The following hours were a blur of activity to Jack as he was hauled away from the destroyed section of castle, and taken to see a doctor. The castle had nearly devolved into chaos during the changeling attack, and the subsequent brawl between Celestia and Jack. Yuma carried Jack, and was escorted through the twisting halls by Taven and the rest of JSOG. As they travelled, Taven slowly began to notice more than a few solar guards tailing them.

“Minerva.” He spoke low, drawing her attention. “Grab three of ours and pick up the rear.”

Glancing over her shoulder at the guards who trailed them, Minerva slowly looked back to Taven. “Why?”

“Because I've got a bad feeling.” Taven responded quietly as he glanced to the unconscious Jack.

“Didn’t mean like that.” She shot back. “I don't see why we should stop them.”

Shooting her a foul look, Taven fell back. “Baron, Mythic. With me.” The pair glanced at him, then to the guards who were still following them. Without a moment of hesitation, they fell back to his side, and formed a rear guard as the understaffed platoon entered the medical wing. Wounded guards lay among hurt civilians that local hospitals couldn't handle. Upon their entering, the wing almost went quiet as the guards started to glare at Jack, and by extension, the JSOG operatives guarding him.

“We need a doctor here!” Taven called out, but to no avail as all the visible doctors either seemed to become too busy to help, or all but disappeared from sight. Taven's dark disposition turned positively black as his slit eyes darted about, now hunting for someone to demand help from. He swiftly found he didn't need to.

“YOU!” Yuma pointed a massive finger at one of the doctors, causing the stallion to squeak in terror. “You will help, now!”

Angry murmurs spread through the wing, just as the fully armed and armoured Solar guard squad came to a halt at the doors. They remained there, watching, and waiting.

Moving into a separate room, Yuma laid Jack out onto a bed, where his jagged armour tore holes in the sheets. Taven and a few others moved in with the minotaur, herding the doctor in along beside them. Murmurs and mutters passed through the squad as the doctor moved up to Jack's side, and looked him over. “I-I can't… I can't do anything with this armour in the way, I-”

Jack's bloody gauntlet slowly came up, slapping against his armoured collar. He fumbled for the emergency release, and after a moment, his armour hissed and chattered open.

“Oh gods… Jack… what the fuck did they do to you?” Taven asked softly as he looked over Jack's ruined body. Several of the room's occupants stepped back from the smell released by Jack's opened armour. His body was covered in crusty clear medigel scabs, though the torturous wounds were easy to see. Rivulets of sweat cut hard lines through the black filth that caked his body like a second skin made of dirt, dried blood, and soot. His leg wound was still oozing from under the medical sealant, coating his thigh with more blood. On top of it all, was the magical burns from Celestia's magic, which when combined with the tortured filth, nearly turned his pale body black.

The doctor stared at the nude human for a long moment, before turning and sticking his head out the door. “NURSE!”

Still by his side, Yuma took one of Jack's trembling hands within her massive paw. “Who has done this to you, my friend? I will have their heads.”

Letting his head loll back into the collar of his armour, Jack let out a long breath. “nice… to see you too… Yuma…”

The heifer stood awkwardly, still holding his shaking hand. “Y-yes… it is good to see you too. Who-”

“You all need to leave.” The doctor stated loudly as he walked back in with a nurse in tow with a cart.

“Not happening, sir.” Taven said flatly. “Unless we get orders from on high, we're not leaving him alone in here.”

“I can't work with you all crowding me! No harm is going to come to this man under my care, you have my word.” The doctor slowly inserted the IV needle into Jack's arm, though the action hardly earned a fidget from the nearly dead marine.

“It's not you harming him I'm worried about.” Taven muttered darkly as he glanced out the door. “I'm leaving two here to stand guard.”

Baron lifted her head. “I'm in.”

“Me too.” Mythic stepped forward. “We looked after him before, we can hack it.”

“I wish to defend Jack as well.” Yuma stood tall, her pith helmet nearly scraping the roof. “It will be my honor.”

Smiling as best he could despite everything, Taven nodded to the three. “Thank you guys, really. I'm going to find Flitter. Nobody but the docs, JSOG, and royalty enters this room, got it?” Mythic and Baron both nodded, while Yuma came to a crashing salute with her heavy mechanical arm. Without another word, Taven exited the small room, and the rest of JSOG followed him. “Head back to the barracks, guys. I need another volunteer to help me look for the Knight Lieutenant.”

“I was going to any ways.” Minerva spoke flatly toward Taven, before looking to the rangers turned spec ops. “You guys go clean up and get some chow. Be ready if shit comes down the pipe.” The soldiers under her command all nodded, before filing out past the Solar Guards. Glancing back at Taven, Minerva fixed him with a hard stare. “You know after this, some people might question who you're really loyal to. The crown, or the psycho?”

“We're not having this conversation right now, Aegis.” Taven responded gruffly as he trotted toward the gardens.

“Why not, Varenikov?” Minerva continued to hold her gaze on him, though if it bothered the one winged Batpony at all, he didn't show it in the slightest.

Exiting out into the garden grounds, Taven took a long look around, searching through the debris and torn up lawn for any sign of Flitter. “What a mess…” Taven shook his head, before trotting deeper in. “Flitter!” He called out, and soon Minerva did the same. The pair of them continued to call for Flitter, though no signs remained of her. As they searched, Taven came to a slow stop by Jack's massive shotgun as it lay in the grass. Scooping it up, Taven grunted in surprise at how much it weighed. “Sweet Night Mother… damn thing has to weigh twenty pounds…”

“Taven, over here!” Minerva called out, drawing his attention away from the bloody device. He swiftly galloped over to her, and found Flitter leaning heavily against a pillar, panting heavily and looking strained. Beside her was the familiar face of Commander Bulwark.

Petting Flitter's mane, Bulwark nodded to the pair as they approached. “Just keep breathing ma'am. It'll pass.”

“I'm trying…” Flitter growled through clenched teeth, which caused her two sergeants to trade confused glances.

“Are you alright Flitter?” Taven moved forward, looking her over for wounds. Minerva immediately moved up and supported her side.

Bulwark looked up as she continued to pet the younger mare's head. “She'll be fine. She's just coming out of a Ling’ stun.”

“What?” Both Taven and Minerva looked to the commander in confusion. Flitter shuddered against Minerva as they did.

“I guess you two weren't here for the first changeling attack. They've got this magic that they slowly put into the pony they're feeding off of. If their cover gets blown, or something happens, they can stun the pony long enough to escape or kill their target. The Knight Lieutenant here seems to have gotten a pretty bad dose. Any more and she'd be a Ling’ thrall.”

Taven shook his head in disgust. “And we were going to leave that bastard alive…”

“He was a prisoner of war.” Minerva shot back hotly. “Do you have any idea how many laws that damned human broke killing him?”

“I do, actually.” Taven sniped back sharply. “More than you do, I'd wager. And you know what? That damned human is-”

“Enough.” Flitter growled through clenched teeth as sweat dripped from her brow. Spitting onto the stone, Flitter forced herself into her hooves. “Is. He. Alive.”

Bulwark held a hoof out to steady Flitter if she became unbalanced. “Easy, that stun is no joke, we lost a lot of guards to it…”

“I'm fine.” Flitter grunted as she flexed her limbs, before looking up at Minerva and Taven for her answer.

Minerva spoke before Taven had a chance, cutting him off mid word. “Who in particular ma'am? The human or the changeling?”

“Changeling.” Flitter growled furiously as she cracked her neck.

“Dead.” Taven interjected quietly.

“How?”

“Jack.”

Flitter scowled hotly, and muttered under her breath. “Doesn't matter how hard I fight he's always saving my sorry fucking hide…” She looked up to her pair of Sergeants and fixed them with a glare they didn't entirely deserve. “I want to see the body.”

Taven shook his head lightly. “There's not much left-”

“I DON'T CARE!” Flitter bellowed, causing him to flinch in surprise.

Without skipping a beat, Minerva motioned toward the labs with her head. “This way, Flitter. I'll take you to it.”

Not nodding her head, or motioning in any way, Flitter began to march toward the labs like a mare on a mission. Minerva quickly galloped to keep up, while Taven watched them go.

Shaking his head, Taven took a moment to lean against a stone pillar and breath. Commander Bulwark shot him a weak smile as she relaxed across from him. “When it rains, it pours, doesn't it?”

“Yeah… yeah it does.” Taven ran a hoof through his dusty mane, before returning the weak smile to the sturdy mare. “Thanks for looking after her. With everything that happened, I didn't get a chance to stick anyone to her.”

Waving a dismissive hoof, Bulwark smiled a bit more easily. “Don't mention it. I owe you guys as it is.” She looked down, and scuffed one of her armoured hooves against the stone. “When I first met you JSOG lot, I figured you'd be just like every other spec ops pack I'd dealt with before, but you guys are the real deal”

“Well… that's because we're mostly Rangers now. Just as the war broke out, we… lost a lot of ours. Ponies and griffons I'd trained with for a long while when we were first getting set up. Good people.” He sighed softly. “Only four of us left now, Old Guard…”

Wincing in sympathy, Bulwark nudged his side and smiled supportively. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Yeah, actually…”

Storming through the ruined halls toward the labs, Flitter all but ignored the ruin and rubble as she trotted and flew. Minerva was at her side, doing her best to keep pace with her furious superior. Nearing the doors to the main laboratory, Flitter slowed at the sight of the two dead guards, who were now covered by white sheets and attended by Lunar Guards. One of the great oaken doors hung on a single hinge, while the other had been completely blown out into the hall, with a vaguely human shaped indentation marring it's finely stained surface.

The inside of the lab held the remains of the chaos that had unfolded within it. Trickles of blood stained the floor, and soaked into scattered pages of notes. Glass walls were shattered inward and outward, making for a loud approach as Flitter's combat boots crushed the glass. The wounded had been taken away, but they weren't what interested Flitter. What interested Flitter, was the new section of hidden lab, opened right up. Moving inside, Flitter's pace slowed to a complete stop as she slowly scanned the bloody battleground, and the massive machine at the end of the room. Severed limbs and demolished bodies were scattered about, and seemingly random strings of viscera decorated the hanging power cables and equipment like holiday garlands. Her eyes eventually fell upon the remains of the hybrid leader, the one who had taken Jack's identity and taken advantage of her in every way thinkable. Taven hadn't been joking when he'd said there wasn't anything left, and after the double barrel blast, Darneil was lacking a very good portion of his body. He'd all but popped like a meat balloon from the chest downwards, and small shards of shattered bone stuck from the unrecognisable pile of gore. His eyes were still open wide in pain and terror, his jaw dislocated and shattered.

Trotting over, Flitter pushed Darneil's lifeless head up, and pulled at his ragged t-shirt. Pulling Jack's dogtag from the corpse, she glared hotly at the Changeling, before turning to leave. She stopped when Minerva nudged her, and motioned with her head toward the machine. Sitting by the control console with his head thoroughly buried in his hooves, was Field Note.

Slowly trotting across the room, Flitter looked him over as she approached. His white lab coat had a massive blood stain across the front, and his hooves were equally matted with the stuff. She watched as he shivered, and tears fell silently to the stone floor.

“Field?”

Her voice ripped him from whatever hole he had mentally hidden in, and he yelped in surprise. “Flitter! W-what are you… what do you want?” His voice was thick with emotion, and his slitted eyes were puffy pink.

“I'm wondering what you're doing.” She responded softly, but without a hint of inflection.

“I'm just…” He gestured weakly to the ruin around him. “Trying to think where it all went wrong…” He let out a shuddering sigh as he looked back down at his hooves. “Toasty is…” he swallowed thickly. “They shot her… and these FUCKING ASSHOLES!” Field yelled in agony. “They said they were going to send her to a vet, because the hospital was full, because of Jack. She's going to die in a vets office, alone, because I have to make sure nothing damaged this stupid fucking machine… she's all I have…”

Flitter's eyes went up to the massive machine, and it's colossal metal ring. “What… is this machine?”

Field scoffed weakly. “The machine makes a portal to Earth.” Flitter's attention snapped to him as her mouth fell open in shock. “You're surprised… of course you're surprised… didn't you ever wonder why a pony whose only scientific merits are human related, would be stuck in a lab that had nothing to do with humans?” He shook his head. “I was going to be the first explorer too. Well, me and a few hoof picked guards. We even have these lovely little talismans that turn you human, thanks to changeling magic and zebra alchemy! I was going to venture into the hellscape that bastard calls home, and bring everything I could back. But now he knows, and everything is just… Fucked.”

Flitter stared in terrified awe at the machine, her early emotions all but forgotten in the face of such a revelation. With the revelation, came realization after realization. Slowly, her awe lessened, and grew to anger. “You kept this a secret, from all of us… from me and Jack… Field-”

“I followed orders!” Field screamed back at her. “And the only thing I regret is ever approaching you in that damned forest! I should have left Jack to Maltenics, and you to your old life! But I just had to approach you. You were beautiful, and you had a mystery, and I just couldn't fucking keep my stupid fucking nose out of it… I fell in love with you, only to be outdone by a damned human…”

“Field…” Flitter started as Minerva cast a sideways glance at her. “I never loved you. I would have never loved you back. You were my friend, but you tried to force me down a path I never wanted to walk to begin with. You lied to me, and you lied to my best friend, and I don't know if I'll ever forgive you for it.” Turning away, she started for the doors, just as he spoke.

“You're going back to him, aren't you?”

She didn't bother looking over her shoulder as she walked. “I'm going to get Toasty the doctor she deserves. Goodbye, Field.”

It was the sounds that called to him first. The sound of breathing, slow and steady, the beep of machines, the soft murmur beyond a wall somewhere. Then the smells came to him. The smell of antiseptic, fresh linens, and flowers. The flowers smelled so familiar, so close to his memories, they awoke his sense of feeling next. Pain. Pain was what he felt. The feeling of cotton sheets tangled in his metal legs, the feeling of tubes and wires and machines plugged into him, all a whisper under the intense pain that shit through his nervous system like a bolt of lightning.

The pain of being alive.

His brain was kicked into gear by the pain that caused his left hand to vibrate, and his shoulder to ache. The pain that bit at his thighs, right where metal met flesh. His brain wondered why he was alive; tried to piece together the fragments of memory left behind by insanely powerful combat stimulants. Slowly, things pieced together inside his head, leaving only one thing for him to do.

With great effort, he opened his eye.

A very familiar ceiling met his gaze, and earned a nearly silent groan from him. Near the foot of the bed, he heard something rustle against the sheets. He swiftly realized he couldn't move his legs. With all of his concentrated will, he forced himself up onto his elbows, and earned great spears of pain in his chest for his efforts. However, for his suffering, he found the answer he seeked. A thin girl in a hospital gown was curled up over his legs, like a puppy.

For a brief moment, his mind betrayed him, and all he saw was a powerful woman with short mousy hair that his heart ached for.

“Ada?” He asked softly, his voice barely a rasp. As he reached out to the girl, his mind snapped back into the present, and he found himself running his fingers through long raven hair. “Toast…”

The girl softly chirruped, lifting her head at the sound of her name. She looked at him with dull eyes, as if waiting for him to decide what to do with her.

Beckoning softly, he slowly pulled the girl up to his side on the bed. Toast chirped weakly as she nuzzled against him, her hospital gown crinkling quietly. With slow, careful movements, he wrapped an arm around her head, and pulled her in for an incredibly needed hug.

As he held the injured girl close, Jack slowly awoke, and began to scan the room he was in. Standing against the left wall was his armour; it's surface a pitted, scarred mess of melted plates, blood, and burns. Near the door stood Yuma, the heifer appeared to have nodded off, as her mouth hung open, and a soft snore came from her lips. To his right, were the ponies he knew he could trust. The pain in his chest seemed to alleviate as he looked over Taven, Baron, Mythic, and Flitter. They all seemed to be asleep, leaning against each other for unconscious support.

A part of his head started yelling at him, demanding he get up, throw on his exo-skeleton and armour, and march his happy ass to the giant teleporter the princess had made. The little voice was squashed when Toast whimpered slightly, and pressed a hand against her belly. He was instantly gifted with a memory long lost to time, of a little sister in pain, and a song his own mother had sung for him when the world was brighter and kinder.

Reaching over to grab the glass of water that sat on the bedside table, Jack took a long drink from it, before tipping what was left into Toast’s parched lips. Once the glass was empty, he set it aside, and slowly pulled her into his lap. Cradling her close, he rested his cheek on the top of her head, and let his memory come to his lips.

Toast chirped softly and she nuzzled her face into his chest as he slowly stopped singing, and switched to a stilted hum. Soon, he was unable to carry on, as his hums turned to coughs, and the coughs turned into liquid agony inside his chest.

As he tried to keep his coughs as quiet as possible, he felt a muzzle press against his hand. Looking to it, he found Flitter looking up at him with pained eyes. Giving his hand a nuzzle, she pulled herself in close, and carried on where he couldn't.

With Toast lulled back into a gentle sleep, Jack slowly let his head slump to the right, until it rested against Flitter's. She nuzzled him back softly, her flesh and metal hooves wrapping around his barrel. “I'm so sorry Jack… I should have known… I should have seen it…”

He slowly shook his head as he set his shaking hand over her metal one. “Don't… please… no more… apologies…” He squeezed his eye shut as a new wave of pain swept over him for a moment. “Your leg…” He slowly opened his eye again as he brushed his shivering fingers against the metal and plastic.

“I guess we're even more alike now, huh?” She spoke softly and stayed still, as as to not disturb his head, or the small girl curled up at the side of the bed. “It… it was bad… the siege, I mean…” Nodding softly, he gripped her hoof a little tighter, before falling asleep again. Flitter sat for a long while, listening to his laboured breaths come in easier and steadier. After what felt like hours, she breathed deeply, and pushed him up into a more comfortable resting position. “I'll get you home, Jack. I promise.”

It had been weeks since the brawl between Celestia and Jack, and the castle still bore the scars of it. Shaking her head at her own folly, Celestia continued to trot toward the operations center that was housed near the southern section of the castle, just over the cliff edge. A complement of five Coming Dawn operatives accompanied her at all times now, since the nearly successful assassination attempt by the changeling hybrids. That little situation only served to mock Celestia further, as she was keenly aware Jack had saved her life while JSOG had been firing on him, under her orders. In fact, if it hadn't been for his timely intervention, it was likely that the assassination would have been successful, and the hybrids could have escaped with the chaos core. It was a setback the Equestrians would have never returned from, and it had been denied completely and fully by one angry man in power armour. Still, despite his earlier actions, his attack on her afterwards had forced her hoof. Jack had been stripped of his Knight status, the lands he was to receive after the war, and everything else the war council thought appropriate, including the pay he'd collected up until now. It made Celestia sick to her stomach, the thought of it all. There was little she could do though, as she'd shown up to the meeting still bearing a fat black eye and swollen lip.

The bustle of the operations center hummed through the halls as she neared them, and forced her thoughts back on track. Pushing open the doors with her magic, Celestia was immediately met by a runner who had a large stack of reports balancing in his magic.

“Your majesty!” He pulled a report off the top and hoofed it over to her. Without another word, he set off at a gallop, leaving her to read the report as she approached the radio sets.

The report was the same as the ones before it. Another city lost, another town gone, all without a peep. Streams of refugees were pouring toward the capital, easy prey for the hunting imperials. The imperial battle groups were slowly moving in on her throne, pressing in on all sides as they swept up anyone unfortunate enough to get in their way. Their progress was disgustingly effective, for they met little resistance, and assimilated everyone they could. Their numbers continued to swell, and swell, and swell.

The radio operator looked up as she approached, and cleared her throat. “We have Captain Alsan of HMS Righteous Justice on the horn, your majesty.”

“Good, let me speak to her.” Taking the radio receiver, Celestia pressed it against her ear. “Captain, can you hear me?”

“Aye Majesty, we read you loud and crystal.”

Celestia smiled ever so slightly. “What do you have to report?”

There was a long pause which saw Celestia's smile slip away again. “It's bad, Princess. Very bad. We pinged the second and third battlegroup coming over the Ironwall mountains three days ago, making for a hard burn. The zebra legions have crossed the border, and are currently five hundred kilometers from the capital. The… first battlegroup, the one with the flagship, it's got a horde with it. Civilians, we think. They're maybe a week out, if they take their time.”

Celestia leaned against the pillar as she nodded and rubbed her face. “Do you know how many?”

“...We lost count, ma'am. We think we're looking at most of Neigh York, and Fillydelphia, plus a lot in between. We held fire, like you asked.”

Celestia slumped, a hard sigh barely caught by her composure. “Thank you, captain… finish your patrol, and return as soon as you can.”

“Right, we'll be home for dinner. Over and out.” The radio clicked as the other end went dead, though Celestia held onto it for a long while. The operations center had gone all but silent, as everyone within stared at her. There were almost two million soldiers bearing down upon her, and the capital. She had maybe ten thousand soldiers at her disposal. Three thousand Guard, two thousand Militia, four thousand Crystal Guards on loan, and a scattered number of Battle Mages, REA retirees, special forces operatives, and finally, the Minotauren Pioneers. Not enough. It would never be enough. Allowing herself a breath, Celestia lifted her head, and spoke loudly, though the room was dead silent. “Radio the Engineer Corp, and have them pull overtime to complete the fortifications. All active, retired, and reserve Guard are to report immediately, and all physically able mares and stallions above the age of sixteen are… Hereby conscripted. Order the foundries to cut whatever corners we can afford for weapons, armour, and ammunition, recall HMS Dauntless, and recall HMS Stalwart Liberty from Stalliongrad once they've received their fighter bomber compliment. Send the orders.” After a short moment, the operations burst back into activity. It wouldn't matter. There was no way for her to spread her forces in such a way to survive the siege, even with the promised reinforcements from the her niece and nephew in the Crystal Empire. She needed more time. So much more time... Celestia remained silent as she mulled her options, chewing every option to the bone, before she came down to one, single choice. She spoke again, though this time quietly, and to a single operator. “Send a message to lab D6. Tell them to initiate the final stages of Project Fartouch, and have both Mr. Kessle, Luna, Knight Captain Falenas, and JSOG meet me in the labs.”

The operator nodded, and sent the message. There was no stopping it now. She'd played all of her cards, now she just had to see how the game would play, and whether she'd witness the apocalypse.

His PDA read December 17th, 2034

Jack felt… strange. He'd felt strange ever since he'd woken up in the hospital. He didn't feel like himself; he felt cold and dead inside, but at the same time, he felt electrified, filled with an energy that didn't feel natural but somehow made itself feel a part of him. It was as if the fury he'd let slip against Canterlot was all the anger he'd had left, and now he was just… empty.

Something had filled that void, partially.

Something weird. Something so intangible and slippery he felt like he was going crazy just trying to describe what it felt like.

So, he didn't think about it. Didn't speak about it. He just continued on as if he couldn't feel the creep of something under his skin and inside his bones.

Honestly he was shocked he hadn't been hung by the War Council. He’d nearly been lynched in his hospital bed, had it not been for some Guard Commander coming down on those gathered like a ten tonne hammer. When he'd been at his own trial, It was incredibly clear the council wanted him to swing, save for Luna. Those generals and advisors wanted him hung, drawn, quartered, and pissed on, before being tossed off the cliff while on fire. Despite the War Council frothing at the bit to tear him apart, he'd been kept away from the hangman's noose by the goodwill of those he could have killed that night. His friends, squad mates, they stood next to him the entire time. Stood in his defence, and fought on his behalf. Then Vinyl had stood up for him, and was followed by so many more he didn't remember. People he'd helped, people he'd saved. His trial had been… unpleasantly public. The War Council wanted the public to see him, bloody, battered, and so spent he could hardly stand. They'd clapped him in irons, and stripped away his guns and armour before.parading him out like an item at auction, but in hopes of what? Vilifying him before the city?

Honestly, it wouldn't have been so bad if they had hung him. He wouldn't have minded. He'd burned himself up, turning his insides into cold ashes. He wasn't angry anymore. Just cold.

So god damned cold…

“Mr. Kessle?”

A voice he didn't recognise drew him out of his musing behind an unlit cigarette. He didn't bother to open his eye. “Yeah?”

“Princess Celestia has requested your presence at the labs.”

Princess Celestia. Despite the cold emptiness that sucked at his core, he felt a flicker in his chest whenever her name was mentioned. The flicker of anger cast light when he saw her. “Can't. Busy.” He responded quietly as he moved to light the cigarette.

“She said to tell you it's about Project Fartouch?”

He sat upright, his cigarette forgotten. “Give me a moment to find a shirt.” Hopping out of his flattened bed, he pulled on a clean shirt, and fixed his cloth eye patch. Without a second thought, he patted the blade at his hip. He never went anywhere without it, though he was beginning to think she wasn't inside the weapon anymore. The pony at the door was wearing loose, hastily assembled fatigues that lacked any identifying marks, but he had them pinged for militia the moment he'd seen the pony. They motioned for him to follow, and he did, albeit with a pronounced limp.

The walk to the labs was a quiet one, at least, it was for Jack. Without his exo-skeleton, he limped badly; a little keepsake from his battle with Celestia, and result of being thrown through too many walls. The militia had all but left the grounds earlier that day, heading down the hill to man new fortifications. As Jack glanced out an empty window pane, he saw a new stream of ponies entering the grounds, all of them holding guard items. The retirees.

She must be getting desperate. He thought to himself as he stuck the cigarette back between his lips, and took a pleasantly long drag.

The lab doors lay ahead, and a pair of Solar Guards pulled them open for the pair. The militia pony nodded to Jack, before scampering off to attend to other orders. Inside, Jack found Celestia, Luna, JSOG, Doctor Mac Griffon, and a gaggle of scientists. They all looked at him as he entered; before, he would have felt anger toward Celestia, but now he felt nothing, and he showed nothing. Ambling slowly toward the group, he continued to puff away. Once he'd joined the main group, Celestia managed a weak, forced smile.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice. I've… been informed that we have under a week until Canterlot is under siege.” A disconcerted murmur spread through those assembled, save for Jack. “As of such, I've been forced to… make some hard decisions. One of which, is the activation of Project Fartouch.” She stood tall, and gestured to the massive machine behind her with a wing. “This machine will take a hoof selected team to a new world, the human world of Terra. There, this team will be gathering materials, and training in any way possible to turn the tide of the war in our favor.”

Jack's brows furrowed slightly in thought as Luna stepped forward and spoke. “We are unsure if the return devices will work, as well as the disguises. With what we know of Terra, we are entirely unsure if anybody sent will survive, let alone complete the mission set before them. For this… we ask you, Jack, to be the team's Pathfinder. Guide them through your world. Help us, one last time.”

Sticking his thumbs in his pockets, Jack exhaled carcinogenic smoke through his nose. “There's no point. Not enough time. It's a big place, and at the best of times, a week wouldn't do you any good as is.”

“You will have plenty of time.” Celestia answered. “The reason why I didn't tell you of the project, Jack, is because time moves far differently between your world, and ours. A single day in Equestria, is forty on earth. You have been in Equestria for over two years, which means… you have been away from earth for over eighty years.”

His cigarette fell to the floor as his mouth worked in shock. Eighty years. So long, there may be nothing left for him to go back to. Nothing to live for. He wanted to be angry. If she had told him before, there may have been something, anything. Now, there was nothing. Nothing at all.

He wanted to be angry, but all he felt was cold.

Lifting a badly scarred hand up to rub at his twisted nose, Jack let out a long, haggard sigh. “Eighty years… eighty… years…” His hand began to shake and twitch, causing him to pinch the bridge of his tweaked nose harder. “And you still want me to help you…”

Luna bowed her head slightly. “It is not an order, it is a request. Regardless of your answer, we will send you back to Terra, if you so wish.”

Not looking at anybody as he knelt and picked up his smouldering cigarette, Jack carefully placed it between his lips and puffed. “It doesn't matter. You'll send them after me no matter what I have to say about it.”

“Correct. All we ask is that you help them with their task. Of course, you would be compensated for your assistance. Extra, on top of what we are going to give you already.”

Money. Now there was something he wouldn't mind when going home. “How much?” He mumbled quietly, still drawing off the drooping cig.

Celestia nodded to one of the nearby guards, and two of them moved forward with a rather large burlap sack. They dropped it on the floor at his feet; the bag thumping heavily. Kneeling down again, Jack undid the draw strings, and whistled quietly. Inside was a large mound of thick gold bits, but mixed in where precious stones the size of his fist, and bigger, in the case of a positively massive heart cut ruby that sat on top of the pile.

“Yeah… that'll do it.” He stood, and sighed as he ran a hand through his shaggy hair. “Okay. You've twisted my arm enough as it is. I'll at least get them somewhere they can work.”

Without warning, Celestia strode forward, and wrapped Jack in a rib cracking hug. “Thank you!”

“Please stop touching me.”

Nodding, Celestia backed away from him, and bowed her head slightly. “You do not know how much this means to me, and the entire world.”

“Save me the fuckin’ theatrics.” He muttered in return as he snubbed the smoking butt. “Well, let's see these disguises. I need to see how fucked you all look…”

Both Princesses looked to Doctor Griffon, just as he grinned a cheshire grin. “I need a volunteer! You there, Batpony with one wing!” He gestured to Taven, whose ears went flat against his head as he cautiously approached. Once Taven was at his side, Mac held up a small amulet that seemed to contain a rather bright liquid. “Simply pull on the device, and press down on the left chamber!” He draped the necklace over Taven's head, and motioned for him to do so. With a little trepidation, Taven did, and everyone in the room took an involuntary step back as he was completely engulfed in green flames.

Not a second later, the flames all but turned to purple smoke, and in Taven's place stood a rather tall, muscular man with mocha skin and a full, handsome face with a dusting of steel coloured stubble. His eyes all but glowed yellow, and he was clearly startled. His equipment had shifted as well, but as none of the team wore clothes…

Politely averting his eyes as the others stared in shock, Jack simply shook his head and lit another smoke. “I'm not nearly drunk enough for this shit…”

“How do you feel?” The doctor called out to Taven, from behind cover.

“I uh…” Taven's hand went up to his hairline, which formed a steel grey mohawk. He paused, and pulled the hand back before his eyes; wiggling and waggling his fingers as he stared in wonder. “Wow… I feel…” He flushed a little. “Kind of chilly.”

“That's because you're naked.” Jack informed him mildly.

“Wow, it's all just kind of hanging out there… “ Taven stated as he undid his chestplate and lowered it over his crotch. “I think I finally understand why you always wear pants, Jack…” He took a step forward toward the group, and promptly fell flat on his face. “Doc? How do I walk?” With Taven flat on the ground, Jack spotted where his wing and cutie marks had gone. His single wing was now a tattoo across his back, though an incredibly detailed one. His mark, was stamped proudly on the sides of both ass cheeks, just below the hip.

For the first time in what felt like months, Jack cracked a weak smirk. “This is gonna be a fuckin’ gong show.”

“I'll go next.” Flitter spoke loudly, and stepped forward. “It's clear JSOG’s the ones going. Let me get my disguise so I can get used to it.”

Celestia nodded as the doctor handed over the next amulet. “We only have thirty disguises in working order, and forty return devices, to allow for larger objects. Since there are twenty five of you total, you have five spares to go with you.”

Jack chewed the butt of his cigarette idly as he thought. “Send for Yuma. Give her the offer.”

“You'd be willing to take another on?” Luna asked lightly as Doctor Griffon strung the amulet over Flitter's head.

“She's trained, willing, and able. Besides, might be nice to have somebody who can carry my crippled ass aro-” Jack stopped mid sentence as Flitter was engulfed in flames, and changed into a human.

Flitter took in a deep breath as she looked down and took stock of her new body. She was shorter than Taven, but a little taller than Jack by an inch or two. Her body was incredibly impressive, with sleek muscles like braided steel cable girding her lithe frame, and impressive scars decorating her like medals. Her mechanical hoof had become an arm, though it was considerably thinner than her real one. Flitter ran a pair of fingers up from her navel, across her chiseled abs, to her moderate bust. “Huh…” Looking up, she found herself staring right at Jack as he stared back at her, wide eyed and slightly slack jawed. Her eyes were a vibrant violet, and were seated upon a soft, slightly rounded, beautiful face. Her shock of mane had been shifted to a close cropped military crew cut, that did nothing to hide the chunk of missing ear. The pair stared at each other for a long moment, before averting their eyes quickly. A hot blush began to creep across Flitter's face, while Jack rubbed at his singular intact cheek.

“How do you feel, Captain?” The good doctor asked loudly, jerking Flitter out of her thoughts. “By the way, the devices will continue to work so long as they have fluid in them, and they may be taken off without ill effect!”

“Good! I feel good.” She took a step forward, and nearly toppled, but managed to catch herself at the last moment. “Okay, I see your point, Taven.” Taking shaky steps across the room, she began to grow a little more confident in her strides. “This is… actually really cool! Look, Jack, I'm taller than you!” She smiled brightly, flashing her perfectly white, human teeth.

Still not looking at her nudeness, Jack nodded jerkily as he tried to get his thoughts in order. “Yeah, great, perfect…”

“Jack?” Celestia called to him, causing him to snap his attention to her. “Please go pack your things. You all will be leaving within three hours.” Without another word, he spun on his heels, and quickly hobbled his way out of the lab. Smiling to herself, Celestia leaned over to speak to Luna. “Could you send for somebody to collect clothes from the human servants quarters? If memory serves, terrans look down upon nudity.” She watched as Minerva collected her disguise, and shifted into a burly, yet short woman with a large bust. “And our ponies have no qualms about it at all.”

“Our humans.” Luna corrected with a small smile.

“Yes… our big humans…”

“Princesses?” Flitter spoke as she stumbled over, still using a desk for support. “May we all have the chance to say goodbye to our families?”

Immediately, Celestia nodded. “Of course! You all have three hours to collect your kits and personal items, and say goodbye to your families! We have forms ready to be signed as well, regarding life insurance and travel stipends. You'll all be given bits to take with you, to purchase whatever you may need, though with the time allotted, you may very well need to find somewhere to acquire additional funds.”

The team nodded, as some got used to their new disguises. Flitter turned to her crew. “I want everyone here a half hour prior! Try and keep your disguises on, get used to walking bipedal. We won't fit in very well if we're tripping up all over the place.”

A round of affirmatives went around, followed by a laugh as another of the JSOG rangers fell on his face trying to walk. Minerva smirked mildly as she stood with her hands on her flared hips. “Do you want an escort, ma'am?”

“Don't you have a family to see?” Flitter questioned as she accepted a shirt and loose pants from the runner as they returned with servant clothes. She struggled to keep her balance as she pulled them on.

“No any more, no.” Minerva said quietly.

“Oh… I'm sorry to hear that.” Pulling on the shirt, Flitter gave herself a look over. The hoodie would definitely need to replace the coarse shirt, if the sensitive nubs set on her chest had anything to say about it.

Minerva shrugged as she pulled a shirt over herself, but found her midriff still showing. “Not as bad as you think… divorced a few years ago, husband took the kid.”

“Oh, well-” Flitter grunted as she cinched her belt tight. “If you want, I won't mind. I'm just going to find my sister and pack my bags. Hold on.” Flitter watched as Baron nervously stepped up to the doctor and received her disguise. The flames engulfed her, and left behind a tall, and dangerously skinny human shaped changeling.

“I'm never going to get used to serving with a Ling’...” Minerva shook her head as Baron attempted to disguise herself as normal. The result was… deeply disturbing.

Shuddering at the sight, Flitter trotted over to the struggling mare. “What's going on, Match?”

“I um… I don't know what most normal human females look like, besides ours… well, except for Ada, but I'm pretty sure Jack would kill me if I did that…”

“Here.” Flitter pulled over one of the squad, and motioned to her face. “Start by copying Lemon, and just change it bit by bit. You'll get it.”

Baron nodded, and smiled. Lemon flinched back, while Flitter blinked in shock at the mouth full of daggers Baron now sported. Baron immediately closed her mouth and blinked her inky black eyes. “What?”

“You got some dental work done.” Flitter answered mildly as she patted the pair's shoulders. “Be back soon. Minerva! Put on some pants!”

Striding through the halls of the castle, Jack's head was abuzz with excitement, and mild terror. He was finally going home, but over eighty years had passed… If it was still there, he wouldn't recognize it, at all. He'd be as lost as the team, though he wasn't about to say it to their faces. At the thought of faces, his mind shifted to Flitter's new, shockingly attractive features. He swiftly shooed the thoughts away with a shake of his head as he entered his room, and began hunting down his massive rucksack. The process of breaking all of his equipment down was an easy one, though time consuming. All of it was designed to be broken down and stowed within a moment's notice. Once all of the critical equipment was stowed, Jack was somewhat surprised to find that he still had plenty of space. Considering all of the lost gear, the destroyed clothes, and other little bits he'd lost over the course of two years, he should not have been surprised. If anything, it meant he had to now carefully consider what mementos to take back. His nicely folded dress blues were the first in the bag, protected by a thin plastic wrap. The gaudy yellow and orange hat Flitter had gotten him followed it. Slowly, piece by piece, the bag began to fill.

As he packed, his door creaked open. “Hello?”

Turning to the door so he could use his good eye, Jack returned the greeting. “Hello?”

Walking through the door, Aurora smiled at Jack as she lugged in her tool kit. “Oh, hi Jack. Going somewhere?”

He managed a mild smile as he nodded. “Home. I'm going home.” As Aurora blinked in shock and spoke her congratulations, he swiftly turned the conversation in a different direction. “How's your chest?”

“Doing fine, same as yesterday. Some of my fur’s started to grow back! Just let me get in here and finish tuning up your armour, I'll get it ready for you to go.” Setting down her toolbox, Aurora began to work, before pausing for a long moment. “Gosh Jack, I can't believe you're leaving… are you going to be alright?”

He nodded as he slowly ambled over to his weapons bench, and began carefully choosing what he would bring into the field. The heavy Slug Thrower was a must, he liked it too much to simply leave it behind. It went into the leather holster secured at his armour’s hip. Into the chest rig went the Glock 19, and several spare magazines of ammo. Finally, he chose a heavy Equestrian pattern FAL-esque battle rifle, with eight hefty fifty round tombstone magazines filling his pouches. He paused when he looked at his armour’s chest rig, and sudden realization snapped at him. He was missing his biggest weapon of all.

Delta King.

However… he didn't have a reason to take it. He had nothing to destroy on earth, and if there was any kind of government left, they'd want it back, badly. But in that case, they'd snag him too, and he'd be doubly fucked. On the other hand, he could leave it to the Equestrians, with the knowledge of how to arm, and detonate it. That thought was a black one, and one he found himself debating over long enough to make Aurora feel uncomfortable.

In the end, he vowed to do something about the bomb. Throwing on his exo-skeleton, and clambering into his armour, Jack welcomed the embrace of his tombstone once again. “It feels good, Aurora. You did a great job. It's a shame-” he paused himself, another thought coming to his mind. “Hey, I've got a question for you.”

The mare looked up as she stowed her tools back in their box. “What's up?”

“What's your opinion of working abroad?”

Walking through the rapidly diminishing tent city the militia had erected on the castle grounds, Flitter was keenly aware of all the curious looks both she and Minerva were getting. It wasn't often you saw confident humans walking around with body armour and battle rifles slung over their backs. Flitter proudly bore the markings of Knight Captain, the markings taken from Jack after his trial. While cautious, the remaining militia made way for the pair, as Flitter searched for her sister.

With some effort and a lot of questions, she finally found which tent was her sisters. Approaching the flap, Flitter rapped her knuckles off the fabric. “Gimme a minute!”

“Any day now, Cloudy.”

“Flitter!” The rustling inside the tent grew quicker, until the flap was pushed open wide, and Cloud Chaser stuck her head out. Her loose steel helmet flopped over her eyes, causing her to pout as she pushed it up. Cloudy's pout swiftly turned to surprise as she looked far up at Flitter’s new body. “Uuuhhhhh…”

“You like it?” Flitter asked with a grin that only made her sister blink harder and slowly let her mouth fall open.

“You… you're… WHAT!?” How!? Why?!” Cloud Chaser gestured wildly at Flitter.

With a giggle, Flitter knelt down before her sister. “Don't worry, it's really me. I'm going on… a bit of a mission, and I might…” Flitter found herself frowning as she looked down, and couldn't finish the sentence.

“You're off to save the world…” Cloud Chaser looked up at Flitter and smiled softly at her. “I understand… Just… wherever you're going… be careful. Please… I'll miss you every day you're gone.”

With a soft smile, Flitter wrapped her arms around Cloudy and squeezed. “I won't be gone long. A week, maybe a little more.”

Nuzzling into her sister's chest, Cloudy smiled in return. “I love you, little sis… be safe out there, wherever you're going.”

“I will… I love you too, Big sis… Keep your head down and your gun clean. Come on Minerva, let's go pack.”

It didn't take long for the team to reassemble in the labs; each now human soldier carrying a large pack, body armour, a rifle, and plenty of ammo for the trip. They all stood in a neat platoon, watching Jack speak with Celestia. Scientists were crawling over the large machine, checking it for anything that could spell disaster for the team. If anything went wrong, anything at all, they could be torn to shreds at the atomic level, teleported into the cold of space, or to the bottom of the ocean. They could arrive half intact, or wildly mutated, if a single thing went wrong. That fact didn't sit well upon the ponies turned human. Yuma and Aurora were still getting used to their new forms, though Yuma seemed to not be bothered in the slightest, as she'd only really lost her fur. She was an incredibly large human, nearing seven feet tall. Aurora on the other hand was a tiny, skinny thing with dusky brown skin and sharp yellow eyes. Both practically vibrated in excitement, though for separate reasons.

“I just do not think it wise to release it.” Celestia spoke lowly, not expecting the others to hear.

“It's not a toy, Celestia. If I leave it here, they could use it against you. You might be tough, but that thing will merc you, and your sister. It'll level this whole mountain.” Jack shot back, not caring who heard.

She shook her head. “They would never get their claws on it. Besides we… we may need it.”

“You won't use it.” He stated flatly. “You wouldn't stoop that low.”

“And you would?”

“Of course I would. I'm human.”

Sighing softly as she rubbed her cheek, Celestia nodded once, and conceded defeat. “Fine. I'll send for a guard to bring it up. Just… please, find a way to help us.”

“No promises. But if I do find something, you won't like it. At all.”

“I was already certain of that…” Looking away from Jack, Celestia called forward a runner to collect the weapon from the vault. After, she looked to the gathered platoon. “Are you all ready? We have additional supplies and ammunition to send along as well.”

“We're as ready as we'll ever be, Celestia.” Flitter answered as she stood tall and laced her fingers behind her back. The sight caused Jack to smile ever so slightly. She was the picture of the perfect field officer. Calm, cool, and collected. The runner swiftly returned, carrying the heavy cylinder marked with bright yellow trefoils. A two megatonne thermonuclear bomb, specially designed to crack a hardened target two kilometers underground. Jack took it without a word, and slid it into it's resting place in his chest rig.

“Start the machine!”

Cries of affirmative went up as the scientists began to scurry about, going through the tedious start up procedure. The massive ring began to spin, slowly at first, before picking up speed. The location locks slammed down, and their identity alarms droned loudly in the chamber.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

One by one, the locks slammed down, until the final one was secured, and the machine crackled with energy. At the aperture, space and time seemed to ripple, before ripping open like fabric. The tear in reality spread, until it met the titanium inlaid edges of the ring, and halted. Nobody could see beyond, as the portal was black.

“Aperture secured! Portal is stable and power levels are holding!” Field yelled across the room over the low roar of the universe that leaked through the hole.

“Go! May the sun and moon guide you!” Luna yelled, and Jack took off like a shot toward the portal.

“Let's go JSOG!” Flitter yelled as she started for the portal.

Jack's feet felt lighter than they had in years as he crossed the small space, and mounted the metal stairs three at a time. A great broad grin broke out across his features as he reached out to the black. As he was sucked in through the portal, he was elated.

He was going home.

Author's Notes:

I hope this chapter doesn't feel too terribly rushed, I had a lot of ground to cover and I didn't want to spend six chapters detailing a recovery you guys have already seen.

Besides that, Holy Shit! Finally! We're almost there! I've been positively itching to write these upcoming chapters, and boy are they going to be fun!

Also, it seems Fimfiction no longer recognizes indents, so I don't know what to do there. Use your imaginations, I suppose.