“This is it Captain! This is as close as we can get!” The aeronaut ensign yelled over the sound of the heavy, snow burdened winds buffeted the windows of the Stalwart Liberty's bridge.

“Full stop, drop the anchor.” Captain Chord peered across the empty flight deck of his great vessel, though the malignant weather afforded him with nothing but a sheet of white that blanketed everything. The weather telemetry had been off regarding the storm, and it had struck the vessel a day early. So far north, no pegasi could ever hope to control such violent, unpredictable weather. So bad were the winds that, at their cusp, they threatened to push the mighty vessel off course and dash her against the very mountains she used for cover against the worst of the storm. Deep in the carrier, aeronauts were dropping the proverbial anchors of Stalwart Liberty; decreasing the magic that held her aloft by reducing her weight. “Radio, is our away team ready for deployment?”

The mare manning the large radio set began the check-in process, before giving a definitive nod toward the captain. “Boogeyman and Cerberus squads reporting green to go and requesting orders.”

Sighing mildly as he shook his head, Captain Chord rested in his chair and steepled his hooves before his muzzle. “The humans aren't allowed to name squads any more.” he sighed once more, before continuing. “Tell them to deploy.”

As the order went out, thick lengths of rope were hurled from the top deck, and a dozen of the toughest soldiers Equestria had to offer descended into the raging blizzard.

“Alright, form a line, make sure those tethers are secure!” Jack spoke loudly into his comms, though he was shielded from the storm by his armour. Despite his protection, he could still hardly see a foot in front of himself, and he didn’t doubt that his squad could barely hear his barked order over the howling winds. Bringing up a picture of the map on his hud, and judging his compass bearing, he prepped to blaze a trail through the snow, toward the remote village. “I want to hear if anybody needs to stop! I don't need anybody dying today! Not to some goddamn snow!”

“We're all secured back here Jack!” Hard Tac's voice was a welcome one in his ear as they began to plod through the snow, though it was made choppy and indistinct by the wind. “We're six kilometers from the village. So everyone stay in the Knight Sergeant's trail!”

“Don't want any of you sorry sods getting any more lost than Jack already is!” Ada joked, prompting a light chuckle from the line that was lost in the wind.

Hours later, in a small, remote village named Jadetowne, a young stallion was trotting home with a small bundle of food when he saw the faintest shimmer of a thin red light out in the tundra. Stopping in his tracks, the crystal pony squinted, as if hoping it would force the snow and wind to afford him a better look at whatever had caused the light. When the light didn't reappear, the young stallion simply sighed and shrugged to himself and moved to carry on to his home. As he readjusted his saddle bags, the red light appeared again, closer this time. Fear began to creep into the stallion's mind as the thin red line became prominent in the blizzard, shining weakly through the snow. Soon, a shape accompanied it, and the stallion galloped straight to the mayor's home.

The cry of alarm went out, but only a tiny handful of beings answered. Three were the crystal guard that had first responded to the distress of the village, and the rest were villagers. They gathered as quickly as they could at the edge of the village, intent on stopping the strange red eyed creature. Hunkering down in the snow, one defender used his wings to find a perch on one of the rooftops. Sighting his hunting musket, the snowy griffon slipped a small ball of snow into his beak to hide his breath. The approaching being was large to be sure, but he had felled larger. As his talon rested on the trigger guard, he saw something that gave him pause. The being was not alone, in fact, it was followed by eleven more figures, ranging from ponies of all types, to griffons, and what he had to assume was a human pack mule. “Hold your fire!” He called out to the militia below, who all perked curiously up at the generally quiet griffon. They lowered their spears and crossbows, before turning their attentions back to the strange conga-line that approached them.

Soon, the red eyed figure reached the village, and to the griffon's surprise, the towering figure lifted a hand in greeting.

“JSOG, we're here to help. The crown sent us.”

One of the crystal guard stood from his position, and lifted a hoof in greeting. “Hail construct, stay where you are, and send your leader forth!”

This seemed to give the towering, bipedal creature pause. The snowy griffon on the roof made the mental decision that it had to be a minotaur, if a rather small one. What it was doing in so cold a land was his best guess. Without sending anyone forward, the armoured minotaur simply began walking forward again, causing the guards to tense.

“I said HOLD!” Arms were raised again, and the crystal guard all brandished their weapons menacingly. The sudden aggression spurred an immediate and well trained response from the line, as the supposed soldiers all spread out and leveled weapons at the supposed threat. The snowy griffon simply lined up his shot, drawing a bead on the big minotaur. Within moments he found himself staring down the barrel of a rather large, odd looking rifle

“Stand down! I am Captain Tac of Joint Special Operations Group! You will put down your weapon immediately!” A burly stallion had freed himself from the line, and was angrily approaching the militia.

The crystal guard leading the squad thankfully lowered his weapon after a moment's deliberation, and held up a hoof before speaking. “Hold your fire, Simoh.” The guard carefully approached the angry captain of the motley group. Apparently, an accord was reached, as Captain Tac waved a hoof to his group, and they all relaxed. Weapons were lowered, and the newcomers approached, entering the town proper. By this time, the crystal pony townsfolk had stuck their heads out, to possibly catch a glimpse of the action.

Simoh, however, did not care much for the group now that the danger had passed. Leaving the roof, he landed deftly and cast a last look toward the strange group. His wonder toward the large armoured minotaur was increased the more he watched it. Sighing as he slung his rifle over his back, Simoh approached. “Warden Constable? Should I take them to the mayor?”

The crystal guard glanced over his shoulder at the diminutive griffon, before shrugging. “Fine, Simoh. I would appreciate it.”

The new group seemed to turn their attentions to Simoh, before assembling with what he could only describe as military precision. Soon he found himself leading a pack of well armed and armoured strangers to the mayor's home. As he walked, Simoh couldn't shake the feeling that the minotaur was watching him intently. It was an odd sensation to the hunter. Despite the feeling, Simoh shrugged it off and continued toward the mayor's home. With a rap of his talons on the door, Simoh stood aside as the mayor's rapidly clopping hooves approached the door and it was flung open with urgency.

The wispy white mane of the aging earth pony mayor flopped forward as he stuck his head out the door toward the newcomers. “Are you the group causing so much commotion? What do you want? Why are you here?”

Stepping forward, Captain Tac nodded to the mayor. “Mayor Aspen? The crown sent us, we're here to help with your missing pony problem.”

Realization swiftly dawned on the aging mayor, and his visage went from worried and distrusting, to frantic and nearly excited. “So my letter was received! I had worried so much that they wouldn't send anybody but the Warden Constable! Three more ponies have gone missing, and now every pony is too afraid to leave their homes! Well… save for a few, I suppose. Steven, our mailpony, still does his rounds.”

“Sir, we need a place to set up our base of operations. We have sensitive equipment with us.” Tac motioned toward Mythic, who was burdened with the bulky comms set.

Peering at the group momentarily, the Mayor nodded with exaggeration. “Of course! You may use my home for the time being, there should be plenty of space for you all.” The mayor stood backed up, and motioned for them all to enter. “Please, do come in. I'll have some cocoa on in a jiffy.”

Nodding his thanks, Captain Tac stood aside and waved the soldiers in. “We would have been here sooner, but we nearly had an altercation with your militia.”

“Oh dear…” The mayor tapped his muzzle lightly. “Do forgive them, they are all riding on nerves I'm afraid, I hope nobody was hurt.” Glancing to the snowy griffon hunter, who was moments from escaping, the mayor cleared his throat. “Simoh, our saviours will need a guide for the woods, would you be a handy chap and lend them a hoof? Err… claw?”

The response from the griffon was slow coming as his shoulders slouched ever so slightly. “It would seem I have little choice.”

Smiling, the old earth pony motioned toward the group as they all began to spread out and set down heavy bags. “Beak up, I'll send the warden constable with you.”

“I have the utmost faith in his abilities.” Simoh responded flatly, and without much emotion.

Before Simoh's dry sarcasm could be registered by Mayor Aspen, the wizened old pony cried out in sudden realization. “Captain!” With Tac’s attention secured, Mayor Aspen trotted over and gestured toward Ada. “Is your human house broken?”

For a moment, the entire squad stared in shock at the pony, before Baron let out a barely suppressed snicker. The small snicker swiftly led to a complete breakdown as the squad shared in their amusement. The laughter seemed to confuse both Simoh and Mayor Aspen, while only causing Ada to frown. Wiping his eyes, Captain Tac chuckled and shook his head. “Well Mayor, Ada’s manners might not be wonderful, but we’ll have to leave Jack outside!” The exclamation drew another bout of laughter from the squad, and a smug smirk from the British soldier.

“Hey!” Jack pulled off his helmet and glared lightly at Tac. “I resent that statement!”

“By Celestia's light, a talking human!” The mayor declared loudly in shock, causing Jack to pause in his following insult.

“Riiiight…” Jack smiled weakly toward the Mayor, and the now openly curious griffon. “Mhm… uh, well, I’m Knight-Sergeant Jack Kessle, and this is Lance Corporal Ada. We are both intelligent, and if we're treated like animals we are both inclined toward violence.” Clapping his hands together, Jack smiled. “Questions? No? Great, moving on!”

Raising a hoof, the mayor spoke up. “Actually, I have several academic questions that-”

“Great!” Jack strode over in his armour, and set both hands on Ada's firm shoulders. “The Lance Corporal just loves to answer questions! I'm busy, right now. With the whole wander into a blizzard and kill something shtick. You know how it is.”

Glaring up at Jack, Ada muttered “I hate you.” causing Jack to smile wide and pat her shoulders.

Clearing his throat, the mayor nodded his understanding. “Well, as you seem rather eager to go back out, Simoh will accompany you, as will our Constables. Those crystal ponies are so much more capable of enduring such foul weather, they shouldn't have any problems. The rest of you may have to stay behind, as I am quite sure the storm outside is only going to get worse.”

Taking the information in stride, Tac motioned to the squad and had them form a circle. “Alright, Cerberus squad is the entrenchment squad. I want a proper cordon set up and comms operational within the hour. Private Ace, I know you're with Boogeyman squad, but I need you to stay behind and get things set up. On account of the weather, Jack's the only one of us who can hash it right now. You’re going to keep him on the horn.”

Mythic nodded, before saluting. “I'm on it sir.”

Looking to Ada, the captain smiled ever so slightly as she produced a map from one of her many pockets, all while shedding thick clothing. “Right.” The woman looked the squad around her as she did mental calculations. “Farley, Simmons, and Glasswork with take the Northwest corridor. Get a position entrenched that covers the forest. Ironbeak, Long claw, and Fireball will take the south west. Radio when your positions are secure.” The athletic woman continued to plan and point at the map, as Captain Tac spoke again to the confused mayor.

“Sir, we’re going to evacuate the outer civilians. We need them to take shelter closer to the center of town. Is there a building they can use?”

The mayor hummed lightly as he tapped his chin. “There is the longhouse, and the old worship place the griffons used to use before they all left…”

Nodding, Tac soon had the mayor point them out on the map, before detailing the remaining special forces soldiers to corral the bumpkin ponies in a better defensive location, before fortifying it. As they planned, Jack had already silently slipped out the door with the snowy griffon following him from the air. It didn't take long to find the crystal constables, but it took considerably more effort to convince them that they were supposed to follow him into the woods, in the middle of a blizzard.

Soon, Jack and his small militia squad exited town, and entered the forest.

“God, visibility is next to shit out here.” Jack quietly complained into his comms as he flicked on thermal vision, which didn't help in the slightest. Turning to the others, he spoke up so they could hear. “Can you lead me to where you found the first body?”

Though his features were scrunched into a scowl, the warden constable nodded, and took the lead. Once deeper on the forest, visibility cleared slightly as the trees blocked the worst of the storm. With the crystal ponies leading, Jack was given the chance to focus on something besides snow and trees. “So.” He began, getting Simoh's attention. “You're part snow leopard, right?”

“Excuse me?” Simoh turned his full attention to the human as he cradled his cold rifle.

Coughing, Jack drummed his M240g with his fingers. “That was racist, wasn't it? Right… you look… more snowy, than other griffons I've met.”

“And you talk far more than any human I've ever met.”

“Heh… yeah, I get that a lot. Usually following or followed by how I'm an awful person and swearing.” This earned a very mild smile from Simoh, which Jack took as open invitation to chatter idly as he scanned the forest. “I-” Before he could get the first word out of his mouth, Simoh interrupted him.

“The entire village used to be comprised of griffons such as myself, and earth ponies. Everybody soon left when the crystal ponies awoke.”

“Awoke?” Jack listened curiously. Despite himself, he found the diminutive griffon endearing. He soon found himself listening to an abridged version of the return of Sombra, and the battle that had taken place in the capital. “Waitwaitwait, you're saying that he threw his own wife off the balcony?” Jack barely suppressed a snicker. “Are you fuckin serious?”

“He's dead serious.” The Warden Constable interrupted. “We have reached the place where the first body was found.”

Sighing lightly, Jack checked his weapon and took a few steps forward. “Alright, yeah, I think I can see the trees that were in the report.” He slowly entered the area and scanned around, trying to discern anything through the snow. Behind him, he could hear the crystal constables complaining to each other quietly.

“Couldn't find anything when we could see; what could this human do that we can't?”

“Quiet. The crown sent him here for a reason. He can't just be wandering around aimlessly.”

As he wandered aimlessly, Jack pursed his lips inside his helmet and kept quiet to them as he radioed Mythic. “Hey, Mythic, what's the word on the village?”

The response took a minute to come in through the interference and static. “-there, I've got you, Jack. What were you saying?” After he repeated himself, Jack waited patiently for the response. “Well, we've got the outer perimeter secured, but the locals don't seem like they want to cooperate all that much. We've had some families outright refuse to move. Oh-” There was muffled chatter on the other end that Jack strained to make out. “Ada says you're an awful person. Apparently the mayor hasn't stopped grilling her with questions since you left.”

That earned a slight grin from Jack as he scanned the area again. “Great, great. Okay, well, we've reached the first site, and-”

“Knight Sergeant!” One of the constables called out, waving to him.

“Holding report, we may have something here.” Keying off his mic, Jack secured his grip on his weapon and brought it to the low ready as he stomped over the the crystal pony. “What is it?”

Pointing to a particular tree, the constable spoke. “There's claw marks in the tree.”

Furrowing his brow, Jack approached the tree to take a better look. “So? I don't see-...” Trailing off as he found a three inch deep trio of claw marks in the thick tree, Jack slowly began to pan his vision around. As he was about to speak again, he caught sight of something unnatural just at the edge of the blowing snow. Motioning snappily to those following him, and getting their attention quickly with the urgency of his motions, Jack began to slowly tread toward the shape in the snow.

His brows furrowed further, until he was practically glaring at the unknown thing as he drew closer. “It's… the fuck?” He asked nobody in particular as he stepped over a strange bundle of sticks. They were bent and twisted, into a very crude four legged form. Something was inside the head. Beginning to pull apart the head, Jack ignored the quietly concerned muttering brought in by his companions.

Inside the head was a large patch of skin and fur. Specifically, a cutie mark.

“Oh.” Jack stated quietly into his comms.

“What? What is it?”

Picking up the scrap of marked flesh, Jack showed it to the group gathering around him, before looking over the cutie mark as the constables argued. “Mythic, ask the mayor if any of the missing ponies had a bottle of milk as an ass brand.”

There was a brief pause, before the confirmation came through, and Tac took over the radio headset. “Jack, that was one of the recent missing ponies, see if there's any tracks leading around. Can you tell how fresh that wound is?”

Dropping the scrap, Jack rubbed his bloody fingers together as he turned and looked around the area. “Very…” Tracing his fingers across the scar in the tree, Jack tilted his head and stared out into the forest. “There's a trail of marks, in the trees.” The constables began moving on his word toward the trail.

At the last possible moment, Jack spied the faintest flick of movement through the snow and trees. As he drew in a breath to yell warning, something the colour of ivory shot out from the woods, landing on top of one of the constables. The crystal pony seemed to disappear into the snowbank as a spray of fresh powder flew up, obscuring Jack's view at the remaining two constables began yelling.

“CONTACT CONTACT! WE HAVE CONTACT IN GRID FIVE OH NINE CHARLIE!” Jack hefted his machinegun up and tried to draw a bead on the ivory coloured thing. As the powder settled, he couldn't spot it. The two constables had drawn swords and had backed up against each other, and were yelling. “Come on come on…. Where are you?” His sights panned and hunted, to no avail.

“Jack!” Captain Tac yelled in his ear. “What's going on out there!?”

With his weapon raised and his finger hovering close to the trigger, Jack began quickly treading over to the fallen constable. The pony had been crushed, and his guts had split open from the immense pressure. His neck was squashed and twisted awkwardly. “It's fast, one constable KIA. Definitely not a bandit. I couldn't pick it up on thermals or backscatter.” Jack listened intently, trying to hear where it could be.

The sound that met his ears was quiet, almost indiscernible over the blizzard. It was a child's giggle of amusement, and it froze Jack to his core.

His eyes widened in terror as his breath hitched in his throat; his mind reeled back hard, launching him back into that all too clean building. The stench of the thing assaulted his nostrils, and all he could see was his tribe being slaughtered by a giggling monster. Little voices whispered in his ears as he took an involuntary step back, but soon they became screams of an order to report. Jack licked his dry lips and slipped his armoured finger into the trigger guard.

“JACK, REPORT!”

The giggle sounded again, this time from behind him. Spinning on his heels, Jack depressed the trigger and began walking tracers across the trees where ever he saw the slightest hint of movement. Now everybody was screaming. The screams began to mold and morph, reaching a soul shaking crescendo as his own joined them. He wasn't aware his comms were on, and his external mic was keyed. His scream became a roar of indignation that carried and carried and echoed, bouncing in his mind and helmet.

The belt in his weapon rattled as it ran through the receiver, and soon the underslung grenade launcher belched. A small copse of trees shattered, spraying the area with wooden shrapnel. Something heavy slapped against his back, and the shriek of rended plating met his ears Without warning, the last of his belt chattered out and his weapon fell silent. The sudden silence that followed felt like a void that crushed down onto him.

Letting out a shuddering breath, Jack turned in place, trying to get another visual on the beast as his hands fumbled with a task that had been ingrained deep into them. Racking the action saw the next belt loaded, but as he turned, he found himself as the only friendly left in the clearing. One of the constables had gone to pieces, with the upper portion stuck up a tall tree, and his lower portion scattered across the ground. The third constable, the warden, was sitting on his haunches in the snow. His neck was bent and distended unnaturally, as if something had wrenched it all the way around in one fluid motion.

“Knight Sergeant! Are you still alive down there!?”

It was a new voice, but he recognised it. It belonged to Simoh.

“Simoh?”

The snowy griffon landed in the clearing next to him. His white feathers had been splattered with gore, and his rifle bore a pair of twin scars across its furniture that looked like they had promised death, but had failed. “So it didn't kill you. I hit the beast, but it hardly flinched.”

As Jack opened his mouth, no noise came from it as he choked on the knot inside it. Another burst from his radio caused him to stiffen in surprise. “Jack, do you copy!? This is Ada, do you copy!?”

Swallowing thickly, Jack nodded. “I'm here. The constables are dead. It's fast. I couldn't hit it. Repeat, target is still alive.” He began pacing back toward the path they had followed in, and found another pair of large misshapen tracks following theirs, heading toward the village. “oh Jesus… ADA!” The woman scrambled with the headset as he began running. “Tighten the cordon, load AP! Its coming straight for you!” Jack broke into a full sprint through the snow, and he began praying to anybody who would listen that he'd get there before he lost anybody else.

His prayers went unanswered as he charged through the forest and automatic weapons fire crackled in the distance. He'd hoped that maybe he had been paranoid with his claim, but for once, he was painfully correct. Blazing his way back up the trail, it took him several long minutes to reach the edge of the forest at a dead run. The gunfire was sporadic by the time he hit open terrain, and Simoh took off ahead of him.

He could hear the screams again, but now they weren't just inside his head. The sounds of terror filled the air, and smoke was beginning to rise from the quaint village.

“Somebody, report! I've reached the village, where do you need me!?” Jack bounded onto one of the streets, only to find empty homes and spent shell casings. When no report or response came, he cursed violently and carried on toward the mayor's home.

He found the first of the dead moments later. The pair of JSOG soldiers had been trying to herd a family out, only to get attacked from behind. Honey had been struck with the beast's rending claws, and had died on the spot with her back split wide open. Brassfeather had died fighting. His weapon still smoked where it lay, but the steam from rapidly cooling blood on the snow made it nearly unnoticeable. He winced as he retrieved their tags and closed their eyes. The family of crystal ponies hadn't fared much better, but he didn't was time looking them over.

A scream drew his attention again, this one coming from behind the home he was standing before. Snarling angrily in his helmet, Jack bolted for the home's door. His heavy body shattered it as if it were made of balsa wood, and he crashed through the quiet family home. The rear door didn't fair much better as he lowered his shoulder and plowed through it.

The beast turned on its heels, it's foalish features twisting with glee as it dropped the remains of its pony plaything. It wasn't fast enough, this time. His muzzle jerked upwards, and stitched the foul creature from hip to shoulder with tracer fire from the MG240g. Falling backwards, the ivory coloured beast rolled and ran on all fours; a house soon obscured it from his sights. The trail of rounds punched holes in the side of the home, before he released the trigger and briefly checked the area for survivors. To his surprise, he found two. A tiny filly was being huddled by a somewhat older colt, who glared with all his might and yelled when Jack found their hiding spot.

“GO AWAY MONSTER!”

A dull wooden sword thwacked off his breastplate, and served to mollify his mind as he shifted his weapon to a single hand and crouched next to the pair of children. “I'm going to take you somewhere safe.”

The colt seemed to become torn as he floated the unintimidating weapon before himself. His eyes flicked to the bawling filly clutching his chest fur, before moving back to stare up at Jack's towering form. He didn't have much of a choice in the end as Jack moved forward and scooped them both up with his left arm.

The children cried and squirmed, but ultimately settled as he set off again with his weapon up and tracking. Finding himself on the main road of the village, Jack's comms crackled as somebody began broadcasting. “All surviving JSOG operatives, fall back to the mayor's home immediately, I say again, fall back!”

Responding immediately as he shifted the foals on his arm, Jack turned and scanned the area as he jogged. “This is Boogeyman lead, I need a sitrep!”

“Situation is Fubar, sir! The outer cordon is gone, no response from the operatives there! We have several wounded and a lot of civilians with us!”

Muttering a curse to himself, Jack began to double time it toward the mayor's home. He could see the place, it was bristling with guns and buzzing with activity. To his immense relief, he spotted Captain Tac almost immediately and lifted his weapon up, getting Tacs attention.

The captain lifted a hoof in return, before jerking and lifting his weapon muzzle. “JACK, LOOK OUT-”

The warning came far too late as the creature slammed into his side, and swung its claws toward the narrow vision slit in his helmet. The pitched shriek of its claws against his helmet reverberated deeply, and almost drowned out the sounds of the foals screaming in terror as Jack was knocked off his feet and set upon by the beast. His free fist jerked upwards on impact, and drove the muzzle of his weapon into its face. The blow did little more than annoy it, but it drew it's attentions away from the children as the creature raked it's claws across the weapon. Bits of plastic and metal sheared off, and the weapon was torn from his grip.

Giggling, the ivory monstrosity went to run its claws through the narrow slit of Jack's visor, only to be struck in the face by a burst of rounds.

“Come on you bloody monster!”

Ada and Tac were firing on it, drawing it's attention for the last needed moment. With a roar, Jack pistoned his now free fist into it’s childish features. The crunch of bone was heard, and the creature let out a howl that shouldn't have belonged to any mortal creature. Abandoning its attack on Jack, it bounded off him in an attempt to get away. It found its best exit blocked by Tac, who was dumping his magazine into it. Snarling, the creature leapt upon him.

Dropping the foals in the snow, Jack hastily drew one of his side arms and fired at the beast, succeeding in striking it in the back as it ripped into Captain Tac. The screams of terror and orders were becoming one, and utterly indiscernible from each other.

With fire beginning to pour down on its abused frame, the beast seemingly gave up on Tac, and bounded back into the forest to lick its wounds.

Running toward Tac’s fallen form, Jack dropped to his knees and slid through the snow to the pony’s side as he ripped open his medkit. Tossing his helmet aside, Jack began to work on Hard Tac. There was blood everywhere; the deeply red-black blood was splashed across the snow, and continued to seep out as Jack struggled to plug all of the wounds with his meager medical knowledge.

“Just hold on, Hardie, I'll get you out of here… I'll get you out…”

The hand placed on his shoulder didn't stop him as he continued to dress the gaping chest wound his friend had suffered. “GET ME THE FUCKING MEDIC!” Jack roared at the hand's owner, who withdrew ever so slightly, before Ada grabbed his cheeks and pulled his attention away from Tac.

“Jack, luv, please…” The woman's features were screwed up with concern and the lingering touches of fear.

“I can save him.” Jack pressed through clenched teeth and the knot in his throat. Turning his attention back to Tac, he only found the brave stallion's corpse cooling in the snow. Clenching his armoured fists tightly, Jack sunk down to rest on his haunches. Screwing his eyes shut, Jack soon slumped forward onto his curled fists.

Sitting down before him, Ada hugged his face to her neck and began to slowly stroke his head. “Nothin’ you coulda done…”

Forcing his eyes open, Jack looked to Tac. As much as it hurt to admit, Ada was right. What little was left of Tac's chest was a shredded ruin of flesh, bones, and tactical gear. His weapon was equally destroyed.

“What’re your orders, Knight Sergeant?” Ada asked with uncharacteristic softness.

“Orders?”

He wasn't so much questioning her, as he was tasting the word, feeling it out and finding it bitter.

“You're our commanding officer now.” Ada stood and glanced over her shoulder at the small drawing crowd. “Jack-”

She silenced herself as he leaned forward, and brushed Hard Tac's eyelids shut. “Ah’m sorry, brother.” Swallowing, Jack stood and turned away from the corpse to look at the remains of Cerberus and Boogeyman squad. Seven of them remained, including himself. He could see some of them were hurt, but they were hiding it. Standing tall, Jack stuck his helmet under his arm. “Form up!” As they did so, the civilians began to gather to watch. The two foals he'd grabbed seemed to have been reunited with somebody, and were too busy being ushered inside to watch. Jack began formulating a plan in his head as he approached the squad. “I need sitreps on injuries and remaining ammo. Who's got what. Let's hear it people.” The reports came in clear and concise. Injuries were relatively light. It seemed that anybody the creature wounded tended to die. Rifle ammunition was lower than he would have liked. But their munitions were practically unused, considering they'd been ambushed in a civilian heavy zone. Tapping idly at his armoured thigh, Jack nodded as the last of the reports came through.

“Alright, gather around.” Jack waited for his surviving unit to get into a huddle, before sharing his plan. “Mythic, I'm glad you're alive. I need you to get Stalwart on the horn and have them get in position for a howitzer barrage.”

Lifting a brow, Baron was the first to question it. “What's the plan, sir? The forest is huge, there's no way we'd hit it.”

Smiling a little bit too much than was appropriate for the situation, Jack cast a glance up toward the loitering hunter, Simoh. “Mr. Simoh! You know these woods like the back of your hand. Think you could point out on a map where a ugly cocksucker might lick his wounds for the night?”

Looking somewhat surprised, and confused, Simoh nodded and agreed. “I could, yes. But it would be impossible to find in this blizzard.”

“That's fine.” Jack maintained his smile. “Artillery doesn't give a fuck about concealment.”

“You're going to try and kill it with an artillery strike?” Casus spoke in question. Casus was likely the biggest, burliest griffon the Empire had sent. And he'd taken to the training like a fish to water.

Nodding again, Jack set his hands on his hips. “I doubt we'll kill it. Might injure it if we're lucky. But that's not what I'm going for. We're gonna piss it off something fierce, and goad it into a kill zone. It's fast, but it ain't fuckin bright. The last one was a fucking idiot, so I doubt that slimy little cocksucker, Forge, improved much on their mental faculties.” His statement caused a ripple of concern to emerge from the soldiers, but Jack didn't speak of it further. “We're going to take out remaining munitions and rig them in a staggered pattern to act as warning bells. Piss it off more, hurt it as it comes at us. It'll enter our kill zone here.” He motioned to the large open area that seemed to act as the mayor's courtyard entrance. “ We pour on the concentrated fire, and I'll take it down.”

“And… how do you propose you'll be doing that?” Mythic had spoken now. The team definitely didn't look comfortable with the idea, but nobody was calling it out as straight foolishness. Yet.

Drawing his sabot pistol, Jack looked over the squad. “He's fast and tough. He's not stronger than me. You all slow him down, and I'll jump him. If I can get a bead on him, I'll put him down for good.”

The squad spoke quietly to each other, mulling over the plan. It took less than a minute for them to make a decision. “It's a shite plan, but it's the best we've got. We're behind you all the way.” Ada thumped her chestplate, which earned nods and voices of agreement.

Forcing a grin, Jack looked over his squad. “Let's show this bastard what JSOG is capable of! Oorah?”

“Oorah!”

Preparations began immediately as JSOG gathered their dead and stripped them of gear. As they began to draw the kill zone out on the map, one of the civilians stepped forward and declared that the other civilians wanted to do something to help. Jack mulled it over as Simoh worked with Mythic in making a list of coordinates.

“We need barricades set up out here, and for all of you civs to gather up somewhere safe.”

The depressed looking crystal pony simply nodded, and spread the word amongst the willing. The mayor was soon almost in tears as his furniture was borrowed and repurposed as a barricade. Several large bore muskets were produced from the village houses, and the bodies using them at least knew how to aim. The last few civilians were rounded up from their homes, and took refuge inside the mayor's home.

As the grenade tripwires were set in place by the newly christened Grinder squad, Jack entered the mayor's home and made a beeline toward Mythic and Simoh. He did his best to ignore the five dead bodies lying on the floor, respectfully covered with a sheet. They were family, and he'd gotten them killed. He had trained them, and had choked when they needed him most.

Jack struggled to push the thoughts down as he moved to stand over Mythic and Simoh. On the map were four circles, all deep inside the thick forest. “These are the spots?” He questioned thickly.

Looking to Jack, Simoh nodded and began to explain what each one was. Mostly they were small, natural caves, but one was a hundred year old, abandoned mine. Little warning bells went off in Jack's head as Simoh spoke of it. If Forge was set up in the area, the mine was the most likely place for it.

“Alright… Mythic, do you have Stalwart on the horn?”

The stallion nodded and offered the bulky headset. “Yes sir, Captain Chord is on the line right now.”

Nodding his thanks, Jack slipped the headset on and spoke. “This is Knight-Sergeant Kessle, do you read, Stalwart Liberty?”

Chord's voice was a welcome one, however muffled by static it was. “Go ahead Jack. What's your report?”

“We have made contact with the enemy. Five KIA, including Captain Tac. I have assumed operational command.”

There was a brief pause, and Jack pondered if his message had gotten through the storm at all. “We copy, Knight Sergeant. What is your plan?”

“Surviving operatives had been placed in a new squad, designation Grinder. I need a few artillery barrages from Stalwart on our signal.” When the captain agreed, and confirmed he had a pad of paper, Jack began slowly listing off the map coordinates. “I need ten round fire missions for each coordinate, high explosive.”

“That's almost our entire complement of those one fifty five shells. We will only have smoke and those phosphor shells left.”

Jack winced, and looked over the map again. Shooing Mythic and Simoh away, Jack spoke again to the captain, this time with a low voice. “Prepare a second fire mission with the phosphor shells.” He then read off coordinates for the area surrounding the manor, and the manor itself. “Mission danger close, only to be used in the event I'm killed and our lines are breached. If that happens, the whole region might be at risk.”

“What are you fighting down there, old boy?” The captain sounded concerned, and he had ever right to be.

“I need you to prepare a message for Celestia. She'll understand, hopefully. Dr. Forge has created another one of his children, and I'm fairly certain he may be operating in the area still. Did you catch all that?” When the confirmation came through, Jack wiped his forehead and nodded to himself. “We're ready for those fire missions. Radio before they start and we’ll be ready.”

“Noted. Good luck out there Knight Sergeant. May the sisters guide you. Over.”

Setting down the headset, Jack muttered to himself. “They're as lost as I am.” Striding outside, Jack found the last of Grinder squad gathering behind the furniture and door barricades, along with the impromptu militia. He didn't expect the militia to get more than a single shot off, but it was the thought that counted. As he descended the steps, Jack nearly stepped on a small foal as he ran passed him and turned. Smothering a curse, Jack looked down at the child in confusion. Only to recognise him after a moment as the colt who'd threatened him with a wooden sword.

“Are you gonna kill the monster, Mister?”

Sighing, Jack squatted down and nodded toward the colt. “My friends and I are certainly going to try.”

The colt then surprised him, by offering the hilt of his wooden sword to Jack. “My papa says humans are bad luck and shouldn't talk because it's a crime against nature, but you're not bad at all!”

Carefully taking the offered sword, Jack found himself legitimately surprised. “I… thank you, little guy.” He smiled weakly to the colt. “I’ll put it to good use…”

Smiling with the sense that his duty had been filled, the colt turned and started toward the rest of the civilians, where a stern looking, but visibly depressed stallion began to give the colt grief.

Sighing softly, Jack scratched the back of his head and continued to walk down the steps. His heavy boots sank deep into the snow, despite it already being packed down by hooves, feet, talons, and paws. Some of his operatives were busy running a crash course for the locals in how to draw a bead and not die violently, and he could see the stragglers of his squad coming in, sans munitions. If they survived, it would be another hour at least before the civilians could return to their homes or run the risk of having their asses blown off. Ada was approaching, and she waved him down as he turned his helmet over to take a look at the damage done to the side.

“I want to give you a walk-around. You're the demo expert.” She gestured to the village, and he caught her meaning.

“I'm sure you boys did fine.” He tucked the scuffed helmet under his arm and nodded to her. “Lead on, Corporal.”

Ada led him off into the town, showing him the expertly placed staggered grenade traps. Once they were deep enough into the town, and away from the squad, Ada stopped him. She looked him over, concern evident on her hard features. “How’re you holding up, luv?” She was speaking quietly as she stood before him.

Glancing around, Jack set his back against a wall and let himself relax, if only slightly. “I can hack it. I really wish I didn't have to, but I can.” He scratched at his head again, and looked down to the snow.

“I didn't mean leadership.” Ada moved closer. “I never heard somebody twig out so hard. You went off your bloody rocker.”

Cringing at her claim, Jack nodded. “I know, I just… it put me somewhere I never wanted to be again.” When she furrowed her brows, he explained to her what had happened in the DRMSI building, the monstrosities Forge created, and all the people he'd lost there.

When he finished, Ada’s expression had shifted from concern, to anger, then to sympathetic pain. “Jack…”

He stopped her by putting a heavy hand on her shoulder. “Hey, don't tear yourself up over it.” He smiled weakly. “It won't happen again. I just… wasn't expecting it. I'll handle it, and I'm not gonna let you guys down again.”

Standing on the tips of her toes, Ada planted a long, passionate kiss on his lips that he returned readily as his hands went around her back. It ended far too soon for either of their liking. Smiling softly, Ada traced a finger down his jaw. “I've got your six, you stubborn cunt…”

Laughing softly as he continued to hold her, Jack rested his forehead against hers. “Careful Corporal, you're flirting with an officer now.”

“You gonna report me to the Queen?” She asked with a smirk.

“I'll put you in for corporal punishment.”

Shaking her head in humor, Ada pulled away from him. “I'll report to your bunk when we waste this little prick.”

In the distance, a thundering rumble echoed through the village, causing the pair to turn. “Well.” Jack set his helmet down over his head. “Let's see what it thinks of our spicy bait.”

The pair returned to the lines, and hunkered down as the fire mission went on for several minutes. The moment it ended, tensions ramped up violently, and everybody waited with bated breath and hair-triggers.

An echoing howl wafted in on the air, filling the silence for a moment and causing everyone to tense. Less than a minute later, the howl sounded again, but closer this time. The next warning they heard was the sound of a frag grenade going off in the south end of the village, followed by a screech. Grenades began going off in rapid sequence, and the vile sounds of the beast drew rapidly closer. The last blast was visible as it blew a plume of powder into the air, and within moments the charred beast careened into the kill zone.

It looked furious.

It took a hair of a moment for the fire to pour in, but by then it had locked onto them and was running on all fours toward them. It was only the sheer weight of fire that arrested it's run; forcing it up onto two legs and cover its face with its claws. The beast howled as it neared the barricade, and Jack bounded over the furniture to meet it before it could reach the others. Leading with his kabar and following with his sabot pistol, Jack collided with the beast with a concussive boom as it slammed headlong into his mithral breastplate.

Both of its hands lashed out. The first scraped across the shining emblem on his chest, and the second was caught by his kabar. The knife's mono-molecular blade carved through its impossibly tough hides, and sheared the hand off at the wrist. Before Jack could fire his pistol however, the gushing stump of its arm collided with the weapon, knocking it away from his reach.

The beast's howl reached an ear shattering pitch as its momentum caused Jack's feet to falter. The beast bore him to the ground, and flipped awkwardly with the armoured marine as he fell onto his back. It's fury was directed solely toward him at that moment. It raised its remaining hand, and brought it down for Jack's throat.

Above the cacophony of rattling rifles, screams of terror, yelled orders, and the beast howling, one musket thumped. The large bore ball slammed into the beast's right eye, and turned the socket to an oozing mess that saw the beast wretch backwards in agony. As it opened its mouth and shrieked like a wounded child, Jack wrenched the cylindrical form of a white phosphorus grenade from his webbing. Pulling the pin and letting the spool fling itself free, Jack lunged off the ground and grabbed the beast by it's stolen face. Shoving the spool end into the beast's throat, Jack brought his fist down on the flat end, driving it deeper into the beast's throat. Pulling his legs free, Jack kicked the beast mid-chest with both boots, driving it off of him. The beast stumbled back, wrenching and gagging for two seconds before it's chest visibly expanded, sick colours plumes of smoke and fire burst from its face. The beast jerked and thrashed as it clawed at its face in a poor attempt to dislodge the burning device. Standing, Jack gripped the beast's stolen face, and ripped it free to reveal the featureless head that lay behind. Smokey light was visible where the mouth should have been.

Somebody yelled Jack's name, and when he turned, he found his sabot pistol sailing through the air toward him. Catching the weapon deftly, he cleared the snow from its frame, and put it to full power. Levelling the weapon's muzzle to the beast's chest, he squeezed the trigger.

The tungsten nail blasted from the weapon as the magrail sped it to hypersonic velocities, and it pierced the tough hide of the beast as if it weren't there. The pressure of impact from the shot nearly toppled it over, before a split second later the superheated ball of bright plasma struck the same spot and followed the path of least resistance burrowed by the nail. A soda can sized hunk of flesh was blasted from its body, and what wasn't vaporised was scattered to the wind in steaming giblets. The concussive boom of the shot was a god's petulant shove, sending the beast head over heels into the snow. It keened in pain as Jack treaded over and plugged it twice more.

A cheer went up as the beast fell still; it's chest smoked and boiled, and the putrid poison gas of the white phosphorus grenade was beginning to seep out of its splayed open chest cavity. Jack began to walk away, before pausing, and turning back towards it. “I'm going to check it for vitals!” He yelled to his squad, before walking to the beast's side and dumping another three rounds into it. “No vitals detected.”

Far, far away from the action, the hippogriff named Forge watched as his favourite son was murdered by the squad of special operations soldiers. Carolus was looking over his shoulder, watching it all unfold through the magical eye that Forge had cast to follow his child. He ran a talon over the image of the armoured figure as they shot his child dead. “4859…” Forge's voice held a reverent quality to it, which forced a sneer of disgust onto Carolus’ beak.

“Your creation has failed, Forge. I'm not impressed.”

That, was something Forge had not wanted to hear at all. Turning away from the mirror of scrying, Forge began to quickly trot into his lab. “The testing grounds was tainted by 4859’s presence. Had he not, you would be singing praise!” Forge began pouring over a large table covered with documents. “Stronger… too much speed, not enough strength…”

Sneering, Carolus began to stalk toward the preoccupied scientist. “And who, might I ask, is 4859?”

“The basis for my newest work! 4859’s samples proved to be irreplaceable, especially for my child's bone structure. It's nigh unbreakable by conventional-” Forge squawked in shock as Carolus pounced on him from behind and moved his talons to throttle the scientist.

“I do believe, Doctor Forge, that you are lying to me.” Carolus tightened his grip on the smaller hippogriff's throat, and felt a twinge of gleeful enjoyment in his mind. “Because, your beast certainly seems to have been broken.”

“C-conventional means, sir!” Forge gasped for air as Carolus released him. “4859 is… is far from conventional…”

Carolus furrowed his brow and turned back to the mirror of scrying. The human and his squad were celebrating. Within moments, Carolus’ features lit up with foul joy. “Ada? Well well…” The griffon prince hummed as he thought. “I will have this nuisance removed for you, Forge. We have a pony in Canterlot who knows other ponies. they will solve our problem. Plans are almost in place, and I trust that with this ‘4859’ removed from the picture, that your current creations will suffice?”

Casting a look toward the large glass tubes that lined the walls of his laboratory, Forge did his best to hide a scowl. “Killing 4859 would be a hideous waste of potential, but with the time frame you have given me… My progeny will exceed your standards.” The scientist turned toward the young griffon. “Emperor Carolus.”

Carolus smiled grimly, as his mind went to the dread plans that were moving forward as they spoke. The mask at his side pulsed with power, but he knew better than to use it on Forge. The doctor needed all the mental faculties he could draw together. “The throne is rightfully mine, and I will take it by force.”

Nodding as if he were agreeing with an upset chick, Forge pushed up his spectacles. “If you wish, I may convert the human female’s flesh to something more suiting of a guard when she is captured.”

“Ada?” Carolus’ features twisted slightly with indignant anger and unpleasant joy. “You won't be touching her, doctor. I will see to breaking her, personally. She's stood in my way long enough in helping Gilda... Nobody will steal this from me.” Carolus moved away from the mirror and deeper into the lab, where the second set of keys to his master's plan lay sleeping in tanks of glass and foul yellow liquid. “Any other human like her is yours, however. I care not for these unwanted, misplaced freaks. They are Discord's children, and I would see them all serve Order until their very souls fade.” His smile began to grow as he recalled his father's schedule. “In fact, one of Celestia's pets is on their way to the capital right now…”

“I will prepare another tank, my Emperor…” Forge bowed with a conviction that was entirely forced.

Carolus hardly seemed to notice however, as he continued to walk out of the laboratory. His plans were coming along swimmingly, and even though there had been a speed bump in testing- he thought to it with a smile- he would bring them all in line, for Order.

Author's Notes:

Good news everyone! With my schooling starting up, I have nearly two hours out of my day to dedicate to Ballad, which means for the short time where I'm in school, Ballad will be receiving updates at a much faster pace, possibly even faster than when I was at work. That is, assuming I don't run into any writers block, and my editors don't burst into flame from the stress.

Either way, I apologize for the long wait, and I hope that this chapter was enjoyed!

Some plotlines are beginning to converge, and the expected child is gonna be an ugly bitch.