The Royal meeting chambers stood empty, save for a solitary alicorn who gazed out across the magically enhanced map that laid across the large oaken table. Celestia sighed softly as she rested on her throne. It was moments like these, where she was completely alone and undisturbed that she was allowed to drop her royal mask. A thousand years of stress and hard decisions had earned her some very deep lines that she worked hard to hide. The door to the chambers cracked open, before swinging wide to allow her sister entrance. The doors closed behind her with nary a sound as she trotted in and took a seat at her own throne. Her fur was seemingly singed in several places, and Celestia could make out fine grains of sand in her sister’s coat.

“Are you alright, Lulu?” She asked with concern lacing her voice. It wasn't often that her sister allowed her appearance to drop so dramatically.

Luna sat back and groaned as she sank into her seat. “I went against my better judgement and dove into a REM dream.”

Celestia perked a brow in curiosity. “And?”

“It belonged to Jack.”

“Ah.”

Beginning the arduous process of clearing the sand from her coat and mane, Luna let out a grunt of agreement. “Discord left an aspect inside his psyche, same as the other humans. We had an altercation, and Jack's inner psyche lashed out.” She looked over as Celestia sighed and nodded. “He is hurting, Tia. We've neglected him in favour of more… likable humans and our projects, and I can see it having adverse effects on him.”

“What would you have me do, Lulu?” Celestia rumbled with frustration. “There is little we can do in this situation, the projects must be seen to.”

“There is, Tia.” Luna placed her hooves on the table. “We're alienating him inside what is supposed to be his new home. He is no better now than he was when he first came to us. If anything happens to him, we will be losing a valuable asset, and a possible ally.”

“While I agree that something must be done, there is little I can do at this time beside giving him his work. I have my hooves full directing the accord.” Celestia sighed softly and ran a hoof through her flowing mane. “Queen Omega will be arriving soon. Apparently she's heard reports from her network regarding Jack and she would like to meet him. Do you believe he is mentally fit enough to behave himself?”

Getting to her hooves, Luna nodded. “I do. And if you are unable to help him, then it is up to me.” She nuzzled Celestia lightly and managed a soft smile. “Try to rest today sister, I will see to the country.”

Nuzzling back at Luna, Celestia stood as well and smiled in return. “I doubt either of us will get a full sleep anytime soon. I wish you luck Lulu.” Celestia watched as her sister nodded, and trotted out of the meeting room. Her eyes returned to the map, and all of the insecure territory surrounding her land after a thousand years of peace. “I'm going to need more soldiers…”

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter paced back and forth, her wings fidgeting in agitation at her predicament. She hadn't gotten any sleep the night prior thanks to Jack, and today she had possibly the most important test of her entire life riding in front of her. It was her commission exam, the final test regarding her cumulative learning within the officer program at the academy. If she passed this, she'd move onto the next stage to earning her lieutenant bar. Needless to say, she was having a mild panic attack. Hazel traded a look with Field as they sat over the researchers officer table sharing a small pot of brewed coffee.

“Do you think she's going to pass out?” Hazel hazarded a guess meekly as Flitter muttered to herself and fidgeted excessively. She had her earbuds in, and was listening to the PDA as she paced.

Field looked equally unhappy about the situation, but Hazel couldn't discern why. “She's a very tough mare, I doubt a bit of hyperventilation will kill her…” Any further conversation was halted when the heavy bulk of Petyr’s footfalls shook the lab as he ran. Field immediately perked and looked out at the large man as he ran up, red in the face.

“I have the Martyr's drone, quickly pass me tools and we break down repulsor technology!” He gestured rapidly and spoke a rapid fire line of Russian. <Now, come on now, I haven't all day!>

Surprised by the indecipherable words being yelled at him, Field quickly pulled over the rolling tool box with his magic. “Should I get the others?”

“Da! Yes, now!”

Flitter pulled out her earbuds and rubbed her face as she looked over the unfolding scientific chaos. Hazel quickly extracted herself from the station and approached Flitter's side. “Hey, want to go get some food in town before your test? I find food always helps me think.”

“I'd… like that Hazel… let's go.”

Hazel smiled happily as she led Flitter toward the laboratory doors. “Maybe you can tell me what happened then.”

Grunting in disgust, Flitter's wings shivered with agitation and her ears pressed against her head. “I got in a fight with Jack last night. He was drunk and there was another human woman… ugh, he can be such a pigheaded bastard sometimes and I just want to smack it out of him, but…” Flitter sighed as they trotted down the halls. “He's still my friend Hazel, and I'm upset and frustrated that I can't help him through his problems. I said some things I didn't want to, and he took them really badly.”

With a wince of understanding, Hazel nodded and held the door open for Flitter as they trotted out into the blazing warm summer sun. “Sounds like you two need to sit down and talk.”

“We can't- I can't… I have too much to do, so I'll just… give him his space.” Flitter tilted her face up to suck up more of the wonderfully warm sun as Hazel sighed quietly at her side.

“Well, you know him best, let's hope you're making the right choice.”

Flitter winced and let her ears fold against her head as they neared their destination. “Yeah. Here's hoping.”

______________________________________________________________________

“Staff Sergeant Kessle, Princess Celestia has requested your presence in the meeting room, right away!” The gold armoured mare quickly cantered off after leaving the message with Jack as he sat in his room staring at the proposed plans for a battle saddle.

Waving his hand at the door but not turning his attention toward it, Jack muttered as he rubbed his sunken cheek. “Uh huh, be there in a moment.” He slowly pried himself away from the drawings and handed them to Baron. “Run these down to the foundry boys. Tell them I can't find anything wrong with the design, but if they're going to use a pack feed they need to protect it.” He stood and groaned as Baron nodded and cantered off. “Fuck me if the whole castle isn't alive when I'm hungover. First Petyr, now this shit.” Jack sighed lightly as he pulled on a clean shirt. “Come on Myth, let's go see what Sunbooty wants.”

With Mythic following on his heels. Jack made his way slowly down to the meeting room after making a swift detour into the kitchen to berate the fuming chef and steal some breakfast. The heavy gilded wood doors stood tall and ominous before him, but in his morning fog he barely noticed them as he ignored the guards stationed there and walked through. Inside the meeting room was a massive table, made to seat around thirty creatures, regardless of shape or size. Celestia and Luna sat side by side, and seemed to be waiting for him.

“Ah, so good of you to join us so quickly Jack.” Celestia spoke dryly with a hint of sarcasm. “A guest has expressed the desire to meet you in person.”

He grunted as he sat down heavily and gnawed idly at his pilfered breakfast. “Must be pretty important for you to want to be in the same room as me.” As Celestia opened her mouth to follow the line he'd left out, Jack waved a hand dismissively and leaned back into his chair. “Fuck it. Let's get this over with.”

Sighing at the terse conversation between her sister and Jack, Luna looked over toward the man across from her. “Jack, do you know what a changeling is?”

He quirked a brow as he spun a cigarette between his fingers. “I recognise the name, hold-” His features twisted as he tried to remember. A look of mild distress began to pass over his features, causing Luna to shift uncomfortably.

“Are you alright?”

His features twitched as he gestured erratically with his hand. “I… one of my brothers used to play a game that had them but…” The princesses looked to him with curiosity that swiftly turned to concern. “I can't remember his name…” Jack's fingers drifted up to the large ‘Y’ shaped scar that dominated his forehead. He seemed to suddenly remember that he was in the presence of others, and he promptly bottled everything up as swiftly as he could. “Sorry, continue.”

Clearing her throat, Celestia explained further. “A changeling is a shapeshifter. They have a natural insect-like appearance, but please refrain from calling them one. Queen Omega especially.” She looked up as the door opened and her guest entered.

Queen Omega was a considerable specimen of changeling physique, and was taller than Chrysalis had been when she had launched her attack. A short crop of vibrant orange silk mane framed her features as she scanned the room with attentive orange eyes. A well meaning smile spread across her muzzle as she and her retinue moved to take their seats. “Good day Princess Celestia, Luna.” She summoned a stack of paperwork and set it down on the table. “Is this the Maximilian human I have heard so much about? Or is this the Staff Sergeant Kessle?”

Jack for his part didn't make a complete idiot out of himself as he stood and bowed slightly, before offering his calloused hand toward the queen. “Staff Sergeant Kessle. Can't say I've ever met a Queen before. It's an honour.”

Taking the hand within her hoof, Omega smiled curiously, before her eyes opened wider and her pupils dilated. “M-my my, you certainly are an emotional powerhouse Mr. Kessle. You intelligent humans continue to be increasingly interesting.” She swallowed thickly and laughed lightly. “My apologies princesses, I was curious and got a bit more than I bargained for.” She quirked her head toward Jack as he looked over his hand with confusion. “I sampled your emotions.”

Raising a brow in worry, Jack retook his seat and managed a brief smirk. “Sounds dangerous for your health.”

The queen changeling hummed and sat back. “Very diverse, and heavily concentrated. You bottle everything up, don't you?”

“I use it as a Molotov.”

The pair shared a laugh as Luna and Celestia shared a look between each other that said where in the world did this come from? Biting the bullet, Luna cleared her throat and forced a smile. “Now that introductions have been made, I believe you had something for us?”

“I do.” Omega slid over the stack of parchment. “Over the last few months, we've been keeping Chrysalis’ hive under surveillance, and my operatives have been keeping their ‘ears to the ground’ as it were over these human devices you’ve been snatching up.” She pushed two fat folders forward to the princesses. “We have found a seemingly large cache of crates with strange markings, and some in Equish.” A set of sketched drawings immediately drew Jack’s attention. The words 84mm HEDP, and 7.62x51 NATO Tracer immediately stuck out. As his eyes flicked over the other symbols, he began to grow equally worried and excited. He managed to keep his excitement down, showing only worry. Omega picked up on his emotions immediately and her ears flicked in response. “You understand these, don’t you?”

He nodded in return and gestured toward the Panasian writing. “That’s probably Korean, I think. Maybe Japanese, but it’s all moonrunes to me. The rest…” He looked to the Princesses, before motioning subtly with his head toward Omega. When they gave him the nod, he continued. “Looks like explosives. Guns. Ammo. More than we’ve found all together, in one spot. Maybe some gear too.” He tapped the sketches. “This isn’t random. it can’t be. This is a stockpile.”

“What is this second report?” Celestia asked, doing her best to ignore the grim tones Jack’s words carried.

The second report was considerably larger, and seemed to pertain to a spot of dirt. Omega provided commentary, thankfully. “Chrysalis’ hive has gone dark, severing connections with the others. After her failure to take Canterlot, they have been severely weakened, so doing so makes little sense, unless-”

“Unless somebody else has her back.” Jack interrupted as he looked over the reports. The royalty around him seemed surprised, but thankfully he decided to expand on his claim. “If she’s supposed to be weak like you claim, then she’s probably depending on the other hives for supplies, right?” At Omega’s nod, he sighed. “So that means she’s getting it from somebody else now. Or something changed. Something to turn this Chrysalis to full isolationist mode and try her luck that way.” He paused for a moment. “How much distance between the two reports ground wise?”

“Twenty kilometers…” Omega slowly trailed off.

Jack set his jaw and nodded. “I need a team. Enough muscle to get every last crate out of the stockpile, I need eyes on the ground and I need a way to transport these materials fast.” He looked up at Celestia, his face not carrying a hint of emotion. “And I needed them yesterday.”

“The Coming Dawn is still under strength and recovering sister.” Luna spoke quickly as she looked over the reports. “I will alert some of my Elites, and have them escort Jack.”

Nodding, Celestia frowned grimly at the pages. “We’ll fly them all there by carriage, but this is… these reports are based around the Appaloosa area. The Sunlight Express runs the badlands corridor there, I'll send a request that they freeze all operations and cede control to the guard in the meantime.” She looked to Jack. “It's the fastest train in Equestria, completely steam powered.”

“Can it reach eighty eight miles per hour?” When the royalty around him earned looks of Confusion, Jack waved them off and stood. “I'll get a kit together. Expected resistance?”

Omega smiled thinly. “Little. My drones didn't find any forces nearby and a very small hoof full entered during surveillance. Of course, that doesn't mean much currently, as things could have changed. Chrysalis may become involved as well when you start moving the stockpile.”

“Fuck it. Let's get this party started.” Jack turned and strode out of the room, and the royalty followed.

“My Elites will meet you on the carriage field Jack.” Luna glanced to the side as Jack's guards stood at attention by the door waiting diligently for him.

Baron's eyes went to Queen Omega, and Omega looked to the small mare as well; the Queen’s twisted horn flashed brightly. “You have an infiltrator it seems.” The magic pulse struck Baron mid chest, stripping her of her disguise as her eyes went wide. Shock passed through those present as Baron screamed in surprise as her greenish blue carapace was exposed.

“No! You’ve ruined everything!” Baron's magic wrapped around the pistol grip of Jack's revolver and yanked it free from his holster. The small changeling leveled the weapon with the now surprised Omega's chest as the guards standing by tried to intervene. The magnum boomed explosively in the confined space of the corridor, and the round struck a target. The hollow point round cut through Jack's side like a knife through butter as he pivoted his body to create a meaty barrier between Baron and Omega. As pain lanced through his body, he pressed through it and brought his knee up to meet the mare's chitinous chin. The following impact rattled the changelings brain badly enough to cause her eyes to flutter. Slamming a balled up fist into the side of her head to finish the job his knee had started, Jack quickly ripped his stolen weapon away from the now unconscious Baron.

“It's one of Chrysalis’s infiltrators.” Omega noted with a hint of anger, before turning her attention to Jack as the Royal Guards surrounded the unconscious changeling and cuffed it. “Are you alright, Staff Sergeant?”

“Yeah.” Jack grunted as he held a hand to his side to stem the bleeding. “Just creased me. Fuckin’ Baron…” Celestia's magic wrapped around his side as he tried to see to it himself. Waving her off, Jack grunted at the pain. “Just stick a tampon in it, I don't have time to bleed!”

Grimacing as blood soaked through his previously clean shirt, Luna nodded to his request. “A medic will see to you enroute, get your kit and be moving Jack.”

“Jack be careful!” Celestia called out as the man set off at a jog, leaving both of his bodyguards behind. Mythic was still staring wide eyed at Baron's unconscious body with open shock and enraged betrayal. Giving the guard a well meaning touch to the shoulder as Baron was hauled off to the dungeon, Celestia did her best to control the damage. “We will discover why she betrayed us all. Do not fret.”

“She was my partner… my friend. “ Mythic shook his head and began a slow trot that sent him aimless through the castle as his mind reeled.

______________________________________________________________________

Jack's boots pounded down the hall as he ran, the sounds of whirring servos and squealing rubber was all he could hear, save for the keening whine in his ears from the forty four. He wanted to be angry, hell, he wanted a lot of things, but he would just have to deal with it all later. Bursting through his unguarded door and ignoring a fluttering piece of paper that fell from it, his eyes immediately went to his armour. He stopped just short of it, remembering how it had dragged down the heavy carriage. They couldn't afford that mistake this time around. Throwing on his exo skeleton and grabbing his laser rifle, Jack's eyes flicked to his morphine case, and without a second thought he snatched it up and grabbed his duffel bag full of explosives. Anything he couldn't secure, he'd turn to slag. Without having wasted a moment, he went running down the hall toward the landing field.

Waiting for him there was a friendly face. Taven shifted under his heavy armour and looked to Jack. “What's going on Jack? The elites are being deployed and I got pulled out of bed without any-” The stallion grunted as Jack scooped him off the ground and dumped into a carriage with a squad of heavily armoured night guard. He thumped the side of the carriage twice with his hand to signal the all ready.

“Good to go! Let's get these wheels of the ground!” The flight teams nodded and completed their pre-checks, before diving off the edge of the suspended field and off the mountain. The speed launch saw them picking up speed rapidly, before their wings extended and they leveled out. Jack turned to Taven and grinned. “We've got a HVT and some possible Op-For in the area. Smash and grab tactics, grab everything you can and load it onto the train. Anything we can't carry out gets slagged.” He looked to the other ponies. “Y’all got that?”

One of unicorn elites gave a lift of his head, indicating a question. “Who's the Op-For? What's our engagement protocol?”

Checking his gear as the flight team hauled ass across the clouds, Jack had to raise his voice to be heard above the winds. “Unknown Op-For, possible belonging to somebody named Chrysalis. Subdue who you can for questioning, if they're openly hostile, put them down.” The order brought up a frown amongst the guards, but they all nodded and returned to checking their own gear. Turning his attentions to Taven, Jack gave him a light fist bump to the shoulder. “You good with this, or should I have you hang back?”

Taven simply smiled and ran a wheystone across his spearhead. “A real mission? Count me in, Sarge.” He shared a grin with Jack, before noticing his blood stained and torn shirt. “You're wounded! Medic!” The guards around them made faces of confusion, but the unicorn medic slid across the open section of carriage to Jack's side.

Waving a dismissive hand, Jack chewed the side of his cheek in thought. “Stitches’ll bust if I move too much, bandages won't do shit right now…” He grunted at his own internally decided path; the morphine case slipped out of his pocket easily and popped open as he looked to the medic. “Can you cauterize?” When the medic slowly nodded and furrowed his brow, Jack flicked the tip off of one of the syrettes and smacked it into his bicep, adding to the track marks upon it. A cooing sigh escaped his lips and was swiftly stolen by the wind and he relaxed. “Do it.”

______________________________________________________________________

Taking in a deep breath to calm herself as she stood by the edge of the wargames table, opposite a fully pinned lieutenant. Her last test before her field assignment. She had to defeat another officer at the game. A deep frown spread across her muzzle as her eyes flicked to the small crowd. It was mostly composed of other officers, all of which were watching her like hawks on a rabbit. Thankfully, some friendly faces were present, namely Field, Hazel, and Petyr. She had left a message on Jack's door, but either hadn't seen it or had decided to not come.

“His loss…” Flitter muttered to herself as she looked over the field. She had the smaller force, and was tasked with escorting a valuable object from one end of the map to the other. The magical soldiers on the board stood ready to receive her orders. The officer across from her had a considerably larger force, and air superiority. However, Flitter had the cover of a thick forest to rely upon. This wasn't supposed to be a battle of attrition or pure martial strength. It was making due with what you had on hoof to get the job done. She had to show what she understood, and still win. Flitter narrowed her eyes at the map as she began planning out her attack.

No magical soldier belonging to the opposing lieutenant would stop her from completing her objective.

Not a single one.

______________________________________________________________________

The fast moving carriages came in for landing just at the outskirts of a desert town out in the middle of the badlands; the Lunar Elites dismounted with practiced smoothness while Jack vaulted the side rail and began walking for town. Midflight they’d received word that one of Omega's drones was going to meet them on the ground and take them to the target location, but they had to meet said drone first. The town seemed as if it were ripped directly from an old western flick to Jack, and he muttered about it to himself and his fingers drummed his rifle in anticipation.

As the team passed through town, their armoured and armed bulk drew a great deal of attention. Nearing the town square, the sounds of yelling and screaming reached their ears, and they began to double time it across the dirt packed streets. They came to a stop at the edge of a crowd consisting of what had to be most of the town's population surrounding a wooden stage, upon which twelve humans and three ponies were present. A deep scowl embedded itself Jack's features as he looked over the auction.

The humans present were bound and secured to each other, and generally looked skinny and miserable. Clenching his rifle grips, Jack fought to keep his feet where they were and the muzzle of his weapon. “This is fucking slavery, Taven…” The stallion at his side winced and refused to look up at him.

Before Jack had a moment to consider what he could do in his situation, somebody cleared their throat behind the group. Turning on his heels, Jack locked onto a small stallion who was wearing a protective trail duster. “Y’all them private security fellers?” He drawled loudly, drawing attention to the group for a moment, before sending it all away with disinterest.

Having been told the challenge, Jack forced a thin smile. “We're the stand ins.”

The stallion nodded and made a jerking motion with his head to have them follow him down an alleyway. Once they were out of earshot of the crowd and any stragglers, the informant began filling them in. “Spotted a small group moving boxes from the target building, numbers about four. Probably more hiding out in the hills. The Sunlight Express will be sitting on the tracks by the target building, empty, exactly twenty minutes from now. We’ll help you load the cargo, but we'll have to move fast if they have any friends out here.” The stallion reached the top of a small berm, and pointed toward a seemingly abandoned storehouse that was nestled in between a pair of decrepit frontier homes.

Nodding once, Jack turned to his squad. “I want two to three of you on overwatch. If anybody runs, or reinforcements arrive, take them out or pull back to the storehouse and advise. The rest of you, split into two teams, team one with me, team two prepped for breach through those top windows on my signal. Clear?” At the team's nod and immediate delegation of roles, Jack cracked his neck and smiled thinly. “Let's go ruin some days gentlemen.”

______________________________________________________________________

The opening moves had been made on the board, and all ambient noise in the room had died down to nary a peep as Flitter examined her board. She had to first get into a lightly defended area and retrieve her cargo; a quick order to her troops sent them off into three teams to hit the target area from all angles. With a bit of luck, the element of surprise would let her grab the cargo without suffering any casualties. With a calm breath, Flitter issued the order to attack.

______________________________________________________________________

Stacking up against the side of the storehouse, Jack dropped his duffel and pulled a shaped breaching charge and a spray can from the myriad contents of the bag. Sticking the breaching charge against the wooden wall, Jack proceeded to pop the cap off the can and began spraying a large rounded square of gel against the wall around the charge. Inside the insulating gel was a thin line of highly reactive thermite breaching wire, which was soon plugged into the breaching charge. The guards stacked against the wall gave him confused looks, but maintained distance as Jack held up his spare hand while he held his detonator. His fingers began to curl into his fist, counting down from five to zero. When his fist clenched, the gel pulsed brightly and the contained thermite reaction swiftly cut through the unreinforced wall. A split second later the charge detonated inwards, sending the entire cut section of the wall blasting inwards. Jack was the first through the breach and was swiftly followed by both teams. His team followed through the wall breach, while the second team battered down the front door and charged in.

“Clear!”

“First floor clear!”

“Contact, second floor office!” One of the guards called out before diving for cover behind a stack of heavy wood crates. Wood splinters erupted from the boxes edge moments later as a booming gunshot just narrowly missed the guard.

Jack pivoted on his toes and began stalking toward the gunfire muzzle first. Spotting the office, he laid down suppressive laser fire for the pinned guard to scamper to a better position. “YOU HAVE EXACTLY THREE SECONDS TO THROW DOWN YOUR WEAPONS! THREE! TWO! ONE!” He grinned as the ponies in the office fired another volley at him and received a flashbang grenade through the window for their efforts. Taven took cover next to him, waiting diligently with his thick shield as Jack began moving for the stairs. “In front of me Taven!” The stallion nodded and galloped up the stairs, before stacking up next to the door with his shield held forward next to his spear. Jack stomped forward and kicked the thick wood door clear off its hinges.

The door clattered loudly against the floor as Taven pushed in past Jack and gave him cover against the follow up volley of gunfire. The round lead balls shattered against his thick shield, but the stress bulges were growing deeper as they assaulted his bulwark. Taven roared as he speared one of the attacking ponies across the chest. “WEAPONS ON THE GROUND, YOU’RE ALL UNDER ARREST!”

A shotgun blast sounded out, sending a thick pointed slug through Taven's shield and across his guard armour. A unicorn with a black tactical pump action shotgun began wrestling with the weapon to chamber the next round as Jack leap-frogged over the now wounded Taven. Since Taven had given them a chance at mercy, he would not. The closest pony had the scruff of his neck crushed as Jack gripped him and violently ripped him toward the window. The stallion managed a startled scream that lasted less than a second as he burst through the window and slammed hard against the opposite wall before falling to the ground motionlessly. Jack continued forward, his rifle putting a high powered laser through the unprotected chest of another attacker. The mare went down soundlessly as all the air in her lungs was consumed by the heat of the penetrating shot.

Grabbing the unicorn’s shotgun by the barrel and ripping it from her magic, Jack racked the pump and shot her point blank between the eyes. “Supposed to pump it, dipshit.” Turning on his heels, he gestured out the window. “Office clear, eyes open for a fourth! Team one, secure our route!” He looked to Taven and smirked. “How you holding up there Warhorse?”

With an energetic smile, Taven nodded to Jack as the unicorn medic saw to the wound in his side. “Time of my life, sir.” The stallion's ears perked, and he immediately swivelled his head to a small door that was marked ‘janitor’. He pointed at it with a hoof, and Jack nodded in understanding.

“That's good, let's grab these crates and move.” Jack cautiously edged toward the door as he checked the shotgun's chamber. He placed his ear against the wood and listened. He drew back a step, before levelling the weapon with the door hinges. A pair of rapid booming blasts shook the office as he blasted the hinges clear and grabbed the holes with his augmented hand. Ripping the door clear from the entire office, Jack levelled the twelve gauge with a burly stallion's face. The stallion's eyes went wide and he immediately dropped his percussion cap revolver. The modified mouth grip caused the weapon to bounce slightly upon hitting the ground.

“I surrender!”

Jack sneered at the stallion as he grabbed him by the scruff and hauled him out of the closet. “Your choi-” his words fell short as recognition flicked across his mind. He'd seen this stallion before. Then it clicked. The stallion before him was the bandit leader from the DRMSI building. The one he'd almost killed.

Dominus’s own eyes went wide with the fear of recognition. “You! T-there’s no way! You're supposed to be dea-” Dom's sentence was cut short as Jack clubbed him over the head with the stock of the shotgun.

“Somebody secure the scumbag, let's roll people, start packing!”

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter smiled to herself as her soldiers performed a perfect raid and secured the objective. She'd held back almost all of her forces, to keep her numbers a secret from her enemy. The moment her soldiers were in the tree line, she had the objective hoofed off to another squad that went in a completely different direction. The rest of her forces would be there for a wonderful goose chase. Of course, the more of them that survived, the better.

Her enemy smirked to himself behind his screen and moved his pieces confidently across the field in a standard search pattern. He was hoping to catch her before her soldiers got clear of the original objective site. He had an airship dropping off a team of expert earth ponies as well on the area in an attempt to ensnare her. Unfortunately for him, Flitter had picked up a few dirty little tricks that belonged to humanity, like booby traps and guerilla warfare. The enemy officer scowled as one of his squads fell victim to a well placed magical trap, taking them out of the game.

The stallion immediately buckled down on his tactics, and pressed forward after the myriad trails her soldiers had left for them to follow.

The chase was on.

______________________________________________________________________

The Sunlight Express was the first self drawn steam engine in all of Equestria. And it had the beauty to match its claims. It's frame was wrought with shimmering steel and was gilded tastefully with gold. The cars that followed it were meant for the utmost luxury, equally gleaming and proud like the engine. Behind the passenger cars were two large cargo cars, making a painful contrast against the shining engine with their peeling paint and roughshod wood sides. A little over a dozen ponies clambered off the train as it came to a stop on the tracks at the marked position. The leader, the stallion who had greeted Jack and his team when they first arrived, stepped forward and nodded a greeting as his crew began loading the heavy crates and steel barrels with hoof and magic as the guards covered them.

The lead stallion looked off toward the homes that neighboured the tracks as the last of the crates and barrels were being loaded on. “We’re being watched.”

Jack nodded and waved a hand as the last of the cargo was swiftly loaded. “All the more reason to get the hell out of here. Who's the driver?”

“A friend. He won't stop for anything until you hit Canterlot.”

Jumping aboard the train after the last of his squad boarded the train. He hung off the side of the train, his rifle dangling on its sling off his chest as his duffel hugged his back. “You boys will be alright?”

The stallion grinned and a orange flame shimmered across his form, revealing a smaller changeling underneath bedecked in jet black carapace that was edged with vibrant orange markings. He swiftly returned to his disguise as he threw a glance over his shoulder. “They'll never see us. A pleasure working with you, human.”

Jack shot him a swift salute as the train started off down the tracks, its conductor dumping coal into the furnace to hit speed. The process had taken no longer than ten minutes.

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter's brain worked fast to think of possible escape routes for her soldiers as the enemy defenders closed in on them. She had been laying traps across the forest, and it had slowed her opponent down considerably, but they weren't enough. He was closing in on the largest of her squads, and it would look very bad if they were all killed or captured. Nodding to herself as she came to her decision, Flitter had her squad stop running and begin laying down a large amount of traps before digging in.

The ambush went perfectly, her traps taking the enemy by surprise the moment they were in the best killing zone. Her soldiers rained arrows and spears down on the staggered enemy forces, before finishing them off with a sword charge. With one of her enemy's largest squads down and out, things were beginning to look a little more fair. Of course, there was still the issue of his air superiority.

Setting her jaw as she maneuvered her forces around the board to flank and avoid his, Flitter took a scant moment to look up to the crowd. Her friends all waved their confidence to her, but the remaining lack of Jack was beginning to burn a small hole in her mind. Shaking her head to clear the thoughts out, Flitter focused entirely on the objective before her. If she could distract his forces long enough she would be in the clear.

‘Could’ being the term.

______________________________________________________________________

The squad leader of the Lunar Elites rolled his shoulders as he looked to Jack. “Are there any weapons in those crates we can use?”

As the train rocketed across the open desert, Jack felt a strange chill pass up his spine, as if be were being watched. He shook his head and blinked to clear it. “I hope so. You expecting trouble?” He winced as the morphine in his system began to ebb away, leaving him with the burning pain of his cauterised wound. He was sure it was bleeding again.

The stallion nodded as he looked over his soldiers as they took defensive positions in the car before the storage cars. “I'm always expecting trouble. Let's break out those weapons and prep.” At Jack's nod, the pair began walking toward the storage cars, which thankfully had access doors reachable from the passenger cars. The gentle rocking of the train caused the large crates and barrels to sway despite the straps and rope holding them in place.

Jack threaded his way toward the large olive drab pelican cases and paused to let the pony catch up after a second. He popped open the top of the crate, and felt his own heart skip a beat out of pure joy. “Two forty golfs! Oh man, today is starting to look up!”

Quirking a brow as he looked over the medium machineguns, the leader looked back to Jack for explanation, then immediately gave up. “I'll take them to the men.” He closed the lid on the pelican crate, and without a second thought, hauled the two hundred pound crate off the ground as if it weighed nothing. Jack lifted a finger to protest, but fell silent and lowered his head in resignation as he scooped up as many loose ammunition cans as he could.

Following the squad leader into the train car, Jack popped open the case again and pulled the M240g free. “Gather round children, Papa Kessle’s gonna teach you how to man a machinegun.” He looked around at the unit composition, and was generally pleased to find four unicorns within the group. “Uni’s will be weapon operators, so I need you guys to pay attention.” He popped the feed cover up and pointed at the button that controlled the lock. “Press that to release this. Take your ammo belt like so, and press it in until it clicks. Close your cover, give it a smack, rack the bolt.” He looked about, gauging how quickly they’d picked it up. “Okay, that’s reloading. Each gunner will have a spotter and feeder. Their job is spotting targets and keeping the gun firing. When firing, aim down the sights, focus on the front post. Hold the trigger down, and repeat the phrase ‘Die motherfucker die’.” The looks he got brought a light smile to his face. “That's your burst interval, keeps the gun from overheating. Any questions?” When there were none, he handed out the machineguns and three belts of ammunition per team. As the teams got used to the weapons and deployed the integrated bipods where they thought best, Jack had the spare guards run back and gather several more cans of ammo.

Lighting a cigarette as the train rattled across the desert, Jack turned to the squad leader and offered him one. To his surprise, the stallion took it and waited to be lit. Once he was, Jack puffed quietly and popped his question. “So. What's your name? Your armour's been scrubbed of any name or rank so I've internally been calling you Buddyguy.”

The guard leader chuckled as he smoked. “Captain Hard Tac. These white cigars aren't too bad.” He offered a hoof to Jack, who took it with a smile and a nod.

“Staff Sergeant Kessle.”

The pair shared a quiet moment as the two pony teams for set up within the car, their new weapons at the ready. Taven's voice sounded out as they began clattering through a skinny hill pass. “I saw contacts! I think we have inbound!”

Not a moment later, the train exploded into chaos.

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter grimaced as another of her squads was cut down by the enemy officers increasingly accurate troop deployments. She was quickly running out of forest to hide in, and he'd gotten wise to her ambushes a little too fast for her liking. Flitter wracked her mind for a way to turn the events to her favour, but it wasn't looking good.

Thankfully, no matter how many of her squads he caught, he couldn't get his hooves on the objective marker. It had changed hooves no less that eight times in the forest, taking separate routes and often changing direction to throw him off. She had to do what he wasn't expecting if she wanted to pull a win from this, something not in the books.

An idea struck like lightning in her mind, and her worried frown swiftly turned into a cruel smirk. That might just work. Let's see if you're expecting this.

______________________________________________________________________

Heavy hooves clattered across the car tops and the guards called out contact across their positions. The bandits had used the hills for cover, and were now boarding the train, or galloping alongside. One of the machinegunners opened up, the weapon ripping and snarling like a beast in the unicorn's magic as it spewed out hunks of hot lead and rained smoking casing down upon the fine carpeted floors. The tracers arced high across the galloping bandits, before the guard corrected his aim and swiveled down. Windows ahead of the car exploded inwards as the roof boarders swung down on ropes through them and pegasi burst through.

Jack lifted a hand to point at the boarders, but the air from his lungs was stolen when a pegasus burst through the window next to him and tackled him out the next. The rushing of wind filled his ears as his face was blasted with high velocity sand. The pegasi released him, letting him hit the ground hard at close to sixty kilometers an hour. Thankfully, the exoskeleton saved him from a painful death, and only caused him to bounce across the ground and curse vibrantly. With a pained howl, Jack lashed out and managed to grasp the final bar of the last car’s frame, nearly ripping his arm and the exo out of their respective sockets. With his feet dragging behind him across the rail ties, Jack roared in exertion as he pulled himself back aboard.

All four gunners were now stitching the hills and open desert with 7.62x51 rounds, and on occasion a target would go tumbling, his or her limbs cut out from them and their body shattered by overwhelming firepower. Coughing up a mouthful of bloody sand, Jack shook his head and scrambled to the top of the train. The winds there were even worse, and his rubberised heels threatened to skid across the smooth surface. Four bandits were on top of the cargo cars, trying to disconnect them from the rest of the train. Jack snarled with fury and leveled the shotgun toward them, only to have the firing pin strike empty space. Racking the slide saw no rounds left in the weapon, and Jack's rage rising steadily. Before he could charge forward and get his augmented hands on the attackers, a strange sight off above the desert drew his attention. What appeared to be the bastard child of a pirates sailboat and a zeppelin was floating along by the train, ponies clambering across it.

Air superiority.

Shit.

Jack cursed mutely and turned his attentions back to the problem at hand. Charging forward across the train's roof, he grabbed the first earth pony by the tail and ripped them clear from the train. He lashed out violently, doing his best to dislodge the attackers from the train. A pair of heavy hooves bucked into his stomach as he backhanded a pegasus from the air, forcing him hard onto his ass. Grasping the edge of the car, Jack snarled at the earthpony responsible as his guts cried out in agony from the buck. The pony clomped over and sneered as he reared up to try and crush Jack's hands under his hooves. Pulling himself up with explosive force, Jack roared his anger toward the stallion as his hands sunk into his attackers tough hide and pulled him forward to the edge of the car. Holding the stallion’s head out passed his own body, Jack was soon rewarded when the swiftly approaching rocky outcroppings took the stallion’s head off with a wet spatter. Having nearly been scraped off the side of the train himself, Jack pulled himself up with a pained groan as the headless corpse slid slowly off the train. He dropped down between cars to access the door leading back to his allies.

The sounds of chattering machineguns and dying creatures met his ears immediately like a crude auditory assault. Stomping through the cars, Jack stopped momentarily to retrieve his laser rifle from where he'd left it and returned to the passenger cars. Most of the bandits had managed to board the train, but were now in a long range gunfight with two of the gunners, one of which was being seen to by the medic for a nasty bullet wound. The second M240g clacked dry as it spat the last of its empty casings and links out the side. Bandit return fire increased tenfold, driving the guards to cover behind velveteen seats and finely stained oak partitions. Their prisoner screamed in his bindings as he squirmed in an attempt to avoid getting shot as bullets smashed the car apart.

“Fuck sakes!”

Jack dove for cover as he cursed brightly and returned fire with his rifle. Taven was immediately at his side, a belt of ammunition slung over his armoured chest. “They've got an airship!”

“I noticed!” Jack yelled back before snatching the empty mg up from the wounded stallion and shouldering it. Pulling the belt from Taven and slamming it home, Jack racked the cocking handle of the mg and slapped a syrette of morphine into his bicep before snarling like a savage animal. “YOU MOTHERFUCKERS WANNA FIGHT!? ALRIGHT, COME GET SOME!” He stood amidst the oncoming fire, the MG letting loose a ripping roar to match the shooter as he pinned the trigger down and advanced like a force of nature. The tracers arced back and forth, blowing the luxury cars to bits as the bandits dove for cover. The cover did little as they were cut to ribbons and sent to the ground in bloody heaps. A particularly courageous bandit peeked from cover and fired his weapon at Jack, striking the ballistic front plate of his exo skeleton before ducking back into cover. Jack grinned monstrously as he pivoted the stream of tracers to the thin cover the bandit was behind. “You little fucking cocktease!”

The stallion screamed in horror and agony as his cover was shredded, and he soon joined it in a ruined pile as his midsection was bisected by tracers. The bandit's body was consumed with green fire, revealing a bullet riddled greenish blue changeling. Jack hit his cover hard as the M240g ran dry and its barrel steamed merrily. He now had about a single car between him and the surviving enemy forces. The car served as a no man's land between the firing lanes, it’s shredded guts providing next to no cover.

“It's going to broadside us, take cover!”

The guards behind him gave Jack pause as they called out warning. He cast a confused look over his shoulder, before his world turned to flaming shrapnel and cannon fire.

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter growled as more of her units were struck down on the battlefield. Only half her forces remained, and they were ragged from fighting for so long.

It all came down to the airship. It was the lynchpin in her opponent's entire strategy. He was relying on it for resupply, medical assistance, and reconnaissance. Every minute it remained in the air was a minute she lost in her ever closing window.

Her distraction was coming along; it was almost in place, but the units she had been hoping to distract had long since moved on. She had several squads sitting on their hooves, doing nothing for her. A bolt of inspiration struck, and Flitter found her smile returning.

If that airship is so important, why not take it?

She began maneuvering her troops around, gathering her remaining pegasi into two large group while her distraction squad repositioned. All she needed was the right moment, and everything would fall right into place.

______________________________________________________________________

The smoothbore deck cannons of the airship smashed through the thin walls of the passenger cars, their magical charges detonating upon impact. Flaming shrapnel rained down around the defenders and the wind whipped through the ruined cars. A moment of brief reprieve was given when the train sped into a mountain tunnel, marking the final stretch of the badlands.

Bolting from his prone position, Jack pounded back to friendly lines and dropped the 240g into waiting hooves that were quick to give a fresh belt a good home. Hard Tac followed along behind him as he continued into the cargo cars and began ripping through the crates. “What are you looking for!?”

He had to yell over the wind to be picked up, but Hard Tac’s message was heard, and promptly ignored mostly by Jack as he grabbed one of the smaller cases, marked 84mm HEDP. “Open this and take out two!” He immediately began searching again, before growing frantic as the train ran out of tunnel and daylight flooded the cars again.

A rhythmic chopping sound echoed through the small canyon they had entered, and incoming fire began perforating the car the guards were using as their base of operations. Cries of pain and surprise came from the car as Jack finally found what he was looking for. Pulling the heavy shoulder mounted weapon from its case, Jack grabbed the dual shell case from Hard Tac and went to the gap between cars. “Pass these up to me!”

With the man clambering up to the roof, Tac hefted the weapon and its munitions up. “I don't know what you're planning Staff Sergeant, but if you pull it off you're getting a medal!”

Standing with the M3 Gustav in his hands, Jack twisted the back funnel to the side and slammed one of the shells home. Clicking the weapon shut, he sighted the hostile airship and squeezed the trigger.

The gattling crank gun on the deck of the ship had swiveled, it’s brilliant brass finish catching the sun long enough to be a warning before it opened fire on the solitary figure on the roof of the burning train. Jack cried out in surprise and pain as the 30-06. rounds danced around him and punched through his body. His body lurched over backwards as his head exploded with painful white noise, and his prosthetics strained to keep him upwards. At the last moment his boots squealed, and he fell off the side of the train. The impacts had thrown his aim off, and the high speed munition had slammed against the front of the airship instead of its center. The armour piercing high explosive punched clear through the wooden boards and detonated, shattering the front of the ship as if it were a brittle toy. The incoming fire abated as Jack dangled off the side of the speeding train, his wounded arm sending high pitched white noise through his mind as he gripped the train with it. Behind him hung the M3, his good arm having kept a firm grip on it as he'd been knocked off the train.

As the gleaming trim of the train car began to peel away under his grip, Jack grit his teeth and willed his body to continue onwards. His exo skeleton whirred loudly under the strain and lack of muscle response, and the trimming popped out just a little bit further. Without warning, hooves came over the top and grabbed onto his wounded arm, and several sets of hooves and magic pushed him up from behind. Taven heaved with a mighty roar as the other guards pushed up, hauling Jack's wounded body up onto the roof.

“I’ve got you!”

With the morphine still in his system stemming the worst of the agonizing pain, Jack nodded and pointed toward the munition tubes. “Reload me!” He managed to cry out as the wounded airship lurched in the air to bring its weapons to bear.

Nodding, Taven pounced on the bouncing tubes and ripped the cap open before pulling the heavy shell free. Jack fought to hurl the empty shell free from the weapon with his abused arm. Taven slid the fresh shell into the empty space, and locked the rear of the weapon in place. Giving Jack's back a smack, he covered his ears in preparation for the shot.

With all of his focus and effort, Jack hefted the weapon up onto his shoulder and sighted the ships center mass before squeezing the trigger. The primer of the shell ignited, and the shell exploded out of the recoilless rifle. The tipped warhead sailed straight and true, smashing through the ship’s middle. The resulting explosion of the high explosive warhead slamming into the gunpowder stockpile ripped the ship asunder from inside, and scattered its flaming remains across the valley.

A victorious cry ripped through the ruined train and Jack managed a pained smile as he sagged. “Semper Fi, scumfuckers…”

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter's gambit had paid off in full. Almost all of her remaining forces had converged on the airship and assaulted it from all sides. Her soldiers clambered over its sides, dispatching the crew with ease. The airship's colours swiftly changed to her control colours, and the stallion across the table from her frowned deeply as his own forces moved to pin her down.

The attacks had already begun, but now she had the advantage. Using the airship as an escape vessel, Flitter began to lead the bulk of his forces directly away from her objective carrying squad, which could now continue on unmolested through the forest and to the target area.

Her opponent smiled as his reserves came in, and pegasi teams began swarming the airship that was doing its best to avoid being taken down. As he prepared to remove it from play, a small buzzer sounded, marking the end of the game. The officer looked up from the board, perplexed at why. His features fell into open shock as he stared at the squad that had eluded him for so long, standing in the final area.

“Excellent showing! Low casualties and exemplar tactics!” Flitter's strategy teacher grinned happily as the other officers nodded in agreement. A few ponies present clopped their hooves and the one human present clapped. Flitter smiled bashfully as she looked back over toward the board.

Her instructor, a fully pinned Colonel, trotted over with his head held high. “Congratulations Cadet. You've earned the right to wear your bar.” He pinned the silver bars to Flitter's stiff collar, and she felt her heart skip a beat. “Your field training will begin soon. We’ll be in touch.” He stood stiffly and saluted her; it was a gesture that she returned almost on instinct as she fought to keep her beaming smile to a simple happy grin.

As the Colonel trotted away and the other officers filed out of the room, Flitter let out a silent squee of elation as she rapidly pranced in place. Hazel and the others soon joined her on the floor, and shared in her excitement. “You're almost a full officer now! Sheesh Flits, by the time I get my bars you'll be a captain!” Hazel nuzzled her friend happily as the men behind her smiled.

Flitter's eyes drifted across the group, and a tiny part of her heart broke when she realized yet again that Jack had still not joined them. As she moved to talk with the others, a cry rippled through the halls and a quick response team galloped passed the proving grounds. Flitter furrowed her brow and trotted out into the hall. “What's going on?”

One of the soldiers present glanced to her momentarily. “Sunlight Express just blazed through Ponyville, on fire!” Petyr and Field both shared a look of deep worry as Hazel gasped.

As the soldier cantered off, Petyr turned to Field. “Come, The Martyr must have succeeded if the train came under attack.” While Field nodded his agreement, Flitter turned toward the pair with a glowering look.

“You two knew where Jack was and you didn't say anything?” Both men shrank as she growled furiously at them, but before she could continue further with her planned fury, Hazel bumped her flank and interrupted her train of thought.

“Come on, we don't want to miss them coming into the station! They might need our help!”

While Flitter wanted to give the pair a piece of her mind, she was forced to relent and nod. After all, Hazel was right. Any trouble Jack got into was always big trouble. “Right… let's go.”

______________________________________________________________________

By the time the group reached the train station, the station was already crowded with emergency responders, the press, royal guards, and the royals themselves. Everybody was waiting with bated breath as the train’s high pitched whistle sounded out through the tunnels. Soon the gleaming engine breached the darkness, and its ruined cars followed suite. Silence fell across the station as the wreck of the finest train in all of Equestria limped into the station. Many of its cars were heavily damaged and burning. Flitter recognised a plethora of large bullet holes riddling every single car, and not a single window stood intact. One of the middle cars was almost entirely missing, its flaming, ruined frame standing in a twisted smouldering heap where it had once stood proud.

Cameras began flashing, capturing the carnage as one of the passenger car doors was kicked off its rollers and Lunar Elite guards began piling out. They were all bandaged and bloody, their grey features marred with black soot and blood. Four of them were carrying large weapons, while the others had belt upon belt of ammunition laid across their broad breastplates. A bound stallion was thrown from the door, and Flitter felt her heart skip for a moment as Jack all but fell out of the train after him. With his exo keeping his sturdy, he stood tall and forced a smile through the haze of his narcotics and pain.

“Sorry we’re late.”

The press went wild, their cameras flashing rapidly as they tried to press passed the Royal Guard barricades to assault the wounded soldiers with questions. Flitter cast a brief glance over to Luna and Celestia, her curiosity getting the better of her momentarily. Luna looked intensely relieved, and was approaching the group, while Celestia looked grave and unhappy. The solar princess swiftly hid the look and ordered a separate crew to detach the final cars and bring their contents to the castle post haste.

Flitter shook her head, and focused on Jack, specifically how she could reach him. She was thankful to see his guard Sergeant Varenikov keeping him steady, but the fact he had to be kept steady was intensely worrying. An ambulance wagon landed on the station, and almost all of the guards loaded into it, with Jack being made to lay on the gurney as the guard leader lit them both a cigar as the doors closed and the wagon sped off. Flitter cursed, and immediately turned on her hooves to take off for the castle.

______________________________________________________________________

“Ah killed a fuckin’ pirate ship.” Jack mumbled to himself before sucking on the cigar. The guard around him chuckled as best they could despite their own wounds.

“We all saw. Hell of a show, Kessle.” Hard Tac patted the man's side as the wagon doc set about trying to staunch the worst of the bleeding belonging to the human. Jack had taken the brunt of the incoming fire, and even his stubborn hide was decidedly not bullet proof. But, despite the sheer volume of fire the team had suffered, they were all alive and laughing.

Examining one of Jack's spent morphine syrettes, Taven nudged the doped up man as the doctor held a compress against the deep graze on his cheek. “Jack, what is this stuff anyways?”

“Mmms… morphine…” He was now a bleary wreck, the last of his adrenaline having bled off, leaving nothing but the low of the morphine. “s’good…”

“Some kind of painkiller, has to be.” Hard Tac slid forward as he held a bandage against his side. “Maybe the lab tech's can make more? This stuff could save lives in the field.”

When Jack didn't respond, the two stallions looked over to find the man quietly unconscious. They chuckled in disbelief as the onboard doctors did their best to keep him in one piece. Soon, the wagon landed at the castle, and the real process began.

______________________________________________________________________

Flitter paced nervously before the hospital doors as she waited for word from the doctors. The entire team had been mangled badly, and had only been able to climb aboard the ambulance wagon because of tense nerves and adrenaline. Her worst fears had been confirmed when Jack was the first into surgery, one that had lasted eight hours due to ‘complications’. The word left a solid stone of worry in her stomach, and the lack of communication between her and the doctors only made things worse. There had been a panic to find a matching blood type, and that was all she knew.

Trotting up next to Flitter, Hazel nuzzled her friend softly. “I'm sure he’ll pull through Flitter, he's been through worse after all.”

Smiling weakly, Flitter nodded and began to speak, only to be cut off as a nurse came through the doors into the waiting room with Princess Luna in tow. The Princess smiled tiredly toward Flitter as the nurse looked up from her clipboard. “First lieutenant Falenas? Your friend pulled through.” A heavy sigh of relief escaped Flitter, one she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. However, the nurse wasn't finished. “We found a high level of some unidentified chemical saturating his blood stream and blocking pain receptors. We were hoping maybe you could shed some light on what it could be.”

Blinking in confusion, Flitter drew a complete blank. “No, I have no idea. Can I go see him now?”

The nurse sighed to herself and checked something on the clipboard. “Of course. Room three.”

Princess Luna nuzzled Flitter lightly as she trotted passed. “Congratulations on your promotion Flitter. I will be near if you need me.” The pair shared a smile, before Flitter and Hazel trotted in to see Jack.

They found him easily enough, with a myriad of machines hooked up to his body. His left arm was in a sling, and his face was heavily bandaged. A nurse was in the room, adjusting some equipment as they walked in. She seemed surprised, and withdrew her hooves. “Can I help you?”

Flitter looked over Jack's beaten body and felt a flash of guilt over her previous thoughts. “N-no… Is he awake?”

The nurse shook her head and smiled sweetly. “No, I'm afraid not. He will need to be kept under for a little while so he can recover.”

A sense of intense disappointment passed over Flitter as she let her head sag a bit and her ears flattened. “Oh… alright… when he wakes up, can you tell him Flitter was here to see him?” When the nurse nodded, Flitter managed a weak smile. “Thank you. What's your name?”

The mare smiled brightly as she leaned on the bed. “Poppy Gallipoli. I just transferred here. Don't worry though, I'm an expert on human physiology. “ Flitter nodded her understanding and thanks, before saying her goodbyes and slowly trotting out with Hazel at her side. Poppy turned back to Jack's bedside and lightly rubbed at his thigh. “Especially this one’s…” She smiled wolfishly as the outer doors closed behind Flitter.

Author's Notes:

Couple of little videos to sate the possible curiosities of the destructive qualities of the military hardware used in today's chapter!

M3 Gustav:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQyZagV85eo

M240:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxllVBTI84I

And thus continue my plans, my horrible, horrible plans!