I'm woken up when I feel something prod against my rib cage. My head pounds as I reluctantly open my eyes, my vision is blurred as I roll my head to the side in an attempt to focus on whoever decided to wake me up. All the hard work from yesterday's massage has now gone to waste as I find myself lying against a hard surface. Just above my eye level I find Twilight, Sunny and Chaser all looking towards me. What surprises me though is the fact that I'm not in the bedroom, but instead seem to be in the kitchen.

Sunny steps closer, "John, what happened to you last night after I left?" She seems to be speaking in a quieter tone than usual.

I groan as I sit up, swinging my legs around I let them hang over the end of the table, "The last thing I remember is leaving the tavern when it closed."

Chaser tilts his head to the side, a slight smirk on his face, "And when you left... were you with anypony?"

"Yeah, I was with Luna. Why?" The three all move around the table and look directly behind me. Turning around I find Luna curled up on the other end of the table, various bottles of alcohol are scattered around the kitchen.

Twilight levitates one of the empty bottles from alongside Luna, "You got the Princess drunk!?"

Luna stirs slightly, we all freeze as we look straight to her. Slowly her eyes open, after a moment her eyes widen as she shoots straight up in a sitting position. She immediately brings her hoof to her head as she groans, "What time is it?"

Sunny glances to the clock, "It's 08:30, your majesty."

Luna jumps off the table and initially stumbles as she tries to regain her composure, "I... I have to lower the moon."

Twilight steps forward, "Princess Luna, it's already been done. Celestia has raised the sun, she must have also lowered the moon in your absence," Twilight opens the curtains with her magic, revealing the early morning sun.

Luna freezes on the spot, "Oh buck! Celestia is going to be furious with me," -She turns to face me- "Why did you allow me to drink so much!?"

I move off the table, clutching my hand to my head as I do so, "Hey, you're a grown woman. It's not my responsibility to babysit you, I already told Sunny that," Sunny just coughs lightly into her hoof as the other look to her.

Luna paces as she glances towards the sky, "I failed to lower the moon, all because I stayed out drinking," Luna pauses before glancing to me, her horn illuminating the area around her, "I have to get back."

Before I'm even able to respond Luna is encased in a blue sphere, following a brief moment the sphere collapses and Luna is nowhere to be seen. I jump off the table and move to one of the chairs, slumping back I pinch the bridge of my nose, "I swear to God, is it too much to ask to have a slightly normal day?"

Twilight and Sunny go about cleaning up the room of all the bottles we left over from the previous night. Chaser joins me at the table, he still has a cocky smirk as he looks towards me, "So... you and Princess Luna?"

I raise my hand to him, "Nothing happened."

"Well you were both snuggled up together," his smirk was growing even wider.

"Again, nothing happened."

Chaser just shrugs, "If you say so," He looks over to the bottles which were now collected on the kitchen counter, "You both definitely had a heavy night."

I run my hand through my messy hair, "Well I don't remember how it ended, so it must have been good."

"So you could have hooked up?" Chaser chuckles slightly as he runs his hoof across the table surface.

"I have two words for you. Fuck off."

"Somepony is touchy when they're hungover," Chaser shakes his head as I groan, "What's the agenda for today then?"

"That depends. Are all the supplies Luna had delivered in the basement?" I get up from my seat and head to the fridge, looking inside I select the first piece of food available which just happens to be a small bowl of grapes.

Chaser brings out an inventory list, "Yes they are, though I don't see why you need all of this. Sulphur, charcoal, potassium nitrate, cordite, copper, lead, brass, nickel-"

"I need them to make more ammunition. You're more than welcome to try and help but it may not be your thing, Sunny will be helping me as well," I pop a grape into my mouth as I look towards Sunny

Chaser gets up to leave the kitchen, "Nah, your alright. Science isn't exactly my sort of thing."

I just shrug as I step back from the fridge, "Sunny, I'm going to get cleaned up, meet me in the basement in a half hour."

Sunny nods to me before leaving the kitchen. As I help myself to another grape Twilight steps in front of the door, "I must admit, I have some concerns with what you'll be doing downstairs. Is it safe?"

I sigh, "In all honesty it can be really dangerous," Twilight's eyes widen, "Don't worry, I'm trained to deal with this sort of thing. I will take precautions to make it as safe as possible."

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Twilight, Spike and myself make our way down the stairs into the basement, Sunny is already looking through the inventory assorted on the various tables, a selection of hand or hoof presses are attached to the table ends. Stepping up to a number of crates reveals sheets or various metals. Twilight walks up to me, "I hope you don't mind that I organised everything," She smiles sheepishly towards me as Spike just roles his eyes.

I set down my kit on the table surface, bringing down my rifle, pistol, ten rounds of both 5.56mm and 9mm and an empty magazine for each weapon. "Okay, first things first we need to talk safety. Nobody touch anything without my say so, if we get to the stage of testing any munitions then stay behind me. Twilight will also cast a spell to help protect everyone's hearing. Any questions?"

Spike raises his claws, "Yeah, why exactly do you need me here?"

"We need someone to record our findings," I position one of the 5.56mm bullets between a press, pointing towards the damaged manikin from our earlier training which is situated in front of a sandbag wall. Taking hold of another bullet I hold it up to them, "This is the standard 5.56mm NATO cartridge, the main sections consist of the projectile which is the bullet itself, the casing, rim and primer. Inside the casing is the propellant which is made up of a chemical compound. The bullet works by the firing pin of a weapon striking the primer, this causes a small explosive charge which ignites the propellant within the casing, the propellant ignites causing another explosive charge which propels the bullet from the casing and weapon towards its target."

Spike is scribbling down everything I say during my demonstration, he even managed a small diagram labelling the cartridge. Twilight looks from the bullet to me, "What chemicals does the propellant consist of?"

"I have a general idea but I can't say for certain due to the correct ration of chemicals required. Cordite used to be the main one, a few pieces of that would act as a sufficient propellant. If you guys would move from the rear of the bullet I placed in the press I can give you a demonstration," All three look to each other before moving to a piece of cover I asked Sunny to set up earlier, once we are all behind the cover Twilight's horn glows and I can immediately feel my hearing become distorted. "Okay then, Sunny I want you to strike the primer I showed you with a nail I left on the table. In theory, it should fire off safely."

Sunny spares a glance to me before nodding. With her magic, she levitates the nail and places it slightly behind the primer. She looks to me for confirmation, as soon as I nod to her she turns back to the bullet, after a few seconds she strikes the primer with the nail.

PHAT

The bullet successfully fires, impacting the manikin it travels straight through into the sandbags I had set up behind it.

Spike jumps up, "That was awesome!"

I can't help but smirk at his enthusiasm, it kind of reminds me of an army cadet who fires off his first .22 calibre rifle, "Can one of you levitate the casing over here? But don't physically touch it, you will end up burning yourself."

Sunny brings the casing from the press and holds it in front of us, "That was truly remarkable."

Twilight takes the casing and rotates it in front of her muzzle, examining the casing fully, "You intend to make more of these?"

I move from behind the cover and select a sheet of copper from the crate and place it on the table, "Yes. It's what I'm trained to fight with, if I run out of ammo when I'm in the Griffin Empire then I won't be of much use." I clap my hands together then face Spike and Sunny, "Right then, let's get to work," I take another cartridge and select a set of pliers and clamp it over the bullet, after some time pulling and twisting I am able to remove the bullet, "This itself is the bullet, this is what is fired towards the target," -I tip the casing and pour the powder within onto the table surface- "This is the propellant, Sunny if you could weigh it and see if you can identify the chemical ratios that will be a great help," I know some of the basic properties within the casing but it will be a good learning opportunity for her.

Placing the casing and bullet alongside one another I begin to take measurements of each section, calling out my findings to Spike he rapidly records all the details. Before too long I'm satisfied that I have the correct measurements which I will need to replicate in order to make the casing and the bullet itself, all I have to do now is find the best materials and to ensure I can correctly manufacture it. I will likely stick to what I know and use copper or brass for the casing, for the bullet itself however I will have to try using a mixture of lead and copper.

Twilight reads over Spike's notes, "If you can make these then why do you need me here?"

I set down the casing and turn to Twilight, "From what I have been told you have always been gifted with magic, I'm going to likely need your help to shape the materials. If you feel up to it that is, it will require compressing metals."

"I suppose I can try, though I'm not exactly too happy about helping you make more of this for your weapon."

"I know, Twilight. Unfortunately, I have to fight, I need these if I'm going to survive."

Twilight sighs but nods to me, "I understand,"

"We aren't going to produce many as it will be too difficult with the resources available. I want to know if we can manufacture them and if they are compatible with my rifle, If we are successful I will pass the knowledge onto Luna so she can decide whether or not to create them or not." Most bullets are made with high-end industrial equipment often involving a process of smelting or using mechanical presses. Twilight had informed me she had little experience with manipulating metals, but as she has been able to manipulate and transform items in the past such as living mice and an apple into a carriage, she felt certain that she would be able to complete the tasks required.

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I decided the best place to start would be the bullet itself, If I was going to help develop potential weapons for the Equestrian's then I would need to be certain I could at least make the bullet. We began the process by stretching a small copper cup to allow the lead to be housed into to act as the core. Twilight was slowly but surely able to shape the metal with her magic, gradually expanding the length to the required size. This would act as the jacket for the bullet, the lead core was inserted. As she compressed the materials to take the required shape we had to file down the lead which was forced out of the core. The end of the bullet is wedged down in order to be able to fit the casing when it was manufactured, the top was also shaped to form the tip of the bullet.

With the bullet completed, we began to work on the cartridge casings and primer. The brass material we used was slightly easier for Twilight to manipulate, allowing her to stretch it to the same length as my current cartridges. The key challenge with the cases was developing the extractor head which would allow the cartridge to be removed from the chamber upon firing, for this stage I had to file down the casing as Twilight strengthened the material. I also had to cut into the metal to remove a section to allow room for the flash hole which would fit the primer and allow the spark generated from the primer to ignite the propellant, it was initially difficult and resulted in numerous casinga being thrown out but after a while we were able to successfully form the hole which allowed to primer to stay secured. Sunny was able to figure out a sufficient shock sensitive chemical which when met with firing pin would cause the chemicals to generate the spark required to ignite the propellant, this would act as our primer. The neck of the cartridge was softened and shaped to allow the bullet to be inserted at a later time.

The final stage was finding the best propellant to be used within the casing. As me and Twilight worked on the manufacturing of the bullet itself, Sunny was able to come up with a number of options to use as the propellant. Cordite seemed fairly promising but it was difficult to determine the correct amount we required, this was decided following numerous tests where it resulted in the casing being damaged which would likely cause a blockage or insufficient force being created to propel the bullet. In the end, after many tests we were happy to pick a mixture of potassium nitrate, charcoal and sulphur which was regularly used in gunpowder back home. the mixture we created seemed to have sufficient force yet didn't cause much damage to the cartridge.

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We've been at this for the last six days, we were able to manufacture one hundred and fifty 5.56mm cartridges along with fifty 9mm rounds. The individual bullets were sufficient when tested without the use of a weapon, the next stage was actually using them in my weapons to ensure they operated correctly.

Placing a magazine containing fifteen rounds into my SA-80 I load the rifle and aim it down range towards the manikin, the others are in position behind their cover. "Day six, test number thirty one. Initial testing of the cartridges proved promising, casing remained fully intact leaving me to believe they won't cause damage to the internals of the weapons or cause any blockages. I will now fire off a selection of five single rounds followed by ten rounds fully automatic," As I say this out loud spike jots it down word for word, he has been invaluable with recording all our information and findings in order to repeat our actions.

I push the safety and flick the fire selector to single fire, slowly I pull the trigger.

PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT

So far so good. I pause to switch the firing selector to automatic. Moment of truth.

PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT *CLICK

I lower the rifle as I remove the magazine, "All rounds fired off successfully and were ejected from the rifle without any blockages," Placing the rifle on the table I grab my Glock and insert a magazine containing eight of our homemade ammunition, "I will now test the 9mm cartridges firing off all eight rounds in quick succession," Raising my pistol I aim down range and pull the slide to the rear before flicking the safety off.

PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT PHAT *CLICK

The slide stays locked fully back as the last casing clatters to the floor, removing the magazine I release the slide sending it forward before firing off the action, "All tests proved successful," Setting down the pistol I give a thumbs up to the others signalling Spike to stop recording the information.

Sunny walks around from the cover and levitates all the casings to the tabletop, "We did it! I can't believe we were able to actually do it."

I brush my hand through her mane, making a mess of her mane as I chuckle, "We sure as hell did, I'm an ATO it's kinda my job to do this sort of thing."

Sunny and Twilight just roll their eyes. Twilight steps up to me, her magic is levitating something behind her which I am unable to see, "But you weren't able to do one thing."

I raise an eyebrow to her, "And what was that?"

"Close your eyes," I shrug as I close my eyes, a few moments pass, "Okay, open them," Opening my eyes I find my phone floating in the air before me, though an extra part has been attached to the back giving off a faint purple glow.

Taking my phone I press the power button, to my surprise the screen lights up showing my screensaver along with fifty percent battery, "How did you charge it?"

Sunny's horn lights us as her magic covers the new extension to me phone, as she does this the charging icon appears on my phone, every few second the power increases by an additional percent, "Consider it an early birthday present from us," I just smile as I kneel between them both, my arms wrapping around them to bring them close into a hug which they happily return. Sunny glances back to me as she pulls away, "I believe you were going to take a photo before it ran out of power."

Smiling I turn around and activate the camera, holding the phone out I'm able to get a picture of myself, Sunny, Twilight and Spike all huddled in front of the remains of the supplies we were sent, "Thank you both so much, this is a great gift."

Spike lets out a yawn which manages to ruin the moment, "I'm beat, I'm going to bed. See you all in the morning," Soon enough he darts rapidly upstairs into the main library. Checking my phone again I notice the time to be 22:35.

"It's getting late, maybe we should all head to bed. Don't forget we've got to go to Canterlot in the morning, Sunny. Luna is expecting us in order to prepare to be deployed." I take a hold of all the notes from our work along with the newly manufactured ammo and my weapons before making my way upstairs. Securing all my kit I head straight for my bed and undress, lifting the covers I climb straight in.

Just another week before I'm deployed to another war zone. At least I won't be in combat on my birthday, seeing as my birthday is on the day before I'm due to leave for the Griffin Empire.

Author's Notes:

Next Chapter I shall be introducing new characters.
If you wish to submit a character idea for a minor or major role then send me a message.
I already have a few lined up from a number of readers.

I hope you enjoy the story so far