Stalliongrad was a literal hive of activity as ponies hustled to and fro. Some carried weapons taken from modern stockpiles, others wielded muskets and close combat arms. Whether they wore body armour, or only a thick coat signature for the far northern city, one thing was very certain. These ponies would not release their home so easily.

When approaching the city, Jack had expected to see another Canterlot, only this one nestled into the chilly Ural mountains. When he caught sight of the ancient fortress city, he was more than a little caught off guard. The walls surrounded the entire city, which instead of being built out, had built upwards in a spire that crept up the mountainside. From the air, he could see the many factories lit up like beacons in the night. The fighter escorts the city had sent returned to their air base, which, unshockingly, was carved right into the mountain side. Righteous Justice and Guided Chaos were soon ordered to follow suite and find port against the mountain, though it took considerably longer to convince the forces protecting the city to not blast Guided Chaos out of the air.

“This is Justice Actual, Havoc, do you read?”

Pulling himself away from the controls momentarily, Jack picked up the radio receiver. “This is Havoc. What's the word, Justice?”

“Apparently a priority mission. Dock that ugly beast and meet me outside. The Lord Commander wants to speak with us both.”

Furrowing his brow, Jack considered what this pony could want. “Roger that. See you outside.” Setting down the receiver, Jack treaded back to the controls and began the slow, arduous process of bringing the wounded ship into dock. With his lack of skill and the gaping wounds in the ship's hull, it became the jobs of the tugs to pull it in. He was disembarking before the ship came to rest, and it was no surprise to find Justice already docked.

Captain Alsan lifted a hoof in greeting to Jack, while JSOG followed behind her. Jack returned the greeting as he approached. “Any word on what the Commander wants?”

The Captain shook her head. “No, none so far, but I suspect we'll find out soon enough.” A squad of armed soldiers approached the group, and beckoned them to follow. “Watch yourself, Havoc. Stalliongraders are mean, and they sometimes speak an offshoot of Equish, so don't be too surprised if they sound like they're giving you the brakes.”

Jack was somewhat busy looking out over the mountain airbase to give her the proper response. The squadrons had landed safely, and were currently being reloaded and repaired. The earth pony pilots themselves were trotting off to a quonset hut, likely to get coffee. The mouth of the airbase sported a pair of large anti-aircraft cannons, a number of which Jack had already seen on the armoured train and sprinkled about the walls of the city. It seemed that Stalliongrad had gotten busy arming itself with the new weapons, as opposed to arming the rest of Equestria.

The Lord Commander made himself known immediately as one of his retinue blasted a bugle in tune and all personnel present stood to attention.

The voice that followed shocked Jack as it spoke in perfectly fluent Russian. “/All of you, back to work! No slacking!/” A large, leathery earthpony mare was approaching them with a trailing retinue of soldiers, specialists, and advisors. When her eyes fell on the group, she took on the expression of having eaten a lemon raw. “/These are the reinforcements Crown sends? Pathetic. Cake eaters, thieves. And animals./” Suddenly, the Lord Commander smiled as she reached the group. “Welcome to Stalliongrad, Comrades. I hear we have you to thank for not having Imperial ships pestering our outskirts.”

Captain Alsan saluted, as did the others. Jack was reluctant to follow suite, but did anyways. “Yes ma'am. Our orders were to buy Stalliongrad time and abscond with an imperial cruiser.”

“It would seem you were successful, da?” I would like to meet this team you send to steal things.” She looked aside to a stallion who stood nearly abreast to her. “/I wonder if they have any Stalliongraders. Only way I can see this claim being true, these folk look like pussies. For the earth's sake, they have a sex toy with them./” The stallion next to her chuckled lightly, as did the others when she made mild gestures in Jack's direction.

Seemingly expecting something underhanded, Marsa smiled. “Actually, Knight Captain Kessle here and his team boarded and took control of two ships. One corvette, which we used to infiltrate the fleet, and the second being the heavy cruiser docked right now.” Marsa had gestured toward Jack and his officers, though it seemed the Lord Commander hadn't seen who she was pointing at exactly.

Turning to Flitter, she looked down on the other mare somewhat. “/A pegasi coward. It's only natural you would steal something, I should have you shot on principle. What underhanded tricks did you use I wonder?/” Flitter blinked at the question asked in Gradish, but before she could open her mouth, the Lord Commander smiled. “Well, I am glad such brave ponies are here with us. I am sure the princess will shower you all in shiny medals.”

Captain Alsan cleared her throat. “That's Knight Lieutenant Falenas, Lord Commander. Second in Command to Knight Captain Kessle.”

At Marsa's words and gesture towards him, the other mare scowled slightly, and cast a derisive glance up at Jack. “The human? /What an ugly little mongrel he is too. Likely a breeding reject. They think it is time to joke./”

Pulling his helmet free, Jack shot a open toothed smile at the group that held no warmth and served to unnerve some of the ponies present. “/No Joke, Lord Commander. And perhaps you should speak properly to the others, before I tell them, and the Princesses about the colossal amount of shit you talk to people who saved you from getting mind fucked by Imperials./” Jack held the now shocked group with his one eyed stare; harnessing all the aggressive energy he could. It wasn't hard to look mean for him, and it showed.

The Lord Commander stood for a moment, her mind seemingly stuck as she stared at Jack. She began meeting his glare with her own, and a thick tension settled over the group. Jack's group picked up on the sudden tension, and went silent as the pair stared each other down.

With the silence settling, Jack decided to dig in deep. “/And you're one to talk about beauty. It'd take me four bottles of vodka and a handful of cash to get in the mood to fuck your mouth numb./” The Lord Commander's entourage immediately became horrified, their eyes going as wide as saucers, while the Commander herself remained expressionless.

“Knight Captain.” Marsa spoke stiffly as all eyes in the hangar fell on them. “What are you saying?”

Ignoring the other Captain, Jack continued his one eyed staredown with the Lord Commander. The mare was the next to speak. “/Nopony has had the nerve to speak to me like that in forty years./”

“/Then it's a good thing I'm not a pussy ass pony, then, isn’t it?/” Jack slung the griffon carbine over his shoulder as he approached; the Commander's entourage tensed like steel springs under pressure at his movements. “/I don't give two bloody fucks if you hate every last creature beyond your walls. I don't care if you don't like me. I don't care if you hate the crown. What I do care about, is my team, and ending this fucking shit show farce of a war. Either you help, or you get the fuck out of my way./” With the calm, level tone Jack was uttering violent sounding words, his group had fallen utterly silent, along with the rest of the hangar. He was now two steps from the Lord Commander, and looking down on her.

Said mare perked a brow with disinterest. “/We'll help. It would be a shame to lose the country to filthy griffons. But what I want to know, is what business a human has in war./”

Whatever reaction she had been hoping for, it was plainly not Jack throwing his head back and cackling like an amused hyena. When he looked back down, his canines were bared in a huge open tooth grin. “What business do I have in war?” Jack switched to Russian in a moment as his group scowled. “/This is my third war.. My entire species has pulled itself from the dirt of being a prey species, to apex fucking predator of the entire planet. Eight percent of our recorded history is peace. We've glassed cities, and crawled from the ashes. Every form of war you have considered, we have perfected it. We have spent our entire lifetime perfecting how to kill each other, as quickly, and efficiently as possible. Every industry benefits when we go to war. All we are is war. You pastel motherfuckers barely even know which end of a knife to hold, let alone how to wage a fucking War./” Jack nearly spat the word out with disgust, and carried on his tirade. “/I spent three tours in the sandbox fighting insurgents in places so hostile it'd cook you alive and eat you, before having my legs blown off, and spending six months in a prison camp where I was tortured every fucking day. Then I was conscripted to fight a two year war on the losing side against alien invaders, who slaughtered billions of people without blinking a fucking eye, for the very survival of my people as a species. I've seen low yield atomics used in civilian areas and I have personally leveled city blocks to complete my objective. I've had napalm dropped on top of me, I've been shot, stabbed, blown up, clawed at, chewed on, and willingly dropped from low orbit in flak so fucking thick it made mincemeat of walking cocksuckin tanks. There's more metal in me than flesh, and I've killed more living beings than you've ever spoken to. I’ve seen countless civilians slaughtered in terror campaigns, and I’ve killed dozens of my own people out of mercy. I was going to hand detonate a two megaton thermonuclear weapon behind enemy lines in the middle of a two million man operation, before I got scooped up and dumped in this shithole! Don't even get me fucking started here, sister! I've stabbed unicorns with their own horns, I've ripped the wings off pegasi, I've crushed earth pony skulls and I've wrestled with horrors you would piss yourself at the sight of! I've killed dozens of humans here, and the Princesses have deemed to use me as their personal attack dog! I've single fucking handedly wiped out a changeling hive, fought pirates on a high speed train, survived two assassination attempts, wrestled abominations, and beheaded ancient evil spiders! I've been shot in the face with a cannon by my own people, and it only pissed me off! I've stolen two imperial ships, and slaughtered the crews with a handful of operatives!/” Jack had finally gone and gotten himself riled, and the aura of his anger was showing on everybody around him, including the Lord Commander. “/So, the question you should ask yourself, is not what business I have in a war, but what the fuck business do you have./”

The glaring match between the two continued as Captain Marsa pulled away from the group and physically separated the two before they came to blows. “That's it! We're under executive orders to be here, Lord Commander. If you don't like it, then you can take it up with Celestia! Knight Captain, back off.” Marsa glared at Jack as he took a few steps back and began to cool down. Looking back to the Lord Commander, Marsa continued. “We have the political authority to take control of the city, and I would rather not fucking do that today. The griffon battlegroup is licking it's wounds on the other side of the Urals, and no doubt receiving back-up as we speak. They won't retreat, Commander. They don't know fear any more, and they won't stop until they're wiped out or they win. So what'll it be? Do you want us to leave so you can say you won this stupid dick waving contest against a walking WMD, or are you going to fucking work with us?”

To the Captain's surprise, the Lord Commander smiled and laughed heartily. “So I was wrong! Not all of you are pussies.” She laughed again, and the Stalliongraders around her mirrored it in an awkward, stilted fashion. “Okay, so bitch Imperials have gone crazy, big deal. We have new cannons and lots of guns. You took the big ship, so no problems there. With your ships, defense should be easy.” The mare sighed. “Okay. Okay, follow me. We go to the Governor house, da? He wants to see you all. Lots of kissing planned.”

Calming down quickly, Captain Alsan nodded. “I'm glad you saw reason. Let's go, people. Time's wasting.”

The walk up through the center of the mountain complex was a thankfully short one, as the group mounted up on a pony powered tram system that set off at a gallop through the carved tunnels. Carriages loaded down streamed passed them as they rode, all of which seemed to be heading downwards. They soon passed by what seemed to be a munitions factory entrance, which was seemingly dug even deeper into the mountain's core. Beyond that, they began passing by mostly unfinished sections, which were roughly hewn from stone. At one point, they passed by a digging crew, which was comprised of burly diamond dogs, and a lot of humans. The overseer waved to the tram team, before yelling at her crew in Gradish.

Jack stayed conspicuously silent for the duration of the ride, though his fingers gently rubbed at the small of Flitter's back as he attempted to de-stress himself before meeting another government official. While some hushed questions were asked about what he had said, none were answered. Doing her best to calm him, Flitter remained where she was and carefully cleaned his face wound.

After what felt like twenty minutes of sitting on the tram, it began passing into far more finished tunnels, many of which were beginning to look more official and gilded. While they were bereft of gold, they were in no short supply of propaganda posters. Many seemed very old, at least to Jack. They all held the same artistic style as those used in his own Russia, back during the world wars. Eventually, the tram came to a stop, and the running crew detached themselves before lashing onto the back end of the tram for the next load of passengers. The group piled off, and followed the Lord Commander deeper into the mountain, where the command bunker was stationed. Torch sconces adorned the walls every five feet, and illuminated the broach hall as if they were light bulbs. As Jack treaded alongside everybody, he couldn't shake the feeling that this place was very, very old. Or at least, this section was.

It wasn't long before the group came to a pair of large oaken double doors, and the heavily armoured guards who stood at attention when the Lord Commander appeared. The doors were thrown open with magic, revealing a crude command center. A truly colossal radio set sat against the wall, and it appeared to have three ponies operating it at the same time. There were a number of glass panes standing side by side, and each showed a small, magically observed image upon it.

Before all the observation panes, stood a weedy looking stallion in a crisp military uniform, flanked by a truly monstrously large earth pony wearing Gradish platemail. At the sound of the doors closing, the smaller stallion turned, and regarded them.

“Greetings! I am Governor, and I welcome you to my humble city. I do hope that you'll forgive us for the incident in the hangar. Our Lord Commander can sometimes get somewhat brash.” He smiled, causing his bushy moustache to rise.

Captain Alsan nodded to the Governor as the Lord Commander left them and took to the Governor's side. “It's fine. The Knight Captain is easily riled today it seems. I… have some questions before we start. Some things I've noticed that quirk me as strange.”

Perking a brow in mild interest, the Governor gestured toward a center table that mirrored the one Celestia had in her planning room. “Ask, then.”

“Why are there only earth ponies in Stalliongrad?”

A lightly smile came to the stallion’s lips as everyone moved to stand around the table. “So you noticed. Stalliongrad is an earth pony settlement, always has been, since its founding. We have some others here, but many dislike it here. Only earth ponies stay.”

Furrowing her brow lightly at the answer, Marsa carried on regardless. “Alright. And your names? We haven't caught either since we arrived, and I'll need them for my reports.”

“You will not hear them.” The Lord Commander growled mildly. “We lose name when we take title. No other interest. Only duties.” The governor simply nodded his agreement, and looked to the table.

“Now, I believe that is all I wish to answer. Celestia has sent you to help us,and for that I am grateful. I have faith our forces can hold them here, but your work means we may breath.” The Governor looked to the group. “Your ship only carries this special unit, correct? Or are they under your direct command?”

The question was aimed at Captain Alsan, who in turn looked mildly suspicious of it. “Yes, JSOG is only carried by my vessel. Why?”

Smiling again, the governor gestured to the table, and the magical token of a train. “With your ships, we can defend Stalliongrad. This unit will be wasted sitting on the walls. I have a more urgent request for them. We have a shipment of new weapons for Canterlot, as asked. It is for their royal guard, and it is my understanding that without them, they will be slaughtered in the field. No doubt, the Imperials will seek to destroy the train.”

“So you want us to defend the train while it steams to Canterlot?” Jack finally spoke; his voice gruff and stiff.

Both Governor and Commander nodded, though it was the Commander who spoke. “Should not be hard for somebody like you. If you are not a liar.”

Deciding to ignore the mare, Jack set both hands on the table and observed the line toward Canterlot. “How long is the journey?”

The Governor thought on that for a moment. “Normally, four days by normal train. However, we have made a new engine, a very powerful, self propelled engine. It should make the journey in two.”

“The armoured train we saw? I'll need a layout, and a list of everybody that normally mans it, plus the defences I can expect. We'll need more rounds ourselves, but so long as the fleet doesn't notice us, we should make it fine.”

The Governor perked a brow at the stiff professionalism. “Of course. You have no qualms with this?”

“No.”

“That is refreshing.” The Governor smiled mildly. “You may take your leave then. Inform the tram runners to take you to the train station. I will have my soldiers run you more munitions. You will leave at midnight, before the attack comes. The cover of darkness should hide you from Imperial eyes.”

Without another word, Jack turned on his heels and treaded out. Those who had followed him remained for a single moment more, before following him out. Once the heavy double doors had closed, he spoke. “Flitter, hop off at the hangars and get our boys ready to go. Make sure you have somebody with you. We are getting out of here, ASAP.”

There was the briefest of paused from Flitter as she nodded and shot him a salute. “Yes sir.” Her enthusiasm was blunted when Jack scowled hard and set his helmet back down on his head.

“Don't you dare salute me again, until I deserve it.” Sitting down heavily in the tram, Jack informed the runners of the destination as Flitter cast a concerned glance to Taven. The bat pony shrugged weakly, seemingly as lost about the snappy response as she was. Not a word was further spoken as the tram rattled downwards again, and only a brief nod was shared as Flitter and Taven disembarked the tram to collect the rest of the unit.

It took some time to gather everything that was needed, but thankfully, the unit was restocked and waiting at the train station at 11pm. The station was oddly empty, save for the stray boxes of ammunition that JSOG was running off with. As Flitter opened her mouth to ask when the train was coming, she heard the shrill whistle coming from the other end of the station. With all eyes shifting, the unit watched as the forty car cargo train steamed upwards. The engine was a true monster, nearly the size of a tractor trailer and coated in thick steel plates. Thin slits served as view ports and machinegun barrels jutted out at odd angles. As he waved his unit on to the security cars that separated the cargo cars, Jack began to mentally take notes on the train. It was quite long, so focusing his forces on a handful of cars wouldn't get him the desired effect. However, every ten cars sat a flat bed car that housed an flak cannon and a miniature firebase covered in steel and sand bags. Each security car housed four machineguns, and the engine had an emplaced cannon mounted on its nose for clearing the tracks of belligerents.

Yelling out placements, Jack decided to focus a good quarter of his forces, including Flitter, at the engine of the train. If boarders wanted to stop the train rather than destroy it, that's where they'd do it. After that, he split his remaining forces into thirds, and left each in the command of Taven, Minerva, and himself. Naturally, he would cover the rear.

The train security captain seemed relieved to see a large force of heavily armed, well trained friendlies clambering on, while others looked considerably miffed about the idea. There were some quiet mutterings about subpar ponies, but they were few and far between.

“There's radios at each cannon, so we'll all stay in touch.” Flitter started as she checked over her gear again. She'd personally picked her squad for this, and she trusted them to get the job done. Jack's squad was by far the smallest of them all.

“I've got Mythic. I'll keep my ears open.” Jack rumbled at them, before sending each of them off to their allotted locations.

As the clock ticked down to midnight, the mood in the train began to foul somewhat, as the operatives claimed their places and hunkered down. They were expecting a rough fight, and it didn't bode well for anybody else on the train.

With a howl of steam, the engine blew it's whistle and slowly began pulling out of the station with it's explosive cargo in tow. All beings onboard remained deathly silent as the armoured train slowly picked up speed and exited the city through a pair of large, open gates. The gates closed behind them as the last car slipped through, and the darkened city soon fell behind in the dark.

Making full steam forward, the engine began to pick up speed, just as the opening shots were fired above the city. Momentary flashes of light were accompanied by rolling banks of thunder as shells flew both ways. Soon, the entire night sky was ablaze, and Jack was moving away from it.

Seated on a pile of sandbags, Jack idly twirled a cigarette between his fingers and watched the light show with his small squad. Turning her head toward him, Baron was the first to break the silence. “Can we go somewhere tropical soon?”

Covering the flame with his armoured hand, Jack light his cigarette and puffed for a moment, before hiding the cherry. “Sure.” He said with an exhale of smoke through his ruined cheek. “I'll send a letter to king dipshit and tell him to invade a beach next week.”

As Baron smirked, Mythic perked up and tuned his comms. “All squads report no contact. Staying dark.”

Jack nodded his approval as he took another puff. Simoh simply sat nearby, staring off at the battle. They were watching the opening minutes of the battle that would decide all of their fates, and only a few knew it.

The train picked up speed as it entered the flats, and soon the battle became flashes of light on the clouds in the distance. The rumble of artillery became lost to the rushing wind as the train trundled away.

Still with no contacts to speak of, Jack and his squad hunkered down to take cover from the biting cold wind, and share some tea that a Stalliongrader had brewed in the caboose. “Looks like they didn't spot us.” Mythic noted idly as he sipped his tea.

“Yet…” Jack added darkly as he touched at his facial wound.

“Come on Jack, we're bound for some kind of good luck one of these days.” Baron sank into her seat and finished her tea.

Jack simply grunted as he ground the cigarette butt against his boot heel. “Believe it when I see it.” He glanced over toward the mare approaching them, wearing a Stalliongrader's army uniform and bearing the markings of a sergeant. “Need something, Sergeant?” Jack stared down the approaching pony as they sat down next to him, and wordlessly slid a letter to him. With his expression turning to one of curiosity, Jack unfolded the letter and read what it had to say in the low light.

Sir Kessle, I am Agent Orange, of Omega Hive. The train has been infiltrated by Chrysalis hive, and they will act soon. Their objective is to kill you, and steal the train for their hive. On your go, I will release a spell that will destroy all disguises .

Jack blinked, and reread the letter, before glancing at the Sergeant. “One moment, please.” Jack asked calmly as he stood and moved over next to Mythic. “JSOG priority channel. Now.”

His trio of subordinates looked to him, then to the Sergeant still seated on the sandbags. Mythic didn't need much convincing. Dialing it in, he offered the horn to Jack. “Sir.”

Grabbing the radio, Jack made a broadcast to all of his units. “All JSOG, listen up. Guns up, we've got bugs.” Handing back the receiver, Jack stood and checked the action of his weapon as he looked toward the cannon crew. “Now, Orange.” A feeling of uneasiness passed through him like a breeze, only for nothing to happen. The rearmost cannon crew shivered slightly, but remained unchanged. Furrowing his brow, Jack cast a glance back toward Agent Orange and his squad. He made the swift realization that the spell had indeed worked, as Baron sat next to Mythic without a disguise on.

Smiling faintly, Mythic looked over to attempt to comfort Baron for her shivering, Mythic let out a yelp of terror and fell off the sandbag seat. Baron stared at him in confusion, before glancing to Jack, and then to the newcomer. Her hackles rise immediately as she saw that the newcomer was a changeling. Her gun barrel rose, only to be stopped by Jack. He shook his head at her, just as yells of surprise echoed through the train, only to be followed by rattling gunfire.

“Come on JSOG, up and at em.” Jack shouldered his carbine and waved to the cannon crew. “It's changelings! Hold your position and don't let anyone close! We need this cannon operational!” The crew seemed rattled by the sudden gunfire, but at Jack authoritative bark, they hardened and dug in. “Simoh, up top. Mythic, report rear cannon secure. Baron, front and behind me.” His squad leapt to, and the agent smiled as his brilliant orange carapace shimmered in the nightlight.

“They've only got a few infiltrators in the city, Omega Hive has them dealt with. We only have these to worry about.”

Jack shot the changeling a grin. “Glad to know you guys are still on our side.”

“We're on the side of freedom. Let us move, they will destroy the train if they can't capture it.” The claim was punctuated by an explosion further ahead, and the intensified rattle of gunfire.

Lowering his face shield, Jack led the push into the next car, where an entire squad of security sat waiting. A dozen sets of glowing changeling eyes turned toward Jack as he stood in the doorway.

“There he is.”

Jack shoved Baron to cover as he backpedalled and dozens of rounds shattered against his chest. The enchantment in his mithral breastplate glowed, and released a pulse of energy that saw the light rounds breaking against his shielded chest as he dove for cover. The incoming fire ripped apart the back end of the train as the changelings put down suppressive fire.

“Baron, Flashbang!”

Jack's roared order had the changeling rise from behind her sandbag cover. Moments later, her horn glowed, and a ball of light arced through an open window. Brilliant light blasted from the security car as Jack barreled through the door and opened fire. His squad pushed in around him, firing on the blinded changelings as they hissed and howled. The attack seemed to be going well as they cleared the first security car without any casualties. Any momentum they carried with them however, was stolen away when Jack breached the next door and took a fusillade of fire for his efforts. Withdrawing as the withering fire pummeled him across his body, Jack yelled in pain as a round deflected across the bottom of his face shield and punched into his right shoulder at the base of his neck.

“GAH, FUCK! Fucking sonuva bitch!” Sticking to cover, Jack waved his squad down as the enemy fire blasted away at the car. “Fuck! Mythic! Call for backup, we're pinned down here!”

“Yes sir!” Mythic yelled over the whistling rounds. Pulling himself over the sandbags, Mythic found his dials tweaked from the sudden movements. Cursing under his breath, he began rapidly redialing the squad frequency. “This is Havoc squad, we're pinned down by superior fire in the rear car, we have injured! Can anybody assist?!”

At the other end of the train, Flitter heard the multiple requests for backup over the radio set, and each one drove a pin into her. They'd been ambushed, and if somebody didn't do something soon, people would die. Setting her jaw, Flitter checked her rifle, before turning to her squad. “I want two in the engine. We don't stop for anything, and nobody gets in unless they know the countersign. The rest of you, breaching formation! We've got family to pull out of the fire!”

The soldiers around her nodded, and swiftly got into position to clear the first car. They weren't going to slack now. They weren't going to let her down.

Breaching the first car, Flitter was thankful when she saw nothing but furry faces and gun barrels poking at them. “Friendlies! JSOG, move up and prep for the next car!” Flitter and her squad began moving by as the stalliongraders stared at them.

“What is going on? We hear shooting!”

Pausing only for a moment as her leads took position, Flitter spoke to the draft stallion who had spoken to her. “Changelings infiltrated the train before it left, we have squads pinned down, and believe most of the cannons to be in their hooves.”

The huge stallion muttered a mild curse. “We help. Lead us.”

Blinking somewhat in surprise, Flitter was smart enough to not show her reaction. “I need extra bodies protecting the engine, no matter what happens, this train doesn't stop for anything. We're headed toward the back to relieve our squads. Anybody coming with us is going to be under fire, so I'm only taking volunteers.”

The large stallion shrugged, before checking his dual machinegun battle-saddle. “I volunteer.” The stallion scowled somewhat as the rest of his squad opted to protect the engine.

“What's your name, Private?”

“I am Marvich Hold.”

Smirking, Flitter nodded to the stallion. “Welcome aboard. JSOG, breach!”

Flitter's squad breached forward, clearing each car with surgical precision. The rangers had been fighting and training for years, the changelings had been born a year ago. While the changelings held superior numbers, their lack of training blunted them, allowing Flitter to flex her tactical know-how as she directed her squad to attack from all angles and leave no survivors. Her squad was more than happy to oblige her, and their lightning attack tactics saw nobody eating an undue bullet.

“Car clear!” Her point mare called out as they dropped the last changeling. The numbers were beginning to thin, and often they would find cars empty, save for bodies. It was a small force, perhaps thirty or so of soldiers who had been smuggled in, and ten infiltrators. They'd killed three infiltrators so far, while they'd been trying to sabotage the weapons shipments.

“Next car is a cannon car, Sergeant Varenikov’s squad should be here!” Opening the door, Flitter ducked as a round nipped over and clipped her ear short. “Ahh! Friendly fire, friendly fire! Blue on blue!”

“Blue on blue! A voice yelled ahead. “Phoenix!”

Holding a hoof to her bleeding ear, Flitter yelled the countersign of “Arizona! God dammit that hurts, sonuva bitch…”

“Hold fire, it's the Lieutenant!”

To Flitter's relief, Taven's voice sounded next. “Flitter, get your ass in here!”
Without arguing, Flitter and her squad piled into the security car where the second squad was held up. The car was plugged full of holes, and a few of the troopers were bloody. Spirits rose sharply as the squad's were reunited, and Taven breathed a sigh of relief. “Damn me if I'm not glad to see you, Flitter! Our situation was fubar for a moment there. Sorry about the ear.”

Waving a hoof at him, Flitter hid her wince as her ear pulsed painfully. “Flesh wound. Give me a sitrep.”

As Taven nodded and began to speak, Flitter's new recruit sat down and effortlessly pulled Flitter into his lap. “You are injured.” Flitter's cheeks went a vibrant red as the squad stared on as the huge stallion began carefully treating her clipped ear. Doing her damndest to keep herself silent, Flitter simply stared at Taven and listened to his report.

“Our cannon is down. The explosion damn near took us all out. We've had probing attacks every five minutes, and every time we stick our heads out, we eat bullets. Thankfully, no real wounds yet, just a few close calls and some big bruises. No word from Minerva's squad though, I'm worried.”

Wincing as Marvich bandaged her ear, Flitter scowled. “Okay, get on the radio and let first squad know we've reached you. We'll press on and link up with Minerva, then pull the pressure off Jack.” Taven nodded, and immediately began to rouse the squad from their hunkered positions. Looking to the draft stallion whose lap she was pulled deep into, Flitter cleared her throat to get his attention. “You could have told me you were a medic.”

“You did not ask.”

Grunting lightly, Flitter could only wait for him to finish with her ear. “See to the others if they get hit. Come on.” Squirming and fluttering her way out of the private's lap, Flitter took the lead again, and had her squad breach the next car.

Meeting them was a firing squad, that began to douse them with bullets and magic lances. Flitter barely ducked her head in time as a beam of magic shot by her head and struck the wall of the car. Her squad opened fire, beginning the short exchange. The fight ended when the pair of pegasi with the squad jumped from the windows and landed on the next car. The changelings now trapped in a crossfire, their planned ambush fell apart and saw them shredded like paper under the controlled fire of Flitter's soldiers.

“Check the bodies then move up!”

The order saw a number of bayonets mounted, and the fallen changelings run through, before the squad stacked up and prepared to carry on.

They could hear firing up ahead, and thumping hooves on the roof of the car. As Flitter raised a hoof to order her squad to fire, one of the enemies on the roof fell suddenly, and slid off the side. Several others followed suite, and seemingly the changeling soldiers saw a better plan of re-entering the train car, only to find Flitter's squad waiting for them. Quick, professional bursts of fire saw an end to the soldiers, and gave Flitter reason to smile. “Simoh is still firing, that means Jack's squad is still holding on! Let's move it! Nobody else dies today!”

The fighting became swift and brutal as JSOG surged through the train cars, executing any changeling found. To Flitter's relief, she found that some few Stalliongraders hadn't been killed outright. Many were simply wounded, captured, or knocked unconscious. The changelings had struck hard and fast, likely with the hopes of carrying their momentum forward and taking the entire train before anybody was wiser. They evidently weren't expecting to be fighting well organised resistance.

That point was made moot when Flitter's squad reached the third cannon car. The cannon had been destroyed, and the resulting explosion had killed the crew and some of Minerva's squad. The car itself was a burning wreck that was firmly in the hold of the changelings. Before they could begin to search for survivors, the squad came under fire, and the stallion closest to Flitter fell with a grunt as a slug slammed into him.

“COVER COVER! FIND COVER!”

Grabbing the groaning stallion by his vest's drag strap, Flitter yanked the injured soldier back into cover as her unit gave covering fire. Marvich came galloping forward, ignoring the fire that whizzed and snapped over him. Crouching behind the sandbags only made his situation moderately better as a round plinked off his heavy steel helmet. Once she was sure her wounded were in good hooves, Flitter took command again.

“Chesty, put a rifle grenade into that door! Myers, follow with a smoke! Diamond formation, heavies in the front!”

The moment her order finished, a rifle grenade impacted the car door on the opposite side and blew the steel construct off its hinges. The smoke grenade followed, and quickly began choking the hostile car with thick smoke as the air pushed it all back. JSOG surged forward again, firing in controlled bursts. The heavies had the best armour, and close assault guns. Once they were through the doors, the enemy lasted the time it took for four belt fed shotguns to put twenty rounds down range. Five shells each had been generous, Flitter found when she approached. The changelings had cracked open a royal guard arms box, and had opened up on them with squad automatic weapons.

“Check for survivors!”

“Lieutenant! We found them!”

Flitter perked at the call from the car the heavies had cleared, and galloped over to see. To her relief, it was Minerva and her squad, alive and mostly intact. They were trapped by changeling mucus, and couldn't move a muscle. They were all unconscious, but breathing. “Get them cut free, and Marv up here! We'll pull the wounded in here and move on! Let's go people!”

As her soldiers cut the others free, Taven bumped Flitter's side with his flank. When she looked over toward him, he motioned her off to the side. “Flitter, have you looked at these changelings?”

Furrowing her brow, Flitter shook her head. “No, just shooting them. Why?”

“They've got markings. These are just drones, only a few we've been fighting have been soldiers or infiltrators.”

He certainly had her attention now. “Okay… so what does that mean for us?”

“Either the Stalliongraders got themselves taken down by a bunch of drones, or the soldiers went somewhere. And considering they managed to pin Jack down…”

A hard scowl pressed from Flitter's features. “But where did they go?”

Taven shrugged lightly as he reloaded his rifle. “I haven't the foggiest. Though I'm sure we'll find out real soon. Cone on, Jack won't save himself.”

“He did say he was a princess…”

Snorting and smiling, Taven shook his head. “The princess of alcohol, tobacco, and firearms.”

“We should change his callsign to Princess Trouble.” Flitter muttered with a barely withheld giggle.

“Hah, I would have figured you'd want to call him Princess Hotstuff, considering the huge ladyboner you have for him.” Taven grinned as Flitter went beet red and huffed indignantly. “I'm teasing.”

Flitter failed to scowl at the Batpony. “Jackass. Come on, let's get going.” Turning back to her group, Flitter took back on her leading officer role as if nothing had changed. “Alright! Five volunteers to keep the wounded safe! The rest of you, stack up with me!”

Despite the incoming fire having stopped some time ago, Jack knew better than to stick his head up and investigate whether the enemy changelings were still alive or not. He'd learned that lesson very quickly when one of them had almost taken his head off. He and his squad were pretty well pinned, but the enemy couldn't approach them either. Those who had tried still steamed on the deck of the car as the heat escaped their corpses.

So, with some time to talk, Jack took the chance to chat up the agent who had given them the chance to fight. “So, Agent Orange. Did you just find out about the infiltrators, or was this something your hive's been sitting on for awhile?”

The agent glanced up with his vibrant orange eyes. “We've known of the infiltrators for close to three months, and have been keeping track of them. Our attempts to warn the crown were intercepted, and our messenger to the Lord Commander was hung.”

Wincing in sympathy, Jack set his jaw and sighed. “My condolences. Why didn't the crown respond?”

“We suspect that our messages are being intercepted, so I was sent to deliver them myself.” He patted the hardcase strapped to his side. “It's simple luck I got onto this train the same time their infiltrators did. Glad you were here, otherwise I'm sure my warning would have been worthless.”

Nodding, Jack carefully peeked out from over cover, only to duck back down again as a burst nipped over the top of his helmet. “Yep, still there. Well, Agent Orange, who is 'we’.”

The changeling smiled mildly toward Jack. “The OOSS. Or rather, the Omega Office of Secret Services. We work closely with Equestria's intelligence office.”

“Equestria has an intelligence office?” Jack asked idly.

Orange simply grunted in exasperation. “Shocking, I know. Considering the number of calamities that befall them, you would believe that they would have invested in it by now, or at least stopped sending untrained ponies with special powers to solve potentially devastating events. But, I suppose, that is what they have you and your team for now. I've read your file. It is rather impressive.”

“It's nice to get recognition from people who don't want anything.” Jack said with a light smile, before glancing over to his squadmates. “How you guys holding up?”

Peeking around the sandbags, Mythic waved a little toward him. “We're all good here, Jack. How's your arm?”

“Fucked. I'm in for another session with the docs it seems. Hey Simoh! How are we looking up top?”

The griffon was perched on top of the cannon, his rifle barrel resting upon the large muzzle. He didn't move a muscle. “They have stopped coming.”

Humming lightly, Jack sat in silence for a moment, before grinning and shouting toward the enemy occupied car. “Hey! You assholes up front!”

There was a brief pause, before a chitinous voice sounded. “Have you decided to surrender, Destroyer?”

“Nah, how about you surrender?”

“We are the favoured sons of queen Chrysalis, we will not surrender!”

Grinning to himself as Agent Orange watched him curiously, Jack carried on. “Oh, you mean the queen whose head I took off as she was trying to run away like a little bitch?”

“Mother was not retreating!” The voice swiftly yelled back.

“Really? I mean, I dunno, I was there, and all she did was send you idiots to your deaths and cry, like a biiiiiiiitch.”

“You will pay for your transgressions against our Queen!”

“Eheh eheheheheh…” Jack grinned as he grabbed his borrowed carbine with his left hand. “Why don't you come over here and punish me then? Come on, I'll be gentle! I'll only fuck you as hard as I fucked your mother and hive!”

Behind him, Baron coughed and giggled. “Holy fuck, Jack.”

The enemy changelings were obviously getting worked up, he could hear their little wings buzzing wildly in the next car. “You did no such thing!”

“Oh baby, did I ever fuck your momma! I fucked her so hard she exploded, and I'll fuck you too! Come on, I know you're a fuckboy! Come to daddy!”

“That's it! I'm tired of waiting, let us kill this monster and be done!” Chittering voices began sounding, and Jack heard somebody loaded for bear charging across the decking. His squad opened fire, dropping the changeling soldier without issue.

“Wow, like a little bitch, just like his ugly ass momma.” Jack grinned. “Any other takers? We've got plenty of high velocity fuckings to hand out over here!”

His psychological warfare was put on hold as the changelings ahead yelled in surprise, and gunfire erupted further on ahead. Realizing that their chance had come, Jack stood and waved his squad forward. Rounds plinked off his armour as Havoc squad pushed forward, and squashed their assailants between themselves and Breaker Squad. Cheers went up as the last changelings fell, and the squads were reunited.

Jack sat down heavily on one of the bullet ridden sandbag barricades and pulled his helmet free to smile at Flitter. “Good to see you, Sparky. Knew I could trust you to give me a hand. What's the situation?”

Sitting down next to him, Flitter breathed a sigh of relief. “Train secured. Seven wounded, one dead. None of the wounds are life threatening. Honeywell was killed by a bomb.”

“Shame… I'll get that letter drafted up tonight. Damn fine work, Flitter.” Jack smiled to her. “And make it eight wounded, I took a bullet.” Going to rub Flitter's ears as she turned to yell at him, Jack spotted the doctor work on her clipped ear.

At the same time, they both spoke “What the fuck did you do to yourself?!” They stared at each other incredulously for a moment, before both speaking the same line again. “I got shot, what-”

As the pair began to interrupt and argue with each other, Taven simply shook his head and chuckled. “Lovebirds.” He muttered softly to himself with a smile, before turning his attention to the huge draft pony medic. “Only one wounded here. We all good back there?”

Marvich simply nodded once. “Da. Keep safe in engine with others. Sun rise.” The stallion pointed off toward the horizon, where the sun was breaking dawn. Taven had a single moment to enjoy the sight of dawn across the snowy plains, before somebody yelled.

“IMPERIAL CORVETTE!”

All eyes followed the hoof, and found an imperial corvette keeping pace with the train, and the unit of changelings who were enroute to board the train again. The cannon crew yelled at each other, and began scrambling to man their weapon while JSOG moved to intercept the changelings.

The corvette's guns spoke, and the cannon exploded before its shot could be fired. The concussive boom launched Jack over his unit and through the wall, while the shrapnel drove the others to cover.

Orders were being yelled as Jack tried to regain his bearings. The world span and shrieked in his ears, plunging his mind back into places it had no right being. The train was replaced with stretching sand dunes, and an army patrol under fire.

“MEDIC!” Flitter screamed as Jack lay on the decking of the car.

“They're landing right on top of us! Watch the sides!”

“Look out!”

“Simoh, hit the leader!”

“Hit and deflect! Shield!”

“Cover! Cover! Take cover!”

“The hell is he wearing!?”

“A mask! That's an Order mask! All guns fire on the leader, don't let him-”

The pulse of blue energy washed outwards from the changeling with the mask, and poured over the squad. The yelling stopped, and all gunfire ceased. JSOG stood down as the agents of Order marched toward them.

In Jack's mind, he wasn't on a speeding train under fire from Imperials. He was on his back, and his blood was pooling under him. His breath hitched in his throat as he fought for each breath. He could hear the gunfire of his squad. His squad was fighting and dying, all because he'd made a mistake. This was all his fault. They would die because of him. He would be tortured, and his life would end, and it would be all his-

“Stop with that monologue shit!” A voice yelled near him. A familiar voice; one belonging to somebody he'd loved and killed. Hands shook him until his vision swam back. Mark Volk was looking down on him, and grinning. “Wakey wakey, Havoc. Come on, up and attem.”

Bullets were whizzing by overhead, but none seemed to strike Mark as Jack took his hand and was pulled up. As he was lifted off the sand, he made the happy discovery that he hadn't lost his legs after all. “I… I don't understand…”

Mark grinned, flashing his unnaturally long canines. “We're inside your head. You're having a flashback.”

Jack blinked at his friend as the gunfire died down. “I… I am? I… yeah… yeah, okay.” He looked around, and saw the inside of his mind. All around him was war. Great plumes of oily black smoke rose in the distance, and black oasis's littered the desert. The army convoy was parked on the road, and upon closer inspection, he began to recognize the faces of those within it.

They were all dead men and women; humans and ponies and griffons alike. They were people he'd know. People he'd served with. People he'd failed.

“Yeah, seems that I wasn't joking when I said you had a lot of dead people in your head. It's getting crowded in here.” Mark chuckled as he rocked on his heels, while a woman Jack didn't recognise left the convoy and approached where they stood. She was tall, and wearing full plate mail. Her head was uncovered, revealing heavily tanned and regal features, and a head of intricately braided raven hair. Mark glanced over his shoulder and grinned at the woman. “Sammy! Good to see you, how-”

“Be silent, foul trickster.” The woman walked passed Mark, until she was before Jack. Her features softened, and she gently took Jack's hand. “Hello Father.”

Jack's expression immediately went from curiosity to horror. “What.”

The woman smiled softly, and released his hand. “I am Samhain. You had life breathed into me, gave me power from your own body. You are father.”

“O-okay…” Jack blinked and tried to make sense of it all. “I-”

“Right!” Mark clapped his hands together. “Now that you've met your tooth baby pig-sticker, I should probably tell you that shit is fucked.”

Furrowing his brow, Jack looked toward Mark. “Then talk. You had to drag me into my own head for a reason.” As Mark jerked a thumb over his shoulder, Jack swiftly found the answer to his question. A wall of brilliant blue wall of flame was flooding across the warzone, drowning everything in it's path. It was headed straight for him, like a fiery tsunami with a target. “The fuck is that…”

“That, my mentally abused friend, is Jalgromak.”

Jack jerked at the name. “That's WHAT!? What the fuck is a dead god doing in my goddamn head!?”

Snorting in amusement, Mark gestured toward himself. “What, besides me? Well, it's because one of his little disciples used a power fragment to subjugate the entire train. You were just dumb enough to get knocked unconscious.”

The tidal wave of fire Order was bearing down on them, and now was so tall it blotted out the searing desert sun. It was beginning to take on a humanoid form as it surged down. Jack cursed softly. “This is it…”

“Oh don't be so melodramatic. Watch.” Mark smirked as they all watched the god descend upon them, only to impact an invisible barrier face first. The god's watery head bounced, and a metallic tonk resounded. Mark snorted and began laughing as Jack stared on in shock. “And there's the titanium skull cap! Get fucked! Ahahahaha!”

“Wait… he's a god, and he can't get in through a few millimetres of titanium?” Jack couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity. “What a shitty god!”

His statement only brought another bought of enthused laughter from Mark. “Well, yeah! I mean, think about it. That tree you smoked when you were sixteen has saved your ass like, three times.” With that statement, Jack actually put thought on how one bad decision he made when he was sixteen had resulted in his life being saved numerous times. “Anyways, with myself, and Sammy in here, plus all these dead fucks, there's no way he can get in. Wanna go heckle him?” Mark gestured toward the dead god who continued to slam his power against the unbreakable barrier of titanium.

“This would be the fourth time now.” Jack mused idly before asking “Why doesn't he just go around?” He muttered as he began to tread toward the god.

“It's magic. Finicky and tricky is in the bolded text. Its gotta go through the forehead.” Mark tapped his own, where the bullet hole was. “That's how Dominate works.”

Samhain pushed forward, stepping between Jack and Mark. “Father, do not accept any terms Jalgromak makes to you.”

Nodding to the warrior at his side, Jack turned his attentions toward the god outside his mind. “Hey! Jalgromak!” The god immediately turned its attentions toward Jack.

“Who dares speak my forging name?”

“Me, Jackass. Now fuck off! We're full!” Jack flipped off Jalgromak, who simply stared at him with his featureless head.

“You are the interloper. Champion of Chaos. I will cleanse you from this world, along with my brother and his children. You can not stop me.”

Jack scrunched up his features. “So… so, what? You come back, and your master plan is to just cleanse the world of all life?”

“I will remove my brother's filth, and begin anew. You are all diseased, imperfect things. I will rid my world of you. I will create perfection.”

Smirking as if amused, Jack shook his head. “You know, normally it's a case of people trying to stop gods from coming back, because it'll mean certain doom, not the gods already being back and still needing others to do the dirty work. Let me guess, feeling a little impotent? They've got pills for that.”

“HAH!” Mark slapped his thigh as he laughed. “Bam, classic! This is why I chose you as a host, your shit talking is top tier, Jack. Bravo!”

“You can not stop me. I am a son of flame, you are a son of clay. The son of fire will never fear the son of clay.” The god stood tall, and towered above them, before simply disappearing.

Growling at the vanished god, Jack clenched his fists. “Mark, send me back up. I've got some ass to kick.”

Mark grinned back at him. “Aye aye, Cap’n. Go kick some of that ass for me. I'm loving the show.”

“Just keep him out of my head, and I'll give you a real show.” Jack paused, as he felt a plated hand take his own.

“I stand ready, Father.” Samhain was standing by his side, and the closeness gave him a sense of security.

Patting her hand, Jack closed his eyes. “Get ready, then. I've only got one arm that works, and the eye on that side is gone.”

He had expected a lurch, or some feeling of change when he was sent back to the waking world. He almost held his eyes closed for another moment, but didn't when he heard voices he didn't recognise.

“Our lord will be pleased with this bounty. This group alone has been a thorn in our side for too long.”

“Indeed, Scion.”

Jack cracked open an eye, and looked about. He was on his back, and unsecured. The train had stopped, and the imperial corvette was practically on top of them. He saw the others standing at attention; wisps of blue smoke tainted the edges of their eyes, and not one of them moved against the changelings that were standing before them. They were under Order's control. A furious spark light within Jack's chest. More of his family had been turned against him. He was out numbered, thirty to one, but his target was standing directly in front of him.

Clenching his teeth, Jack pushed himself up, which drew the changeling's attention. The lead changeling was an odd one, somewhat taller than his fellows, and wearing a ball mask made of ivory and azure stone. The changeling regarded him for a moment. “So the Destroyer lives. Xerox's ally will be happy for this.”

“Indeed, Scion. We have turned him to our cause.”

The tall scion approached Jack, and the eyes of the mask glowed menacingly. “Wait- GURK-” The scion gasped as Jack slammed his blade through his chest. The blade jutted out from his back, it's blade singing in the slick blood of his enemy.

Leaning in as the scion’s orderly gawked in shock, Jack grinned. “When you meet your God, tell him I said Fuck You.” With a swift wrenching motion, Jack pulled Sammy up through the scion's body, cleaving him in twain. The monomolecular edge of his magical blade cut the mask in half as he cleaved; the two parts fell to the deck with fumes billowing from them as the scion's body twitched and split down the middle. Without a second thought, Jack stomped down on the mask halves.

The explosion of magical power bowled him over before his boot ever touched the mask, and sent him skidding back across the deck. A pulse of blue energy lashed out, causing everybody present to fall to the ground as if they were puppets whose strings had been slashed. Sudden bursts of expletives came from his squad, causing Jack's smile to grow so large it split his stitches and saw him bleeding across his ruined face. The changelings yelled to each other in panic, and began to retreat back toward the corvette that hung above them.

With his unit still trying to gather themselves, Jack wrenched a machinegun free from its mounting, and held it with his one working arm. His long burst of fire deterred any ideas of coming back to the train for the changelings, and served as a wake up call for his unit, who scrambled and found cover.

“What the hell happened!?” Somebody cried out as the train lurched back into action as its engine crew came to.

“UP AND AT EM JSOG!” Jack bellowed at the top of his lungs. The corvette was beginning to position, and until they were at full speed, they'd be at the full mercy of the Imperials aboard it. The changeling flight was still fleeing, and the corvette was bringing its guns to bear. The next cannon in operation was at the other end of the train, so he would have to move fast if he was going to have any chance of saving the train.

Opening his mouth to bellow the order, Jack paused as the corvette opened fire, and shredded the changeling flight. The moment the changelings fell from the sky, the corvette stopped firing, and raised a white flag. Shock struck Jack, before he whooped a yell of victory.

“That's right Jalgromak! Fuck you, and fuck your mind control!”

Author's Notes:

Woo! This one was a haul, let me tell you. Unfortunately, I'm almost finished school, so updates will be coming much, much slower once that happens. I've put out as many as I could in the time frame I had.

I've made a few references in this chapter, let's see if you guys can spot them.