castle I can pencil in a few drinks.”

Scrunching up her muzzle at Jack as the smoke reached her, Dash waved a hoof in front of her own face as she spoke. “Well him and Twilight always go there all the time. They've got their own private room and everything. It's kinda lame. I mean, Canterlot sucks for fun stuff!” The prismatic mare began trotting at the pair’s side as they left the forest and walked toward Ponyville.

Snubbing the cigarette butt on his exo skeleton, Jack laughed once as he cast a glance down at Dash. “He. And what would you consider ‘fun’?”

“I'm glad you asked.” Dash smiled at him and waggled a brow, forcing Jack to immediately regret speaking a word to her. The entire walk back to Ponyville was a continuous list of all the things that Dash did for fun, her aspirations, and basically her entire life story. By the time the carriage had come into view, Jack had burned through half a pack and Mythic was far, far away within his own mind. Dash didn't seem to notice either case. “-But we should totally got to Scratch’s club! Maybe I can show you around and we can see where it goes?”

Suddenly finding his mind jerked back into the conversation, Jack jerked his head toward Rainbow; the look on his face causing her to pull back somewhat and paw at the dirt. Before she had a second to mutter, Jack blurted out what had immediately come to his mind. “I thought you were gay!”

The mare sputtered and gaped at him for a moment, but the expression swiftly turned to a hot scowl. “I am not!”

“Then- fuck, is that hair colour natural?!”

“Yeah! What about it, huh!?”

Jack pursed his lips and hummed in surprise. “I guess calling you Pride would have been a bit pretentious….” He shook his head, before waving a hand dismissively. “I'm not a fan of native tails. Sorry hotshot.”

Glowering hotly at the scraggly man as he clambered into the carriage, Dash huffed unhappily and kicked the dirt. “Just my luck… stupid Twilight… stupid Max… It's not fair that Twilight gets him all to herself.”

Jack simply shrugged as he kicked back in the carriage, using Mythic as an unwilling backrest. “What, Max went native? Huh. Guess some guys like that kind of shit. Weird. Yeah, okay, later nerd.” He grinned and waved as the carriage took off, leaving an emotionally struck Rainbow back on the ground. Jack simply chuckled and lit another cigarette as Mythic squirmed underneath him.

______________________________________________________________________

Celestia was standing at the edge of the landing field, awaiting the arrival of Jack's carriage. As much as she disliked waiting upon him, she needed to see him the moment he landed, and couldn't trust that he would see her soon enough upon landing. So, she was nipping the problem in the bud. Finally, the carriage came into view through the cloud layer, soon enough it made a skillfully soft landing on the field before her. The guards pulling the carriage were unharnessed by the ground crews, and the carriage was spirited off after Jack and Private Ace had gotten out. Jack stretched out, grunting as his body popped and cracked. Between his lips was a bobbing cigarette that glowed orange at the tip.

Approaching the pair, Celestia smiled and nodded as Private Ace perked and bowed to her. “Welcome back. I hope you didn't cause too many problems in Ponyville. “ Jack simply grinned as smoke billowed from his nostrils. Saying nothing on how it did little for his already ragged visage, Celestia continued. “Another human device was found in Canterlot during a royal guard search of an abandoned home. Mr. Morozov is looking over it as we speak.”

Jack simply nodded as he snubbed his smoke on his exo and held the sling of his rifle over his shoulder. He returned his attention to Celestia and quirked an inquisitive brow. “Alright? Now why the social call?”

Clearing her throat, Celestia fixed him with a very serious stare. “Griffonia’s Emperor is coming to the castle for a short visit soon, and I need you on your best behaviour.”

Rubbing at the bridge if his nose, he simply nodded and sighed. “Right, uh huh. A note would have worked too. Not like I would have run around ass naked and molested your guest. Well… maybe.”

Not wanting to witness the mental image of Jack's statement, Celestia shook her head clear of the thought. “Please go see Mr. Morozov. I will be accompanying you-”

“So you did miss me!” Jack exclaimed loudly as he threw an arm around the Princess's neck and began leading her back toward the castle, ignoring the tense response of the guards present, Jack smiled at the princess before scratching between her ears. “But then again, I can't blame you.”

With her ears flicking happily at the attention, but her features remaining neutral to avoid causing a negative reaction from her guards, Celestia pursed her lips and lit her horn. The man next to her yelped in surprise and she picked him up by his legs and carried him down the hall upside down. Celestia took care to not extend her grip either way beyond his thighs, lest her spell possibly fail when coming in contact with titanium or Jack react badly to unwanted touching. Jack simply grunted in defeat and fished around in his pockets for his pack of smokes. After a minute of dragging Jack by his legs, Celestia deemed it necessary to ask her questions. “Mr. Kessle?”

He grunted and squirmed in her grip, which resulted in defeat. “What?”

“How abundant is the element titanium on your world?”

Feeling an immediate shift in his attitude toward guarded suspicion, Jack crossed his arms across his chest and eyed the princess. “Very.”

She sighed quietly and set him down on his feet. “I ask because it worries me that more may have come across the barrier between our worlds. The economic ramifications alone are terrible, but-”

“You're worried some nut is going to use it against you. Maybe a nasty surprise at the worst possible time.”

Smiling thinly and nodding her agreement to his educated guess, Celestia resumed trotting with Jack at her side and his bodyguard trailing behind wordlessly. “As of recent events, I cannot overlook such a possibility. Is there anything we could do to stop a titanium weapon?”

Snorting as he light a another smoke, Jack cast a suspicious glance toward Celestia. “Am I a titanium weapon?”

An uncomfortable pause passed between the two as they came to a stop in the middle of the hall. Celestia closed her eyes for a moment and ignored the acrid burn of Jack's smoke. “Jack, you are more a shield than a weapon, whether you believe it yourself or not. I ask you as an ally, and hopefully a friend.”

“Acquaintance.” He responded dryly before answering properly. “Best way I can think of off the top of my head is a saboted light armour piercer with either a depleted uranium core or a tungsten carbide core. If I'm right the denser metals would punch right through regardless of armour. Uranium should kill them if they fuck off on you. Course if they aren't wearing armour, a copper jacketed hollow point will do the job just fine.”

Celestia stared blankly at him, before the realization slowly dawned on her. “What are you saying?”

“I'm saying that if you got some shithead trying to shank you, kill him.” Jack pulled his cigarette from his lips and eyed its smoldering cherry.

“That's not how we do things here Jack. We're a peaceful nation, ponies aren't as inclined to violence as Terrans.” Celestia had looked over at him as he sucked the remaining tobacco back and snubbed the butt.

“Bullshit.” Jack flicked the butt away and stopped to stare directly at Celestia. The princess paused in surprise and stared at him as he continued. Pointing a pair of fingers at her for emphasis, Jack then pulled up his sleeve and pointed at the magical tag branded into his arm. “Four eight five nine. They knew I was intelligent, and they tortured me. I've killed thieves, murderers, and rapists here. You know what that means?” He didn't let her answer the rhetorical question. “It means your precious little marble is a lot closer to my dirty little ball of chaos than either of us would like.” He chuckled without humour. “Hell, put me in a real urban center here and I bet I'll feel right at home.” He paused, not looking at Celestia or Mythic as his eyes scanned the fine art and furnishings of the hall. “Still… You've made something amazing here, I can't deny that. But backing yourself into the corner of peace is only making you a juicier target for those who haven't.” He let out a quiet sigh. “Just some words to consider, I guess.”

With the two finally making eye contact, Celestia smiled pitifully toward him and bowed her head ever so slightly. “I will consider them, at the very least.” She paused to further consider the words, and her soft features fell. She had much to think about. “Are things truly so bad out in the world? I hadn't realized…”

Jack simply shrugged as they turned toward the door to the labs. “Sometimes you need to look at things from a lower perspective. See the forest for the trees, right? Now come on, you've got me interested in this thing you guys found and I'm tired of waxing philosophical.”

The trio pressed through the lab doors and into the organized chaos. Jack flicked open his packet of cigarettes and grasped for a spare to suck on, only to find it empty. His features turned sour as he crushed the packet and tossed it in a nearby trash can. As he turned his attention back to Celestia, he found her further up ahead looking over a jet black hardcase. Passing by a bank of experimental long range radios, Jack peered over the open lid. The others present all had their focus broken when he made a loud, happy noise. Ignoring any and all questions aimed at him, Jack reached into the hardcase and plucked the weapon from its foam resting place. The DP-28 machinegun had sat happily in the case with its tripod and loaded circular magazines, next to a heavy full face steel helmet. Jack cooed happily as he stroked the weapon and looked it over for damage or blemishes.

“I presume you know what this is then?” Field asked as he and everyone else watched the man fondle the weapon like a gentle lover.

“It's a machinegun!” He exclaimed giddily as he pulled the bolt back. “And everything is still here, it should still work!”

Petyr cleared his throat as he turned away from the case and turned his attentions elsewhere. “It must be very old then, Mar- Jack. I don't think I've ever seen anything like it.”

Rolling his eyes as he set the weapon gingerly back into its case, Jack lifted up the heavy steel helmet and rolled it around in his hands, looking over the face plate and checking it for damage. The name Tachanka was stenciled onto it. “Come on Petey, you're Russian! This baby was a mainstay up until it was replaced with the RPK.”

“I'm a pacifist, such things do not interest me. Besides, I was born on Titan, I've never set foot on earth.”

Sputtering, Jack turned to stare incredulously at the man, before Luna broke his train of thought by leaning in and speaking. “Forgive me, but what is a machinegun?”

The Lunar princess pulled back ever so slightly when Jack whipped his head around to grin at her. “I'll show you!” He pulled the helmet on and snapped the hardcase shut. “I need training dummies, mannequins, anything like that, set up in the field by the training course. Celestia, I need my weapons out of the safe.” He pointed at Field's safe.

Surprised by the sudden animation of the man before her. Celestia thought hard on the idea of giving him access to more weapons. Of course, he already had several, and was bound to receive more. A little bit of shown trust may go along way in her favour. Nodding, Celestia looked to Field Note. “Please get them for him. I'll have someone bring mannequins out to the field. Is there anything else?”

Fishing out the ziplock baggie containing the contaminated glock, Jack grinned. “Got anyone who can clean this fast?”

______________________________________________________________________

For Flitter, class was dragging painfully. Almost half of the class had fallen asleep, and she could feel herself following suite swiftly as her head bobbed and her eyes demanded to be shut. The old crone up at the head of the class had decided to delve further into ancient pegasi military culture. He seemed to have it in his head that they were perfect in every way in regards to tactics, martial skill, and culture. Frankly Flitter found it so terribly boring that she had started doodling in her notebook, rather than taking notes. Beside her, Hazel was asleep on her shoulder and mumbling quietly.

However, when the class door swung open and a fully kitted guard trotted in, Flitter found herself sitting straighter to pay full attention. Only her attentions weren't aimed toward the professor. The guard cleared her throat and spoke loudly enough for the entire class to hear her clearly. “All officer candidates are to report to the training fields for a special demonstration, immediately.”

A curious murmur spread through the class as they all got up and began packing their things. Flitter gently shook Hazel awake as the professor complained to the guards present. Hazel jerked upward and began scribbling gibberish into her notepad, all while nodding her head and trying to blink the sleep away from her eyes. Flitter giggled lightly and smiled as she patted Hazel's back. “We're going on a field trip.”

Hazel quirked a tired brow toward Flitter, before noticing the class packing up. “Ohh...kay?” She began packing up her own things, before racing to catch up with Flitter and the others. The procession filed out orderly toward the guard training field, where a strange gathering of armoured mannequins were set up in and around some stone cover. Flitter immediately spotted Jack as he chatted casually with both princesses, a pack of scientists, and a number of royal guard officers. She couldn't hide her smile when he perked up and waved to her. As the class all took their seats on the audience bleachers, Princess Celestia trotted forward to address her subjects.

“Good afternoon everypony. I understand that you all are displeased over missing Professor Hill’s lecture on ancient Pegasonia, but today Staff Sergeant Kessle has a special presentation and lesson for everypony. So please pay attention and take notes.” The princess moved off to the side and watched as Jack stood at a small table, reloading and checking over the various weapons he had sitting by. Flitter noticed how Luna failed to hide her giddy prance as she returned to her sister's side.

Cracking his knuckles and snubbing his cigarette, Jack turned toward the crowd. “Alright, today’s lesson is on how to achieve peace through superior firepower.” He held up his a small grey pistol “This is the Glock eighteen c with an automatic fire selector and chambered in nine by nineteen millimeter. Now, I know that's a bunch of bullshit jargon at the moment, but it'll make sense in a moment. Probably.” He gestured toward the closest of the targets. “Anyways! Hypothetical scenario. Let's say that this here mannequin is the world's greatest swordsman. Getting within arm's reach is a death sentence. To make matters worse, his weapon is coated with a deadly poison! He wants to kill your VIP, and you don't have any magic nearby to deal with him. How do you take him down?” He listened for a minute, nodding and pretending to actually care about the answers. “All good answers, I'm sure. But, they all come with personal risk, right? Right. Well unfortunately for you four legs, they're also out of date!” He smiled as a lot of ponies frowned.

“There's always a level of danger, and Royal Guard tactics are the front line of warfare!” An indignant officer called out, which only brought a smug smirk onto Jack's features.

Hooking his thumbs into his beltline, Jack rocked on his heels and smiled at the officer. “That so? You guys got crossbows?” At the confusion, he rolled his eyes. “Right then. Let's make it interesting. If you can stop me, from stopping this here mannequin, I'll pay twenty of your little gold bits. If you don't! You pay up.” At the guard’s cocksure agreement, Jack smothered a predatory grin. Looking toward the princesses, he smiled sweetly. “A count down please.”

Luna nodded and watched intently as she began counting down from three. “Three.” The guard officer separated himself from his group and took a ready stance. Jack simply stood with his hands still hooked into his belt. “Two.” The guard took a steadying breath as Jack glanced toward the pistol that rested in his right hand. “One.” The final second passed by like an eternity for everyone. “G-” CRACCRACK Jack's arm had pulsed up in a split second and the weapon bucked twice, causing the observers to all jump and whiny in surprise. The mannequin rocked on its stand, one deep furrow cut through the side of its head, and the second half an inch from the first, punching through the skull.

Smiling like the smug bastard he truly was, Jack regarded the smoking gun, and then the shocked expression of the ponies around him. He raised his voice, using the moment of silence to his advantage. “Peace through superior firepower! Your enemy cannot stab your face if he can not reach you!” He turned the weapon in his grip and flicked a switch. Turning back to the mannequin, he leveled the pistol and let out two short automatic bursts, cutting the legs out from under the target. “Your enemy cannot finish his mission if he’s laying on the group bleeding from half a dozen neat little holes!” He suppressed a massive grin as the scientists and Luna all took down frantic notes. Placing the glock down on the table, Jack lifted his magnum. “This is the Chiappa Rhino, 200DS. It is chambered in forty four magnum, while the pistol you all just watched work is chambered in nine millimetre.” He ejected the magazine from the glock and plucked one of the remaining rounds from it. He then fished out a stray magnum round and offered them to the scientists. “I want to see both of those back, but compare the sizes. Bigger rounds carry more mass, but smaller rounds tend to be higher velocity. Larger mass means hitting harder, and increased velocity means it goes faster. Put the two together, and things like most armour-” He leveled his magnum with an armoured mannequin and fired. The thunderous report saw the crowd jump again, and the abused helmet on the mannequins ruined head twirl off in a twisted heap of golden scrap. “-Is worth sweet fuck all!” He gave the crowd a moment to recover, and for the bullets to go around.

“Then what's the point of wearing armour at all in a fight with a big thing like that?” Hazel asked as she sat next to Flitter.

Jack smiled and hooked his thumbs into his belt. “Because modern defenses will always be in an arms race with offence. I will demonstrate.” He hefted the heavy steel full face helmet off the table and pulled it securely down over his head. With his vision reduced to a tiny, unaugmented vision slit, Jack grasped the glock by the slide and chambered a single round. “Petyr, would you do the honours of shooting me in the head?”

The larger man baulked from the pistol and waved his hands in a dismissive action. “No, I refuse.”

Snorting inside the helmet, Jack waggled the weapon in front of Luna, who stared at it with wide eyes and failed to hide her desire. He waggled it once more, before the princess caved and snatched it up with her magic. “Yes, fine. How does it work?” Smiling under the helmet, Jack walked up close and gave her a quiet lesson on how to use the pistol. Once he was sure she wasn’t going to shoot him anywhere but the helmet, Jack took several paces back and lowered his head. The crowd all seemed to tense up in horrified expectation. Those who would had spoken up found themselves transfixed by the sheer idiocy of the demonstration. Luna slowly stuck her tongue out the side of her mouth and squintes at the sights as she levitated the pistol in her magic and drew a sloppy bead on the downturned helmet. A moment later, the pistol cracked, and the air was filled with a loud metallic twang as the low calibre bullet glanced off the thick steel. Standing tall, Jack pulled off the helmet and smiled.

“Point made? Point made! Moving on!” He set the dinged helmet down and braced himself against the table as he muttered quietly to himself. “ow, stupid...” Shaking the headache off, he turned back toward the crowd as they all watched attentively and took notes. “Now, let me ask you all this. Say you've got a whole squad, or hell, a whole platoon bearing down on your ass! You're the last one alive, and backup isn't coming! What do you do?”

Knowing better than to fall for Jack's bait, Flitter stayed silent and simply observed as another cadet perked up. “Retreat. If you’re outnumbered, then there’s no point in sacrificing your life for something so meaningless as a pile of dirt and rocks.”

Nodding, Jack look legitimately impressed. “Good answer Buttercup.” The mare blinked and openly pondered how he knew her name, but Jack ignored her and continued forward. “Now, in some circumstances that may be the best option, and at that point you take it. But let’s say for this hypothetical situation, you’re in such a position that retreat will only get you killed, and your buddies killed. I actually have a real reference for this. During one of Earth's largest wars, dubbed World War Two, there was a US army surgeon who found his frontline field hospital under attack by over one hundred enemy soldiers after they burst through the front. Captain Benjamin Salomon decided to hold the line by himself while nurses and less injured soldiers carried the critically wounded back behind the lines.” Jack laced his fingers behind his back and paced before the machinegun. “Salomon proceeded to kill over ninety eight of the battle hardened, blood thirsty enemy soldiers, and save the lives of everyone in the hospital and keeping the line from being smashed apart.” An incredulous gasp went out amongst those present.

“That’s impossible!” One of the officers called out, and Flitter inwardly groaned as her superiors continued to fall face first into Jack’s well laid out traps.

“It isn’t.” Jack crossed over to the machinegun and grabbed one of its fat disk magazine. Setting it in place, Jack pounded a fist against it to lock it into place, before racking the bolt. “Because Salomon had an advantage!” Jack then opened up across the field, liberally spraying every single mannequin with 7.62x54r rounds. The heavy rounds blew through the stone cover, and sent bits of mannequins and shredded armour flying in every direction as the thunderous cacophony of gunfire and chattering brass filled the field. Jack’s smile broke into a massive shit eating grin as he swivelled about, his heavy boots dancing through the pile of smoking brass. All too soon the weapon’s bolt locked open and the gun fell silent. Jack leaned on the weapon and surveyed the damage as the barrel of the machinegun smoked away merrily. Nodding in approval, Jack pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it off the smoking hot barrel. Turning toward the crowd, Jack grinned smugly as he pinned the cigarette between his lips. “Any questions?”

The remains of the stone cover crumbled loudly, filling the void of silence where every single pony present stared at him with wide eyes and expressions varying from terrified to aroused. Luna in particular seemed very hot and bothered, while Celestia looked gravely disturbed.

Jack sucked back on his cigarette and blew the smoke through his nose. “I’ll take that as a ‘No’ then.”

_________________________________________________________________

Several minutes after the thunderous showing of firepower, Flitter's class was released and given an assignment each to complete. Flitter waved off Hazel, and decided to wait at the edge of the field for Jack as he spoke with several very important ponies. It looked like he was explaining in detail how a firearm worked to a handful of officers and a large group of scientists. Flitter smiled softly and relaxed as she pulled out a local gossip magazine that featured a front cover sporting her favourite human.

He was grinning at the camera and covered in his bloodied and dust coated armour; a small brightly smiling colt was riding Jack’s shoulder as he made a strange two fingered gesture with his hand to the camera. His index and pinkie fingers were extended, while the others were folded into his hand. Underneath the picture was the bolded headline: Marine foalnaps colt in broad daylight!

Snorting derisively, Flitter idly flipped through the magazine as she waited. About halfway through the magazine, Flitter was drawn out of it by a very familiar and welcome voice. “Damn am I photogenic.”

Smiling as she got up and stowed the magazine, Flitter hugged Jack's leg tightly and nuzzled above the prosthetic. He laughed quietly and scratched between her ears as she spoke. “Are you alright? I can't believe you had princess Luna shoot you just to make a point!”

Coughing lightly and rubbing his face, Jack smiled weakly toward her. “Well… not one of my finer ideas, I'll admit. I kinda came to that conclusion the second the words left my damn mouth. I'm just lucky the princess is a terrible shot and the Ruskies know how to make a good helmet.” Flitter punched him in the thigh, earning a flinch and a yelp. “Ow, shit! What was that for?”

“For making me worry about you, you big dummy!” Flitter glared up at him, and was pleased to see him at least somewhat apologetic.

“Okay! Ow, Jesus you charliehorsed me… ow… Sorry.” He smiled weakly and gestured toward the door leading back into the castle as he rubbed his thigh. “Come on. I have something for you.”

Perking a brow in curiosity, Flitter followed Jack back to his room, where his night guard was waiting diligently at the door. The Sergeant nodded to them both, before resuming his vigil as he spoke. “I saw the show, very impressive Staff Sergeant.”

Jack rolled his eyes as he opened his door. “You keep calling me solely by rank and imma kick your ass.”

Taven smothered a grin. “Sure thing, Jack.” He watched as Flitter followed Jack into his room, before closing the door.

Inside, Flitter let out a soft sigh and flopped down on Jack's bed. “Ugh… I am so done with today…” Jack grunted his agreement as he went to his armour and dug through one of the pouches. Flitter didn't look up at him as he did. He soon crossed over the room, and set the glock and magnum down on his nightstand. The machinegun had been put back inside its hardcase and left by Jack's door. Flopping down onto the bed next to Flitter, Jack pulled out something pink and ribbony. Flitter looked to Jack in confusion, before she properly spotted the ribbon and gasped in surprise. “Y-you found it! O-oh…” She closed her eyes and managed a smile that was rife with emotion as Jack attempted to tie it nicely around her mane.

“I found it while I was packing camp. Forgot it the first night, so… yeah.” Jack patted her head when he finished tying the bow. “Right back where it belongs…” Wiping fledgling tears from her eyes, Flitter began leafing through her academy papers and books. Finding the one page she was searching for in particular, Flitter pulled it free and offered it to Jack. Raising a brow as he took it, Jack felt his own heart thump painfully as he stared down at an artist's rendition of his old squad. “Where-”

“I saw them in some of the videos, and I thought you'd like to have them with you.” Flitter smiled softly as Jack ran a thumb over the hoof drawn faces. Setting the paper down a little too quickly as his guts twisted up into painful knots, Jack pulled the small mare in for a very brief hug. Smiling weakly as they broke off, Flitter got up from the bed and gathered her things. “I need to go.”

A quiet moment passed between the two before Jack nodded. “Okay. See you around.”

“Be seeing you…” Flitter waved softly with a wing as she trotted out the door. The door clicked closed quietly behind her, and a moment of comparative silence passed.

Thumbing the picture idly, Jack suppressed a pained shudder as he stuffed it into his nightstand and slammed the little drawer closed. Standing on steadfast legs, Jack treaded out his door. “Sergeant.”

Taven perked immediately and began matching Jack's pace. “You need something?”

“Yeah.” Jack shakily lit a cigarette and puffed on it to calm his nerves and quell the thoughts of the medical case tucked away in his thigh pocket. “I need a bottle of whiskey or some kind of grain alcohol and somewhere I can get washed up properly.”

Eyeing Jack with suppressed worry, Taven nodded and began to lead. Soon enough, the Sergeant had managed to sneak a small bottle of hard alcohol out of the kitchen, and was currently leading Jack to the castle spa. The Staff present all seemed surprised to see the unlikely pair, but began getting things ready. A small human girl chirped curiously toward Jack, before being cajoled into doing her job of holding towels. With a grunt, Jack uncorked the bottle and didn't look at the mares as he spoke. “I need a private pool. Only humans and the Sergeant are allowed in.”

“But sir-” Taven cleared his throat and shook his head toward the mare, who sighed and relented, leading them to a side room. Once the door closed, leaving the pair alone, Jack took a long gulping pull off the bottle. Taven swallowed uncomfortably as Jack began stripping down to his skivvies. Once nearly naked, he sat at the pools edge and disconnected his legs. When his plugs and leg connectors were sealed, Jack took another long pull off the bottle before setting it aside and falling face first into the pool.

He sank slowly down to the bottom, his body trailing dirt, grime, and blood into the crystal clear water. His back hit the tiles at the bottom of the pool and he forced himself to relax. Closing his eyes and letting his mind wander, he ignored the creeping feeling of air leaking from his lips. I'm at home. I'm taking a bath at home. Everything is going to be alright. I'm okay.

I'm alright.

I'm okay.

I don't need anything.

I'm alright.

No I'm not.

Slowly opening his eyes and finding himself still submerged under the water, Jack let out a long stream of air through his nose and watched the bubbles bob to the surface. A furry face appeared over the pools edge and stared down at him, but the words it spoke were muffled and strained through the water. As his lungs began to burn from the lack of air left, Jack rolled up onto his rump and pushed himself to the surface with his arms. When his head breached the surface, he set his arms on the side of the pool to hold himself up. Taven let out a sigh of relief. “You scared me for a minute there… I wasn't sure how you'd swim back up without any legs…” The stallion looked over uncomfortably at the prosthetic legs as they stood stiff and ready by the edge of the pool.

“I went through water therapy in physio when I came back without legs. I can handle myself.” Jack answered gruffly as he pulled the bottle close and took a long draw from it.

“How did you lose them?”

Grunting as he set the bottle down at the pool’s edge, Jack rested his face on the cool tiles. “Bad luck. Now pass me that bar of soap.”

______________________________________________________________________

As Jack wandered back to his room and his bed, Peytr was busy. Very, very busy. The sound of heavy machinery pounding away filled the hidden yard as he and Celestia walked through side by side. Sparks rained down across dozens of levels of scaffold as ponies welded thick steel plates together. The project was coming along beautifully, and her sister project was almost complete.

“With the computer chips Martyr Kessle found, advanced tracking and other suites will be easier to complete, as well as the commander's post.” Petyr informed Celestia as they both climbed the stairs to the observation platform

“And the propulsion?” Celestia glanced back over at the large human.

“Will come in time. Communications was a primary concern, and the easiest to fix. If I can convince Martyr Kessle to part with his drone I am very confident we can bolster the technomagical output by using repulsor technology on Sword. Though I doubt we will be able to make the engine very small. Of course, experimental, so no good for Shield.”

Celestia nodded as they reached the platform. “Once Jack has been convinced to help our scientists reverse engineered your gunpowder and firearms, Sword will have her teeth as well.”

The pair looked over as the weapon pulpits of the project sat empty, but ready to receive dozens of weapons. Petyr sigh softly. “I still do not approve of building weapons of war, especially by such a peaceful peoples.”

“Neither do we.” Princess Luna spoke as she finished climbing the stairs, joining the pair to look out over the massive hull of sloped steel and riveted armour. “But if we are right, and Discord's warning proves to have merit… we will need every edge in this fight we can muster. Every blade, every bullet, every shell…” Her eyes drifted over the project. “Sword and Shield will be our first and last lines of defense.”

“Let us pray it never comes to that.” Celestia spoke quietly as she closed her eyes.

Petyr clasped his meaty hands together and bowed his head ever so slightly. <Yes, pray…>

Author's Notes:

For anyone wanting a more visual representation of Jack's little machinegun dance, here you go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmgVKI4Smds

New Cover Art! Woooo!