There's a long train ride from Ponyville to the Crystal Empire, roughly 12 hours. We had bought 1st class tickets, one room for each of us, while we went there. While I heard Twilight and her friends having what sounded like a good talk, and Octavia learning not to despise Starlight in the other car, I maintained the Mac-10.

I couldn't do this as effectively as I'd like to, but it worked. There was Silicone lubricant in the janitorial hall, which I promptly stole, and some metallic rods that would fit in the barrel tightly. I tore some cloth I found and tied it around the rod. From there I dipped it in silicone and got to work.

I pulled off the stock by just overextending it, then unscrewed the body screws which held the receiver together. It was a two piece assembly. In the top half there was the bolt, a fixed block with a notch that was the firing pin. Then, just next to it, was another small notch that would latch onto the rim of the shell, we called it the 'Extractor'.

I sprayed the silicone on the assembally and the springs that made the extractor function, then I took the bolt out by pulling to forwards and unscrewing the charging handle. It was time to clean the barrel, which I was willing to bet would be absolutely filthy. I stuck the silicone soaked rod down the barrel until it came into where the bolt was, the once orange rag was smeared in black powder stains.

I pulled it back forwards, I wasn't going to get it much cleaner than that, at least not with the same rag. I pulled the rag off, closed the bottle of silicone, and stuffed the mac in my rucksack.

I laid down on the bed that was in the corner of the car and stared out my window. That land that seemed so far away was so close now. I could feel it. We'd boarded the train at night, this was so we'd get there during the day, and I could already recognize how much closer the sun looked from Yakyakistan. It shocked me for a bit, almost reminding me of what it was like.

'I'm not going back. Not yet.'

I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

The thing that woke me up was a knock at my door. I wasn't even under the covers, or undressed, so it didn't take long to answer it. It was Twilight.

"Mind if I come in?"

She pretty much forced her way through the door when she asked, which confused the hell out of me but whatever.

"What's it about?"

"It's about how close we are to Yakyakistan, you think it's safe to go.

'Why the hell didn't you ask BEFORE you left? Hell no it isn't'

"It'll go alright, more ponies are killed by falling coconuts than terrorists a year, let alone in our own country."

'That was an outright lie'

"Thank you so much, that puts me at ease."

Not me.

"Don't get too comfortable, we gotta keep on edge. So what did you come in here for, just to ask this?"

"No actually, I wanted to tell you that we mobilized the National Guard to the Crystal Empire. You probably won't be needed so you can enjoy yourself."

'Yes because I'm comfortable with a bunch of teenagers with guns doing dirty work.'

"Alright, I'll stick with you."

"That's good to hear, any questions?"

"Yea, how far are we?"

"Two hours, wanted to stop you before we were there."

Huh I'd slept for 7 hours. I reached under and put my rucksack on my bed.

"That'd be all then."

Twilight left as quickly as she had appeared. Odd, considering she had a habit of overstaying her welcome. I unpacked the rucksack and recounted my gear. Then put it back away. I spent the next two hours staring out the window, we had already passed through Canterlot I could tell. Now we were only greeted by long dark tunnels cut out of mountains and snow. It wasn't really heartwarming. I hadn't seen an environment like this for a very long time.

Once we pulled into the crystal empire, things became oddly warm. Just about 75 degrees, it was perfect temperature. It was like an oasis in a never ending sea of white. We stepped off the platform, where I noticed the new defense secretary, 'Shining Armor', standing close to the rails. Oddly enough he wasn't standing right.

Twilight and her brother had an odd conversation, he was a father now and it was obvious the stresses were getting to him. Fatherhood isn't what it's made up to be. Honestly in the first few months it's hell, but in the end you don't regret it. Like my dad said to me; 'I asked a friend for advice and he told me not to put you near a window, it'd tempt me to throw you out.'

Makes sense now that I look at it. We brought him off and I trailed behind the group, watching their every move. The arrival of a princess practically on the Yakyakistan border is sure to set off some bells and whistles. I kept my hoof close to the MAC while we waltzed into a city too close to hell. Ponies stared, not at the princess but at Spike, some ponies even knew his name.

"Hey Spike, you wouldn't have happened to have saved the crystal heart before have you?"

He looked at me with this impressed face, ready to brag about his accomplishments.

"Why yes I have, twice!"

'That calls for two cases of impeding justice and impeding a military investigation. Under normal circumstances he'd be arrested and given somewhat 5 years in a federal pen. Lucky you're a kid.'

"Interesting. I guess they like you here then?"

"That's right, I'm a celebrity here!"

We walked right by a massive crystal statue of Spike holding a heart. It did him no justice as he looked like a child in that too. I almost felt bad. He wasn't old enough to realize it but they won't be changing that statue when you get older, so in their eyes you're still always a kid. They didn't care much more, just about what you did.

We kept walking, Starlight had a mission to do from Twilight so she split off. I didn't get the details on the job but from what I knew she needed to meet some old friend of hers. This was a good time to talk to Twilight about something I had on my mind.

I pulled her off to the side when I was ready.

"About Starlight, why did you give her a spot in your home? Not the real one but the changeling, if you didn't want her dead you could have said something?"

"I figured that the Starlight that you were chasing was the fake, since the one that was with me had been here for quite some time so I let you continue the chase."

"Then why did you want her alive?"

"If she's alive, I get more praise for the arrest. I'm sure you understand."

"Sounds right, keep an eye out though, we can't say for sure how many others are going to be around here."

"What do you mean?"

"You haven't looked at a map? The country within 3 miles of us is Yakyakistan, where most of these terrorists came from."

She was silent, it hadn't occurred to her just how dangerous what she was doing was. She isn't used to bloodshed it and showed, the brutal logic of it is too simple for most ponies to comprehend. She was getting her first dose of it.

"Play it smart, you're in an active hotzone. Follow my lead and you have a lower chance of something happening."

She nodded, finally realizing where she was.