The iron head of the shovel slammed deep into the soft earth, carving chunks out so Jack could hurl the clump over his shoulder toward the ever growing pile of moved earth. Off to his side was a small group of ponies, hammering away at some of the obstacles he'd needed made. Sitting back against the cool earth as the sun baked him, Jack watched as the ponies called cadence and slowly pulled the log wall upwards with nothing but a single pulley and sheer strength.

“Raw horsepower.” He muttered to himself with a split grin before digging in again. The sections of earth that he'd cleared away were being covered with overarching strands of barbed wire, forcing anyone coming through to have to crawl, or risk getting caught. A soft chirp drew his attention up to one of the human servants, who waited and watched curiously as he held a platter with several glasses of water and some towels. “Oh? Thanks bud.” Jack pulled himself from the ditch and poured some of the water over his head, before wiping his face with one of the towels. Glancing over toward Mythic, Jack lifted a hand to get the stallions attention. “Hey, what time is it?”

Mythic slowly looked up at him, before glancing over toward the shadows on the ground and the sun. “Maybe three.”

With a light sigh, Jack pulled his shirt back on and waved to the work crew. “I'll be back in a few hours guys, finish your sections and take a break.” He looked back over toward Mythic as he set his hands on his hips. “I figure wash up and go meet this shrink for my dressing down, what do you think?”

“Don't care sir. It's your call.” The stallion answered flatly.

Pursing his lips lightly in concern, Jack began walking toward the castle doors. “You talk to Baron recently?”

He pretended to not see Mythic's angry sneer. “Only once. I know you didn't.”

“I couldn't think of anything to say or ask.” He confessed as they walked toward the baths, which earned a grunt of begrudging agreement from Mythic.

“Right…”

Pushing open the bathhouse doors, Jack nodded to the mares and singular human who worked the baths. They knew better by now than to ask him what he wanted, or to offer help. Jack carefully snagged some supplies before breaking right toward the private baths. One of the mares called out to him as he opened the door, but was too late as he interrupted Princess Luna and Flitter's chat. The pair looked up toward him in surprise as his cheeks flushed lightly. “Sorry! My bad ladies!” He pulled back as swiftly as he could, but just wasn't fast enough as Luna called out to him.

“Jack, wait!”

Cursing under his breath, Jack slowly pushed the door back open and stuck his head back through. “Yes ma’am?”

Rolling her eyes at the formality, Luna beckoned him in and smiled as he slowly reentered the room. “Hello Jack, join us, please.”

“Do I have a choice?”

Luna smiled lightly as Flitter remained quiet at her side. “Yes, of course. But if you'd rather the girls outside wash you, or wait for us to finish, you are out of luck with the private baths.”

He frowned slightly as he glanced toward the doors. “All full? Shit…” His eyes flicked back toward the pair, eliciting a short sigh of defeat from him. “I just don't want to get my only pair of ginch soaked before a meeting with your shrink.” He began slowly pulling his sweat and dirt stained clothes off, leaving them in a pile to be collected and cleaned by the workers. Fishing around in his pants pockets, he produced a small package and opened it.

“And why would you be doing that?” Luna asked curiously.

“I'm not going naked in front of the pair of you.” He answered stiffly as he began placing the small rubber covers over his plugs.

Smirking to herself as Flitter sank further into the warm water, Luna propped up a smarmy grin. “And why would that be? Ponies are almost always naked, and we have both seen naked humans before.”

Shooting a short glare at the princess as he pulled his pants off and began detaching his legs, Jack spoke condescendingly. “Oh yeah, because there’s nothing in this world as attractive as a naked man with no legs trying to flop into a bathtub. Bathpool. Whatever.”

Earning a snicker from Luna as she shook her head, Jack sat down on the hard tiles and unfastened the final bolts holding his legs in place. Pulling them off carefully, he stood them up straight next to his pile of clothes like a pair of stiff boots. Flitter watched him carefully as she tried to avoid being caught staring. She squeaked softly in surprise as Jack gracelessly flopped face first into the pool after pulling the rubber stoppers over his prosthetic leg connectors. Both mares watched as he slowly sank to the bottom of the bath, unmoving and slowly streaming bubbles.

“Just when I'd gotten used to his weird…” Luna muttered lightly as she stared at the submerged man.

“Should I go, Luna?” Flitter asked quietly as she shifted uncomfortably at the princess’ side.

Shaking her head, the princess laid a wet wing over her back and pulled her closer. “Of course not. It looks like Jack is resurfacing.” She smiled lightly as said man slowly pushed up through the water, until his face was mostly out of the water. “Welcome back. Enjoying the water?” If his slow groan of contentment could be construed as anything, it was a yes. Luna smirked at his actions before speaking again. “I honestly didn't know your legs came off. I thought they were permanent additions.”

Grunting as he sank again slightly, Jack closed his eyes and let out a slow breath. “Right.”

With a short glance over her shoulder toward Flitter, Luna was struck with an idea. “Would you like one of us to get your back?” She held back her betraying smile as Flitter's attentions snapped back into reality and her brows shot up in shock.

“Sure.”

Giving Flitter a gentle push with her wing, Luna relaxed into her seat as the smaller mare slowly made her way over toward the man as he scooted away from the wall, making room for her. “So, Jack. After your meeting with Sable, how would you like to go to Ponyville and help design the uniforms for JSOG and the militia?”

His eyes immediately widened as he straightened instinctively. “Yes ma’am.” He flinched slightly as Flitter sat down behind him, her wet fur touching his bare back.

“Good. I believe you've already met Rarity. She runs the boutique in the town, and you'll be helping her remain… grounded, in her designs.”

Nodding again as he grabbed a bar of soap and began cleaning himself as Flitter gingerly cleaned his back, Jack glanced up at the soaked princess. “Anything else Princess?”

“Please, Jack, I would prefer you remain informal when in private.” Luna smiled softly toward him as his features soured ever so slightly.

“Princess Celestia's demand seemed pretty unflinching on that.” He rolled his branded shoulder as Flitter tried to wash out the deep scar furrows in his back.

Sighing softly as she wrapped a towel around her ethereal mane, the princess shook her head. “Tia was under a great deal of stress yesterday, so you will have to excuse her being upset. She doesn't hate you, you know.”

“Fooled me.” Jack moved again, causing Flitter to flinch slightly and apologize, only to have the apology waved off. “Didn't hurt, keep it up.”

“Jack, about yesterday. “ Luna began as she pulled herself from the bath and began drying off with her magic.

Flitter winced as Jack immediately tensed. “I'd rather not discuss it right now.”

“I believe Poppy got off far too easy. I will be pursuing her actions quietly and searching for something to build a legal case against.”

To Flitter's surprise and embarrassment, Jack gripped her hind leg softly to steady himself. “Just keep her the hell away from me.” His voice came out a growl to disguise the shame that it had held. “I might not be able to behave so well next time.”

“I would not judge you too harshly, Jack.” Luna finished drying herself and nodded. “I must be going. Have a good day, both of you. Flitter, remember what I said about the gala, time is growing short.” Without further discussion, the lunar princess made her way out of the baths, leaving Jack and Flitter alone in the pleasantly warm water.

Flitter remained behind Jack, nearly frozen in her movements as her mind raced. “Jack… about yesterday…”

“I'm sorry.”

The rest of her words died in her throat, to be replaced by a shocked “bwah?”

Pulling away so he could look at her, Jack rubbed his neck and sighed. “I was… I was pissed off and hurt, and I took it out on the two people who I had no right to. So, I'm sorry.” Staring at the man before her as he looked down and scratched at his forearm tattoo, Flitter pounced forward without warning and hugged him tightly, earning a grunt of surprise. Pushing her muzzle into his chest, Flitter nuzzled him in an attempt to convey what she didn't trust words to do. Jack sighed as he began to pet the back of her head. “I'll take that as an ‘apology accepted’ then.”

“Jackass.”

Jack smiled faintly as he relaxed. “I deserved that.”

“Yes you did.” Flitter pulled away from him and slapped her hoof against the water, spraying him. “And you deserved that too.” The mare found herself smiling again as he rolled his eyes and focused on cleaning himself. Giving his head a shake as he washed out his hair, Jack took a moment to consider its length. A look of dissatisfaction spread across his features as he seemed to become lost in thought to Flitter for a short moment, causing her to edge forward with concern. “So… Jack… you're going to see Sable today, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Over what Poppy did to you?”

He paused in his next answer; his eyes remained locked firmly on his hands and his unwanted tattoo. “How much did you see?”

Flitter shifted uncomfortably under the weight of the question. “We… we saw everything. The.. Thing you killed, what the hippogriff did to you, and… Poppy.” She watched as his features fell further.

“Everyone in the room saw?”

She nodded again. “Yes.”

With his tongue running over his teeth, Jack nodded slowly as he let out a slow breath from his nose. “Right.” He pulled himself from the bath and wrapped a towel around his waist as he sat on the bath’s edge trying to bolt his legs back on.

“Jack, we don't think any less of you because of what happened, okay?” Flitter rested her forehooves on the edge of the bath and looked up at him with concern.

Grunting as he pulled himself up and gave his legs a testing shaking, he avoided looking at her as he began drying off. “I do.” He finished drying off before looking to her. “Mind turning around so I can get out of my wet skivs?”

Looking down in defeat, Flitter nodded as she turned in the bath and sank down. The sounds of Jack's struggles against the sopping wet undergarments brought a weak smile to her features as her ears flicked in curiosity. She knew better than to look. “So…. What are your plans for the gala?”

“The fuck is a gala?”

This time Flitter turned, but only to give him an incredulous look. Flitter immediately regretted her decision and turned back around as her cheeks flushed hotly. “I-it's um… A big festival. All of Canterlot celebrates.”

“Will there be alcohol?”

“Yes?”

Jack grinned as he cinched his belt tight. “Well then I know what I'll be doing.”

With a sigh of slight annoyance, Flitter shifted in the bath. “You have a problem Jack. Can I turn around now?”

“You're just realizing this? And yes, you can turn around again.” He smirked faintly as Flitter turned bright red and began to climb out of the bath. “So what are you doing then for this ‘Gala’?”

As she began drying herself off, Flitter glanced up at the man before her. “I'll be spending most of it with Luna and Hazel. I was… hoping we could dance…”

He seemed to chew the idea over, giving it thought. “Alright. We'll see what happens I guess.” He grabbed another dry towel and began speed drying the pegasus, much to her surprise and chagrin.

“N-no, don't dry me like this, I'll be fluffy!” Flitter cried out as he rapidly fluffed and dried her coat with the towel.

“You say that like it's supposed to stop me.” Jack chuckled as he quickly finished up, leaving Flitter as a fluffed ball of fur and disapproval.

“Sometimes I really hate you.”

He grinned and shot her a mocking two fingered salute as he started for the door. “Only because I didn't hand dry your rear end.”

Blushing hotly, Flitter scowled at him as her tail wagged. “S-shut up!”

His cackle of amusement carried as he walked out. “Make me, lieutenant!”

______________________________________________________________________

Doctor Ginger Sable sat behind his desk, organising his papers and files on his next appointment. This one interested him greatly, and not just because of the mare the man spent most of his time with. Sable looked over the open folder again and for a moment he relished the idea of the challenge Staff Sergeant Kessle would offer him. Soon after having that thought, a brisk knock sounded high up on his door, dragging his attentions away from the files. Knowing who it was in advance saw Sable sticking the folders back in his desk before calling out. “Come in!” The door opened and Jack walked in, giving him a brief nod of greeting as he closed the door behind himself. Sable put up a smile as he placed his hooves together on his desk. “Ah, hello, Staff Sergeant. Take a seat please.”

Jack sat down heavily on the small couch, his eyes flicking about to take in the décor of the room. “Nice office.”

“Thank you.” Sable made a show of pulling up one of the folders and cracking it open, pretending that he hadn't already gone over it three separate times. “Do you mind if I call you Jack?”

“Go ahead.”

Sable smiled. “Alright, Jack. You can call me Ginger if you'd like.”

“Right.”

Shuffling the papers on his desk, Sable made another show of getting comfortable while carefully casting his spell. It was a simple spell that made the target a bit more docile and willing to talk. Nothing invasive, and certainly legal. “Why don't you get comfortable Jack, then we can start.”

“I am comfortable.”

A moment of brief surprise and annoyance crossed Sable’s mind and he considered recasting his spell, but ultimately decided not to. “Alright. Now, you understand why you're here, correct?”

Jack fought back a frown as he leaned back into the couch. “There's no good reason for us to talk besides that reason, so let's get this over with.”

Chuckling, Sable let out a smile and sigh. “You military types are always the same when you come in here. Always acting like the session is a tooth that needs to be pulled as quickly as possible to avoid pain. We have to do this properly, and from the beginning.” He leaned forward in his seat. “So let's start from the beginning of your service.”

Smothering a pained groan, Jack got comfortable and looked up at the ceiling. “My older brother joined the army, and I couldn't be outdone. So I said ‘fuck it, imma join the marines.”

______________________________________________________________________

Sable smiled as he listened to the Staff Sergeant recount his work prior; it helped paint a picture of his mindset before coming to Equestria. Of course, there had been tales that had churned Sable's stomach, if not for the graphic content, but for the sheer casual tone Jack used when he spoke of them. He had been shocked when Jack spoke candidly about the mission that had brought him to Equestria; that he had agreed to sacrifice himself for the apparent continued survival of his race. It was impressive, and selfless. Sable rolled his hoof as he searched for his words. “So you volunteered for this mission? That’s…”

“I didn't volunteer,” Jack said flatly, shattering the illusion Sable held in his head. “I was volunteered. Of course, it had to be me.”

Furrowing his brow, Sable felt himself scooting slightly closer. “Why do you think that?”

“Somebody else might have gotten it wrong.” He elaborated as Sable took on a confused expression. “I'm a trained demolitions expert. Setting explosives or disarming them, I can do it all with one arm behind my back and half blind. I was the last trained demo with the Longbows on the entire Eastern seaboard, as hard as that is to believe.” He took a moment to drink from his glass of water. “They couldn't trust Delta King to some poor grunt. Too much could go wrong. It had to be me.”

“I see.” Sable flipped a page. “Let's jump forward a bit. Your first encounter with Flitter and infected humans. What drove you to action? From what I understand, for someone in your position there wasn't a very good reason to get involved.”

Jack shrugged as he glanced toward the clock. “People were in trouble. Quick scan didn't ping any enemy armour, so I trusted my gear to tank any threats that were present.” He laughed lightly at the memory. “I thought that I'd been drugged and I was watching someone's pets running around screaming. I almost didn't open fire on the infected until they attacked me.”

Humming, the psychologist scribbled something down on his pad of paper before continuing. “I understand that you had a serious misunderstanding with Flitter's family?”

Snorting hotly as he leaned forward, Jack looked over at the unicorn. “Misunderstanding would be an understatement. Flitter's sister stole from her, jodie'd her, and then dragged her into a den of killers and rapists.” Sable lifted a brow at the last comment, and rolled his hoof as a way to ask for details. Jack sighed gruffly as he rubbed his face. “She and her sister went to meet these guys because Cloud Chaser missed a payment or something asinine. They decided to beat the shit out of Flitter, and quite verbally planned to rape them both and sell them, or kill them. I don't think they'd decided fully by the time I blew the door down and made them reconsider their positions.” His features began to grow a hot scowl. “And then Cloud Chaser squeals to Momma Fuckface, and I get tagged and bagged by Mercs R’ Us. So on so forth, now I'm here wasting breath.”

“Mm.” A long moment passed between the two as Sable jotted down notes and occasionally glanced up to gauge Jack's posture. “Let's talk about something more recent. The weapons depot, and the subsequent debacle.”

Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Went textbook, up until the bandits hit us and we lost air superiority.”

“You made the decision to arm the Lunar Elite Guard with human weapons, which at that point in time were government property. And then you used some sort of explosive device to utterly destroy an enemy vessel on crown land. A vessel that could have contained valuable intelligence. On top of all that, your fire fight caused thousands of bits in damages to the greatest train engine in all of Equestria.”

“I didn't think it was that great. Didn't even hit eighty eight miles per hour. ” Jack rubbed his finger nails as Sable cocked his head in confusion. “Honestly? If I hadn't handed out those guns, we wouldn't be having this conversation, period. I did everything I deemed necessary to achieve victory and get those boys back alive. Any bureaucrat who has a problem with how I did things can fuck off.”

Sable frowned as he wrote on his pad of paper. “And that's your official statement on the matter?”

Rolling his eyes as he laid down on the couch and stared up, Jack shot a quick glance at Sable. “I'm pretty sure my original statement is a bit gargled with blood from how many times I got shot, saving lives. So yeah. My official statement. “

“Do you believe you could have done anything differently since you arrived on Equestria?” Sable asked as he rested his muzzle on his upturned hooves.

Slowly looking back toward the ceiling, Jack simply shrugged in return. “Nothing in my control. Maybe kept my mouth shut on a few occasions but that's it.”

“Hmm.” The psychologist stared at the man as he thought. “How do you feel about the sexual abuse you underwent? And the torture?”

“I think the migraine I've had since I sat down is starting to grate on my nerves. It's worth more mention that some shitty fuck session I was forced into.” Jack stated icily as he shifted and shot a hard look over to Sable, who nodded meekly and flipped a page.

“If I could have you meet Grace, Flitter's mother, what would you do?”

The question saw Jack quirking a brow and sitting up to get more comfortable. “If I had to behave, I'd inform her in no uncertain terms that she is a fuckin’ terrible person, and somehow, an even worse parent. How someone so kind and thoughtful ever fell out of her worthless snatch continues to amaze me.” He looked over as Sable choked on a laugh. “Something funny?”

Waving a hoof, the stallion shook his head. “I apologize, I didn't mean to interrupt. Now, about your alcoholism.”

“Oh lord, here we go.”

______________________________________________________________________

It was some hours later that Celestia was finally able to relax in her room and read over the report that Doctor Sable had sent her regarding Jack and his brain, and she did so over a small cup of tea and a large slice of cake. Flipping open the folder, Celestia began to read casually as she snacked. As she flipped through the pages, a curious expression spread across her features, and soon she found herself staring at the final note from the doctor.

“Mr. Kessle suffers from the same issues that many of our older military field veterans suffer from, if only on a profoundly acute level. He is an intense and strange man and has suffered for his experiences, but I see no reason why he should be withheld from combat duties. I suggest he be observed as best as possible in case his case worsens, but in my professional opinion, I believe that he will put the good of the country and its ponies over personal gain. Regards, Doctor Ginger Sable.”

Celestia sighed lightly to herself before sipping her tea. “That's the end of that then.” She pulled out another stack of papers and saw to stamping them, before sending them off in a puff of smoke. Just as she was about to lay into her slice of cake, another small stack of papers puffed into existence before her. The top most of the papers was Rarity’s designs for the new militia, and JSOG. Looking over the proposed designs, Celestia felt her brows slowly raising in surprise. “Now that is certainly a uniform.”

Stamping approval of the new uniforms, Celestia looked toward her cake with unguarded desire, only to be interrupted again by a knock at her door. A short sigh of annoyance left her as she called out. “It is open.”

To the princess’ surprise, Queen Omega trotted through and bowed her head shortly. “Sorry to interrupt your dessert Celestia, but my spies found Chrysalis's hive entrance.”

Celestia blinked in surprise as she got up. “Omega, I wasn't aware you were in the castle. Are you sure it's her entrance?”

The queen nodded as she glanced out the window. “Yes, without a doubt. Disappearances from the nearby town have also increased twofold since the depot raid as well. We also have reason to suspect that those ‘chemical weapons’ that your human was so upset over may be present in the hive still, and that she may indeed plan on using them soon.”

“I see…” Celestia's expression grew grave as she recalled the warnings of doom that Jack had uttered. “Is there anything else?”

Giving her head a nod, Omega turned toward the window and squints to see beyond it. “We have reason to believe that someone will be making an attempt on Staff Sergeant Kessle’s life in the near future. We don't know when or where, just the rumblings that somebody wants him gone.”

“What about the Elements, and Max?” Celestia asked with barely concealed worry.

“None that we have heard so far. My spies near them report nothing out of the ordinary either.” The queen buzzed her iridescent orange wings as she continued to stare out the window. “Will you be attacking Chrysalis's hive soon?”

Standing from her cushions, Celestia trotted to the Queen’s side. “I must inform my advisors and form a plan, but yes. I am hoping for a surgical strike to disable the weapons Queen Chrysalis is so seemingly eager to unleash.”

Omega nodded in understanding, before brushing up against Celestia's side as she smiled sultrily. “Then I shall be going. If you have need of me, you know where you can find me.” She hummed thoughtfully before slipping away without a sound.

Shaking her head at the changeling’s antics, Celestia turned back to her cushions and cake, fully intent on finally getting to her treat. Her ears flattened and her lips pursed in disappointment as her eyes fell on the empty plate. “Mother bucker….”

______________________________________________________________________

The next morning was a rough one for Jack, coupling a very late night with copious drinking to apologize to Hard Tac had turned out to be a very bad idea. Curling up under his bed to avoid the spears of light that threatened to burn his eyes out, all Jack could do to answer the pounding on his door was groan and curl up into a tighter ball around his bottle of whiskey. The door to his room opened and the clop of hooves sounded over the tiles as two ponies trotted in and looked around.

“I don't see him. Private, you're absolutely sure he didn't come out?” The masculine voice belonging to the mystery stallion asked.

Mythic grunted gruffly in annoyance as he pawed the tile. “No I didn't, and his window is still closed, so he didn't leave that way-”

“The fuck you guys want, making so much damn noise?” Jack asked weakly from under the bed.

“Staff Sergeant?” The unknown stallion stuck his muzzle down under the bed and stared at the small ball of angry hangover. “What are you doing under here?”

Jack groaned as he slowly cracked an eye and looked toward the young guard before him. “Hiding from the sun.”

“Staff Sergeant, I'm here to collect you and bring you down to operations, Princess Celestia has called for you.” The stallion watched as the hungover ball of hatred slowly unfurled like a spider dying in reverse. Slowly pulling himself out from under the bed, Jack sat down heavily on his bed and took a short pull off of the bottle still clenched in his hand. The stallion looked shocked as he spoke, while Mythic barely mustered a smirk and a shake of his head. “Staff Sergeant, are you drunk?”

“Not yet. Just having some hair of the dog.” Jack muttered as he carefully pushed the package on his bed to the side to avoid possibly damaging it. He hadn't dealt with the Ponyville fashionista for four hours straight just to damage the final product. Setting the bottle down on his nightstand, Jack levered himself up and slowly trod off to his bathroom to splash water onto his face.

The still unnamed stallion followed him, his golden armour making far too much noise for Jack's liking. “Sir, it's important that we hurry, it's an emergency.”

Immediately Jack burst from the bathroom, his movements fluid and with purpose as he grabbed his laser rifle and slung it over his back. “Well why the fuck didn't you say so god dammit! Come on, let's go!” He shooed the surprised guard out of his room before following said pony down through the twisting halls of the castle toward the operations room.

The operations room was a fairly large, circular affair with a large round table set in the center. A large bank of radio equipment sat against the far left wall, opposed to a detailed map of the entire country on the right wall. Ponies trotted to and fro, carrying intelligence and orders for others as they flowed around the Princesses as they stared at the map. Jack subconsciously straightened himself and tucked his rifle into parade rest against his shoulder as he waited. The guard who had escorted him in crashed into a salute, causing Jack to wince in pain at the sound. “Corporal Gate, reporting with Staff Sergeant Kessle as ordered, ma’am!”

Turning away from the map, Luna nodded to the golden guard. “Thank you corporal, you are dismissed.” She looked to Jack as the guard crashed into another salute and about-faced before trotting out stiffly. The princess looked worried as she spoke. “Thank you for coming Jack, but we believe that we've found Chrysalis's chemical weapons cache.”

Jack's features hardened as he nodded. “Alright, talk to me. What're we doing about it, what's the plan?”

Turning to finally face Jack, Celestia gave him a nod of greeting. “You're to join a squad of Coming Dawn operatives and infiltrate the hive. Once inside, you will then have three objectives. One, destroy any and all weapons caches the changelings may have. Two, recover any prisoners they may have. Three, assassinate Queen Chrysalis if possible.”

“The weapons are top priority though, right?” Jack stepped closer to the map wall and stared at the proposed layout of the hive. When Luna confirmed his question, he started to glare at the hive map. “What's the projected enemy numbers?”

“Several thousand, if not more.”

He winced at the casual estimation as his mind churned in thought, searching for a better plan. “Then your plan isn't going to work. If we're going in blind, a large group is going to be found out nearly immediately, or get bogged down when they tarpit us.” He sucked his teeth as he thought. “Is Corporal Baron still in the cells?”

The princesses shared a look between themselves, before returning their attentions to the man as Luna spoke. “Yes, the changeling is still imprisoned.”

“I'll need to talk with her. Nothing better than a guide. If she agrees, or if she doesn't, I'll need to operate alone on this one, with that squad acting as QRF and civilian escort incase we do extract civs.”

The officers present all stared at the man as if he'd completely lost his mind. The princesses didn't seem convinced, and Celestia stated as much. “As excellent as your arms and armour are, Staff Sergeant, I doubt that you'll be able to fight the entire hive by yourself.”

His smile brought friend to most of the faces present. “That's why I'm not going to fight them, at least not right away.” He looked toward the group behind him and began to strut slightly. “When I first arrived on Equestria, I used a six by ten optical camouflage tarpaulin to avoid detection. It hides just about everything from thermal imagery, magnetics, and the naked eye. If I'm right, I could hide myself in armour, and one small pony. The weapons will be slag and fumes before they even know I was there.” He smothered his cocksure smirk as the officers murmured amongst themselves and nodded.

Luna nodded to him and stood. “Myself and my sister have agreed to use this plan, but with three squads ready to attack in case the plan fails. Private Juniper will take you to the changeling's cell.” The princess smiled. “Oh and Staff Sergeant? You've been cleared for field operations. Congratulations.”

Openly grinning at the news, Jack snapped a salute before following the private out of the operations room and through the castle. They soon entered the bowels of the castle, and it wasn't long until the dungeon door groaned as it slowly opened.

“Be careful, changeling's are innate liars,” the private remarked with a sneer. “Don't get too close either.”

Jack nodded as he looked toward the solitary cell that sat embedded deep in the rock. “Thank you private. You're dismissed.” The private hesitated a moment, before nodding and trotting off. The dungeon door groaned as it closed behind her, marking Jack as alone in the place with only the sole jailer, who Jack had yet to see. He began approaching the cell that had been pointed out as Baron's, and when he reached the bars he found the cell to be nearly pitch black. The torch had been allowed to sputter and die, leaving the ex-guard continually bathed in darkness. “Baron.” There was the sound of someone inhaling sharply, but no response came afterwards. Jack continued on as he approached the bars to the cell. “I know you're in here Baron.”

“...leave me alone Jack…” Baron's voice answered quietly from the darkness. “and stop calling me that… I don't deserve a name…”

Crossing his arms as he leaned against the bars, Jack quirked a brow as he looked into the near pitch black cell. “Ain't gonna happen Baron.” He squatted down, bringing himself to level with the small shape that laid on the floor up against the back wall. “I'd like to talk for a few minutes, if that's alright with you.”

“...Fine… Sure…”

Furrowing his brow at the weak voice, Jack got comfortable sitting on his haunches. “You been eating alright?”

The answer took almost a minute to leave Baron as she shifted slightly, still keeping what Jack assumed to be her back toward the cell door. “Just hate and sadness…”

“Hm.” Chewing his cheek, Jack nodded as he tried to think. “Right. How long have you been in the guard?”

“Five years.”

“Did your queen send you?”

Finally, Jack caught sight of the changeling's face as she shifted again and shot a weak glare at him. “No. I… I left the hive and hid amongst ponies. I didn't even take anybody, I came up with the identity all on my own. Forged a birth certificate, all of it…”

“Then what?”

Baron looked away again. “Chrysalis attacked Canterlot over two years ago, and got everyone hating changelings… I almost got caught…”

Nodding as the picture began to form in his mind, Jack rested his arms against the bars of the cell. “So when Queen Omega called you out as an infiltrator-”

“I panicked. I shouldn't have attacked her, and…” There was a soft sniff inside the cell. “Jack, sir… I'm sorry I hurt you, I was just scared…”

“Baron,” Jack said as he stood back up. “How'd you like to get out of here?”

There was a long, pregnant pause as Baron remained motionless at the back of the cell. “W-what?”

He smiled lightly toward her. “I'm on a mission to infiltrate your old hive and do some mission impossible shit. I need someone to guide me through. Someone I can trust.”

The changeling's wings buzzed loudly as she pushed herself up and cantered to the bars to look him in the eye. Baron's old voice returned for a moment when she spoke next. “Sir, don't yank my chain on this.”

“Is that a yes? Or should I find another changeling who wants a shot at redemption?” He crossed his arms over his chest as he looked down at her.

Baron's chitinous features hardened as she shook her head. “No, I'm…” she looked down for a moment. “Whatever it takes, I'll show everyone that I'm… I'm not one of her changelings. I am mine and nobody else's,” she declared resolutely.

“Good, that's good.” Jack smiled as he stood, but within a moment he pulled his face closer to his and his smile shriveled to a near glare. “But just so we are crystal clear, if you have second thoughts about your allegiance, don't think that I won't hesitate.”

Doing her best to remain stoic as her ears flattened against her skull, Baron nodded in understanding. “Yes sir. When do we start?”

“Today, I just gotta get you out of this here cell. You know where the jailor is? Haven't seen em yet, and that's kind of weirding me out.” Jack turned on his heels as he scanned the dungeon carefully. There wasn't a single soul in sight, and most of the torches had long since guttered and died. A chill passed between his shoulder blades and his hand instinctively went for his holstered sidearm. He hadn't used his sabot pistol in quite a while, but it was more than enough overkill for anything that could possibly attack him.

Baron pressed up against the bars and looked out, hoping to catch a glimpse at whatever had spooked the human. “What is it sir?”

With his eyes scanning the darkness with distrust, Jack slowly began to relax. “Nothing. Just a chill I guess.” He snapped the holster button back down, but his eyes remained on the dark cells. “I'll be back.” Without warning he turned on his heels and began a quick walk toward the dungeon door. Passing by the turn in the hallway, Jack paused and waited by the wall. He carefully stuck his head out passed the corner, and watched the darkness carefully.

Not a second later, a small black changeling almost seemed to emerge from the shadows, carrying a small pistol of some sort in its magic. “The queen sends her regards, soldier-”

“JA-”

Baron's call of alarm was drowned out by the hypersonic boom of the steel spike passing down the hallway and turning the changelings torso into a fine mint green paste. The force of the impact caused the would be assassin to hurtle through the air, before coming to a sloppy skidding stop on the flagstone floor. Jack trod back into view, his pistol unlimbered and ready for additional contacts. When none presented themselves, be plucked the dropped weapon up off the ground and eyed it suspiciously.

A Browning Hi-Power?

Jack frowned at the weapon before pocketing it as the guards burst into the prison armed to the teeth and prepared for battle. They came to a stop just before Jack, their eyes falling on the remains of the attacker. “Uh...sir? Is everything alright?” The private who had escorted Jack asked awkwardly.

“Yeah, just peachy. You guys seem to have a bug problem.” He toed the nearly dismembered head of the assassin. “I need Corporal Baron's cell unlocked and her care put under my charge.”

The private’s eyes snapped up to stare at him in shock, while the other guards showed a mixed scene of disgust, contempt, and uncaring eyes. “What? Why would you want-”

“Private, I am nursing one hell of a hangover right now, and I just rung my own bell a minute ago. If I have to listen to you jaw on about some bullshit about traitors and racism, I'll rip the cell door out of the wall and take my bug regardless, and it'll be on your ass. Crystal?”

The private swallowed thickly before nodding. “Yes sir. Chance, Daisy, could you guys try and find Key's keys?” The named pair exchanged looks, before returning their gazes to the thoroughly unimpressed Jack.

Said man tapped his prosthetic foot in irritation. “Now would be great guys, I've got a suicide mission to get to.” He watched as the pair nodded a little too quickly and cantered off to find what had happened to the jailor. Soon enough, they returned with a groggy jailor and a ring of keys. After several tries, Baron's cell door swung open, and the cuffs around her hooves were unlocked. Finally, with the inhibitor horn ring pulled off and her magic returned, Baron followed Jack out of the dungeon and to his quarters without a sound.

Throwing on his exo-skeleton and pulling down one of his tarps, Jack began going over everything that he'd need while Baron stood by the window basking in the sunlight. His armour chattered and closed around him, and as his armour's system began booting up, Baron finally broke a smile and assumed a disguise of a pale cream coloured mare with a brilliant orange mane. “Thank you sir…”

Striding into his large container and rifling through his collection of weapons and explosives, Jack simply grunted in response before he appeared next with a bandoleer of 40mm grenades slung across his waist and a suppressed Sig P250 in his grip. He handed the pistol to Baron as he looked at her through the visor slit of his armour. “Remember how to use this?” At Baron's nod, he nodded in return and went back into his container. “And don't thank me for anything until the mission is done and we're having chow.” He strode back into the container and began rifling through its contents. “So that killer, you know him?”

“Not personally, but he was an infiltrator. You can tell by the ears.” Baron stuck her head into the container and watched as Jack slung two more bandoleers of incendiary grenades across his chest plate, before hefting his M240g and settling the barrel shroud against his shoulder pauldron. Baron quirked a brow at the weapon, her eyes remaining locked onto the M203 grenade launcher that was attached to the barrel shroud via metal banding. “I don’t know what that is, but it looks wrong.”

“Hey! A little frankengun makes life worthwhile!” Jack hugged the weapon lightly before shaking his head and setting it down on his workbench. “So, do changelings have any special abilities that’d let them detect someone without line of sight?”

The changeling mare cocked her head slightly in confusion. “What?”

Slinging a large canvas bag of 7.62x51 ammunition and thermite charges over his back, Jack began taking down his optical camouflage tarping. “I mean can they figure out where I am without needing to see me?”

Baron furrowed her brow at the question as Jack folded the first tarp and stuck it in one of his many pouches. “We have to know someone is there to harvest emotions, and nobody will be looking to feed in the hive, so no.”

Laughing as he gave the second tarp a snap as he threw it over himself, Baron gasped as the armoured marine all but vanished before her eyes. Jack’s voice came through from the same place, confusing her further. “Good, because if they did have some kind of special magic, I was gonna feel like a huge dipshit.” He lifted up the tarp, showing just his burdened chestplate and helmet.

Gasping in realization, Baron quickly moved forward and prodded the tarp. “Is this an invisibility cloak!? How on Equis did you ever get your grubby mitts on one?!”

Rolling his eyes behind his helmet, Jack ushered the mare under the tarp and dropped it. “It’s an optical camouflage tarp, not an invisibility cloak. Chrissake’, we’re infiltrating a changeling hive, not faffing off in Hogsmeade. Besides, you saw this when I grabbed it at my first base of operations.” He gently coerced her to stand behind him and walk in step. “Try to follow my lead, let’s figure this out and get in step here as opposed to there.”

“Right… Lead on.”

The pair began their long and initially awkward walk to the carriage staging area concealed under the optical tarp. On occasion they would pass by a patrolling guard, or a castle servant, but they were never seen. Rarely would a staff member stop and their ears would perk to the sound of Jack’s heavy boot heels treading across the fine floors of the castle, but they would always move on when the sound grew distant. By the time they neared the staging area, the pair had gotten into step and were beginning to get the hang of things.

The staging area itself was a mid sized grassy field that rested against the castle, where several carriages stood ready for anything, and the flight crews milled about. Three such carriages were standing ready, their flight crews beginning their pre-flight checks prior to boarding. Three squads of armed guards stood at the ready, with Luna standing before them. As Jack approached under the optical tarp, he took in the fact that four out of the ten ponies in each squad was kitted out with the prototype rifles and saddle systems, plus the prototype equine style body armours. The rest of the guards were all wearing metal armour whose colours had been muted heavily to help blend in regardless of environment. Luna pawed the ground before looking about anxiously. It was obvious who she was waiting for. The princess lifted her head as the sound of Jack’s heavy boot heels grew closer, and she gave her soldiers one last glance to gauge their preparedness before turning her attention back to the doors. When Jack didn’t appear, her features fell to confusion, then to shock as he all but materialised directly in front of her.

Nearly letting out a shriek of surprise, Luna had to hold herself back from launching a magical attack on the huge figure that had all but appeared in her face. It didn’t help that Jack was laughing and her guards had been surprised as well.

“That was good!” He exclaimed as he began folding the tarp up. “We’ve got our pacing set, that’s good.” He hefted his machinegun and rested its barrel shroud against his shoulder. “So, I hope you’ve got a better idea than walking or catching the train, because none of these wagons are gonna get me off the ground.” He stated simply to Luna as he looked over all of the carriages available. It was a simple truth, but it hurt some of those present none the less.

Pursing her lips in slight annoyance, Luna looked toward the sky. “I wasn’t just waiting for you.” She let a smirk slide onto her features. “Today seems to be a sort of field test day for several prototypes we’ve been working on. This one, is one that Mr. Morozov has been working very diligently on.” Her ears perked slightly and her smile increased.

The sound of thumping rotor blades was swiftly caught in Jack’s helmet’s audio pickups, and he cocked his head to stare out into the clear blue sky. He began to squint against the sun, and his helmet automatically compensated by tinting his visor input. Jack’s eyes widened in surprise as the small black shape dropped down with the sun at its back, it’s twin rotor blades thumping choppily through the air as it came in fast on the staging area. The dual rotored equestrian helicopter swayed to the side to compensate for its speed, before setting down on the grass as the downwash from its rotors fanned the entire area. Jack began laughing happily as he clapped his armoured hands together.

“The Huey and the Osprey had a baby and it’s fuckin adorable! AHAHAH!” He shook his head as he began approaching, tossing his canvas bag of ammunition and explosives into the helicopter. “Oh good lord today is just a rollercoaster. Okay Baron, let’s go kick some ass.” He sat down on the side of the helo with his feet hanging out the open door. The changeling bounded up beside him and settled into one of the seats, her excitement showing through the layer of serious professionalism she’d brought back up. The ground crews gave the cream coloured mare curious looks as she climbed into the prototype vehicle, but ultimately ignored her as Princess Luna approached.

“Squads Orion, Gestalt, and Hound are your backup, they will hold at distance and wait for your signal. They have radios on them, I believe your channel three. Be safe.” She smiled and nodded, before trotted back to give the vehicle room to wind up its rotors again.

Jack leaned back as the helicopter lurched off the ground, it’s twin turbo magitech engine wailing as its props chopped heavily at the air. He found himself smiling under his helmet, and humming ‘fortunate son’ as the three carriages took off after them and the helicopters twin rotors shifted forward to give it more thrust. The copilot turned toward his two passengers. “We’re a half hour out, get comfortable.”

Soon the rolling green fields of Canterlot’s surrounding areas gave way to the farmlands of Ponyville, which eventually shifted toward the rocky badlands. The sand below looked as uninviting as the sands back home, and Jack found himself turning his attentions away from the scenery and back toward the fight to come. He hardened his features and closed his eyes.

Those changeling’s wouldn’t stand a chance.